ABC's of Me!!

Age: 20
Bed size: Queen
Chore you hate: Dishes! Can you say EW?!
Dogs: none but we did have a hampster for a little while
Essential start of your day: A good morning kiss before I leave behind my hubby for the day.
Favorite color: Blue...green...red...can I have a top ten??
Gold or silver: Silver
Height: 5'3"
Instruments I play (or have played): Piano :)
Job title:Student
Kids: Ummm, I don't what this asking... someday I'll have kids!
Live: Rexburg, Idaho
Mom's name: Roberta
Nickname: Nikki
Overnight hospital stays: Never!!
Pet peeve: When people drive like they own the road and never signal!
Quote from a movie: "That's one more for exotic bird bingo" - Emperor's New Groove
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: I'm the oldest of two kids...I have a younger brother named Josh
Time you wake up: Depends on the day. School days 6:30, weekend... heck as late as possible!
Underwear: Uhhhh.... yep, I wear them...
Vegetables you dislike: Peas and cauliflower
What makes you run late: Usually I forget things and I have to go back for them. Otherwise I HATE BEING LATE!
X-rays you've had done: Teeth, right arm
Yummy food you make: Chicken and rice...its amazing!!! You just have to try it!
Zoo animal: PENGUINS!!! Love them!!!

First Day of School

Mike on his first day of his senior year :)

Today was our first day of school! We started our last spring semester at BYU-I!!! I can't believe that in 11 months, 2 weeks and 4 days Mike and I will graduate from BYU-I and will move out into the real world!!! AHHHH!!!!

This is a tradition that my mom always had my brother and I do. On the first day of school for 12 years (yes I still did it my senior year of high school) I stood in front of the door with my book-bag on and my lunch box in hand and had my picture taken. Then my brother and I headed off to school :) So now the tradition continues in our family. Since this is the beginning of the end of our school career, I decided to take pictures on our first day of school (4/19/11-posterity's sake).

Nicole on her first day of school (3 credits away from being a senior)


Thank you sweetie for indulging me in this project :)

Bodies!!

Mike and I have been off from school this past week. On Saturday we decided to journey to the exciting city of Idaho Falls, Idaho and go to the Bodies exhibit at the Museum of Idaho. Now due to the fact that the bodies used are real people, photos are not allowed inside but it was a fascinating exhibit. The museum gives the opportunity for us to learn about each of the systems of our bodies. I have to say that my favorite part of the exhibit was the up close look at the fetal development at each stage of the pregnancy. For me this was so fascinating to actually be able to see the development of life and God's greatest creation.

However we also got to see different bodies dedicated to showing the respiratory and muscular systems which were just incredible to see how they look and how they function. It was also amazing to see each of our organs; my favorite was to see the heart and realize that that little organ powers our body.

The body is God's greatest creation and we got the opportunity to see it in an extremely intimate way. I left feeling amazed at the perfection that is the human body and how intimately the systems work together. It is amazing to see and experience. Our bodies truly our the greatest blessing we have received.

I should mention that Mike and I did not go alone to this exhibit. Our friend Jaime Reeser was leaving for home the next day meaning we won't get to see her til September. So when she texted me saying she was feeling better I asked her if she would like to escape with us and she happily said yes! and we happily took her :) It was a wonderful day and we had a lot of fun spending the day together before she had to leave. The three of us had fun experiencing the museum together and it was great to have Mike our anatomy expert with us...who needs a tour guide when we have Mike Epperson :)




I think that everyone should experience this exhibit. Its amazing to see :)

General Conference

I love general conference! It gives me the opportunity to hear and learn from the prophet and apostles. I can always be sure that my prayers will be answered through someones talk. I have to say that I love all 15 of these men of God but I do have my favorites.


President Monson is our beloved prophet. I love this man. I always learn from him and his words always comfort me and remind me that I am a daughter of god. In this past general conference President Thomas S. Monson spoke to the world about temples. He said, "Each one stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony that God, our Eternal Father, lives, that He desires to bless us and, indeed, to bless His sons and daughters of all generations. Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth." I'm grateful for his testimony on the importance of going to the temple to make and receive covenants from the Lord that I know we can receive no where else. I know that the temple is the door to the greatest happiness we can find in our lives. I hope that I can do as the prophet has taught...to do all I can to go to the temple often and learn all I can so that I can become more like the Savior.


