Last Day of Home Church - First Week of Primary!

We are hitting a pretty big milestone this month. After more than one year of having home church (at first, exclusively, and later on rotation every other week) we are headed back to in person sacrament meeting full time. That means that June 9th was our last day of having church at home. It's been a really interesting experience. One that we certainly never expected but one that has been a blessing in a lot of ways. I admit to a little hesitancy at saying goodbye to our little sacrament meeting at home, mostly because of the sweet spirit that our Sundays have had, and also because Sacrament meeting can be hard with such young children. However, we are so grateful that we can return and worship every week at the chapel and with our ward family. I think that Lydia is the most sad of all because of how much she loved planning and building the wooden sacrament tray for David. I feel like it was a tangible way for her to be involved in the sacrament and she's a little sad to miss that. But actually, she's really excited for primary, so I changed my mind. It's Austin that is the most sad. He has loved home church and would keep it this way forever. I relate to Lydia, because as I made the effort to prepare our home for the sacrament, including making a special little load of sacramental bread - I felt more connected and a part of the sacramental ordinance. It was a special time in the life of our family. 

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But now we are back! Back to Primary! Our ward meets for sacrament meeting for 50 minutes, has a 10 minute transition, and then a 30 minute "second hour." Hopefully that time will bump up to a full second hour block. 

Lucy is in Nursery for the first time ever. 

Caleb is a Sunbeam. 

Lydia and Austin are both in Senior Primary. 

I had a Stake Speaking Assignment as the Stake Primary President in the CF ward and took pictures of their primary but missed taking pictures of our own primary. (We have a LOT more chairs squished into the primary room.) David handled the kids alone and I was able to come back and help at the end. I just have to say how much I love being able to travel to other wards and speak.

Also, the recommendation is to still wear masks inside, but less than half of the people were wearing masks the first Sunday- so I guess we will see how that goes. 

More than anything I'm just grateful for this special family of mine and that we are blessed with the ability to return to church and continue to build our foundations of faith in Jesus Christ. 

12th Anniversary

June 5, 2021 - 12 Years of this wonderful life together. Here are a few throwback pictures of us: 

2009- Dating

2010 - Some friends posted these pictures of us and I don't think that I have them anywhere on the blog!

We were just recently talking about how long we've been married and how those early years seem a lifetime ago. People often talk about how the first year of marriage is so difficult, but we never felt that way. Of course there are adjustments that have to be made and bumps along the road as you learn to live with and deeply communicate with your spouse -- but I'm so grateful that we've been able to learn and grow together. 12 year is a long time, but also - when we've been married for 30 or 40 or 50 years I know that we will look back at 12 years and it will be lumped into "those early years". It makes me want to work harder and do better at continuing to learn and grow, continuing to communicate, and making the effort to build a lasting foundation for our marriage and our lives.

Some wedding photos, just because they make me so happy: 

For our anniversary this year, Jenna watched out kids and we spent the whole day at the parade of homes. We walked through beautiful houses, discussed what we loved and what our critiques were, and dreamed of a future custom-built house with all of our favorite things. We stopped and ate delicious food whenever we wanted to and mostly just enjoyed being together. We had talked about a few other options for the day, but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we just kept at it and hit almost 20 of the 26 or so homes. One of the highlights from the day was finding my favorite painting hanging in the hallway of one of the homes. This painting hangs in the Mount Timpanogos temple and I have tried for YEARS to find a place we could buy a copy of it. Each time I go to the temple, I pause right by the temple offices where it hangs and just soak in the spirit of the painting. Imagine my surprise when we turned the corner and saw it (I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped.) We asked the builders where they had gotten it and then handed us a card to a little art shop in Provo. We immediately left and drove right there happily discovering smaller prints for sale in their shop! We ended up with a 16x20 size for $100 (basically our entire anniversary budget) and I am SO happy. It hangs in our room right by our bed and it brings me so much joy. I had initially wanted a very large print to hang in our family room but after not being able to find it, we bought a different "First Vision" painting and I love it, too. Even though we didn't need it for the initial spot we wanted we couldn't pass up the opportunity to own our own copy. 

David is everything that I could want in a husband. He is kind, loyal, and funny. He offers me support in all the ways that matter most and makes me feel like a rockstar basically 100% of the time. He works hard for our family and takes his role of provider seriously. He has taught me how to budget and enjoy it. He gives me the pickles off of his hamburger in restaurants instead of just ordering it without pickles. He teases me without sarcasm and when I tell him "You're going to be in trouble" he laughs and says "don't make me be in trouble!" then comes to tickle or kiss me. He's an amazing father to our children and my heart melts as I watch him teaching, playing, and loving them. My favorite parts of each day revolve around him and having him work from home this past year and a half has been the best (for me at least). 

Sometimes when I see others around us struggling in their marriages, or when we see people that we are close to getting divorced, it makes me anxious and scared. What if this amazing life we have crumbles around us? But David is always there to reassure me of his love and dedication. We are working together and even if the storms may rage, we will stay faithful and true to the things that are important to us. I love this man with all my heart and I hope that he feels as loved and supported as he makes me feel. 

We often talk about how the next ten years will be some of the most impactful years of our family. We know that they will be hard work - but we're committed to putting in the efforts now to build foundations, strengthen confidence, encourage faith, teach habits, and create traditions. This family means everything to us. As I look back and see the two college kids we started as and see the young family we have created I am more encouraged than every to keep working every day to create a beautiful life together. It fills me with hope for the future for us and our children. 

Some favorite pictures of us over the past year: 





Happy Anniversary David. I love you more than words can say. 

May Wrap Up

 Shantel found this photo of Lydia as a baby with Donte the other day and thought it would be fun to include with her with Rugby now. She has loved dogs since she was a little baby and is just as cute now. 

We took a family bike ride over to Thanksgiving Point. It was Sunday so there was no one there and it was beautiful and so peaceful. Both Caleb and Lucy rode in the bike trailer and Lydia and Austin were awesome even riding up the hills. 

Austin building a train track. 

We helped clean the church and the kids did a great job mopping the bathrooms. 

Lydia was in charge of family home evening and shared an awesome lesson about missionary work and sharing the gospel. Her primary teachers (Yay for being back in primary) taught a lesson and she decided she wanted to show us the same thing at home. Here she is using milk to demonstrate her analogy. I love seeing her take the things she is learning and be able to share them with us. 

The kids were up in Morgan and got to help Grandpa Walker plant corn. 

On one Sunday I came upstairs after a little bit and found the boys room perfectly sparkling clean. I initially thought they must have decided to clean it so they wouldn't have to on Monday morning. Then I quickly found out that actually, they had taken everything off their bed and from the floor (including a massive amount of toys) and created a giant pile in the corner. They were so pleased with themselves and happy to be able to climb on top of their giant pile.