I'M ENGAGED!

Okay so I have been engaged for 3 weeks which means this blog post should have come about 2 weeks ago but on my list of things to do this came at the end. So now that I have finished midterms and have done some of the big wedding planning stuff I can finally tell anyone who reads my blogs about my fiancee and our engagement story.  So here is the water down version of our story thus far...

Nathan and I met in our apartment complex in August 2010 officially. My first memories of us were the spring of 2010 when he was my FHE dad but he didn't really take notice to me. We more specifically got to know each other because we had the same calling in our ward. We were the ward prayer co-chairs from September to April. We flirted about everyday harmlessly (we're just two flirty people) up until October when he said that he wasn't going to take me on my first date as a 20 year-old (he wouldn't date me as a teenager). So our first date was after my 20th birthday and we went salsa dancing which was fun but a little awkward. We went on one more date and then didn't really pursue anything after that and just remained friends.

So one random night I got a text from him asking if I would come and watch a movie with him called "Goal" and that was the start of our relationship. That night was our first kiss and December 12th we started dating. We "broke up" for about a month and a half but we were still exclusively dating and then in the beginning of May we became official again and fell in love pretty quickly after that.

So with all of that information it brings us to the night we got engaged. We had been talking about it and I kind of knew it was coming but he still caught me really off guard. Apparently he asked my dad the Saturday of General Conference weekend if he could marry me and so on Thursday October 6, 2011 he proposed!

At 6:45pm that day he delivered a note to my apartment requesting my presence to go on a walk and have hot chocolate. I knew something was up when he said that I should look nice and I got really excited because I just had a feeling that tonight was the night Nathan was going to do it. So I got all dressed up and went to his apartment at 8pm and then we decided that we should go for a walk first so we went up to the temple and just walked around and then we got to a fountain and I turned around he was down on one knee....tying his shoe. I told him he wasn't allowed to fake propose and so we went back to our complex to have hot chocolate. He said that he needed to go brush his teeth real quick and would be at my apartment soon. Well I didn't see him for an hour and a half!

After I called a million times and stopped by his apartment, he finally showed up and I was needless to say a little upset. He said he was on campus printing some stuff and to make me feel better he read me a poem he wrote me called an "Ode to Eternity" (he was originally going to read it after he proposed but knew he had to get back in my good side). His friend then called and said we needed to come to the duck pond south of campus and check something out so we went (I really didn't want to go because I was upset with Nathan and by this point KNEW that he wasn't going to propose). When we got there we walked around for awhile found a glow-in-the-dark question mark floating in the pond so we fished it out and took pictures with it and I was a little confused as to what was happening (I thought he was going to ask me to homecoming). Nathan then just stuck the question mark in his pocket and said that we should go to Rock Canyon Park. So we headed up there.

When we got there we just walked around the bowl part of Rock Canyon and I knew something was up but I finally saw on the south side BIG white letters spelling WILL and then on the west side I saw YOU and on the north side I saw MARRY. We then walked up to the east side hill by a rock I first told Nathan I loved him and his friends that came up with us were going to take a picture of us and so I turned to hand them my camera and I turned back around and Nathan was down on his knee and he said, "Brooke Eddington will you marry me?" and I said "Yes, Of course I will!"

We are getting married on January 6, 2012 in the Salt Lake Temple. I am super excited and very much in love with Nathan Gordon!

Some quick facts about Nathan:
1. He is from Aurora Colorado
2. His birthday is August 21, 1988 and is 23 years old
3. He served his mission in Bilbao, Spain and speaks Spanish
4. He loves soccer
5. He is half Colombian and a little Irish
6. He is studying Chemistry and graduates April 2012
7. He wants to be a Neurologist in pathology (I think that's right)


Now after this RIDICULOUSLY LONG POST here are some pictures!

Moments That Matter Most

Lately these days at work there seems to be a lack of things to do. Not because I'm lazy, but because external sources have made work coming in a lot slower. Typically, I stare at Facebook waiting for someone to chat with or read a million blogs but today was different. I have been needing a boost the last couple of weeks; I just haven't been my typical chipper self. I needed a pick me up.

