I've Got a Friend

I was tagged by Alicia. I love this one! I don't have a blogroll on my blog anymore so the answers below are taken off of my Google Reader list, which is done in alphabetical order.

Here are the rules:
1. Answer questions from your blog list of friends and family.
2. If you don’t have 18 names on your list, just pick one for the last question.
3. Tag 3 other people.

When did you meet the 1st person on your list?
The first time I met Alicia was at her sister's house at a Stampin' Up party back in 2003. She hobbled in all swollen and miserable at 8 months pregnant with Payson. She was, um..., how do I put this... huge! Sorry, Leeshie. But even in her miserable and puffed up state, she was the life of the party! She and her sister have the best, loudest, most contagious laughs and when they get together, they have everyone laughing. I knew I wanted to hang out with these girls since they were so fun to be around. Almost 5 years, tons of GNO's and driveway chats later, Alicia is one of my very closest and dearest friends. Love this girl to death!!

What do you like about the 3rd person on your list?
What I like about Amy O. is that whenever I see her she is always happy and smiling. She always genuinely wants to know how things are going in my world since we don't run into each other that often. She is so sweet and kind.


What do you like best about the 5th and 6th people on your list?5th is my brother Chris. Since there are a million and one things I like best about him, I had the HARDEST time trying to pick just one. So I couldn't. Here are a few things I like best about my brother. He's hilarious. He's a WONDERFUL husband and father. He's so in tune with the spirit. He's crazy talented at the piano and the violin and Guitar Hero. He's seriously so smart. He is awesome with kids. He used to be a Kindergarten teacher. He is seriously so fun to be around. Our limited time together always goes by way too fast. I wished he lived closer. I could literally go on and on. He's an incredible human being.


6th is Danyelle. What I like best about Danyelle is her devotion to her family. She is a wonderful mother and wife - not mine but you know what I mean. There is no doubt in my mind that she adores her role as a wife and mom.



How long have you known the 9th person on your list?
I've known Heather since the old 6th ward days, I think coming up on 5 years now. She was the "substitute" primary pianist when I was the Sunbeam teacher. She "subbed" as the pianist every single Sunday. Aren't you still playing the piano in primary, Heather? :) She is so fun to be around and is someone I draw lots of inspiration from. Her homemaking skills amaze me. There is nothing she can't do. By the way, have you seen her cakes?!

What impresses you about the 11th and 12th people on your list?
Jan's home decorating skills impress me! Not to mention her wonderful sense of humor, her knowledge of wheat, her testimony, her ability to befriend others, her beauty... Jan is very impressive!

Jessica impresses me with how she serves others. She is the type of person that would drop everything to help someone in need. She barely knew me when we were putting Rochelle's crop together and literally called me everyday wanting to know what she could do next. She was such an incredible help during that fundraiser and didn't even get to attend! She is always thinking of others.

What is a memory of the 16th?
A memory of Karen. When I think of Karen I have to smile. She is so down to earth, she cracks me up with always able to find humor in every situation, and I think she's just beautiful. Inside and out. When I was in my very first week of starting my new preschool, in the throes of trying to establish my new schedule, she showed up on my doorstep unannounced with dinner and dessert in hand and simply said, "I was thinking of you today and wanted to bring you dinner. Thought it might help." I was so incredibly grateful at her thoughtfulness and how her timing was so exactly what I needed without realizing it myself. It was such a blessing and I love that about her. She's thoughtful and willing to serve others without the sign-up sheet. Love that!

Something nice about the 18th?
Kristen H. is someone I completely admire. She is so generous with her time. She loves children and is so great with them. She is funny, crafty, sweet, spiritual, loving, and has a big boisterous laugh. She loves her family and loves others and it shows.


I just couldn't stop there! I felt like the last half of my blog roll was being neglected so here's round 2 starting with the next person:


When did you meet the 1st person on your list?
The first time I met Kristi was at our ward Halloween party in 2005. She and her husband were moving here from Texas and my husband got her husband a job at Kadlec. They came up to check things out in our ward. We were both very pregnant - Kristi with her 3rd and me with my 4th. I was 10 times bigger than she was and she was due before me. Talk about embarassing! Kristi has since had her 4th baby and I think she's a great mom. She is so patient with the mischief that her boys get into, always taking pictures first to document the journey. Love that!

What do you like about the 3rd person on your list?
What I like about Lindsay is her sweetness. I know that sounds completely cheesy but it's the only word I could think of to sum her up. She's just so friendly and kind! She's also hilarious. Some of the funniest things have come out of her mouth. She's extremely thoughtful, generous, so willing to serve, loves to learn new things, a good friend to others, a great mom raising some pretty remarkable kids, and she's gorgeous.

