Goodbye For a Week, My Love

I psych myself up to have bravery today when Per leaves at 1:00PM to drive to the airport. He's traveled ever since we've been married so I'm used to him being gone but he's always home on the weekends. When he travels internationally he's always gone over the weekend. The next couple of months will be busy for him as he goes for a week to China, home for a week and a half, then goes for a week to Dubai, home for a week and a half, then goes for a week to Japan, home for four days, then goes to his home office in NC.

He's leaving today but I look forward to talking to him on Skype when he goes to another country. He'll be home soon but when he travels to a foreign land we have the next best thing - video chat.

I'm happy for him that he provides a valuable thing to his company. I'm glad that what he does makes him happy. I'm thankful that his job provides for our family. In this day and age, I'm thankful that he has a job! I love him and wish him safe travels.

I've Heard Good Advice

Grandma always said, "Put it back where it goes" and I didn't want to because I wanted to put it right here. She said that so when I went to use it again it'd be there. Her words have helped me many times. (Most people aren't disorganized or forgetful, they just don't put things back where they go.)

I remember hearing 'Everything has a place and everything in it's place'. As a mature adult I see the wisdom in those words. As a young person I thought Ugh! and Blah, blah, blah... A mom knows what she has because she knows where things are and she tells her family members, 'Put it back'. It could be considered either 'nagging' or 'teaching good habits'. As a kid I thought nagging but as an adult I think the other.

Moms don't nag, they help; hopefully, one day their family members will see that. Don't tune Mom out when she speaks but listen to what she says ... her advice will establish good habits.  I'm grown and my kids are too. Now I'm older and say, 'If you don't want to lose it put it back where it goes.'

My Family Makes Me Happy

I love my family, being a mom, and being a wife. Family life isn't always roses but when I step back and look at the big picture of what a family means - love, care, fun, togetherness - I'm thankful to have them in my life.

I know that some people's family is not the way they want. My heart goes out to them and I hope they find peace. I'm just thinking about my family today and want to say that I love them!

Throwback Thursday: Us Gordon/Chu Females

 

It was the spring of 2000. From L-R Gma Louise Gordon, my sister Lani, her daughter Jasmine, Me, my sister Maile holding her daughter Kea, my mom Lynda. Wow, that was a long time ago! Today Gma is gone, Jasmine is 20 and Kea is 16. Time flies!

My Family is Awesome!

Don't most people say their family is awesome? Yes. Well add me to the list. I love my family (Per, Bryan, Kimbra, Andrew) with all my heart. Here's my philosophical side showing: Maybe the reason we're born into families is to feel love.

Per's wants the happiness of his family. He's like a golden retriever - loyal, patient, happy to see us, and our best friend. He knows so much and happily imparts what he knows (I'm glad, because I've learned a lot from him.) He gives 100% to whatever he does, and I appreciate that because I know he'll never cut corners.

Bryan has a lot of courage. He takes action to get what he wants. He's smart logically and emotionally - he reads people and knows what they might be feeling and thinking - then he says something to help them.

Kimbra is a kind and positive person. She sees the best in situations and is the perfect wife for Bryan. It seems like they were meant to be because they have so much in common! I'm not used to having another girl in my family but she's a person that's easy to know.

Andrew sees things through to the end. He knows what he wants and goes after it. He's a good listener and gives great advice. He's the kind of friend who brings out the best in people. His positive attitude has reminded me to look on the bright side when sometimes I don't.

My family is great because of who they are, not because of what they do. If they did nothing they'd still be great to me.

Living in the Past is Fantasy

Returning home was not the same once I left; I wasn't the same person. (I'm talking about when I was 18.) I had my own life. I stopped being my mother's child to be myself. When I got married I also became my husband's wife. When I had children I became their mom.

