being outside

my friend tara thinks it's sooooo funny that i don't appreciate the outdoors. a bunch of friends are going camping for the 4th of july, but not us. we are not camping people. i told tara one time (and she has never let me forget it) that i only really like to be outside if there is cement around me. i don't like parks that don't have a sidewalk or path, etc. anyway, we now have a patio and we are really enjoying it. here's a photo of us outside. we are truly enjoying our little firepit. we've become s'more experts.

so, on a completely different note, i talked to my sister kara tonite. she is such a love. really, she is such a loving and kind person. she was always the one in our family with the softest heart toward people and especially animals. well, now she has a family of her own and she is just amazing. she has three girls who are soooo beautiful and sweet and a husband who is sooooo nice and fun, etc. she works so hard for her family and i'm sure they appreciate her, but i wanted her to know how amazing i think she is. like everyone i've ever met, she has her struggles. she's taken on a tough situation and made a family out of it. i don't know very many people who could just step into a situation and instantly love, but kara's done it. kara is my youngest sister. she has a daughter who is 15, a daughter who's 7, and a daughter who's 2. her sweet 15 year old is the most beautiful and kind and loving girl. but she's had a really rough 15 years. you can't possibly believe what she's been through. the point is, she is having a tough time. kara and her husband are amazing. they just keep trying to do what they feel is right and what will help their sweet girl. they keep loving her and they keep on trying to help her. i just can't help but think of jesus christ and his example of always loving, no matter what. i feel so blessed to know that jesus christ will always love us, no matter what we have done in our lives. we can always turn to him and find love. i know this, because i have felt his love in my life so many times. so, i hope that alyx knows that her dad and kara love her no matter what choices she makes. i know that they do, because they keep trying and they keep trying and they keep trying. also, i'd like kara to know that she and her family are in my prayers every single day. i love kara so much and miss being with her. she's an amazing person, and did i mention funny? i love you, twixed-up min.

carolyn's tag

alright, alright. this is my first tag, because i really only sometimes want to take the time. so, carolyn this is for you baby...
your answer has to be one word and feel free to be tagged if you'd like.

1. Where is your cell phone?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . phoneless
2. Your significant other? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ryan
3. Your hair color? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . blondish
4. Your mother? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .......busy
5. Your father? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........quiet
6. Your favorite thing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .peace
7. Your dream last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .unsure
8. Your favorite drink? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vitaminwater
9. Your dream/goal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .family
10. The room you're in? . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . kitchen
11. Your hobby? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .yoga
12. Your fear? . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .moneyless
13. Where do you want to be in six years? . . . . . .dunno
14. Where were you last night? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .theatre
15. What you're not? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .supermodel
16. Muffins? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . cranberry
17. One of your wish list items? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .europe
18. Where you grew up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .idaho
19. The last thing you did? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .chatted
20. What are you wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .jcrew
21. Your tv? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .old
22. Your pets? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .fish
23. Your computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .laptop
24. Your life? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lovely
25. Your mood? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .content
26. Missing someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .no
27. Your car? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rodeo
28. Something your not wearing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . makeup
29. Favorite store? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .target
30. Your summer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .relaxing
31. Like someone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .yep
32. Your favorite color? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white
33. When was the last time you laughed?. . . . . . . .10:40
34. Last time you cried? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .hmmm
35. Who will do this? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . unsure

am i interesting or what?

wicked awesome

here are a few things from our week that i find to be "wicked awesome" (think SNL)

1-afton's last day of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



















2-my two slaves, cleaning the windows. by the way, this was aftie's idea and they totally loved it.













