Matty and Emma

The day Emma was born, Matty looked at me and said, "Thanks for giving me my best friend, Rach". 

She's now 2 1/2, and that statement is more true than I could have ever imagined.

My Emma. She is silly. She is a complete goofball and will do the funniest things to get your attention. She has a wild imagination. If she notices she did something to make you laugh, she will do it over and over again, just to get more giggles. She secretly loves a big audience. She makes friends instantly by walking up to strangers and sitting next to them. She is a daredevil. She gets distracted easily. She likes to take her time. She is an observer of the world around her.

Matty. See Above.

Matt's parents can probably attest that Emma's attributes are a direct DNA match to him. They literally are best friends.

The other day as we were driving, she was pretending to reach for the door and right as she would touch it, she would fake giggle. Then, when she noticed Matt looking back to see what she was doing, she kept doing it, only with more gusto and effort, and MORE fake laughter. 

I slapped my hand to my forehead, and sighed... "We've created another Matt." 

We both just laughed, and Matt said, "I'm sorry, you're going to have two of us now."

When he said they were going to be best friends, he was right. They are best friends. They understand each other. They can be silly together without care of who is watching. I laugh just thinking about my future with these two characters. Oh man, am I in for a lifetime of laughter and silly antics!

BFF for life!

Gerald the Gallbladder

Gerald the Gallbladder is no more. His havoc wreaking days inside Matt's abdomen are over. Gerald, I can't say that I'll miss you, or the pain you've caused my loving husband!

Matt went in for surgery today. Just your average gallbladder removal that is done all the time by many surgeons around the world. But for me, it wasn't just a surgery that most of Americans have. It was my best friend going in for surgery. It was the girl's Daddy. It was me being worried and nervous that everything would be alright. It was waiting in the waiting room anticipating the good news that he was okay. It was the slight chance that something could go wrong. It wasn't just a surgery for me. 

I know that many friends and family prayed for him-- for us, that everything would go well. I have often wondered if my prayers for others are felt by them. I have heard people mention that they could feel people praying for them while they were going through trying times, and always wondered how you could actually feel a prayer being said on your behalf. 

Today, I can say with a surety, that I have felt your love and prayers for us today. I am overwhelmed to tears, because I can literally feel all of your prayers for Matt and I and our family. I feel it through the Holy Ghost, that warm and comforting feeling of unyielding love. I know that many prayers have been offered for us today, and that is such an amazing thing. Thank you for your love, your support, and prayers. This may have seemed like a little thing, but for us, it was huge. Big or small, God listens. 

 I know that God hears and answers prayers. He wants to send us angels, and feelings of comfort administered through the Holy Ghost. He is real. He loves us, more than we could possibly comprehend. I know it because I feel it so strongly within my being. 

Matt is now in the recovery room, doing great and waking up from anesthesia. Saying that I am grateful that he's okay is an understatement. I never want to imagine going through this life without him. He is my rock, my hero, and my best friend. Going through this surgery with him, has deepened my love and appreciation for this wonderful man. 

We will be leaving the hospital soon, to go home and let Matt recover. He has the Xbox hooked up in our bedroom, so he should be happily entertained between sleeping and recovering. 

Here's to a happy gallbladder-less future for Matty!! 

Love you all

xoxo
The Twistles

Parents Night Out!

Words to describe our get-a-way:

Awesome.

Memorable.

Amazing.

Fun.

For the last 2 years, we have been broke. Like, so broke we wanted to cry. So, Matt's birthday (and mine) have fallen by the wayside when it came to birthday celebrations. I mean, we did the traditional birthday dinner, but that was about it.

This year, we are in a better spot, thanks to Matt working his manly buns off for us. 

So we splurged and booked a hotel downtown for the night. 

Owen and Crissy agreed to take the girls overnight, which is no small feat considering Charlotte is still not sleeping through the night yet. 

Emma was so excited to hang out with Mitch and "Ca-Ca", and had a great time. 

Matt and I were able to relax, and enjoy each other's company like we used to in our pre-kid life. We laughed just like we used to, before we were so tired from parenthood. Matt and I talked to random strangers on the street, and even rode a bike taxi on the way back to the hotel!

Being a parent, you sometimes lose sight of who you were before kids. That you used to laugh a lot, and be spontaneous. Matt reminded me that who I am now is not bad, just different. I've evolved to take care of my children and to be a good Mom, it just comes with the territory. He told me that if I hadn't have changed to take care of the girls, then that would be something to worry about. He is my voice of reason when I am too hard on myself. One of the many reasons I love him so. 

It was just nice to feel like, "us" again. Like we were newlyweds, living downtown doing what we wanted when we wanted. It was good to be reminded that even though we are stressed with work and life matters, that "we" are still in there somewhere. 