President Uchtdorf is the second counselor in the general presidency and is another 'favorite' of mine. It might be his German accent or the fact that he is always smiling but whatever the reason I do know that he is an apostle of the Lord and I always learn from him. In general conference he spoke about diligently seeking Christ. He taught that belief in Christ comes one step at a time and that the best way to come to know Christ is to diligently seek for him everyday. I know that we have to share the gospel to grow in it, we must serve others and remember that our Father in Heaven loves us each individually. This talk was exactly what I needed....it is nice to hear a reminder from a prophet of God that the Lord loves me individually. I also learned once again that I must act in faith and search for the answers to my prayers in order to be guided to the right choices.
President Uchtdorf said, "The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us—not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed."


Elder Scott is a wonderful apostle of the Lord and at this last conference he gave one of the most wonderful and spirit filled talks. I think I cried during most the entire talk...tears of happiness. He spoke about marriage and the eternal blessings it brings. He told personal stories about his wife and the love that they shared because they were sealed in the temple and it reminded me of the happiness and blessings I have been given because of my marriage in the temple. I learned how important it is to make sure that my husband knows how much I love him every day. He said, "Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good. Righteous love is the foundation of a successful marriage." Eternal marriage gives the blessings of the temple and the blessing of having my best friend with me always. "It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together." I'm grateful that I have the blessing of being sealed to mike for all eternity. I hope I can learn from Elder Scott and show more love to my husband everyday and we can grow stronger as a couple.


Elder Holland also strengthened my testimony of prophets during conference. I'm grateful for his words of reminder to listen to the words of the prophets and that the words come from the Lord and are what the Lord wants his people to hear and know. I am grateful to know that the words of the prophet are an ensign to the nations and that the Brethren spend so much time trying to make sure that they are saying what the Lord wants them to say. I'm grateful for the time and effort they spend to teach me and help me to know what I need to do to improve.


Elder Nelson spoke on facing our futures with faith. Where their is faith, their cannot be fear; "Teach of faith to know that obedience to the commandments of God will provide physical and spiritual protection." Having faith in the Plan of Salvation is the only way that we can get through the trials that we are put through in life. It is the safest way back to our heavenly home. By praying for an eternal perspective like Elder Nelson suggests, we can and will have a deeper faith in the Lord's plan for each of us. Faith is essential to receive blessings. Often we must have faith first and then we will receive the blessings we desire. Prayer and doing the little things we have been asked to do like reading scriptures, family home evening and serving others are things we can do to strengthen our faith and will help us through life challenges. I know that if I remember the love the Lord has for me then it will be easier to have faith and that faith will shine a light through the darkest day.

I'm grateful that the Lord still speaks to his people through his prophets today. Their testimonies strengthen mine and inspire me to be better and live my life in such a way that I can know how much the Savior loves me. I am grateful that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I know that it is true. I'm grateful for prophets and their teachings. I'm grateful for my Savior and that he loves me unconditionally and has provided a way for me to return home again.

These 5 talks can be found at these websites if you would like to read them for your self:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/an-ensign-to-the-nations?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-eternal-blessings-of-marriage?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/waiting-on-the-road-to-damascus?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/face-the-future-with-faith?lang=eng

And if you want to read/study the other wonderful talks given at conference go to this website:
http://lds.org/?lang=eng

Our First Anniversary!

I can't believe that Mike and I have been married for a year today!! Time has flown by and its been the most exciting year of my life! I woke up this morning and found my self laying in bed thinking about what I was doing a year ago. I couldn't help but think about the wonderful journey I took to get to that moment. I looked over at my sleeping husband and thought I love him and have loved him for almost 2 years now....crazy!

