Happy Birthday Eliza

 

Sam; a great parenting ending

 

New Mexico

 I think I might be addicted to travel.  Every trip I go on, every new place I see, just makes me want more.

New Mexico is beautiful.  We had a wonderful spring break.  I did feel a little sad that Sam declined our offers for a trip, but we sure saved a lot of money not having him come and it is fun to do the things we like to do without accommodating a 17 year old boy.

We ended up changing our tickets to leave Sunday instead of Saturday which allowed us to spend a happy day with Harlow, going to our nephew Adam's soccer games and attending our temple worker training.  We are pretty excited to work in the temple.  I am the chapel coordinator and Tony will rotate different lines.  The training was a little tedious.  I caught myself thinking about how much more efficient it could have been.  Thankfully, in answer to prayer, I heard Brad Christensen's voice say, "It's not about building house, it's about building relationships!"  Thank goodness for our Spark of Hope trips.  After that I was able to focus on "who" my work is not "what."  The temple will be dedicated on Palm Sunday and then we begin service on March 30th.  

We arrived in Albuquerque and drove up to Santa Fe.  Tony was excited to find restaurants featured on the the Drive ins, Dives, and diners tv show and they did not disappoint!  On Monday we explored Santa Fe and were shocked to discover what a center for art it is.  We both enjoyed the Georgia Okeefe museum, Canyon road art galleries and learning about sculptor Gib Singleton.  We learned about stations of the cross from his art.  That evening we stayed in the sweetest bungalow in Taos called nanna's cottage.  The owner left us farm fresh eggs, pancake mix and homemade coconut macaroons and we were in heaven.  We snuggled in and read and played games all night.  The next morning we took a wonderful hike in Taos then found one last recommended restaurant for breakfast.  I absolutely loved the morroccan pot pie with butternut squash, raisins, and chickpeas and Tony's gyro was delicious.  We ended our trip back in Albuquerque at a native American museum featuring native pots brought back from the Smithsonian.  Later we saw a Japanese Cannes film winner called A Perfect Day. We had dinner of popcorn and ice-cream with some supplemental treats from Whole Foods.    Albuquerque  paled in comparison to Santa Fe and Taos, but it was a relaxing few days without drama back home and proof that Tony and I are both compatible travel and life partners. 

Cooper James turns 25

Feb 27, 2024

Dear Cooper,

One night out of the blue Dad said, "I think I'll call Cooper."  I told him not to because I knew you were at work and didn't want him to bother you.  But because Dad is stubborn and doesn't listen to me, and more importantly because he does follow the promptings of the spirit, he called.  Our hearts broke that night as you expressed the legal situation you were in and your overwhelming feelings of despair.  I wanted to take away all that hurt and stress and give you some relief, like I have since you were put into my arms 25 years ago.   I know life will continue to throw hard challenges, big decisions and complicated relationships.  You are a capable, gifted, independent adult and you have all the tools to navigate the hard.  We are always here to support you.  There isn't anything you can do to lose our love.  It's been that way from the first time I saw your beautiful brown eyes and giant baby feet.  It's that way now.  Happy 25th Birthday sweet boy-I can't wait to be apart of the amazing life, love and family you have ahead of you.  

Love, Mom