Ben and the boys

Boys' trip for Benjamin and these coolest of friends. I seriously love Ben's friends so much, I can't stand it.
They are just so dang good and so crazy funny. So a weekend in St. George all together was apparently
 just the right call. I'm so happy they got to go, especially that Ben Allen. He's my favorite.

These two darlings

A few weeks ago, these two sent me this photo with my happy birthday message.
And I just cannot with both of them.

I mean first, they clearly know that photos and the temple are my love language. Then they add
themselves into the mix, two of my most favorites in all of forever, and it just made my day.

I wish so much I could put into words how much I admire these two. How well they deal with life,
how good they are to each other, how often they laugh and make life hilarious and exciting, how hard
they work, how kind they are to others constantly, how faithful they choose to be and how they love
 their Savior. It just all blows me away and I often wonder what my life would be like if I had been
half as emotionally aware, trusting of God and just plain good and amazing as they are at this age.
It’s just so inspiring and incredible to see. I love and admire them to the deepest part of my heart.

What a blessing they are to so many. But absolutely no one more than this mom—who is so deeply honored
to have a front seat to their amazingness, it brings me to tears just writing about it. My word they are tremendous.

This sunshine girl

She's still pure sunshine and makes life for herself, and everyone around her, more exciting,
hilarious, adventurous, beautiful and fun. She's just the coolest chica and I'm so grateful for
every moment I get with her in person or even just through an audio message or sent photos
(I love all of it so much). Goodness, I'm a gigantic fan of Annie Allen. Always and forever.

Yesterday

Matt's day

Happy 21st Birthday to our darling Matthew! Oh this boy does something to my heart. He is not
only kind, brilliant, hilarious beyond what I knew was possible, adventurous, athletic and so deeply
aware and thoughtful of others—but I think he might be the most grateful person I’ve ever known.
It doesn’t matter what you do for him, big or small and everything in between, Matt makes sure to
thank you. And can we go back to being hilarious? I wish everyone could spend just an hour with Matt,
 they would love it so much and their life would be happier, funnier and much more fantastic, just by
 being around him. Every time our family sits down to dinner together, it is guaranteed Matt is going to
 have everyone hysterical. He’s just so fabulous and amazing and I sincerely feel like God loves me
best because he let me be Matt Allen’s mom. And I’ll never stop thanking Him for the honor.

Happiest Birthday Matthew Davis! We are so outrageously grateful we get
your amazing self in our family and we love you like crazy.

This amazing birthday guy

Who knew forty-eight could be this kind, handsome, encouraging, fun, funny, athletic,
faith-filled and brilliant? I did. And anyone else who has ever known Jacob Allen did.

But what far fewer people actually see up close is his love and commitment to his
family and how he somehow gives an extraordinary amount to his career, his clients
and bettering the world. And then comes home and gives us even more. The kids and
I could never fully convey how grateful we are for him and who he chooses to be.

Happy Birthday Jacob Ethan! So grateful to be yours and for the beautiful life
we have together. I love you sweetheart.

(Now come home from your dang business trip so we can celebrate already.) :)

One fantastic boy

This stud just finished playing with his friends on a rec basketball team and oh my word,
he’s just so fantastically cool and works so crazy hard on the court. I really loved watching
him play. Because if you haven’t noticed, I’m a big old fan of the game of basketball.
And an even bigger fan of Ben Allen. Just love this boy and his amazing self so much.

A new cast

Hooray for x-rays that show improvement and new casts that are smaller, more comfortable
and meant to last for the next four weeks. Mostly, a big old hooray for the sweetest boy who
continues to be happy, positive and darling throughout it all. I sure love Nate Allen.

Funny sidenote: Nate was wearing a jacket all day, until we got to the doctor for his appointment,
and when he took it off so that they could cut off his old cast, I started to laugh. He was wearing
 the same shirt he had been wearing at his last appointment. And I suddenly remembered that
Grace had done the same thing with her broken arm, kept wearing the same shirt by accident,
to her random appointments. (Which only caught my attention because I was taking her picture
afterwards.) Looks like the super-strange-broken-arm-same-shirt tradition of our family lives on.

