Happy Thanksgiving!

8. Happy Thanksgiving!

Now the great season of Thanksgiving rolled in. Talking with Garrett about the holiday break, we decided that I would stay with him and his family in Provo the day before Thanksgiving. Because of flights and other commitments, they decided to do Thanksgiving dinner the night before the actual day of Thanksgiving. It worked out really well for me and my family celebrations. After dinner with the Facer clan, Garrett and I would drive up to Bountiful and stay with my family for Thanksgiving day. 

The day of the Facer Thanksgiving was very nice! I was able to sleep in which was very much needed. I spent quite sometime deciding what to wear that day. I was going to see almost every member of Garrett's extended family! I wanted to make an impression! So again, after trying on my own outfits and finding them lacking, I went into my roommate's closet to see what I could wear there. We had a system of where, as long as you washed it before you gave it back, everyone's closet was pretty much free game. It was a fantastic system! I got an outfit that I liked and was ready to go. I had packed all of my other things before getting ready so all that was left to do was to pack things up in Garrett's car when he came to pick me up. 

We got the car stuffed with my stuff when Garrett got to my apartment and headed over to his house. We were still fairly early and not everyone had arrived at the house yet. But considering the fact that the house is pretty small, it got packed fast! I went into the kitchen with Angie to see if there was anything that we could help with. At first there wasn't anything but I felt awkward just sitting and not trying to help. I waited and finally was given a job! Garrett's aunt teased me about my eagerness to help but hey, if that's what she was able to tease me about I think that's alright. It was really cute too, as I was cutting up some vegetables, Grandpa Facer came to my side and happily wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a side hug. He went to Angie also and gave her a hug. When I told Garrett, he seemed shocked! He told me that he and Grandpa had only hugged maybe once in his whole life! (Little did I know that I'd get one or two more hugs since then as well a little bum-tap! Don't worry - I asked one of Garrett's Aunts and I guess that's just something Grandpa does. I laughed so hard!) 

When Grandpa and Grandma were pretty sure everyone who was going to make it was there, we started the feast. There were so many people and so many names to remember! I was in heaven though. Because I'm the youngest on my mom's side of the family and second youngest on my dad's, my older cousins had all been married and moved away when I got older, so our family's didn't get all together very often. Garrett's big family being together reminded me of the big family parties I'd had with my dad's side of the family. I felt very much at home. I loved everyone too! They were all happy faced and open to talking. They also were shocked when, after asking my age, I told them that I was still 18. I still hate saying that.... The shock I get in return makes me feel a little better however! At least I seem older. 

We ate a great dinner and chatted with everyone we could. It was so fun to see Garrett interact with his family. It was especially great to see him interact with his baby cousins. I think every girl will agree, when a guy is good with kids and when they play with kids, your heart melts! That maternal part of you melts to and tells you that yes, he would be an awesome father of your babies! Jumping a few steps in the relationship process yes, but I couldn't help feeling that way when I saw how good he was with little kids and how much he loved them. We said our goodbyes when Garrett and I realized that we needed to head up to Bountiful. I was so excited to have Garrett come stay with me at my house! I couldn't wait to show him off to more of my family. 

When we got to Bountiful, we spent sometime with my parents again and got everything situated on the couch where Garrett was going to sleep.  It was so nice to have him at my house and being able to show him around where I had grown up. He had told me other times before that I was kind of a closed person. I had never thought of myself that way before but after thinking about it, I realized I liked listening to his stories much more than sharing my own! So showing him my house and other things from my life helped me feel more open and free to share more. We hung out with my mom and my little niece, Ginger, for a bit then hit the hay.   

