Courtney's Birthday!!!

Today is Courtney's birthday. Happy Birthday my sweet darling! Wow you are now as old as me! 33 yrs have flown by. We've only been married for 7 yrs and it feels like I've always known or been with Courtney. He is an amazing man! Let me explain...

Before we met my niece Chloe (5 yrs old) would constantly ask me "when are you getting married" since I saw her a lot this question was constantly coming up, so instead of getting anoid of the question I finally asked her "hey will you pray for me that I'll find my Prince charming" well she did but not only would she pray for my "Prince Charming" before bed she would pray this everywhere she was and soon my nephew Ethan (3yrs old) was praying for me too! even during the evening meal time.

During this time I was doing my internship training as a Medical Assistant and my friend Lori set us up on a blind date. When we first went out my mom looked through the window and said "Annemarie, I feel like he has a very kind spirit about him". When my mom says stuff like that you just listen because she is always right every time! when we were driving away he was talking a lot about his dad and I didn't know if his parents were divorced and so I asked about his mom and he told me that she had died in a car wreck when he was 15 yrs old. Normally when you hear about someone you don't know who dies you feel bad but I can't describe to you fully how I felt it was as though I had known her and she had just died. I had to keep telling myself not to cry because I'm sure Courtney would have thought I was a bit odd to be crying about something that happened 15 yrs ago. But what happened next changed everything for me, he said matter of factly, "I know I will see my mom again" and as we started to drive up on the freeway it was though I feel her presence really strong and I had the thought come to me that she was helping us get together. After Courtney said that I knew in my gut that I wanted to be with someone who had that kind of great faith and strength. Courtney is truly a rock of faith and testimony.

Soon in Dec., the 5th date came and that was our first kiss, WOW!!! He's the MAN!!! Then in January he finally told me he LOVED me after he got back from his interview to Boston Univ. Things just happened quickly and he proposed in March 11, 2001 at the Logan Temple after we went to a session there. We were sealed at the Logan Temple and then we had the funnest road trip to Boston (driving through NY, listening to U2 and getting lost when we got into Boston, meeting many of the greatest people of our lives and building lasting friendships).

During these 7 yrs getting know Courtney better, I've come to a conclusion that my niece and nephew truly got their prayers answered because Courtney is such a gentleman and he's so fun to be with He is my Prince Charming. I have never heard him swear, EVER!!! and he's so calm and gentle to me even when I'm not. The only vice he has is Warcraft and Lord of the Rings games and that's only once a week, so how bad could that be? What an incredible father! He has been able to bless and name our children and to give them healing blessings when they've been sick. He loves our children so much. He is always reading a story to Andrew at night and building a train with him and helping Andrew do sommersaults. When he walks through the door at night, Abbey is B-lining it for him and she gets so excited to see him and she gives him lots of hugs and kisses. It makes me love Courtney all the more when I see him with our children and the love they have for one another.

Courtney you truly are my Prince Charming and you will always be. There is no better person for me than you. Courtney's greatest desire is to be close to our Heavenly Father and so he strives to do everything in his power that will bring us closer to that goal.

I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Gross

On Thursday August 14, was my mom's birthday. I wanted to show tribute to her as she is the best mom for me. My mom has gone through many experiences similar to my experiences that when I needed guidance she undoubtedly shared what she learned and gave that inspiration to me and being a smart kid like I am I listened wholeheartedly!

To tell you a little about my mom she grew up in Provo, Ut and had 7 siblings. She went to BYU were she met my dad and they were sealed in the SLC Temple. She had 6 children who all love and adore her. She has 19 grandchildren, one is an angel looking out for all of us. She had knee surgery and then had some recovery time before she and my dad went to Brazil for a mission.

When I had Abbey my mom and dad came to help w/ Andrew. My mom was w/ me and Courtney in the hospital and she was a calming influence every time I had a contraction. I was so grateful for her and my dad being there because they helped so much when Abbey had to be under the bilirubin lights.

I remember when I was probably 10yrs old, I broke a very special dish of hers and instead of yelling at me about how I was careless, she just said "People are more important than things" and I just sat there and cried because I felt her love instead of criticism.

H is for you Hearing what we have to say.
A is for you Appreciating all we do.
P is for having a Positive outlook on life.
P is for having great Patience.
Y is for Yummy dinners.

B is for being boisterous in all you do.
I is for your Insights you share.
R is for your example of Righteous living.
T is for your Trials that you magnificently triumph over.
H is for your Happiness for life.
D is for your dedication to the gospel, family and your health.
A is for your never ending aspirations.
Y is for your eternal Youth.

I love you mom, thank you for always being there for me.

