Day 2 - of the Giving Challenge

As mentioned in previous post MaryAnn Stephens and I (And her husband) took the sandwiches to the Salvation Army this morning - 5 packing boxes full of sandwiches - that's a lot of sandwiches! We were also glad because of the part of town we were in that MaryAnn's husband came with us.....that was very nice indeed!

But I wanted to try to do something more and something for my husband...but at every turn I felt thwarted. So in spite of my big plans to really do something for my husband that I thought he would really appreciate and alleviate his mind some...... I ended up just bringing in the garbage cans for him from the street.

Funny thing is......you would have thought I did all those other things I tried to do but couldn't as appreciative as he was that I did this small thing!!!! It really doesn't take doing big grandiose things to help someone and to show them that you love them........

We always know this in the back of our minds, but good to be reminded from time to time!

32 years ago today!

32 years ago today Alan and I were Married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was the best decision I made in my life! This is a great day and I love my husband dearly! While in Utah, my oldest asked me this question - "So if you had to do it all over again, would you still marry Dad?" to which I immediately and without hesitation answered "Absolutely!"

Sometimes I think of how young I was when I got married and how lucky I am that I married such an amazing man, that I never had to worry about whether he had a testimony of the Gospel, whether he was going to be active, whether he was going to be a good father, or whether he would honor his priesthood, whether I could count on him, or whether he would always work hard to provide for his family......I could go on and on but you get the idea. I am very blessed. And now I am going to copy from one of my friends blog. On her anniversary she listed interesting little facts about them since they had been married, and I hope she won't mind.....but I loved how she told us all about her life with her husband.

In 32 yrs of marriage we:

1. Were married in the Salt Lake City Temple.

2. Have 3 beautiful daughters and 1 amazing son-in-law.

3. We both attended BYU, Alan graduated from WSU (Wichita State University)

4. We have lived in the following areas:

• Provo, Utah


• Wichita, Kansas


• Murray, Utah


• Wichita, Kansas


• Atlanta, Georgia


• and Fort Worth, Texas.

5. We have Owned 3 homes:

• Murray, Utah


• Wichita, Kansas


• Fort Worth, Texas

6. We have traveled to the following places for Vacations, Family Reunions, Family weddings, work conferences etc.:

• Montreal Canada


• New Orleans, La.


• Denver, Colorado


• Chicago, Illinois


• when we didn't live in Texas - Dallas, Texas


• Tampa, Florida


• Washington DC


• Portland Oregon


• Fresno, California


• Los Angeles, California


• Preston, Idaho


• Boise, Idaho


• Idaho Falls, Idaho


• Twin Falls, Idaho


• Sun Valley, Idaho


• Porto Rico


• Snowbird, Utah


• Park City, Utah


• Las Vegas, Nevada


• Disney World


• Disney Land


• Somewhere in Oklahoma for dirt bike motorcycle races


• Orlando, Florida


• San Antonio, Texas


• Price, Utah


• Moab, Utah


• Ogdon, Utah


• Salt Lake City, Utah;


• All the Church History sites in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, etc...


• Abilene, Kansas


• Hutchinson, Kansas


• Tulsa, Oklahoma


• Vail, Colorado


• Aspen, Colorado


• Branson, Mo.


• Silver Dollar City


• Table Rock Lake, Mo.


• Kansas City, Kansas


• Kansas City, Mo.


• Nashville, TN.


• and many other places that I can't remember

7. We have been inside the following temples:

• Salt Lake City Temple


• Dallas Texas Temple


• Manti Utah Temple


• Jordan River Temple


• Mount Timpinogas Temple


• Nauvoo Temple


• Boise Idaho Temple


• Idaho Falls Temple


• Provo Utah Temple


• Ogden Utah Temple


• Logan Utah Temple


• Washington DC Temple


• Portland Oregon Temple


• Bountiful Utah Temple


• Orlando Florida Temple


• San Diego California Temple


• Atlanta Georgia Temple


• Nashville Tennessee Temple


• San Antonio Texas Temple

8. And my husband is my best friend and hero always! The love of my life! And I am grateful that he loves me in spite of my short comings and flaws! Thanks my sweet man for all you bring to my life!

