David is the very very BEST

The title is so blatantly obvious that it seems like it shouldn't even need to be said. Anyone who knows David knows that he is the "very very BEST". They'd just respond, "Yeah, duh." 

But this post is exactly about that. 

David is the very very best.

He's been working from home since March, in a sudden and unexpected work situation. He's had an even heavier workload than usual due to some extra projects that he's working on at the National level (which means he's working on those projects PLUS everything he normally does at his local office). He has a large church calling and he supports me unfailingly in my time-consuming calling. 

And did I mention that ALL sports have been canceled for months and months? 

I know that he is feeling the stress of this difficult time. But instead of complaining or getting upset, he has doubled-down on strengthening his spiritual foundation, making sure he is giving 100% to his kids, and treating me like the most important thing in his whole life. 

He has a determined, hard-working, and faithful heart of gold. 

David has been taking the biggest load where this blog is concerned. He's doing all of the Coronavirus blogging updates, and 90% of the posts. My brain hasn't been able to handle sitting down and writing about it, and I've been doing a very, very few posts - basically only the kid's monthly/yearly updates. The only reason that this record of our lives didn't fizzle and die this year is because of his consistent and dedicated efforts.  I'm grateful for the value that he sees in the recording of our lives. I'm grateful for the effort that he puts into the hard work around him - into making our lives better. 

Here is an absolutely not-comprehensive list of things that David has done for me THIS week: 

-Blogged. 

-Woken up with the kids so I could go on a walk with a friend. 

-Rubbed my back as I fell asleep at night. 

-Made me laugh until I cried. 

-Did the dishes unprompted, multiple times

-Brought the garbage can out with me because it was too heavy for me to do without struggling with it for a long time, even though he had an important meeting to prepare for.

-Made me breakfast. 

-Took off my glasses and put them in a safe place when I fell asleep with them on. 

-Let me read a book in my bedroom while I ate a piece of chocolate while he played with the kids. 

-Helped me make dinner. 

-Told me my dinner was amazing, even though it wasn't. 

-Cleaned the basement with the kids, including vacuuming. 

-Started cleaning and organizing Lucy's room on his own, even though I was feeling overwhelmed by it and wasn't planning to clean it even though it was a disaster of leftover storage room things, clothes boxes, and toys/books. Once he started I jumped in and it feels amazing in there now. 

-Took care of the kids for 8+ hours while I was at Stake Baptisms. 

-Went out after the kids were in bed so we could try some new spicy chicken sandwiches.

-Went on a bike ride with me and the kids because I wanted to. 

-Rubbed my back because he knew I was worried about something.

-Told me I was a responsible human when I wasn't acting like a responsible human. 

-Made me feel happy when I was feeling sad. 

-Shared his testimony with me. 

-Made me a grilled cheese sandwich.

-Told me that he loved me, unprompted, with a long list of things he appreciated about me. 

-Got me water at dinner when I forgot to get myself a water. 

-Waited to watch all of his sports until after the kids (and I) were asleep.

-Manned the wheel of our "ship" while I went to minister to a friend/ward sister and started making dinner while I was gone. 

-He swept the floor after dinner every single night (my least favorite kitchen job).

-Pretended he was a Robot chasing the kids up the stairs at bedtime and made me laugh so hard.

-Worked hard every day at his job, at his calling, and to take care of our home.

These are just the ones I can think of as I'm sitting here. But I know there are another 10 lists worth of items just like these in all five of the love languages.  In fact, I would submit that the way that David loves us is such a good example of true love.

David is the very, very best. He is carrying a large load right now, but he makes such a big difference to me in my life and I wanted to recognize him for the good that he is doing and the difference he is making. Here's hoping he can make it through September (a very very busy month for him at work) and that I can offer even half of the love and support that he offers to me. 

David and The List

I think that I've posted about this before - but I can't remember and so I'm going to post it again. 