The Kiss....

So really! how hard is it to get a picture of just one kiss????









































Finally!!!!

The Fly Lady....

I decided that since I'm a clean fanatic that I should share with you one of the best kept secrets of cleaning and organizing and that's fly lady. I was introduced to her specific program when we lived in St. George and I went to a RS function and they talked about how it makes your life so much easier and more organized. I've done this and I love it! Now the weekend can be free for a date and playtime with family and for spiritual growth. All the while you feel good inside knowing all your bills are done, you've filed papers away, thrown items away or give away to DI, vacuumed, scrubbed and shined all before the 3 day weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) and then it's fun, fun, fun.

So I thought I had to share this with others so that everyone could benefit from a more clean and organized life.

The Santa Clause saga.....

When we lived in Boston several of us got together at one of the best decorate homes in the Boston area (I'm not kidding) talk about a gorgeous home! anyway we got talking about all sorts of items and one was were we going to do the "Santa" thing w/ our children. So having a strong opinion on the subject I shared my belief system and the discussion immediately became quite heated (Santa is on the same list as politics).

So anyway I'm going on the record of what I was trying to say that night.

1. We will have our children experience Santa...
2. We won't tell them he is real nor fake, just let them decide ..... until....
2. When they ask us point blank if he's real ......

We will then tell them the true story of St. Nick and how he loved children and on Christmas Eve he would give each child a present and when he died they loved him and what happiness he gave their children so they carried the tradition on.

My Nephew Dallin I think said it best though and this story also will be passed down. When he asked my sister Dana who santa was? and why so many Santa's all around? (They realize it's not the same Santa).

Dallin answered his own question, "Oh I know," he said, "Santa had children and those children became santa's then their children became Santa's and it keeps on going." My sister Dana said, "Your right, If your good you can be a Santa." and Dallin said excitedly, "So if I live good enough and when I get older I'll be able to become a Santa to my own children!"

Until then.. We are excited for Christmas to come as Andrew is starting to get excited over presents and Abbey already is.

Merry Christmas.... in August!!! :D

Happy 1st Birthday Abbey !!

On May 27, 2007 our little Abbey was born. These little miracles come into your life so fast and then they grow up even faster.

You never know what surprises you will get with each child. She had jaundice and was up to an 18 (they hospitalize at 21) and so she lived in this little suitcase (literally it was a big blue suitcase that opened up) for 5 days, so we spent our time right by her side making sure she was breathing ok and that she didn't move the sheet that protected her eyes from the UV light. Wow that was a stressful time, I was so worried about her. Those 5 days felt like months for me.

Now she is as precocious as ever! getting into everything and anything. She loves to babble and she points at things and says "that" and so we tell her what everything is. Her first words have been... I Love you, da da, mama, all done, Hi Josh (boy in our ward) A (for Andrew) Choose the right (I'm not kidding!! she pointed to my CTR ring and I told her that the CTR ment Choose The Right and she repeated it. She has repeated many other words that right now I can't think of. When I ask her to come to me so I can put her shoes on. She does, she walks up to me and turns around and sits down so that I can put her shoes on. I'll ask her to go get her stuffed animal puppy dog or horsey and she does. To many of you it might seem like "yeah no big deal she's learning and growing" but for me it's an amazing thing because none of these things did I experience with Andrew up until 1 year ago when he was 2 1/2 could he go get something that I needed and she's doing it now!!!

I think what I learned from Andrew is to not take anything for granted. Every moment should be savored and kept close to your heart. Abbey loves Andrew so much she loves to be around him and they laugh and giggle all the time together.

Abbey is a Godsend, she has brought out better communication with Andrew and so much more. When she was first born I couldn't hardly get a picture of them together he would always push her over because he didn't want her touching him but now he will put his arms around her and it's her trying to get out of his arms because she is just on the go and doesn't want to sit still for a picture. I know Abbey and Andrew will always be so close together throughout their lives.

Happy Birthday my sweet little darling, I can't believe your 1 years old now, You and Andrew make me so happy each and every day.


1. Abbey is finishing her yummy piece of cake. 2. Abbey's favorite Cousin, James holding her while she examines her new rubber ducky. 3. Abbey's birthday cake that mom made ( I had the hardest time with the frosting bags and tips... that's all I'll say. :D

Cleaning up...Grandpa Allen's way

During May we went over to help Courtney's dad with all of his yard work. Whenever we call Grandpa Allen he is always outside pulling weeds, mowing, watering. He bought the house next to him so he has about 25 acres altogether (very big yards). We piled up all of the clippings from the yards and burned 3 huge piles. Andrew had so much fun helping grandpa Allen and daddy. Abbey and I had fun walking around the yard, I had to keep all the sticks away from her mouth as she loves to test each one to see if it's edible which it seems to always taste so delicious to her but yet when I feed her baby food she spits it out and refuses to eat it... oh well she'll have lot's of fiber from the tree bark... right!!! We roasted hot dogs and marsh mellows but Andrew wasn't so sure about the marsh mellows he took a bite and spit it out. Andrew and Abbey loved to run around Grandpa's yard and especially to see the fire. They sure love their Grandpa Allen!