1-afton learned to braid! she is so good at it and even ella allowed her sister to touch her hair, for the good of the braids.
















and the wickedest awesome part of the week...our night out last night. we went to a fancy dinner, saw wicked at the theatre and then headed to a fun dessert place. we had a great time!!!

it's almost over

school, that is. hooray! we have 3 half days this week, with tomorrow being the last. yesterday we went to the pool. it was a little chilly, but the girls had the best time. today the girls are jumping on the trampoline with water in their bathing suits and loving every second. oh, summertime is a good time.

well, this morning i went to play tennis and ended up in a clinic. the youngest person was 8 years old and i was the oldest, by 17 years. the 8 year old had been playing since the age of 2. all i could do was try my best and laugh along the way. the lady at the next court told my friend, kari, to ask how i liked playing with children that were better than i was. ha ha. but it was fun still and i learned some new techniques. it was great.

this afternoon we have been playing with our friends and enjoying the warm weather. ryan is golfing this evening and we are having our fatherless (he's just out of town) friends over for dinner. we went to dinner last night together as well. it's always nice to have things planned with friends while the dads are away. it makes the days go by faster. we always miss our dad when he's traveling. luckily, he's not going anywhere too soon.

well, we're off to wegman's to pick up our dinner ingredients. by the way, if you don't live near a wegman's, too bad for you. it's an amazing grocery store.

correction

let me just state for the record...that is not actually a picture of ME doing a headstand, just a picture of what i can do. clear? i just assumed it would be blatantly obvious that wasn't me in the picture...obviously i don't wear fuschia to yoga. duh.




here are a few updates.


we had the most funnest of weekends. we went to the drive-in movie friday night. kung fu panda was quite a hit with afton and myself. ella fell asleep before it even got good. poor ryan was stuck in the lawn chair out in the rocks by himself, and i was snuggled up in the back of the rodeo with the girls. we especially liked the word "skidoosh".



yesterday we finished our patio!!!!! well, mostly. then we went to the mall for lunch at our favorite, jack astor's. then we spent the next 4 hours, that's right-4 hours, shopping for summer clothes. it's actually time to put away the fleece here in buffalo. we found some good stuff and i even got a fancy dress for our date to Wicked this coming weekend.






last night aftie and i played tennis in the driveway for an hour or so. she is getting good. wowee wow wow! we had some great volleys going and got some exercise chasing balls across the yard.


it was really fun to be able to share a love of mine with afton.





today was church. we got a new bishop. then we had a little nap and made dinner. our friends came over to eat with us and stayed to chat in the nice cool air outside. we had a great time.





if you are looking for a good read, afton suggests "Who stole the animal poop?" by Buck Wilder. it's currently her favorite and she really enjoys the title, especially the word POOP. pretend you are 7 again, and then you'll remember why it's probably such a great book. (that helped me)



and the thrill of my life...it's the last week of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we are all so sick of school and waking up early and doing homework and being responsible for our lunch money and remembering if it's gym day, etc, etc. did i say, WE? cause i mostly meant, ME.

look at me!!!

look what i did today...that's right, you're seeing correctly. this is a yoga inversion called salamba sirsasana (i think). it is very, very difficult. only the most advanced and amazingly talented yogis can even attempt this. okay that's a joke. but really, i have been trying to do this without a wall to lean against for months and months. today i gave it a try in the middle of yogini chantel's kitchen and...voila! in the past i have fallen over onto my back and even pulled my hair!

also, i made strawberry freezer jam. i am really nervous about making jam, but i found a little packet of stuff and followed the directions and it wasn't hard at all.

ella and i went strawberry picking yesterday for playgroup. it was very muddy and very fun. i felt just like a real pioneer after picking my own strawberries and then making jam! i also made a yummy little strawberry cake for dessert tonite. i found it on http://www.marthastewart.com/ it was easy and quite yum.

i also made a delicious (i thought) salad for dinner. the girls claimed not to like salad, but we forced them to eat some anyway. i will post these recipes on my cooking blog for your enjoyment. http://www.ryamafelcooks.blogspot.com/

also, here's something funny...ella got out of the bath tonite and came in wearing dirty pajamas from last night. i said to ryan, "those are dirty". ryan said "they were in the basket, those clothes in the basket are clean, right?" "no, they're dirty" i know that's not particularly funny, but the funny part is that i just can't imagine how he could have been confused. in case you aren't following...laundry is not my forte'. sometimes the clean clothes are in the basket, sometimes on the bed, sometimes on the floor. sometimes the dirty clothes are in the basket, sometimes on the floor, etc. you see the predicament. i have a great system all worked out, it's just that i forgot to implement it.