I will always be my mom and dad's child, but I've grown up and have my own life now. I faced a dilemma the last time my mom came to visit me. I reverted to being my mom's daughter (the past) because I didn't have the courage to be myself (the present). After my mom left, my family felt confused because I didn't act like me. When they told me how they felt I faced a crossroad: Would I revert to the past? (and confuse my family) or be the current me? (and let the past be in the past). I chose the second one - to be the current me, a grown woman, a wife, and a mother.

Same with childhood friends. As a young girl, I had a best friend. She will be my friend forever, but after we grew up we got different lives. What we had was special, and I'll always remember it, but my current life is special, too. It's fun to rehash old times with her, but honestly old times are just that - old times, memories, not today.

It's not my job to make people see me as I currently am. They are responsible for themselves. All I can do is be who I am today and live my life in the present moment. 

A Few Memories of Gma and Gpa Gordon

I couldn't possibly mention ALL the memories I have of Gma and Gpa Gordon because there are simply too many. Here are a few interesting ones. When I think of them, I think of them at 320 N State St #10, Orem, UT 84057, the place that was "their house,"  not at the place where they lived just before they died.They lived in the trailer court - right on State Street  (between 2nd south and Center Street) - which had a lovely view of the mountains. It was the nicest trailer in the place. Perhaps other tenants considered them their grandparents too, because they were loving and watched out for everyone.

Their neighbor behind them, Kaye, was like family. They especially cared about her. She never married, and lived alone. Gpa mowed her lawn. Kaye, Gma, and I sang a trio in church once. We practiced the music several times at Kaye's house where she played our parts on her piano. For many years she taught English at Orem High (my high school) and also coached the cheerleaders. She came from Idaho. Her brother, Lynn, lived in a small trailer, on the other side of the road across from Gma and Gpa to the North. He had a cherry tree that produced the best bing cherries; big, juicy, and dark red-almost black.

I hated venison because I had only tasted gma's. It was bottled meat in a 1 qt jar. I thought everyone ate venison that way. I didn't like venison until I ate Monika's deer roast in Sweden - the most delicious roast I ever ate - not gamey at all.

Gma worked part-time (from 9-1) at the county assessor's office in Provo. She shared her job with her sister, Aileen. Many times after work she stopped somewhere and got a sandwich for Gpa's lunch.

They often called lunch "dinner" and dinner "supper".

I ate dinner/supper at their house countless times. When one piece of meat remained, Gpa would look at me and say, "Whomp that up."

Gpa called me his Little Miss America.

Family never rang the doorbell, but just walked into their house. Every time I came over one of them said, "There's my Jade honey." (I cry remembering how much they loved me.)

Gma taught me many camp songs like "I've been working on the railroad", "Hey, Look Me Over, Lend Me an Ear", "Side by Side", and "I stuck my head in a little skunks hole". Us kids sat in the back of Gpa's truck whenever we went somewhere and sang at the top of our lungs.

Gpa caught many trout in Provo River or at Strawberry Resevoir. Gma would fry up the fish after Gpa cleaned them. Their house smelled so good when Gma fried those filets.

Their house had two bedrooms, one on each end. In actuality, it was small. But everyone (their kids and grand-kids) gathered there. For me, the highlight of Christmas morning was at their house (when I saw everyone and we exchanged presents.) They had bbqs, birthday parties, and sleep overs there.

They were highly revered. Whenever someone new came into the family, they were taken to Gma and Gpa's and introduced.

I loved them.

Gpa, Lani, and Gma sitting in the big yard to watch me

1981. Lani, Jade, Mom, Gma, Kenneth, Maile

Gma and Mom in the 80's

Gpa and his Herculean trout

Little Jade and Gpa Gordon

Gma Gordon

Gpa Gordon (sitting in his spot: at the kitchen table by the window)

Gma Gordon, Jade, Mom (when Jade went to the temple for the first time)

Ken's (KJ's) First Bday
Kenneth John, Grandpa John Dean Gordon, Lani

Gma and Aileen at the county assessor's office

Grandma, Louise Clark Gordon

Sweden Vacation 2013

We had a lot of fun in Sweden. We were there July 3 (Wed PM) - July 11 (Thurs AM) and time flew! Here's a synopsis of what we did:

