Wooden

5 years ago today, David and I were married
for time and all eternity.
I tell you what,
Eternity keeps getting better.

In five years we have graduated from BYU,
we welcomed Lincoln to the family.
we welcomed Henry to the family.
We battled infertility.
We bought our first house.
We gained some weight.
We bought our first bed.
We got our first real job.
And, we are one week away from David receiving his JD

We have laughed.
We have cried.
We have grown closer.
We have been blessed immensely.

Yes.

Eternity keeps getting better.

I love you David Earl.
more than all the stars in the sky.

Today Part II...

today
I am grateful for these words:
(quoted by Thomas S. Monson)

“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth

today
we are still hoping to sell our house,
but we are grateful that we have had a house to live in.

today
we are grateful that our entire family made it through pneumonia in less than 2 weeks.
(David used to get it and be out for 5 weeks)

today
we hope the economy gets better,
but we are so grateful for Humphrey and Petersen who offered David a job in Tucson, Arizona.

today
both of my kids threw fits,
but I am grateful that I get to be a mommy.
Because when I come home from the doctor and Lincoln comes running to me yelling my name and tells me that he missed me, and makes David run back to the car through the rain just to say, "I forgot to give you a hug,"
and
when Henry gives me open-mouthed kisses, and snuggles on David's shoulder until he falls asleep, and I get to celebrate his first birthday with him because of an eternal sacrifice
and
when David plans an evening out for us in the middle of finals, and holds my hand, and winks at me from across the room, and ends our days with prayer

I remember that I am the most blessed of all in my heaven on earth.

today
we are grateful for the rescuing power that has saved us over and over again.

today
is a good day to call on our gratitude power.

the.Worth.of.Souls.is.GREAT.

For any of you who haven't done so yet,
please.
Please.
PLEASE.
take a moment and watch this.
It will be the most uplifting 7 minutes of your day.
I promise.

And now, from a beautiful piece written by James Martin and found here:

"Her Youtube video at last count has received, all tolled in its many incarnations, tens of millions of hits [now well over 100 million]. Why? A few reasons, some obvious, one not.

First, there is the shock factor: what a surprise that this unknown woman can sing so well! Where has she been all these years?

Second, the sympathy factor: we feel compassion for a somewhat plain woman who seems to have been so unlucky in life.

Third, the physical appearance factor: "American Idol" stardom, or even success, is typically the province of the PYTs, pretty young things. Not of people like Susan Boyle...

Fourth, the uncanny resonance of the lyrics of her chosen song, for someone who seems to be traveling through a tough patch of life: "I dreamed a dream in time gone by/ When hope was high,/ And life worth living/I dreamed that love would never die/ I dreamed that God would be forgiving."

"But there may be something else that accounts for our delight, and for those millions of hits.

"The way we see Susan Boyle is very nearly the way God sees us: worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful. The world generally looks askance at people like Susan Boyle, if it sees them at all.

"Without classic good looks, without work, without a spouse, living in a small town, people like Susan Boyle may not seem particularly "important." But God sees the real person, and understands the value of each individual's gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, matron or movie star, lucky or unlucky in life.

"God knows us. And loves us... That's another reason why the judges smile and the audience explodes in applause. Because they recognized a basic truth planted deep within them by God: Susan Boyle is somebody.

"Everybody is somebody."

Just wanted to share that.

-- David

Today...

today
we are hoping to sell our house.
today
we hope that David gets a job.
today
we spent $3000.00 in hopes that David will pass the bar in July.
today
we hope my pneumonia goes away quickly.
today
is a great day to remember the words of Thomas S. Monson:

"Through personal prayer, through family prayer, by trusting in God with faith, nothing wavering, we can call down to our rescue His mighty power. His call to us is as it has ever been: “Come unto me."

today
is a good day to call on His rescuing power.

It's About Love...

Last Saturday,

We headed out to meet Our Joanie Girl.

We were really excited.

We love her so much.

I wish there was a way to adequately express
how much love we feel for this brave woman;

how much love his grandparents feel;

his aunts and uncles;

his cousins;

and most especially his big brother.

It was so wonderful.

Really.

Wonderful.

Every day, we still thank a loving Heavenly Father for this

beautiful girl.

The light in her eyes was apparent. She was so happy.

This is sweet Lincoln on our adventure.

Henry, Joanie, and Me.


Seriosuly people. Isn't she gorgeous?

Henry was just entranced with Joanie.

How could you not be?

Before we left,through tear filled eyes,

she said something that will be forever etched in my heart.

She said,
"I want to tell you something that I haven't been able to say for a year.I can see that he is healthy and happy, and that you love him. Thank you for giving him what I couldn't."

Again, I can't adequately describe the love that filled my heart at that moment.

I was overcome with emotion.

So we sat for a moment and we hugged.

and hugged.

and cried.

Joanie Girl

thank you for giving us

this precious baby.

We.

Love.

You.

Tons.Bit.
(and at our house, that's the most.)

There is no place like home....

We had such a wonderful visit to Arizona.

When we got to Tucson, we stayed with
Car-Car, Trevor, and sweet baby girl Ellena.
Ellena shared her toys and books with me,
and she helped me make cookies.
She took me swimming,
and of course she took me to eegees.
She told me she loved me hundreds of times a day,
and she was also quite a snuggle bug.

I was going to put a picture here of me and Car-Car

(I took it right before we left, and after nap-time),

so I thought better of it,

because who knows how many blackmail pictures she has

of me from high school and college.

Also,

We had so much fun spending time withmy brother

Jaush, and his wife Amy, and their 3 cute kids.

Those sweet little kiddos helped me so much

when I started missing my babies.

I got lots of hugs and tons of kisses.

We tried to go camping at the Grand Canyon,

but the power in the camp went out at about midnight.

So, we headed home after a great meal of steak and potatoes.

I was always close to my brothers,

and being around one of them during the trip made me feel so at home.

It was windy, but the kids were troopers.

This is also about the time where Lincoln called me

and asked me to sing "I am a Child of God,"

So, in front of all the people at the Grand Canyon,

I sang him his lullaby.

Baby Isaac.



Cannon.

MY brother Jaush, reading the scriptures with his kids.

Girl.

So, now, I am going to

close my eyes,

click my heels three times

and say,

There's no place like home.

911

Yesterday, I answered the cell phone .

Here is how the conversation went.

Me: Hello?

911 operator: Hi this is 911. Is everything okay?

Me: (thinking- well we still need to sell our house and get my husband a job, but since you aren't my psychic...) Yes, everything is fine.

911: Because someone from your house just called 911. We heard a baby crying and wanted to make sure everything was okay.

Me: (picking up the phone Henry was playing with) Yes. Everything is fine.

Little Turkey found a way to:
call 911 (actually 9111111111#24)
and turn the phone on.
plus, he gave them the added pleasure of crying, so they had to make sure he was okay.

* and doctors want to know if almost one year olds can play with a ball.

Seriously.