families can be together forever

i love my little family. i have been blessed with a truly amazing husband. these two little sweethearts are just a wonder every single day. besides that, i have my parents and sisters and their families, who are just the most darling people. and then i have ryan's parents and brothers and sisters and their families who are also extremely wonderful. i have been blessed.

so, today ryan got breakfast in bed. i don't think he's ever experienced this before. i'm usually the one who gets spoiled, so i thought it should be ry's turn. but he sort of downplayed it by bringing his food into the kitchen to eat with us. anyway...ella and i made blueberry and chocolate chocolate chip muffins. nothing healthy on ryan's special day. not a single grain of whole wheat. in fact, on the back of the chocolate muffin box i found a recipe for cookies, which uses the box of muffin mix. i'm just thinking that if you can use the muffin mix for cookies, they probably aren't your best bet for nutrition.

went to church, came home and made dinner for the father of the year. he chose steak, macaroni salad, watermelon, and corn on the cob. ella also reminded me that dad would like diet coke to drink! then he had a nap and watched the us open. i think he had a nice and relaxing day. i sure love that boy.

ryan's dad sent a little envelope a few days ago with a note that said something like this..."i know it's hard to think of something to get the old dad for father's day. the thing that makes me the happiest is knowing that my kids and grandchildren are happy, so go get some happy meals, or an upgrade and send me pictures." inside was a $100 bill. come on, is that the sweetest thing or what? i was a little choked up after reading the note, i thought it was a $10 bill, but afton quickly corrected me. "no mom, there are two zeroes on there!"

so, the girls decided they wanted to upgrade to the cheescake factory. for some reason they think that is the ultimate in fancy dining. by the time we actually got to our table, it was way past their bedtime. they were exhausted but determined to make it to dessert. (truly ryan and my offspring) we had such a fun time and enjoyed our fancy night out together. thanks dad! we are sending pictures soon!

by the way, on a completely selfish note, i ran the susan g komen race yesterday. it was humid, but not super hot. my friend forever, eliza, ran with me the entire time. i am such a slow runner and she is so kind to stay with me. i love her for that. i keep trying (in between shallow breaths) to tell her to run ahead, because i know she's not doing her best, but she always says, "oh, no i'm great." also, she's a liar. but then at the end, i make her run ahead, because she is a sprinter and likes to finish off with a quick sprint. but then she waits for me right across the finish line and we hug and then look for water!

we also ran with four other girlfriends. we had so much fun and felt great for running for such a good cause. with our registration fees alone, we helped raise $150 dollars to help research a cure for breast cancer. it was really something to see the women in pink shirts out running or walking. the pink shirt means you are a cancer survivor! it was also great to see the tags pinned to people's backs that said "in celebration of......", which means they know someone who has survived cancer. but the hard part was seeing a tag pinned to a back that said "in memory of my mom" or "in memory of my wife, betsy".

it made me feel really good to be doing something to help fight cancer by donating money, but i also felt great knowing that by running i was helping myself fight cancer.

so, get out there and move your body. go for a walk, run to your mailbox, park your car a little farther from the store entrance, bend over and touch your toes, and eat some kashi for goodness sake!

happy father's day, dad!

this is my father's day gift to my dad...a blog entry dedicated to him. hmmm, what a cheapskate, you may be thinking. well let me tell you, i've made many a purchase on my dad's behalf and frankly i can't think of a single thing to get him. he's got ties with stripes, cows, paisleys and even a pink floyd tie. i've already outdone myself in the slipper department. he's got a scrapbook. bmg doesn't sell a cd i've haven't already ordered for him. war movies? got 'em all. we even thought he might like a pair of dr marten sandals one year. (i think they're still sitting in the box) golf balls and socks have been done at least 100 times. i can't surprise him with anything, because he either finds out or decides not to go to dinner after golfing and receive a dessert ordered for his birthday (all the way from new york). so, since i'm out of ideas, this is it. enjoy...