7/3 (Wed PM) - Per met us (Bryan, Kimbra, Andrew and me) at Arlanda airport (it's the first time we've traveled w/o Per-and the last time as far as I'm concerned: I feel more comfortable when he's there,) drove for 3 hours (from Stockholm to Väse) after already traveling for 16 hours, stopped in Kristinahamn to buy stuff & snacks at the store, met family at Lövås (Tore, Monika, Ann-Sofie, Sandra, Little Nils,) ate dinner, rested

7/4 (Thurs) - Went to a couple of stores in Karlstad (Willy's and Rusta,) ate Swedish pizza in Karlstad for lunch, celebrated the 4th of July at dinner where we ate Monika's yummy deer roast and mushroom sauce and a delicious American flag cake that Ann-Sofie made (sheet cake/cheesecake - haha!)

7/5 (Fri) - Day trip: Met Peter and Kerstin at their home (3 hours away) near Göteberg, met Per's friends (dinner at Torbjorn's house), (Erika and Torsten arrived from Gotland and Nils arrived from Göteberg)

7/6 (Sat) - Picked wild berries in the forest, celebrated birthdays at dinner (Tore 85, Monika 80, Nils 50, Me 45, and Andrew 20 this year) where we had a seafood feast including shrimp, red crawfish, and huge ocean crawfish from Göteberg

7/7 (Sun) - Looked at old things in the attic (Per looked at his China,) ate bbq steaks (horsemeat that the guys said was better than beef,) played Kubb at Lövås, posed for a family photo

7/8 (Mon) - (Erika and Torsten went back to Gotland,) ate dinner at a restaurant on the warf in Karlstad with Per's friends and spent the evening with them

7/9 (Tues) - Ate a smörgåsbord lunch

7/10 (Wed) - Left Lövås and drove to Stockholm, took pictures in Örebro, drove through the city of Stockholm (not the freeway) to avoid traffic and to find parking, walked in Stockholm for a second but left because we were hungry and cold, ate yummy Swedish pizza at a nice place after accidentally driving in the hood, checked into a nice hotel (Radisson) at Arlanda airport

7/11 (Thurs AM) - Per left early to fly on another airline, ate a delicious smörgåsbord breakfast, check out of our hotel, went on a bus to Arlanda airport

In my opinion, the second best thing about Sweden was the food (the best thing about Sweden was seeing a lot of the people I love.) Back to the food...everything we ate tasted yummy! From the chocolate to the water and in between, it all tasted great.

We stayed at Pirran's house (a smaller house by Lövås which we called her house although she didn't live there.) It was nice to have our own space. Bryan and Kimbra stayed upstairs where Per and I always stayed, and Per and I stayed downstairs where Bryan and Andrew always stayed. We swapped (and I didn't miss walking up and down the steep [and potentially slippery] stairs.)

Dinner at Ankdammen in Karlstad with Per's friends

Visiting at Peter and Kerstin's house

Peter, Kerstin, Kimbra, Bryan, Andrew, Jade, Per

Kimbra and Bryan

Andrew (and the best cheese doodles in the world!)

Per and Jade

Picking wild berries in the forest

The table is set for birthday celebrations at Lövås

Seafood Feast for birthday celebrations

Playing Kubb, a very fun game that originated on Gotland

Visiting between Kubb matches

Kimbra and Bryan

Lövgren Family
(Nils, Andrew, Per, Jade, Bryan, Erica, Ann-Sofie,
Monika, Tore,
Kimbra, Sandra, Nils, Torsten)

Smörgåsbord lunch

Smörgåsbord location

Lövås Gård (Gård=farm)

Lövås Gård sign

Per driving in Stockholm

Some buildings in Stockholm

Once A Parent, Always A Parent

I longed for my little children once they had grown and left the nest. I had been a mom for so long that, when they left, I didn't know my purpose. Recently I said to one of my children, "I miss being a mom." He said, "You're still a mom."

