Mr & Mrs Smith

Remember how I came up with the great idea of snow boots, snow gloves & a sled AFTER Christmas? Well, this is what we have to fill in when where I slack… but trust me, she was warmer than anyone else. Yet when I backed up with my camera (I was taking cousin Jenny's engagement photos), I bumped into her and made her face plant. So she basically wanted to be carried after that. It was DEEP DEEP snow. Not exactly as we had hoped, but we made it out with some pretty winter wonderland photos. I'm so excited for Jenny. March is a good month for us both. Go figure.  It has snowed so much more this year. Which has given Mr Smith the chance to get outdoors as well. Before the snow hit he bought a used but nicest bike he has ever owned and went up a few times with his friends who take pictures. After the snow fell he switched to back country skies/snow boots. I just get to sit back and wait to hear if he made it back alive. You really never know. I married that kind of husba...

It's one of those stories that doesn't have to be drawn out, but I did it any way. Besides Mr Smith buying up his emergency prep wish list end of year, we, and I mean I, decided we should do $20 "surprise" Christmas gifts for each other. $20 spent how we want since we normally might question the dollar spent, this would be just a "fun" way to think about each other. I suggested another measuring cup and then the shelves came up again and when a friend told me you could get some affordable IKEA ones, I jumped with excitement (2, 45in ones for $20 exact!). I told him his Christmas present would be just getting and installing them - instead of having to build them too. He said he had thought about that (obviously building them since IKEA isn't his go-to); I thought it was a win. You like that "surprise" suggestion? That's basically how it goes since Mr Smith doesn't appreciate the responsibility of finding a gift for someone. I get i...

I'd be okay with not documenting anniversary #4 with a photo or at least we should have kept Lexi to herself. Oh well, we aren't always beautiful, but it was a good evening as a family of three at the Brick Oven. We were finally able to sit through a restaurant meal without having to worry about making sure she stayed there. Mr Smith found all you can eat pizza he enjoyed, so ya know, that was a success. This year was definitely better than our position last year, so I'll give us that. In many ways four years doesn't seem like enough time for how far we have come, but that's what moving several times does to you I guess. It's weird to think about all the places we've lived and friends we've made along the way in four short years. Maybe I will call chapter 4: "change of plans" or "adjustment" as I felt uprooted and we began again somewhere completely different, but I think we've begun to settle and find our place.  I sti...

I asked for a love letter and then love note (less intensity) for my birthday (trying to think of all the things I'd love that don't cost any money), but it's hard for him to express feelings in words. He hates feelings almost as much as I love them. Back in our dating days it wasn't so tough, but that's why it's important to write things down and save little things like that - later on - they become big things. And just like all the back massages, you have to make the last one last… So touché Mr Smith.  Any way, this is exactly opposite of what he would like for his birthday, but I'm going to do it any way in memory of mine. He loves it when I make those decisions. These aren't the pictures that I wanted to go along with it; you know, that picture in my head that met failed hopes, but they're still cute and remind me of what matters most. Dear Mr Smith You matter most to me. Well, you combined with Lexi make up my little world he...

I wrote this quote in my scriptures by Mosiah 2:17 from Elder Robert Whetten of the Seventy: "Every unselfish act of kindness and service increases your spirituality. God would use you to bless others. Your continued spiritual growth and eternal progress are very much wrapped up in your relationships--in how you treat others. Do you indeed love others and become a blessing in their lives? Isn't the measure of the level of your conversion how you treat others? The person who does only those things in the Church that concern himself alone will never reach the goal of perfection. Service to others is what the gospel and exalted life are all about." I posted a link to an article on Facebook this past week. Every word made sense to me. And not just about marriage, but all relationships we experience in this life.  "Of all the people who get married, only three in ten remain in a healthy, happy marriage" That isn't saying 7 end in divorce, but to me, you ...

Before I forget this amazing quote (that if Gordon B Hinkley did say it, makes it even better) here it is: "What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are that you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy."- President Gordon B. Hinckley You know what I thought when I first read that? I married that. I married Mr Smith because he did that and does that for me. I mean we may bicker about how we show love and respect, and sometimes we get a little slack when it comes to thoughtful and putting each other first, but at the end of the day, I know he loves me, respects me and thinks of me.  I also liked this article ...