The third second time's the charm

Well, our initial attempt three years ago didn't take (I think we have industrial strength
cartilage in our family, as Annie and myself have also had this issue), so this girl convinced
 her mom to try again yesterday. And we found a fantastic place that did the best job.
And this little darling is extra happy. She's the cutest. Just love this Gracie girl so much.

And so it begins...

 

Just picked up this year’s 24x36 bracket of loveliness and all I have to say,
is welcome to March folks. The greatest month of the year. 

March Madness...March Gladness.

February service project

Oh my word. I just experienced one of the sweetest moments I have in a very long time. Thank you to several of you who made it possible.

So this morning I had the opportunity to finish my February service project. For those who didn't see my stories, the project this month was to donate lunch items to the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Ogden, in order to help with their program of handing out approximately 150 lunches to the homeless population in their area each Wednesday. 

And between what Jacob and I had set aside to contribute, plus the donations from several of you, I had exactly $700 to spend. After buying 150 lunch bags that we decorated as a family (being joined by a few neighborhood children who also helped a couple of times—so much sweetness), I put in a very large grocery order, which I picked up this morning.

And then drove to the church.

And oh my word.

You see, I had texted the church's Reverend many days ago, just to let her know my plans and to make sure it would work for them. She couldn't have been more kind, but because she mentioned she was on medical leave, I'm guessing she was a bit out of it. And while so very nice, I got the impression what I was doing wasn't anything that was overly helpful. I'm not sure how to explain it, just the feeling I got. And I worried that I was wasting money and maybe my plan wasn't the best (even though their information and their ask for help is on a very public service app in multiple places). Anyway, after worrying for a bit, I remembered how strongly I felt I should do this project and I decided God knew better than me (He always does) and we were going with it.

Cue this morning.

And those wonderful people at the church who made me cry. 

Because when Ryan (the young, strong, bearded Irishman who first helped me) saw what I had in the back of our Expedition, he couldn't talk and had to keep looking up to keep the tears from coming. I was not prepared for that. And he just kept saying to me, "Oh my goodness, I can't believe this. You have no idea what this means. No idea. Miss Allen, you just have no idea," while he continued to try to keep himself from crying.

And then the sweet older wife and husband who arrived after Ryan and I had made several trips to the church basement, and just stood at the back of my car, her with her hand over her heart, and stared. I honestly didn't know what was happening until I got closer to my car and heard her whisper, "I can't breathe. I can't believe what I am seeing. Why would you do this, why would you give so much?"

I didn't realize, until Ryan told me, that the church was worried they were going to have to stop this program. That they didn't know how to sustain it and were all just so very sad. They loved doing this for their homeless sisters and brothers. And recently, the darling disabled community had asked if they could come in and help prepare the lunches each week. And so several handfuls of them had been coming weekly for the last many weeks. The church absolutely loved having them and those darling helpers loved being there. There were many reasons the church did not want to shut down this program.

Which is why Ryan just kept saying to me, "Miss Allen, we can keep the program going for a while yet now. We are just so grateful. You have no idea."

To say I was overwhelmed at this point, would be an understatement. 

Big time.

And just kept responding the same thing I had been telling every one of those grateful people the whole time I had been there, "Oh this isn't me. I'm just a small part of it. There are many who donated and it is absolutely our privilege. It's a blessing for us, actually, to be able to help." And I meant it so deeply.

After hauling a whole lot of loads to the kitchen basement, I connected with the sweet woman in charge of this lunch program and we exchanged contact information. They invited me to come and help make lunches anytime (I was planning to today, but the Reverend I first contacted mentioned it was a small kitchen with very little room and so maybe another time would be better) and to please bring our kids to help in the summer. I told them I would reach out in two or three months (I would before, but their storage room is now packed to overflowing thanks to you lovely humans) and see specifically what I could purchase to keep things going and to make their incredible work easier and more beneficial.

Oh friends, this morning was something else. I don't do this so that big moments will happen. I merely just hope others will be blessed and even for just a moment, possibly feel God's love for them. So when a project turns into something like it did this morning, I'm humbled beyond belief. Which results in me spending a good part of the drive home teary and praying to God with gratitude.

I'm so thankful for this morning. And for several of you who made it possible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Jacob and I are so honored you would trust us to use your money for good. And believe me, it was used for good today. 

I'll never forget it. 

I don't think God will either.