I may not be raising kids anymore, but my kids are still learning from me. I may not be doing but I am being and the only thing that's changed is position. When I had little kids, I was first, I was the leader, and I knew what's best. Now that they're grown, they're first. They're the leader and we all get to see what they can do. I may have taken a back seat to my kids, but I think it comforts them to know that they're not alone. 

I'm here anytime they need me, but, unlike children who can run to their parents, when they need me they may be a little further away; they might get to drive to my house or pick up the phone. "Once a parent, always a parent" is a true statement. I spent a little time doing (raising,) but I get to spend my entire parenthood being my children's parent. What a happy realization!

My Gratitude for Grandma Clark

After preparing to go visiting teaching this coming Mon & Tues (something the ladies in my church do,) I decided to read some of my Great-Grandma Clark's journals. My mom had given me the journals (which had belonged to Grandma Gordon-Gma Clark's daughter.) One journal (in 1958) documented her trip to Europe where she sailed on the Queen Mary, attended the London, England temple dedication (where she saw and heard President David O. Makay,) went to the World's Fair in Belgium, toured Europe, and sailed home on the Queen Elizabeth. The entire trip took three months. She saw the Statue of Liberty in NY (from the Queen Elizabeth) before flying to Cleveland, Ohio from LaGuardia airport. She wrote much of the things said at the Tempe Dedication, visited English relatives, and did a lot of genealogy.

I'm very grateful for the history and example of my grandma. She was a remarkable woman. Perhaps I inherited my desire for knowledge from her. She wrote many facts, and I love that - facts are fascinating to me. I want to type what she wrote and share it with my relatives, that way I'm not the only one who'll have the information. I look forward to knowing her better on the other side of the veil.

Focusing on the Good

Yesterday, while Per prepared food for the Superbowl, I saw a commercial for PBA (Pseudobulbar Affect.) It's a neurological disorder that occurs in some people who've had brain trauma, a stroke or who have MS, ALS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. (Click here or here to read more about it.) It's a disorder that includes uncontrollable laughing and/or crying. It comes on suddenly, lasts for only a few seconds, and may happen several times a day.

When Per saw the commercial he said, "I think you have that. I think you have Pro Bowler's Association. If you told someone you had PBA, they might say I didn't know you bowled." Hahahaha - that's funny! Let me laugh about that for a while.

Yes, I have PBA and it has greatly affected my life. When I first got MS, I used to say that I had no filter. I meant that I couldn't control my emotions. For example, two years ago on the airplane a little girl started crying and it made me cry.

I used to teach children but asked to be released because when I read a touching story it made me tear up - not like touching tears but I-feel-out-of-control tears. (I imagine that older kids and adults would understand my condition, but little children would probably wonder why I'm crying and I wouldn't want to scare them.)

Today, I feel people's emotions when I look in their eyes. I laugh when I see a smile or see or hear something funny, and I cry when I see or hear the same. This disorder causes people to become anti-social because they feel embarrassed. Thank goodness I use writing to express my feelings, because if I couldn't express myself and I constantly felt embarrassed because of my disorder I'd surely feel depressed.

The fact that I have this disorder is not going to stop me from doing what I want. I'm like water. If water is dammed and a crack is in the dam, it will escape. If I get dammed, I'll find another way to get what I want. I'm not going to say, "Oh well, I got stopped. I guess I'll go back." No, nothing will stand in the way of me and my goal. I relate to this quote: "Resolve says, "I will." The man says, "I will climb this mountain. They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky and too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying."

I love two things in my life; 1) my family and 2) helping people. I will continue to do what I can even though I have MS and a disorder. Knowing I have yet another set back causes me to focus on what I can do.

