hats

Bill came home from work last night just in time to eat dinner. He had had a bad day.

After dinner, as he sat on the couch, his little Evelyn came up to him and said, "Daddy wear hat."

Bill said, "You want dad to wear a hat?"

"Yes," she said. "I wear hat."

And so he grabbed her hand and they walked down the hall together as Bill said, "What hats should we wear?"

Well a moment later they emerged wearing hats. And Evelyn said, "Bye, bye Mommy!"

Bill looked at me with the 'what should I do?' expression.

And I told him that he had better at least take her for a walk.

And so, they left.

And I wasn't far behind, running out the front door to see if I could get some shots of them in their hats, on their walk:

Stopping for some conversation.

(*Notice my HOT honey who has been working hard at eating right and exercising so he can be fit and trim.)

"Can daddy have some kisses?"

"Schmooooooooch."

"Oh, I love your hugs. Dad neeeeeeeds your hugs."

(What is it about little children and their ability to sense when you are having a bad day?)

"Hey dad, look at mom over there taking pictures of us from the front porch with her telefoto lens."

Mr. S

I love my husband for a multitude of reasons.

One of those reasons is his deep love and admiration for the inspired men who helped (through a loving God) to shape and found our country in an incredibly miraculous way; a manner in which the world had never before seen.

He reads, in his spare time, about these men; their sacrifices, their disappointments, their loyalty, their faith. And in today's political world, where our constitution is literally hanging by a thread, where moral standards are swept to the wayside, and where political platforms change as the shifting sand, Bill becomes more in awe of our Founding Fathers inspired vision of government 'for the people'; a vision that many of our representatives serving today seem to have forgotten.

Another one of the reasons I love Bill, is he is one of the most honest men I know. And being so, whenever he votes, he votes his conscience, always looking for a person of character, honest, virtuous; whether he/she be democrat, republican or independent.

Bill loves his country and his God and has recently began writing about these things in a blog.

If you'd like, visit it at: ifanyonewaswondering.blogspot.com

(one of my favorite posts is entitled Socialism and Religion)

They woke up this morning

At the crack of dawn.

And left me.

To go to Scout Camp at Treasure Mountain. (a.k.a. boy-heaven)

And because they share DNA...

They were BOTH,

5:45 a.m.

just a little excited.

All to myself

Bill is pretty well absent from the family right now.

And he will continue to be, until all the events, conferences, concerts, etc., begin to die down after graduation at the university.  

This time of year can be really tough.

That's why I am looking so forward to tomorrow night.

Tomorrow is Sunday.

And on Sunday nights, after ward prayer, we tuck the kids in bed.

And then we do something really sneaky.

We go for a walk.

In our neighborhood.

Hand in hand.

Without our offspring.

And I get to have Bill 

(if just for a moment)...

...all to myself.

virtue

Have you ever been able to recognize a virtuous person just by the way they talked, dressed, carried themselves, or by that unmistakable light in their eye?

The very first Sunday of my sophomore year at ISU, I was sitting in my single's ward Sunday School class waiting for it to begin.

I distinctly remember Bill Stanton walking in. He came in through the door and walked up the center aisle, past me, and then he took his seat with a couple of his roommates about three quarters of the way back.

I can't really explain the feeling, but I have to say that it was an overwhelming feeling. He really did catch my eye unlike anyone has ever done before (and not just because of how handsome I thought he was!) I had never met Bill before up to that point in my life. BUT, I knew that I wanted to.

It was interesting, because in that moment of seeing him come into the room, I KNEW, without even ever having met him, that Bill honored the priesthood which he held, and that he had for a companion, the Holy Ghost, in his life.


*This was taken from a talk that I gave this past Sunday, to the single's ward that we are serving in right now.

I cannot even begin to explain the difference it has made in my life to be married to a virtuous man. A man who is the guardian of the virtue in our family.

Bill and his roommate Aaron. They walked into Sunday School together on that fateful day.

Happy Anniversary, Bill. You are the love of my life.

Love Affair

My husband loves cast iron.

In fact, he used quite an unusual method in college to determine how much he would spend on a date with a girl.

And it all had to do with... a dutch oven.

Bill enjoyed dating and he was a very creative dater, often coming up with very clever, fun dates on a dime.

But, Bill really had to like a girl if he was going to pull out his pocketbook for a date. He knew that a good dutch oven was about $35. And he frequently used this price to compare with the possible price of a date. If he liked a particular girl and was interested in pursuing things with her, then he wouldn't hesitate spending some money on a date. If not, well....then....let's just say, he would rather spend his money- on a dutch oven!

When we met and after getting to know each other, to my delight, I quickly passed his dutch oven test. (Thank goodness :). And after we were married, for one of our first Valentine's he bought me some cast iron cookware... because, and I quote, "Nothing spells L-O-V-E like cast iron!"

I must admit, it took me a few years to get the hang of cooking with cast iron. I really didn't enjoy it at first- - too heavy for my weak arms, drying and oiling them so they wouldn't rust, a pain in the neck to clean ("you mean I really can't use soap on these things?!?")

But as the months and years passed, and my pans became shiny, black, beautifully seasoned and nonstick - my heart softened and my admiration (for both my pans and my husband) increased.

Bill very recently showed his love for me by presenting me with his mother's cast iron skillets. And these pans are simply amazing- 30+ years of love, seasoned into each one.

I use cast iron every day. I love it. It is my pan of choice. It is a love affair.

And for this Valentines Day I am hoping to get this:



A reversible cast iron grill...

...because nothing spells L-O-V-E like cast iron!