I am blessed

So I work out every day at the Sportsplex in Kaysville. I went there this morning like any other time & jumped on the treadmill to run. If you have been to this gym, you know what it looks like & that the treadmills (and other cardio machines) are on the second level & overlooks the bottom level. Well I was just doing my usual run on the treadmill overlooking the people down on the lower level (I am an avid people watcher :]) when I noticed the front desk person walking over to a man who was on a treadmill. He proceeded to help the man off & then the man picked up a bag & a walking stick. He then helped the man get onto another machine & I suddenly felt a tear fall down my cheek. I couldn't believe that this man, who couldn't see was here of all places. It was bittersweet to know that this man was not there to improve the look of his body, I'm sure he could care less about his appearance. In a world that focuses on people's looks, this man was there to improve his health, prolong his life... his life of no color, of no faces, of blindness. He loves his life even though he can't see. It was truely humbling to witness, & I know God shows us these things so that we can put our lives in perspective & realize that no matter how many trials and burdens we have, there is always someone who is suffering more than us.
I just want to publicly say that I am incredibly blessed. Tyler & I are comfortable in our lives right now, & don't have to stress over hardly anything right now. I know with time, things will change & things will happen. But no matter what I hope I can always be grateful & know how truely blessed we are.
I am so grateful for this experience I had today, it made my day extra special.

...Valentines=L♥ve...

We celebrated Valentines a day early this year because Tyler had to work on Valentine's Day until 8:00 PM & usually doesn't get home until closer to 9:00 PM. I don't remember where I was coming home from, but Tyler was home already & I walked into the kitchen to find red & white roses, lotion from bath & body works, chocolates & a sweater from Hollister! (I'm so spoiled!) I did not expect to get so many cute gifts.

I also got some beautiful flowers from my Dad!

I never know what to do for Tyler for Valentines cuz it seems it's more of a "girl" holiday, but I don't like it that way! I got him a cute card earlier in the week but I was having trouble deciding what other gift I should get him. I went to the mall with my little brother one night & we were passing Fanzz when I got a fabulous idea. Tyler had a Boston Red Sox shirt that he loved & one night he wore it when he went to play basketball at a random church with some friends. Well he ended up leaving it there on accident & couldn't get back into the church to get it & so it was forever lost.. so I managed to find the EXACT same shirt at Fanzz! (I figured this would be a nice surprise) I also got him a cute sweater from Hollister.. I put it all on our bed on his pillow & when he finally got home on Valentines night, we spent a romantic evening together at home (the best!)

...Temple Square...

This is totally ridiculous, but I was looking at pictures that were on our little digital camera & noticed that we had never taken our photos off from our Temple Square night! It was SO cold that night, but it was so much fun walking with Tyler & enjoying the pretty lights & imaging all the hard work that was put into it. I just wanted to make sure & document that we ACTUALLY went this past Christmas season.. :] (Two months late.. oh well!)

Long Time, No Blog....

I guess it is time that we blog about something......thanks to Meghann for pointing out that it has been over a month since our last post. So here goes nothing!

It seems like our lives have been consumed mostly by work these days. For me it is just the same old thing..... grinding it out at the cell phone store. Rachael's story is a little more exciting, as she keeps progressing in the growth of her business! It is really exciting to watch as she learns and gets better everyday! She really has a special talent! Any of you who haven't checked out her website and blog really are missing out! Check it out at http://www.rachaeltyler.com!! (Nothing like a shameless plug) Also since we are trying to expand the business anyone who needs some pictures taken should definitely let us know.... Rachael has recently booked a few weddings and has been really busy with newborn shoots and such. I couldn't be more proud of her progress!

Even though we do work a lot......We have also had some really fun times together lately, most of which have involved basketball of some kind (which is great for me!)

For Christmas Rachael's brother Tim and his wife Megan gave us tickets to the Utah vs. BYU basketball game! (perfect gift) It was so much fun! An overtime win by the Utes made it even better! It has been awesome watching Rach convert over to being my cute little Ute fan!

The Seats were awesome!! As you can see.