I was going through some old papers and things and came across this list written in a notebook from my college days. It's titled "The List" and is full of ten qualities that I was hoping to find in a future husband. We can debate the actual merits vs detriments of having a list like this a different day - because we definitely have opinions about how a lot of the time the best person for you may be very different than any list you might make. 

However, 

David and I have now been married for over 11 years. 

He still checks off every single one of these items. 

1. He has a testimony of the gospel, served a mission, loves & trusts God, will be able to bless my home with the Priesthood.

2. Intelligent. Likes to learn new things and gain knowledge.

3. Sense of Humor. Can laugh and make me laugh. Can brighten my day.

4. Treats me well. Loves me for who I am and who I can become. Will help me to be a better person -- but will love me even when I miss up.

5. Likes the outdoors. Will spending time outside with me and my family.

6. Handyman. Is able to fix up things around the house and build simple things.

7. Will comfort me when I cry - but will understand that sometimes I need to cry.

8. Will be adventurous with me. Can make small, simple things fun.

9. Is honest, truthful, faithful, and dependable.

10. Stands up for what he believes in - but willing to compromise.



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I love this David more now than I did when I married him 11 years ago and he is more of a dream come true than I could have even ever written into a list like this. He's an amazing father and my best friend and I'm just so grateful to have him in my life. (And I hope that I'm able to check off as many boxes for him as he does for me.)

"Before Thirty" Bucket List

I turn 30 years old tomorrow. I'm sitting here at my computer counting down the final hours/minutes of my second decade. All three of my children are sleeping soundly upstairs, two of which are sleeping in my bedroom because David happens to be out of town on a work trip. (Darn that September Phoenix client.) I haven't really thought much about this birthday being a big birthday, other than to think about whether or not I wanted David to help organize a big 3-0 party (I decided that I did not). But about five weeks ago I started realizing that turning 30 was actually kind of a big deal in my life and I decided to instigate a "Before I turn Thirty" Bucket List. I didn't put many items on the list, and none of them were particularly big or fancy, but I wanted to do something to end my twenties with a bang and get me started on my next decade on a great foot.

#1: Do something I've never done before. aka. Paddleboarding. 
I've wanted to go paddleboarding for a long time but I was a little intimidated. But I decided that I wanted to be brave and adventurous and so I added this to my list. No shock, but I loved it. We went to a little marina at Utah Lake, and although it wasn't the most beautiful of locales, it was basically deserted and my little family and I had the place to ourselves. We rented a paddleboard and took turns figuring it out and paddling around. I have wonderful memories of going to the lake with my family as a child, and sometimes I'm a little sad that my children won't have those same vivid memories. (I don't want to own a boat, I just want to be really good friends with someone that owns a boat.) But as we were out on the lake, I realized that doing activities like paddleboarding would accomplish the same feeling of being on the water, being surrounded by loved ones, playing in the sand on the beach, etc... I hope I can help recreate those memories for my family. My favorite part of the adventure was when all three kids were happy and David and I tried to get on the paddleboard together right close to the beach. We struggled to balance both of us and dumped ourselves into the water, but we laughed so hard we could barely breathe. We ended up figuring it out, at least a little bit, before Caleb started fussing and David jumped off to go bounce him so that I could take Lydia on one last paddleboard trip around the corner of the marina to look at the whole Utah Lake.

#2: Read the Book of Mormon 
I don't think that I've truly read the Book of Mormon cover to cover since high school. I mean, I've read it a lot - but certainly not in a short amount of time. In fact, my most recent study has been more focused on slowing wayyyyy down and reading only a short number of verses a day, but spending a lot of time on those verses. I decided though, that if I was making a bucket list to end my twenties, reading the entire Book of Mormon definitely was going to be on it. I actually ended up listening to the vast majority of it and it was a beautiful experience. Being able to listen to the stories in such a short period of time gave so much context and realness to the words. I felt like I was able to see connections between the people and really come to know them and their weaknesses and strengths. More than almost anything else, it was incredible to recognize the huge role Jesus Christ and his role as our Savior and Redeemer played. I know that the Book is obviously a testament of Jesus Christ, but there was not a day that went by that I didn't listen to beautiful testimony of Him and His Atonement. I don't think that I will ever go through the Isaiah chapters of Nephi without listening to them again because it was so amazing to have the words wash over my brain like a peaceful song instead of fighting to understand a chapter at a time. I cried big fat tears at the end as I read the closing paragraphs from Mormon's letter to Moroni: "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever."