The next morning Garrett was going to play Football at my home ward's annual Turkey Bowl. This is probably my most favorite Thanksgiving tradition: watching my dad, brothers, and their friends play football on Thanksgiving day. I had always loved to come down with my mom and sister to hang out with the other spectators early in the morning. This time I was a lot more excited to see how my boyfriend would fare in the sometimes rough ward football game. There are those times where they don't mess around! Our family itself has had it's share of Turkey Bowl injuries. I didn't need to worry in the end though. That guy knows how to play football! One of the first things that I learned about Garrett was that, since he was little, he had been playing tackle football. When he was in high school in Texas, his school had been a nationally ranked team. He was one of the star's at the Turkey bowl for sure! He played quarterback for the first little bit even though his actual position is Strong Safety on defense. I was sitting on the sidelines, trying to keep my toes from going numb, in my camping chair as proud as could be. When I was worried about him getting hurt, I should have been a little more worried about him hurting someone else! He was pretty aggressive and got himself kind of an enemy, a kid in my ward whom I'm sure thought that because he played on the high school team he was going to be the star of the game. They had another collision and Garrett got hit in the eye. My dad checked on him and Garrett was fine. I knew he'd never stop playing if we was really hurt anyways. That's not how he rolls. In the end, I can't remember who won but the whole group of guys just had fun playing. It was really great to see Garrett interact with my dad, my brother Ryan and a couple of my other "brothers" (my oldest brother's friends who I grew up with), Armstrong and Nate. It made me feel all warm inside seeing them get along and look like family together. 

After football, we all headed home to help my mom and brother-in-law get things ready for dinner that night at my Grandma's. We got showered up and semi ready and then went to work get food ready (I remember that even with the mustache, Garrett looked really good in his nice jeans and blue and white stripped button-up shirt!) Jack and my sister Lindsay, with there awesome little girl, Ginger, were staying at the house too for Thanksgiving. For dinner, Jack was making his delicious authentic spring rolls (Jack is from Taiwan so ya'll can trust he cooks some really good spring rolls and is good at making pretty much any kind of food. We're lucky to have a chef in the family!) Garrett was really excited! He loves Asian food and was very willing to help make them. We all sat at the dinner table and using egg wash, filled and sealed the spring rolls that Jack would then fry.  Garrett got into it and made it a competition with himself to make sure he wrapped each spring roll perfectly. I love his perfectionism in things that he does. Makes my perfectionism a little easier to deal with knowing he's the same way too!

Garrett loves Ginger. It was so funny, the night we got to my house, Lindsay and Jack had come to the door area to meet Garrett. Lindsay was holding Ginger and I told Ginger, gesturing to Garrett, "This is my friend Garrett!" She was all smiles and said in her cute voice, "Hi Uncle Garrett!" Everyone laughed and looked a little like how I felt, "well that was slightly foreboding." How right you were, Ginger-pie! That night and the next day, Garrett and Ginger would play together and she was totally fine with sitting in his lap. The night before, Ginger, while refusing to go to bed, came out and sat with Garrett and I to watch TV. My mom was sitting at the table talking with us too waiting to take Ginger to bed when she was sleepy enough. Garrett asked Ginger if she wanted him to tell her a story. She smiled and nodded, "Yes!" She kept smiling and giggled as Garrett told her the Three Little Bears story. Again, I was beaming and happy inside seeing him with Ginger. After he finished the story, my mom asked him if he knew any kid's stories in Norwegian. He started to tell Ginger a story in Norwegian which to me and my mom sounded really awesome! But to Ginger... She lasted only so long not understanding him then turned her attention to the TV watching one of her shows on Nick Jr. 

After getting our part of the Thanksgiving dinner ready, we headed up to Granny's house. My mom's side of the family is a little smaller than my dad's and mostly everyone still lives in Utah. So all but I think one family was there at my Grandma's house that night. Garrett got off easy! He had way less names and faces to remember than I had had to try to the night before! I introduced him to everyone and of course, the questioning began again. What are you studying? What do you want to do? Where are you from? Where did you serve your mission? Garrett answered everyone and had good conversations. He is really good at talking with people and loves sharing about things he loves like his mission as well as his hometown, San Antonio Texas. My Aunt Ann had been really excited to meet him. My Aunt Ann and Uncle Kent are like my second parents; they took care of me many times when I was little and took a very active role in my life in the way they supported all of my activities and goals. Because we were so close, they both needed to give their opinion on what they thought of Garrett. My Aunt Ann liked him! My Uncle Kent liked him too but like my dad, didn't voice it outright and teased me about it a little. They ganged together that night and talked about the whole thing and teased me. Garrett being Garrett, impressed more of my family when he helped doing dishes and clearing off tables without being asked or waiting to feel obligated. His southern charm, "Yes, ma'am" and "No sir", impressed my grandma I know that! Afterwards everyone went in the living room and at the request of my Granny, I played a few songs on my violin. Looking over at Garrett, I realized that he started drifting off! He hadn't taken a nap after football and had had a head ache from the pain from his eye getting hurt. I just kept playing but laughed a little bit seeing him try and stay awake. 