Our wedding day was perfect! It had been raining the entire week before but I woke up on March 25, 2010 to sun and blue skies...beautiful! We were so blessed to have family in town for our wedding. I had my grandma, aunt and uncle come down from Rhode Island and Mike's mom and dad came from Montana but our most surprising guest was Mike's oldest brother Tony. We didn't think any of Mike's siblings would be able to come but we were surprised when we met up with Mike's parents for lunch after I got my endowments and Tony got out of the car :) I wish I had a picture of the smile on Mike's face...it was a wonderful surprise. We also had a lot of friends who came to the temple with us for our sealing. However, the best part of our wedding day was that it was a Thursday morning so no one was there. I felt like they opened the temple just for our wedding! I felt like a princess! Mike and I were able to sit in the celestial room in the temple together all by ourselves before and after the sealing which was my favorite part! It was the perfect day, I don't think I stopped smiling all day!



We spent a lot of time trying to decide what we wanted to do to celebrate for our first anniversary. We wanted to do something fun but we have finals next week and we live in rexburg so basically we couldn't go anywhere and their really isn't anything terribly fun to do here. So we decided on a trip to San Diego, CA in August to celebrate but until then we just had a quiet, peaceful anniversary.


We went to Idaho Falls and had a romantic dinner at Olive Garden and then went to the movies to see Tangled (at possibly the crappiest theater ever) :) It was a wonderful movie. Then we came home and danced around the living room listening to cheesy love songs. We started another tradition this year too. When we went on our honeymoon, Mike's parents gave us Martinelli's and chocolate truffles. So we decided to have that again. It was a wonderful night. (Oh and I also got beautiful flowers)

I just have to brag about my husband for a minute. I have the best husband in the world! I am so spoiled! He is the most patient man that I know and for that I am grateful. He never gets mad at me. If I do something wrong, his response is almost always, its ok, I love you! Are you kidding me! There is no way that I deserve this gentleman! He is so sweet and considerate. I fall more in love with him everyday and everyday I find new reasons why I love him. I'm grateful for this past year and I look forward to many, many more!


I love you Mike! Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and thank you for the best year of my life :)

The Finish Line

Its amazing how you can have a bad day that you don't think can ever get better and then you see a friend and they say the one thing you really needed to hear. I really believe that these moments are not merely coincidence. Today I was feeling down on myself and I read a friends blog and she had posted something about how good it will feel when we reach the finish line.

We each have goals and dreams and little finish lines that we hope to reach. The question is...how do we reach the finish line? Life is difficult and some days feel like they are never going to end and trials feel like they are unfair and unjustified. But I know that the trials we receive are given to us so that when we do reach that 'finish line' we will appreciate the blessings that much more. The trick is remembering that on the bad days.

I remembered a talk given by Elder Holland about angels on earth. People in our lives are often sent to be with us and help us when we need it most. Angels don't need to be the ones we can't see. Angels in our lives can be our parents, our siblings, our friends and in my case this is true. Elder Jeffrey Holland said, "God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face." "On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal."

I'm grateful for the angels in my life. The friends who make me laugh when I need it most, a husband who makes me smile, a teacher who sees me sitting in the hall and comes and sits with me and we talk for an hour, friends who say what I need to hear before I explain whats wrong, parents who call just to say hi..usually on my worst day and a husband who reminds me everyday that I am important.

So when life gets difficult remember those people in your life who love you and are always there for you no matter what. Remember the finish line and how much more you appreciate your blessings when you have waited for them. Remember if you wait then you will appreciate the blessing more than the people who didn't have to wait and you will grow because of it. I'm grateful for the 'angels' in my life because they help me keep that finish line in sight and the path doesn't seem so dark.

Its About Time :)

Our friends Sammie and Matt are moving next month so we couldn't wait another day to invite them over. We had a wonderful dinner of burgers, fruit salad, lime chips, brownies and lemonade. It was delicious! :) It was great to have 2 more people to play the Wii with and the competition was extremely exciting :) Sammie and I competed in archery to hit the targets and Mike and Matt competed to see who could hit the fruit on the archery game :) I don't think we ever stopped laughing the whole night! It was so much fun hanging out with them. It was nice to never run out of stuff to talk about. We're going to miss them when they move.

The men :) (Thanks guys for doing the cooking)



The girls :) (I just have to say that Sammie looks so cute for someone who is about 7 1/2 months pregnant) We had so much fun talking together. It was fun to have time for girl talk. I'll miss you Sammie.



We are sad our friends are leaving and kind of jealous that they are getting out of rexburg but we're happy that we got to have one last party :)