I met this really cute guy...

...in a desktop published magazine staff meeting, The Leading Edge.  He was assigned to work on my marketing staff.  The more time we spent together, the more my attraction grew.  I learned he is super affectionate, sweet, smart, thoughtful, romantic, & a great communicator.  He tolerated my whimsy and insecurites, made me feel like a queen.  We put in our Church mission papers at the same time, wrote for two years.

Went hiking.  (Hole in the Rock)

And we faithfully kissed each other, a lot.

We kept plugging away at school, young &  poor.  Graduated from college (His sister is on far left.) Survived medical scares.  And unemployment.  Family trials.  Bought a home together.  Saw our firstborn happily married and employed.  Currently planning for retirement, couple mission, and family reunions that include rocket launches!

I am thankful to be his wife.

We still kiss a lot! Fidelity is "Commitment, loyalty, caring, trustworthiness, having each other as a priority..."-Dr Kenneth Matheson (from above link "Fidelity in Marriage")

Roxie is an Archer (?!) & a Reader

She told me this morning she is in the middle of reading 5 books all at the same time.  I asked her how she keeps the characters straight?  She couldn't explain it, but it sounds like it is a personal challenge, a way to keep from being bored.

The picture of Roxie, Sam (in black hooded coat) Suzanna, and John (blue coat) shows them on the high school soccer field where they set up the target to shoot arrows.  It is terrible if they miss the target and burrow into the grass, nearly impossibly hard to find.  The shafts blend, even with florescent fletches.  We walk back and forth, searching the ground where we thought we saw them hit.  Much better to hit the target.

They started at 10 paces from target, have progressed to 30 paces, and she hits it!  Muscles take time to train, strengthen.  Practice is good.  Her dad is her biggest fan and supporter, sometimes teasing her into practicing when she would rather stay in and read her books...

Samuel is Salt

His initials spell out SEL.

Salt, in French!

This picture was taken 2 Christmases ago, holding two little friends from Church who were waiting to sit on Santa's lap.  He is good with babies, loves to play and talk with them, very affectionate, very patient.

Sam's 2012 birthday cake (I have since painted the dinning room a light grey and moved David's paintings to our hallway).  We of course had ICE CREAM with the cake.  Sam loves ice cream, and could eat it every day, and was for awhile, until we designated Sundays and Thursdays as ice cream days.  He has been concerned lately about fat content, eating more healthily, more fruits.  We had crepes last night, and he and I had bananas and strawberry freezer jam on ours. 

See how tall Sam is compared to Roxie on the far left-she is 5'3", neighbor in the center (Suzanna's old Sunday School teacher).  Sam has nerdy-cool glasses that he picked out.   He is in the welding program at the technical high school, doing well, loving the CAD (computer aided design) section he is in right now.  They rotate the students around, exposing them to the different study areas to see what talents they have, give them experience.  He is also taking SPANISH.  Grandma Jane gave him a Spanish Book of Mormon with her testimony in the front dedicationt to him, best gift, ever!

Looking at Favorite Photos for Dad

This is the day Roxie was baptized in the Susquehanna River four years ago, by her dad.  Beautiful morning, early because Max had to leave for a concert tour.

Your 3 oldest children:  I love that we had family support.  This is me, Jennilyn, Deborah (her family came from New York) and brother John (his family from Virginia). 

Hannah Koehler (on a mission in Panama) and our daughter, Emmalyn (now married and teaching science in Utah) playing their flutes.

Our Man Maxwell

You can see Max's hair, 5th head from the left back row.  He sang in the Maryland State Boychoir, travelled all over on tour with them, starting as a sweet tenor and moving into deep lowest bass.  Strong voice.  Great memory for lyrics.  He sang in stake conference choir last Sunday with Sam & Suzanna.  His beard has lots of red in it.

Student id photo from freshman year, BYU.  He finished one semester.  Currently working at local hamburger fast food restaurant, Gino's.  Working towards getting his own apartment with friends..

Stewart is a Missionary

I should have put these in reverse order.  Bottom one was from before he left, 2 years ago.  We will see him soon, but we are not supposed to count down or distract him.  We love that he is serving faithfully in the Billings-Montana Mission, doing lots of good work, helping in the office with tech support.

Suzanna is a Senior

For Seminary graduation I need to send 2 photos of Suzu, a serious one (her senior portrait) and one showing her doing something she loves.  The top one is my favorite, with her smiling, our redbud blooming in background.  The 2nd is for her first album cover, if she hires me.  I am thankful for the blessing of her music, her talent and hard work!