Home.

Today we packed up the last few boxes at the Star house.  We have been living in our new home for a few weeks now, but needed one last afternoon to finish the odds and ends that happen at the end of a move.  We got there and got right to work.  I cranked up some good music on my iPhone, and packed up the last little bit.  Jeff and the kids raked all the leaves in the front and back.  After a few hours, we were done.  Jeff and the kids were taking the garbage out and I sat down on the staircase and looked at the empty house.

I remembered a night, nearly twelve years ago, when I sat on the same staircase and looked at the same empty house.  That was the beginning of our story.  Jeff and I were engaged and had closed that morning on the house.  It was the first house we looked at in our house hunting.  We fell in love with it and knew that was where we wanted to start our life together.  The next day we would be moving all my stuff in, and then Jeff would move in after the wedding.  I was meeting him at the house after work that day.  Jeff got stuck in traffic so I sat there on that staircase for quite a while imagining what this house might hold for us.

That moment came back to me today as I sat on the same steps and started to weep.  Our home held so much for us.  The memories, as well as the tears, began to cascade as I thought back to bringing both Mylie and Blake home from the hospital, Christmases, birthdays, first steps, kids learning to ride bikes in the cul de sac, scraped knees, celebrating career success, rocking and nursing my babies, new puppies, visits from family, celebrating with family after our Temple sealing, visits from great-grandparents, movie nights, planting trees, running through the sprinklers, playing in the snow, sitting on the front porch holding hands, backyard BBQs, changing diapers, hosting Thanksgivings, baking cookies, smelling the lilacs, the list went on and on.  I thought about how our home had comforted us during sad times such as when we struggled with infertility, losing my grandma and recently my grandpa, terrible postpartum depression, financial and career woes, suffering a miscarriage, and the ups and downs of everyday life.

Through our entire marriage, our little house in Star has been our constant.  It has provided refuge from the wind, the rain, and the sun.  It has provided refuge from hard days at work and hard days of life.  Within its walls, Jeff, Mylie, Blake and I became a family.  There is a lot of love in that little house.

Jeff and the kids came in and we decided to have one last family prayer at the house.  I won't lie, there were a lot of tears from all of us (except for from Blake - who just kept saying, "What's everyone crying about?!"). In his prayer, Jeff asked that this house would mean as much to whoever buys it as it meant to us.  I hope so.  I hope that little house in Star continues to have a lot of love in it.

The Star house is where our story began, but of course is not where it ends.  Our new home is a wonderful, exciting chapter in our lives and we love it already.  And although I don't foresee bringing any new babies to this house, I do look forward to our kids growing up here, to their friends coming over, to holidays and birthdays.  I look forward to family and friends visiting, to entertaining, and to making new friends in our neighborhood.  I look forward to graduation parties and maybe someday, wedding receptions in the backyard.  I look forward to sitting on the front porch with Jeff, holding hands, talking about our days, and waiting for our grandchildren to come visit.  I look forward to filling this house with love too.

Grandpa Jack

John James "Jack" Ritchie passed away in Idaho Falls on June 30, 2013, a month shy of his 88th birthday. Jack was born on July 30, 1925 to John Coop and Grace Ritchie in Rigby, Idaho. As a teenager, Jack joined the Navy and was stationed at the Farragut Naval Base in northern Idaho and in San Diego. 

After serving his country during WWII, Jack went to work at Montgomery Wards. During that time, Jack met Lois Helen Kearney. They were married in 1944. Jack and Lois had two children, Stephen J. (Ada) and James Craig (Kristine). As a young couple, Jack and Lois enjoyed dancing and socializing with their friends. Jack loved horses and skiing; he spent time doing these activities with his sons.

As a smart and honest businessman, Jack started his own business. Ritchie Tires. He was in business in Idaho Falls for 55 years.  Whenever his grandkids smell tires, they think of him.

Jack and Lois had seven grandchildren:  Joshua Stephen, Stephanie, Frederick Thomas, Benjamin Craig, Courtney, Bailey, and John Migel.  Jack and Lois enjoyed spending time in the summers at Redfish Lake and Heise Hot Springs with their grandchildren. Many years later, Jack bought a home in Alta, Wyoming and the grandchildren enjoyed spending time there with him.