#3: Become accomplished in a new hobby/skill. 
For my birthday last year David gifted me a beautiful Paint-by-Numbers fall scene. I was so excited, because it was something that I had wanted to try out. I bought a little easel and small set of paintbrushes and got to work. I was only able to work on it a little here and a little there. I knew that I wanted to finish before Fall hit so I could display the painting with my Autumn decorations so I had been trying to work on it a little more, but with little over a month, I decided that I wanted to finish the painting. It was actually the perfect thing for me to do because I was able to do item #2 and #3 at the same time. I started listening to the Book of Mormon while I worked on the painting. I was able to relax and let myself become absorbed in the words I was listening to, while focusing my hands on a task. It was incredibly feeding to my soul. I got this idea in my head while I was painting that I want to try to make paint-by-numbers of different temples, because that would be amazing. So, that will be my next paint-by-numbers project. I didn't quite finish in time for my birthday, but I definitely feel like I am able to check this off my list because I feel accomplished and feel like I really have acquired this new hobby/skill.

#4: Go on a one-on-one date with each member of my little family.
I thought about a lot of items that could go on this list: try sushi, get a drastic haircut, start an exercise program, etc... But when it came down to it, I realized that I just wanted this list to be filled with the things that I thought would bring me the most joy during this big milestone in my life. So the last thing that I put on my list was to take some one-on-one time with David, Lydia, Austin, and Caleb. Just being able to spend a little bit of time with each one of them, without any other concerns or obligations was refreshing and good. I'm grateful for each one of these special people in my life and grateful to be able to spend some special time with each of them.

Lydia and I went to Blaze Pizza, then to the Legacy Center for a Rock Climbing Adventure.

Austin and I went to the Children's Museum, then to the Tower for Ice Cream and French Fries.

Caleb and I dropped Austin off for a playdate while Lydia was at Kindergarten and spent a good amount of time just laying on the floor playing. Singing songs, rolling over, telling him stories. I put my phone away and just tried to soak in the time. It seems silly but it's rare for me to truly get one on one time with him and I made an effort to show him attention. Then I pulled out my phone to capture some sweet photos of him. 

David and I haven't had an official sans-Caleb date since he was born. I've left Caleb to go to meetings and things, but we've never left him with a babysitter. I arranged for a babysitter to come (Jacob's friend from Provo, Bri) so that David and I could go to the Storytelling Festival at Thanksgiving Point (a friend gave me some free tickets, yay). It wasn't a super long date, but just soaking in the time time him, holding his hand while walking through the gardens to the tent, sitting next to him and just being with him - it was the best that I could have even asked for. Spending time with David is my favorite thing to do, he truly is my best friend.

And so, with now just about 52 minutes left I am filled with gratitude for the last month of year twenty-nine. It's hard to describe exactly how I feel, but I feel that I accomplished what I wanted to. I feel like I ended my twenties on a high and have some good momentum going forward. I am looking forward to turning 30 and feel good about where I am at in my life. My mom came down for the last couple of days to be with me while David is gone and we are planning a low-key birthday celebration tomorrow. David will get home late tomorrow night. It's just a good life that I have, and I am grateful for it. Happy almost-thirty to me! 

Dear Thursday: A list of things I love.

For today's installment of "Dear Thursday", how about a list of things that I'm really loving right now? Okay... go.

Things I really love right now: 

-My Contigo water bottle with a straw. (Gotten as a gift after Caleb was born.) I prefer to drink my water through a straw and this water bottle is so nice and makes me happy (and helps me drink more water.)

