Have I told you how much I love my family??

Well, it's easy right now - all the kids are sleeping and Parry is at drill!! Seriously, though, I love my husband and kids so much!! I am amazed every day at the all encompassing love that you can have for your family. There is never an end to the amount of love you can feel and share. My kids can be trying at times, but it just makes us grow and realize how wonderful they can be at other times. Each one of my kids is very different -

Autumn is smart and funny and very emotionally driven. She can be the biggest helper when she wants to. She is very talented musically and can write stories and poems that astound me at their depth. She is so beautiful! She adapts to new situations so much better than I would expect. She loves to learn new things and is always teaching us new things.

Colin is such a tender, sweet person. He has the biggest heart! He can't stand to see someone in pain or going without. He is great with little kids and needs lots of affection and outward displays of love. He is also very intelligent and catches on to things so quickly. He loves to do things as a family and is always coming up with things to do. He loves to please and impress people. He is also proving to have musical talent, as far as the piano goes - but he does have a hard time keeping a beat, lol.

Zachary is a fountain of neverending energy and enthusiasm. He comes up with the most interesting conclusions and really makes you look at life in a different way. I wish I had kept a list of all the cleverly insightful things he has said - I could have written a book and made millions by now!! He is very honest and blunt - he says what he thinks, no holds barred, and he fesses up to things that he does - for example, the other day he came home and told me he had been sent to the principal's office for throwing food in the cafeteria at lunch time. There was no note in his back pack and the school hadn't called - I never would have known, but he tells us everything. It's so hard to be mad at him when he comes, so contritely and forlornly and tells you everything. Life is so much more interesting when Zach is around.

Keegan is such a lover!! He is so smart - you can see his little mind working to figure things out. I am so impressed with his development - he just turned two and he has been potty trained for about 2 months now. He speaks in full sentences and just picks up on things in a flash. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with!! He loves to make people laugh and is great at remembering lyrics to the songs he hears and sings them all the time!!

I love them all so much!! I couldn't have asked for better looking or smarter children - although I might be a bit biased!

I also love my dear husband, Parry. We've definitely been through our fair share of rough times, but what doesn't break us makes us stronger, right?? I can say that I can't think of anyone else I would rather be with and be going through the temple with. I am so excited to finally be able to go to the temple to be sealed to the love of my life. He really is so good for me - he puts up with me, anyway. That's more than I can say of a lot of pople, lol... He makes me laugh and we can have such wonderfully deep or delightfully light conversations and still connect. He balances out my more intense characteristics with his more easy-going ones. He lets me be me, and I suppose that's the most important thing - he forgives my many shortcomings and loves me anyway. What more could I ask for? He makes me a better peron and I hope that I do the same for him in return. Together we can do anything!!

For better or worse, in good times and bad, we are going to be an eternal family - forever, for always and no matter what!