Meet Mom...

Introducing the most important woman in my life...

Boy I sure love her! There is so much to her that I am beginning to believe that I may never figure everything out about her. She definitely keeps me on my toes. As of now, we have been married a little over 2 years. We have learned so much together, but the best part is that we still have so much to learn and experience. At times I wonder how she ended up choosing me. We are SO different in SO many ways! Let me provide a brief view into her life to illustrate this point:

• Born in Provo Utah, but raised in the sweltering hot mega city known as Dallas/Fort Worth.
• Loved everything pretty, pink, and glittery.
• Starred as the one the best flute players in her school and area, travelling to many places all over the United States to preform.
• Enjoys dancing, singing, and acting just plain goofy from time to time.
• Graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Family Studies with a minor in Music.
• SUPER competitive when it comes to card games.

And yet, she chose to marry a small town Canadian boy who grew up herding cows, raising pigs, driving tractors, hunting ducks, and playing sports. I even scratch my head from time to time wondering how it all happened, but I am glad it did.

We met in Utah when we were both students. I had a thing for cute redheads, so of course I was interested in her...I mean...look at her! I thought she looked beautiful. However, I was a fairly shy guy. I never was always comfortable around girls, and any of my high school friends can attest to that. It took me a few weeks to summon enough courage to ask a date, but I got there eventually. We had lots of fun together going to BYU football games, bowling, movies, hiking, and other typical dating stuff.

 

After a while, we knew it was the right thing to get married. So on December 18, 2011, we got married in Salt Lake City Utah surrounded by supportive family and friends.

To this day we continue to learn and grow. She has taught me a lot about life and what it means to be strong. What I most admire about her is the natural desire she has to become a better person. She wants to improve and feel accomplished in nearly every aspect of life. At times this desire causes her to feel panic and inadequacy. When she feels that way, it can be pretty difficult to make her see otherwise. So one things you must know about your mom... you can feel confident knowing that she will do everything in her power to ensure your success. You will notice that she will do so at the expense of her own wants or desires. Be sure to express gratitude to her for that. I know I am grateful for it.

While I am by no means an expert, I do have a few suggestions for you kids when it comes to dealing with mom. Please consider the following:

1. I urge you to become good at directions, and do it soon. I can almost guarantee you that one day you will be driving with her, and need to help her find her way home. In fact, this will happen multiple times. At first it may seem frustrating, but this will become more funny to you every time it does happen.
2. Be patient when she can't make up her mind. You will see this quirk take effect especially when it comes to eating out. She often has a hard time choosing where she wants to go. Once she does come to that decision, she will then not know what to order from the menu for a long time. Encouraging her to make those decisions faster will only slow down the entire process.
3. Take time to listen to her. She is a rather insightful person due to all her experiences. She will patiently lend her ear to you whenever you want to rant about politics, sports, social issues, and everything else. But listen to what she has to say about the subject. That's where things get interesting, and sometimes funny.
4. Wear your seat-belt.
5. If playing games starts to get a little boring, do a little bit of trash talking. This usually gets her overly animated and it leads to funny results.
6. Along those lines, if you ever partner up with her in a game, make sure you know the rules and strategies really well. There is no room for error or ignorance when you are playing on the same team as her. Weakness will not be tolerated.
7. Know how to properly pronounce Hyundai.
8. No matter how much it kills your legs to be standing around for hours on end in a store where you have absolutely no interests whatsoever, be pleasant about it. She gives you plenty of time to do the things that you like and make sure that you are entertained. She is actually very good about respecting your personal time.
9. Make sure you are in good enough shape to stand around  for hours on end in a store where you have absolutely no interests whatsoever. (See #8)
10. Snorting is a compliment. That means something you did was hilarious and memorable.

If you love your mom half as much as I do, none of these things will be any problem for you

She is an amazing person who deserves all the respect, dignity, and trust that you have. If you rely on her, I promise she will never let you down. In fact, she will surprise you over and over again, if you give her the chance to do so. She is the love of my life and my best friend. If you let her, she can be one of your best friends too.