Come What May

I had wonderful conversations with family members today, and got to spend some time with Patrick's mom on Saturday. I love times in life when I can bond with family and share growing experiences with them. What a blessing our family is to us!

The Stable Bow

I just wanted to share my sister-in-law with the other readers of this blog. She's freaking amazing in so many ways. She just posted some great thoughts on her family blog, Outnumbered 4 to 2. You should check them out. :)

Somehow, I lucked out and I have the greatest siblings ever. Jeremiah and Jonathan have married remarkable women who are the greatest moms ever. They both have the most adorable families ever.

My parents did a great job raising us. I know they're not always happy with our choices, but I hope they go to sleep at night knowing that they taught us well. As one of my favorite authors, Kahlil Gibran said in his book, The Prophet:

And a woman who held a babe against
her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's
longing for itself.
They come through you but not from
you,
And though they are with you yet they
belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not
your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not
their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of to-
morrow, which you cannot visit, not even
in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek
not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries
with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your chil-
dren as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path
of the infinite, and He bends you with His
might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand
be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Thank you Mom and Dad.

an overdue update...

It has been far too long since I last posted something on here...

Patrick's dad, Ken, and his wife, Paula, came into town for Patrick's sister, Lissy, and her husband, Dan's going away festivities. Wow, that was one CONFUSING sentence! Lissy and Dan went to Mexico for the Peace Corps. Ken and Paula make it out to Utah once or twice a year, so they came out for the party. They stayed with us for over a week while Patrick did some work on their RV. It was absolutely wonderful to spend that much time with them! I am so blessed to have amazing in-laws!! So, needless to say, I didn't do ANY blogging during that time. I pretty much sat around, ate the bountious amounts of food that Ken cooked for us, and listened to Paula do the dishes. This was a daily routine. And I loved it. :) I miss them already.

So, I guess we're back to normal life. I've been fighting a cold. Patrick is selling his little beater (anyone want an old Corolla that runs well???) and getting an old Jeep Grand Cherokee that we can use to go 4-wheeling and camping. Yeah! The weather is finally warming up a bit, and I can't wait to start planting flowers, tomatoes, and anything else that suits my fancy. Patrick can't wait to ride his motorcycle without getting all decked out in his leather.

We're both caught up on LOST. That's pretty cool, because now we can watch it together and talk about it without blowing anything cool that happened. :) Silly, I know, but it's still an update.