THANKSGIVING!!!

So... Thanksgiving... What can I say. I love Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, time with family, the traditions we share and the emotion. I had three dinners this year though, The day started off at My Grandma & Grandpa Forbes's house in American Fork for their Thanksgiving "Lunch" if you will, where we had food, visited and then left, then it was on to meet up with Jessica and the official meeting of her family . Her family is so sweet and I really enjoyed spending time with them and getting to know them a little better! After that it was back down to Nephi for the Annual Partridge Gathering and this one is my favorite.

Our Family has a tradition of going around the table before eating and each of us takes a moment to say what we are thankful for... kind of a personal family Testimony meeting. I hated this tradition when I was younger, being the introvert and non public speaker and all, but I have grown to appreciate it's value. Emotions ran high this year for everyone. I think we have all experienced a hardship of our own and in the last year the effects on our economy have certainly touched the lives of us all.

This was the second Thanksgiving without Grandpa Partridge... it's so weird to think he is gone... a part of me still hasn't quite accepted it. We miss him greatly. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have known him and for the blessing of having both sets of Grandparents around for 25 + years of my life. They are fantastic people and I couldn't ask for better.

I am thankful for health, a job that keeps the bills paid, the opportunity to educate myself, My family... old and new. I am thankful for good friends who each encourage me to be better and have added their own special color to my life. I am thankful for a community where there is always someone to run into who has known me all my life and has a warm smile to share when I see them.

This Thanksgiving was definitely one to remember and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families as well. You are in my thoughts!

Allyson Joann Christiansen

How cute is this baby!!! This is Ally... she is my cousin Becca's little girl. Our family had a burst of babies this year and she was the last born of six within 6 mos of each other... I just saw these pics and can't believe how big she has gotten and how much she looks like Becca! She is adorable... I just had to post these pics.

Snow has started falling... I love this time of year... the air has a certain smell in it... it's clean feeling and it's all white. I hate the roads however, and this year it is starting early... I have to drive through the Canyon every day to and from work and even though it is still quite early in the season I found myself driving 40 miles an hour the whole way down... too many head on collisions with the curb after sliding on ice I think. Anyways. I am way excited for the holiday season... can't wait to put up the Christmas tree and to sing carols with the family. Everything seems happier to me during the winter. And snuggling up in a blanket with a huge mug of hot cocoa... the best.

I think my favorite thing about the snowy season though is the memories... My favorite is when I lived in Mona with the family... All my friends and I would get together during the first snow storm of the season... preferrably at night, and we would walk all over town... talking about everything... laughing... singing our favorite carols and just being young and alive... Some of my favorite times were spent freezing with the crew... miss the old days.

Halloween Fun

These are some pics of My Cute niece Taylor and Nephew Ryan... They were sooo cute on Halloween. I didn't get to see them however because I was down with the dreaded Swine Flu but I did get to see the pics and I love them... It looks like they had a wonderful Halloween!

Just some news

Well it has been a few months since I wrote on here so I suppose I will update my blog for the moment. All is going very well since the last time I wrote on here. Work is still work and I still work a million hours a week it seems but I am loving every minute of it. I love my clients and learn something new about each one of them every day. They each have their own special spirit and I am enjoying having them in my life. I have been promoted since July. I am now co management. This is the first job that I have moved up to a leadership position and while it takes up just that much more of my time, it's nice to have the say and ultimately the control of every situation. I am in charge of one of the four group homes in my area. In it I have three very special ladies whom I am very attached to. Lorraine, Haley and Ann. The job is very detail oriented and I have about a million and one things I have to get done each week but it is very fulfilling for me.

On the personal side of things, I am steadily working towards finally going through the temple at the beginning of the year... if all goes as planned I will be going through in February. I am way excited... I have always wanted to go through but a part of me has been waiting for that special someone to come along to go through with... since that doesn't seem to be happening any time in the near future... I have decided that it's every person for themselves. One day the rest will come but for now I am going to do for me... yay.

I have learned a lot in the last year or so and am excited where my life is going these days... there is always something new lying just around the bend... each new adventure adds color to my personal canvas of life... wonder what is in store for me tomorrow.

Existence
By: Britni Forbes Houchin

Can't get my past out of my present
always haunting me and I can't get enough.

His memory is a dream that couldn't last
so why do I hold so fervently to something I can't keep

This little game surely won't lead anywhere
but I still can't get enough.

So many things remind me of a time
when his expression was magic and his touch was flame.

I remember the way I felt and thought
All my emotion was encompassed in him.

My immortal being.

The hatred I feel should have ebbed long ago
but I just can't get enough.

Their looks and stares stab and tear me wide
Their questions won't be answered too soon.

Their quizzical expressions are comical to me now
if only they would ask.

I'm afraid I would spill all too quickly.

Understanding is something needed
in a place where confusion is bliss and judgement divine.

Ignorance used to have that standing but now it stands alone
desolate
in a place of non intelligence with no chance of escape.

