Christmas!

It was a good year for Christmas.

I know I can go on and on talking about what I got and what I gave to people.

But that's dumb.

I loved going to church on Christmas.

I know people think it's kind of a bummer because they would rather stay at home opening presents.

But I loved church because the spirit and the music reminded me of what Christmas is really all about.

I loved sitting with my cousins and my grandma Pinnock.

The closing hymn was "Silent Night"

This song is very scared to the Pinnock family.

Reason is because my dad and all of his siblings sang this song around my grandpa Hugh's bed the night he passed away.

When they all sang the last 2 sentences, "Sleep in Heavenly peace....Sleep in Heavenly peace."...

My grandpa left this Earth and returned home to his Heavenly Father.

My grandma and I just cried throughout that hymn.

It was a special moment.

I loved having Aubrey stop by.

We exchanged gifts.

We hugged.

We laughed.

We caught up.

She gave me a jar that had "Feel the fear and do it anyway" and "I light the candles in my room."

This is a quote and some lyrics of Sophie.

She also got me a uke. 

Now my cousins and I can jam.

I loved it!

I loved having my cousins over for dinner.

Sarah P. and I watched "Switched at Birth" for hours!

Obsessed!

Ended the night throwing up.

Yuck.

Trent said that if there was anything I needed, that I should let him know.

Well 1:00 AM came around and I was back at the toilet.

I didn't want to call him...but I did.

He stayed up for an hour just talking to me.

Aub even offered to come over to sit with me.

I guess you could say that I have the greatest friends....ya...I do.

The 4 best friends....that any one could have...

You know who I love with all my heart??

 These girls:

Lexi: the quirky and soft spoken one...she is her own person!!

Els: the artsy and laughable one...she is amazing!!

Kristen: the hilarious and smily one...she is lovable... and she uses big words!

We had a night filled with Cafe Rio, the Christmas house, "Name that tune" (Nate joined for dinner and the house), photobooth fun, playing with the dog, watching previews for new movies, talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company.

Oh how we have all waited for this day to come! For all of us to reunite as one! Lex has been on study abroad to London, Els goes to BYU-I and Kristen goes to Gonzaga. So it is pretty rare for all 4 of us to be together. We all met through working at Zupas. Who would have thought that working at a restaurant would give you 3 beautiful friends?? I sure didn't!

What a blessing it is to have such amazing girls in my life! I love all 3 of them and I always will! What better way to spend a night of your Christmas break with 3 girls who are a big part of my life. Love you all!!

And they are the four best friends that anyone could have....plus Nate sometimes...

My amazing dear friend...

I have one amazing dear friend.
I bet he's better than yours.
Ya...I KNOW he's better than yours.
My dear friend took me to Tucanos for dinner.
We ate, laughed, ate, sat in silence, and ate some more.
My dear friend gave me a necklace that has my birth stone on it.
It's beautiful.
It's perfect.
It's me.
My dear friend made me a blanket for Christmas.
He knows how I'm ALWAYS cold.
It's big.
It's blue. (My FAVORITE color)
It's warm.
It has polka dots on it.
It's me.
My dear friend knows me.
He knows my birth stone.
He knows what make me happy.
My dear friend wipes my tears.
He makes me laugh.
He makes me cry....then make me smile within 7 seconds.
No one can do that.
My dear friend knows my insecurities.
He makes it so I don't have any.
My dear friend knows my fears.
He makes me brave so I can face those fears.

Yes.
I have an amazing dear friend.
I bet he's better than yours.
Ya...I KNOW he's better than yours.

Thank you Trenton James English...for being my not only dear... but best friend!

A day with a grandfather and an angel...

Sunday was great!
It was good to be back at the home ward!
Came home and took a nice..long..nap...
With Oscar of course!
Woke up and headed to Grandpa Albert's.
He lives in a retirement center.
We finished watching one of his favorite cowboy shows and off to dinner!
He had a nice hardy steak dinner.
I sat with him and held his hand.
He has Alzheimer's and so he wasn't 100% sure of who I was or what I was even doing there.
But I hope he felt the love I have for him.
I reminded him of his daughter, Tammy...he remembered her.
He has to! She spends every day with him and shows more love to him that anyone I know.
He would often ask me when I was going to take him home.
This was a difficult question to answer.
"You are home grandpa..."...even though to me....a retirement center and far away from a home.
We went back to his room and finished a movie we had started a few months ago.
My Fair Lady.
Grandpa seemed to understand what was going on when Professor Higgins was trying to teach Eliza Dolittle how to speak properly.
I sat there with him, hand in hand for 2 hours.
It was almost like his dear sweet wife, Rosemary (whom I have yet to meet) was sitting on his other side...holding his other hand.
I guess you could say that I enjoyed a movie with my grandfather and an angel.
He started to doze off towards the end.
We finished the movie and paged one of the sweet nurses.
He asked if my folks were aware of him going to bed.
I said yes.
He asked if HIS folks were aware of him going to bed.
Of course they are grandpa.
Before the nurse could get his PJ's on, he walked me to his door and made sure that I had a way home and that I would be safe driving.
I hugged him and gave him a kiss goodbye.
"I love you Grandpa!", I said.
"And I love you too sweetheart." He replied.
For a second there...I knew that he remembered me and knew that I was his granddaughter and that I loved him dearly.
It was hard for me to leave.
I wanted to watch another movie and hold his hand throughout the night.
I came home.
Sat in my car for a good 5 minutes and had myself a little cry....k maybe it was a big cry.
It had been a while since I had literally cried to a point where I couldn't breathe.
I went inside to my mom.
We sat on the couch and she held me while I cried and cried.
It's hard to see someone who you love so much go through that.
Not knowing where he was.
Not knowing who the strange lady was helping him into bed.
Not remembering if he had already ordered dinner yet.
When I was little, I never took the time to actually sit down and have a good conversation with my grandfather.
Now that I'm 19 and aware of his poor health, I'm taking every chance I can to sit with him.
Even if our conversations consist of "I love you's" or "Do you remember me grandpa?...then a shake of his head." I am more than okay with that.
I want him there for my wedding.
I want him there for the birth of my first child.
Only God knows if that will happen.
I love my grandpa so much.
I will never forget those 4 hours I spent with him on December 18, 2011.