I Love My Husband

If I didnt have a chonic illness I could manage to do 75% of the things that needed to be done; but I would need someone else to do the other 25%. My husband makes it 100%. He makes up for what I lack. He's logical, good with money and athletic. I need him and he needs me.

I notice things that he doesn't and make things look pretty. He's functional and I'm visual. As a single person, his house would run but it wouldn't look as nice as our's :)

He could do 75% too, but I make up for the things he lacks. For example, I have a kind of compassion that he doesn't. He's nice to people, but he's also honest and could hurt feelings. I say "don't say that, say this" when thinking something could be said better. 

He's logical and I'm emotional. He makes things work and I make them look good. We're different but we have things in common too. For example: we like things to smell nice; take the initiative to get things done; have similar humor; and strive to be the best at what we do.

I've learned a lot from him. I handle money better, don't give in to the people I once did, and no longer apologize for myself. I also believe he's learned from me. I'm glad he's in my life and when I say he's made me a better person, the above explains some things. I love him.

My New Life

I raised children for 22 years. This is the first year since 1990 that I haven’t needed to know when school starts because my baby graduated from public school last May. I feel happy in some ways but sad in others. I find myself asking “now what?” regarding what to do with my life.

My oldest son graduated from college and married at the end of the spring term. My youngest son also graduated, but from high school. For years I wanted to see those days come. Now that my raising children time has been and gone, I look back over that time and realize how fast it went by. Back when I raised children I couldn't see the end and the time seemed like it would last forever. Now that my children have moved on with their lives (and I’m happy for them,) I want my babies back because raising children is what I know.

I find myself at a crossroad of leaving behind what I knew. The discovery of moving into new territory is exciting, but, as a creature of habit, I keep looking back. (I faced this when I got sick. I had to leave behind my old life and discover my new life. I lamented when I got sick because I wanted my old life, nevertheless, it had gone and I needed to embrace the new.)

I realize that the only thing constant is change. (Actually, I wouldn’t want things to stay the same because I’m not the same.) I like change but I like what I know…the two don’t mix.

Thoughts About Sweden

This is Per's family: Tore, Monika, Ann-Sofie (Ahlqvist), and Nils Lövgren. They all live in Sweden. My family lives in the U.S., in Kansas, 3,000 miles away. I like to go visit them in Sweden, but we only go every few years because it's expensive. We usually have to take three or four airplane rides to get to Sweden (Kansas to Minneapolis to Zurich to Stockholm) then it's another four hours from Stockholm to their home in Väse. The entire trip takes about 24 hours and their home is seven time zones ahead of what we're used to, so we have jet lag when we get there.

The longest airplane ride is about nine hours on a 747 (Minneapolis to Zurich.) In the past, this plane ride has been fun for many reasons including that the airplane is big and I get to sit with my four family members. (On 747's, in coach, two seats are on the left side, two seats are on the right side, and four seats are in the middle [the place my family always sits].) Now that we have five people in our family, I imagine three of us will sit in the middle and two of us will either sit behind, in front, or to the side of the others. In any case, the trip will be fun.

The last couple of times we've gone to Sweden, TV screens have embedded the backs of each seat. I've thought of this as convenient because each person could put their headphones on and watch their own movie. Usually, the airplane had about nine movies to choose from; so if a person couldn't sleep they had something to do.

Flight Attendants usually serve two meals on that nine hour ride: dinner and breakfast. The food tastes pretty alright. (One of my memories of that airplane ride is: As little boys, Bryan or Andrew would inevitably spill their drink on Per.) After flying for a while, the air on the plane gets pretty stale and the throat gets dry. About that time, a flight attendant walks down the aisles and asks awake persons if they'd like some water. (I always feel glad to drink it.)

When we finally get to Per's Swedish home, some kind of food always awaits us. Sometimes we eat dinner, other times we eat something light. No matter what we eat, we always have Knäcke Bröd (cracker bread) with butter and yummy cheese. I love Knäcke Bröd with butter and thin slices of cheese. For some reason, it tastes even better in Sweden (probably because the butter and cheese are different [better] than where I live.) In any case, I love to have Knäcke Bröd in Sweden. (I especially like it when Per makes it for me [probably because he uses more butter than I do].)

