ENGAGED!!!

When I lived in Arizona I met a sister missionary in the visitor's center of the Mesa, Arizona temple. Her name was Krista Stewart and she referred me to take the missionary discussions. Long story short, about a month later I was baptized. Since that day, I have been dreaming about my dream guy and wondering when he was gonna enter my life. Never did I think it would happen as fast as it did.
When I moved to Montana I got the chance to be reunited with her and catch up on life since her mission. After spending some time together, she told me about this guy she thought would be an AMAZiNG match for me. On Saturday, we spent the night at the Maughan's house. They live in her ward and the following day I went to church with her and the Maughan family. Little did I know that they were serious about setting us up as well... although it didn't take much work for them, I'll still give them some credit.
I ended up being strategically placed next to Scott on the bench in the chapel- not by choice, but I definately was NOT complaining. I sat and read scriptures before church began and as I did, one of the speakers came and sat in front of me. He reached over and tapped my knee to get my attention and to start a conversation with me. I tried to end it as quickly as possible and get back to my reading. After the unwanted guest returned to his seat on the stand, I put my scriptures away and prepared myself for church to start. Scott left to go bless the sacrament and while he did my mind was going CRAZY. So, after he blessed the sacrament and returned to our row, the fun began. I know... I should have been paying attention, and I was, but he was distracting me a little too much. I was instantly attracted to him and couldn't help but be curious as to what was going through his mind about this obvious set up. SiDE NOTE: The Maughan family are his cousins and the night before they had been grilling me to see if we would be a good match. They had warned me about his pet peeve of being touched- due to his recent return from his mission last March. Because of that warning, I made extra sure that I sat a good 8-12 inches away from him so he wasn't uncomfortable. HAHA. Anyway, after the first speaker had finished and sat down I felt a nudge in my left side. I looked down and saw that Scott was passing me a note. I read the note and wrote back... he asked "Who was that guy?" (referring to the guy that had just spoken, which was the guy that had sat down in front of me before church began to strike up a conversation). I hesitantly wrote back "My exboyfriend. We haven't seen or spoken since we broke up." Scott replied something along the lines of 'oh, so that knee tap had to have been awkward'... the conversation continued for another few minutes and then stopped so we could listen to the second speaker.
I asked him if I could sit with him in Sunday School, because Krista was going to teach and I didn't know anyone else. He of course agreed and our conversation started once again a few minutes after Sunday School began. He started the conversation, again, on his little note pad this time asking me what perfume I was wearing... 'WOW' I thought to myself... I won't go into all the details, but in our conversation I gave subtle hints of an interest in a possible future of even just a friendship and it didn't stop there. We had a potluck after church- sat next to Scott. I went back to the Maughan's to spend Sunday with an LDS family, and obviously with the hopes of getting to know this Scott guy better. We played a few family games where Scott coached me- I ended up winning. Later on, we sat on the couch talking and I accidently hit his leg with my foot and then later on bumped his arm with mine, both times apologizing greatly. He asked why I was so sorry, and I went on to explain about how his family had warned me about his dislike of being touched. He started laughing and went on to tell me about how it was just being touched by his family that he didn't like... girls weren't a problem. Many know, I'm an affectionate and touchy person. Needless to say, after that conversation the day ended up with the result of us holding hands and cuddling on the couch watching the Work and the Glory. I know, no biggie, but when I had been warned the night before about NOT touching him, I thought for sure I would have to break him out of the recent Returned Missionary mode...
The next day he drove through town on his way to Idaho for a rodeo, and made a point to stop and visit me. We watched a movie at a friend's house and then he took me back home. He was supposed to leave to start his LONG drive to Idaho, but we couldn't help but to keep talking. A *few* hours later he finally left, after our long get to know you session. Oh, and P.S. our first kiss happened that night- can I say ''AMAZiNG''?!? (and for you Premiere/LiGHT girls, you know how much competition he had!). We talked constantly as often as we could and didn't let a minute go by without thinking of each other. A few days later he asked if I wanted to go to a rodeo with him in a town an hour away from where I live. I of course accepted and excitedly prepared myself for this experience to come. I had never watched someone I cared about ride in a rodeo, and I NEVER realized how dangerous it was until I saw him get bucked off that BULL... yeah, you read that right... a B-U-L-L! Anyway, there's so many more details to come, so I'll skip the little ones there. We went to Applebee's after the rodeo and then made a pitstop at a pull of on the way home. It was origionally to let Scott 'stretch his legs', but ended up in a SUPER romantic star-gazing date. We sat and watched the stars... wished on shooting stars and enjoyed the presence of the spirit. I have never had such a spiritual revelation in my LiFE! I ignored it at first, because I thought it was just butterflies... but when it hit me, Oh my, it hit me hard.
That night we said 'I love you' and it was so natural... the next morning I woke up and realized I KNEW I was gonna spend the rest of eternity with this WONDERFUL (that's an understatement) man. I proceeded to tell him that he was probably gonna think I was crazy, but I needed to tell him something. I went on to tell him that all I could think of was the words "When you know, you know." I waited anxiously for Scott's reply and it wasn't as crazy as I thought it was gonna be. He told me that the ONLY words he had in his head the night before were ''when you know, you know.'' We shared our wishes with each other that had been made on the shooting stars the night before, and how we love each other so much. Things just went from there... he moved to the college town 3 hours away last saturday to go to school, but we know that's what is best for now. We will both be making trips to see each other as often as possible.
Now for the part you have ALL been waiting for!

