February 2016

February was a month filled with good times and difficult times.  Sometimes February can be like that.  While winter drags on, you still see the sunshine from time to time.

A few days before Valentine's Day we discovered our sweet kitty, Teddy had gotten caught under the garage door and died.  Eve discovered him when we went out to take her to school.  Teddy has been extra special to all the kids.  He was extra loving and extra comforting to the kids on stressful days.  He was also very patient with Christian.  He always loved to be with the kids.  I think he was also special to them because of his beautiful long hair.  He was even magnificent looking at times with his fur like a mane around his head.

Needless to say, the kids were heartbroken, and I was heartbroken for them.  Even the other cats seemed to miss him as they stood by him until we buried him a few days later.  The ground was too frozen for a while to dig his grave.  Each of the kids went to school that day, but each met with a guidance counselor, which I think is good.  We spent the next few weeks discussing our feelings, our happy memories, and sharing gospel truths.  This was a time that gave us all a greater appreciation for the Resurrection and for our relationships with each other.  I was pretty surprised by my own sadness at his loss.  I think that animals are able to connect with our spirits in a special way.  I was touched by the kids' expressions of love toward Teddy.  Sterling and Sheri wrapped him in their shirts and carefully prepared him for burial in Sterling's Valentine box created in honor of Teddy.  Here are two pictures of our Teddy waiting for burial and a few of our favorite pictures of him.

Here is Sterling's Valentines's/burial box.  We will surely miss him until we see him again in heaven!

Teddy's death was consistent with the cold winter near the beginning of February.

Gratefully, the sun started to break through a bit and melt the ice and snow.  Here are a few of the highlights of our month.

Matthew and Sheri attended the Daddy daughter dance.

We went to Cosi Children's Museum with the Fackrells.

We took the kids to see Seussical the musical at the local high school.  The we all really enjoyed it, even Christian!

Sterling wrapped up his basketball season which began in November/December.  We enjoyed watching all his games.

The kids continue to get stronger in dance and gymnastics.

Christian and I went to visit Sheri and Sterling at school for lunch and recess.

The weather warmed up a bit.

I got some good running shoes and changed my running approach. I have been enjoying running without discomfort.

I took Christian to see Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood with Nassim and her son Darius.  It was a cute show.

The best thing about February is that we all remembered how grateful we are for each other, and that life is precious.  I guess that is why we have hard times to balance the good.  We are so blessed to have each other!

Janurary 2016

Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary to us!

We drove up to Michigan to spend New Year's Eve with the Sanchez family  We enjoyed Kelly's tasty carnitas and a movie marathon . . .well, I went to sleep after the first movie, but others watched most of the night until morning.
Here we are kissing in the new year.

The next day Matthew and I were able to leave the kids for a day or two to celebrate our anniversary together.  We went up to Toronto, Canada.  We spent the first evening visiting the CN Tower.  This is the 6th highest building in the world!  We rode a glass elevator up 117 building storeys to the height of 1,122 Ft.  Here we were able to look over the city at night.  It was an incredible view.  We also looked through the glass floor all the way down to the ground!  There is also a lookout tower in the sky pod 33 storeys higher, but I felt high enough at the level we were at.  It was too windy to do the “edgewalk”, but we were still amazed!

The next day we were able to go to the Toronto temple.  What a sweet way to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary!

The second place that we visited was the Casa Loma.  This was a modern castle!  It had almost 100 rooms!  There was a huge library, a conservatory, billiard room, secret passageways, and a great hall with a huge pipe organ!  There were also beautiful terraces, and in the summer there are beautiful gardens.  Sir Henry Pellatt loved architecture, art, and serving in the Queen’s Army.  He and his wife lived there for less than 10 years.  Now it is open to the public.  It was quite a modern home when it was built in 1911.  Even today it is remarkable with beautiful woodwork, stained glass windows, and historic artifacts.

After visiting the Casa Loma we headed back to Michigan and returned home to Columbus with our kids on the following day.

I feel very blessed to have Matthew!  He is the best gift God has ever given me, of course along with the gospel which binds us together.  He is patient, kind, faithful, hardworking, and a constant friend to me!  He has made my life beautiful and rich!  I will be forever grateful for him!


January was a rejuvenating month.  Things slowed down enough for me to even have time to read a few books.  One was about running (renewed my desire to understand my ability to run) and another was 7 Habits for Highly Effective People (reminded me of the importance of renewing myself each day spiritually, physically, and mentally).  I also read a great article about setting habit goals, (greatness comes from good habits) and listened to a podcast about connecting with your kids (positive moments, the power of touch, and meaningful conversations).  All in all, I felt that I received a lot of insights!

Christian started a preschool movement class which is 2 1/2 hours each Friday morning.  He has been happy to go and learn.  I am also starting to teach him his letters/sounds and numbers.  He has been catching on quickly.  Here he is with his backpack.  We take it everywhere with us since we can keep his epi-pen and other essentials perfectly in it.

Eve completed a fun art project.  Can you see which famous art work she was chose to replicate?

This is a fun lunch that I went to . . . a "Becky" lunch.  All the Beckys in my ward decided to celebrate that we share the same name by going to lunch.

Our kids continue to love their pets!  Here are a few more to add to the bunch (the frog and snail).  Eve loves to create fun habitats for her gerbil, Tinsel.

Finally, here are some fun pics to wrap up.  Hope you all had a great month!  I know for me it was a great time for reflection.