Never Grow up

Dear Alexis, Mason, Lily, Olivia & JT,

I know you are excited about it. I know it is the way it is supposed to be. I know you are learning good things. I know you are sharing & giving of yourselves to the world.  I know it's what is best…..

but, please…….. "NEVER GROW UP!"

I love to sing songs with you Alexis. I love your good heart and bike smile Mason. I love to read the countless love notes Lily. I love to hear your stories of a 5-year old's life Olivia. I love to fold your little underwear and socks JT.

Love you forever and always,

Mom

p.s. I loved taking you to Grandma Gussy's. She is a special woman – a gentle giant. My grandma is a meek and mild woman whom I never heard raise her voice or speak negatively. She met life with a serviceable hand and is still eager with a tender smile. She quilted all 40+ of her grandchildren quilts when they graduated from High School, even when in the end she could barely see. Her testimony has governed & guided her the past 90+years. She is patient in her recent afflictions. – I want to be like her when I GROW UP.

Third Grade Halloween Party

I was lucky enough to get to help out at Lily's Class Party this Halloween. Her party was on my anniversary and Lily asked if I should wear a dress and look fancy since it was my anniversary. I said I'd pass. 🙂 She was also concerned with the fact that I had lost my voice. On Tuesday I woke up hoarse and unable to use my full voice. When she came home from school and we looked at different options for the party she asked several times, "do you think you'll get your voice back before Thursday?" I think she was worried I'd get sick and not be able to come OR maybe she was worried about being embarrassed. Either way, we were covered because I got my semi-normal voice back Thursday.

She decided we should do a spooky & gross game because the boys would think it was cool. We decided on the Ghoulish Guess game. Students had to put their hand into a hole in a box and feel random items and decide what it was – I gave them 2 choices to help the game go more quickly. It helped. It was soo funny to watch their faces and see their reactions when I told them the different choices and they touched it. Lily got some gross objects to feel – Dracula's Heart & Eyeballs…. It seemed to be a hit even though it was scary for a few – I don't think I scarred anybody for life.

Mostly I loved being there with Lily. Life is going by quickly and she is doing such great things in life. She is a fabulous student and very concerned with following the rules. The teacher she has is perfect for her….she comes home to play school with Olivia and I see the things she is being taught. She teaches Olivia all that she knows – book smarts and street smarts. Olivia is a luck girl to learn from Lily.

A Potty Training Story

JT has had one month of wearing big boy underwear! It has been a good parenting experience to end on – and such a RELIEF! I am so happy that we are past diapers – WOW did I just say that? He has been very cooperative, verbal, and especially creative!

He has had a few "poop" accidents, so we decided we should make it more fun. We formerly were calling them "plops" which seemed to work for our other kids, but because of the accidents we evolved into making "snakes" – thinking this would make it more fun. Well, one day we asked if he was all done making a snake, and he said, "just minute, I've gotta make a goat." ???? Where did that come from? We said o.k. The next day he made an ice cream cone, tractor, trailer, frog, motorcycle. Whatever his little mind can come up with, he makes! This weekend his specialty was a hot dog.

He never ceases to make us smile and laugh. I am sure that our family encourages this poop art because of the responses he gets from all 6 of us.

Halloween Weekend 2010

We had been anticipating Halloween weekend ever since we heard that my nephew, Carter, would speak in church for his upcoming mission to Paraguay! What a special and exciting time we had spending time with the Baldwin and Babcock families. We had extra bonuses of Parker excursions to bike parks and REI garage sale with a pinch of our great friends, the Sanders, who have recently moved to Alpine. We packed it all in with a full schedule and never stopped going until we walked in through our Sugar House door last night.

We feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends to bless our lives and testimonies. The example of each person (old or young) is very important and the special conversations and influences combine to strengthen home and family and friendships. I am appreciative of young adult and teenage cousins who bridge the age gap and make little 2, 5, & 9 year old cousins feel special. I love that my 11 year old son (as well as all the rest of my children) can see the righteous example of his cousin, who is willing to sacrifice his time, defer his scholarship and education, take a break from his awesome soccer skills, and go serve the Lord and share the gospel.

Highlights: Family bikes with Lance; my date with Anne (Plato's Closet & Zuppas); Cleaning with my sister and having ADD moments; Dinner with the Sanders; REI garage sale for Stephen; Halloween Festivities @ Michelle's house; Carter's talk on the Book of Mormon; Helping in the kitchen serving 100+ people waffles – it was crazy fun (those boys can eat)!

16 years of waking up to her smile

When I opened my eyes this morning, I smiled as I thought to myself, "I have been waking up to Jodi's smile for 16 years now!". What a great blessing she is to me in my life.  She completes me.  She has this way of making me feel like no matter what the situation it is going to be just fine.  She is a foundation of stone, that I can always count on. 

