LOVE takes a little Elbow Grease

  

I started loving this guy 20 years ago (married for almost 15).  It was all so effortless those first few years of marriage.  I used to think, "What is everyone talking about?  We are so good at this. It's so easy, it comes so natural, this marriage thing.  Look at US!  We make it look so romantic and cute and EASY!  I am so thin and I eat whatever I want (Ok, I didn't really say that, but it was true.)" But as the years go on, you have got to work and fight to keep it strong.  Babies are born into the mix, there are more people to take care of, love, work for, keep safe, pray about.  You have to be unselfish; there is just not enough time to think about yourself.   But it's a little tricky to figure out.  I realized soon into it that my happiness comes from serving others and making OTHERS happy.  As I serve them, I love them more.  When you become a wife and then a mother, there is no real way to get around SERVING your husband and children.  And the trickiness continues as selfishness keeps trying to creep in.  Will I recognize it and change before ruining someone's day, someone's week, someone's year?  Remember, remember.  You cannot forget to remember.    

So, LOVE is definitely an action word, and when you don't feel like loving, you have to pretend to until you DO.  I feel happy when I am thinking about HIM more than myself.  And each passing year, that love has grown stronger and more real.  Eric is my best friend and I trust him.  He has never broken that trust we have for each other.  And so the trust gets stronger.  I don't want to take his goodness for granted- the way he tries hard to take care of people and provide for us.  He tries to listen when I want to talk- about the most meaningless thoughts.   

We have no plans for a romantic dinner alone tonight because it's a school night.  But, I have a certain feeling that if I worked REALLY hard at loving him, I could make this a house of order, clean, tidy and organized.  If I work extra hard at loving him, I can probably manage getting a great meal on the table with something pink and red in honor of the day.  This is real life, and I am happy about it.  It's not all dreamy and romantic like the movies (although there are touches of it).  It's all about working hard for the LOVE.  My mom used to say, "Put a little elbow grease into it!".  I am not afraid of hard work, and neither is he.  So with a "little elbow grease", we will continue to work at this growing thing called LOVE... and I believe that someday we WILL live happily ever after.  Happy Valentines Day to my #1 Valentine!

Riding, Eating, Hugging, Painting, Creating and Loving...It all happened in JANUARY

Hello, my little blogging world.  I promise that I will get you all into a cute little bound book soon, I really do.  It's a new years resolution.  And I have already accomplished a few of them this year.  When I go back and read my entries of the past 3+ years I realize what a treasure of memories I have here on my blog.  Can you imagine if I procrastinated that resolution just by one day too late, and then something happened to the blogger site and ...and ....I lost all my blogging words and stories and pictures because of procrastination?  No, nope,...no way.  Not going to happen.  This has been my primary journal, my motherly record, my family history even.  It has.

In the meantime, I will keep that on my to do list while I catch up on our happenings at the start of a fabulous new year.  I hope and pray that this new year keeps our family remembering to be grateful, brings us closer together and helps us to think of others more, serve others more, as we think about Jesus Christ and get to know Him better.  Those would be my top new years resolutions above all others.  Zumba wasn't one, but I am going to add it to my list and then check it off to make it like I have accomplished something out of my comfort zone.  

Speaking of Zumba, sorry no pictures, ...here is my thought.  I am not a dancer and I am NOT Latino but I have tried this so called Zumba and I really really like it.  And, I know WHY I like it.  Here it is:  As moms we spend most of our time being organized and on task, and ...in line.  There is not much time to "let your hair down" and free yourself.  At Zumba, ...you can let it all go,... it's a very freeing feeling and frankly, I don't care that I look dumb.  That is the most freeing part about it- I . DON'T. CARE.  And after I open my eyes and look around, after I have been feeling the beat and giving it my all, (I don't really close my eyes, ...but you get the visual) I notice that everyone else just might be thinking/feeling the same thing.  I come home shouting all kind of Spanish and rolling my R's.  And all those beautiful brunettes there shaking their booties correctly accept this "greengo" that isn't.  "Aye-aye-aye...FIESTA!!!"  Uh huh.  That's right.

Took the boys horseback riding- a courtesy
 from a neat girl that works with Eric

Ethan, loving it

Camden with crooked hat and trying not
 to show how much he is loving it.
Landon in the background taking it all in.
Both boys got to gallop for a little bit.

Watching her brothers ride horses and trying to hop over the rail.

After horseback riding we surprised the kids and took them
 to the famous Logan ice cream parlor, The Bluebird Cafe.
  Camden and Ethan had been learning a song about it
 at school.  Camden for the last couple of weeks would
 say, "for my birthday (not until May) ALL want is to go
 to The Bluebird Cafe!"  They loved it, but not
sure it was all Camden was expecting it to be.

There he is: the "Bluebird Cafe Wisher" 

And there's the whole Hooley gang.  "Analise, sit down!"

Camden and Bronson- a little brotherly love.
  Why can't Bronson EVER find matching PJs?
  I do my part, he needs to do his, ... 

There they are: my little weekday "side kicks".  

OOOOOh, I knew something was "going down" when she was all quiet!

"What is the problem mom?  Isn't
this what I am supposed to do?"

"Because after all, this is some of the best
 fun I have had in all of my 15 months."

"You know, get messy, laugh about it, get a little bath.  It's great, right?!"

She used to start way way ahead of
 time when she was sliding back to
 go down the stairs.  She is catching on.

"Mom, my days are busy.  It's all about making the
 right jet with legos.  I don't bother getting dressed
 on the days I don't go to preschool.  It saves me
 time for the more important responsibilties."

"And it's really important to wear my
 Zoro mask to keep under cover."

"I'll show you how I put it on..."

"See? Like this.  My life is great.
Now moving on to the next task?"

"Oh yeah, that's right.  I need to watch a little TV."  

Went overnight with Eric to a conference
 in Park City.  If I can go to bed early,
 there is nothing better than waking up early.
They are the best hours of the day...especially if the sun
 is coming up from behind the mountains.    I love my life.

Uncontainable, this one.

We will call her "smart", "curious" and "on-the-go".  She is a climber, she is determined, she is an escape artist.  She is LUCKY she hasn't fallen and broken her head.  She is a little bit fearless, ...she doesn't take no for an answer.  She looks at you and babbles something in the form of a question, pretending that she doesn't know you are annoyed.  Where did my baby go?