There's No Place Like Home

Peaches knows how to work her Daddy. When ever she gets ready for the day she has to go and show Daddy and have him tell her how cute she is. "You look like a princess" is the usual response, but "Beautiful" works too. She loves to dance with him and spin for him. He has really gotten into it too. After I got Peaches dressed today Gentry requested her "Dorothy" braids. Then he took her outside for pictures while they were waiting for me to finish getting ready for church. Peach made all the little faces she only makes for Daddy and he captured them on film. No wonder we love spending time together just here at home.

Twelve Year Anniversary

Today is my anniversary. I have been married for twelve years now. Twelve years! Teri (my sister in law and closest friend) asked me if it felt like twelve years and I said yes. Then she said, "Twelve years is 1st grade to 12th grade. That's how long you've been married." That is a little scary.
So here is a quick overview of events that took place these past twelve years together. As accurate as my memory serves.
1st year. We played house. It was such a fun time. We had a tiny apartment and no money living in Cedar City but we were so happy to be with each other day in and day out.
2nd year. In Salt Lake, going to the U. Worst apartment I have ever lived in for cheapest amount of money. This year was harder on me emotionally because we no longer were playing house. It was an adjustment trying to figure out how to be a couple and also an individual. I worked a ton of hours and we still struggled to make ends meet.
3rd year. Gentry graduated from the U. We were pregnant and the baby consumed our thoughts. When Courtland was born I thought my heart would bust with the out pouring of love I had for both of them. Gentry started working for Hewlett Packard.
4th year. We moved to New England. This was the hardest year of my life. I wasn’t sure if we would make it another year. So much stress and worry. We saved like mad to try and get as much together as we could to try and buy a house.
5th year. We bought a house that shortly thereafter got broken into. I started to realize how lucky I was to have a handy man. Those skills were put to good use on our house that we spent time and money fixing up.
6th year. This year was consumed with two things, Young Womens and the Fertility Clinic. We wanted another baby so bad and it wasn’t happening for us. I was so hopped up on hormones everyday that I know was I was not easy to live with. I was such an emotional wreck this year I can’t imagine how Gentry lived with me.
7th year. After having our house broken into a second time we moved back to Utah. Plus we were finally pregnant and wanted to be closer to family. We bought a house in Saratoga Springs and the very next month had Tate.
8th year. This was the year Gentry made a move from Hewlett Packard. After enjoying the benefit of a large company for so long we looked around and quickly found a job to move too. Within the same year they sold the company and laid off the entire team.
9th year. I worried about Tate. He was such a handful and his will was so strong. The boys got along great with each other but I had a hard time enjoying just being a mom.
10th year. This was the year we had Peaches. It brought so much joy to have a little girl in our family. It was so fun seeing Gentry with a daughter. She had him wrapped around her finger from day one.
11th year. A great year! We bought a piece of land and dreamed of the future. It seemed like our future was bright and everything would be smooth sailing. (I should have known better)
12th year. After another turbulent change in job, Gentry decided to go back to school. I guess we have student life to look forward to once again. We were blessed to have Isabel, making us a family of six. We moved across country again but just for the summer for a little adventure.
This next year? Who knows? Our journey has just begun.

(I know this picture isn't great, it is a picture of a picture)

Twelve years ago today I knelt across an alter from Gentry and promised forever. I had no idea what forever meant, but already I am grateful that he choose me to take the journey with.
Thank you Gentry for all of the good times. Thank you for helping to share the load for all the harder days. You have made me who I am. These past years have been amazing. You have helped me to understand the plan of salvation in a way I would not have been able to on my own. I have felt unconditional love and given and received true forgiveness from you. You are my best friend. I still think you are sexy and If I had to do it all again, I would still have chosen you. I hope and pray our lives will continue to get better and better.

Grandma the Great

My mother's mother was here yesterday. She hung out all day. She helped with the kids, she caught me up on the family, we ate together, played cards and I was glad she spent the day with me. My kids call her Grandma the Great. I have to agree. She is pretty great!

Brunette Bombshell

I finally went to a professional and got my hair fixed. I figured since it is (almost) autumn I might as well go dark. I have never been brunette. Why not now?

Obama for President?

I don’t know where you are politically, but let me fill you in on where I am. I don’t feel defined as Republican or Democrat. I have never party voted. I research candidates, where they stand on issues that are important to me and I vote for who I like the best. If I am unfamiliar with the candidates, I don’t vote either way. I just don’t feel good about party voting.

This upcoming presidential election I have become obsessed. It was complete entertainment for me to see the polls close and listen to the results. As of now, I am still undecided as to who I will be voting for.

With the Democratic National Convention being last night I thought today I would talk about Obama. I read Barrack’s book, Dreams From My Father a couple of months ago. I like who he is as a person. I like Michelle. She seems like what she wants the public to believe, like one of us. Some things I like about him are his stance on Technology. He has said: “Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research.”
I do not agree with him on Health Care and Tax Reform issues.
Barack Obama choose Joseph Biden to be his running mate announced last Saturday. Biden is from Delaware and is known for his familiarity with foreign policy and for saying some offensive things, even describing Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Going forward, Biden will probably take the roll of critic to McCain and do the “dirty politics” for Obama.
One thing I learned about Biden that made him more human was barely a month after he was elected to the Senate, his family was in a car accident while Christmas shopping with a drunken driver resulted in the death of his wife and daughter. His two sons survived. Biden remarried about five years later to a woman who I think can really help him.
If you are interested in politics and want to learn more, here http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ is a site to read where Obama stands. For now, I am going to continue to read and learn more.