Dear Darling

Dear Darling,

It's me.  Your loving wife of eighteen years.
 
Have I told you lately how much I love being married to you?

Have I thanked you for your easy going nature and virtual inability to get mad at me?

Remember that time I drove your car into a pole?  I was so upset, I rushed in the house, ran right past you and called my dad.  After a deep breath, you  were so kind and understanding and completely agreed with me that it was the pole's fault.  You weren't even offended that I told my dad first.

You are amazing that way.

How about the time we were traveling to Las Vegas.  You were asleep while I took a turn driving.  I thought about stopping in St. George for gas but I really thought we could make it.  Oh the discomfort I felt at having to wake you up at 2:00 am in the middle of the desert to tell you that we had run out of gas.

Your response?  A very deep breath, that's all.

At this point in our lives, you are trying very diligently to get our house paid off.  You're doing great!!  I appreciate your "saver" mentality.  I do, really.  That is why I came to you with a strict budget of what I would spend when re-doing the kids' bedrooms.

One thousand dollars per kid, that's what I said.
You happily and willingly agreed and that was that until...

I ordered new carpet,
New paint for all three rooms,
Three new memory foam mattresses,
A new bed for Samantha, dresser for Rach, desks and nightstands for all three,
shelving, curtains, accessories and some very amazing Pottery Barn bedding.

I know.
Never look at Pottery Barn first.
Never. Never. Never.

Yes.  I did go a bit over budget.
But Darling, Love of my Life, Amazingly handsome, Brilliant, Sexy Husband---
their rooms are going to look spectacular!

I am telling  you this now so that you can breathe deeply all the way back from Boston.
With all those deep breaths, you are going to feel great!
You won't have to go running for at least two weeks!

Now, aren't you glad you married me?
You could never get this kind of cardiovascular workout with a Suzie Orman type woman.
See what a great team we make?

Sincerely--
Your loving and devoted wife,
Kimberly

See Sam Chapter 6

See Sam.

Sam just turned two.

That means Sam is getting big.  

Sam can put on her own shoes now.

Sometimes Sam likes to wear other people's shoes too.

One time Mom found Daddy's Sunday shoes outside in the garden with Sam's toys.

"Oh Sam," said Mom.

Mom washed Dad's shoes off and put them back in his closet.

Sam has two new sets of shoes for fall.

One pair is pink, one pair is brown.

Shoes are fun, shoes are neat!

Sam loves her new shoes.

Today Mom and Sam have a lot of leaves to rake.

"Hurry and get your shoes on Sam," says Mom.

Sam runs to her room.  

She searches for a matching set but she can only find one pink shoe and one brown shoe.

"Oh dear," sighs Mom.

"Let's go find your lost shoes."

Mom and Sam look for the lost shoes.

They look upstairs, they look downstairs.

They look outside and in the car and at Grandma's house.

Mom and Sam can't find the lost shoes anywhere.

Suddenly Sam has an idea!

"Wook Mommy!"  Sam cheers.

"Wook at my's feet!"

"Oh Sam, you're a smart kid!"  smiles Mom.

Happy Mom.

Happy Sam.

Happy Halloween!

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Confessions of a Germ Freak

It's not easy being the son or daughter(s) of a germ freak.
Oh the things you have to endure.

Constant handwashing, the habit of not touching public handrails, door knobs or elevator buttons.

Only using a public restroom in case of emergency, sanitizing the grocery cart and above all else, NEVER walking barefoot in a hotel room or lying around on the bedspread.

I know.
They'll need therapy later.

For the most part, they go along with me.  In their world, this type of thing is normal.
So they really shouldn't have been too surprised when I abrubptly checked them out of school last week and hauled them to the Health Department for an H1N1 vaccine.

Since it was the first day it was being offered, there were about 362, 987 other moms with the same idea.
We filled out the paperwork and waited, and waited, and waited.

