Father's Day 2013

I am forever grateful for my father.  I would literally not be here without him.  By him holding the sacred priesthood, he brought me back to life as a newborn.  I am sure there were times in my teenage years that he may have second guessed that choice... ;-)  I was not the easiest teenager (to say the least).  I remember one night I snuck out of the house and went to go hang out at a friend's house down the street.  I'll never forget the "Oh NO!" feeling I felt as we heard a knock on my friend's door and opened it to find my dad there to collect me and take me home.  He didn't yell when he saw me.  He just said something like, "Get in the car."

I don't know how he put up with me and my teenage girl angst.  I am just grateful he did put up with me. :) 

I have many things to thank my dad for (besides the obvious: "Thank you for not killing me as a teenager.")  My love of a variety of music I get from him.  He exposed me to a variety of genres and music artists... from Led Zeppelin to Andreas Vollenweider to Eric Clapton.  He also plays the guitar and I love hearing him play.

My dad helped me learn how to be generous.  He and my mom would have our family do Secret Santa for less fortunate people at Christmastime.

Also, I even though my mom taught me a lot about baking and cooking, my dad also cooked and baked.  I learned a lot from him and how to be experimental with cooking and flavors.  When I was pregnant with Rebekah, he became obsessed concerned with my food intake.  After all, I was growing his first grandchild.  One time, about a month before I had Rebekah, he had me write down what he was doing so if the creation he was making turned out good, we could remember how to make it.  I really enjoyed doing that and watching him play with flavors that I wouldn't image putting together.

My love of games (video and board) come from him.  We make a great team when we play games and opponents beware!  We are extremely competitive and one of our most favorite games to play as teammates is Time's Up.  That and Pictionary... "Is that a mirror? Africa?"  Ahhh, the memories.

Because of my dad, I know how to look up information.  That may sound silly, but before the invention and common usage of the Internet and the ability to google things, I had to learn how to look stuff up.  Not only how to use a dictionary but how to use the topical guide in the scriptures to learn more about a certain subject.  I remember asking him what such-and-such meant and he would say, "Look it up."  At first I thought he just didn't want to talk or didn't know the answer, but I learned later that it was to help me be self sufficient.  Because of that, I became well versed in searching for information.

My dad loves taking pictures and I get that from him.  And those that know me, know I LOVE snapping photos.  I also hoard photos like it is another form of currency.  I may or may not have photos that belong to my parents of their childhood... :-)  Shhh, don't tell them!

Along with taking pictures, my dad was also at school things recording my brother and I.  I do that for my kids because it meant a lot to look out there and see my dad with the video camera.  He was very supportive of me.  I wonder if he still has the video of my 3rd grade play (the one I wrote and the class performed), "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig."  He also used to let my brother and I put on silly shows and skits at home and he recorded them.  It was from one of those skits that I learned not to say the word, "Bastard."

When we were young, he and my mom would wake us up early so we could listen to the scriptures on records.  Through that, I was shown how important it is to read scriptures daily.  My testimony is stronger because of those early moments.

Even when I say prayers with my family, I think of my dad every time I am the one offering the evening prayer.  The reason being one of the things he would always pray for, I now prayer for: that we would sleep well and wake up in the morning refreshed.

On the day I had my first child, his first grandchild, he was there in the room when I gave birth to Rebekah. (And the birth of Lillian.) I was able to give my dad his first grandchild a few days before his 50th birthday. I am so glad he was there to share in those moments.

Those are just some of the things that I learned from my dad.

I am forever grateful for my dad.  We became closer after I got pregnant with Rebekah.  Something about him becoming a grandfather really changed our relationship and we grew closer.

Thank you, Dad.  For giving me life.

July is Almost Over

It is crazy that July is almost over!!  This month has FLOWN by.  Between preparing for camp, attending camp, celebrating Bill's 40th birthday, going on the road with Bill, reorganizing my house (still in the process), trying to squeeze workouts in at least 3 times a week, and the Tupperware party last night, the whole month is gone.  The cool thing is that tomorrow is Sarah's baptism (my cousin's daughter) so the end of the month is ending with awesomeness! 

Today I am babysitting an adorable little baby named Lyla.  She is 7 weeks old and so itty bitty!  She seriously looks like she could be one of my own babies! 

In a few minutes, Rebekah's best friend (Alison) is picking her up to take her on the ward camp out.  I am bummed I can't make it but glad they offered to take Rebekah.  The reason we can't go is because I won't be home in time to be ready for Sarah's baptism.  So instead of camping tonight, the rest of us are going over to the Gerber's house and having breakfast for dinner.  Soooo excited! I am making buttermilk syrup and coconut syrup.  Plus french toast, bacon, and maybe some eggs.  Bonnie is making waffles. Yum!

Once again, my heart it filled with gratitude for the Lord's hand in preserving Bonnie's life.  She is one of my best friends.  Yay for Priesthood Blessings, faith, and prayers!

More Thoughts About Bonnie

I love reading the updates about Bonnie because each day I worry about her and wonder how she is doing. Each time I read about her, I am so happy to see that she is miraculously getting better with each passing day.

I have thought of some more thing that make me think of her.

The other day I was making taco soup and thought of the time where she surprised me with a huge batch of her taco soup for dinner. It was so unexpected and I was so grateful. She is a very generous person.

When I drive into Wal-Mart, I giggle when I drive in front of the store and have to wait for people entering in and going out. She always drove around the other end of the parking lot to bypass all that.

When I use the Herbal Essence Split End stuff, I think about Bonnie because when I was shopping at Wal-Mart and bumped into Bonnie and told her all about how that stuff works wonders in Rebekah's hair - whose hair is hard to brush and Bonnie said that she has a hard time with Makayla's hair. So she went and bought it. I don't know if she ended up liking the stuff as much as I do, but every time I use it on my girls' hair, I think of Bonnie.

When I play the Wii I think about Bonnie and the times she said she liked to play the Wii Sports and get a work out in. Plus I remember how much fun we had playing Rayman's Raving Rabbids together and how she said she wanted to do a Raving Rabbids type Easter thing for her kids.

My kids generate a lot of paper waste. I used to just throw it away but Bonnie had a place at her house where she kept all the scratch paper. I started doing that at my house and when I put those papers in the scratch paper pile, I think of Bonnie.

I remember when I got my bangs cut. I was not sure how I felt about them because I have not had bangs since middle school (maybe freshman of high school). I drove straight over to her house to show her. So when I style my bangs every day, Bonnie crosses my mind and I wish she could see them now that they have grown out to where I wanted them to begin with.

Now that she has been able to start with simple foods, such as puddings, I will think of her every time I had pudding. And when I have Sprite; she got to drink some today.

I know that there will be more things that I think of and it will make me think of Bonnie. She has had such a huge impact on my life that every day I am reminded of her and I smile.

I am so grateful for the blessing of prayer. I know that without them, Bonnie would not be alive. I also know, that through the continued prayers in her behalf, she will continue to do well and will eventually be up and about.

I love and miss you, Bonnie. I will come up and visit you as soon as I am able!!