Meeting Mania

For twelve years I worked in seminary, where, although it is a ton of work, most of the meetings I had to attend occurred between 6:00-7:30 in the morning. The rest of the day I could choose how to spend my time.

Then I was called to be the ward activities chairman. With that calling I attended the ward council once a month, but all other meetings (which were rare) were at my discretion.

Next I was called to be a Sunday School teacher. Okay, let's admit it. This is the easiest calling in the church. You prepare your lesson during your daily scripture study, so it requires no additional time at all and other than teaching your class, there are no more meetings to attend.

So yes, I have been spoiled. Totally. I know that. But still, imagine my shock when I was recently called to be the first counselor in our ward young women's organization.

There are SO MANY MEETINGS!!

There is presidency meeting, board meeting, meeting with a member of the bishopric, then there is mutual every week (along with the Sunday meeting) stake training meetings, firesides, more training (three times before the end of the year) youth baptisms, a youth conference, a Saturday fall activity, class presidency meetings . . . . In just nine days I will have attended SEVEN meetings!!

Truth be told, there have been times when I thought my husband was slacking on his church job by not attending a meeting or activity that I thought he should be at. Now I just look at Wes in wonder and ask, "How do you do it? How do you attend all your meetings every week and stay sane?"

I have new appreciation for everyone out there who has a church calling that requires a lot of meeting time!! You are truly amazing!!

And now when I head off to yet another meeting, Wes just looks at me and smiles.

How To Eat A Cougar and Other Valentine Stories

But first . . . don't you just love a man with a heart?!

This is one of my favorite pictures. I took it at a party we had at our house last year following a Friday night fireside. There were about 30 people over, and when I saw all these men sitting on the floor holding the balloons, I couldn't resist whipping out the camera! So cute!

But . . . about that cougar . . .

Question: If you attended BYU and eat cougar, does that make you a cannibal?

Saturday night we had a neighborhood progressive dinner. We started at B&C’s with yummy chicken nachos, fresh homemade salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole. Oh, and grilled cougar. YES!! Cougar.

Gotta say it creeped me out a bit.

Another neighbor, who is a big hunter, killed the cougar in southern Arizona a while ago and thought he would bring some over for us to enjoy. (cough, cough)

I was brave and ate three bites. It really wasn’t bad. It was sort of like slightly tough pork. By the third bite though, just the thought of what I was eating made me gag a bit.

I thought Wes would be excited to eat it. After all, according to Louis L'Amour (who is frequently quoted in our house) cougar is supposed to be the best meat ever.

Wes only had one bite. One little bite.

I think Louis has lost just a little credibility.

The rest of the evening was a lot of fun, just maybe not as adventurous. We went to my house for the main course, where we had rice, teriyaki pork, a salad and rolls (the salad and rolls were brought by other neighbors) and then we ended up at the home of the cougar cooks for strawberry shortcake and games.