When will compassion walk in and save the day?
How can it conquer the unconquerable?

Rigid walls form a circle portraying safety
all the while delivering nothing but demise.

Stuck in a place I can't escape and I can't get enough

What is this spell they have on me?
The rules were never defined
Lost in a sea of cruelty.

Words that stab like nails
Ideas that fade before life has a chance to linger

Originality that is widely viewed as immoral and unclean
I am the square that will never fit into that perfect circle.

That impenitrable mold that fits them like a glove
sits uneasy on my shoulders.

The burden is intolerable and yet I still can't get enough.

Separation seems imminent
Closure seems satisfactory.
But the words and actions never come.

Deliverance is a dream dreamt by fools
Fools who think they can escape unmarked.

The twisted scars hide from view
but burn like flame to a drought ridden field.

healing seems to take over in places
only to have old wounds reopened anew.

The eyes that burn to the core
it seems they see everything.

Nothing and everything to hide
the panic this concept brings.

The endless tunnel of acceptance
leads me absolutely no where and I can't get enough.

It spins me around like a child on a Merry-go-round
Spinning till I'm sick.

Slow enough to still see everything around me
fast enough not to reach it without falling.

This feeling leaves me dizzy and I still can't get enough.

What a fantastical feast of illusion!

Falling into the precipice of my life
is a temptation harder and harder to fight.

Suspended in time where no one can touch me
no one can take that away from me and yet they do

Losing myself unintentionally
Finding myself slowly and not liking what I have become.

How do I change this pattern of self destruction
without killing myself to please them?

The eyes of a child are trapped in a piece of paper
The glow stuck there forever.

Staring at myself in a vacant mirror
Trying to see that child staring back.

It never comes and I can't get enough.

that innocence and light seem to be snuffed out.
A faint glimmer of hope still lingers.

Get me off this ride so I can reach it.
Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Give me a reality I can live with
Help me to see outside the box I'm trapped in
Break free the bonds they have me placed in

Persecuted for being me
Condemned for trying to fit.

Where do I find strength when my soul is drained?
I feel like Gwynevere at the stake
awaiting the flames of my life.

Where is my Camelot?

Applebees

Haha... I just found these pics... they used to be on my cell phone... This was the night Phoebe Nader and I went to Applebees for dinner... we used to go out a lot just the three of us... anyway... we went to Applebees for dinner and our waitress was just really snotty... I mean horrible. Towards the end of our meal... she came around with the ticket and just kind of tossed it on the table as she was walking by and we were just sitting there amazed at the level of Rude she had become and started talking about it... which turned into joking... which turned into plotting...


Well... we decided that nothing would really show this girl so Nader and I headed out and Phoebe took Nader's card and said she was going to take care of the check and parking... When she came out she was laughing and carrying the to go back with the food... she notified us that she had taken the dishes on the table and then asked them to validate her parking for her... HAHAHA!!! I still have my bowl to this day.

I just did a wedding collage for this amazing couple... I will have the finished product up some time next week... for now here is a sneak peak at the pics I used. This collage was sooo much fun to do and I have known Alecia (The Bride) since we were kids so that made it all the more fun to do. Congratulations Sam and Alecia!!!

These are just a few pics of My Aunt Stephanie and Uncle David's family and how much it has grown in only five years... amazing how time flies and how much changes in such a short period of time.
Our family has always been really close... it's getting more and more difficult to be that close with so many people! lol We love each and every one of them though... each addition is a blessing. Love you guys

Just a couple of Tiffany's amazing Bridals... she looked so beautiful. Congrats again Tiff you made a beautiful Bride! xoxo

Sol & Rebekah posted these pics on their anniversary which was on July 18, 2009. I can't believe it's been 11 years already! I went to this wedding and look how amazing they look in both pics... you can tell time has passed but Sol and Rebekah are still an amazing couple. They have four beautiful kids, they are sealed in the temple and are doing so great!
Love you Sol and Rebekah!!! Congrats! Here's to another 11 years!

Drew & Tiffany Johnson

My cousin Tiffany got married in May and it was so fun to spend her special day with her... I have only met Drew once... at the wedding but he is a Great guy... definitely perfect for her.

I am so happy for both of them. I remember when Tiffany was born so it was interesting watching her
get married... I loved it though and I am so glad she found her special someone...
Welcome to the Fam Drew!!!

Congrats you two!!!

My cousin Jennifer had her first baby in April, his name is Dallin Aaron Quarnberg, he is sooo cute and I'm so excited for her. Congrats Jen & Aaron!!!

Taylor Nichole Schanno

Three months ago I finally met my older sister Jessica. These are photos of her daughter Taylor. I have been so excited to get to know them and to finally have them as a permanent par of my life.

Kaijh Marie Forbes

Kaijh Marie Forbes is the daugher of Mitchel and Kori, she was born March 13, 2009. We just love her and are happy for the addition she brings to our family... being the first girl in the family since I was born... we have all been very excited about her.