LOVE FEBRUARY

I love this month. February is the month Don and I got married. It was the 10th of this month to be exact. I have been late in posting anything. We are out of town. We left in the middle of the week. We decided to leave the storm at our house and join the storm at my sisters house. We got snowed in together and it was much more fun. Our Expedition was stuck in 4 wheel so we took it to a mechanic here. He took it out of four wheel and said it would be fine until we could get a certain part that Don was going to install. Well the very next day it popped back into 4wheel. SO now we cannot go home until we can get this part and I am not sure when we can get it. My kids are so happy. Now they can have even more time to play with their cousins. My kids will miss school tomorrow and I am hoping we can get the car fixed soon and get back home so they don't miss anymore than that.

My parents were married on the 11th of this month but 47 years ago. WOW. Amazing.

It is Valentines Day. I love all holidays. I love to have a reason to celebrate. I love hearts. I love red and pink. And I love the thought of love. We took Melissa's idea and made heart crystals. The boys thought they were too tough for hearts so they made different shapes. Caleb made the initials CP. Zach actually made a heart. Sami made a banana shape. I made a snowman. And I think everyone else made a heart. THANKS MELISSA for the great idea. I don't have my camera with me. Last night the kids made homemade heart pizza's. Well.....some didn't want to do hearts. LOL. We also had red punch. Rachel, Mayah, Sara, and Ethan made some hearts out of construction paper. They were very creative.

This is also the month that my Great Grandma Lulu had her birthday. Her birthday was on Valentines Day. Now that woman was SWEET. No wonder she shared her birthday with the day of love. She died at age 99 when I was about 11. I remember visiting her in the nursing home. I hated the smell of that place but I loved seeing her. On the day she died I remember where we lived and I remember being in my room for a good bit of the day. I was so sad. I didn't want to do anything that day. I think that was my first experience with someone close dying.

This month is also my Grandma Emily's birthday. Her day is on the 26th. I hope that is right. Now this lady is amazing too. I am pretty sure she will be 99. Man the women in our family live long. Both of these grand ladies are on my dad's side. My grandma Emily has never taken medications and her mind is still very sharp. Her body is wearing down but she is still as strong as ever. I am very impressed. I really admire her for her strength. She raised 4 boys and one of them was my dad. Now that alone takes a strong woman. LOL.

I love this month.

Don and I have been married 14 years. It hardly seems possible. I love him more than the day we got married. Here are 14 things that I love about Don.

1. He is very sentimental. He stayed up until 4:30 in the morning the night before our Anniversary writing me a letter in my email so I would have it when I woke up.

2. He has a deep love for his country and is very patriotic. He joined the Army a few years ago. After basic training we were stationed in Monterey, CA. After two years he was honorably discharged and that really broke his heart. He wanted to serve his country. He was ready and willing to go to Iraq to serve his country.

3. He knows just what to say to me. When he was in highschool his friends that were girls always came to him for advice. He was known for his counselling sessions. At a previous job his employees tried to come to him TOO MUCH to get advice....not advice about the job either. It was advice for their personal life. He had to make sure to limit that.

4. He is very well versed in the gospel. I love that I can ask him anything church related and he has a good answer for it. He can find it in the scriptures and his testimony of these things is also strong.

5. Don has this amazing sense of direction. And it drives me nuts. He can go anywhere. OK ALMOST anywhere and not have problems finding it again. ME? Well lets just say I rely on him alot in this department.

6. He is very easy to talk to. I remember our first date and how easy and down to earth he was.

7. I love that he helps out around the house. He is pretty handy. When I need him he is there. He will do dishes and laundry. He is the one that makes homemade bread. He makes our bed in the mornings if he is the one out after me....which is usually never. If I do not make it he will. He also does a lot of the handy work. I rely on him in this area alot too. He can fix alot of things. I love him for it.

8. Don loves to be outside. He is not lazy. He comes home from work and will go outside when he gets home to do either yard work or some type of outside work. I love working beside him doing this. It doesn't really matter what he is doing...but I love to be by his side.

9. He used to be very serious and he still is but every once in awhile he will really make me laugh.

10. Don doesn't think so but he has many talents.

11. Don is musical. He doesn't have alot of extra time but has been practicing his guitar 20 minutes a day. He can plunk around on the piano. He has a great voice but will NEVER sing in front of people. I wish he would. He had a nice drum set in highschool and I have been told that he was VERY good. The friends he played around with went on to form a band. But Don sold his drum set to serve a mission. I know it was a big sacrifice on his part. He totally could have been in that band.

12. Don is smart. He doesn't think so but HE IS. He received the Student of the Year award at the University he attended. It wasn't just for his good grades. It was also because he was going to school and trying to raise a large family at the same time. COMMENDABLE.

13. Don is very lovable. Because Don is so tall of because of his size people are intimidated by him. But he is a big lovable bear.

14. I am so thankful that Don holds the Priesthood. I am so thankful he can give me a blessing when I need it. I am so lucky to have him in my life. He is wonderful and I am blessed. I have to say that we do not have alot of things in common but that is OK. We have the most important and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it makes all the difference. We don't fight often and we forgive each other for many things.

Happy late anniversary Don.....I love you with all my heart.

I would love to say 47 things I love about my parents and I could probably come up with it but that is not what I am going to do. I just want to say how lucky and blessed I am to have such wonderful and amazing parents. These two people are the most unselfish and caring and loving people I know. Both would totally give the shirt off their back and more. They are VERY family oriented and to them family is everything and without family there is nothing.

Mom and Dad....thanks so much for giving.....always giving. You guys never want anything in return. You are the best. Truly the best. I could never ask for better parents for us. Thanks for your example of marriage. There are so many people that are not able to say that they have parents that have been married for so long. And I am so glad.

Happy LATE anniversary to the best parents ever.