When I was in the MTC, I wrote down the lyrics to this Collin Raye song, as a tribute to my friend Jodi. I didn't know what would become of our friendship, while we would be apart for two years.  Little did I know, that my dreams would come true.

Here is my song for Jodi.

"For all I've been blessed with in this life,
there was an emptiness in me.
I was imprisoned by the power of gold.
With one honest touch, you set me free.

Let the world stop turning,
let the sun stop burning.
Let them tell me love's not worth going through.
If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart
the only dream that matters has come true;
in this life, I was loved by you.

For every mountain I have climbed,
every raging river crossed,
you were the treasure that I longed to find.
Without your love I would be lost.

Let the world stop turning,
let the sun stop burning,
let them tell me love's not worth going through.
If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart,
the only dream that mattered had come true;
in this life I was loved by you.

In this life, I was loved by you."

Here's to another 16 years!

Thank you Jodi!

16 Years Old

Our anniversary came and we grew another year older – 16 years officially together! Life has been so glorious it makes me want to giggle, smile, and weep and also so normal it makes me want to giggle, smile that it's over, and weep 🙂 . Without normal, we might not feel the reality of mortality that keeps us learning and refining ourselves. Humility, Charity, Loyalty. Words that have grown with us over the years.

Here are 16 random examples that I can name today to explain the past 16 years: amazing vacations to Guam, Hawaii, NYC, Paris, & Portugal; little pet peeves; five beautiful & healthy children; five overwhelming house building projects; fiercely worrying about whether or not Stephen will come back alive from climbing "the" mountain; diabetes; funny inside jokes & secrets; my cooking hopefully improving; better tolerance toward one another's weaknesses; varicose veins; emergency room visits; running a marathon together; various church callings; spooning every morning 🙂 ; me squealing in terror every winter while he drives; two-way love and admiration that continues to expand – getting even closer to unconditional! 

For our anniversary we did a room makeover. I was in the mood for simple & peaceful, and like usual in the decorating department, Stephen put his trust in me. It transformed from green to "Chintz" (taupe/gray) in one night! We both kept saying, "I hope we like this," as we painted. In the end we both love it. We spent a day in the second week of October painting. The next week picking out a comforter and making shelves. We are still putting finishing touches on it, but this is where we got by our anniversary.

I love the song "Everything" by Michael Buble and dedicate it to my man this year. Here's to many more years of making wonderful memories & laughing together, continuing to refine ourselves, and having faith in the Lord to accept whatever is placed before us.

Comments:

Ma and Pa Parker said…

Congratulations, you two are really a great pair in accomplishing good things. We hope the very best for you always.
Thursday, November 04, 2010 7:36:15 AM

Diana said…

congrats on so many years together!!! You two have both blessed our lives. Your room is beautiful!

Friday, November 05, 2010 9:54:40 AM

The Devil and The Duck

Our lesson in Relief Society today was on Repentance. Our teacher presented a few things that I really liked. The 4 R's of Repentance: Recognize, remorse, restitution, refrain. She also added, "Don't look Back" from President Packer's conference address a few weeks ago. She also shared the following story. It puts things in good perspective.

The Devil and The Duck
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's … he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said,"Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done… and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) …whatever it is…. You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the Whole thing….. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets ….. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Harvest Break – Week One

We survived week one of harvest break. The sweet little chillins' were worried that all they would get to do on their break was work until Thursday arrived. We headed out and up to the cabin. The fall foliage was spectacular. Knowing cousins would be there to greet us made the anticipation of arrival all the more thrilling. Lily and Olivia packed their babies, Mason packed his bike, and Lexi packed her music. Stephen packed his carpet tools & mixed gas for the chain saws, I packed the food and a book.

We arrived to a cabin full of fun buzz and energy. We enjoyed our time there and it went by too quickly. We were happy to head home for Carson Brewer's baptism. It was good to be there to enjoy his special day. We wish we could have been in two places at once – We missed seeing Will in his white clothes. We are so happy and proud of both Will and Carson. They are wonderful boys with great promise ahead of them.

Stephen and I also were able to attend two excellent guitar concerts Friday and Saturday evenings. Eric Bibb and David Wilcox. WOW! I was so inspired and moved by both of their abilities and intelligence. I can't wait to download some new tunes from the itunes store! As always it was marvelous to be sitting next to my man, Stephen.  Just a few more weeks and it will be 16 years of marriage for us.

One more week of harvest break to go…


Cute girls making a delicious snack

That’s my boy

Matt

Quinn

Even the little ones helped

Rhett watching his mamma

Best little moms around

Stepping back in time before the days of the dishwasher

Such pretty girls (inside & out)

Charles is back!

Brooke & Olivia with ice cubes in their mouths

Loading up the kids

Sweetest picture to me

Aww

getting a little cold

Miller Boys at work

waiting for a turn to pass the log

Kate working hard

JT monitered the saw dust

The transfer line

Leaves were a vibrant yellow color!

Boys tuning up their bikes

proof that even pretty girls can work hard