Happy 10th birthday Kaybree

Today is Kaybree’s birthday! And we have not seen her yet 😬

This year’s husband and wife training for seminary teachers was held in Flagstaff and Brendon and I have been away, studying and learning and growing together. Unfortunately that means we’ve been away from our girls and Kaybree was not happy that we would not be home. We’ll make it up to her in a couple hours when we surprise her with her new puppy.

But for now we are driving and we have plenty of time to reminisce about the day ten years ago that we became parents and the beautiful girl we have in our family today.

Kaybree, you are one of my best friends. I feel like I could hang out with you any time and tell you anything. I love sharing with you and I love how interested you are in me and what I’m up to. I love how kind you are to those around you (although could you be a smidge nicer to your sisters please?!) I love that you love to learn and create. I love that you love to make a space yours. We just redid your room together and it was a blast to pick out paint with you and clean and organize.

You are just beautiful inside and out. You’ve been looking forward to this birthday (and talking about it nonstop) for months. I hope it’s all you dreamed of!

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1qiXQBe8DTmoBzYinV1Sb5mduOe9fdVKA

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1hdswfmq2yBCrJ4J2FxXyyEDu2LYMINDe

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1LfymK1LG7iWcxLXgYLAE3VWKSKbVZkej

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1bhigSC9qxpFp0BBzJCSBdE_lf8QqhxC4

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ZY78dZLG4FZ1mushGjTyKcCH25ESPB-S

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1QLZZ6TDQNNJrk83Sc4vLZ8Kq1715X_xI

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1tq-Hb3SVpFwn0MZZMhOR3qwZaUNImiOa

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1yTnC-zcCaMt-tGTg4LRgMfWgPju-pbmb

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1spXWXs1YAsmcIdHy9BSlKNbCaAR-o34D

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=171aPMHNsQOhO4kjdd-b0dMhw9i2yKV1Z

Comments

Work stuff

My job is difficult to describe to people outside of non-profits so I usually don't. I say I'm a Grant Writer--because I am, but to some people that means a lot and to others it means nothing. I don't get too many people who are interested. To be truthful, I do think grant writing is a spectacular professional that takes a lot of skill. Not only do you have to be an excellent writer, able to tell the stories of the organization in a way that is interesting and inspiring, but you also have to be savvy enough to find your way around hundreds of different online portals (none of which are user friendly) and be diligent enough to meet strict deadlines and compile loads and loads of paperwork. At my organization we submit about 15-30 applications every month and every single application has different requirements and expectations in order to receive funding. The work doesn't stop when an application is turned in. Once we get that funding it adds another to-do to our list, m...

I did it!

Today, I achieved a great professional achievement. I got my CFRE. It’s a big deal. Brendon is out of town so I took the girls to get sushi to celebrate. This was our conversation on the way home. *Passed by a Husband and Wife Law Team billboard Eisley: That dude wears suspenders. I would not call them first. I would call Jonathan first. Me: I would call Brother Briggs first because he’s a criminal defense lawyer. Jon does HOA law which would not be very useful. Eisley: Ooo yeah. I feel like I’m going to be that kid some day. I’d call Brittany because she has experience, then Bro Briggs. Me: You’re going to be the one to call to hide a body? Eisley: Yeah. I’ll probably already be hiding one. I feel like I’m the Brittany, Aspen is Brodie, Kaybree is Dad. Kaybree: Hmmm, I’m not sure. Aspen—do you like girls? Aspen: What? Kaybree: Just, would you like to marry a girl one day? Aspen: No. Eisley: If you did, we would love her. And then we all l...

Tearful moments

In January I cried through my appointments with my oncology doctor and surgeons. The whole idea of having a preventative mastectomy was overwhelming. I made my peace with it. I made a plan for myself. Work slows down near the end of the year and we get all sorts of holidays so I thought if I could take my time off then, I would be fine. I made it through two whole doctor's appointments with no tears and no fear, because I had a plan, and then today that was messed up. My doctor told me reconstruction could take up to three months--which means I can't do the surgery when I originally planned if I want to get it all done in one calendar year (for insurance purposes). She suggested moving it up to August. That is next month. And if we do the surgery in August that means our family trip we have planned for October--it's a no. Camping trip I planned for September? Probably not. And honestly that all makes me more upset than anything. And suddenly I'm crying again. I want t...

A Place to Write

Search This Blog