Hand in Hand

Yesterday marked 2 years since Guy proposed and to celebrate he took Emery and I for a walk in the park where the proposal took place. During our long 2 month dating period ;) we would take walks in a certain park in Provo several times a week. We would swing on the swings and talk and walk - I really feel like it is where I got to know a lot about Guy. It was so fun to go back yesterday and walk and talk about how much has changed in the past 2 years and reflect upon all the blessings, challenges, and fun we have had. He is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm so lucky to have Guy in my life. He has blessed my life in so many ways and given me a perfect daughter who I love more than words can explain. Life is so good! ( a few pictures from our park trip yesterday)

 At our wedding reception my Aunt Kary wrote a poem about "Our story" after our trip to the park I pulled it out last night to read it again, I thought I would share:

Guy and Nikki - Hand in Hand for Eternal Life

We've planned, we've gathered, we've witnessed this day, Love made eternal, come what may!

Pure and worthy throughout their lives, Guy and Nikki are now husband and wife.

Kneeling together hand in hand, Their union was sealed and forever stands!

Priesthood power was authorized to say, "You've chosen God's only appointed way."

"And with that choice you're destined to be, The Zimmerman Family for eternity!"

Now, mortality will bring some ups and downs, But nothing impossible for the celestial bound.

You're yoked with God, who's promised to share, Whatever challenges you're called to bear.

So plant with care those everyday seeds, Strive hard to meet each other's needs.

Be tender and gentle, patient and kind; His covenant blessings you'll surely find.

God never forsakes what He's promised to do, When we are obedient, faithful, and true!

Enough advice, I suspect you want more; "Like what brought this couple to the temple door?"

Two thousand nine is when they first met; At a dinner party, by each other they set.

Guy was assigned to divert Nikki's eye, From another man's date, he didn't pry.

Nikki was cute, she spoke Portuguese; This friendly favor would be conquered with ease.

Guy took his chair, and with foreign tongue spoke; Nikki swallowed, she squeaked, then totally choked!

She was nervous and shy, intimidated too; By this good looking man from out of the blue!

Nothering transpired for quite awhile, A parking lot wave became their style.
Then several months later Guy barged right in; Without even knocking, now that's a sin!

Nikki was talking with that other man, You know the one from the dinner plan.

The three sat and talked without any reserve, Guy earned some credits he rightly deserved.

Funny and talkative with just the right edge, "I'll see him again," Nikki's mind pledged.

And so it happened just as she thought; While serving with care, her company Guy sought.

From service, to party, to ward cookout they went, Time together was comfortably spent.

Their friendship progressed, it was time to move on; First date official -- Disney's "Train a Dragon!"

The move was followed by a tender first kiss, Leaving Nikki with butterfly bliss!

Dating continued with trips here and there, Visiting family they could talk and share.

One memborable dinner was with Uncle Balt, Where he didn't ask Guy to, "Pass the salt;"

But announced Lake Powell as the place to be, For a man to suggest eternity.

Guy turned bright red and continued to chew, He couldn't respond, his salad was glue!

Four weeks later when his throat finally cleared, "Nikki," he said, "Please meet my family dear."

Nik readily agreed, because she knew; Her feelings were deep, this love was true.

Their trip to Pendleton went very well, Love was expressed and hearts did swell.

One month later there was marriage talk, They even went on that ring shop walk.

Nikki wondered if the proposal was near, "Had this man she loved talked to her father dear?"

"No," Guy teased one night on the swings, He'd lost the number and couldn't ring.

"I'll have to be patient," was Nikki's first thought. While Guy was working his proposal plot.

They sat on the bench and then Guy confessed, "I spoke with your Dad and passed the test!"

"But, my dear, no ring tonight," "You must be sure this commitment is right!"

Guy reached in his pocket and pulled out a note, Two pages of reasons how he planned to vote.

"I'm in this forever," he poassionately said, "And this is yours, once you've read."

Now in Guy's hand was a beautiful ring, "Yes, Yes, YES!" Nikki's heart did sing.

That "YES" we heard again today; Love made eternal, come what may!
Guy and Nikki are now husband and wife, Hand in hand for eternal life!