Per's mother, Monika, is an excellent cook. We've had her deer roast, moose meatballs, smoked salmon, pancakes with pea soup, and fresh strawberries with vanilla sauce to name a few things. The deer roast is amazing. When Per asks her how she makes it she says "I just do a little bit of this and a little bit of that." (She made the roast one time when she visited us in Kansas, and my house smelled just like Sweden.) She has told me how to make it but I'll never be able to make it like her. If I practice a few times, I'm sure it will be good but not as good as hers. 

Per's home in Sweden is about 100 years old and on a farm. It's so quiet that when I awake in the morning I can hear the leaves rustling in the trees. If I look out the front door I'll see forest to the left, farm fields to the right, and a barn and a pig house down the lane straight ahead. The house has a lot of wood inside it, and when I'm there the smell of wood and the air tells me I'm in Sweden.

Sweden is the same latitude as Juno, Alaska. There, the sky never gets dark in the summer. But, it gets very dark in the winter. We mostly go there around mid-summer (the end of June) when they have the midnight sun. (During the midnight sun, it get's about as dark as dusk so it's hard to tell what time it is. The sun still rises and sets but it never gets dark at night. It could be 3AM and still light enough to see without a flashlight.) 

The food is one of my  favorite things about Sweden. We always get Swedish pizza while we're there. The thing I like is that no matter where I'm at, the pizza menus I've seen are always the same. I like that because, as a creature of habit, I get the same thing every time. My pizza is called Bussola: it has ham, shrimp, tomato sauce and cheese. There are two best things about getting pizza in Sweden. The first is that each person gets their own, which is about the size of a dinner plate. The second is that it only costs about five bucks per person.

Menu at Swedish pizza restaurant

The thing that strikes me most in Sweden is how old things are. The Lutheran church in Väse (Per's hometown) has saints buried under tiles (inside, at the front of the church.) The font used to bless newborn babies is from the 700's. The oldest thing I know of in America is from the 1600's. Sweden had vikings a thousand years ago when part of the country was under ice. The country had Kings and wars (they still have a King but politics are handled by the Prime Minister and they haven't been a part of a war for a while because Sweden is a neutral country.) I've seen ruins and walked through a castle that stands today. I've seen (in a natural history museum) the remains of a viking woman - her bones are at least 1,000 years old. I've walked the streets of cities from medieval times. Seeing those things has made history come alive for me. (I wonder if Swedish people have the same awe I do, or if something old is just another thing to see.)

Väse Church

Väse Church Font

Borgholm Castle ruin

More ruins on Ӧland

Kalmar Castle

Visby, once a medieval town

Skull in chainmail at the museum of natural history in  Visby

The cobblestone streets of Visby

I love Sweden. Unfortunately, I don't speak Swedish. Also, I don't go there often enough to feel like a Swede. (Almost everyone there knows how to speak English, but they prefer to speak Swedish.) I understand how people feel that come to America but don't speak English. I admire people who speak fluently in more than one language. I could go on and on about Sweden. It's a lovely place. My family and I have been there quite a few times.  It's always great to see family and I love to be in that foreign place.

The Evolution of My Son, Andrew

His initials are ANGL. It suits him to be an angel because he cares about people. 

He had a happy personality as a kid. As a child, he showed his emotions on his face. I used to call him "puppy dog" when he felt sad because his eyebrows would point upward and coupled with pathetic looking big brown eyes, he looked like a sad little puppy.

He started drawing at three. His fascination with Pokemon led him to put a Pokemon card next to his paper and draw what he saw. Amazement struck me when my little three year old  produced at least 20 drawings in crayon that each looked like their respective cards. I thought he would be an artist. 