-My new can opener. After months of using a barely functional hand-can opener that you had to muscle your way through to open anything David surprised me with a hands-free battery operated opener. I've opened three cans today and my love for this opener grows each time.

-Regency Romance Novels. I go through phases with books, sometimes getting into science fiction, sometimes contemporary novels, once I really got into anything that had to do with the French Revolution, etc... Right now I just really really enjoy these Regency romance novels. Sarah M. Eden is my favorite Author right now and all her books are just sooo good!

--My scripture study. A while ago I bought a Book of Mormon Study Guide from the Red Headed Hostess and I truly love it. It has a small section for each verse, with probing questions like "draw what was happening" or "write about a doctrine or principle" or "record a phrase or lesson that stands out to you". It's really made me slow down and dig deeper into my Book of Mormon study. Instead of just reading it, and maybe writing down a verse that stands out - I'm thinking about each and every verse and what I can learn from it. I'm getting more involved in the story. I'm drawing stick figures and writing down take-away lessons and I'm really enjoying it like I've never enjoyed my scripture study before. Another thing that has helped with that study journal is that I also have the Book of Mormon Student Manual: Religion 121-122 and as I read the Book of Mormon, I've been able to read quotes that expand and illustrate the things contained in the verses. It helps me to think about what I'm reading and then I'm able to write down the things that are important to me into my study-journal. 

After the last conference, listening to Elder Nelson's talk about our Savior, I decided to buy another little journal and take his challenge to use the topical guide as a curriculum and read and mark every verse about Jesus Christ and record my thoughts and testimony. It's been a beautiful experience and I'm not even through the first section "Jesus Christ: Summary". I also pulled out my "Family Inspiration Journal" that I started in college before I was even married where I've recorded important inspiration that I've received about how I want to teach and love my family and quotes that have inspired and uplifted me regarding the importance of family. I've been making an effort to be writing in that more often as well. I do don't all of those study things every day, but I'll pick one area to focus on for the morning, then when I'm done- I stack everything up in a big pile and stick it under the desk in my bedroom. Then, the next morning, I pull it all out again. 

I write about this because I want to share my testimony that when you are making the effort to study the words of our Savior, when you're reading your scriptures and recording the things that you've learned - you truly do feel strengthened and uplifted. My testimony has grown and I feel more confident in my every-day happenings. When I'm faced with uncertainty, I can draw upon the things that I'm reading and learning and it fills me with strength. I've never really felt like I was "feasting" on the words of Christ. But now, I'm feeling like I have a taste of what that is like. I enjoy the time I have in the scriptures and often wish I could keep reading and studying for much longer than I am able to. (Sometimes I wake up before the kids are up to read, but most mornings I sit on my floor to study with Caleb laying out by me and Lydia and Austin playing with toys, Caleb, or each other nearby.) I hope that they know that their mama loved the scriptures, and that those scriptures helped her to be a better mother every day. 

--The Thanksgiving Meadows Babysitting Co-op. It's a babysitting swap where you earn popsicle sticks by babysitting other people's kids and then you can use those same sticks to "pay" others to babysit your kids. It's been such a lifesaver for errand running, visiting teaching, doctors appointments, etc... All those small little things that are difficult to take kids to but are during the day when David is at work. I love it! (We also do a Babysitting Swap for date-nights with two other couples where we watch all the kids on one night and we get two dates out of it. It's been the best thing for our date-nights, ever!) 

--I've been working on a paint-by-numbers painting over the past six months and although I can only work on it a little here and there, I've really really been enjoying it. 

-Watching Hallmark movies with David. The cheesy plotlines, the use of the same actors over and over, and even the terrible typography for the title at the beginning of the show that makes it seem like it was made in the late 80s. I'm glad that David likes to watch them as much as I do.

-I got to go to the temple one evening last month while David stayed home with all three kids and it was wonderful. I basically cried the entire time I was there because of how grateful I was to be in the temple that night. I'm so grateful to be able to live so close to a temple and to go and feel of the Lord's love for me there. Someday I hope to be a temple worker, but as for now, I want to try to go to the temple even more often.  