Later that night, Jamo and Els came over.
It was fun catching up with good friends I hadn't seen in a while.
I can't wait for more fun Christmas break memories with Els.

Busy Saturday!

Started off the day with a bridal shower for my sister Bethany!
The women there were my mom's best friends growing up and friends through BYU and study abroad.
It was fun to see many familiar faces and being in the Johnson's home....my second home growing up.
Received a phone call from little brother Stephen:
"Annie! I'm late for Clayton concert rehearsal!"
I was off to the rescue!
We hurried over to Juan Diego in Draper. He was only 6 minutes late.
Phew!
While pulling out of Juan Diego, I thought to myself,
"The Paulsen family lives just up the street! Let's pay a visit!"
With a phone call asking to visit, I was off and up to their street!
I was welcoming by 3 little girls, Olivia, Ana and precious Kambria.
The 3 little sister the God forgot to give me.
I visited with them for just a little bit.
While talking to James, Kambria kept climbing up my body...wanting to be thrown in the air and cuddled.
It's so easy to love this little girl when all she gives to you is LOVE.
Our friend London was there too.
So me, London and James were able to catch up together.
We talking about school.
Roommates.
Boyfriends.
Girlfriends.
It was just a good time to catch up with old friends and a family I love and adore!
Back to Salt Lake I went!
Walked into my room...
KABOOM!
WWIII! I still hadn't put away an clothes. A bomb had hit my room!
So I cleaned while listening to Christmas music!
I receive a phone call from brother Stephen,
"Hey Annie....ummm...I'm hungry. Can you bring me lunch?"
For some reason...I was so willing to do it that I didn't even say YES.
I answered with "Okay just text me what you want from Wendy's and I'll be there as soon as I can!"
I guess the reason I was so willing was because I have been in his position.
Long Clayton concert rehearsals can be really fun...but at the same time....exhausting and well...LONG!
I went over to pick up Trent so he could join me and finish putting in my stereo.
Oscar came along too!
Picked up Wendy's and went in to take it to Stephen.
While Trent worked in the stereo, I watched Stephen's group run through their show one more time.
He did such a good job!
Back home we went!
I got ready for a night with the English family!
While taking some time to decide a good place to eat that will be easy to monitor little Jake and Portie, Trent showed me some new songs he was working on.
With the final decision of Red Robin...we were off!
Portie serenaded us with Taylor Swift songs and the first line of "Hey Soul Sister"
This 4 year old makes me laugh more than any little kid I know!
After 30 minutes of waiting for a table...we were finally ready to order!
Banzai Burger it was for me!
Hold the bun...give me a lettuce wrap.
Although it was rough eating it...I was able to manage and it was delicious!
We headed over to Liberty Park for a nativity show.
Several stages were set up along the park where volunteers endured the cold while putting on the story of Christ's birth for us.
It was cold...but amazing.
I loved spending time with the English family and seeing a fun show.
I love this family!
Thank you Carl, Becky, Jess, Tom, Portie, Jack, Justin and Trent!

Surprises...

I love working on surprises...
Not gonna lie.
Yes. I do love it when people surprise me.
Yes. I LOVE surprising people!
I love receiving packages that are for other people.
I love hand making someone's present!
Stayed up until 4:30 AM making my roomie's present...stay tuned!
Ah!
Tis the season!

Friday night lights!

Friday was a good day for me!
Went to Pei Wei for some good asian lunch!
Went bead shopping for bridesmaid jewelry with my mom and Beth.
Now I am known as an anti-shopper....yes...it's true.
I am now known as an anti-bead shopper.
I mean....it was fun for the first 20 minutes or so...then I just had to find a chair and sit while mom and Beth finished up.
Came home and we dove right into those beads! We made our necklaces and let me tell ya....they are beautiful!
Trent came over to fix Stephen's guitar. He was so great to do that!
We were both hungry so we went to Pan Wok for dinner.
Had some good story time and laughs.
Why not continue a fun night by going to see the Christmas house in Murray??
The line was hours long...we we parked the car and walked.
It was cold yes.
It was a long walk yes.
It was worth it yes.
We stood there for a few minutes while watching this amazing man put on a Christmas light show! His house was decked out with all of these lights that were synchronized with FM 99.9 radio station. It was incredible.
It got cold.
So we went back to the car and tuned into 99.9 and watched for a little bit more.
We went back to my house and watched the classic Richie Rich.
One of my favorite childhood movies.
Thank you Trent for an amazing night!