My little dare-devil artist who loved facts and always wanted to know the truth. He had no fear when he jumped off the coffee table and landed in my arms at one year old, or at three when he sped on his little pink bike on the sidewalk, going like a bat out of hell, and purposely rammed a wooden beam that threw him from his bike and made him cry, or at four when he jumped to the floor from the top bunk of his bed (just because,) and screamed bloody murder.

He got his first "real" skateboard for his sixth birthday. He positioned his ramp so that he landed on the grass, then he skated outside for hours whether the temperature felt hot or cold. When I think about his skateboarding skills then and now there's no comparison. He couldn't do an Ollie when he got his first board but he watched Tony Hawk's Trick Tips and practiced until he could. Now, he can do many tricks on his board. 

As a young kid,  if he couldn't be found outside skating he either sat in front of the TV watching his Tony Hawk video or played with his tech decks. He must have had at least 50 of them. He'd take them apart and change their wheels. If a tech deck didn't appear in his hand, he made whatever he held (if anything!) into a skateboard and did tricks with his fingers complete with sound effects!

He did well in school. His beautiful penmanship and detailed pictures on his assignments caused awe in his teachers and they would often write something like "Wow!" on his work. He never waited until the last minute to do anything. When given an assignment, he usually started working on it that day.

He began making movies in 9th grade with my little Canon digital camera. It surprised me that he could make good videos from a camera that didn't have video as its main feature. Sometimes he filmed his friends doing tricks at the skate park. Whether making a movie or filming skateboarders, he knew how to make videos because over the years he had filmed himself skateboarding many times. 

I promised to send him to Camp Woodward in California the summer before his senior year of high school. He dreamed of going to that skateboard camp and wanted to one day be a professional skater. Many times after skating he came home bummed because he didn't land a trick. When he filmed movies, he always came home happy and displayed excitement and anticipation to see the outcome. He had a natural talent for filming. His endless film ideas gave him energy, yet he wanted to be a pro skater and gave all he had to be something that required a lot of natural skill and some luck. Skateboarding didn't come naturally to him but he wanted to do it more than anything.

He chose to get a nice camera instead of going to Camp Woodward in 2011 because a camera would last longer than a week at camp. Also, he decided not to pursue becoming a pro skateboarder. He knew he had a talent in film that he didn't have in skateboarding. Ultimately, he decided to pursue filming pro skaters, and to one day become a director.

He officially graduated from high school six days ago on May 20, 2012. His huge accomplishment of completing 12 years of school causes me to feel proud of him.

• He won 1st place in a writing contest in 2nd grade with his piece called "My First Loose Tooth."
• KC Wolf (The Chiefs mascot) honored him at a school assembly in 4th grade when he won the "Three Dairy a Day" contest with his picture that depicted a Chiefs football player running with a carton of milk instead of a football.
• The Olathe Daily News mentioned him in their newspaper when he drew the ad that won their contest in 6th grade.
• He also won the top youth bowler award at the Olathe Lanes bowling alley that year.
• From 7th to 9th grade, Chisholm Trail Junior High honored him each year with academic awards for having a high GPA.
• Olathe Northwest High School honored him in the 10th and 11th grades with high GPA academic awards.
• In 10th grade his e-Comm team won 1st place in video for the Martin Luther King "Only Light, Only Love" commemoration.
• The varsity bowling team accepted him for two years and he lettered in the sport in 11th grade.
• He won 2nd place in the late night Call of Duty competition at Best Buy and received a copy of the game.
• In 12th grade, at the Student Television Network (STN) national conference in Dallas, TX, he won two awards for his documentary, "Freeling" .
• At STN, his e-Comm team also won 2nd place for their music video.
• Another award at STN said his e-Comm team won 1st place for their "sweet sixteen" film.
• He received a 1st place award for "Freeling" at the eMagine Film Festival in Kansas.
• Lastly, at the end of 12th grade, and just before graduation, he learned he won the opportunity to fly to LA to be a part of the film crew for the ATandT and Wayfinder.tv production of "On The Road With Paul Rodriguez" (a pro skateboarder.) He flew to LA the day before the graduation and began working with Paul and the crew shortly thereafter. He never gave up on having a dream and now he's living it.