Enter the church website lds.org and their YouTube channel MormonMessages. I spent my afternoon watching several  of these messages. All are beautiful and more than one brought me to tears in the middle of work. I guess I am a little emotional these days but these messages, all of them, are beautiful and uplifting.  I love hearing the voices of the men that make me love this church and the comfort their words and voices give. Those two things are probably what make me cry the most.

I love what the Church has done to reach out and use today's technology and resources to touch others. Today out of all the videos watched, and I watched most of them, my favorite came from the talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. It's called Moments That Matter Most.

This video starts off with a little girl on a swing and I immediately think of all the times I have pushed my nieces and nephews on the swings and the simple joy it brings to their face. Then the video says "It's not so much the major events as the small day to day decisions that map the course of our living"- President Gordon B. Hinckley. As the video continues, it shows various moments in people's lives and the true emotion of those moments. Times when people fall or have bad news given; the moments of pure happiness and exceeding joy; the moments that are cherished more than things we could ever plan out. There is something I deeply love about seeing the mom go out and play in the rain with her children and I don't know if I can put into words why I love that part.

I love that it's all in slow motion. That the message is to slow down and really enjoy the moments that are right now whether good or bad but to "focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most."

Most of all I love the feeling I get when I see the girl on the swing again. I want to feel like that again. Pure joy. Pure simplicity. Pure happiness. This Gospel never ceases to renew my strength and make me really have a grander perspective.

"Moments are the molecules that make up eternity." -Elder Neal A Maxwell

Perfect Weekend Trip: Southern California!

So for memorial weekend my boyfriend Nathan and I were trying to decide what to do like hiking, camping, sports etc.... but sadly Utah had been raining for the past two weeks so we decided that we would go to Los Angeles and stay with Nathan's brother David and sister-in-law Amy. It was seriously the perfect weather and location to have a fun memorial weekend. We spent most of our trip in San Diego though which was completely beautiful. I had only been to California once before and it was with a school trip and we didn't get to go do a lot of fun kind of local things. We did the big things like Disneyland and Sea World. We did stop by the beach but it was March and FREEZING!!! So this trip was packed with firsts.

Top 15 lists of firsts in California:
1. Staying in a skyscraper of apartments
2. Eating in a really cool lounge on the top of a skyscraper
3. Having dinner by the marina
4. Going to Santa Monica beach
5. Driving down to San Diego in a convertible
6. Walking on a pier
7. Seeing the sunset on a pier with my best friend
8. Going to Coronado Island
9. Playing in the water and laying out on the beach
10. Driving through downtown San Diego
11. Eating in Little Italy district of San Diego
12. Seeing the San Diego Temple
13. Having a bonfire on the beach withHot Dogs, smores, and an ice cream cake
14. Seeing the L.A. Temple
15. Eating an enormous buffet in the Excalibar hotel in Las Vegas

That's basically a list of what we did for 5 days. It was a beautiful trip with great company! I loved trying out new things and seeing some really beautiful sights! My favorite place we ate out was the Cheesecake Factory out in Santa Monica because it sits right next to the marina. You can sit out on the decks with twinkly lights, candles, and heaters. So beautiful!!! My favorite beach was on Coronado Island. It was the softest sand I have ever felt and was such a beautiful island! My favorite part was spending 5 whole days with my best friend specifically watching the sunset with him! I loved this trip and often wish I could go back especially when I look at the pictures!

This was the view out the window of David and Amy's apartment in L.A. (Disney Concert Hall)

Nathan and I at Santa Monica Beach! So beautiful!

Cheesecake Factory in Santa Monica on the Marina

Nathan and I at the San Diego Temple it's really gorgeous!!


Ocean Beach Pier Sunday night. It was a really really long pier!

Another shot of the pier

Nathan and I at the end of the pier.

More of the sunset!

Almost down

The waves were so big that day so we went over to those rocks to get closer to the waves.

Monday at Coronado island. BEAUTIFUL!!!

