My man

Sept. 29th was Kevin's birthday.  If you know Kevin at all, he doesn't like a lot of hype. Which is hard for me on birthdays cause I really love all the attention!

what a good looking man I've got!

He doesn't even like frosting, just chocolate sauce.  Now that's easy!

 Kevin is the best friend/husband/father you could ever ask for!  I am often thinking how I've hit the jackpot with this guy!
He is so selfless and non-judgmental.  He loves me and his girls so much and would do and does do anything and everything for us.  He helps me so much which often leads to extreme exhaustion on his part.  He's so giving and kind, etc. etc.
I don't feel that I even have the words to tell all the good stuff about this guy!  
Oct. 6th was also the 10th anniversary of our first date!
When we first started dating, we clicked so quickly that we often commented on how it's only been 2 weeks instead of 2 months, etc.  so that lead us to celebrating anniversaries of our dating for about the first 4 or 5 months!  It seems that 10 years isn't all that long when if feels as if I've known him forever.
Love you babe!

Perspective from the temple

Today I was honored to serve as an Escort to my cute niece Briana when she went through the temple for the first time. Afterwards, she and her husband were sealed for eternity. Today is their one year anniversary!
Anyway, you often hear how the temple gives you a new perspective and today I was thinking that very thing as I sat and waited for her to do this or that.  I had a different perspective, a better one.  It's not that it changes a bad perspective to a good one, it's that it helps you see things more clearly, openly, objectively, purely and all the other ly words.
I have an amazing life. I really do.  I feel so incredibly blessed, lucky.....whatever you want to call it.  My life hasn't always felt that way to me.  Since I married my favorite person in the world, my life has been and felt amazing.  Today as I sat and thought about this or that...nothing in particular, I realized just how much greater my life is than I even thought it was.  I saw lots of brides today and remembered how excited I was when I was getting married. Then I thought...."am I as excited today?"  and I realized that yes, I am as excited to be married to him today as the day we got married. It doesn't come with a lot of hoopla or celebration, the newness has worn off, but it is exciting.  We have 3 amazing little girls. They work me to the bones and sometimes even make me cry with frustration, but oh how amazing they are, Oh how beautiful they are.
It was a great day! I love the temple and the perspective it gives me just being there.  Thanks Briana and Brenton for sharing your day with us!

Choose The Right

Warning: Serious post ahead
In the middle of January, the phone rang in the middle of the day...it was Kevin....something inside of me knew something was wrong.  Kevin was laid off...effective immediately. His company "lumension" had decided to close the entire Provo office. (they're based out of Scottsdale)  He was home within a couple hours.
This threw us! Neither one of us expected anything.  When he got laid off from Novell 3 years ago, we heard lots of rumors and we pretty much expected it.  We have made sure to have a good cushion financially in case of such emergencies and he had 5 months of severance.  This time we had 5 weeks and we just spent our "cushion" on food storage 6 months ago.  I was scared....I felt out of control. Being a stay at home mom, I have no control over our income and haven't had to worry....which is what I do best.
Luckily, I married a man that is not a "moper."  He was already on the hunt before he came home that first day. I also married a man that is exceptionally smart and extremely good at what he does. It took about 4 weeks this time...as opposed to 2 weeks last time.
We were offered two jobs but because of the time crunches (literally 2 minutes)  in communication. We took a fearful plunge and all day felt terrible about it. In some ways, it was the better and more sure choice, but there were things we were nervous about.We had fasted, prayed, gone to the temple to know what to do. The next morning, Kevin cancelled his acceptance of the position (still not sure we had the other one yet) He knew it wasn't the ethical thing to do, but we had to follow the spirit.  Immediately, we felt better. We continued to get pressure from the recruiter for this first company....he made Kevin feel extremely guilty and pressured, there was some vascillating because there really were a lot of good arguments to going with the first company. They wanted him so badly that we probably could have bargained a huge pay increase out of them, but we had to follow our guts. so he continued to say no.  He had already informed the second company that he had taken another position, so he called them back and they wanted to see him that day....the next day he got the offer.  It felt good. There were pros and cons about each one.    He is now working at a job that we feel good about for the time being and that's worth all the money in the world.  It pays to choose the right!

