A Day of Blessings

Sunday we finally blessed Amelia.

This little girl is a blessing to us every day.

Although she started out rather fussy and basically cried all waking moments, she has turned the corner and is now all smiles and fun. And sweet. And kissable. And as discovered tonight, ticklish.

How in the world can you love somebody so much that you have only known for 3 1/2 months?

This is a pretty typical picture of how things are around here...crazy!

...and sweet (with some crying too)

It was a wonderful day full of family. My parents were in town, and John's family came over that evening for brownies and ice cream...

...and to race around the natural track that circles through our kitchen, entry, and living room.

These older cousins were so cute with Amelia. Waiting their turn to hold her, taking pictures of her with their phones.

We have a lot of blessings around here.

"James, put your hands down...Not up! Down!" We obviously need to work on our ups and downs.

Free First Friday

A new children's museum opened up in Phoenix last year.  We have never been, so imagine my excitement when I discovered that every first Friday night of the month you can get in free...that's right...FREE...from 6-9pm.  

So on Friday we picked John up from work and parked our car at the 38th street light rail station.  Andrew has been dying to ride the "train" and it seemed a fun way to get downtown.  

Andrew watching the light rail approaching

I love this look on Natalie's face

And it was.  

But then we rounded the corner and saw the line to get into the museum.  1 1/2 to 2 hour wait we were told.  We just kept on walking and took the kids over to the fountains at the Arizona Center.  They loved it.

We did let James out for just a little bit.  But he sure enjoyed the stroller ride ;-)

And as they got their feet and hands wet, climbed walls, and marveled at the water, I was reminded that some of the best activities don't require money or some crazy fun plan.  We had the best time.  The kids played in the water, ran around, the weather was perfect, and best of all, we were together.  

John's face cracks me up in this picture.  Especially because when I called him with this idea he said, "That sounds like a lot of work."  And I said, "Well, anything we do with three little kids is a lot of work.  It might as well be this."  And surprising to both of us, it really wasn't very hard at all.  

And I, who sometimes struggle with "changes of plan", had no problem with this one.  Because the plan really was just to get out and do something together.  And we did.

Andrew told us as we were riding the light rail back to the parking lot, "I want to come back and ride this train next Saturday and I want to ride it forever and ever."   I honestly think riding the train was about as good as it gets from his 5-year-old perspective.

Even if it was a little loud...

Saying Good-bye for now

John's dad just passed away after battling cancer. And I miss him.

I have cried many times this week and the tears start again as I think about my father-in-law.
And how grateful I am to be a part of his family.

I don't know of many people who crammed more into life than he did.

He was a person who took everything that came his way and celebrated it.

This was in October. He did not feel well, but still came dressed up in funny ears and nose.

Nothing crossed his path without becoming better. When we built our pool, we had used pavers as our decking and as the border around the pool. It looked nice, but the edges were rather rough, so people would often get a scratch or two getting in or out of the pool. So Kent showed up at our house with his grinder and ground down the edges (top AND bottom) of each and every paver around our pool and our spa. And it is not a small pool. And it was very hot outside. But the end result was wonderful.

He was constantly seeking ways to help others and to be better.

He was enthusiastic about everything. We ended up with tickets to the World Series when the D-Backs were in it. John immediately knew he wanted to ask his dad to come to the game because he knew how excited he would be about it. And he was.

He was hard-working. Boy, was he hard-working. I honestly believe that there was not much difference between work and play to him. He derived just as much enjoyment and satisfaction from working hard and accomplishing a task as he did from playing.

When we were putting some dirt in our backyard, Kent and Suzann showed up one afternoon with gloves and a wheelbarrow to help. Andrew grabbed his wheelbarrow and kept pace with Grandpa. I am so glad I have these pictures of my kids "working" with Grandpa.

He was diligent. And I don't know if he gave less than 100% to anything he did...ever.

He loved the gospel and the scriptures and took every chance to share that. And he had a great talent for teaching. He made the scriptures come alive. One of my favorite memories is when we went to visit him and Suzanne in Indiana when they were serving a mission. We stopped to eat somewhere and the waitress was wearing a Star of David necklace. He was always very friendly to everyone, and he started talking with her and explaining that they were missionaries. And somewhere in there he noticed her necklace. As she walked away from the table he called out, "You're Judah, we're Joseph!" I'm sure she didn't have any idea what he was talking about, but I just loved his enthusiasm. He was never afraid to share something that he felt was important.

He could fix anything.

He loved making his yard beautiful.

He was always so excited about each new grandchild.

With Andrew

He was genuinely interested in others. And his family remembers that he would invite people to their home all the time when they were growing up. Many times people he had never met before, but who needed a place to go or somewhere to eat.

The first time I met him was at my parents' home. I was graduating from law school and John's brother Dave was in my class at school. I was not dating John at the time. We had invited some people and families over for food and a graduation "party". I still remember how Kent went out of his way to introduce himself. He was so openly grateful about the invitation, complimenting the party and the food and asking me genuine questions about myself.

These pictures below are from my and John's wedding. I love how they have captured Kent visiting and interacting with others.

With my grandpa Rowberry

He never hesitated to tell you how proud he was of what you were doing. And you never wondered if he cared. He was always interested.

I'm so grateful that I have memories with Kent. That we lived close by.That John is like his dad in so many ways

This is the first time I have felt a death so strongly. All of my grandparents have passed away, but I never lived by any of them and although I loved them, there was not really a hole left when they died. Now I feel a hole. He was a big part of my life for the last 7 1/2 years. Even though he has been pretty sick for over a year and so has not been as involved as before, I still miss him being here. And I'm sure I will miss him again and again. When this new baby is born this summer. When we bless her. When John graduates with his MBA.

I was talking to my sister-in-law and she was saying that this is what the opposition principle is all about. We would not feel the pain if we had not felt the joy. The fact that he was such a wonderful father, grandfather, husband, teacher, person, and father-in-law means that we will feel some pain now that we are missing him.

It is sad to say good-bye. But how grateful I am that it is not good-bye for ever. I am sure we will be reunited with him again. How sweet the gospel message of families and eternity is right now.