August 30th, 2009

After getting off work, Scott met me at my house. We had planned a casual picnic for the 45 min he was gonna have in town to visit me. So, I made chicken salad sandwhiches and packed some other snacks that morning before work. We went to a place up here called Giant Springs... we found a little place by the water to sit and have our picnic. We ate and talked, A LOT. That's what threw me off. Other than the fact that I knew the independent jeweler we went through for our rings was out of town... Scott wasn't acting nervous AT ALL. I was just convinced that he would be nervous when he was getting close to asking me, but HE WASN'T! So, about 10 minutes before I knew we had to leave, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his CHAPSTiCK! I thought for sure he was gonna ask me... haha nope. I knew that the jeweler was out of town for the ENTiRE week, so I didn't know why I was hoping he would have the ring. It would have been impossible, because to my knowledge, and their sneeky planning, they had led me to believe that Scott hadn't even called about the ring yet. Smart men, I'll give them credit. I tried so hard to figure out a time when Scott would have had the chance to meet with him... it just wasn't possible. So, he put his chapstick away and fiddled around in his pocket- pulled out his hand, still nothing. Then I felt guilty for wanting it and getting mad he hadn't asked me, so I left it alone. Literally three minutes later he said "ok, I don't know how I'm gonna do this without messing things up" I looked down and there it was in his HAND!!!!!! I just wrapped my arms around him and hugged him really close! He held me, and then said 'so, can I please have your hand?' I just laughed, felt like an idiot and slowly made my hand off his shoulder and into his view. He looked me in the eyes and asked "Autumn, will you marry me?" AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I QUiETLY said 'yeah...'
Then he slipped the ring on and kissed me! Its was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!




I would write more, but this migraine is killing me. I owed EVERYONE this story and didn't want to tell it eight thousand times... so there you all go...

Maybe I will edit it and make it better/more detailed. If you have questions, please ask!

The spirit of God, like a fire is burning...

I have never had such a burning bosom experience in my life, and am SO THANKFUL for everything that has happened in the past few days. I have gotten the opportunity recently to be reunited with an amazing person from my past, and her brilliance has opened doors for certain people to come into my life... again. Let me explain...

The first time miss Krista Stewart came into my life was at the Mesa, Arizona Temple. She was serving as a missionary in the visitor's center and was in charge of the presentation of a video entitled "The Testaments"... long story short, she referred me to the missionaries that taught me the discussions and then she went home 2 months after I had been baptized. Upon moving up here to Montana, I met a friend that re-united me with Krista.

Low and behold she was going to eventually set me up with a WONDERFUL guy. I don't know what it is about our connection, but she is OBViOUSLY supposed to be in my life. I have been praying about him and we feel that our relationship is perfect thus far and can't wait for what life is gonna throw our way. I have never felt so right about someone and can't wait to see where this goes. I love my life.... couldn't be happier!