Happy Birthday Babe

Kevin's alkdjath birthday was Wednesday. If we're ever opposite, which is pretty much always, it is on birthdays. I like a big old hooplah and he does NOT. So we had a quiet day with just us.  I was excited to make this android/iphone cake.  It took forever...I just don't have all the tools I need, but it was fun. He was very surprised and loved it.

Kevin is just a great person. I mean really. He really is a genuine, down to earth, great guy.  He's quiet, which some may mistake for haughty, but really he just prefers to sit back and listen. He often feels he doesn't know what to say. I think he does great. He has a funny personality and we still laugh a lot. He also is the most giving person I know. He tries so hard to give everything of himself to me and our family. Even though he is the type to never say a word, I know he feels torn a lot between family, his busy work schedule and his church calling. I know he feels he's falling short in all areas, but I  think he is doing an extraordinary job. He will go without sleep so that I can get some more zzz's. Even though we're supposed to take turns on early mornings, he takes more than his share. He's very patient with me and all my new ideas or when I'm complaining about this or that. He is the love of my life, .fulfiller of my dreams, my best friend and the best father to our kids that I could ever ask for.
Happy Birthday babe! We love you!

quick quip

At scripture time last night, Kevin was telling the story of Joseph being sold into Egypt. Here's the conversation below
Kevin: So Joseph was sold to become a slave
He then explains what a slave is.
Kevin: We don't have slaves anymore
Haeli: Oh! We should buy one daddy!

Priceless

Mothering

Mother's Day was a a terribly great day.  What does that mean you ask?  Well, first the terrible and then the great.
We have been having quite the struggle with our Maili lately. She's turned into Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. She can be so sweet and funny and cute and then she emerges as a little monster stranger. Is it early PMS? is it personality clashes? Is it testing?  Is she just now reacting to the baby? OR is she just 4?
As I sat in Sacrament meeting yesterday with a baby that was oh so tired and hungry, my sweet mom came to our ward and played with Haeli. Dr. Jekyl decided to emerge and throw her sacrament water all over, she continued to whine and cry and throw a tantrum. Then, Haeli unintentionally spilled the bag of cracker crumbs all over the bench and floor while I held the tired, hungry Ashli.  I lost it. Tears began to roll down my cheeks out of pure exhaustion. Exhaustion with this demanding 4 year old who I just can't understand. I prayed a silent prayer begging for some relief and understanding. Kevin sat on the stand feeling helpless as he watched me try to hide my tears and collect myself.  As the speakers were talking about and revering their mothers, I wasn't feeling so willing to be honored by all that I do.  I was mad and tired and I felt undeserving.
Soon we headed home to encounter even more tantrums, time outs, etc. Then awhile later, my hero came home. He handled everything...the time outs, the discipline....I actually got a nap! That was the best present of them all.  I arose feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day.  My brother made some delicious shish kabobs and Kevin helped me make some side dishes. We gathered and ate to our heart's content.  I enjoyed watching my children play with their cousins and grandma. I love being a mother. I am learning more than I could have ever imagined. Maili's phase will pass and it will be someone else's turn. All will be well. I love when my girl's run to me after I've been gone to give me big hugs and kisses. I love little Ashli's face light up when I come near and her whole body gets excited.  I love seeing my girls learn and play and giggle. I love reading stories and singing songs, I love holding Ashli when she's sleeping on my shoulder. I love kissing boo boo's and drying tears. I love watching them accomplish and excell. I love my children, I love my husband and I love my life. It was a terribly great Mother's Day. Thanks to my hero...I'm excited for our Mother's Day date. I wouldn't trade it for anything.