Give Thanks

This time of year I am so thankful for the blessings in my life. I'm thankful for my family most of all! I am so greatful for my husband, for the wonderful man that he is, for his care and love, for his warm smile and sense of humor. He makes my life complete and fills each day with happiness. He is my best friend and my other half, my love and my strength. I love him so much and I am so very thankful for him in my life and the blessings of the Preisthood he brings into our home.
I am greatful for my Mom & Dad, for their support and love. I'm greatful for their steadfastness in raising me in the gosple, for their desire for me to be happy and on the right path. I'm greatful for all that they did, do, and will do for me... I owe alot to them and I will be forever greatful.
I'm greatful for my siblings. For Charlene and her wonderful example to me. For Samantha, she is one of my very dear friends. For Jacob, he has always been the best little brother, and for Bethany, she is so cute and makes me smile with her 12 yr old comments. Dad always used to say "Friends may come and go but siblings are FOREVER!" I have realized he was right, I love my brother and sisters.
I am greatful for Mark's parents... and for them allowing me to marry their son. Tony and Carilyn are truely wonderful people and I am so blessed to have them in my life.
I'm greatful for all my extended family, for my Grandmas and Grandpas (I love and miss you Grandpa Bullinger), for my Aunts and Uncles, for my Cousins, for my Brother in-laws and sister in-laws, and for my neice and nephew as well as the baby in Charlene's tummy!
I'm greatful for the home I have and the food on my table. I'm greatful for the Gosple in my life and for my Savior Jesus Christ I know I would be lost with out him. I'm greatful for the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father and my Savior, for their help in time of need.
I'm greatful for all those around me who bless my life with light and love. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone and remember this season what you are most thankful for. Count your many blessings.... name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God hath done!

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. -John 14:27

My Grandpa has been fighting a battle with Cancer for about a year now. He had chemo this summer and everything went really good. About two almost three months ago now he went back for blood tests and it didn't look good. They gave him 6 months to live and we were all so sad and devestated. We almost couldn't believe it! He fought for two months and then the good Lord took all the pain and suffering away from him. He died Sunday the 14th of November late in the evening. It been hard because he was one of my best friends and I was sooo close to him. He taught me alot of what i know today and i love him with all of my heart. He is not gone forever yet a temporary absence in our mortal physical life. We will meet again and when we do we will rejoice in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

A grandfather is a special person and there won't be a day that goes by that something somewhere in my life will remind me of him. Whether it be the picture on the wall or words of wisdom held close to my heart. I love you grandpa you were truely an amazing influence in my life and continue to be. God be with you till we meet again, And a glorious day it will be!

In Memory of Kenneth Ray Bullinger
Brother, Husband, Father, and Grandfather
July 2, 1943 to November 14, 2010

HALLOWEEN!

For Halloween this year Mark and I had a array of activities. First we carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening with Dean and Leah, then we got invited to a couples Halloween party at Derek and Jessica Richens home. It was alot of fun! We went as Adam & Eve this Halloween and got alot of compliments and laughs :) We went to another party at Frank and Michelle Micheali's house with a bunch of other couples and played games and ate yummy food! Mark and I pretty much dominated the relay game and most of the newly wed game. We had a fun spooky Hollow's Eve!


Leah and Dean Lorimer

Days of Fall

It's been a little while since my last post... we haven't had alot of down time in the last month. Mark and I are still trugging along in school.... we are slowly losing motivation to study in the colorful fall season.. all we want to do is play outside! And that is just about what our last three weekends entailed. It's that time... HUNTING SEASON! Mark has been full of excitment since the first week of October, we spent that first weekend up in Lyman walking the Unita Mountains all day saturday searching for the big buck! This was my very first hunting experience. Tyson shot his deer early in the morning a not too shabby spike so that took alot of time to clean out and carry out leaving little good hunting time for Mark. I saw my first deer gutting and it was just a joyful sight and i only gagged a few time :) We spent the rest of the afternoon looking for Mark's buck and to no avail left the mountain empty handed. Tyson was pretty excited about his dear so we were happy for him. Tony and Carilyn were not there this weekend because our niece Molly was born (they think 6 weeks early) weing three lbs. ten oz's.! she is sooooo tiny! She has spent time in the ne-qu since then becuase she was born so small and had to have iv's and a feeding tube. The next weekend we went back to Lyman so mark could get his buck but he was being kinda picky and didn't see what he wanted so he did not get a deer this year. And this last weekend was opening of Elk... so once again we traveled over Elk mountain and over to Lyman. The boys headed out early in the morning to Louse creek and sat in clearings searching for their elk. About eight o'clock Mark heard some branches break up in the nearby trees and it brought to his attenting the first elk they had seen all morning it was a nice size cow. It took off running with bullet speed so Mark thinking it'd be the only one he'd see took a shot and took it down, shooting it through the spine. He was pretty excited. I guess with elk the big horns don't matter... this will make some pretty good meat. So i skinned my first (animal) elk ever!!! It was actually pretty fun haha and they all told me i was a pretty fast skinner. Mark and i have been looking at buying a car and his old highschool football coach owns a car place so we decided to go test drive one but it wasn't really what we wanted. Hopefully we will find one soon before winter sets in so we can have two cars which would really help with our different schedules. I'm still cleaning house for Stacey Pearson and i babysit her two daughters once in a while and Mark is still washing dishes at the animal science labs. Winter seems to be just around the corner it is getting more and more chilly! We are so greatful for the beautiful weather we have had and for actually getting a fall, its a gorgeous season.
All our love,
The Gillies Family