I started to get a little edgy with the crowds of people in such close quarters.  Then I made a keen and wonderful observation.  Almost all the moms around me were feeling the same way.  They had their personal hand sanitizer, used their own pens, kept their babies covered, and brought books and other things to keep the little ones occupied instead of letting them play with the Health Department's toys.

We are among friends!  I happily proclaimed.

Samantha took a wipe out of my purse and started washing the chairs.  "Yes, she's mine," I said to the nice and very impressed lady next to me.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  Crossing our fingers that we don't get that nasty swine flu and that the twins don't have to miss school due to illness.  They need all the education they can get. 

After all, education = good jobs = ability to afford their own therapy bills.

Trying to be Like Jesus

Monday night the kids and I were enjoying a nice dad-out-of-town dinner together. (aka grilled cheese sandwiches and a can of soup)

We were going over the events of the day. The twins told me about a friend of theirs. Someone they have known for many years. They talked about how this friend is changing. Angry, mean, aggressive and bad temper are the words they used to describe him.

Rachel had asked the friend what he was going to be for Halloween and he answered with a rude and sarcastic comment. Linc asked the friend why he had missed a day of school and the boy told him to shut up _____.

I listened and nodded and asked a few questions. They commented that he wouldn't have friends for long if he continued to be so angry and that they didn't really want to play with him anymore.

I started on the dishes while they left to get ready for bed.

I felt bad for their friend. I felt bad for them.

Later that evening we sat down for Family Home Evening. We decided to watch Elder Holland's April 2009 conference address. It was about last days of the Savior's life.

We listened carefully and reverently as Elder Holland took us through Jesus' Messianic arrival in Jerusalem on the Sunday before passover. There were many who wanted to follow the Savior, many who walked with Him. But in Elder Holland's words, " Eagerness to continue walking with Him would quickly begin to wane."

We sat captivated, rewinding parts here and there. We learned that from one event to another, Jesus felt more and more alone. Elder Holland taught that even the Savior's closest friends could not stay awake while He was in the garden, Peter denied knowing Him and how Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

He talked of the unjust trial, the scourging, mocking, the humiliation and the incomprehensible agony. How in the Savior's deepest, darkest hour He felt alone as He cried out. "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Elder Holland then testified that the Father had to briefly withdraw His presence from His beloved Son. This was a critical and necessary part of the atonement. Jesus had to gain a perfect knowledge of what it feels like to be completely and consummately alone so that He could better understand us. Because of this, He knows of our pains, our disappointments, our heart aches, our darkest hours. He empathizes with compassion and extends His perfect love to us.

Elder Holland concluded by reminding us that "because Jesus walked a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so" and that we can show our gratitude and humility by committing our lives to serving Him and knowing Him, trying to become like Him. In this we stand beside the Savior.

When it was over, we sat there quietly. We discussed what it means to truly follow the Savior. To stand by Him, to follow Him, to do and say the things that He would. I shared my testimony with the twins and then we knelt together to pray.

Rachel went first. Completely unprompted by me, she began to pray for her friend. She asked Heavenly Father to soften his heart so that he wouldn't be angry. She asked for help in being more kind and patient with him. Finally she asked Heavenly Father to make better whatever is happening in his life that is causing anger.

When she finished, Lincoln prayed for the same things. My heart was very full of love for them. My heart was also very full of love for the Savior of the World.

I know that He does understand us, He knows us, He can be our truest friend if we will let Him. It makes me want to do more, try harder and be better. In these types of moments, my own weaknesses are so magnified and at the same time I feel His love.

Sooooo far to go.... but today I am feeling a little bit closer.

