Darling boys and school parties

School party in this little dude's classroom today. Coloring with first
graders is fun stuff and seeing this boy in his weekday environment
makes my heart happy. He's the sweetest. I love being his mom.

Together again

 

Visiting my mom's grave, after every trip to the temple, is both sweet and
hard. I still feel a shock every single time I see her name on the headstone.
And today, seeing what my dad placed at her graveside, made me weep.

It isn't that he thinks she still cares about basketball or Christmas
or Valentine's Day, it is just that he continues to serve her in
every way imaginable. Because his love for her is so great.

That is what brought me to tears today. How much my dad loves my mom.
And how attending the temple and then visiting her grave helps me to remember
where she is at and that they will be together again. We all will. Of that I am sure.

Our thing

I'm watching the NCAA tournament, eating tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch (possibly my mom's favorite meal) and missing my sweet mom something fierce.

It may seem silly if you didn't know her, but March Madness was most definitely our thing. She taught me to love it from the time I was a little girl and for the last 35 years, it connected us almost more than anything else. I lost count of the number of times, each March, we would pick up the phone at the exact same time, to call each other. March Madness always meant dozens of calls to my mom to talk about our elation or devastation or fury with a ref. Or sometimes, all three.

Oh Mom, our team is playing. I miss you so much and would give almost anything for just one more phone call. I'll cheer extra loud for our Wolverines. For both of us.

So proud of our girl!

They made it to state! One of only three One Act plays from our region to advance.

Perfection

A beautiful sunset, my favorite time of the day and the sweetest pup.

Big news for Matt...times two

He's an official permit owner. And my mind is completely blown
we are doing this for the third time. My children and their insistence
on growing older and learning to operate a car. Ridiculous. 

Eagle Scout board of review passed. Yee to the Haw.
(His shirt was untucked before we even left the building.)

Our annual St. Patrick's Day tradition

Our annual St. Patrick's Day Good Luck Dinner was a success.
I'm such a huge fan of family traditions.

(Note: Apparently we also have strong patriotic feelings on
this holiday of the gold and green and leprechauns.)

One proud mother

"At last, she is finally posting about Miracle Whip," my loyal followers are thinking. I post to please the masses. Obviously.

This morning, one of my children (I'm sure you will never guess who) took this bottle of ivory congealed grossness to school with him. What everyone around him didn't know is that the Miracle Whip had been replaced with vanilla pudding. And throughout the day, he occasionally pulled it out and held it above his mouth and gave it a good squeeze. I'll let you imagine how that went.

I told Jacob this morning that all across homes in our little town, and throughout the evening hours, junior high students will suddenly remember what they saw at school today and rush to find a parent or sibling to let them know.

I've now become the mother to the "kid who drinks Miracle Whip." I've seldom been so proud.

(Secretly, I found it pretty hilarious. Hilarious and absolutely disgusting. Even though I knew it was pudding and saw him put it in there, it still grossed me out whenever he squeezed some into his mouth.)

Benjamin the amazing

 

 

Second year in a row for this stud to compete in the district keyboarding challenge.
And he not only increased his typing speed by almost 30 words per minute since last year
(his best was 91 wpm and 96% accuracy), but he took 6th place out of the approximately 30
fifth graders that competed tonight. He is pretty much incredible. And I adore him like crazy.

So much sweetness in one little darling

It's all true

A couple of hours ago, I noticed on my Instagram feed that several leaders of
the church I belong to were sharing their testimony with the world. I do not have
words to describe how I felt as I scrolled through and watched these Apostles of
the Lord Jesus Christ share, with absolute certainty, what they know to be true.

And as I searched for a photo of them together to share on my feed, so as not to
forget that moment, I came across this picture that was just taken at the dedication of
the Rome Temple. All of these incredible men together with that beautiful statue of
our Redeemer as a backdrop. There are no words. Only the strongest conviction
in my heart of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the privilege
I have to be a part of His kingdom on earth. It's all true. Every single bit of it.

