Living Our Happily Ever After

I Wonder if Anyone Will Even Know This Post Is Here ...

2010-11-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

So ... I was thinking tonight I should update my blog ... haha well I guess I am actually following through with thatthought after 2 years ... has it really been two years???? You know ... I am really blessed! I have a husband that loves me more than I deserve and a little boy that melts my heart every day. I have thought a lot about who I am and if I am coming closer to the person I want to be. We all have those moments right ... and I really getting any better? Am I trying harder to be morelike the Savior and am I allowing the Savior to change me? I would like to think the answer is yes ... at least I hope it is ... I had dinner with a friend tonight ... a friend that has been there for me more times than I could count for many years now, as I left I realized that the Lord has placed such wonderful people in our lives that help us become better, even when we don't even know it! I am so grateful for those tiny molders in my life, encouraging me to change and become better! I am grateful for a husband that is patient enough to allow me to change and a little boy who loves me no matter who I am! I guess I am just Grateful ... :)

For this smile ..

And these yummy cheeks ...

And these arms to come home to ...

And this Wonderful, Beautiful, Special and Perfect Happily Ever After ...

It's About Time ...

2009-01-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have been such a lame blogger! What can I say ... Life is crazy and blogging is stressful! I'll try to put on all the pictures I've missed but for now I should tell some exciting news to the blogging world .... if you even look at my lame blog anymore!

I'M HAVING A BABY!
Nate and I are so excited to be parents! I am due August 8th. I've been to two doctors appointments already, had an ultrasound and got to listen to the babies heart beat! I was so excited! Nate and I can't wait! We feel so incredibly blessed in our lives. So here's to a family of three and a mommy to be! :)

Here we GO one more time ....

2008-09-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

So here we go again! I feel like my post are HUGE because I don't keep up! And this isn't everything!

So this is my FAVORITE group again! Our proffesor took us to CPK for lunch! It was so nice of her! As you can see we had so much fun!

This was are last day at the Magellan Clinic. This is an out patient mental illness facility! It was really neat because we were able to do home visits and assess our patients in their own environment. I did enjoy it and it felt really good to help patients out in a better way for them, however, I DO NOT want to be a psych nurse!

This was such a neat experience. As a group we cam together and did a service project for the child crisis center. As some of you know, my family has done a lot of work for the child crisis center as far as collecting items for need through different drives. The neat thing with this project is that we were able to go inside and work with the kids. It really put into perspective how many individuals are in need right now and how many services we can give. I felt so overwhelmingly blessed as I helped theses kids who had such a rough life. To say the least is was an AMAZING experience.

This is Nate and I attempting to take a good picture on my phone for the background! This one did NOT make the cut! haha

We went bowling with Lacy and Steffan! We had so much fun! Steffan tried to tell us it had been years since he had bowled and that he wasn't any good .... pahahaha LIAR! We know you were practicing all day long! He almost scored 200!

So I'm not sure if I've written that Nate got a new job .... but HE DID! I was so excited for him! He is a Medical Equiptment sells rep. It has been so fun ot see him so excited about work! Cleaning carpets was way over due! So this picture was him leaving for his training in Salt Lake. I was so sad to see him leave. Believe it or not .... in a year and a half we had never left eachother over night ..... I totally cried like a little girl, lame I know!

On the 4th of July we went shooting in the desert! It was really fun! It was the first time Nate and I had gone outdoor shooting. We had gone to place where you can shoot, but not inside. Here's all of us having way too much fun!

Nate didn't want me to pic this picture on! I think it is so funny! He looks like a dork! He doesn't really shot like this! He is just always our entertainment no matter where we go! If only I could be funny like him!

We had to do an orientation for the VA before we could do anything. So here we are bored and having way to much fun to pass the timw! Man I loved this group!

We had breakfast at my proffesor Janice's house! We had a lot of fun as usual!

Going Back in Time

2008-07-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Okay ... Hold on to your breath! Here we go from most present to the least! This is all the way from May ... So it may take a little while .... but hey, at least I am updating!

So this picture below is my practicing for school. I put an IV into a banana! For those of you who have ever experienced nursing school ... You know how I feel! Now I have don 5 IV's in patients! Can you believe it! I'm well on my way! This is my all time favorite group! We have a blast together!

This was in the Cath Lab! It was so neat to see a pacemaker put in! Technology ceases to amaze me!