Back to the Ol' Grind

Oh Boy Oh Boy! It has been a busy month! So busy i couldn't even find time to relax and write on the blog. Where to begin?
Well the 17th of August Mark and I loaded up the truck to the top! And we headed to Laramie. Biggest step in our lives since we got married... out of the parent's nest and into our own cozy little apartment. And that's just what it is... its cozy and little imagine that :D It took a few days to get everything stituated or should i say a few weeks because our guest bedroom is still a moving mess! We have been busy!
The friday after we moved in Tony & Carilyn brought another load of our stuff down ha i didn't think we had that much stuff till we had to move it. They stuck around for lunch but had to get back for a wedding reception. Mark and I also bought our bikes! They are specialized so a little bit more pricey but unlike a wal-mart bike they last pretty much a life time plus+ they threw in two free tune ups :)
Saturday we went garage saling and scored two bed-side tables and an entertainment center all for $45. Later that day we found a tv for $5 whoot whoot and it works pretty decently hehe. Mark couldn't resist dragging home a $10 bbq grill goll but it will come in handy for our many bbq's!
Mark went to the football scrimage to root on our dear friend Wil Isom # 19! And sam and i snuch off to ace to buy some stain for our entertainment center which really surprised mark when he got home. It was kinda ruffed up so we did the honor of making it shine.
Sunday Mark went to church but i had to go to an all day Gear-up kick off which is mandatory as a mentor... which i just became this year ... its the extra money that caught my attention ;)
And here ended our last week of freedom.
The next morning 8:00 am i started class .... math too blah... mark started at 11. We have some pretty intense schedules mark's almost gives him no time to have a desire to study or work and mine is just a load compared to those in the past. I'm taking Problem Solving, Sociology, Public Speaking, Intro to Theater, and Social Pricipals. Mark is taking Sign Language, Phonetics, Child Development, Anatomy, and a health/pe class where he gets to learn to rock climb!
The first week of class was pretty busy and on top of that i started my job cleaning house for a lady here in Laramie. I have to be taught how to clean in how she likes so its pretty stressing i just want to do a good job. But for the few hours a week i work i get paid a good hourly wage.
I also applied to be a research assistant for my psychology professor which would help make my resume' and my grad school application sparkle a little bit more so hopefully i get that. Mark will start his job today out at the animal science building washing lab dishes. Its been a pretty crazy month with lots going on.... my tail bone is just about getting to the point where it doesn't get sore anymore which is a good thing having to ride my bike to class and all. And we are loving it here in Laramie! No matter how hectic school will continue to get .... We will just love begining our lives together in Laramie.
It is begining to get chilly here which means winter/ or fall whatever wyoming has in mind for us is on the way OH! boy we can't wait! Mark is very much anticipating football season starting at the University of Wyoming.. he keeps telling me one week... 5 days... three days! lol he's such a nerd... he says his favorite thing about where we live is that it is right across the street from the football stadium. The first game is this saturday against SUU. Mark signed up to be in the stampeed (club) where if you go to sporting events you scan your barcode and each event is worth a certain amount of points .. so many points = so many dollars at the Brown & Gold outlet... which excites mark even more because its a block from our house lol.
Well that is pretty much it for now... i hope to post more regularly ... it all depends on how busy school, my job, and what ever else i'm doing keeps me.

Sara Evens Concert .... Sore Bottom :(

Samantha came up this last weekend for the Sara Evens concert on saturday. Saturday morning Mark, Me, and Samantha went out squeekie hunting and the only trace of a squeek we saw i spotted ;) So we shot bottles instead. We headed over to Evanston for the concert, Danny Gokey opened for Sara - he was a finalist on American Idol and he did a pretty good job. Toward the end of his concert it started to lightning - huge lightning and pour so the concert was delayed half hour which we spent in the rockin mini van ;) Finally the concert began and it was great. We all went out by the stage and were singing loud and dancing proud. It was a good time.