Andrew is no stranger to receiving awards. It seems like he's good at whatever he touches whether it's art, school work, bowling, playing the trumpet, working at Rock Band, doing his best in Call of Duty, or making films. I'm excited to see where his future leads.

Bryan and Kimbra Married!

On April 26, 2012, Bryan and Kimbra married in the Salt Lake temple! They married on a Thursday and shared their special day with at least six other couples. As I entered the temple, I could feel the reverence of the Lord's house. Temple workers, dressed in white, whispered respectfully and directed us where to go.

First, a temple worker instructed us to take off our shoes. (I'm guessing we did this to preserve the carpet and as a form of reverence.) Anyone could put on socks, stacked neatly in a basket. We didn't change into white clothes because we only witnessed the wedding, so we wore what we had on. Second, we went to a waiting room where we sat until we heard our party's name called. I didn't say anything to the lady sitting a few chairs from me (and in another wedding party,) but I heard her say she lived in Overland Park, KS, the town next to mine...what a small world.

Third, another temple worker called our name and our party went to the room where Bryan and Kimbra would be married. During the ceremony I realized I sat watching a wedding. (Members of my church call weddings in the temple "sealings" because we believe that couples with temple marriages are sealed for time and all eternity versus marriage until death.) Bryan and Kimbra exchanged rings after the ceremony and again I didn't realize that they had just been married. The temple sealer had said "husband and wife" and Bryan and Kimbra had kissed across the alter but the fact that they had married didn't hit me until at almost the end.

We went back outside and waited for the bride and groom to come out so we could say "Congratulations!" and take pictures. Bryan and Kimbra came out of the temple and some people in our party cheered. The bride and groom plus family and friends posed for pictures on the stairs of the temple. The day felt beautiful and didn't get windy until just before we left.

Bryan and Kimbra had arranged to have a really fun wedding reception in Provo that night. They did a great job and made the event a true celebration. The food tasted awesome. Instead of a guest book they had a photo booth where participants could pose for pictures taken in black and white or color; and use props or not. The participants could keep one sheet of photos and put another sheet in a book with a note they had just written. The photo booth added to the entertainment and documented people's personalities well.

Bryan and Kimbra's Wedding Video

Bryan and Kimbra went on a cruise to the Bahamas for their honeymoon. They had a lot of fun and relaxed a bunch! They saw lots of exotic fish, ate some amazing dinners, and swam in beautiful water. They spent so much time in the sun that they got burned! (sad face)

At the Atlantis water park - Nassau, Bahamas

A little burned - but VERY happy!

They both graduated (on April 20, 2012) from BYU six days before they tied the knot.  Bryan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Kimbra graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development. They studied hard in school but felt extremely glad when it ended.

BYU Graduation Day

I have a married son and a daughter. Kimbra's a very nice girl. She's so sweet and caring. Boys are sweet and caring too but in a different way. I didn't realize how like my boys I'd become but when she didn't laugh at some things I thought of as funny, I saw how masculine my thoughts and behaviors had become. After living in a predominantly male house, I feel happy about adding another girl to our family.

Bryan and Kimbra visited us for two weeks right after their honeymoon and attended a wedding open house for them here in Kansas. Per cooked some yummy things for dinner and Bryan, Kimbra, and I did some fun things during the day. I'm glad they visited us because it gave us more happy memories of them. I know that they need to live on their own and establish their married life, but I will miss them.

Nick Camillo (the guy who sang the song on their engagement video) gave them this as a wedding present.

Wedding Gift from Nick Camillo

Here's the actual engagement video:

Bryan and Kimbra's Engagement Video

I love them both very much and wish them much happiness in years to come!