Dancing with Daffodils

 Another busy week is in the books. I spent a lot of it doing yard work. Monday I cleaned up the front two flower beds and trimmed the bushes and planted my little garden. Tuesday I cut the grass and then Wednesday I put down the mulch. It was a lot of work but my yard does look nice now and Josh just needs to put out the bunny trap to re-home our little friend (whom the girls named Moose) and fix the front sprinkler and we need to power wash the patio.  Tuesday night both of my boys had baseball games at the same time and miraculously in the same place. It was so fun to have them on the fields right next to each other and then Michelle and Frankie showed up! It was such a great surprise and so we sat in front of Curtis's game and then I would just run over and watch Brandon bat (or get walked as is more often the case). It was super sweet and even though Curtis had a quieter game, I appreciated their company and support.  Wednesday Emma had her chorus concert, which was ...

 Today I am especially grateful for my mom. She is someone who loves to serve others and is willing to do whatever she can to make other people feel loved and happy. She is spunky and fun and a great cook. She has taught me to make delicious bread and cinnamon rolls and I'm still working on pies. She has a strong testimony and taught us the gospel through regular family nights and her example. When I was little she was always in charge of large missionary conference lunches or special dinners for visiting general authorities (one time she even asked Sister Hinckley to help with the dishes before she realized who she was!) or ward Christmas parties. She also taught seminary for many years and has been a missionary in Hong Kong, served in a prison running meetings with the inmates and supported my dad as a bishop, stake president and Hill Cumorah Pageant president for many years. She is wonderful and I'm so thankful for all she has taught me about womanhood and motherhood as well...

Here we are in May, which has already felt so long. Last week I went to Salt Lake City to be with my sister, Cindy.  It happened to coincide with BYU graduation so Debbie was there too. I was very nervous about the trip for a few reasons. First, it was hard to leave my family. It took a lot of work and planning and help to be gone. I wrote out the schedule a few times and coordinated with Josh to figure out what he could do and then filled in the holes with the help of friends. I planned and prepared dinners for most of the nights since no one would have time to cook. I tried to think through everything and make sure it was all taken care of to try and make things as easy as possible for Josh since he was also working and very busy. I felt a bit guilty going but he 100 percent supported me and even when Emma was crying, I told her that Aunt Cindy needed my help and I needed her to not make me feel badly about it.  Second, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be helpful to Cindy. W...

 Twenty years ago today I was getting married and it was seriously the best day of my life. We have had lots of wonderful days since then but that day was so full of love and joy. Josh and I had been dating for 5 plus years at that point (well, if you can count a mission as dating). Maybe I should say that we had loved each other that long and knew that it was important for both of us to serve missions but we missed each other a lot and were so happy to finally be together. I remember feeling so happy that our lives were finally joined and we could be in the same state and even better, the same apartment! It was probably the only day of my life I have felt beautiful and it was so wonderful to have my family, Josh's family, our high school friends, my favorite mission companions, ward members, neighbors and former teachers and leaders all in one room to celebrate with us. Their love and support was so beautiful and it was just a wonderful day.    We were sealed in the morn...

I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start with Greg. Friday morning (March 24) we got a text from my sister Debbie that my sister Cindy's husband, Greg, was in the hospital. He had a collapsed lung and couldn't breath well and so that was why they went but then they discovered he had a massive infection that had already damaged his other organs because his lungs weren't oxygenating them well. He was put on life support and we all prayed and hoped he would make it through the night, which he did. We felt hopeful and the mood seemed to be that he was going to make it but have a long recovery. We all fasted for him that Sunday and our family prayed a lot and Cindy even said Monday was a good day at the hospital. Then on Tuesday afternoon we got the news that he was brain dead and that afternoon they suspended life support. I didn't find out until Wednesday morning though because my mom didn't realize I wasn't on the text chain she was using so I fe...