Yesterday was like any monday i woke up to go to work... tired as the last... and i was having such a good ol' time then out of no where i fall! Flat on my back onto cement stairs- luckily or not so luckily my tail bone broke most of the fall, i scrapped my arm up, hit my head and went home all before nine. It hurts to wal...k-stand-sit-do anything and i'm gonna be sore for a long while :( Mondays are the greatest. Last night Kylie, Abby, and Rylie came and surprised me with hand-picked flowers, candy, and tylonal pm. It was such a wonderful surprise i wasn't even expecting it :) They are way too sweet! Abby is a doll she said "Do you know how much i love you?" after asking why she held her arms out as wide as possible and said "THIS MUCH! Thats why i brought you flowers, i hope them flowers make you feel better" Such a wonderful thing - little kids at their sweetest best!
I'm still pretty sore and in some pain but its much much better than yesterday!

Softball playing... Mountain exploring... throw in a little sheep action and its been a busy summer :)

OH BOY!!!! Has the summer flown by too quickly? or is it just me? Mark & I have had a pretty fun filled summer and it has passed way too quickly for our liking. In a few weeks we'll be moving out of the honeymoon suite (the basement bedroom in Tony & Carilyn's home)and into our own cozy apartment in laramie. We've enjoyed being here for the summer but we are ready to leave the nest, spread our wings, oh ya not to mention school Blah ;)
For the past couple of weeks we have been pretty busy working, playing, exploring, and taking time to sit back and relax. The twenty fourth celebration in Lyman is a pretty deal ;) We took in all the fun in the sun we could handle, starting out the morning with a spectacular parade, enjoying a BBQ at the park, and participating in five softball games (four which were back 2 back). Friday night we played a game and we lost but we stil went on to saturday's tournament. We played one game after lunch which we won and move on to a second right after loosing but just a few points, then we won another and lost one more. All in all we were good sports, took 3rd, and came home with some pretty mean sunburns. That night we enjoyed the buckin, chasin, wranglin excitment of the Lyman rodeo. It was more of a redneck rodeo with goat chasin, cow sortin, bunny catchin, and chickin tacklin.. it was a load of fun to watch. The last even is Bronc Ridin which is a good ol' time- only one of the horses died after he snapped his neck on the fence- sad day :( Gotta love a small town celebration.. not to mention the cotton candy ;)
We taught the three year olds in primary this last week and oh boy was that some real cheap birth control. It was fun but i was totally worn out by the time sacrament meeting came :) After church we took Abby (this adorable little red head- Kylie's neice) to see tyson's sheep down at the Blumel's. She enjoyed that thoroughly enough, she even got to see a big buffalo (at the buffalo farm) getting a piggy back ride from a momma buffalo -we'll leave this one to the parents ;)



Monday evening Chad and Neshia Blumel and Mark and I headed up to the Unita Mts for FHE. We cooked hamburgers and made some dutch oven peach cobbler YUMM! Then we carved our initials in the aspen trees. After a beautiful walk and way too many cherries we headed back to lyman.

I've spent the last two fridays on my day off baby sitting the Lamberti kids that are in our ward. Lilly is very helpful and Brighten is just a handful... once again cheap birth control.

Little Tazmanian Devil Brighten :)
Melissa sent us pictures of our little neice to be! The Dr. told her that the baby is alright it is just really super tiny so that is just the greatest news we've heard lately! The Dr. keeps telling her each visit that another thing is wrong and its so sad. We know Heavenly Father is watching over our little neice we can't wait till November (or whenever it is the time keeps changing each time i check ) :)
Here are some untrasound pictures







Its been a crazy short summer, Yesterday was the two month mark of our marriage. Its so crazy cuz it doesn't even seem like we've been married more than a few weeks. We enjoy married life and look forward to many more months & years ahead.

Birthday & Softball

For my birthday last weekend we all went down to Utah. Samantha came up from laramie and came and spent the weekend with the Gillies family. We went to Park City outlet malls and shopped for school clothes for a few hours. Then we headed to provo to chech into our hotel. We spent the rest of the day at Seven Peaks water park SOOO MUCH FUN! We went on alot of the slides.. some were very scary at first like the boomarang- a half pipe thriller and others were just a slight adrenaline rush. Lots of screams, whoo-hoos, and yelps. I even think i lost my breath and almost hyperventilated on the boomarang because i was screaming so bad.... all in all it wasn't as bad as i thought and Mark sure got a kick out of it (as well as everyon else at the park :) i always had a good set of lungs. We all got to catch some rays, ride the waves, and spend a very enjoyable day together.
Sunday we went to Orem to church because Mark's mission president (President Brady) and his wife had jsut returned from the Carlsbad California mission. We went and saw a few of his companions and alot of the missionaries whom he had served around. It was fun to see the people Mark spent two years with serving the Lord.
Last night Mark and I played in a co-ed soft ball game in Mt. View which was alot of fun. We won! by a long shot.. and i even scored! Whoo hoo! I havn't really played that much softball except out intermural team last spring so i had some good coaches during the game. We will be playing on that team every tuesday and thursday for the rest of the summer :) <3

More Wedding Pictures