The Men in My Life

The past ten days have been utterly crazy here in the Big Blue House.  There has been lots of upheaval and change.  There have been lots of physical and time demands on us.  But in additional, there have also been many emotional and psychological demands as well.  It’s been particularly stressful.

And my husband has been my hero through it all.  He single-handedly planned and executed all the physical labor.  He was a work horse.  Every day.  All day long.  It left me breathless to see how hard he was working.  I think I had underestimated the time and effort all of these demands would take but he just slaved away and got it all done almost completely without my help….Which consisted of me making phone calls and organizing a few businessy things.  But he never was upset for how little I was doing and just told me how grateful I was for taking care of these small things.

And there was no rest for the weary because we hadn’t even finished with this other thing when he had to start preparing for Scout Camp which is happening now.  So  in the midst of all that, he was planning and organizing and packing and communicating with ten boys and their parents.  And in the midst of some crazy personal life stuff, he is off serving them and trying to provide them with a good experience.  He texted me tonight to say he loves me and goodnight.

He is amazing.

So there are only a few people at home now, actually.  We had Family Home Evening with just four of us tonight!  But I was not left alone.  X got only a few hours of sleep last night and then spent 11 hours working today outside doing heavy labor in 100 degree heat.  But he came home and moved a heavy box for me, fed the cat for me, turned off all the lights in the basement before I could and most importantly got Wink to go to bed and stay there after I had been trying for a while.

I got an email from JJ today, too.  We hadn’t heard from him last week so it was good to hear from him.  He has been working hard every day with the sole purpose of serving and teaching others.  And he’s trying to improve himself all along the way.  He told me how much he loves me and missed me and purposefully spent significant time emailing me and telling me about his life.

I am surrounded by some really great men.  And they love ME.  I am so blessed.

Overheard

E-mail exchange with JJ…

JJ:  Thanks for the updates! Things seem so fun back home! I can’t believe Wink is getting baptised so soon! Everyone’s growing up and doing all this stuff and I’m missing out.

Me: You think YOU are missing out?  None of us have ever been to PARADISE!

JJ:  Mom, paradise is where the heart is, and the heart is where the home is.

Little Things

•  JJ wrote me a lovely personal email on his p-day yesterday and it ended with this.  “Again, thanks for everything you’ve done for me. You’re the best! I don’t stop thinking about you!”
• On the very same day we got an actual letter from Wiyah where she said to me, “I love your confidence. I love your spunky attitude and the way you get into your stories.”
• The Hubba tells the girls epic adventure stories on the way to school in the mornings.  The main characters are Hubba, Wink and Pink.
• Walking home from church a week ago
• An email from the mom of one of my primary kids:  “So I just have tears streaming down my face that you have been able to look into [my child’s] heart. It means so much to me, to [my child], to [my husband]. [My husband] and I have talked about you a lot actually, weeks before we even came into your classroom we both said how amazing we think you are. I KNEW what a good and genuine teacher you were because I have been in primary with you. [My husband] knew how amazing you were as a person and choir director and wife to the scout master! 🙂 But both of us have been only more grateful and amazed as we have been able to be a part of your class. You have a gift with those children. You see them as Christ sees them. You love them. And they feel it. [My child] feels it. You are patient, your expectations are so inline with what they can actually do and I LOVE your philosophy on it all. I have always wondered how you have such great kids- your kids are so great, so kind, unspoiled, sweet, smart. After being in your lesson on Sunday I thought to myself “I know why her kids are so great now.” You respect them and love them and you have a deep knowledge and love of God, the scriptures and his gospel and you pass that on to them. I feel so blessed that you are [my child’s] teacher and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you are doing in primary and with [my child.]

Overheard

Hubba:  Send pictures! I need to see it to believe it.  Are you uploading pictures this week?

JJ:  Just a few. I don’t really have anything to take pictures of.

Hubba:  Yes you do! You guys playing sports. Eating casse-croute. Hanging with members and investigators. Your house. You church. You views. The beaches. The trees. You’re in paradise! You could take pictures of your foot and I’d be interested.

JJ: