Merry Christmas to All... and to All a good night!!!

It's getting closer...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

That glorious day when I will be able to kneel with my most wonderful husband is drawing ever so near. March 7th 2009!!!! Today as I was driving to work, I was pondering about that upcoming day, and what it will be like and the things that I want to remember and the overall emotion of the day. For so long it's been in the distant future, but over the past two or so months it seems like time has completely sped up and all of a sudden we're two and a half months from that Sacred occasion. We have been so busy these last few months trying to accomplish many things and stay on task from Church callings, to work schedules, to personal schedules. Then all of a sudden two months has flown by and here we are in the home stretch almost!

I hope this is appropriate to make the following comments, if not, I won't feel bad because you people all have the right to cease reading at any point...

I believe, just as many have warned me prior to my epiphany, that Satan has sought us out individually and has gone to work extra hard to prevent our Temple Marriage from taking place. There are the obvious temptations, those of physical nature, and sometimes, those grow harder to resist, but then there are the temptations that leave the potential for an even greater desecration of a marriage... and that comes from finding fault, looking for excuses to pick apart your spouse's faults (or in my case, future spouse). We have really struggled lately to not argue and find reasons to pick one another apart. Up until this point, we have really done well to work through our individual differences. We have reasoned with one another, and even compromised on many occasion to find that we have reached the perfect conclusion or solution. Right now, at times, it seems harder to do because tempers are short, emotions are heightened, stress has set in and the adversary is ever present. The thing that I must teach myself to remember, is that the Savior is even closer, and He is there to ease the burden of emotion both Frank and myself seem to be carrying at this present time.
Now after having said this, I hope no one thinks that we hate each other, I think what we are experiencing is normal. Last night we sat and talked through alot of things that have been frustrating us, including the failing economy (especially in Riverside County) which I would say is a large reason we have been frustrated, and we seem to have a much better and more realistic grasp on how to tackle these last couple months before the wedding. I am truly grateful for Frank. He is the greatest gift I have ever been given (with the exception of the Gospel of course) and I am very humbled today and feeling the need to repent for my shortcomings (there are many) and give thanks for the wonderful man I will spend the rest of Eternity with. Marriage is great, but it takes work and I can't wait to spend forever perfecting my self with the help and guidance of my very best friend!

I need addresses!!!!

It's gettin close to that time to start compiling the list of addresses to send out the wedding invitations... anytime someone looses a phone or somethin they enlist the help of the blogging world to get back in touch... I thought i'd do the same.
If you would be so kind as to email me your addresses so I could start getting a list together I would really appreciate it.! :)
My email is sabrinaleiferman_3@hotmail.com. Thanks everyone!

two PEAS IN A POD... Frank and Todd!

For almost as long as we have been dating it's been just me and Frank, Frank and I. WE do everything together, obviously we've become the best of friends, but some where along the way Frank got the short end of the stick because he has pretty much lost out on all things "masculine". He's been surrounded by girl things and girl friends of mine and hasn't done too much with any guy.
Then came Todd... we love Todd, but Frank especially loves Todd 'cause he's a guy and they have lots in common, and they share the same prefession... they are both Electricians. They love to bowl, watch bang bang shoot 'em up movies, cars, food, and lots more... here are just a few shots of the two peas in a pod!

"chestnuts roasting on and open fire"

I think, (I don't know for sure) that is Franks favorite Christmas Song... He walks around singing "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" like pretty much every chance he gets... it's kind of annoying actually, he does this weird thing at the end where he like draws out the fire part and makes the pitch in his voice go weird. I always ask him to cut it out, especially because the ending gets louder each time... :(
Speaking of annoyances... especially for any of you already married people... Remember your first Christmas' together? Do you remember the bickering over which color Christmas lights to hang and how to hang them, what kind of tree to get, how the tree would be decorated, etc...? Well, fortunately for us, we survived our first Christmas decorating stage with only a few references to ended the upcoming marriage prematurely! :) just kidding, we never actually said it, but I know there were definitely some under the breath comments made about how annoyed we were with each other. The problem was, we're both stubborn. Bottom line. I like things decorated one way for Christmas, (my mom is an interior designer) my house always looks like a model home, and he has lived on his own for 11 years, so he's gotten used to things his way. We argued about everything to do with the decorations, but in the end, we somehow found the way to COMPROMISE and make it work. The funny part is, we were decorating my moms house with her permission. She told us if we could survive the decoration phase, we could probably make it in a marriage. :) All kidding aside, it worked out great and I have a nice house to enjoy, and when Frank comes over each day, he can do the same! Here are just a few pictures to highlight the weeks happenings...

Some New Pictures!!

Don't you love these shots? A good friend of ours named Annie was nice enough to take us out on Saturday afternoon and take some great pictures... Frank is so photogenic he looks like a model in some of them... (those are reserved for the picture frames in my house)I had wild woman hair that day, but she's so great, she still managed to capture some wonderful shots. Thanks Annie, we love you!

Holiday Traditions... What does your family do?

Today I was watching a clip on MSNBC and the had a commercial for the Christmas program from Rockefeller Plaza. As I watched, I reflected on my trip to the city a few years ago. About 5 years ago my mom and I were in New York City in between the Holiday Season (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and we had the opportunity to visit Rockefeller Plaza as they brought in the "GIANT" tree. We heard the whole story of how the tree was selected from hundreds in upstate New York and then made it's way through the mayhem known as "the big apple," to it's final destination. We watched it be erected, and then just before our visit ended we saw hundreds of workers decorate the tree. Unfortunately we missed the actual lighting of the tree by like 12 hours, but we were able to watch it on television the following evening for the annual lighting of the tree on NBC.
My family has so many Christmas traditions, the following are just a few...


*The day after Thanksgiving, I (and since I got my license, really only me) shops for the deals on Black Friday. This year I drug Frank along... poor guy! He was a champ!

*The weekend after Thanksgiving we decorate the whole house for Christmas. Lights, Tree, Our Village, Moms Santa Collection, the stockings, the "designer trees" etc...
We always listen to the same Christmas Cd's and sing our hearts out as we decorate. Followed by some good 'ol fashioned pumpkin pie. :) mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy!




*The following weekend, we drive around the city (and sometimes other ones) looking at Christmas lights and once again, blasting the Christmas music.



* The third weekend (when I was younger) I went with either parent (depending on what their schedules were like) to the Parade of Lights in either Newport Beach, or San Diego Harbor. It was always cold, but a fun experience!




*The next family tradition is still my all time favorite... MOM'S CHRISTMAS EVE SPAGHETTI FEAST! OHHHHH YEAH! pretty much everyone knows that Spaghetti is my ALL TIME FAAAAAAVVVVOOOOORRRRIIIITTTTEEEEE food! My mom goes all out, the whole family is invited, immediate family, extended family, friends, and last year, even a homeless family. I love it, we all partake of the delicious meal, then rest our tummies while catching up on the busy year coming to an end, followed by some BAD piano playing, gift exchange (which is usually home made gifts or food), picture time, and a Midnight Christmas Eve Service at my moms church. It such a beautiful night. It has so much more of the feeling that should accompany the Christmas holiday. There is no commercialization, simply time spent with our loved ones, and rejoicing in the reason for the season. At our home on Christmas eve, there is so much joy, the lights are dim, the fire is lit, the tree is glistening, it's just enough to warm the soul!

*Then the next day (obviously) is Christmas. It involves waking up to a mess of a kitchen, opening our gifts, then getting together with more family throughout the rest of the day. Just the same as everyone else! :)