It was a great way to share some “neighborhood love”!

~~~~~~

AND . . .Since Valentines is today, Wes and I celebrated together Friday night. He is such a sweetheart!! He planned the whole evening on his own. (It isn't a shock that he can do it, it is just that I usually plan all of our dates.:-)

First, on Wednesday he brought me home a big bouquet of flowers and told me it was a clue to what we would be doing on our date. Finally I guessed that we would be going to see My Fair Lady at Arizona Broadway Theater, a dinner theater near our house.

The dinner was so yummy and the play was fantastic. They really did a great job. That play is one of our favorites so it was a lot of fun to go see it and very thoughtful of Wes to plan the night.

I sure love that man!!

Tonight we are having all RED food for dinner. . . salsa, enchiladas, Spanish rice (all family favorites)

Happy Valentines to Everyone!! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

The Not At All Scary Wes

My husband's birthday is in a few weeks. It is also our stake conference on the same day. And he is one of the speakers.

He is just lucky like that. :-)

Personally, I think Wes is an amazing speaker. He never has a single note. And most of the time he doesn't even know what he will be speaking on until he stands up to the pulpit. He just prepares by reading the scriptures and conference talks and praying--a lot. And then he gets up and gives the most wonderful sermons.

At least that is my opinion.

I have heard from a few sources that there are some people in the stake who think he can be pretty scary. I admit he can be forceful, but that people find him scary is a bit humorous to me.

Seriously, this is not a scary man. And here are two stories about Wes that illustrate what I mean.

First Story
There is a woman in our stake who is a good friend and a great bread maker. On occasion when she would bake bread, she would share her delicious talent with us. One Friday night she told me that she had made bread but it had not turned out (a very unusual occurrence) and so she could not bring us the loaf she had intended.

I shared with Wes our friend's sad story before heading off Saturday morning to all day meetings. When I returned, I found four loaves of bread sitting on the kitchen counter. They weren't the prettiest things, but they tasted great. When I asked where they had come from, Wes told me he had made them.

Now, Wes had never made bread before. But when he heard our friend's plight he decided to make bread for her family. So he got out the wheat grinder and went to work. He told me he knew his bread wasn't pretty, but he was sure our friend wouldn't mind. And of course, she didn't.

I thought that was the sweetest thing! And since that day he has been making bread every few weeks so we continue to enjoy the blessings of his service.

Second Story
A few years ago a family of birds built a nest on a pillar on our front porch. After the eggs hatched, however, one of the babies died and the birds knocked the nest to the ground. We assumed all the remaining babies were killed by the fall.

However, I was outside the following morning and noticed the mother bird was very distressed and kept flying around a bush. As I listened closely, I could hear the faint chirping of a baby bird and realized one had survived. The mother was trying to rescue the surviving baby but had no way of doing so.

My son and I were able to get the baby out of the bush and place it in a shoe box. Then my husband got a ladder and climbed up to the top of the pillar, where the nest had been, and taped the shoe box to the pillar.

If I had not been in love with Wes before that moment, I would have fallen head over heels in love with him right then. It totally melted my heart to see him doing that, but what even touched me more was hearing him talk to the baby bird. It was obvious the baby was scared, and so Wes attempted to calm it by talking to it in a soft, sweet voice. And after he taped the box to the pillar, he asked the bird, "Now is that better little kiddo?"

Now does that sound like a scary man? :-)

By the way, the story has a happy ending. The mother resumed care of the bird and about a week later it flew away.

So there you have two not at all scary stories of my "scary" husband. Two stories that have brought . . . joy to my journey!

You Know Basketball Reigns Supreme When . .

My first date with my husband was to a basketball game. In fact, when I was asked out, I was given a choice of three different nights he was available, but the activity for all three would be basketball. His brother was a high school basketball coach at the time and playing in a tournament so that was Wes' activity of choice.

It should have been a warning to me of what the future would bring. But I was so smitten after just one date (I don't remember much about the game, but I do remember our fun conversation afterwards) that I didn't pay attention to the warning signs.

After we were married he ditched me on the night we had planned to decorate our first Christmas tree to go to a college basketball game with some family members. And on another occasion, very early in our marriage, he even stood me up on Valentine's for basketball. (He has since repented--numerous times --for that one.)

Over the years I came to understand that it really wasn't his fault. It was genetic. His three brothers are just the same. All four boys in his family love to play the game, they all love to watch it and two have coached professionally, with one currently being a coach of a college team.

So I guess it shouldn't have been surprising when my niece recently announced she was moving up her wedding date to coincide with her uncle's basketball game. Apparently Ken's college team will be in Phoenix early January to play Grand Canyon University. So Riki thought, "What better day to get married?" The wedding will be in the morning. A luncheon will follow and instead of a wedding reception at night, everyone is invited to attend the basketball game!! Of course! It makes perfect sense, right?

Guess Who Is Having A Birthday????!!!!

Happy Birthday to My Wonderful, Handsome, Strong, Brave, Adventurous, Smart, and Romantic, Husband!!

I love you!!

When I think of Wes I think . . .

1. Chocolate

2. Peanut M&M's

3. Someone who can visit a place once, not go back for ten years and still remember every road, building, tree etc. Amazing!