It just takes a little "Parent Getaway" to let our single flags fly. 

Thank you Crissy and Owen for granting us this great opportunity, we so badly needed it! 

Matt is using a new app called, "Day One". It's an online journal for your computer/phone. He wrote down his own thoughts of our weekend together, and you can read it below:

FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013, 9:14 PM

Why not start out on my 32d birthday to log the incredible journey I am sharing with my sweetheart. The night started out by dropping our two little ones off at their aunt Crissy and uncle Owen's home for a sleepover with their cousins Jessica and Mitchell. We zipped downtown SLC for sushi at a restaurant that we have had in our sights for quite sometime. The place is called Sapa and features an incredible ambiance highlighted by authentic Vietnamese tea houses that were disassembled in Vietnam and brought to Utah and consequently reassembled on State and 700 South. We ate and ate and ate some more before heading to the Hilton to check into our

room for the night. The excitement of a fresh hotel room (with hot tub) is always such a rush! I snapped a couple of shots of the room and we decided to walk through downtown on a nostalgic adventure so similar to that which we used to enjoy on a semi nightly basis back in our pre-children days. The air was warm, Rachel held my hand and was my steady reminder that I always get too close to the street while waiting for the crosswalk signal to change. I had my sights set on a strawberry and cream from Starbucks so that was our next stop. So refreshing! Along our walk we made some friends one of whom may have unwittingly made a lasting impression on us for life. His name was Doc and he was a former homeless person who now made a humble living selling newspapers in the street and helping others who find themselves in the same situation. He beamed when he spoke of his daughter and seemed humbly reverent as he told us of her searching him out by asking the various valets around town if they knew where he was sleeping back in his less fortunate times. He was brave and confident in himself. We continued on our way and found ourselves lured in by the air conditioning the rushed through the corridors of the outdoor City Creek Mall. Shopping! I needed a new hat because 50 isn't enough and Rach needed shirts and jewelry because she's a female. After shopping and noticing the creeping night we started the 10 block walk back when we happened upon Louis Alexander, bike taxi. Man, this guy was such a great addition to our new list of friends in the city. He had an iPod playing some hippy-bongo-Indian music and filled the aromatic night arm with the warm, masking smell of patchouli oil. As he pedaled us through the city en route to our hotel we shared small talk of culture, family, and drunks. Sophisticated to say the least! Only a couple of scares and we made it to the hotel safe and with a new friend and yet another line item to check off our bucket list that we have never yet written down. Energy drinks!! Our hotel, in all of its accommodation had none! In the car, windows down, and Nelly/Pandora playing loud we headed toward the Pharmacy. Rockstars and sleep aids were the only items on this grocery list. Inspiration hit on the way back to the hotel to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a midnight snack. After waiting ten minutes in the drive through line we decided it would be best to go in and wait in that line for ten minutes!! A six pack of donuts and we hit the hotel.
Without going into great detail we got back to our room and spent some good, quality, quiet, and uninterrupted time together; something the has been all but non-existent in our lives as of late. We slept in until 930 and left to reunite with the two little miracles that have changed our lives in such a positive way that words fail to describe.
As far as birthdays go, THIS was my best and most favorite ever. We made memories for life. We reminded ourselves of what it's like for us to be in love.

159 W BROADWAY, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES • 81° MOSTLY CLOUDY

Created in Day One 


He is my love. He is my best friend. And this week, I have felt so much more thankful for him. So thankful for all the things he does, that I do not see, that he does for us. When we were dating, he told me there was no possible way that I could ever understand how much he loves me. I know that's true, he loves me and our girls so deeply in a way that I will never know. 

Happy Birthday Matty, and thank you for loving me the way you do. You make me the happiest girl in the whole world!

Here's some pictures from our weekend:

Sushi at Sapa, it was so tasty!

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

So tired. 

So ready not to be tired anymore. 

So NOT ready for my little Charlotte to be big enough that I won't be tired anymore... 

I just want to have my sleep filled cake and eat it too! Is that too much to ask?

On another note...

Have you ever had that anxious feeling when you are waiting for upcoming events? I feel like we have a lot of things coming up in the near future, but I can't prepare for them yet because it is still too far away. It is driving me crazy! 

We are waiting for our tax returns to come back, so we can pay off some much needed medical bills and debt. *tearful cheers* Grown up life stinks.

I am still in the process of planning Emma's 2nd birthday party, but need money from our tax returns to pay for it... so the planning has been stalled until we get the "dolla dolla bills yo."

We are heading up to Idaho in March to see my sister and her family, so excited!

End of March we are "going back to Cali" as LL Cool J would say, to visit Matt's Aunt Marilyn and his parents who are meeting us there. 

