Quotography: February

February is the month of "love". After these two kiddos ran all their energy out, they plopped themselves down on the edge of the lawn, facing the sunset over Willard Bay, and had a moment... Only a moment they knew about. But I imagined a bond... a love between brother and sister that can never be broken. Oh... if only I could have heard their conversation!

This scene conjures up remembrances of my children. Steven and Shaniel in particular at this time. Love bound them together on earth as it binds them now in heaven! 

Quotographay: Love

"Is there no balm in Gilead? (Jeremiah 8:22)... Love is the balm that brings healing to the soul... (The Son), even the Lord Jesus Christ, gave His life that we might have eternal life, so great was His love for His Father and for us." 

(Thomas S. Monson, "A Doorway Called Love," Ensign, Nov. 1987, 66)

Losing my daughter, a year ago, to an act of domestic violence, brought with it much sorrow and grief. But I found, as I gave my sorrow and burden to the Savior and felt His love for me, He truly has helped heal my heart and soul. Yes, I still feel great sorrow on occasion, and it will never go away, but the Lord's Love has given me much needed strength, comfort, hope, and faith to endure. I have joy in knowing that life is eternal, and I have the sweet assurance that I will be with my daughter again! 

Quotography: Sweet Sentiments

It's Superbowl Sunday, and my hubby is far, far away! I'm missing him and all the weird things we do together. So, in remembrance of our last football game, I decided to post this picture of our  version of a "tail gate" party before it started. 

Yeah... it was just he and I and son and daughter-in-law. No crowds, no pressures, side street parking, no fancy stuff. Our kind of weirdness! Together... LOVE!

It Was No Coincidence

I was married to a man I was madly in love with. He was my High School sweetheart! We were building our first home and looking forward to many years together in the town we grew up in. We were expecting our third child and were in the middle of the happiest days of our lives.

Then... a strange thought entered my mind... "It wouldn't always be this way". Another strange thought... someday I would be married to a "fruit farmer" and a "military man". "That's ridiculous", I thought. "I am the happiest and luckiest girl alive. Why would I ever think something like that."? I even felt a little guilty with the thought. But I did have to secretly confess... I had always been attracted to both professions and often daydreamed about a beautiful fruit orchard and marrying a soldier... a patriotic kind of guy. I thought that would be romantic! I shrugged it off, but that thought came to full fruition several years later. Not by my choice, mind you. The man I loved with all my heart left us... me and our five beautiful children. He deserted us; abandoned us. It turned my whole world upside down. I had five children who depended on me, and me alone. How could I grieve when so much was heaped upon me! I cried... oh, how I cried... many, many nights I cried myself to sleep. In spite of it all, I think I was brave. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and made a new life for the kids and I. I went back to college and got a B.S. degree and prepared for the future. My kids would not go without! I was going to make sure of it. The next few years were long and I didn't think my heart would ever heal. Sometimes I would just go through the motions of the day. But those years also turned out to be some of the happiest memories of our lives. We had so little, yet had so much. I grew in ways I never expected. The kids were happy and well adjusted. We not only survived, but thrived. It's a hard thing to explain. The blessings came so unexpectedly; but always at the right time.

I got my degree in Family and Consumer Science Education, with a minor in Nutrition. I grew up in 4-H and always dreamed of being an Extension Agent; the lady in charge of "fashion shows".   I was headed there, really! One of my childhood dreams were becoming a reality. 

I became good friends with a single lady just around the corner from my house. After a few years, she moved over the hill, 30 miles away. She was neighbors with a newly single man with three children. He worked for the Department of Agriculture. My friend knew she had to get us together somehow. We had so much in common! His father had been an Extension Agent for most of his adult life. His son, my friend's neighbor, followed in his dad's footsteps and was interested in plants, gardening and farming. We talked on the phone and decided to meet.

It was winter. I chose an activity that all of us could do. All ten of us! We went to Hardware Ranch, a mountain location in northern Utah that the DWR (Division of Wildlife Resources) owned. Hundreds of Elk take refuge and make Hardware Ranch their home in the winter months. Sleigh rides through the herd, hot chocolate and friendly chat prevailed our first meeting. It went pleasantly well, considering my first impression.

On the day of our first meet, he knocked on the door and was welcomed in to the house. For a brief second he looked familiar to me... like "I knew him". Strange! And first impressions... I remember his big grin. It was far too energetic for me! The little boy he held in his arms. That was not at all attractive to me. I was overwhelmed with my own little brood. How could I want more? The attraction was not there. But we had planned a day out and I was going to make the best of it. At the end of the day I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. The next few weeks and months were filled with phone conversations and dates. I still couldn't say I was in love with him, but we enjoyed each other's company. It slowly evolved into love; a much different kind of love from my first love. Eight months after our first date, we were married. 

Can I say I had a moment when I knew he was "the ONE?" No!  But that crazy little thought that entered my mind 15 years before I met him... the thought that I would marry a "farmer" and a"military man", became a reality. "Was that when I knew?" If I did, I wouldn't have believed it at the time. Insane!

My hubby of 18 years now, is a Colonel and Brigade Commander in the Army. He works for the Department of Agriculture, and we are fruit farmers. How coincidental is that! Is it a romantic life, much like I dreamed about when I was much younger. Hardly ever! Are we madly in love? That's hard to define. I'm not in love like I was with my first spouse, but I'm in love. Would I change anything about my life with this wonderful man I have as my spouse? Absolutely not! He is "THE ONE"! And I believe it was no coincidence.

My "Warrior" (Iraq)

My "Fruit Farmer" ... and yes, he did pick all those peaches!

My "Friend"... still wearing that grin!

Writing prompt #1: Tell us about the moment you knew your spouse was "The One."