Lois passed away in 1986. The next year Jack reacquainted with an old friend, Mary C. Speece. They were married on November 18, 1989. Mary has been a kind and loving wife to Jack for the last 24 years.

Jack has eight great grandchildren:  Darcy, Maxwell, Mylie, Eliza, Nolan, Blake, Lila, and Sterling. Papa Jack loved being around his great grandchildren and they could always put a smile on his face. He liked having the kids come to his house to visit or taking them to Leo's.

Jack remained active his entire life. He skied until his 80s, most often at Targhee. In fact, when he turned 75 he could ski free at Targhee. He didn't understand how they could offer this without losing so much money. Apparently, he thought that many 75 year olds still skied multiple times a week. He enjoyed hiking, especially in the Jackson and Jenny Lake area and visiting Yellowstone Park.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff in the ICU unit at EIRMC for their loving care and kindness. 

The family will receive friends at the downtown Wood's Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 2nd from 7-8:30 pm. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, July 3rd at 11 am at Rose Hill Cemetery.

April in review!

I've been reading!

Although it is an incredibly busy time of the semester and I have lots of grading to do - I've snuck in some reading time over the last week and read a handful of great books.  That is one advantage to sitting at soccer practice 3 nights a week!

• Silver Linings Playbook (Matthew Quick) - other than I knew there was a movie with Bradley Cooper, I didn't know much else about this book.  I really enjoyed this book and read it quite quickly.  It talked about a man's transition out of a neural health facility.  
• To Have and To Kill (Mary Jane Clark) - a fun mystery.  Quick read, totally enjoyable. 
• Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand) - this one has been on my list for a while, but I have a hard time buying full price books for my Nook since I read so fast.  This one has stayed full price for years.  I finally figured out how to check out library books onto my Nook (happy day!)  It was one of the first books I put on hold.  I finally got to check it out and am so glad I finally got to read it.  What an amazing story of a WWII veteran and the unbelievable challenges he faced.  I highly recommend this book as well.  

Next up (though, probably after a significant amount of grading) are:

• As Always, Jack (Emma Sweeney) - sticking with the WWII theme.
• The Best Man (Kristan Higgins) - she is one of my favorites for fun, romantic, comedic books.
• Daddy's Girl (Lisa Scottoline) - she writes a great series about female attorneys.  This one isn't part of the series, but involves a prison, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it!
• Alan & Naomi (Myron Levoy) - this book was one of my favorites as a child and I still remember how touched I was by it.  It is about a young boy who befriends a girl who was in a Jewish concentration camp.  

I'm so looking forward to summer break and already have planned how the kids and I are going to have reading time EVERY SINGLE DAY! 

Moms of boys ...

Last night at about 12:30 I turned off the light and climbed into bed. Minutes later I heard the pitter-patter of little feet, and then a little body in fleece footie jammies climbed into bed with me. "Blake, you need to sleep in your own bed." I said, though both of us knew I was lacking conviction. "But Momma, I want to snuggle with you." He nestled his head right into my neck and threw his arms around my neck and within seconds his slow and steady breathing let me know he was sound asleep. I hugged him tightly to me and momentarily my heart started aching.

As I whispered "I love you" and kissed the top of his head, I couldn't help but think about the children's book "I Love You Forever." As I thought about it, a silent tear slid down my face as I remembered the sweet story of a mother rocking her son to sleep at night. And how when he grew up she would go to his house and go into his room and pick up his grown up body and hold him and tell him, " I love you forever, I love you for always. As long as you're living my baby you'll be." And as I thought more about the story, my silent tears turned to heart wrenching sobs.

See I know that Mylie will need me her whole life. Girls always need their mothers - for relationship advice, parenting advice, household advice, advice about everything. But someday Blake will grow up and he will meet and marry a wonderful girl and it will become her job to take care of my baby. And this caused my heart wrenching sobs to shake my whole body.

I wanted to wake Jeff up right then in the middle if the night and insist he drive to Melba, wake up his mom, hug her and tell her how much he loves her. I wanted to call my brother and insist that he drive to our parents' house, wake up my mom, and hug her tightly, tell her how much he loves her, and that he still needs her.  I wanted to tell every grown man, who was once a little boy, how much their mothers miss the little boy they once were.  How much they miss being the one that they came to when they were hurt, when they needed a hug, when they needed anything.