We are dealing with being desperately broke until Summer, when Matt's commission checks will hopefully pick up (More Waiting). Our time of struggling with money has overstayed its welcome, and I am looking forward to having sufficient for our needs soon! 

Matt has been a freaking Rockstar (much like my beloved beverage), by working his tail off at work, and dealing with pressure and stress that I will never comprehend to provide for us. I still pinch myself when I think that I am a stay at home Mom. It feels surreal, and it's all because of Matt that I get to do it. He's amazing. 

I am grateful for the struggle, because it will make us appreciate the time when we aren't struggling anymore. (Just wish it was over already... waiting, waiting, waiting)

Hurry up and Wait already!!

xoxo
The Waiting Twistles

For The Kids...

I contemplated making this post private, since what I'm going to put in this post are texts from my sweet husband while we were dating. They are very special to me, and being a private person, it's not my style to share these types of things. I am making this a public post, so that if there is any doubt in anyone's mind of Matt's love for me, this will help them understand. He is truly the most amazing man I have ever known, and I'm so glad I have these messages that I can document to remember forever. 

(WARNING!! It's a love post, so if you can't handle it, back away from the computer now!)

It started when Emma wanted to play with my old, old, old phone (we have a few phones that are out of commission that are now in Emma's toy bin). She brought me this phone, and said, "boke" which means broke in Emma language. I answered, "yes honey, it's broke... let me see if Momma can fix it." I luckily still had the charger to the phone, so charged it we did. 

I love looking at information on old phones, it's like looking back during a certain part of your life, and reminiscing about old memories. I flipped open the phone and looked through all the text messages that I had saved from Matt. One after another brought back a flood of wonderful memories of our courtship. I remembered where I was with each message; I remembered how I felt after I received each one. It is truly a testament to me of how much God's hand played a role in our lives. I have never felt so strongly for someone, and reading these messages reminds me of our path together--the very beginning--to where we are now, with two beautiful daughters and an eternal marriage that will last through the eternities. 

Here are the love messages from my best friend, I hope our girls will read this someday, and see just how much their Daddy loves their Mommy. It is so apparent to me every day, and even more so after reading these messages. I love you Matty, you are all I have ever wanted, and you make me the happiest girl in the world, just like you said you would.

Love Messages From Matty:

2/23/2009 @ 11:35 a.m.: Matt and I had been dating for 9 days... and I received this message while I was at work at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

"Rachel having you around is like being with one of your best friends and also being crazy about them. That's gay, huh?" (that's classic Matt, it wouldn't be the same if I censored it!)

2/28/2009 @ 8:04 p.m.: I don't remember the context of what brought this message up, but I do remember how it made me feel...:

"Well they're all crazy. Beautiful is kind of an all encompassing package. It's hot, smart, fun, funny, witty, spiritual... Etc. You are all of those to me."

2/28/2009 @ 11:17 p.m.: Matty and I must have been late night texting. Again, I don't remember what I said that brought about his response, but it's sweet nonetheless:

"I won big two weeks ago when we went on our first date."

3/4/2009 @ 11:22 a.m.: Matt and I worked together at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which is how we met. I worked in Clinic E, and he worked in Clinic C... we didn't tell anyone that we were dating for about 3 months, so it was our little secret that no one knew. We texted back and forth to each other all day. Hence this message:

"Well try working when the only thing you care about is at the other end of the hall."

3/8/2009 @ 2:48 p.m.: Matt became an important part of my life during a very trying time. I had just signed my divorce papers and had no idea what I was going to do next. I was in the process of an intense and painful repentance process with the Bishop and had lost most all of the people in my life who I called "friends". I shared my experiences with Matt often, because he had also been down a hard road of repentance. This message came from one of our discussions:

"You're turning your back on the world all because you believe in something you cannot see. That's a miracle. I love it. It attracts me to you because I can relate."

3/10/2009 @ 2:55 p.m.: I knew I loved Matt very quickly. The feeling came over me while I was out visiting my friend Susie in Arizona. Matt and I had only been dating for 2 weeks, and at the time of booking my flight, I was single and didn't think I would have anyone to miss. During my stay in AZ, I was questioning to myself whether I was in love with Matty or not. I immediately had this intense feeling come over me that to this day, still rocks me to my very core. I knew I loved him. It was just getting him to confess it as well that took so long :) This message came after I had told him that I loved him:

"I want to. That's all. I want to be in love with you. I'm so gay."

3/16/2009 @ 10:34 p.m.: This message needs no background. I still remember this message without needing to look at my old phone. He has stuck to every word, and I have never stopped smiling:

"Rachel, I can make you smile for the rest of your life. Just let me, that's all I'm asking. I will never hurt you. I love you more than you know."