Turning Two Checklist

By Samantha


Pink Princess Potty with sparkly purple jewels purchased.   CHECK


Princess panties washed and waiting in drawer for the big day.   CHECK


Ability to open the childproof door knob to big sister's room.   CHECK


High chair gone.  CHECK


Figuring out that The Little Einsteins and Caillou are just a click away.  CHECK


Big girl bed picked out.  CHECK


Discovery Gateway on Tuesdays. CHECK


Girlfriend play group on Wednesdays.  CHECK


The Zoo on Thursdays.  CHECK


Grandpa's special hiding place for treats found.  CHECK


Singing "I Am A Child of God"  will get me anything, anytime, anywhere.  CHECK


Tantrums will work when strategically thrown in a public setting  CHECK


Knowledge of how to use the words:  Me, Mine, I, My, and No.  CHECK


Still have Mom, Daddy, Brother and Sister COMPLETELY wrapped around my 1.5" finger.
CHECK and CHECK and CHECK.

Here comes two!!

What If...

I'm feeling a little down today.

Do you mind if I tell you why?

First, maybe I should put a disclaimer out there so as not to offend anyone who may read this.

This is one of those topics that I don't usually write about. I mostly blog about family and events that are happening in our lives. I like keeping a record with my future grandchildren in mind. When I am long gone, I want them to have a small glimpse of what life was like for me, what I thought and felt.

Political, opinionated and judgmental, I don't want to be.

That said, once in a while it is our obligation to be bold in speaking about right and wrong.

Sometimes you just feel compelled to stand up and say it, with the hope that those who hear you will understand without offense and will not label you as self righteous.

Lately, something has been bothering me like a sliver in a finger. No, make that a deeply embedded shard of glass that has been festering a few days.

I am sad for the little people in this country of ours.

I am troubled about the way many of them are being disregarded by the very people who love them the most.... their parents.

I was in the grocery store check out line recently, when I noticed some magazine headlines.

There they were in big, bold, commanding letters:

"SEPARATED"

"SPLIT"

"OVER"

Pictures of the beautiful, the famous and the reality show claim-to-famers accompanied those words.

One cover was a photo of an angry mother lashing out at her former husband. You could see the fury in her eyes and in the lines on her face.

The next magazine on the rack featured the husband. His furrowed brow frozen in time. An invitation next to his picture invited you inside the pages of the magazine to read about how much he despises his former wife.

I wondered about the eight little souls behind those ugly words.

How heartbreaking.

How tragic.

It made me want to cry.

Too many families are getting it all wrong.

Whatever happened to falling in love, getting married, having a family, and then sticking it out through thick and thin---

in that exact order.

It's not just celebrities. Good people, no make that great people are allowing themselves to be deceived into thinking that the process of shattering a family will somehow lead to happiness. Some of those are people near and dear to me. Mothers and Fathers bitterly divided, leaving

anguish-filled children in their wake.

Of course there are times when divorce is the only option such as physical, verbal or emotional maltreatment. I am the first one to raise my hand in support of getting out of those types of situations. But generally speaking, there is too much "me" and not nearly enough "we" going on in our marriages.

Marriage isn't easy all the time.

There are times of frustration and disagreement, even disappointment.

It takes effort, tender care and perhaps most importantly- commitment to making it work.

President Hinckley reminded us many times that "The greatest factor in a happy marriage is anxious concern for the comfort and well being of one's companion. In most cases, selfishness is the leading factor that causes argument, separation, divorce and broken hearts."

What if starting today, every single husband and wife became eagerly and anxiously concerned for the well being of their spouse?

What if we were so busy trying to improve ourselves that we didn't have any time left to be critical of our husbands or wives?

What if selfishness became extinct?

How different things would be.

How joyful life would be for the littlest, most innocent among us.

Maybe when our children and grandchildren are all grown up and standing in line at the grocery store the headlines might say:

Unity Abounds!

Couple Celebrates 50 Happy Years!

Security, Safety and Love Fills Homes Everywhere

That's the kind of world I want for them, I'm sure you do too.

If you are feeling conflict in your marriage, will you consider the "what if" questions above?

If someone you care about is thinking of calling it quits, will you do everything you can to help keep a family together?

It's time to stand up in defense of families. Our kids deserve that much.

I have probably said more than enough.

Just wanted to go on the record, you know, for the sake of posterity.

Thanks for reading.