I moved to Utah at the end of February 1994 and met Becky for the first time, at church. We dated for several months and eventually married in November of that year.
We have been richly blessed with four children who are trying as hard as any four kids on earth to be the best that they can be! I love the effort that they give to being good solid people. They are also imperfect and learn various lessons of life each and every day. I am thankful for that.
Let me share something personal about each one of them to give you an idea of the feelings I have.
Becky is solid in her conviction to do what is right. She knows what she wants and she works very hard to go after her dreams. She is the definition of compassion. I have learned in the past several years that she is a visionary. She sees things very well. If something needs to be built, she can see the end product before the project has even begun. I love that about her. She loves to be a mom and she treats our children with utmost respect. She builds me up and focuses on the positive. She has always taken pride in how she looks. I think she is pretty and she believes that caring about how she looks makes her feel better about herself all the way around. I love her with all of my heart!
Natalie takes after her mother in many ways. She has many gifts and talents. She is comfortable in her own skin. Nat is a hard worker. From the time she was a little girl, Nat has shot for the stars. There isn't anything she doesn't believe she can master. I remember when she approached me about trying out for the girl's basketball team in seventh grade. I have to admit I wasn't the most confident in her skills but I didn't tell her that. You have to understand that she couldn't even dribble the ball that well. So we went to work out on the driveway and I told her that she needed to know how to dribble the basketball with both hands before we would go any further with the instruction. I went into the house and she worked for more than an hour to master that skill. She came in and told me that she was ready for more instruction. To my surprise, she had learned. We worked on the other skills of basketball and she ultimately made the team. She is a devoted friend and a wonderful daughter!
Laurel is our snugglebug. If we ever need a hug Lol is up for it at any time. She is energetic and loves to have a great time. She is an extremely hard worker who doesn't quit until the job is done. Lol and I are very much alike. That is fun to watch. Laurel is a good friend and has the desire to choose the right. She is talented and loves to learn. She works hard to excel in school and her hard work definitely pays off. She is talented with music. I love to listen to her play the piano. She looks pretty when she plays.
Brady is our gentle kid. He has a sincere desire to choose the right. I've always been grateful that he a is an easy-going type because he is big and strong. He doesn't like contention and he is a protector of the underdog. He loves to be active. His mind never stops thinking and the only time he isn't talking is when he is asleep. (Sometimes he does talk in his sleep.) One of my favorite things about Brady is that he is affectionate with Becky and I. He is an easy person to love and like. I'm grateful to be his dad.
Now, Danny is the perfect kid to bring up the rear of our family. We thought that we were done having kids after Brady was born but then realized that there was another kid that was to be a part of our family. He brings us so much joy! Danny really loves to spend time with his mom. Whenever Becky is gone, Danny will ask where she is and when she will be home. I'm grateful that our kids look up to their mom. He is a great thinker. I have been amazed, since he was a little boy, that he can look at something that needs to be solved and he can think it out and figure out how it works. The key to that is that he is unafraid of making a mistake. There isn't anything that he won't figure out. Just give him time.
Becky and I joke constantly that we were blessed with four kids, all of which are bossy. I think that the correct word would be independent and sure of themselves. I thank heaven, everyday, that we don't have to worry about prying one of our kids out of a corner because they are too frightened to do anything.
I love our family. It is the greatest gift that I have been given.
I hope that other people feel as fortunate as I do.