By now my sobs woke Blake from his sleep, he sat up, looked at me, and said "You have a bad dream, Mom?" I told him I was fine, and within seconds, he was sound asleep again, snuggled up to me as close as he could be.  I kissed the top of his head again and thought that being the mom to a little boy is a beautiful blessing.

On Marriage ...

I've been thinking a lot about marriage lately.  Perhaps because I feel blessed to be in such a wonderful marriage.  And though it will be years before I give advice on this topic to my own children, I feel like I want to remember some very important thoughts about marriage that I have had recently.  

1. BE KIND.  The world is not always a kind place.  Jeff works with the public everyday and I know that many of those days are not fun.  Our home and our marriage should be a safe place for him.  I truly believe that of all the people in the world, the person we should always be the nicest to is our spouse.  My mom once said, "it is better to be kind than right," and I wholeheartedly believe that.   
2. FRONT & CENTER.  Our family is busy (just like many others).  Our kids are in school and in sports.  In addition to work, Jeff is in grad school, coaches Blake's soccer team, and takes Brazilian Jui-Jitzu classes.  I work full-time, volunteer at the kids' schools, and try to keep up on my hobbies.  When life gets crazy, it is very easy for me to put Jeff on the back burner.  Do you know why?  Because I  know he'll still be there.  Of course that isn't fair.  Although it is easiest to  take for granted the people we love the most, it isn't fair.  Our spouses need to be kept front and center. 
3. LAUGH.  Oh how I love laughing with Jeff.  Everyday we find something to laugh about.  Sometimes it is a Seinfeld or Arrested Development reference.  Oftentimes it is one of our kids.  And I'll admit that we aren't above 7th-grade-boy fart jokes.  But I love laughing with him.  I love that we have about 7219 inside jokes.  I love that sometimes we can tell an entire joke just by making eye contact.  
4. BE A TEAM.  One of my friends recently told me how she loves that Jeff and I are a team.  I thought about it and she is right.  We are a team - a team raising our kids, a team in reaching our goals, a team of us against the world.  There is nothing like having a teammate.  I am glad that I get to be Jeff's teammate.  
5. BE A CHEERLEADER.  I feel so lucky that I have wonderful parents, spectacular siblings, and AMAZ-ing girlfriends.  I know I can talk to them about anything.  And we do.  However, one thing I don't do, and won't do, is talk negatively about my husband to my friends or my family.  My job is to be his biggest cheerleader.  When a football team is struggling on the field, the cheerleaders don't yell insults to the team or start talking to the crowd about how poorly the team is doing.  No, in fact, if the team is struggling, the cheerleaders cheer louder.  So it is with our marriages.  My job is to support Jeff, to build him up, to believe in him.  Just as he does for me.  Being a good spouse is being a cheerleader. 

I feel very lucky that I had a great example of marriage in my parents.  I want Jeff and I to be an example for our kids. 

Our March in review!

We had a wonderful, busy March!

Happy Easter!

We celebrated a lovely Easter Day today. My heart was touched with beautiful music and words today.

And how I love these two! They look so grown up to me here! We had such a fun spring break and I enjoyed spending every minute of the week with them.

My baby!

It is hard for me to believe that my baby is getting ready to start kindergarten this fall. I am still in awe of the transformations he has mad. He is so confident now. Last night was kindergarten orientation. Everyone started off in the gym but then they took the kids to the kindergarten classrooms to do an activity while the principal talked to the parents. Blake had no hesitation. He saw his friend Hudson and they both just said, "Bye!" and headed off. He has made such huge strides this year academically and it delights me to see his little brain working. I am certain that he is ready to start kindergarten, and it wasn't too long ago I wasn't sure if he would be. I'm so proud of him!!

Road Rash

When scooter rides go bad ...

So blessed!

On Sunday night as I laid down to go to sleep, I had a moment.  My last thought before drifting off to sleep was, "Thank you God for giving me this life."  I thought about my warm bed, the roof over my head, a good job, a wonderful husband, beautiful, healthy kids, amazing friends and family.  And once again, I was reminded how blessed I am.

1538 miles later ...