Good Ole' Brian! His wife just had their first Little Girl! Congrats Brian and Welcome little Hannah!

This is my all time favorite proffesor! I LOVE Janice! She is the kindest person I know and the best Nurse ever! She is so good at what she does!

For my Dad's Birthday we went to a D-backs Game and after is was over Trace Adkins had a concert! He plays one of my all time favorite songs so I loved it!

While I was on break Hunter and Kenli cam to ride horses with me at my house! It was so much fun! Hunter loved it ... but was ready to go inside and watch a movie! You gotta love it when it takes 20 minutes to saddle a horse and then 10 minutes to ride and 10 minutes to unsaddle!

Nate and I went on the best little vacation during my break. We went back to Nate's HOMETOWN! It was really neat to see what his roots were like! I loved it! It was a really neat experience for me and a great one for Nate.

While Nate was on his mission, his Dad passed away from a heart attack. It was a really hard time, as you can imagine, and I have really missed knowing my Father-in-Law. Well this was a really neat trip to be able to go to his grave site, and a hard one at the same time! Below is a picture of a memorial made in Honor of Nate's Dad Ken Peterson. He was Kern County Supervisor for 10 years and loved Rose bushes. So they placed 10 Rose bushes around the plaque below! He was an Amazing Man and I am so grateful for the mazing son he raised! I am blessed to know small glimpses of his life

While we were in California .... Nate and I stayed with Kenny and Emily! They were so kind to let us come and take up their time before moving! We went to Six Flags and had a BLAST! As I am sure you can tell by the pictures!

Nate and I took Dallin and Landon to a D-Backs game ... courtesy of my Aunt! We were on the 4th row! The seats were amazing! Not to mention the serious collision on first base with Co-Jack on his birthday! It was Crazy!

I can't believe I missed my lovers birthday! I can't believe I didn't find the time to make a post! CAN I TELL YOU I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH MY HUSBAND! He is the most amazing man I have ever know! I wake up every morning feeling so blessed to be waking up next to him! He makes me want to be so much better in every aspect of my life! He also is the kindest and funnest person I have ever met. Anyone that know him ... LOVES HIM! He is always the life of the party! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

So my cute little niece Kenli had here first birthday in April and it was GREAT. I have never seen a one year old eat so much cake! She would just grab on to the sides and stick her face in and EAT! If Meili hadn't of taken it away, I think she would have eaten the whole thing! I love it! She is the cutest thing ever!

Twilight Movie

2008-04-30T10:04:00.001-07:00

I stole this link from Jenna! I am so excited for this movie I can't even tell you!

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=226476

Life as a Nursing Student

2008-04-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

So we have a lot of fun doing a bunch of different things! Here we are all in our masks! We look pretty good huh! Can you guess which one is me? Good luck!

We had to do a preschool teaching plan, ours was on water safety.

This was at our Long Term Care clinic. It was a good experience but also a hard one. I was glad for what I learned, but also glad that I was done!

Giving meds.

And yes, I now can officially do NG tubes .... kind of scary huh!

Here is my group of ten in the lab were we spend most of our time. Each semester we are put in groups of ten that are in clinical sites and lad groups together. I really will miss this group I've had for this last semester. We have had a ton of fun times together. I will especially miss my Professor! She is an amazing teacher and nurse. I will always look up to her example.

YAY for SPRING BREAK!!!!!

2008-03-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

So this last week was spring break. I had so much fun! It consisted of Sleepovers with nieces and nephews, ridding horses, sleeping in ... alot, Easter crafts with the family, shopping ... of course, having fun with my handsome husband, bowling, Wii, A girls day with Colby and Lacy, and everything else you could imagine. It was really so much fun! I needed that break! However it was really hard to go back to the nightmare I call SCHOOL! Yuck. But I loved it! I don't have time right now, but pictures will come later!

Addicted

2008-03-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

So I Have a HUGE problem! I am addicted to Gelato Freeze! I can't stop going there! This last weekend Nate and I went there with some friends and I saw half of my parents ward there! It was so much fun! I just hope they don't start to figure out how often I go there! It really is bad! I need some self control!

This is my friend Angela! She is just the cutest thing ever! I can't wait for her to move here permanently!And of course, here is me and my HANDSOME husband! He thinks my addiction is okay. Ask me if he's saying that when I weight 200 POUNDS!