Picture taken from this article.

The worst

Daylight Saving Time, you are the worst.
As in, I prefer the snow over you. Yes, I said it.

Turning fifteen

Oh my incredible boy, we love you so much. You joined our family fifteen years ago today and
we have been grateful ever since. You are brilliant, good, athletic, happy, hilarious beyond description
and amazing in a million ways. Happy Birthday Matthew Davis! We are so thankful you are ours.

Forty-two

He's handsome and brilliant and loving and kind. So very kind. He's hilarious and athletic
and happy and calm. We need more calm in this world. He's an expert at helping others
see the big picture, drives a boat with perfection, cliff dives like he isn't married with
six kids to take care of and runs several miles multiple mornings a week. Like a cheetah.
He's a tremendous son, an amazing brother, an extraordinary dad and an exceptional
husband. Exceptional would be an understatement. Today he is 42. And I'm grateful
for every single one of those years. I'm especially a fan of the last twenty.

Happiest Birthday Jacob Ethan! You are everything that is good and
right and happy in this world. And I love you. A whole lot.

This darling girl

Kindergarten well-check visit for this darling girl today and
she literally didn't even blink when those shots went in.

Matt's Eagle Scout project

Today was just a really cool day. Matt and I were able to head down to the
Utah Refugee Connection, for Matt to deliver the diapers he collected for his Eagle Scout
project. We unloaded 5019 diapers and stacked them in their donation area.

This particular organization served more than 21,000 refugees last year and I was so impressed
with what they focused on, how organized they were and the way they run their nonprofit.
My mind was going a hundred miles an hour the whole way home, trying to figure out how
I could be a part of it in some way. I think I might have an idea and it really excites me.

I'm thankful for today. I'm thankful to have learned more about a wonderful organization that
makes a difference in the world. I'm thankful for you incredible, incredible people who
donated to Matt's Eagle project and were generous beyond belief. And I'm thankful for this
boy of mine who worked hard to do something good and right and happy in the world.

831 pounds

If you have ever wondered what a collection of 831 pounds
of clothes looks like, wonder no more. 

Thank you, wonderful friends, for donating your used clothing to help Annie's
Guatemala team earn the funds needed to help the people of Guatemala. Their group
gathered more than 20,000 pounds of clothes in total and now has the money
needed to use during their two-week humanitarian trip to Central America.

So much beauty

First-timer

The Cub Scout blue and gold banquet was tonight and this little stud,
who turns eight this year, was invited for the first time. He was so, so
excited to finally be at a scout activity that was just for him.

A good night

Any night that ends with neighborhood games until dark, is a good night.

The power in trying

This is my new favorite picture of my boy, taken last week on the day
he transferred to a new area. You just can't fake that kind of happiness.

That doesn't mean it is all easy or there aren't struggles or trials. It just means he turns
to God and then keeps going, doing his best to be positive and happy. He is such an
amazing example to his mom. Because I believe there is tremendous power in our
willingness to keep trying and that we (meaning me) underestimate our Father in
Heaven's anxiousness to bless us just for our continued efforts, no matter the results.

All of this has been settling itself in my heart today and I've been
reminded of a quote that I heard more than twenty years ago during
a collegiate religious class, that has always stuck with me.

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't make us immune from problems,
it merely gives us perspective. So that when the problems come,
rather than shaking our fist toward heaven, we drop to our knees.

Matt's last game

Matt's last basketball game was one of my favorite games I've ever watched.
His team was awesome, Matt played incredibly and it was just fun to be there.
Which is why I love that I happened to take pictures at this game. The clear ones,
the blurry ones, the one when he took the ball down the court and kicked his legs
as high as possible to dribble the ball underneath (pretending to be serious, which
was beyond hilarious)...all of them. This boy is something else. If you don't get to
be around him on a regular basis, I'm truly sorry for you. He's tremendous.

