Love Never Fails.

The greatest gift I ever received was being in the family I am in. Could I have picked a better family?! I couldn't imagine. Sarah drove down from Utah with Naomi on Wednesday. We of course had plenty of work for her to do once she got into town. She is so Utah chic now! We went shopping and found some good Pre-Black Friday deals. Ben arrived at 2am! Thursday morning. Mama and I had been staying up for the past few nights until about 3 watching Netflix and "cleaning the house" that it didn't seem too out of the ordinary for us to pick him up. Mama also remembered that we needed to drop some library books off for donation so we made that part of our errands in the middle of the night. Once we got Benny we didn't go to bed. We stayed up until about 4 talking and laughing, catching up since the last time we had been together. Jonny thought for a moment these people are crazy! But then again, this is how we have always been and thought maybe he was the odd one out!

Thanksgiving came too quickly. Grandam Cleta and Papa Al brought Gran down and stayed until Sunday. We invited some family friends to dinner and Sami and Beckett came too. I had invited the missionaries over and I am sure they left with funny stories to tell home about this wild bunch from New Mexico. Elder Gomez and Elder Faughton, of course prepared a lesson for us. After about 5 minutes of trying to get us all to hush up so they could teach us Elder Gomez started talking about the blessings we receive are from Heavenly Father and around this time we reflect on how to give thanks to Him and to our family and friends around us. While he as speaking and everyone was quiet Gran had to ask a question as she always does with perfect timing. She said, "That's an Indian boy idanit?" After ALL of us busted out in laughter, including Elder Gomez, Grandma Cleta raised her voice to say "No, he is Hawaiian!" Elder Gomez was sure to say he was thankful for us and that comment!

The next day we went Black Friday Shopping but of course we didn't leave the house until 10. We got some good stuff but the best thing I got was the next day. Aunt Lisa had come down because Nathan had gone through the temple and we had a little party at our house afterwards. She brought me into my room and said she had a gift for us girls. I got the prettiest rose gold necklace with a rose pendant on it. Wow! Am I the favorite or what!? I loved it and I LOVE Aunt Lisa. How did I get so lucky??

The saddest part of the weekend came on Sunday. Sarah and Ben made their way back home and we were separated again. We didn't even get a picture together! Now that in 2 weeks Nathan will make his way off to being a missionary and in 30 days I will be headed to Utah our family will be apart for a few years and maybe, hopefully, some added members will be at the airport as well to greet him after his service!

When I think about that I think about us all living in different towns and our kids not being as close to their cousins as we are it makes me sad but then I remember that we never lived close to our cousins. That we decided a long time ago that we loved each other and distance wouldn't force us to not know each other. A friend once asked me why I spend so much time with my family when, to her, we could just be together one day in Heaven. I responded that I knew some members wouldn't make it so I was going to have Heaven on Earth with the people I loved the most. She didn't quite understand but that thought truly does break my heart. I wish we all would make better decisions and grow toward the goal of being together in an Eternal Family and with our Father in Heaven. I know everyone has to make this choice on their own but I wish that they would realize the blessings they have are really extraordinary.

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

                                                                                                                     - Moulin Rouge

Papa Al

On Sunday Papa Al turned 66! Him and Grandma Cleta were in town for the occasion so after church we went to eat a late lunch. We had such a great time together laughing and reminiscing about fun times from long ago. These are some memories I will always remember about my Papa. 

No matter what new pair of shoes we got or how many times we tried we could never out run him. Even to this day I think he could still sprint faster than any of us kids. He knew how fast he was and he always instigated the race. What a little snot! Setting us up to lose! ;)

He didn't beat us in just a running race. Papa was one of the people that taught me how to drive. (I blame him for my accidents, tickets and mishaps!) One day I was at a stop light with a friend in the passenger seat. In the car next to us was a man revving his engine and spinning out the tires. He had a huge grin on his face and acted as if he wanted to burn me off the line. My friend looked at me and said are you gonna race that crazy man? In a split second I said Yeah! Why wouldn't I?! And mashed the pedal. I didn't win and my friend said "Wow, I wasn't expecting you to really race that guy!" "Why wouldn't I?!" I yelled. That's my Papa. I knew he would win but still put the pedal to the metal! 

When we were little we would spend almost every Friday night at Grandma and Papa's house. Some nights in the summer we would convince him to let us sleep outside under the stars. Papa would always agree and drag out the queen size mattress for all of us to sleep on. We loved nights like these and would talk and laugh all night long. The morning was the best part. The sun would shine right on us almost melting us it was so hot. Right before we were at our breaking point and go inside the sprinklers would turn on. We would jump and holler, running inside before our blankets and pillows were soaked.

Papa always loved old cars. He got a few old Jeeps that he said was to help us learn to drive on. I never bought that line. I knew he loved zipping those Jeeps all over the backyard and along the ditch. I especially remember when it rained heavily the day before the backyard would be filled with mud puddles. We would pile in the Jeep and he would drive what seemed to be 100 miles an hour in circles and straight lines. We held on for dear life to the roll bar and a few times I thought I was a goner. We were flying for sure but never flew out!

Papa loves being Santa Claus. When other little kids would see him around town they would sit and stare at him until he said "Do you know who I am?". They would nod at the big secret and Papa would respond well then be good this year so I can visit you on Christmas. Growing up kids would say that Santa didn't exist but we had our very own Santa all to ourselves!

When Sarah, Sami and I were in Girl Scouts every year we would have a Daddy/Daughter Dance. There were 3 of us and we only had one dad, of course, so Papa was my date and Jonny was Sami's. I remember Papa always loved to dance. Every song that played we were on the dance floor. Now that I am older and attend Church Dances I am so proud that Papa taught me how to dance. Now when I dance the two-step and country swing I can't help but smile and wish my partner was him. He was always so light on his feet!

When Grandma was out of town we would go over in the evenings to keep Papa company. We always found him eating crackers with cheese and meat (maybe he invented the lunchable!?) and finishing it off with butter-pecan ice cream. Eating ice cream and watch old John Wayne movies became a tradition when Grandma was away. 

Papa always said there were two kinds of music. Country and Western. The very first song I learned was taught to me by him. It was Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. I still remember the lines and sitting on the orange stools while Grandma recorded us singing on her video camera. He was always so proud of us. I just wish he would have taught us to sing in key!

Papa's truck was different than my Daddy's. He had a cab-over that was black with red strips. I remember the most going with him to Rocky Mountain Stone to load or deliver. In the sleeper of the truck was an old (probably new at the time) Polaroid camera. I am sure I used every sheet of film in that camera each time I went with him!

There wasn't one thing I can think of that Papa didn't support us in. He came to our softball and soccer games and when we spoke in church or had our Primary Program he would always come and tell us how wonderful we did. He always said that no kid was better than us and he really made us believe that.