first off, i feel really blessed to have had my dad around all of my life. my gramps (mom's dad) passed away when she was young, and my dad's dad wasn't always available for my dad.





when i think of my dad i immediately hear the moody blues playing in the background and sitting in one of his many home offices (we moved a lot). i think my dad and i are connected by music. i love being in my dad's office listening to music with or without him. i also used to love sitting in his tractor listening to music (those were the days). afton really likes to listen to gg music in the car (that's a pink floyd cd), and on those late night trips to wegman's i often hear songs that remind me of my dad. it's my favorite!





i also love that my dad is funny and that he appreciates good humor. nothing is funnier than my dad with bees. he is seriously terrified of bees and sometimes calls them naughty words! he also has a funny little shiver with a oooh, when he's spooked. it is the funniest. besides that, he remembers jokes and tells them really well. i also love to hear him tell funny stories about people he's been with, usually while golfing. also, he gives the funniest talks in church, which i think is totally appropriate.



my dad and i also share a love of late night television. we both love to watch tv in bed until we fall asleep. ryan does not appreciate this special connection at all. one of my earliest memories...i remember being in my crib and hearing johnny carson on tv in my parents bedroom. no kidding. now when i'm home, i like to crawl on my parents bed and watch seinfeld with my dad. we love cramer and george. also, we enjoy laughing at the twin falls newscasters. they're top notch.



we share a need for eyeglasses, inhalers, and ankle braces.



my dad and i also share a love for Jesus Christ. i don't think either of us really talk a lot about it or think of ourselves as super-spiritual, but i know that my dad and i have both had very special experiences that have built our testimonies of the Savior. my dad is always willing and worthy to give a father's blessing when needed or wanted. he knows and understands the importance of the priesthood. i will be grateful for that forever.



my dad and i also share a love of writing. okay, maybe. i love to write (you might have guessed) and i love the letters that my dad writes to me. i'll bet he doesn't know it, but i have saved almost every note and letter he's ever written to me. they're all in an envelope. i usually cry when i read them. there's one from just before christmas that says "see ya in a couple weeks", and there's some from when i served a mission, and there's one from my high school days when i was struggling with an eating disorder. they are really special to me. i like that he was thinking just about me when he wrote them.

here are some things my dad taught me:
to be appreciative
to work hard
to do your best
to apologize when you've been wrong
to enjoy life
how to camp (in a hotel)
how to tease
to laugh



i'm sure there are many more, but these are the things that come to mind.



i really love my dad. he has always been a good example for me to follow. i love that he takes such joy in spoiling his girls. i always loved how he would buy my sisters and i candy bars at the grocery store when we were with him, which was rare. i love how he bought us $80 benetton shirts in sun valley, while my mom was shopping elsewhere (hee, hee). i love how he took me to the mall to get a new outfit before ryan returned to byu for the fall semester, so i would look "really good". he must have been desperate to get me married. i also love the times we got to ride together in the tractor late at night while he baled hay during the summers. i also love john denver because of that tape he had in his tractor.



do you get the picture? my dad is the greatest dad. i love you dad and hope you enjoy this little trip down memory lane. also, i hope you cried a little. you are turning into a real baby, you know. thanks for being so wonderful.


love,
amy


p.s. i cried a little while remembering all these things.

just some thoughts

well, i feel very sad that tim russert is no longer with us here on earth. he seemed like a really good man. i also like hearing about his growing-up years in buffalo.
it seems like he really loved his family and that is a great thing in and of itself.

i played a pretty good game of tennis today and am feeling pretty happy with myself. a lady i play with called me tonite to compliment my game today and asked if i would like to join their usta singles league. this lady only asks the really impressive and most wonderful players...(hee, hee) unfortunately, the league plays the same night ryan golfs, so maybe another time. i'm sure i'll only get better. okay, i really am not thinking that highly of myself!