Subtle wake up call

Well, we've discovered an effective way of waking up teenagers (and the whole
household) very quickly. Gratefully, a fire wasn't the cause of our extremely loud and
plentiful smoke detectors screaming at us this morning. But since there wasn't a way
to turn them off and we needed to be sure we weren't missing a problem in the house
we couldn't initially see, we had visitors this morning. And felt a little less silly
when it took them a good chunk of time to discover and remedy the problem.

Boy howdy, we sure are grateful for the four men who showed up for our family this
morning. The issue turned out to be benign, but there is something about knowing good
people are there when you need them. And there is also something about knowing that
if a fire actually happens, we will most definitely know about it. Good grief, the noise.

Family scripture study...obviously

Simmer down folks. Just some rubber band guns gifted to us by our neighbors.

Elder Allen's first transfer

Oh this boy makes me so happy! He received his first transfer since he entered the mission field and is now in the extremely tiny town of Caçapava do Sul, Brasil. We didn't talk to him on Monday (after the incredible announcement that rather than speaking to our missionaries twice a year, we can now talk to them once a week on their preparation day) because of the transfer. And we actually may not be able to talk much while he is in this new area (due to it being so small and without a church or a lot of internet from what we can tell), but I can honestly say we are great with whatever. We are here if he can and wants to talk and if he just needs to focus on being a missionary any given week, we are more than okay with it. Mostly, we are just thrilled beyond words to be more involved in his mission, praying for those that he is praying for, fasting for those he is fasting for and supporting and loving our boy in any way that we can. The Lord is so wonderful. Missions are so fabulous.

Oh, and if you want to see what walking eight hours a day does, take a look at the second photo. All of his clothes are gigantic on him and I have no idea how he got ahold of clothes that fit him (since we can only send a very limited number of packages, long story with the mail system), but good grief, I was a little shocked to see him looking that trim. Even if the hat situation confuses me.

Well then, that will do. I'm just so thankful for a missionary son and his heart and his goodness and his desire to keep trying and serving. He has had a long drought of not a lot of area progress the last many weeks in his beloved Obelisco, so when he had the blessing of baptizing that sweet woman you see in the third picture two days before he left Obelisco, l got a bit emotional. God loves his children and continuously blesses us in big and small ways. Sometimes those blessings aren't as obvious as other times, but sometimes they are so kind and loving and good, they bring you to your knees with gratitude. That is exactly how I feel about having Campbell Allen as my son.

Some thoughts on our flight home

This last week with Jacob has been beyond wonderful. We have talked and laughed and adventured and had deep conversations and even had difficult conversations. All of it has left me more in love with him, rather than less. And not just because we are in a beautiful place and had the great blessing of this incredible vacation. But because he is tremendous and good and just exactly who God knew I needed to marry for happiness in this life and the next

Everywhere we went (and I mean everywhere), people complimented him on his Spanish (excelente, perfecto, bonito). And it made me proud (I could pretend it was righteous pride, but I'm pretty sure it is just plain pride). Because that is who Jacob chooses to be. Someone who never stops learning and growing and developing his mind and heart. The church mission that taught him his beloved language was more than 20 years ago, yet still, he speaks it incredibly. Because it mattered to him to not lose it.

And that is the person he strives to be. One who works hard, cares deeply, loves constantly and wants to be a better person. His love for Christ and our little family makes me emotional when I stop to think about it. Because continuing to work at being His disciple and constantly fighting for our little family matters. It matters so much.

And I get to reap those rewards on a daily basis. As his wife, as the mother to our children and as someone who wants nothing more than to be known as a daughter of God and follower of Jesus Christ. And the fact that we get to focus on those truly important things together makes me so very humbled. And somehow, time away as just the two of us, puts that into sharper focus and better perspective.

Oh I love Jacob Allen. Save for my Father in Heaven and my Redeemer, no one knows me better, loves me more or gives me more chances to try again. And having that blessing in mortality is something I don't take for granted.

Adiós Costa Rica. You are beautiful and magical and you reminded me of the good in myself and in the man I love. And to me, that is the definition of a perfect anniversary trip.