Father's Day 2010

Allison and John were here for Father's Day and I know that my hubby would say that was the best gift.....but they did bring a gift from all the girls to him. My girls have been blessed with a great Dad and they know how lucky they are which makes it extra sweet! And I know that Alan loves being a father-in-law and having a son to now talk about guy stuff with! It was a great weekend. Barbara had a breakfast for all of us in town for the wedding, so that we would be able to celebrate the day with our Dad, even though it was the day after their wedding! It was nice to get to spend time with him as so many were having to fly back that day or the next.

Friday is Date Night!!!!

O.k., I know we are all supposed to have date nights! And We do go out with family and friends out to dinner and other activities, but usually it is always with Aileen! Not, that we mind Aileen always being with us, because, actually we really enjoy it.....but when a Young Woman from your Ward calls and says, "I'm working on one of my Personal Progress Goals and I need more service hours - Can you and Brother Brown go out on a Date on Friday night and stay out until late so I really can get those hours?" What else can you do but be magnanimous and say "Sure, I guess we could do that". It caught me so off guard, that I did say it in a tentative way. But as the week went on, the more excited I got and then I was finally able to express to this sweet Young Woman, what a special thing this was that she was doing for us!

We went out to eat with Barbara and my Dad. This was my Dad's first outing to a restaurant or anything like that since his surgery! We went to a Chinese buffet place where there would be no waiting in line for him and to a place that sounded good to him....because as you can see in the picture, he has lost his appetite! So it was good to be with them in a fun social atmosphere and see my Dad eat better than I have seen him do in a while!

Then They went home while Alan and I decided to hit a movie! Alan wanted to see "Date Night", which I thought was fitting and even though I had seen it with a friend, I hadn't seen it with him and it was much funnier with my husband beside me! We had a good time.

By then it was 11:00 pm or a little later, (our expected time of staying away) and so we went and picked up Aileen! Aileen of course had had a great time being with her friend and watching movies and being one of the girls!

It was a great time! Made me remember what it was like to go on a Date - I actually got all gussied up with make-up, hair and everything! And it was a special time to spend with my husband!

Thanks JS for making it possible! You are a gem! And Glad we could help you get your YW's goal!

Some highlights!

Thursday night I got home about 12:30 am from the Hospital and this is what was waiting for me at the top of the stairs! It made my heart cry to know that I have been either at work or at the hospital for so long that when and if I did come home it was either when she was asleep or at Day Care! So we had a midnight picnic in my bed with Aileen's favorite food and diet coke and we snuggled some (which if you know autism, that is a rarity, so it was a HUGE bonus) then she got up and went to bed seeming to be content. I love being Aileen's mom.

Saturday Alan went to a Court of Honor for one of his Scouts, from when he was Scoutmaster, who was getting his Eagle! These are always special moments for Alan but this time was extremely special because the Eagle Scout gave him an award that the Eagle Scout can give to someone who played a important role in him getting his Eagle. It is a HUGE honor and Alan received this special recognition. I wish I would have been there to see it, but I took a picture of him when he got home with his pin. Its on the right lapel when looking at this picture. Anyway, it really meant a lot to Alan and I was very proud of him.

I did get one break from the Hospital that kind of ended up being a little bit for me, one of my Visiting Teaching ladies was having a very hard time and called me to see if I could break away and do something with her so that she could talk. So even though I felt extremely guilty that I was not up at the hospital....when Alan came home from his Eagle Court of Honor I went with this dear friend to see the movie "Date Night" It was very funny and I think not only good for my friend, but good for me. And I was able to be there for her and listen to her concerns about the trial she is going through right now! But I have to say, if it would not have been a "cry for help" from one of the sisters I visit teach I probably would have said, no, I need to be up at the hospital with my Dad. Maybe Heavenly Father knew I needed this time away before Dad comes home today.

Last, after 1 1/2 weeks of doing what the Dermatologist has told me to do, I thought I would show you a picture of what my psoriasis looks like now! Amazing! It will be interesting to see how it all ends up.

To see what it looked like 1 1/2 weeks ago go to this post .

Just because.....

Some of the most romantic gifts are things that my husband does "just because"! Not because its my birthday, or our anniversary, etc. etc. But when the flower delivery guy comes to the office with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and says these are for Lois! My heart melts! Alan didn't have a reason to send them it was just because.....