What do you like best about the 5th and 6th people on your list? 5th is Lisa L. What I like best about Lisa is how she loves her family. She and her sisters-in-law are the best of friends and they literally take off the "in-law" and call each other sisters. I love that! They love to be around each other and likewise we love to be around them! I feel like I've known her forever but it's not been that long! She is so laid back and easy to talk to and she's crazy hilarious. I love the way she can laugh at herself and her kids and I love that she uses words like "dude, freakin', killer,..." There's no way I could pull those words off! Love that!

6th is Lisa S. What I like best about Lisa is the incredible job she's doing as a mother. She documents everything in her babies' lives and loves having her girls' pictures taken. She is determined to give Elisabeth the best possible childhood imaginable regardless of what the limitations may be. Anyone who really knows me knows that I completely admire parents to disabled children and Lisa is as inspiring a mom as they come. I look up to her.

How long have you known the 9th person on your list?
I've known Marilyn for a little over a year now. I had heard her name before, knew she was a Mathews, but finally got to know her through the world of blogging. I know it's not that long but I'm so happy I know her! She is amazing! She's so knowledgable in music, loves beautiful things and is constantly inspiring others. She's discovered a newfound love for fitness, eating healthy, and has set some great goals in getting healthy again. To take a little taste in her determination go here.

What impresses you about the 11th and 12th people on your list?
What impresses me about Nicole? There are so many I could choose from but if I had to pick just one it would be the way she learned and dedicated herself to making sure Zoe had the best possible care she could ever be given at such a critical time in her infancy. I was so impressed with the countless hours she would spend at the hospital while Zoe was in the NICU, the countless hours of having to leave Zoe in the care of the nurses so she could take care of her boys and her home trying to provide some sort of normalcy for the rest of her family, the countless hours of researching and learning the plethora of information she needed to know in order to take care of a preemie once she was out of the hospital, the countless hours she spent at Zoe's bedside hoping she wouldn't succumb to the apnea that was so common in preemies, the countless hours she had to live in seclusion for fear of spreading germs to her fragile baby. I was so impressed with what she was able to do and accomplish during Zoe's stressful infancy. It is absolutely because of Nicole's dedication to providing the healthiest environment for Zoe that she is as healthy as she is today. Impressive, isn't it?

Rachael impresses me with the way she can discipline her children. I know! Why would I pick this one to write about? Sorry, Rachael. you'll probably think this is lame but I think it deserves recognition. Seriously. I've noticed when we're together and all the kids are playing and someone comes and tattles, she doesn't ignore it or say something lame like, "okay, stop ___, don't do it again." She asks her child things like, "Why would you say something like that? Do you think that makes them feel good? I want you to go and apologize and be a better friend..." something along those lines but taking care of the matter right then and there. I guess being a preschool teacher that I deal with tattling all the time and it can be so frustrating to deal with. She doesn't let one time slip, atleast when I've been around. Now home alone can be another story! Just kidding. But I am impressed with her for teaching her kids and being able to discipline them in front of others. Not all parents can do that and I think it's great!

What is a memory of the 16th?
A memory I have of Sarah D. is when our girls were in ballet together. We had never met before this and down at the ballet studio we would just sit in our chairs keeping to ourselves. She was always reading a book! My first impression of her was that I thought she was gorgeous and looked like such a nice person. It was funny because my daughter Ally was immediatly drawn to Sarah's daughter Kendle without knowing anything about her. Ally thought Kendle told her that her name was "Candle" so Ally always referred to her as Candle and since I didn't know who she was, I thought that was her name, too! Sarah was only about 5 months pregnant with Morgan at the time and I overheard her talking to someone saying words like, "ward..., calling..." and knew she had to be LDS. Why is it when finding out someone is LDS that makes it so much easier to talk to them? I of course let her know I was LDS, too, and we started sitting next to each other from then on. She was so easy to talk to, it made that hour at the ballet studio just fly by! I think it was about then that she started her blog which made getting to know her even easier. Sarah is just too sweet for words. She is in love with her family and is such a good wife, mother, daughter, and sister. Probably aunt, niece, cousin, ... etc! She is an amazing person and I'm so glad I had the chance to get to know her!

Something nice about the 18th?
Stacia is my niece by marriage. She is my husband's sister's oldest daughter. I'm so lucky to have her as family! She is an amazing person who has had to endure more lemons than anyone else I know. Through her trials she has been able to teach me and countless others the principle of faith. She is such a happy, well-rounded, level-headed, fun person to be around! She is wise beyond her years and will make an incredible mother someday. I along with so many of you can't wait for that day that she becomes a mommy. What a joyous, happy day that will be and I can't wait to celebrate with you, Stace!!

This tag helped me realize that I've got some pretty amazing people in my life! I'm so blessed to know such talented, creative, awesome people. I'm not sure who to tag on this one because I think if you haven't done this yet, you need to! It's fun letting others know what you perceive of your friends. So go to your blog rolls and get busy!