-Kary Lewis - September 2010 (Thanks Aunt Kary)



I'm such a lucky girl and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family. We are excited for all of our new adventures and I'm grateful I have my sweet husband with me every step of the way. Love you Guy!!

2 months!!

Time flies!! Emery hit her two month mark on the 16th of June and we happened to be in Oregon/Washington for a family get together! We had a lot of fun seeing Guy's family and getting to spend time with all of his cousins, grandparents, parents, and siblings. Emery was spoiled with love and attention, but who can help it with a face like this?

Emery has been a lot of fun lately. She has started smiling and loves to talk and coo!  She is so alert and is always studying everyone faces and things that are going on around her. She just learned that screaming and rolling her cries together gets you attention immediately and uses it to her advantage :) Mom and Dad are quick to respond since until a few days ago we hardly heard a cry out of her. She is so sweet and loves to cuddle but for such a young baby she loves her independence! Emery will lay out for hours on a blanket just looking around as long as someone is in the room and occasionally shows her a little attention. She learned that splashing in the bathtub is a lot of fun - good thing for us her splashes are still very small. At 2 months old she has traveled A LOT! She has been to Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. And soon she will be going through Wyoming and visiting Colorado, Oklahoma and then last but not least Nebraska. She is the spitting image of her Daddy and that makes me extremely happy I mean I fell for his charming good looks too right? We also think she is going to be a thumb sucker - I'm actually pretty happy about it! We have caught her several times sucking her thumb and putting herself back to sleep which has been a fun surprise for Mom and Dad. Emery even gave us our first full nights sleep of 7 1/2 hours on June 20th which made her Mom feel like a whole new woman the next morning. :)

Life is so wonderful and we feel so blessed to have this sweet baby in our lives! I'll post more pictures of our trip soon we had a great time spending time with family! Love you all!

News

Wow...it has been quite a while since I've posted on our blog! Things have been crazy and I'm just now getting back into the swing of things! Obviously we have a lot to be grateful for and for the sake of not trying to recap the last 5 months I'll just hit our most important events.

1. Guy was accepted into the University of Nebraska for law school and we will take off sometime this summer and head to Lincoln, NE! We don't know anybody in Lincoln and we have no idea what to expect but we are super excited for this new adventure.

2. And of course......Our sweet little EMERY GRACE was born on April 16, 2012 at 11:39pm. After 16 1/2 hours of labor we welcomed our sweet little baby into the world! Wow...it is crazy to think its already been almost 2 months!

She was 7 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches long. This is still one of my very favorite pictures of her!  

Mom saying "hello" for the first time

 

Daddy's girl

 

First family picture

Now almost 2 months later she is the absolute joy of our lives and we couldn't be more grateful for all the blessings we have been given. I can't even begin to list all the things we love about her and how much our lives have changed in the past 2 months! But here are a few pictures to highlight the past couple months with our sweet little Emery.

First Grandma Mary, Aunt Ashley, and Aunt Courtney came to visit! They waited patiently all 16 1/2 hours at the hospital until Emery was born. We are so grateful they were there!

Amie, Poppa, and Uncle Grant came down to visit and help out with Emery too! She is sooo spoiled! We love you all so much!!

Grandpa Stevens also came down to visit when Emery was blessed. She looked so beautiful in her blessing dress and her Daddy gave her the most wonderful blessing. Thanks Grandpa for coming to visit!

Emery had lots of visitors!! Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone but we were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Bateman visit from Idaho, Uncle Ron and Aunt Mindy (they might as well be family right?) and Stephanie came to visit too before they left for the summer. Thanks everyone for all your visits, help, and company!!
In order to avoid an even more epic long blog post I think I'll stop most of the pictures there!

Mostly I just wanted to say how grateful we are to everyone for all their love and support and for loving our little Emery. Even with sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and all those wonderful things we couldn't be happier to have her here with us.

President Boyd K. Packer said at the most recent General Conference for the Church:
"Fathers and mothers, next time you cradle a newborn child in your arms, you can have an inner vision of the mysteries and purposes of life. You will better understand why the Church is as it is and why the family is the basic organization in time and in eternity."

I'm so grateful for my understanding of my role as a mother, for a loving husband who helps me out far more than I could ever explain, and for a healthy perfect daughter who has been entrusted to me. She has absolutely brought a greater purpose and meaning into my life and she such a joy to have around.