A simple pile of memories that add up to life!

I have been meaning to write for awhile but life has been pretty busy with my new job and the traveling that has entailed as the woman who is training me is leaving for maternity leave this week so we have had to cram a lot of information into a very limited time frame.  Anna has been great to support me in this new role and take on a lot of extra work with the girls as I am out of town two days a week and that means no break for an already tired mom.  Add to this that we are remodeling our laundry room...you know just to keep things excited and project oriented in our lives.  Don't you worry though, Anna is training our girls to love projects as much as she does and has them hard at work as the clean up crew for renovation.  They are pretty good helpers when they want to be...but their attention span usually only lasts 10 minutes tops.

Anna is still recovering from the miscarriage.  We saw an episode of Downton Abby recently where one of the characters husband had passed away and someone asked her how she was doing and she said "I'm not unhappy, I'm just not sure if I'm ready to be happy" and Anna looked at me and said that is just where she is at.  It breaks my heart because I can see a shadow hanging over her and I so want to bring some light back into her life.  Her health has suffered as well and I think plays a factor in her recovery.  It is as we have swapped places as I have been released from the weight that was on my shoulders and the depression as I have started a new job and now I'm the one supporting her.  Sadly, I'm not as good of support to her as she has always been to me.

Recently in church we had a musical fireside with the youth to showcase their talents and then various people spoke about a hymn that meant a lot to them and we sang it as a group.  I found myself flooded with memories as we sang the hymns.  We sang "Abide with me" and I thought of myself lonely and worn out sitting on top of a roof in Guatemala wanting to be home but knowing this is where I needed to be and quietly singing this to myself to get comfort.  We sang "Because I Have Been Given Much" and tears sprung to my eyes as I remembered my dad singing off key in English while the Donis family sang equally off key in Spanish tears running down their cheeks as they both felt the spirit bonding them for life.  We sang "High on a Mountain Top" and I thought of my dad and I surrounded by the priesthood singing so strongly in our Stake Center...I can't wait for him to be back and go with me again.

One of the benefits of traveling is I am in the airport a lot and get to see missionaries both those who are leaving and excitedly talking to strangers and each other and those who are coming home to waiting families with equal excitement.  The other night I came down the escalators right after two missionaries returning home and saw them embraced by a hoard of people with yellow balloons and banners and saw the joy at the reunion and I couldn't help but get teared up as I know the day is fast approaching that my own parents will soon be home and we will be the ones waiting at the bottom of the escalator for them to come down.  I am so proud of my parents and who they are and what they have chosen to do.  I am one lucky son.

Let me catch you up on a few additional yet random memories over the past few months.  Sophie turned 3 the end of December and we went out to Pizza Pie Cafe with Becki and her kids to celebrate but we didn't really have a cake for Sophie but got her a donut because that is what she wanted.  Well about a week later Anna was making trifle for dessert on Sunday and Sophie saw and exclaimed with only the excitement an now three year old could muster, "My very own birthday cake".  So it turned into her very own birthday cake and she was thrilled.

Anna has been feeling a little trapped with the girls this winter and we are so looking forward to letting them outside again to roam and feel free.  One reason is they get stir crazy and make messes like this.  Yes those are rice krispies or simply "krispies" as Molly calls them with her raspy little voice.

Or they are getting into their mom's make-up and generously applying it anyway they can.  Everything is lipstick to these two even mascara.

There is only so much they can do in the house but they did love watching the deer from their playroom this winter.

The other day Molly was taking a nap and Sophie refused to take a nap although we knew she was exhausted.  She continued to play in the playroom and then things got very quiet.  We peeked in to find her asleep in her princess tube and her legs crossed (she always crosses her legs and has since birth).

One way that Anna has found to keep them busy and her sane is to enroll Sophie in swimming (Molly isn't old enough yet by their standards although she is just as much as a water baby as Sophie is).

Another way is to visit friends as often as possible for play dates...

or story time from Aunt Becki!

It's funny isn't it how just a pile of everyday memories can paint a picture that shows just how blessed your life is.

Year of Dates--February

This was our date card that we had for February.  When I got home from work I walked in and saw Anna looking incredible, as usual, but not wearing red.  I reminded her that we agreed to both wear red...she changed and it was like we were back in high school with matching shirts for a school dance minus the awkward rocking back and forth however we did pose for a photo opp.

If I wanted it to be a proper high school photo I would have gotten down on one knee and had her perch on my bent knee...maybe next month.  We went to dinner at Red Rock Brewing Co. and it was good...our server was pretty gross and hadn't showered in what looked like 3 months but the food was pretty good.

We ended up not getting a Red box but did have Red Vines.  It was a quiet evening just the two of us which we need more then once in awhile.