Friday Letters

Dear Children, you seem to be so well behaved when it counts. That makes me happy. You make up for it the rest of the time. Dear Dad, the kids and I drove down and made it just in time to surprise you at a party to celebrate your retirement. We love you! Dear Sissy's, it was fun spending the weekend with you swimming and playing. We should do it more often. Dear Road Trip, we did it the smart way and drove 3hrs and the remaining 12hrs the next day. I did prepare ahead of time, but the kids were all just perfect both ways. It was a modern day miracle I tell ya. Dear J+B, thanks so much for letting us stay at your house with you. We had a great time, I miss you guys. You are seriously a pro at doing my girls hair. And there's nothing like talking til 6am. Haha. The kids had so much fun swimming at the lake, rollerblading, and running around crazy! You were very patient. Dear Brother, I am so excited to see you get married tomorrow! Can't wait. Dear Will, I missed you last weekend when we had to leave town without you. Luckily we got to spend the entire week together. And many hours squished next to you in the car. Good thing we like each other. Dear Self, I am so blessed. And I love my family, I love being with them. getting to make memories with them makes me happy. If I make it through the week without a headache it will be a miracle.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, you were stuck at home all week long. Good thing you can entertain yourselves. Dear House, all I want is for you to be clean and organized. That's all. Oh, and to stay that way. Dear Headache, I suffered with you for four days straight. One day was particularly bad. The kind where you can't leave your bed and you just hope you make it til tomorrow. It wasn't fun. Dear packing, there were delays due to the headaches. And then leaving day was moved up by two days. And THEN the kids wouldn't do their chores. So it was a really long day. Dear Laundry, trying to get the laundry done long enough to pack for a week for nine people is quite the task. You think you can imagine laundry for 9, but believe me, unless you do laundry for 9 you can't. I swear someday I will have a laundry room and I will be victorious over the laundry. Good thing I don't hate doing laundry. Dear Datenight, we went to an 80's rock concert in town. It was funny. And fun. And then Will took me for a drive and we sat by the pond together and listened to the wind through the trees, the cow frogs croakmooing, and the fish jumping in the water. That was my favorite part :) On friday the 13th with a full moon. Dear Will, it meant so much to me that ever day you came home and I was suffering with a headache you just took care of me and everyone else. I'm not looking forward to spending the weekend apart. Dear Self, any day without a headache is a good one.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, this week flew by. It's been quiet around here. Dear Hailey, you spent four days at girls camp. I had no idea how much noise one 13yr old girl creates. It's been very quiet with you gone. I am glad you had fun even though you were home sick. Dear Kade, after telling your sis you wouldn't miss her at all, she had only been gone a matter of hours before you were bored and admitted that she found things for you two to do. Good thing you had Scout Day camp one day this week. Dear Little Girls, I planned to do fun things with you this week, but you mostly entertained yourselves. You been so good. Dear Headache, you took out an entire day. The day I had plans for the girls. Instead I spent the day in bed trying to survive. I was not happy about this. Dear Allergies, I'm not sure what is in the air, but I had me one doozy of an allergy attack. It sure is miserable. Dear Family, I'm glad I got to come and spend time there. It was really nice for me. It makes me miss you. Dear Dad, I hope you have a great Father's Day. I am one of the lucky ones to get to have you as my Dad. I Love You!!! Dear Will, I can't fully express my gratitude to you for stepping in and being such a wonderful Father figure to my children. For helping me raise them, for loving them, for letting them love you, for all the countless things you do for them. You are such a wonderful Father to your children. Thank You for sharing that with mine too. I hope you know how much this means to us. Dear Self, sometimes life is so hard. Sometimes life being hard makes us so much more grateful for the blessings. I'm thinking that I will never be done learning patience in this life. Even though I get a steady stream of trials, it gives me the opportunity to have a steady stream of faith if I chose to. Faith is better than fear.

Friday Letters

Dear Children, I think you are all pretty much loving summer so far. No one waking you up or making you go to bed early. And running wild and free..or playing all you want to. Dear Family, it seems like it has been so long since I've come to visit. You love me more that way I think. It is just what I was needing, to spend some time with you. Dear Cousins, well, my kids cousins. My nieces and nephews. You guys are having a blast together. You missed each other. I love how much fun you have together and how much you love each other. I admit it makes my heart happy when I have a car full of my family. Good thing I drive a beast so I can cram so many of you in:) Dear Food, I have been trying to eat as much good food as I can while I am here. That means one meal a day mostly Ha. I miss all of my favorite places to eat with my favorite people. Dear Swimming, I'd say when there are this many kids around, a pool is a life saver. An every day kind of thing. They have to be drained of all crazy energy so they will just be a normal level of crazy. And this white girl could use some sun. Dear Ma+Pa, I missed you. Nothing like going to a movie with the old folks in the middle of the night. You guys don't act very old. Dear Becca, I didn't get to hear how your birthday went! I hope you are having the best Birthday. Another teenager in the house. Happy Birthday Pretty Girl! Dear Will, I enjoyed our time at the temple this week. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Dear Self, I am so grateful that I know where to find peace. I am so grateful I have learned how, the whole process of getting myself there. It isn't easy. And just when you think you have made it, you realize you haven't. And you start all over again.