YAY FOR ME ...

2008-02-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

So I finally changed my background! Isn't it cute! Now you don't have to look at the same ole' same ole' thang! So now looking at my post will now only update you on the life of Cherish and Nate, but it will also brighten you day! How could you not look at all those colors and be happy? It made me happy just putting it on!

Our 1 Year Anniversary.

2008-02-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday was our 1 Year Anniversary! Ca you believe it! We have been married for a whole year! It has been such a great year! Nate and I have had so many great memories this year and have loved ever minute of it! Nate made me a video of our year in review! It is amazing! If I knew how to put video's on this I would put it on! He really did such a great job! It was neat to look back at all the things that have happened in the last year!

I love Nate so much and I am so excited to see what this next year has in store for us!

And thanks Vonda for the picture! It's a good thing we ran into you because if we hadn't we wouldn't have a picture of our first anniversary! We owe ya!

Family Pictures

2008-02-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

On February 2nd we had our family pictures!
It's Piggy Back time.

So much for a pyramid.
ALL OF US!

We were all streaning to keep this pose!

The Handsome Boys ....

Dang Cute Girls ...

Me and my Sweetheart!

Kiss Me!

Snow Trip

2008-02-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

Nate and I went on a quick trip right before school started! If I knew how to put on video's I would because we have the funniest clips of us sledding!
We really did have so much fun! It was a nice break.Our cabin was so nice. You can see the frozen lake behind us.

BUURRR ... Doesn't it just look cold!

Hip Hip HORRAY!!!!!!

2008-01-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

YAY! I want to just brag about my dear sweet Husband right now! I just can't even begin to tell you how in love I am with him! I thought I loved him so much when we got married ... but my love for him as grown so much! He is amazing! As I started school this semester, he knew how worried and stressed I was and he has been so kind and supportive! He even has been doing all the laundrey and cleaning for the last week! Then when I got this computer he took his whole day off to set it up for me so that I would be good to go for school! Every day he takes an opportunity to serve me and I don't think he knows how much it means to me! I truely do love him so much and am so grateful for him!

I also am so proud of him! He graduated in December after a LONG four years of college! He worked so hard and I am so proud! This is a cake my amazing sister in law made for him! Isn't it great! i just love it!

Not too many people look hot in their graduation gown ... but BABY YOU LOOK HOT!!!!

Couldn't have been happier!

The big moment! It took Nate like 2 weeks to actually believe that he graduated!

Nate with his mom who helped him so much through school! And everything else! She is amazing and we love her so much!

Nate with my mom! She did a TON for the graduation. If I said ... oh I need to do this or go pick this up ... she'd do it before I had a chance! Not to mention the great food she made! We are so thankful for all the help!
I just think this picture is SO cute!
Our WHOLE FAMILY came for the graduation! None of you know how much that meant to us! Our family is so supportive in every way! They have no idea the gratitude Nate and I have for each of you! We hope and pray that you feel feel of our love and gratitude! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THERE FOR EVERY PART OF OUR LIVES! It means everything to us to have you there!
I think the ASU wrapping paper is dang cute!

Finally!!!!! It's Christmas...

2008-01-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

So I know it has been FOREVER since I have put any new posts .... This is the problem. Nate and I moved a couple of weeks ago and we don't have the internet! So I'm sure you see the problem ... all our pic's were on the desktop that doesn't have internet! Well for school I got a new laptop and my dear sweet husband put the pic's on! So I am at my moms house picking up her signal and catching up on life!

Here is our cute first Christmas tree! It was so fun to decorate our our! My grandparents gave us a 9 footer, but it was too big! So we figured this would work!

This is Christmas day! We felt so blessed to get things from our families! It was such a great Christmas! Nate's Mom got us a wheat grinder! We love it!

My parents got all the boys and Kayla a remote control Transformers helicopter! That is now Nate's favorite toy! He loves to fly it while I am on the phone. This is because I will be talking and then all the sudden I feel a helicopter run into the back of my head! He still laughs every time!

Us in our matching attire! Don't we look just fabulous! GO DEVILS!!!!!

This is Hunter going for a horsey ride on Landon!

Christmas Day spent on the tramp! We all had a fun time laughing and jumping! Yay!

Karisa and Tiana holding Kenli girl!
Do they look intense or what!
Talk about jammin' out! Who do you think played better?

Thanksgiving!

