My Parents

For a long time, I have wanted to dedicate a post to my parents and I thought doing it around my birthday would be appropriate, because after all, they gave me life. So meet my father, Leon and my mother Tami.

My parents are amazing, and I am sure I never really appreciated how amazing they are until I became a mother myself. They have always taught me right from wrong and raised me in the gospel. They are the PERFECT grandparents. I mean perfect. Let me illustrate.

• They go to my children's school and eat lunch with them, often.
• They go to concerts, sports games, plays.
• My Mom takes my girls and me to The Nutcracker every year.
• They invite the children to spend the night, very often, sometimes all 4 of them.
• My Mom rarely, I mean almost NEVER, turns me down on babysitting. I love you Mom.
• My Dad pushes the kids on the swing set every time they visit.
• When my children were very small, my Dad loved to read them books.
• My Mom has a very special relationship with Madeline, which I am grateful for, because sometimes I feel like I can't figure that girl out, but my Mom always can.
• My Dad takes Ethan fishing, and then he talks about how much fun it was to spend quality time with his grandson.
• My Dad will babysit the kids (like last night) and teaches them how to be hard workers and somehow even convinces them to enjoy yard work.
• They will let Lily eat as many popsicles as she wants. (Lily says thank-you!)
• If my Mom and Dad haven't seen their grandchildren for a few days, they will call and ask to see them, and then when they do see them, they comment on how much they have grown. It cracks me up.
• My children adore them, and that means so much to me.

My parents were awesome growing up. I am the oldest of three and I have two brothers, so that means I have no sisters. But my Mom was much like a sister to me and even more so now. We have a great relationship and I talk to her almost every day. Most days it is multiple times. My Mom is very talented, she is great at...

• Cooking, she is a terrific cook, and she has NEVER made something that I did not like.

• Decorating, just look at her house, it is beautiful. (Her house at Christmas is a magical wonderland.)




• Gardener, her yard is so beautiful and she works very hard in it.

• Fashion, she has great fashion sense and once was a model. She is 6 feet tall.

My Dad somehow always puts a smile on my face. He is a character. He can act really silly sometimes and I love that about him. He is also very talented, he is great at...

• Taxidermy, he is a full time taxidermist and he creates beautiful, lifelike birds for his customers. He also has learned to do big game and he enjoys going to work every day because he loves what he does.

• Art, he is an amazing artist. He can draw and paint very realist images. He painted this painting in 1980 and gave it to me a couple of years ago. I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old watching him paint this.

• Gardening, his yard is so beautiful and he and my Mom work very hard to keep it immaculate. They have taken on BIG projects like a waterfall, pond, gazebos, archways, columns. Everything they have built is gorgeous.



(This is one of my favorite pictures of my Dad, because he was so excited to get homemade raspberry jam from me last Christmas.)


• Hunting, he is an avid hunter and not only enjoys the sport of hunting, but cherishes the meat that he reaps. We have enjoyed many wonderful Sunday roasts because of his hobby.

I am so grateful for my Mom and Dad and believe that they have helped me to become who I am today. I love you guys so much!