When we could, we said our goodbyes and left a little earlier so Garrett could get medicine for his headache. But I could tell that everyone there started to see what my parents had been seeing: I was serious about Garrett. From this point on they'd ask my mom about how we were doing, anxious to see where things went. They love me very much, just like my parents, and like my parents, were also concerned about my decision. They would support me (some begrudgingly) but they were worried that I might be heading toward a path where all that I had worked for in school, including my potential career goals, was going to go out the window. They trusted me, like my parents, but they saw the little life experience that I'd had and wanted to help me realize the choice I was making by sharing advice and their own life experiences. It was hard for me to accept the help and advice even though I know it came with every good intentions. The thing was was that I was getting advice and "help" from too many directions and was getting really frustrated. It's all good now though! Everything really does work out if you work hard, stick to what you know is right despite all that may tell you you are wrong. You'll be blessed if you stick it out and hold onto faith and for me, if I held onto the love I know I had for Garrett that was more than just momentary. 

Garrett spent that night at my parents house and then had to leave in the morning. I was sad to see him go but I was only staying a few more days then I had to go back down to Provo for school the following Monday. It was really nice spending time with my family and being able to have them know more about Garrett. 

As soon as I got back down to Provo, I let Garrett know I was home at my apartment. He rushed over to pick me up and took me over to his house. He told that he had a surprise for me and went into his room to get something. He came out with two movies that I could choose out of. I don't remember the other movie, but the one that I chose was Sleeping Beauty. He was so cute, and knew that I loved that movie. He seemed really excited to have me home! He went down the hall for a minute to get something from the basement kitchen and after a second, popped back out and looked at me for a minute while I was sitting on the couch. He smiled and ran over to me and tackled me, hugging me really tight and giving me kisses! He confirmed that he had missed me a little bit. We watched our movie (for the most part... hehe) and afterwards we just cuddled together and talked. We started talking about life and about us. Getting into the more heavier subjects... I had been thinking about those things more and more but I hadn't said anything about it to Garrett yet. He hadn't seemed quite on the "same page" as I had been... But that night as we started talking, everything changed. We started talking about different temples and looking at pictures of the San Antonio Temple. We talked about logistics of how we'd get family down there, when would be a good time, deciding that maybe that wasn't the best option and then deciding that the Salt Lake Temple was the best idea. Wait... had we just decided where were going to get married ? Holy crow. I remember, even though it was late (between 1-2:00 am) and I was fading out, my heart was beating really fast! I was so excited to tell my roommates, tell Lindsay and oh wait... what was I going to tell my parents. In my head I told myself, "Oh its nothing, its not for sure yet and I don't want to make them worry more about it. I'll tell them later." Well... All ya'll who have parents that your close to, that you know are concerned about you and love you very much, even though you know they will worry more, I found for me that it would've been better to let them know SOONER than LATER. I learned that the hard way. Instead of telling my parents things that happened all along and asking them for advice, I talked with my siblings, my friends, and worried the whole time about hurting my parents or making them worry more when they already had so much going on. I know everything all worked out, but if I could go back, I would've given my parents more of a heads-up by personally telling them how I was feeling, progressively. 