I just want everyone that has been an example to me to know that I love them and hope they realize what they have done for me.... more examples to come.

5 things that make me realize how much I {LOVE} life.

{ONE} My puppy!

Even though Roxii isn’t technically a ‘puppy’ I still see every dog as a puppy regardless of how old it is. My little GiRL just turned 3 years old last month and she is seriously my pride and joy. For those of you that aren’t dog people, you probably can’t relate, but she is seriously my baby! She makes me so happy and does the CUTEST things to brighten my day. She wakes me up in the morning by gently pawing my arm and grrrring at me in her cute little playful way. I have loved every minute of the few months that I have had her…

Roxii

Posing with the big puppy statue at the dog park

{TWO} My FAMiLY!

The number of nieces and nephews I have seems to constantly be growing. I don’t have many recent pictures of them because they don’t tend to usually want their pictures taken.… I’ll try my best to get them all up here within the next few months.

Lillee (age 3) and Amelia (age 5)

Joel (age 10) and Talia (age 4)

Kyla (age 13 1/2 months)

Mason (sister-in-law’s nephew… still part of the family)

Well that’s 5 of my actual niece’s and nephews… only missing 2.

{THREE} Photography! [0’]

View from the cable car in Switzerland

Girls jumping for joy at the top of the mountain where the cable car ride stopped.

Random pictures I took at the last family reunion I went to.

The wonderful streets in Great Falls, Montana.

{FOUR} My Friends! Not only do I miss my friends from back home, but I love the few I have made here.

Kelsey Thomas with the puppies (left to right: Autumn the Puggle , Roxii the Yorkie and Gus the Pug) Kelsey Pettis, Monica, Patienz and I going on the YSA river float trip!

{FiVE} Last, but the most important is the Church of JESUS CHRiST of Latter-Day Saints.

Without the gospel in my life today, I would not be the person I am! It has changed my life for the better in so many ways and has given me a positive outlook on life when I needed it the most. Unfortunately it is sometimes something I take for granted, but it definitely is such a part of my life. I can’t wait to strengthen my testimony, share my passion with others about the thing I love the most and make the next steps in life to be closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ and My Father in Heaven.

Pictures I took- Salt Lake City, Utah Temple…

Around Temple Square

and the San Diego, California temple…

Hope you enjoyed!

BiRTHDAY!

My family is BiG on birthdays and it has always been tradition up here to go out to eat with the whole family for dad's birthday. Saturday, August 1st, my good ol' pops would have been 66 years old. I can't believe it's almost been 2 years since he passed away. SOOOO much has happened since then.
The family keeps growing, so it's getting a little more complicated to go out to eat all the time... Eventhough a few members of the family couldn't make it, we still went out to eat in remembrance of our dad (also grandpa, and father-in-law for others in the family). It's hard to go out to eat and talk about him without everyone getting teary-eyed and sad, so we just eat Mexican food (dad's favorite) and spend time with one another. All of my dad's 4 kids handle his passing differently so we all went out to the cemetery at different times. My sister and I saved it for later in the evening when we could leave the kids at home with their dad, and enjoy eachother's company. Breanna and I went out to see dad, shared a few memories and told a couple of jokes. My dad was ALWAYS telling stories- hmmm wonder where I got that from?- and so we found it fitting to share a few things with each other that we thought were funny/ interesting about dad. All-in-all, the over all experience was peaceful, and humbling.
My testimony of Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation was once again strengthened as I pondered the feelings I felt at his grave. I am so happy that I will be able to see my dad again where he will be pain free, happy and hopefully accepting of the things he has learned. I love him so much, miss him greatly and love the lessons I have learned from some of the good examples he set for me during the short time he was part of my life.
I couldn't help taking pictures while I was there. I find something interesting with grave sites and L.O.V.E. the ancient look of some of the head stones.

Sorry but the pictures weren't uploading with this post, so I added them in separate posts... AND some of them got cropped because they were too big, so feel free to click on them and hopefully you'll get the full effect!

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