A few days later as I was watching Rachael coach her young womens team (probably the coolest calling in the church, she is the young women's coach) I got a text from my friend Chase. He is a ball boy for the Jazz so occasionally he gets free tickets. He just happened to have two. Who can say no to Jazz tickets. We were stoked to find out that they were lower bowl 19th row! How awesome! Nothing like a pair of tickets worth 200 bucks that all you had to pay was 5 dollars for parking!!! The game was great and the Jazz smashed the Mavericks!As you can see these seats weren't bad either! Thanks Chase!

And this picture is just to show everyone how cute my wife is! I was browsing through pics on my computer and I just had to show off how cute she is!! :) That's all!

..Random..

Sorry in advance, this is quite random and more a journal entry than anything.. I just felt I needed to blog it...

I was just looking over our blog, and realized so many little things that we have overlooked over the past month or so & not posted about.
After Tyler's accident, we needed another car in a bad way. We talked about getting a total junker for the time being.. but after much thought we decided to plan for the future & get a bigger car.Okay, so this isn't a picture of OUR murano. But it looks exactly the same, I promise. :]
Tyler gave into my obsession I have with Muranos & let me get this cute "crossover" SUV. The other day he admitted to me that he was very happy about our purchase & that he's glad I convinced him. (See, I'm not all bad.. jk)
I am so thankful for such an amazing husband.. I am truly blessed & I do not deserve him. I have been sick for the past several days, and on Monday (when Tyler has a chance get a few extra hours of sleep) he woke up early to make me a delicious breakfast in bed. It was such an awesome surprise & I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for being so thoughtful. If only for that brief moment, I felt better :] He has been so understanding this week as I've been unbelievably lazy and sick as a dog.. I try to make him dinner & things but he always ends up helping. Last night after what seemed like an eternity, he came home from work & I had just finished writing an entry in my journal. When he walked in he told me he had the exact same journal he got as a kid and had only written in it but a few times.. he went and got it & we spent the next 2 hours reading to each other out of our journals! It may sound lame, but it was so much fun! He gave up playing basketball just so he wouldn't leave his "sick wife" all by herself.. Come to find out we both got our journals as gifts in the SAME year.. 1999! It was the craziest coincidence, & it's one more reason we were tied to each other from the very beginning :]
I also very thankful the support I get from him with my photography. He believed in me from the very beginning and knew that I would be able to focus better on building my business if I wasn't working full time. So he told me to quit working & to focus on my photography business. It seems like it's taking forever to build into a money maker, but it is one step closer to a job that I can do as a Mom & that's my most important job I could ever have. He works so hard to provide for us & I want him to know how thankful I am for that.

I would never change any part of my life, if it would have led me somewhere else. Because I want to be right here working toward the same eternal goals as my husband. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.
My feelings said perfectly in this song...

And I wouldn't change a thing, I'd walk right back through the rain,
Back to every broken heart on the day that it was breaking.
And I'd relive all the years,
and be thankful for the tears I've cried with every stumble, step that led to you,
and got me here.
-Rascal Flatts

I hope Tyler knows how much he truly means to me, and that even though there are some tuff times, that I live for him.. & that I love him forever.

...Finally!...

Some of you may already know, and if you do that's fine I'm posting it anyways.. because I'm way excited :]
After the long wait, my photography website is officially up and running! It seems like I can now actually call myself a photographer. ha :]
I hope that through this website, I can continue to build my business & continue to do what I love!
Check it out & let me know what you think... oh, & tell your friends! :]

http://www.rachaeltyler.com

We are officially an AUNT & UNCLE!!

Finally!! Right Megan?!

This morning we got to go see our first niece, Emerie Anne! She was born last night, January 2nd at 11:35pm. The first baby born this year at Lakeview Hospital! And because of that they were greatly blessed. Besides getting a beautiful healthy baby girl, they got hundreds of dollars in gift cards & many gifts from the hospital! It was unbelievable!

She is so beautiful & looks a lot like her Mommy & a little like her Daddy :]

Congrats Tim & Megan! We love you guys...