After recently celebrating our 11th anniversary, Jeff and I decided a little mini-vacation was in order. We planned it around when my parents could watch the kids and we totally appreciate them.

After thinking about our choices we decided on a good ol' fashion road trip. We were talking on our drive about how we love that we enjoy the same things - that a road trip is such fun. I made some playlists, we bought red licorice and got big gulps (all the necessities for a good road trip) and we were off! We left Thursday afternoon and met my parents in Pocatello for the drop off.

We had decided we would head south with St. George as our destination. Thursday night we stopped in Brigham City at Maddox for a chicken fried steak (it's the Hammond in me) and then drove to Provo. The next morning, dressed in our spring attire, we headed south on I-15. We reminisced, talked about work, talked about the kids, wondered about what people did for work in the little towns we passed, listened to great music, and made about a hundred Arrested Development jokes.

And then we realized that it was much more springy in Boise! We found ourselves in a crazy rainstorm. In fact, at times we literally could not see the road in front of us.  Finally, we arrived in St. George and the rain slowed down a bit.  We checked into our adorable bed and breakfast.

Later that afternoon we decided to take a little tour of the area surrounding St. George.  We didn't know where we were headed, but ended up in Snow Canyon.  I think the scenery is just breathtaking.  

Saturday morning we had a delightful breakfast!  Yummy yogurt and granola parfait!

After breakfast we went to the St. George Temple visitor center.  It is so beautiful! 

There were even flowers in bloom!

Our original plan was to take a scenic route; however, the weather was a bit testy.  I'm so glad we didn't!  There wasn't any snow on our way down but when we headed back the next day there was almost a foot of snow!  We pretended it was spring by streaming spring training games while driving.

We stayed in SLC Saturday night.  What a fun trip!  We went to the movies, we went out to eat, we slept in, and it was so fun to hang out with my best friend.  

The kids also had a wonderful time.  We picked them up Sunday and Blake told me he did not want to go home, he wanted to live at Grampa's house.  Who wouldn't though ... he worked on the Harley, rode in the sidecar, shot BB guns, learned how to cast a fishing pole, played with his cousins, and ate Grandma's cookies.  Mylie loved playing with her cousins and going out to lunch with Aunt Holli.  

What a great trip.  I love that Jeff is my best friend and that we are just happy being together.  We don't need a fancy trip - just being together is enough!  I love that my kids love spending time with their grandparents.  Now if I could just get excited about going back to work on Monday!

Our February in review

Happy Birthday Blakey!!

On Sunday Blake turned 5!! It is hard to believe that our baby is growing up so fast! He had quite the celebration starting Friday night with birthday dinner out at Fuddruckers. Saturday afternoon Grandma, Grampa, Max and Darcy came. We had a birthday party that afternoon with lots of cool presents, pizza, and a dinosaur cake. That night we all went to the BSU-UNLV basketball game which was so fun. Sunday we got to play a bit more before everyone has to head back to Idaho Falls. It was so fun to have them visit!

We are grateful for Blake in our family. I remember when I was pregnant with him I kept wondering how I could love another child as much as I loved Mylie. It was amazing, as soon as they handed him to me, my heart doubled in size!! Blake brings so much to our family. He is so funny, he adores his sister and loves to play with her, he is so snuggly and he loves his mom and dad. When I think back just 3 years ago to a boy who wouldn't talk and was painfully shy - it amazes me to think how much he has changed and grown. Love you Bubba!!

Our January in review!

Growing too fast!

These two kiddos of mine are clearly growing up much too fast!

Miss Mylie:

• is rocking 2nd grade
• has improved her handwriting so much
• is a reading fool
• is still missing her 2 front teeth
• is kind
• is a little bit drama
• looooves her iPod 
• is excited to play soccer this spring
• is a great helper at home
• sang in Sacrament Meeting today with two friends (so cute!)
• loves to play school

Mr. Blake

• has lots of girlfriends
• loves preschool
• is a class clown
• writes his name really well
• is doing a good job of identifying letters
• turns FIVE this week (where did my baby go?)
• loves to wear footie pajamas
• is still quite the snuggler
• can't wait for spring soccer to start
• plays school with Mylie all the time
• has a messy room

They drive me bonkers and delight me in the same minute.  I am so glad I get to be their mom.