13 Years

I've never remodeled a home, but I imagine our marriage to be similar to that experience. We started out with high hopes and an enthusiasm for building something beautiful together. We've been surprised by and appreciated each other's creativity, unique ideas, and contributions more than we imagined. At times, the journey has been harder than we expected and progress has felt very slow due to set backs, upset plans, mistakes, and imperfections. There have been walls to tear down, repairs and improvements to make, and areas to rebuild and revitalize. Some things have simply clicked into place, while others have taken years of patience, struggle, and learning. We've experienced immense joy and satisfaction in the results of our labors, always striving to move forward, brick by brick, with faith in the goal of building something beautiful together. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is both the blueprint and the foundation upon which we build. He is the Master Carpenter of this project and this home and we trust that His designs will surpass anything we can dream up on our own. 

To celebrate, we went out to dinner. As a mom of 3, I rarely get dressed up so I made the girls take photos for documentation. Emma is now old enough to be home with Brooke and even with Ryan after we put him down. She has our house phone and can call us at any time. It is so wonderful not to have to arrange or pay for babysitting.  We chose Macaroni Grill because we haven't been in a long time and we love the rosemary bread with balsamic vinaigrette. It's also close to home in case the kids needed us.

I looked forward to our date all day. From the time I woke up, I was thinking about Alan and how thankful I am for him and for our marriage. Several times I was brought to tears with thoughts of my love for him, but mostly thoughts of his love for me and how good he is to me. That night as I sat across from him in our quiet corner booth, he said, "Well, thirteen years, huh?" "Yep," I replied, "Thirteen years."  Then he said, "I saw what you put on Facebook today." He was referring to this: 

Today Alan and I have been married for 13 years. I was a teenage bride (19) and I can see how his influence has shaped me into who I am. It is not possible to measure what it has done for me to know Alan is always in my corner-- leading, cheering, teaching, serving, trying, and loving. No matter what. What a gift.

"And??" I prodded. "What did you think?" 

He looked at me with a half smile, "I don't know how to accept compliments like that. I don't know how you want me to respond." 

"You don't need to respond at all. I needed to express it. I just need you to know. There truly is no way to measure what you've given me. You've always been by my side, even when it's been difficult. You've helped me in so many ways."

"Well, in case I die, it will be good know," he chuckled. "I feel bad that I don't have some great response." I stared into his eyes and he knew I was looking deep. He was uncomfortable and wanted to look away but he held my gaze.

"Alan, your entire life shows me that you love me. Everything you do and everything you are shows me you love me and I am grateful."

"Yeah, but I'm just giving back the love you've given me. Your love is coming back to you," he responded.

"Maybe that's what marriage is. A circle of love between two people. Love that keeps being given and received, over and over again. . . I hope that you feel my love for you, Alan."

"I do," he replied. "I love you, too."

So. . . 

Halloween Night

Emma's, Brooke's, Ryan's. 

Jack-o-lanterns are probably my favorite part of Halloween!

We let Emma Trick or Treat with her friends Abby and Megan this year, as long as they stayed in our neighborhood and had a walkie talkie. They had a blast! We saw them several times. It worked out well though because they are really ready to go at a much faster pace than the younger kids. 

Ryan fell asleep in the stroller. It will be nice next year when he can participate a little more. It was a good Halloween except that after only about 20 minutes, someone stole all the candy in the bowl we left with a sign that said "Please take 2." Oh, well.

McDonald's Ranch Pumpkin Patch

We're making it our tradition to go to McDonald's Ranch Pumpkin Patch. This is our second year!

Daddy showed Ryan the horsies.

Brooke figured out how to do the lasso all by herself and she was good at it, too!

Ward Trunk or Treat

We had quite a Jolly Holiday as Mary Poppins and Bert! My friend Penny let me borrow her costume and she actually MADE the bird umbrella! She told me how to make Bert's chimney sweep. You take one of those plastic craft balls from JoAnn's and cut it in half, then hot glue it onto a broom pole. Cut the bristles off a broom (I used a broom from the dollar store). Stick the bristles into the ball and spray paint it all black.

I'm in the Primary Presidency and we did quite a bit of work to get ready for this! We had a live band, a cupcake walk, crafts, games, chili and hot dogs, home made root beer with dry ice, a costume contest, plus all the decorations and the trunk or treat itself. Whew! We were relieved when it was over! It was fun though!

Madison, Abby, Emma.

Harry Potter (Parker), Hermione (Madeline), Luna Lovegood (Brooke).

Two brothers in our ward, Mack and Brody, were Nacho and Esqueleto! They won the award for Funniest Costumes.

Emma won second place for Most Original Costume as a news reporter. She decided to decorate her microphone with "Channel 31" since Halloween is October 31.

Emma and Madison H.