Ode to SISTERS!!

If you couldn't tell by the title, this is acutally Sarah. I found myself with some spare time today and thought I might try my hand at blogging. Here goes.
So I love being married. It is the best thing in the world and I would recommend it to anyone. I absolutely love going to bed every night and waking up every morning with my wonderful husband by my side. While our life together may not be an action packed adventure story, it is fulfilling and makes me very happy. I admit I have learned LOTS too..... about life, about myself, about Andy, about men in general, about women in general and compromise :) I have also learned how much I NEED and love sisters. I feel very fortunate because I can call so many AMAZING women my sisters. And I know this list will only continue to grow throughout my life. I had four fabulous sisters the day I was born. I inherited three incredible sisters this May. I have bumped into many other stunning sisters throughout my colorful college career. Sisters are wonderful for many reasons......

Sisters are oh so talented.....


Sisters are wild and crazy....

Sisters like to be together....

Sisters are good moms....



Sisters are happy.....

And sisters are wonderful friends, confidants, and therapists! Just to let all my sisters know that I love them!!!!

Holiday Preparations

I am at work this Saturday afternoon. It's a fairly familiar place for me as of late. Right now I am looking out over Riverwoods in Provo, Utah. Although I do have a beautiful view of Cascade and Timpanogos Mountains, I think some weekends I would rather be looking down a ski slope or even just looking at at t.v. screen. But Sarah made me promise that I would work long enough this weekend to support her extravagant lifestyle. (Just kidding -- anyone who knows Sarah knows she is low-maintenance . . . monetarily that is.)

What I wanted to post about today concerns my thoughts on the Christmas season and my focus this time of year.

Related to what I have to say on this topic is the fact that I am so grateful I am married to Sarah. Of course there are numerous reasons why I am grateful for Sarah; but today (on the way to the BYU tennis courts at 5:20 a.m.) I got to feeling blessed for being with someone who, for the most part, looks at life much the same way I do. For instance, we both (generally) are fairly non-material (at least I think so) when it comes to buying things for ourselves. We don't shop to shop and we try to budget. (An interesting tidbit is that Sarah sometimes talks about getting new make-up from Dillards or somewhere because they give a "free gift" with a purchase. I give her a hard time because what is a "free gift" when you have to buy something to get it???) I don't get it.


Nonetheless, this will be our first Christmas together being married and we are both looking forward to it. A while back we discussed what we wanted to do for Christmas in terms of presents and such. We both decided that we would use money that we would otherwise have spent on ourselves to give to a family in our ward or area who have children whose Christmas could use some brightening. When I think of families together who go without, I can't help but get a lump in my throat. Maybe it's because when I was a child we never had much. But then again, I guess I never consciously thought about what I did and didn't have.

But to get back to the topic, I feel really blessed that I am with a person who cares for others more than herself. And it isn't caring for show; Sarah serves and spends her time thinking of and building up those around her. For that, I am grateful.

Anyway, my feelings on Christmas have evolved quite a bit over the last 30 years. As a kid, Christmas was only a time to look forward to because of presents and being out of school. Now, Christmas is a special time for me because it is a time when I get to relax just enough to be able to spend time and connect with family. I sometimes get the question of why I came back to Utah after law school. For me, despite enjoying my time in school in Michigan and Colorado, I couldn't imagine a life where I wasn't surrounded by my family. So Christmas, in my evolved view, is a time of year in which my thoughts focus even more narrowly on family.

- - - I promise that I won't be as mushy in my future posts - - -

Transitionation

Most days when I arrive at work, and before I start grinding away at day's tasks, I read my sister's blog. I also check to see if my baby brother Timmy has recently posted any "deep thoughts by Jack Handy" and I usually see if my older brother Nate has posted anything as well.

Although I have poked fun at those who manage and keep blogs, I have come to see some benefits. For example, it seems like it is a very good way to mass communicate with those with whom you can't call often. Also, it can double as a sort of journal to chronicle life's events. This is appealing because my wife and I have spoken about trying to write down memories from our lives which sooner or later will fade and will not be available for recall.

So, I have set up this blog with the hopes of possibly posting weekly.