Last night

I’m grateful for dark nights, long drives, quiet time to think and the House of the Lord.

Most especially that last one.

Cast color número dos

A first follow-up appointment for this darling stud. He felt a bit disappointed he didn't get
his permanent cast this week (I don't blame him for sure), but we are grateful they are being
extra careful to make sure his wrist heals properly. He did get another layer on his initial
cast from last week (Boston Celtics green to add to the color-of-his-soccer-team green),
so that it is no longer split and feels more secure and snug. And hopefully, after another
x-ray check next week, he will get his final cast for the remaining month. 

Sure proud of this boy and how incredibly he has handled this whole thing. Jacob and
I were talking last night about how we have never heard him complain about any of it.
Instead, he's chosen to not only make the best of it, but to be happy and positive in spite of it.

Oh I love this boy. He's just really tremendous.

May we believe

 “With faith in God, his prophets, his church, and ourselves—with faith in our own
divine creation—may we be peaceful and let go of our cares and troubles over so many things.
May we believe, nothing doubting, in the light that shines, even in a dark place.”

~Patricia Holland

The sweetest boy and a broken wrist

This sweetest boy. And his broken wrist from the first game of his soccer tournament this past Thursday.

It about did me in the be so far away when it happened (Nate was with Jacob and Ben in St. George,
while I was home with Grace), but Jacob handled it all perfectly of course and Nate was beyond tough.
We are just so thankful it didn’t require surgery, as they weren’t quite sure after the initial x-ray.
 Instead, he is the proud owner of a cast, that was immediately cut down both sides after it was put
on (to allow for swelling) and a bandage wrapped around that cast to keep everything in place.

And Nate and I head to an appointment at the end of this week, where we are hopeful
the next x-ray prompts a normal and intact cast be put on his arm.

Anyway, just wanted to document the fourth broken wrist in our family (broken wrists
and basement floods are apparently our thing) and especially this incredible boy who is
handling a pretty big setback with the happiest attitude and the toughest grit.

Love this stud and his amazing self so crazy much.

Just so much happy

Twenty-six years of being his valentine and he still makes me this happy.

Valentine box masterpiece

 
When you have the best big sister in all of forever and she not only loves the idea of
creating The Burrow from Harry Pottery for your valentine box, but then works with you
 for hours to make it absolutely off the charts amazing. I just can’t get over this absolute
masterpiece. Or these two sisters that are so similar and darling, it is kind of unreal.

Jacob's Colombia trip

 Jacob returned home last week from an eight-day trip to Colombia (and Venezuela,
if that last photo counts with him straddling the border between the two countries).

As always, he went to be of assistance to organizations that want to have more of an
impact in the good they do and the people they are able to bless and help—in the way
those wonderful people actually need it. I'm so grateful the trip went so well.

Oh he's a good one that Jacob Allen. I'm so thankful for him.

This past weekend

I had the opportunity to spend less than twenty-four hours in St. George this weekend, in order
 to attend my Aunt Nola's memorial service and to also make sure my dad was able to be there—
as well as invite Annie along with us. It was really sweet and good and most especially, I was
grateful for those hours in the car with my dad and Annie that will forever be a favorite memory.

What I also loved a whole lot, was the time I spent with my niece, Kassidy, and my brother, Kamm.
They were also at the memorial, and we had arranged to go out to lunch afterwards, but the memorial
schedule was changed a bit that morning and we had to move things around so my dad could be
available to dedicate his sister's grave. That dedication was honestly the sweetest moment of the
whole weekend to me. With time with Kass and Kamm, right there with it. (I'm so frustrated with
myself for not getting a picture of my dad with them, so just know they are the cutest and the best.)

And if that all wasn't enough of a wonderful experience, I was able to visit with my Uncle David (my
mom's brother and one of my favorite people ever) at the service (the fact that he would come made me
teary), see my Aunt Nola's two children for the first time in years and years and spend Friday evening
with one of the closest and dearest friends, Patty, who I am grateful for to a degree that I don't know
exactly how to express. It was a very full twenty hours and I was thankful for all of it.

Especially the part where I listened to the sweet and funny stories about my aunt and felt so grateful
for the relationship I have with her. I'm such a fan of heaven and so many I love waiting for me there.