The story of my pretty shiny!

Okay so here is the engagement story you have all been asking about.....

So, I had been planning on going home for a few weeks to visit my family and work. Jared's parents and little sister were coming with me on this fun little adventure to meet my family and just tour the awesomeness of Oregon! I was really hoping to have

a pretty shiny(AKA: ring on my finger) before I left. I thought that maybe if I was really lucky, I just might get my wish! Well, the week before we left Jared's mom informed me that Tom(the ring guy) was out of town...BLASTED!!!!!! My hopes quietly went crashing down. I was bummed to the max but what could I do right(shoulder shrug). I had to smile and just keep pressing on. Thursday night(3 days before we left) Jared asked me what my ring size was....WHAT?!?!??!!!! Grrr...all I could think of was, "You mean to tell me it's still not even sized"..haha I have learned through this whole process that my patience is seriously lacking

...working on it(scouts honor)!! Well that weekend(Saturday to be exact)Jared picked me up for our normal weekly date. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He seemed to be anxious to go eat but I just assumed the kid was super hungry..

haha He told me that the Olive Garden was having a two for one special for some kind of an anniversary. He thought it would be good since we were and still are trying to save money(not to mention it's his favorite place to get grub)! He asked me to call his mother dear and ask her which Olive Garden was having the special or if it was all of them. I did. She answered. I asked. She laughed. She went on to tell me that it wasn't the Olive Garden(silly Jared), it was The Garden(easy mistake). Ohhhhh I said, "The place were we went on our first date"? Yep that was the one. I told Jared that we could still go to the Olive Garden if he wanted. We discussed it and then both agreed that it would be kind of fun to go back to The Garden(for old times sake of course)! It was really funny because sure enough there was a 100th anniversary going on...CRAZY!!! I was still completely off in my own world not assuming a thing! We took the elevator to the 10th floor and then went to the front desk to see if there were any open tables. The receptionist asked if we had a reservation...ummm No! Lucky for us there was a table open. Jared had obviously gone earlier on that day and worked it out...sneaky sneaky! I just love this cute sweet adorable boy! When we sat down Jared seemed a little off but I just thought it was because he was un-entertained by my current rant and rave..haha He told me that he wanted to switch things up

for a change and chose my meal! I was totally cool with that, it sounded fun! Hmmm what was Jer Bear going to pick for me....so anxious to find out :)! After 5 minutes he

put the menu down and said that he had come to a conclusion. He asked if I wanted to see what he had chosen but I said no. He insisted saying that he didn't want to order something

that I didn't like. I gave in. He opened the menu and pointed. My heart stopped. My head felt like it was on fire. I sat there. I starred.

I somehow DIDN'T quiet catch on...haha I am blond remember. All I saw was where it said, "Hailey's Special". I just kept thinking, "Hmmmm, was this here last time? Maybe they have a different name special every week, what a coincidence"...lol The entire time Jared was thinking that I was reading the menu...haha He got on one knee and immediately I blurted out word for word, "Are you freaking kidding me right now" hahahahaha I was beyond SHOCKED!!!!!!! My mouth just hung open as I stared back and forth between him, the ring and the menu. Boy oh boy was I lost! He asked. He waited patiently for an answer. He kept waiting. He waited some more. He looked at me with the face of, "Please answer me soon?" hahaha OH CRAP I totally forgot that I had to say yes.....! When it finally hit me I said YES without hesitation! It was a beautiful moment. PERFECT! I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't stop looking at him. I just kept waiting to be woken up from this happily ever after fairytale dream! It was priceless, truly!!! The effort and thought that went in to this proposal describes Jerad and the person that he is to a tee. He is so very loving and kind. It is his greatest desire to see me smile, to make me happy! I still have a hard time understanding how I got so lucky. Someone please tell me how did I end up with someone so GREAT???!!!! It is beyond me. I went home that next week with the pretty shiny on my finger..YAY! The moral of the story: Wishes do come true! :) On August 20th 2011 I am marrying my best friend for all time and eternity! Big heart smile!!!!!!

Smiling Heart

My Heart is oh so very happy!!
Do you remember when you were little and you would write a list of all the things that you look for in a future husband?!?!!! Who knows maybe it was just me but seriously, I did that ALL of the time! I would write things like...
1.) Strong Testimony; Worthy Priesthood Holder
2.) Education; Smart
3.) Sense Of Humor; Makes Me Laugh
4.) Sweetheart; Treats Me Good
5.) Smokin Hot
6.) Romantical; Good kisser
etc...
The the list would seriously go on and on and ON...oh and look, on some more! It was like the stinkin energizer bunny...haha Man did I expect a lot, a real life prince charming I tell you!!!
When I returned from my mission I re-read that list and just had to laugh at myself. There was no way in Tarzan that I was going to be able to find "Mr. Awesomely Perfect", "Mr. Fit All Of The Qualities On My Sweet Sauce Future Husband List"...haha! Well ladies and gentleman hold on to your pink bloomers because oh my heck, I have the GREATEST news of the year....are you ready for this(I'm not sure you are..)?!?!?!?!! I don't admit this very often(no but seriously I really don't)...I was wrong!!!!!
Jared seriously fits EVERY single one of those qualities.
Can you believe that! I have actually found my Happy Thought, my Prince Charming, my Happily Ever After, The Love Of My Life!