Catching up with The Allens

Ok so it's been since Thanksgiving I've posted anything. I decided I have no more excuses to not post anything as there have so much change in our lives and so many things to report on that are very worth while... at least for me. So I'm going to quickly catch everyone up starting with

Dec: We had such a fun Christmas while we were staying with my sister's family. Ethan and Dallin got a guitar hero and we had so much fun playing it, it made me feel like I was back in high school listening to hits like Barracuda from Heart. We would also stay up until midnight almost every-night during winter break playing Euker with Dallin, Ethan, Chloe, Dana (my sis) Courtney and I. What a blast we had. Abbey was trying to sit up and crawl. For Christmas saw Santa 2x it was truly amazing that Santa would see our family twice as we know how busy he gets during the Christmas season :D We loved being with my sister Dana and her family they are such a wonderful family to let us stay at their home and Thanks to Dallin and Ethan for letting me inspect all their chores... they don't call me the clean Nazi for noth'n.

Jan - May: One of my good friends Cathy W. had a house that was empty (they were in the process of selling) and offered to have us stay their for a very good price on a house rental and so we moved to South Weber and had a bedroom for each of us. We will be forever grateful to Cathy and her family to give us a home to call our own for a little bit. It was like a breath of fresh air to have some room of our own.

During this time Andrew started Early Intervention Pre-school and he absolutely loved it! especially going on the bus. During this time we had Andrew evaluated by a Psychologist and she determined Andrew has a mild/moderate form of Autism. This news was very difficult but a relief at the same time. We now know what makes Andrew tic and why he loves to spin things and why he has a hard time communicating w/ us. We have learned a lot these few short months. I'm so grateful for the EI pre-school, He has learned and overcome so many obstacles with having autism, I'm so proud of him, he brings me so much joy in our lives. He still echo's things we say but he is starting to say things that are from him not us. Abbey learned to walk and walk up 14 flights of stairs while she was 10mo old. She is a firecracker and she sounds like one when you take anything away from her. She loves her brother so much and she has helped Andrew become a better communicator. I love to watch them together.

One thing Andrew loves is to put my make-up on w/out any help. One Sunday the house was more quiet than usual (Abbey was taking a nap) and I went in search for Andrew (our budding artist) and found him plastering my "waterproof" mascera above his eyebrows and all over his white shirt. So we had to do what any parent should do and that is to laugh and grab the camera. Tammy Faye watch out!!!

May to Current: Abbey had her first birthday! I can't believe she's growing so fast. What an absolute doll she is. Abbey gets so excited when Daddy comes home or when Andrew's running around. She loves to say Dada and Mama and dog and kitty cat. She'll point to stuff and say "that" for what's that and so were constantly telling her what everything is, she is very smart.

My friend Cathy W. couldn't sell their house (due to a very tough market) and they needed to raise the rent to pay for the kitchen that they remodeled, so after careful thought on what our goals were (getting out of debt) we knew we needed to move once more. We loved the area so much and our ward that we wanted to stay so we found apartments that were in our ward and we moved and we will be here for two years, that is our timeline for getting out of debt. As Dave Ramsey say's "Live like no one lives... and then you will LIVE LIKE NO ONE LIVES." and that is why we are still renting. We are madly paying off student loans (it's like owning a big house but we just can't live in it.) and saving money for the day we do buy home we will be "all set" as Bostonians say.

Courtney has an incredible job(s). He works for Dr. Otto down in Taylorsville and he has signed a contract with Dr. Mackley's group. He is already doing so well, it's so fun to see his success everyday. He loves what he does and he does it very very well. Lot's of patients will see Courtney and then come in with their family and tell him "he's their new Dentist" Courtney will be able to become a partner in a year and then eventually buy this practice. If you dream long enough it will come to you.

Annemarie has been busy learning with Andrew and Abbey and decorating/cleaning/organizing and now blogging. Life is good, it all comes from a Father in Heaven who wants us to be happy and successful in what is placed in front of us. Big hugs from all of us to all of you. I hope this has caught everyone up on current events, I promise to continue.... Loves