Garrett and I talked a little more and then we both realized how late it was. He took me back home and we hugged and kissed goodbye. I couldn't believe it. We just talked about where we wanted to get married!! It felt different between us in the best way. I felt that we were on the same page and that we were heading towards something wonderful together. After meeting his extended family, I had felt very much that I wouldn't mind being a part of the Facers. I didn't know how he felt about my family for sure yet, but I know that he loved me and liked the members of my family that he'd met. Looking back, I really couldn't believe what was happening! It felt so right and yet so much of my life had changed! All of my plans and thoughts about the way my life would turn out, were changing in a blink of an eye. And it all felt so right! Scary, yeah. But right. I never felt real doubt about what lie ahead of me. Just moments where the scary, unknown part took the best of me. I could feel every time I prayed about it, that Heavenly Father trusted my decision no matter where that took me. I made the decision to keep dating Garrett and I knew it felt right. 

December. The next month was a big month. I could feel that something big was going to happen... 

Some things I forgot to mention!:

1) **There's two sides to this story that I've heard! You may want to read Garrett's view of it when he writes it on his blog that I have a link to** The day after Garrett got home,after going shooting with some of his family, Garrett was sitting by Angie and Grandma when Angie pointed out an add in a newspaper about a sale on wedding rings. She did it as a joke a little bit but Garrett looked at it and told them that the rings that were on sale weren't the kind I had said I wanted. He told them that I wanted a pearl ring.He looked at the price on the advertisement and asked if they knew how much pearl rings were because the price of the other rings were more than he'd expected. Haha I remember Angie telling me the story (me sitting there the whole time, "Really?! Really?! No way!") and telling me that she hadn't expected him to react that way. She was impressed that he remembered the kind of ring I wanted and seemed serious about asking about prices. 

2) During another talk with Angie, I learned that she was crucial to my still dating Garrett! One time when he was with Angie and Hansen, he had been stressing out about the fact that I was 18 and wasn't sure what he should do about still dating me. Angie stuck up for me like a champ! She told Garrett that she knew, and knew that he did too, that I wasn't like your average 18 year old girl. She told him that my age wasn't something that should be something to stop dating me for. He listened and agreed. So thank you Angie!! You may have been the reason why we got married!

3) Pretty sure it was after Thanksgiving... But one Tuesday night, basketball night for the boys and a girls night for Angie and I, we wen't to the mall. We were looking at shoes and talking about how things were going with Garrett and I as well as how crazy that would be if we got married  After we walked out of the store, Angie excitedly asked if I'd want to go look at wedding dresses at a store in the mall. "Yeah!" I agreed while inside I was a little nervous! I wasn't engaged yet and I felt like if Garrett found out, he'd be creeped out! But she confidently walked by me, arm in arm, and after a little pause she told me that probably the only way that they would let me try on the dresses was if I was actually engaged. She pulled off her wedding ring and put it on my finger. It was one of the strangest feelings I've had. It was almost like I could feel that her ring was entirely her's and Hansen's. I wanted to take it off and give it right back to her! But we walked in the store together and Angie told them that I was there to try on wedding dresses and that she was my future sister-in-law. All true now of course, but when they started asking me specific dates of my engagement and wedding I had to lie through my teeth! I felt guilty because the helpers at the store were so nice and very congratulatory. Trying to act more normal, I started to let myself think that this was for real and lived up the congratulations. I pretended and fantasized about if Garrett and I were actually engaged right then. I tried on a lot of dresses! It was the best to have Angie there to give her opinions and to be there to tear up with me when I found one dress that I really loved and thought was THE dress. It didn't end up being the one, but it was still super awesome to have that kind of "This is THE dress!" experience in a bridal store. We talked about how I would do my hair, what jewelry I'd wear and all that! My store assistant was the best, and talked animatedly with us too. I still felt mildly guilty... but I had fun pretending! The assistant was so sweet and gave me a gift of some pearl earrings. Angie and I left and when we were far enough away started laughing together. I know that after that night she felt guilty for taking me because what if Garrett and I didn't get engaged and she had gotten my hopes up? Well no worries! We did get married and going dress shopping with her was one of the best girl nights ever! Oh by the way, Garrett did find out about our adventure, and no he wasn't creeped out... he just laughed:)