2007-12-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year! We were able to spend a lot of time with our families which always makes for a great day! There was tons of good food and lots of laughter! I am so grateful for my sweet husband who puts up with me day after day! I love him with my whole heart might mind and strength! I am also so thankful for my family! They mean the world to me! I don't know what I would do without them! I also married into the best family ever! Just look at em! How could you not love them!

This is me with my Sweetheart! I can't ever get over how handsome he is ... can you? I can't even begin to describe how much my love for him has grown! He completes me! What a great example he is to me every day! I hope that one day I'll be able to catch up to him!

are they not so cute of what! I think the bow looks good on Landon!

Family Fun!

2007-11-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

My Dad and Mom took all the adults in the family (and Kayla :)*) to the Rockettes! It was so much fun! I was a great way to start off the Christmas season! We are so grateful my parents took us all! We always do something together each Christmas and we look forward to it each and every year!

Here's all of us! We were all laughing so hard trying to find a place to take the picture!

Thanks Min ...

2007-11-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

1. Where did you meet your husband?

None other than the singles ward! He came up to Strider and I and introduced himself! I made sure to tell him that I was Striders sister! When I got home from Church my mom asked if there were any dang good looking boys and of course Nate was the only one!

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?

Hi I'm Cherish ... Strider's sister!

3. Where was your first date?

Well when Nate first called me to go on a date ... I thought my brother told him to! I couldn't figure out why on earth ... out of all the girls ... he would ask me of all people to go on a date! We went on a group date ... and my brother was there .... to go ice skating. It was so much fun and we talked for a while afterwards. However, when I walked in the door my mom asked if I thought he would ask me out again and I proceeded to tell her no ... because I was too much for him to handle. She told me I was too much for anyone to handle!

4. Where was your first kiss?

On the couch in his family's family room. It was quite the suprise and I loved it!

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship?

Well ... One week after Nate kissed me we were talking marriage and then a week later Nate asked my dad if he could marry me. 2 1/2 months later we were married ... so I would say that is pretty short!

6. Where did you get engaged?

Nate proposed at the Temple. it was really amazing!

7. Where did you get married?

Mesa, AZ Temple

8. How did your reception go?

It was amazing! My mom made everything perfect! The food was great! I loved the decorations, and it was so fun! I owe everything to my parents and family! They did a ton! If you were there ... you know what I am talking about!

9. The Honeymoon!

Nate and I went during our spring break ... and since our engagement was so short, we couldn't book tickets! However, we went to Cali and it was so fun! I was also nice to have our car!

!0. Who's turn is it next?

Cara, Jenna, Dani, Brittnie

Since I am bored at work!

2007-11-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Jobs I've Had:
1) Wedding Caterer
2) Seville Lifeguard
3) Wells Fargo Teller
4) Soon to be Nurse

4 Places I've Lived:
1) Mesa, AZ
2) Chandler, AZ
3) Gilbert, AZ
4) Soon to be Queen Creek, AZ

4 Movies I Love:
1) Anastasia
2) Meet Joe Black
3) Transformers
4) Moonrakers Bride (It isn't actually a movie but it's a book that should be a movie!)

4 of My Favorite Foods:
1) Hamburgers
2) Steak ... perfectly cooked
3) Baked potatoes with lots of butter and sour cream
4) My Mama's enchiladas

4 Weird Things About Me:
1) I have these weird obessesive compulsive disorders ... like I hate my food touching eachother on my plate, and it has to be spotless when I'm done eating.
2) Sometimes it drives Nate crazy but I have to hold his hand when I fall asleep.
3) I LOVE to read! However, I can only read when I have a whole day. If I start a book, I have to finish it right then! I can't read books over long periods of time!
4) I love coconut! I could eat it in just about anything! The great thing is both my Mama's love coconut too! That means great food!

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
1) Anywhere with Nate for a whole weekend! (May not sound like a lot but I never see him so that would be the best! That's what I asked for for Christmas!)
2) In my bed! Especially during the winter. I love it when it's cold and i can snuggle in my blankets!
3) Working in Phoenix Childrens Hospital
4) In another Country ... on vacation ... with my whole family!

4 People I Tag:
1) Brittnie (and baby Bella)
2) Meili ... even though I know you won't do it!
3) Joanna
4) Mindy ... cuz I know you'll do it!

I wish I had pictures!

