This is one of our first pictures together as newlyweds. Sorry for the poor quality, I had to scan it.
Connor and I lived in a little two bedroom apartment in Salt Lake when we met Todd. I'm not exaggerating when I say he swept me off my feet. I was enamored by his passion for life. He loved boating and flying and was mostly raising three children by himself. And they adored him! That spoke volumes to me. Connor and I fell in love with him and his kids (Darren, Elora, and Larissa).
Interestingly, Connor and I were alone for 5 years and all we knew was each other. When I married Todd we went from a quiet family of two to a bustling family of six!
This is one of our first family pictures.
We are nothing if not goofy.
We had some interesting times the first few years. Like the time I opened the freezer and found a dead snake. Darren found roadkill and wanted to skin it. Yeah, that was fun. NOT!
And living with little girls was a new concept for me. One night I tucked Larissa into bed (she was 4 at the time) and she said she wanted to talk. I asked her what she wanted to talk about. "I want to talk about butterflies and sparklies and glitter and rainbows." I'm sure I had a 'deer in the headlights' look. Connor usually just wanted to be tickled. I didn't know how to talk about glitter!
There were hard times too. Todd's business went under and he found a job that worked him graveyard shifts. I worked days. With four young kids at home and Todd and I never seeing each other - it was rough at first. One night Todd was at work and the kids and I were home alone. It was raining and lightning outside. I couldn't sleep but thought the kids were sleeping fine. I heard knocks at my bedroom door and found eight scared eyes looking up at me. We went into the living room and said a prayer. Then we sang songs together. This was a very special night for me and went a long way toward us all bonding together. I'll never forget it.
Life has gone on for us through the good times and the bad. I love my family so very much and I'm so thankful that Todd and I found each other.
Another goofy picture of the fam. We are with Todd's parents in this picture.
We celebrated our anniversary with the girls. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tepanyaki's. Mmm!
My dear husband gave me pearls. He said that he has been wanting to give me pearls since I had my thyroid removed last December. He said that he hopes the pearls will detract from my scar and I won't feel as self-conscious. Sweet!
Todd is a wonderful husband to me.
He is never unkind. Always caring, loyal and hardworking.
He is logical when I'm emotional. Serious when I'm goofy. Steadfast when I'm impatient. Motivating when I'm discouraged. He is my rock and makes me so happy!
He even loves Bryce Canyon. What more could I ask for?! I am the luckiest gal, indeed.
