Way to go Joe!

I've never seen anyone so relaxed about running a marathon. This past weekend was the Music City Marathon here in Nashville, and Joe ran in it!

Here he is about to cross the finish line. Good thing I had the camera ready, or I would have missed him. Would it have been wrong of me to ask him to stop and pose for a picture?

Since he had very little time to train, he decided to run the half marathon. I don't know about you, but a half marathon sounds like a huge accomplishment!

What a fun atmosphere! It almost makes me want to run one myself.

After all, you do get a cool t-shirt, your own special number, free trinkets and trash, fruit, water...and a MEDAL! With a finish time of 1 hour and 45 minutes....he deserves an award! Congratulations Joe! You make us proud!

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

It's so hard to say goodbye and let go, and it's hard to see it end....but the memories I have of my good friend Rebecca will be with me forever. I will miss her beautiful face, her heart warming smile, and her bubbly personality. I am thankful for her love and the gift of her friendship. I smile when I think about her and the times we shared together. The lives she has touched have truly been blessed. God be with you 'til we meet again, my dear friend. I DO believe in angels!

Six Candles for our Princess

If I could pick my favorite princess, who would it be... Would it be Snow White with her beautiful voice,
Or maybe Sleeping Beauty, it's such a hard choice!

I've always loved Jasmine with her big brown eyes,

and of course Cinderella, that would be no surprise!

Belle is beautiful and so very smart

and Ariel has such a kind and gentle heart.





Who would I choose as my favorite one?
It's all very clear, my search is done!





The answer is easy and plain to see...
It's our Taylor, of course, who else could it be!
She'll have six burning candles on her birthday cake
and must think carefully about the wish she will make.
Her wish, I am certain, will surely come true
Because wishes made by princesses ALWAYS do!

Happy Birthday Princess Taylor! We love you!

Are you Desperate?

Have you been awaiting the return of Desperate Housewives since the writers strike, or are you desperate for spring to arrive? Whatever you're desperate for, you might want to check this out...Kimberly is hosting a Desperate Housewives Swap. I'm sure we all agree there's nothing like getting "good mail"...so may I suggest you hop on over to her blog right away and get all the details. This is my first swap, but I've read about others. I'm in...so maybe you'd like to try something new too! Sounds like fun!

Diane's Big Day

Here it is, Diane’s 28th birthday again. April 8th has been a day I treasure and enjoy for only one reason; I get to help Diane celebrate her birthday. I promise not to make this too gushy or Diane will not let me forget it and will blog about me in some way that would be incredibly embarrassing. You might ask why a man of my age would marry someone so much younger than me. It’s easy; I was looking for a trophy wife. I knew she would always look good. One thing about living in Tennessee and being away from my forever youthful children is I get Diane all to myself. OK, I’m being selfish and if the kids will move here then I will share her with them. I have an opportunity to make sure Diane has a good day. I get to make sure she is enjoying herself. I get to make sure she has a good time. Of course I have to let her talk to the kids. We still have recordings on our answering machine from last year where Taylor our oldest grand daughter, then Kimberly, our oldest daughter and her kids wished her a happy birthday. I guess those are treasures we don’t want to lose. My purpose on Diane’s birthday is making sure she has a good time no matter what. I’m guessing on April 9th there will be a blog telling about what I did to ensure her good day.

What is it that makes Diane special and why is it I love her so much. Occasionally you might see on Diane’s blogs to me and my occasional blogs to Diane with the letters ILYSM. Michael asked what these were so I thought I better reveal our secret. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. It’s been our code for a while. I truly do ILYSM when it comes to Diane.

My favorites regarding Diane are:

• She is a great cook when I let her cook. OK, for a while I’ve had this thing called meetings at the church and we got into the habit of eating quickly (fast food) so I could be at a church meeting. She really is a good cook. I just need to let her do it more often.
  She looks good in whatever she is wearing. I have the blessing of sitting on the stand when I’m in our ward and I look at Diane and smile knowing she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
  
• I can’t think of anyone I would rather hangout with. When we moved to Tennessee I wasn’t assigned a home teaching companion. I now take Diane with me to visit the Oakley family and another sister in the ward, and we absolutely love visiting their homes. I could say I have the best home teaching companion in the church.
  
• Diane is the kindest person I know. She has more compassion for the other person than herself. If there was one thing she taught our children growing up was “you may not like them, but you have to be nice to them”. She worries about people’s feelings a lot. She loves people.
  
• Diane will serve and serve and serve in whatever way she can. She loves the young women of the church. She’s served in young women’s longer than anyone I know. No matter where we live she’s called to serve in young women’s in some capacity. I guess that is why she has remained 28 years old. She found the fountain of youth.
  

• Diane loves her children and now grandchildren more than anything. She worries, she frets, and she prays and pleads for the well-being of her children and grandchildren. When Michael was in Honduras on his mission, he contracted Dengue Fever. I tell people it was the pleadings of a mother to a loving Heavenly Father that caused Michael to heal so quickly and not have any lasting affects from this illness. Diane lights up when the kids come to visit. She has done a remarkable job in rearing a righteous generation. It certainly wasn’t me who taught them to be so good. I have been blessed with a wife who loves her children beyond measure and will do anything for them to ensure their well-being and happiness. She talks to each one every day. They check on her and she checks on them. Diane truly is their best friend.

• She encourages me to find a way to move closer to the kids. I keep reminding her we have to have a job. She loves Tennessee, but misses having her kids close by.
• Diane gave me three beautiful and wonderful children.
  
• Diane will do anything for me when she knows I’m in a bind. My life has been a little hectic lately. She’ll have dinner ready so I can eat and run out the door. She’ll do research for me on the computer for topics on any subject I need.


• Diane is as loyal as the day is long. She loves her parents and siblings, and nieces and nephews, and my nieces and nephews. Diane would give anyone whatever they needed when she sees the need.

• We have fun just being with each other.


• Diane has a deep love for Jesus Christ which I so admire. She truly does want to be just like Him. Her compassion equals what the Savior taught in Matthew 25: 40 when He said: “In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
  
• Diane is my best friend who I want the best of everything for.

Diane, happy birthday.

ILYSM always

Tina's Birthday.....A Memorable Day!

Some birthdays you never forget. My niece, Tina, was born on April 3rd. Every year on that date I remember back to the events of that day. She was born with a condition that made it necessary for her to undergo four or five hours of major surgery immediately after birth. The hospital she was born in did not have the capability of meeting her needs, so she was airlifted to Primary Children's hospital where she remained for several months. Her birth was a very anticipated event in our family. After all...her arrival meant my brother and sister-in-law would become parents, my parents would become grandparents, and my sisters and I would become AUNTS! Her life is a miracle, and we are so blessed to have her in our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!