Life is Beautiful

Lately, I have been thinking about some of the things I have learned since I have been here in Arkansas. There are many blessings the Lord has given me. Here are just a few of the blessings that make my life wonderful.

• When Matt and I moved to Arkansas I was very scared to be away from family and friends. I had never been away from family and when ever I needed help, or someone to talk to I turned to them. Who was I supposed ask for help or talk to when I didn't know anybody? I have been amazed at the connections I have had with people here. I have a really good friend that I met in AZ that had a twin sister who is living in the same town we are. I really think Matt and I would have had more of a difficult time in the beginning if it weren't for her and her family. We called them and asked them about everything! Thanks Kelly! Another lady in my ward happened to be great friends with my grandparents. A missionary couple from AZ just moved into our ward. They had worked in the temple with Matt's parents. I have also made a lot of good friends that I have met through our ward. Because of them, it is easy to feel like AR is really where we are supposed to be. We have scrapbook nights, girls nights, trips to the park & zoo, etc. I am so grateful for these friendships. I love our ward, I have learned to turn to the members of the ward for help and I am grateful for their willingness, and I hope I can help them.
  
• Those of you who have ever woken me up in the morning know what a dangerous thing that can be. However, I have learned that there is a way to wake me up that always brings a smile to my face. When Blake wakes up in the morning Matt will make a bottle, then get Blake up and bring him to me. Every week day morning (Matt lets me sleep in on the weekends) I wake up to this cute, adorable, smiling face. Blake seems like he is so happy to see me. I don't think there has been a morning, since we have done this,where I have been angry for being woken up.

• I have learned that being a mom is the best thing I have ever done. I'll admit that I do get frustrated at times when Blake refuses to eat, or nap, or when he decides that mom's plants look fun and pulls them apart. Even during these frustrating times there still isn't anything I would rather do. I have learned that I have a great responsibility to teach him the ways of the Lord. Blake has taught me what it means in the scriptures when it says, "become as a little child" Blake loves me despite my flaws of being a mom. He loves everybody and always has a smile to share.
  

• I have always known that I have married a great man. I always think he is the best husband in the world, but I have learned that he shows me that he is even better than I thought he was the day before. Matt has never, raised his voice at me. In fact I can only think of one time since we have been married that he got angry with me (believe me, he had the right to be). Whenever things do get tense he just goes to our room and prays. There is no way that you can keep arguing when your spouse does that. It always makes the angry feelings go away and we are able to talk about our disagreement calmly. If any of you have been to Law school or have been the spouse of someone going to law school you know how very time consuming it is. However, Matt is always making time for me and Blake. I always feel like we are the most important people to him. When I became pregnant for the second time, I was really sick and really tired. It seemed all I could do was to take care of Blake. The apartment soon became extremely messy and laundry piled up. Matt never complained. When he came home from law school, instead of hitting the law books like I am sure all of his classmates did, he would make dinner, clean the apartment or start the laundry. I knew he didn't have time to be doing house chores, but he knew how important it was to me to have a clean home. I love him so much for doing that! Just to prove that I am not biased when I say how wonderful my husband is, I will share what other people who have never met Matt have said. One day there was another tornado warning. I was home by myself with Blake and I decided to go downstairs and ask my neighbor if we could stay with them (since the first tornado we were told that the next time we really needed to get downstairs) I had never met them before, but they were very nice to me. While we were waiting out the storm the husband told me that he tended to judge people by just looking at them. He went on to say that he could see Matt pass by his window everyday and he could tell that my husband was a really good man who took good care of his family. A couple of weeks later my neighbor across the way invited me over to visit. She said that one day her husband came home and asked if she had met the man who moved across from them. She said that he had said hi to her and that he seemed very nice. He then said that he agreed with her and that he could tell that he was a hard worker and a very good man. I thought wow! If they can tell that by just looking at him I can't imagine how great they think he is when they actually get to know him. Sorry Matt, I am sure that if you are reading this you are probably embarrassed.