4/12/2009 @ 11:10 p.m.: You really have Matty:

"I'll try my best to always make you the happiest girl in the world."

4/14/2009 @ 11:14 p.m.: I remember receiving this text, and thinking Matt was crazy. We had just gone to dinner, and then watched the movie "Seven Pounds". Nothing amazing, nothing out of the ordinary. He just has a way of making me feel special even when the things we do together are just ordinary:

"Rachel, you were inexplicably breathtaking tonight. I love you more than life itself. Goodnight my love."

4/15/2009 @ 8:06 a.m.: This was the day after our ordinary date night:

"I was so in love with you last night! I woke up this morning and almost felt overwhelmed with happy!"

5/21/2009 @ 3:33 p.m.: I heard this a lot from Matt, and I don't think I will truly ever understand just how much he loves me. I thought that someday I might, but he's right, he really does love me more than I will ever know:

"I love you. You really push me to be the best person for you and that is my favorite quality of yours. Thanks."

After reading these messages in my phone, I knew I needed to write them down before they became lost forever. I want our kids to know what real love is, and they will see it by reading these messages, and watching how Matty treats me. He makes me laugh, even if I ignore his jokes. He isn't afraid to act like a fool just to get a laugh out of me. He loves our girls. He makes Emma laugh daily. He works hard at his job so I can stay home and raise our girls. He understands me. He has more patience than I ever will. He is my best friend and I don't ever want to be without him. I love you Matty! Thanks for making me the happiest girl in the wrold. 

xoxo
Rachel

Daddy and Me

Last weekend, Matty took Emma up the canyon while I stayed home to sleep. As much as I missed going up the canyon to see the colors and spend time with my two favorite people, it was good to be able to relax and sleep. It's also cute that Emma and Matt got to have their own time to play, too. 

A good indicator that Emma had a great time? She came home covered in dirt and leaves! It was fun to look at the pictures when they got home. 

I love them!

showing Dad what she found

I love this time of year! The weather temp drops and the leaves change colors, and it just screams hot chocolate and sweaters! It's amazing. I am so thankful for my Matty, who is my best friend no matter what. He is the best Daddy and an amazing husband. We were talking the other day, and he mentioned that pregnancy really does test a relationship, but that if you can come out still friends and wanting to be with each other, it's meant to be. He has been nothing but patient and kind during these last 10 months, and I appreciate it! I am a totally different person pregnant, and he gets that and doesn't hold it against me. I love him so much! Emma is going to have the best life, because he is her Dad. 

Welcome Fall!!!

xoxo
The Twistles

Vacation Time!!

That's right, you read it correctly, we are going on vacation and it's going to be pretty fantastic.

This is how it all transpired...


Matt is hired at CompHealth, referred by a great friend Rachael from our old neighborhood/ward in Salt Lake City


He busts his... well, you know ... off and gains respect and dependability from the team that he supports. He does this from day 1. He has had sleepless nights, stressful days that have spilled into home life, and chaos from files that haven't always gone smoothly, but somehow--- he has always made things happen, and his files/doctors have received privileges, and he has gotten the job done.




The sales team he supports persistently gives him compliments and nominate him for awards. He has gotten multiple gift cards to restaurants and stores, bonuses, and extra cash. He was recognized by management and continued to work hard. 


All of these great co-workers continued in nominating him for the mega, all time, amazing prize, called "President's Club" where CompHealth gives selected employees and their families an all expense paid trip to Cancun, Mexico (the trip is different every year).


Matt was selected! I still cannot believe it. We are going to the Mayan Mexican Riviera for 5 days; we go in March!! Flights are booked. Hotel rooms reserved. Time off from work has been requested and approved. CAN'T WAIT!


This is where we'll be staying: Aventura Spa Palace... ahhhh

And this is what I'll be doing:

And this is where I'll be spending my time (with Emma and Matty of course):

I am definitely adding this to the top of my "reasons why my hubby is my hero" list. I am so proud of Matt and the accomplishments he has made since working at CompHealth. He has been there for a year and a half, and is the first person to receive this award in the first year of being hired. 


This also makes me feel so humbled, when I think of being in the right place at the right time. If I never would have moved into my apartment downtown, I never would have met Rachael, who ended up referring Matt to get his job. We owe her big time!

I sometimes wonder why certain people are brought into your life, only to cause pain. But maybe the people aren't what the focus should be on, it's the circumstance that remains after they leave. I know that everything happens for a reason. When you are walking through a rose garden, being abused by thorns, it's hard to see the purpose. It's only when you make it out of that prickly rose garden, and look back, that you recognize how beautiful it really is, and how you wouldn't change anything.



Mexico, here we come!!


xoxo
The Entwistles