Ocean Beach sunset on Monday.

It was Amy's birthday on Monday so we celebrated on the beach with an ice cream cake.

Tuesday Nathan and I stopped by the L.A. temple. It was a lot bigger than I thought.

On our way back Nathan and I ate at the Round Table Buffet at the Excalibar hotel in Las Vegas.

Patience is a Virtue, So I Am Told

After the stress of finals were over, I more than realized it was time for a break. The stress of school, work, friendships, relationships, and just the everyday tasks were weighing on me harder than ever before.  I felt down trodden because I was not doing everything the way I wanted or the way that was expected of me. So all of that mixed with some important decisions that I have to make basically led to almost a mental breakdown. For about four days, I cried at least a couple times each day. So I made the decision to go home for a lengthy five day break.


I don't share this part of my life to seek sympathy or attention but to share two very valuable pieces of advice I got from my dad this weekend. My dad is the smartest guy I know, and the guy I go to with all my life woes to seek some of his sage advice.  He always makes me feel better or see things a little differently.


One: It's alright every now and then to take a break. It's ok to sometimes not always do your very best at everything. I was afraid that I had to have everything figured out and do well on everything and when I found myself doing poorly in a class and basically failing one of my finals I felt basically like a failure. I was all set and ready to give up. My dad first started by admitting to me that he failed a class. (My advice to parents is it can be really good to let your kids know you failed at something whether a class or something else.) Hearing my dad say that made me feel better; it made me feel like I was not some giant loser or the only person to have failed a final. He also said that it's good to take a break from things for awhile to just sort of get away from things.  But like any good father he helped me come up with a game plan for me; how to bounce back from the things that were stressing me out.


Two: He pointed out that patience is something I am lacking right now and need more of. Sometimes it's good to be proactive and really just try really really hard but sometimes you need to slow down and just be patient. I am a worrier and planner by nature and those two things can make being patient hard sometimes. My dad also said that patience is still working and trying but just being more understanding that your answer won't come right away. After talking with my dad, I went and read the talk by President Uchtdorf called "Continue in Patience" this talk was exactly what I needed to hear. President Uchtdorf described patience as the ability to put our desires on hold for a time and "It means staying with something and doing all that we can working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" Knowing what patience really is has helped me and I know what I need to do and keep doing.


 I am also thankful for inspired church leaders who are in tune with the Spirit to know how we are feeling and what we need to hear. Patience is something I pray for and for once in the last couple months I am content with my life and where I am at. It will all get figured out... eventually.

My Thoughts on General Conference

I really do love General Conference! So much gets combined into one weekend that makes it always an enjoyable experience. Between seeing my family, the great food, or the great messages I hear it never seems to disappoint. Sitting with my family surrounding me and watching Conference has become a weekend I look most forward to.

Despite the often laughing, playing, or loud noises that seem to always happen with that many kids in one house, I was really touched this conference by how much I heard that answered my prayers. A lot has been on my mind and I think I just needed a little reassurance, and boy did I get it. All I heard this conference was how to overcome the pains, tests, and trials we face here in this existence (ok I did hear some about marriage but I'm not going to go there...).

We all go through our own dark places. We all deal with our own share of suffering and while I often thought that compared to some my struggles were probably easy, I realized something this weekend. My struggles are hard for me. I may not have some terrible physical condition or have lost people very close to me but I have endured my own suffering. It was hard for me and it may not be hard for anyone else but it was what I needed to grow. We all have those dark places in our heart and some may be worst than others, and some may linger in their dark place longer but regardless we all must experience some of this.

Mainly what I learned is that no matter what our struggles may be we all have them and it's just part of what we have to go through. My favorite thought/quote came from Elder Kent F. Richards talk in the Saturday Morning Session. He said that maybe we have suffer so much in this life to better understand what our Savior and Redeemer went through just like how our Savior came to earth so that he may understand what we are and would suffer in this life. It was the most beautiful thought and left me feeling reassured and with a new understanding.

I simply love conference and I hope that you all enjoyed Conference as well and felt the Spirit like I did.