Once again....MY HEART IS SMILING(A big cheesy grin)!!
I have a feeling I better get use to this, I think I may have a happy heart for the next little while, maybe even ETERNITY :)

HAILEY + BOREDOM = PHOTOBOOTH

This pretty much describes my morning......

Jared & Hailey

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

1 universe, 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas, and I had the privilege to meet you!

MEET JARED: Jared is AMAZING!!! Oh my heck I just adore this boy. He has one of the strongest testimonies of anyone I have EVER met! I love how much the Gospel means to him and how evident that has become to me through just simply watching his actions and how he handles every day situations. Jared is a hard worker and has ambition. He knows the importance of getting things done. One of my many favorite things about him is his love for his family. They are his heart and soul! It is cute just watching him light up as he talks about each of them...can't help but to smile! Jared is HILARIOUS!!! I probably laugh about 100 times a day! He is just an all around GREAT catch! I'm one LUCKY girl, the LUCKIEST!!

HOW WE MET: This is actually a really funny story, I love it!! Jared served in the Eugene Oregon Mission while I was across the country serving in the Southern states. He first met my brother while in La Pine for 6 months. Chad(brother) was his ward mission leader so they got the chance to work side by side the entire time. Jessica and Jet(sister-In-Law and Nephew) actually went out to Utah and stayed with Jared's family for a week last year...How crazy is that!?!!! I of course had no idea who this adorable boy was and what all was going on back home.

Jessica and Jet in Utah with their ward and Lindsay(Jareds little sister)last spring!Lindsay(Jared's little sister) with JetJared on his mission

Story continued... so a little later down the road Jared was transferred to the Springfield area. He covered two wards...my parents ward and my older sister Lindsay's ward!! He served there for 7 1/2 months. Lindsay had a neighbor who had just begun taking the missionary lessons so Jared was over all the time teaching those lessons. Lindsay's little family instantly fell in love with "Elder Turner". Lindsay would always write and tell me about this amazing missionary who she just had to set me up with when I got home. I guess she would say the same things to him too. Neither of us really responded or thought much about of it...just Lindsay being Lindsay..haha I adore her! So when I got home from my mission I was in no way looking for someone to marry or even date for that matter. I was completely content and to be honest I was actually talking to a really GREAT guy who I will always love and respect. Lindsay however had other plans in store. She was in line with our Heavenly Father. I think they were plotting this out together(seriously would not surprise me)! She would not get off this Elder Turner kick. She talked about him non-stop. Apparently she facebook stalked him and sent him a message giving him my number and telling him to call me. He did. I answered. It went well. He asked me out. I said yes. Two weeks later....
THE FIRST DATE:I totally expecting it to be awkward x 10. I was ready to go and get it over with. I was ready for Lindsay to leave me alone with the whole Jared Turner thing..haha So, Jared came to pick me up around 4:00 in the afternoon. The first thing I thought when I saw him was, "Crap, he's a cutie"...haha We hit it off within the first second. It came so naturally. We laughed and joked throughout the entire evening. We went to temple square and walked around a while before eating dinner on the roof top of the Joseph Smith building(over looking the temple). It was an AMAZING view...so much fun! After dinner we went to a space planetarium, statue garden and last but not least hiked Ensign peak...BAREFOOT!!!! It was crazy AWESOME!!! It was a date that I thought nothing about and didn't think anything would come of BUT...It turned out to be a date of a life time. It changed everything in a matter of hours. At the conclusion of that day, I was falling for a boy I hardly even knew. It was the strangest feeling in the world. It was the beginning....More happiness to come in the future :)

The Heart & Love

"Every person in the world has a heart

&
Every heart has a place within
that wants only to love and be loved"

I've been thinking a lot about the HEART lately...sounds silly I know,

BUT........

Isn't it weird that everything that has to do with love comes back to the symbol of the heart?!?!!

The average human heart beats 72 times a minute, 100,000 times a day and about 35 million times a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back. The heart does the most physical work of any muscle.

I just think it's interesting that the heart is the one organ that has to work the hardest and is also the one organ that like I said above symbolizes LOVE!
The conclusion that I have come to is this: JUST LIKE THE HEART, LOVE TAKES WORK!
A lot of work!
It's tough stuff to love! It's hard at times to communicate, to listen, to be there in times of need. It's hard to get past in-differences, arguments and frustrations.
It's hard to be selfless!
It's hard but it's necessary.
Given the heart's arduous task of supplying the body with blood every day, it must be well taken care of. LOVE NEEDS TO BE WELL TAKEN CARE OF. A heart that is improperly cared for may develop heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans.
A LOVE that isn't well taken care of will eventually suffer complications and in some cases death.
There are known things that help prevent heart disease...weight loss, exercise, medical treatment, etc. There are also known things that we need to do to prevent "Love Disease"...SERVICE, COMMUNICATION, RESPECT, TRUST, SELFLESSNESS, etc.

I guess the reason I am posting this is because it was the number one thing that I saw as a missionary working among all different types of people in all different circumstances. I feel like the world is forgetting how to love.
I too am guilty of this.
"A friend loveth at ALL times" Proverbs 17:17
Show your BEST FRIEND in life how much you love them and do it often!

The heart keeps the body living but love keeps the soul living

Life Goes Round & Round

I have been home for two weeks now! I can't believe how CRAZY fast time has come and gone! I continue to love life, play with my little men, keep busy with random INSANO adventures and smile OFTEN!