4. Die hard exerciser. Every morning at 5:20 you can see him out running his four miles.

5. Can remember where every scripture is.

6. Can't remember any one's phone number or what we are doing on Friday.

7. Amazing teacher

8. Adventurous!! If there is a mountain to climb, a river to raft, a cliff to rappel . . .

9. Romantic. Writes poetry, brings flowers . . .

10. Great foot massager.

11. Is never late, but never likes to go anywhere early either.

12. Rarely leaves an event until every chair and table have been put away and every dish washed.

13. Competitive.

14. Very competitive.

15. Smart.

16. Generous--with both his time and his resources.

17. Someone who always makes time for his kids.

18. Sports enthusiast. Can still out run, out swim, out play all of his kids in any sport. And the world was a much better place for him when the Yankees won the world series.

19. Patient. For proof you can go here and read about a time last year when I borrowed his car. The man is a saint!!

20. A wonderful husband, who is good and kind and perpetually young at heart!!

Happy Birthday

May you have many, many more!!

A Love Story

I am convinced God is a true romantic. After all, how many interesting “how we met” stories do you know? I had a friend in college who canceled a trip to visit her sister in Texas over Thanksgiving and rescheduled it for the week after Christmas. When she arrived, she met a young man visiting Texas on business from Michigan. They dated every day that week and were later married.

My friend Jenny met her husband at BYU when she and her roommates set up a lemonade stand outside the boy’s apartment complex on the day many were moving in. And my friend Sonia, met her husband at her sister’s wedding. He was the groom’s brother.

I am pretty sure there are angels in Heaven whose only job is to make sure the right people meet, and to make their job more interesting they think up creative ways for that to happen. Since I missed being able to spend Valentine’s with my husband due to being in Utah with my mother (who is finally out of ICU! Hooray!) this post is dedicated to my Sweetheart.

It is our love story.

The First Time We Met
The first time I met Wes was at BYU just after he returned from his mission and I was preparing to turn in my mission papers. He had gone to visit a friend of his from high school, who also happened to be my friend and co-worker. When I arrived at work, he was there and my friend called me over to meet him. The second she said his name my heart did a leap inside of me and I thought, “This is the person I am going to marry!”

Our First Date
Our first date came two years later. I was called to serve a mission in Quito, Ecuador and Wes’ father was my mission president. (Angels at work?) His sister was also at one time my missionary companion. During my exit interview, my mission president told me to not be in a hurry to get married but rather to take my time and wait for the right man. Soon after I went home he wrote a letter to Wes and told him to ask me out. Wes ignored the letter until his sister called and told him she had just talked to their dad and he was insistent.

How He Asked Me Out
He didn’t. He had his roommate call and pretend to be him and ask me. (Yes, this was the coward’s way out, but also innovative.) So while Wes went jogging, Curt called and said, “You don’t know me, but my father was your mission president and he wanted me to ask you out.” (Wow, don’t sound so excited) “So can you go Thursday, Friday, or Saturday?” (Obviously very available). I chose Saturday and we went to the first of many basketball games. At this one his brother was the coach and Lehi High School was the team playing. (They won)

Our Engagement
Two weeks later, I was ready for the “Define the Relationship” talk. At some point in the conversation Wes suggested we get married. I agreed but wasn’t ready to make it public, which was good since about a week later I got scared and backed out. Wes was patient with me, however, and one month and one day after our first date we became officially engaged.

First Kiss
Truthfully, I am the only girl Wes has ever kissed. That wasn’t due to lack of opportunity, but rather due to choice. He made a decision early on that he would only kiss the girl he planned to marry. About a week and a half into our relationship we were sitting on the couch in my apartment, and with a little encouragement on my part, he kissed me. Okay, so that first kiss wasn’t the best, but he was a very fast learner.

How He Proposed
Twenty-four years after we were married he leaned over in the celestial room at the Mesa temple and asked if I would be his wife. Although incredibly delayed, that was my only official proposal. For our unofficial one, he came to my apartment one night, and after struggling with the marriage decision I decided I was ready to move forward and so I said, “I want to get married.” He asked, “Are you sure?” I said yes and we went and told my parents. Not at all romantic, but it worked. Three months later we were married in the Salt Lake Temple and moved to Mexico City where he was employed in the family business.

What I Remember Most About My Wedding Day
We were married in July and it snowed the day before the wedding in the mountains. That was not a good thing for an outdoor reception, but all worked out well. The other thing I remember is I was very stressed and rather cranky with my wedding line. My poor sisters and friends! I made them all stand straight and face forward at all times. If they moved, I got after them.

What I Like Most About Wes
Lot’s of things, but mostly that he is so very good. He lives his life in the white and never gets close to the gray area. He is also a lot of fun to be around (although people who only know him from church do not see that side of him) is very smart, very athletic, very generous, very cute and very good to me. Nearly every week he brings me flowers and is kind enough to give me frequent foot massages, which is my most favorite thing. I also love that he supports me in everything I want to do even if it means more messes around the house—like when I went through the tole painting phase, the calligraphy phase, the flower arranging phase etc. And of course he is a wonderful father to our five children and grandfather to our one little grandbaby.

But most of all, he is my very best friend.

I love you Wes! Happy Belated Valentine’s Day! And thanks for bringing so much . . . joy to my journey.