another interesting item is the union at ryan's work may or may not go on strike because they can't decide on their contract negotiations. a wonderful thing about ryan is that he looks for the humor in these dark times. ryan's work is in south buffalo which is a totally industrial/depressed/crack dealing area of the city. most of the buildings are deserted. so, ryan said, "well, if the union guys go on strike, they won't get much sympathy when they picket, since no one else works around here". we both got a good laugh at that image. just a bunch of guys marching in a circle, yelling at nobody.

by the way, the union guys make tons of money and have awesome medical and dental benefits. and if you really want to know - they take a lot of breaks and get to file grievances if they aren't offered overtime (in some situations). they've got it pretty tough.

well, tomorrow brings the race for the cure, a swap (like a free garage sale) at the church, and hopefully a newly finished patio. should be a good day. please pray for 0% humidity!

oh boy...

my friend/yoga teacher had gall bladder surgery a couple of weeks ago. apparently i can't do yoga without her, and so i haven't. but last night we started up again. it felt great, but i could tell i wasn't as strong. this morning i had a private session (that sounds fancy, right?) and i thought my arms would fall off my body. how amazing is your body when you exercise? i think you become so much stronger than you even realize.

on a completely different note-we discovered a fantastic little fabric shop on elmwood yesterday. now i know you are thinking, "what? amy can't sew!" you're right, but i am going to try once again. and i'm sure once again, ryan will be finishing my project. but stacie and i found the most darling bag pattern from amy butler. this store carries her fabric as well, and it is to die for, no kidding. we were so happy being there. so, if you like super-cute fabric and live in buffalo check out Elmwood Village Fabrics. the website is: http://www.forfabric.com/

well, i am off to clean the playroom. i could really use bob the builder and his cartoon equipment for this job. yep, it's that bad.

today

i ran tonite. i really needed to run and so i did. it made me feel so good. if you are feeling slumpy, put on your running shoes and go for a run or even a walk. you will feel so much better.

saturday is the susan g komen race for the cure. it's another 5k. i'm hoping for low humidity and then i should be fine to run the whole time. i think it's the high humidity that has been wiping me out. it's so frustrating because i know i can run for a little while, but the humidity and my asthma don't seem to blend well together.

ryan has been working his little heart out tonite. we are putting in some pavers in the backyard to create a patio area and enhance our deck. we almost finished on saturday, but then we fell in love and decided to rip out more grass and extend it even further. ryan just walked in the door from ordering a little more sand and more pavers. he said, "i think we should have stopped, i'm spending more money than i thought i would." i told him he better get a second job.

we have the two a's and the two e's finally asleep. it's 10pm. matt and stacie went to the temple tonite and so we got to keep the girls. they all play soooo well together and have so much fun. the e's were playing cootie and having the best time! the a's were reading, writing, playing with the american girl doll and webkins. what could be better? they are all such sweethearts.

it's jenn's birthday!

happy birthday to my sweet jenn! i love you and hope you are having a wonderful birthday!

jenn and i met in buffalo, but she has since deserted me. we originally met here while her husband was doing his orthodontic residency. i tried all i could within my measly power to get them to stay here, but to no avail. i guess they wanted to be done with school. whatever.

anyway, they have the most darling children. jenn and i have long been in the planning stages of a wedding for afton and her son, josh. we even have some preliminary engagement photos. every picture we take of them together, we think how cute it will be on the wedding dvd! it's really quite sad the lengths we would go to to ensure future vacations together!

jenn is a counselor/therapist, although not currently practicing, (except for our weekly-monthly phone conversations). she is an amazing listener and has quite wonderful advice. she always thinks through things very well, which is a different concept for me.

another fun thing is that jenn and i were both pregnant at the same time with our second children, both girls. they are about one month apart. here's the difference...jenn looked like she'd been at the spa for a week, the day after giving birth. i looked like i'd been hit by a truck!