2007-10-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

So I really quick have to write this down because I thought it was so funny! So Nate gets out this carton of Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate! My favorite! So he starts eating it and giving me bites every once in a while. Then he went in the kitchen and had something in his hand! ... here's how it went ...

C: Nate what so you have in your hand?

N: nothing!

C: no really ... what do you have in your hand!

N: Nothing!

Then the battle to find out what is in Nate's hand begins !

C: it's m&m's! I saw them!

N: no you didn't!

C: yes I did!

N: ... dumps the whole bag of m&m's in the carton of our favorite ice cream!

C: oh my gosh! Why would you do that? you ruined the ice cream!

N: no I didn't! just taste it!

C: ... walks over to the sink and starts to dump the m&m's out!

N: no!!!!!! ... put's his hand out to catch them.

C: don't ruin the ice cream ... as we a laughing for some odd reason!

N: i didn't!

C: ... trying to dump the rest of the m&m's ... half the ice cream dumps into a bowl in the sink that is full of water!

N: Oh my gosh (with the little boy look of the worst thing that could ever happen!) look at what you have done! You ruined the ice cream! I can't believe you did that! (Trust me I saw the tears begin to pool!)

C: Sorry!!!!!

N: fine I get the rest of the carton because you ruined it! (with absolute determination!)

C: No you don't! You ate the whole thing!

N: No I didn't! You dumped out the whole thing!

So then I proceed to run with the carton to stop Nate from getting it!

N: ... reaches his hand in and garbs the ice cream out of the carton! Then begins shoving it in his mouth!

C: ... laughing historically as he runs over to the sink and eats it all out of his hand!

N: i told you I got the rest of it!

So you may not think this story was that funny ... however ... I was dying with laughter! I have the cutest husband in the whole world! there is never a dull moment in our lives! We have way too much fun together and I love it!

So I guess I still have some luck!

2007-10-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

So I figured the best way to spread the news was on the blog ... since most of my family have one! So I just found out I was accepted into ASU's nursing program! I am so excited for this new adventure! Can you tell how excited I was! I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to advance in school! I know that I couldn't have done it with out my Heavenly Father's help!

So who do you think won?

2007-10-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

So I know that both Nate and I's birthdays were forever ago but I have really wanted to put up these pictures because I think they are so funny! So to explain ... my family has a tradition of decorating your door on your birthday! So of course on Nate's birthday I had to! Well This is what I did!

Can you hear me ROAR!?!?!

So this is the best part! Nate totally had to show me up ... and of course he did!
The crazy thing about this picture is that I am completely leaning on it! It wouldn't break because it was so thick! Nate really went out of his way to give me the best birthday ever!

Having Fun!

2007-10-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

We went bowling with my family a while ago and I couldn't figure out how to put the pictures on with our new computer ... but I figured it out!!!

This is Nate and I being goof balls as usual!

So this picture is so funny because we are all in the bowling ally doing a handstand competition! Yeah I know! CRAZY! We like to keep others wondering about us!

This is the cutest girl you'll ever see! I love her so much! I think Kenli looks so cute in this outfit! Do you think she looks like her aunt?

Utah

2007-09-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

Nate and I went to Utah over the summer for his cousins wedding! While we were there we went to Park City. I had never been there and it was so much fun!

This is me and my mother in law!

This is my dang Handsom Husband and me.

Here my sister in law Emily and I are laughing so hard! I came down the hill faster than her and bumped into her. Then we couldn't move! It was so funny!

Talk About Some Guns

2007-09-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

Our first time shooting together!

Yes I know he's Handsome ...

I know the thought of me with a gun is scary!

The one's in the orange are Nate's ... Everything else is mine! Haha how sad huh!

Hungry Anyone?

2007-09-05T22:03:00.001-07:00

Nate and I ate at this place in San Diego called Hash House A Go-Go! As you can see the portions were so Big! We barely ate 1/4 of our plates!

This was biscuits and gravy!

We're Animals

2007-09-05T21:51:00.001-07:00

I'm an Elephant

But it's ok because Nate is too!

MMM ... Tasty!

The Big Day

2007-09-05T21:44:00.001-07:00

I bet you didn't know we were models!

The Perfect Picture on the Perfect Day

Can you tell how happy I was?

Oh the Joys of Dating

2007-09-05T21:37:00.001-07:00

This is When Nate Proposed