Dear Mom and Dad

The most recent issue of the Ensign has a cool article featuring letters people have written to their moms and dads, thanking them for the lessons taught and the examples given. I wanted to write my own letter to my mom and dad, so they know how much I appreciate them.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you so much for being such wonderful parents. As I look back at my life, I realize that so much of who I am today I owe to the example you set for me and the lessons you taught me. I have to thank you for never giving up on any of us kids. I know raising eight kids isn’t easy, but I’m so grateful for the way you’ve dedicated your lives to us. I’ve never doubted that family was the most important thing for the both of you.

Mom, thanks for being such a great example of loving everyone. No matter what I did, or what I was going through, or who my friends were, you were always there to love me. I’ve always admired the way you were so willing to serve anybody; I’ve tried to be that way myself.

Thank you for teaching me through your example the kind of woman I should look for as a wife. I know that part of the reason I ended up with someone so wonderful as Tasha is because you helped me to see what was important. Thanks for always encouraging me to be a good example and to help my friends. I love you so much!

Dad, thanks for teaching me the importance of hard work. I still hope someday that I can be as hard a worker as you. I enjoyed every opportunity I got to “help” you with a home improvement project. Because of those experiences, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, open things up, and figure out how to fix things.

Also, thank you for teaching me the value of humility, and for appreciating my strengths. I remember one time you came to ask me for some help with your computer. It’s not easy to admit you need help, but you still did it anyway. I love you!

Above all, thank you both for teaching me the gospel. Thanks for teaching it not only with words, but also by example. I remember coming up to your room at night to tell you I was home, and finding you both on your knees in prayer. That’s something that has always stuck with me.

Thanks for always holding FHE, even when sometimes we wanted to do something else. I don’t remember the lessons so well, but I do remember how much fun it was, and I remember the spirit that was there.

I love you mom and dad! My patriarchal blessing calls you “wonderful” and “of the salt of the earth,” and I know it’s true. Thank you so much for being such great parents!

What would you change?

Last night I was watching the cosby show with my wife, where Claire (Cosby’s wife in the show) discovers a quiz for married couples to see how in love they are. The first question (and the only question she gets around to reading) is: if you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be? Cliff (Cosby) says “I wouldn’t change a thing,” mainly because he just wants to go to sleep. Of course, because it is a comedy, this gets him in trouble.

The comedy ensued, but at that moment I decided to ask my wife that question about me. Her response?

“I’d make your nose blow.”

Maybe that doesn’t sound all that sweet to you, but I think it’s a great answer. Of all the things about me that my wife could change (all my character flaws, my personality, I’m sure there’s plenty), she chooses something not only small, but a purely physical thing. And in reality, something that I wish I could change too (it’s odd, I know, but I can’t blow my nose).

Thanks for looking out for me honey!

Ex Voto

A little while ago my wife wrote an adorable post about the influence I’ve had in her life. She submitted the writing to a project by Cassandra Barney called “What Saved Me”. Turns out the artist selected my wife’s post, and turned it into this painting. She depicts my hand outstretched, holding up a miniature version of my wife in the palm of my hand.

What I love about this work is the look on my wife’s face. She appears calm, peaceful, and not at all out of place on my hand. Her arms are folded serenely over her lap, and although there is darkness around, she shines bright.

When I first met my wife, I had an experience that is very hard to describe. In short, I was given a vision of her potential. I can’t adequately describe how it happened. I remember I was looking at her, trying not to be noticed (we were only just becoming friends), and somehow… I saw past who she was that day. I saw who she could become. It was a profound experience; one I know I’ll never forget. I saw a beauty in her that is indescribable. I saw her inner light. And it left me completely dazzled. I think that was the moment I started falling in love with her.

I know now that it is my responsibility to help her reach that potential. And I will do everything I can to help her make that happen.

This is what this picture means to me.

He who wants to do good knocks at the gate…

“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the door open.”

– Rabindranath Tagore

My Beautiful Wife

I love Tasha Moon because:

• She is so good at apologizing. Not like me, who says “sorry” for everything until it doesn’t really mean as much anymore. She knows when to say she’s sorry, and I’m amazed at how even the little things matter to her. It’s easy to see that she truly cares about you.
• She does not accept defeat easily. I have seen her work her tail off time and time again to conquer something that doesn’t come naturally to her. If she wants to learn how to do it, she doesn’t stop. She works hard to be the person she wants to be.
• She is very modest, and not just in the clothing way. She’s modest in her dress, in her attitude, in her performance, and in her desires. She will never make you feel inferior, nor is she ever prideful or haughty. And I love her for it.
• She is so good at writing. I love reading her blog posts, both on her own blog and on the BYU Women’s Services & Resources blog. I don’t know how she does it, or how she does it so effortlessly (seriously, this post took me forever to finish), but her words resonate with me, and I know they’ve touched the lives of many others.
• She is absolutely beautiful, inside and out. I love her attitude, I love her cute smile, and I love her sincere desire to be a good wife. She is such a good example to me. I cannot believe I am married to such a treasure.

Thank you honey for being the best wife ever! I love you!

I’ve heard it said that you should live each day…

“I’ve heard it said that you should live each day as if it were your last. I think that’s a pretty silly notion that often leads to foolishness and selfishness. Isaac taught me the importance of living each day to spread happiness and love.”

– Granny Ruth, Remembering Isaac (by Ben Behunin)

I can live for two months on a good compliment.

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

– Mark Twain

Her gifts fill my gaps

A little while after I first started dating Tasha, she taught me this really cute analogy with her hands. She held hers up, with her fingers spread apart, and explained that her fingers represented her gifts, and the gaps between represented the things that maybe she wasn’t so good at. Then she took my hand, and with our fingers intertwined, explained that my gifts fill her gaps.

The more and more I’ve spent time with Tasha, I’ve come to realize that it goes both ways:

Her gifts fill my gaps.

Tasha has the most brilliant, radiant testimony I have ever seen. It shines through in everything she does, and in every life she touches. I am amazed by her desire to help others. She inspires me to be better, and helps me to focus on what is important. With her, I’m less afraid to tackle life’s challenges. She is always so understanding of everything, and somehow manages to get what it is I’m saying, even when I can’t find the right words (and sometimes even when I don’t say anything at all). Her love of family, her desires to do what is right, her incredible spirituality, and her beautiful life are just a few of the reasons I love her so so much.

Most of all, I love her for the joy she spreads. Pure, honest, sincere joy. She knows how to find the good in everything, and she loves to share it. She truly is amazing.

(You can get to know her too, through her amazing blog. Check it out, you’ll be amazed like me!)

The other night, Tasha and I realized that while holding hands, our palms are together. Our palms represent the basis of who we are. Our goals, our desires, our dreams. And I realized that ours match perfectly. Though we have different gifts and gaps, different interests and different struggles, when we bring our palms together and remember what is important, everything else seems to work out just fine.

Well, naturally I couldn’t let a girl like that get away. So I asked her to marry me! I’m so happy to announce that she said “yes!” We are getting married in the Salt Lake Temple on February 18th, 2011.

And I couldn’t be happier!

(If you would like an invitation, please enter your information in this form and we’ll get one to you!)

We do not believe in ourselves until someone…

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

– E. E. Cummings

No love is ever wasted. Its worth…

“No love is ever wasted. Its worth does not lie in reciprocity.”

– Neal A. Maxwell