jenn is a runner and totally inspired my newfound love for running. she is really an amazing person and i just love her so much. she is so loyal and honest and tactful and kind. also, she makes some amazing brazilian beans and rice! (her mom is brazilian)

so, happy birthday to you friend! i love you!!!!

i totally forgot...

i can't believe that i forgot to share my miss america moment! on saturday, at Time Out, mary ellen edmunds (so funny) was sharing some names of girls at the event who exemplified a joyful life. by the way, the theme of the conference was something about finding joy. anyway, near the end of the list (a very short list by the way), guess who's name was read???? MINE! i seriously felt like i was just announced the winner of the miss america pageant...who? me? really? i'm not worthy! thank you everyone! thank you to my loyal fans and supporters and...

so, here's the story...(i'm sure you are dying to know every detail, don't worry i won't leave out a thing)
from christi's blog - "A week ago Deseret Book sent me an email inviting me to share how the person I am bringing to TOFW lives a joyful life. Of course I jumped at the chance to glow on Amy and so they had her stand along with a few others to be recognized. They only had time to read a few of the essays so everyone did not get to hear why she is so wonderful, but I told her I should have included she has overcome polio and built a school in Honduras and maybe they would have read it. Always being humble! But it made her day and was the cherry on top of the sundae."

it's really sad, but afterward we went to lunch and i kept asking christi all kinds of things about it. "how could you have kept a secret so long? weren't you just dying to tell me?" (seriously) "so, what did you say about me?" (yes, really i asked that) "could you believe they read my name?" and so on... and on and on and on. yes, really. thanks christi, you really did make my day.

it's weird, but no one bowed or saluted as i walked out of the conference hall to lunch.

the corporate challenge

last night we ran the jp morgan chase corporate challenge. there were 12,300 runners! ryan and i ran with our friend, eliza. well, let me rephrase...we started our running and then i thought i was nearly ready to faint (seriously) and so we walked for quite a while and then ran the last 1/4 of a mile. let's just say, it wasn't our best time.

i'm not sure what my problem was, but i was really not feeling very well. after analyzing the situation a few thousand times, i've determined a number of factors in my running failure.

#1 it was seriously hot and very humid.

#2 i didn't eat enough throughout the day

#3 did i mention how hot and humid it was?

#4 if i had a new running outfit, that probably would have made the difference

anyway, please notice that in the 2nd photo, eliza is the one hiding her face!

what i did on my weekend with christi

well, it's been a while since my last entry. that is because my life has been full of excitement...really.

first off, my friend christi came to visit us. we did the following things...

time out for women (toronto)

which included photos with as many speakers/presenters as deemed necessary by christi.

a visit to the cn tower (toronto)

including a fantastic/fancy dinner at the revolving restaurant! it was beautiful!

a trip to the church sites in palmyra

hill cumorah, joseph smith homes, sacred grove, granden building (where book of mormon was first printed), the bookstore next door (with a surprise siting of hilary weeks!!! christi was practically speechless), and the peter whitmer farm (where the church was organized).

it was a fun filled day, especially the part where afton refused to walk any further and then groaned (with each footstep) all the way out of the sacred grove. i'm not exaggerating.

also a trip to the famous niagara falls

however, the mist was soooo thick and it covered most of the horseshoe falls, so we could only see the sides. i kept apologizing for the fall's behavior, but really, what could i do?

ella has fallen head over heals for "your friend, christi". it's possible she likes christi more than me.

we had a great time and i loved having christi at our house. the girls loved her and she was so great with them...very patient.

i think it's so great that we have been friends for so many years. we have known each other since 1992. christi has always kept me in stitches, yet she has always been very focused and determined. even in college, she came with a plan. she knew where she wanted her videos in the apartment, she knew what kind of music she wanted to listen to, she knew what time she needed to go to bed, she even knew the right classes to take that would get her where she wanted to go in life.

christi is a person who helps others. i remember a particularly trying time in my first year at ricks college. christi saw my pain and did her best to help me. the love that i've felt from her has helped me many times. she's an amazing person and i love her guts. thanks for coming to visit us, christi.