The Last Days of Summer

I can't believe that it's almost fall.  It's kind of depressing really. However, I must say that this was an excellent summer.  Our pool closes on Monday, and I will greatly miss it!


So will Aliyah!

So will Milo!

We have been trying to soak in as much as we can this last week.  Milo can now jump off the side without floaties and swim to the surface.  Not bad for a 1 year old!  We are also so proud of Aliyah, because on her last pool day of the season she finally held her breath and went under water.  Now she can jump off the side and be as wild as she wants without breaking her mom's/aunt's/grandma's arms! Yeah!

People, people, people

I don't have any pictures of todays highlighted person.  But here's a shout out to Letha and Garth
We met Letha and Garth while we were in Hawaii.  They were probably pushing 90, if not already there.  Letha was finishing her degree (one class at a time), and they lived in student housing.  Garth once told us the story of when he met Letha.  He explained that so many other "heros" were crowded around her trying to get her attention, but that he knew that she had to be his.  As he told the story, Letha blushed like it was just yesterday.  They had 7 children together, and were still madly in love 55 + years later. They were the cutest old couple that you have ever seen. 
Some old people act superior, or disappointed at young people's efforts in raising a family.  Letha was never this way.  She didn't expect you to have everything together, and always had a cute story about some blunder that she had with her children that somehow put your current struggle into perspective.  She starts every sentence with, "do you know..." For example, Letha taught me one of the greatest lessons.  She started out with the classic "do you know..."  Then she went on to explain that with 7 small children, a house to maintain, and a million other things to do, there often came time when scripture study and prayer were overlooked.  But she said that they learned that even if they found the time for one verse together their life was much happier.  She explained that at first she felt ashamed that if they didn't have a lot of time to commit, they would just skip it all together.  But in her wisdom she said that even if they read one word of scripture, that meant that her children her one word from God and wouldn't we want our children to have that blessing every day?
Letha and Garth you are shining examples of what a family should be.  Letha I hope you graduate.   And Garth, you are the hero that won Letha forever.

mY PeEps #2

Missy McGary... Formerly know as Missy Cook.

Missy makes our list for many reasons:
1- We've been friends since preschool. 
2- We share the same name.  No we aren't sisters. We always think it's odd when people ask us this after we tell them our names... like our mom loved the name so much that she chose it twice? . . . Never quite made sence to me, but it's shocking how many times people have asked that question.  It reminds me of that Dr. Seuss peom about the mom who had fifty sons and named them all Dave. That's Dr. Seuss people, not real life.
3- She will sing "Once There Was a Snowman", and "Popcorn Popping" as we ride our bikes down the neighborhood just so Milo will be a happy bike rider and I can get some exercise.
4- She understands the beauty of napping, swimming, otterpops, and crafting. just like me:)
5- She'll jump on any bandwagon with me... Hawaii...Harry Potter...Air gliding...Modge Podge...Fads are so much more fun when you have a fanatic friend with you.

All jokes aside, Missy is a true friend.  A seminary teacher once explained that a true friend will always build you up, never persuade you to sin, and will always give you the opportunity to be better.  Missy does all of these things, but what is even more awesome is that she has always been that way.  All the way from Grandma Beverly's pre-school to self centered high school, Miss has always been a true friend.  She's never been the one to get tied up in trash that gives you temporary attention.  She's just always been the rock.  I can't remember a time when Missy didn't include everyone, flaked out, or demanded that she get her own way.  She is a true friend who will be my friend forever.  

People

For the next thirty days I am going to change things up a bit.  Instead of the usual posts about my wonderful kids and husband, I am going to write about the random people in my life who make life just a little more sweet.  It seems like so many people have passed in and out of my life, and often I don’t feel like I gave proper credit to the impact that they had on me.  So, without further ado, highlighted person number one: Brother Banz.

Hometeachers are kind of a funny concept.  They come into your home once a month, sit on the uncomfortable sofas in the front room, small talk about who knows what, and always finish with, “well, is there anything that we can do for ya?”  I have never had a hometeacher who has visited more than three consecutive months.  And I have always felt like the visit is only made so that when the awkward phone call comes one a month to report your visit, they could say yep everything’s good.

Well our new hometeacher has blown away all of my preconceived notions.  He tried to have us over for dinner at his house for the first appointment, but we weren’t sure that we could commit to that long of a conversation about the weather and the up and coming Romney campaign, so we had him over to our house.  It was a pretty standard visit, except he seemed very genuine, and Chris and I were both impressed with he and his son. 

This has been a huge summer for us to say the least.  New house, new baby, illnesses, busy, busy!  We have tried to get our yard started, but it has been a rocky road.  Chris had to trench twice because the holes filled in when he had his appendix removed.  Instead of growing pretty flowers, we grew ten foot high weeds. It’s been a bit of a mess to say the least.

At the end of our first visit, Brother Banz didn’t ask the standard question.  Instead he offered to borrow a machine to come and help us with our yard.  I hate to admit it, but I didn’t really expect him to follow through.  But the next Saturday, there he was to help us out.  Milo loved riding on the tractor with him.  He also loved watching his son, who Milo thought was a “cool big boy”. They worked for several hours and said that they would come back some other time with a power rake to help level the ground.

Again I didn’t really expect them to follow through.  I was so grateful that they had come once to help us.  They did so much work on the first day, our yard finally didn’t look like a death trap. 
The very next Saturday Brother Banz was out front with his two boys ready to help us again.  They raked out our yard and helped us prep for planting.  I was blown away.
Sometimes you feel like “thank you,” just isn’t enough.  He and his boys did us a wonderful service.  But what’s more than that, they taught me what it is to be a good neighbor and friend.  They saw a need, followed through, and did so with no personal gain.  I’m sure that there was a million other things they could have been doing on their one day off.  But they acted like this was the only place that they wanted to be.  

Blessed

We blessed our sweet baby girl today.

It was amazing.

She is amazing.

She may have pooped on her blessing dress as soon as we got home,

but she didn't make a peep during the prayer and the guys

all said that she smiled through the whole thing.

 After I had Milo, I thought that my life was complete.  I had a wonderful husband and a super sweet little boy.  I had been given enough happiness to last me for a lifetime. And then Heavenly Father showed me what being blessed truly meant. He sent Taya. I had it all, plus her.  

After being hit by a truck when I was eleven, I wondered why I had to endure such physical pain.  I easily could have died, but I didn't.  Through all of the surgeries, doctors, and therapy I wondered why.  Why did Heavenly Father allow such a terrible accident to happen?  Why was I spared to live in a mangled body.

Now I know why.
One minute with Taya and none of that matters.
One of her cheesy smiles makes all of the pain make sense.
If I would have missed the opportunity to be her mother, I would have missed everything.
She is beyond words.
I get to be her mother forever and I will cherish her for every minute that I get.