 -This bread is sooo good.

-Okay, so my van (a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country) is SO awesome. It's hands-down the newest, nicest, fanciest car I've ever owned. My one requirement when shopping for a new van was having a back-up-camera because we live on a street with SO many little kids. But it's got some other cool features. I just realized that you can download your music CD's to the van's hard drive and then select favorites from each CD. Austin would always request specific songs from different CDs, and now I have them all downloaded into one playlist and it's awesome. I also like that my phone is connected to my van and when someone calls me I can answer from my steering wheel and talk through the dashboard. You've got to admit that's cool. (I'm sure soon, that will be totally standard in every car - but for now it's pretty cool.)

--This is the prettiest illustration of a mermaid that I've ever seen. If I ever have to do a mermaid costume or anything, I'd want it to be like this.  

--Let's talk about Chick-fil-A's Frosted Strawberry Lemonade. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on fast food, especially for myself, but this cross between a lemonade and a milkshake is just soooo good. It's a limited time thing, which is good, because I've already had about five this summer. David's taken to asking how much I like something in relation to how much I like this drink. "If I were to come home would you like that more or less than a frosted strawberry lemonady" Ha.


--Listening to books on Overdrive. Both me and Lydia have really been enjoying this. Overdrive is an online library where you can download books and audiobooks to your phone. I used to watch tv shows while folding the laundry and such, but I've started listening to Audio-books on my phone because I feel like it doesn't make me so unapproachable to my kids but I'm still able to be entertained while doing something fairly monotonous. At night after we put Lydia and Austin to bed, we've been letting Lydia listen to the Boxcar Children books for 15-20 minutes and she's really been loving it, too.

-I love my laundry room. I love the window I can look out of, I love the counter that I can fold clothes on, I love the L-A-U-N-D-R-Y letters above the washer/dryer. I have a method called "don't start another load until the clothes have been folded directly out of the dryer" and it works for me. No baskets of clean clothes hanging around. It will be hard to ever move because I love this laundry room so much.

-Great Value Tropical Trail Mix. It's got dried fruit & nuts, including cashews. We've been eating a lot of this lately.

-I had a realllllly bad experience with a wedding announcement client back in September and I honestly considered shutting Red Ladder down and calling it a good run. I just recognized that there were times that I was putting too much stress on myself and my kids were suffering for it. (Seriously, it was an awful experience where I basically worked through the night for a week to get a rush order finished for a couple who originally said that they just wanted something simple, but then were easily the pickiest and most demanding couple I've ever worked with - only to have them be dissatisfied with the final product and ask for their money back, after I'd already delivered the announcements to them. I lost money on the order, not to mention the countless hours I'd put in, and it almost caused me to stop doing what I love to do.) However, after several months I've finally started to do a few announcements here and there again. I've made some new rules for myself (like NO rush orders) and I'm feeling really good about things again. I just recently did these announcements for a family friend (Mikelle Oliver) and I love the way that they turned out. Plus those envelopes, guys. I swoon every time I see them. (There are florals on the front, too.) They were originally going to be black and white (due to cost), and last minute I decided to print them in color anyway and for days I'd be doing something completely unrelated and I'd stop and say to David, "Remember those envelopes? They were so gorgeous!" I really love having something in my life that is so creatively fulfilling, and even though I've taken a huge step back to make room for my bigger priorities in life (aka- my family), I'm glad that this can still be part of my life. 

This was originally going to be a short-and-sweet post of a few things that I was liking right now, but it ended up getting a little longer than I had planned. In fact it took a full morning to finish it all up. Luckily, the kids were pretty happy to play with each other and let me blog - but at one point I looked up from my spot on the couch and saw this: an empty entertainment center and toy corner. The result is that my kitchen looks like this right now. #bloggingisworththemess At least they are having a good time while I get to blog, right?  

I'd be remiss if I didn't include these three (and their dad) in my things I love post. Because, although I'm not always the most patient, or the most perfect, I love them so incredibly much.