Growing Up

Lizzie is just about 20 months old, and as much as I am looking foreward to all the exciting things coming up in our lives...like a new baby, for example...I sometimes have a hard time with change. I wish I could slow down time a little bit. Lizzie is finally picking up all kinds of new words. For the longest time all I could get out of her was "shoes," "juice," and "cheese," but now there are too many words to list. (Of course, "shoes" is still a favorite.) She's even started to form phrases like, "shoes side" which translates to "I need to put on my shoes because I want to go outside." She ALWAYS wants to be outside. Another common expression is, "locked keys," which means "I want to play in the car, but it's locked so I need you to go get the keys." It's also adorable when, with a very concerned expression, she holds her hands out with her palms up and says, "Where'd go?" Sometimes she's referring to a person like grandma, who she calls "Moo Moo" (John actually assigned her that nickname), grandpa, who she calls "Papa, Uncle Nathan, who she calls "Nate", or our friend Caroline, who she calls "Ra Ra". Other times it's impossible to guess what she thinks has gone missing. As wonderful as she is, Lizzie has quite a temper and she's very opinionated. I'm pretty sure she thinks she's in charge. But she also has a good heart. When I tell her she needs to aks nicely she gives me a smile and says, "cheeeeze" (for please), and when I tell her to say sorry she gives me a big hug and a kiss. She's a sweetheart, and I wish she could stay little forever!

Safari Park

For Nathan's 28th birthday he decided he wanted to take a trip to the Safari Park...for Lizzie, of course. ;) It was our 2nd time going, but I don't think I could ever get tired of that place. One part of the park is like a zoo with caged animals, only it has really lax security. There was a sleepy kangaroo laying across one of the walking paths that seemed to really enjoy having his tummy rubbed. Another highlight of this area was a hungry looking tiger who couldn't take his eyes off Lizzie. Fortunately, he was a little more securely caged. As much as Lizzie seemed to like the monkeys, giraffes, turtles, tigers, warthogs, etc., her favorite part was stopping at each hand sanitizer station throughout the park (same as our last visit.) The other part of the park is a large, open area that you can drive through with buckets of food. The animals practically climb into your car to get the food...very exciting. There were zebras, llamas, ostriches, deer, emus, pigs, elk, buffalo, etc, but our favorites were the giant camels. Their heads took up practically the whole back seat.

Park Pictures

Happy Anniversary Loverman!

OK, go ahead and make fun of me. I thought it was funny to call John loverman, and I guess it still makes me smile. Today is our 4th anniversary, and I'll be honest... it's been hard. The highlight was going to the park for a picnic with my mom and Lizzie. (I'll post pictures of that when I get a chance.) I also got some unexpected, gorgeous flowers from sweet Steve and Lara Douglas. Steve was John's MTC companion, and true to form they went out of their way to make me feel loved today.

The low has been sitting awake at 1 am thinking about how much I miss him and how much I wish he were still here. I've been looking through pictures and remembering a few of the reasons I will always love him. He'd be mortified, but I wanted to share a few:

1) He had what my college roommates called the "nerdy glow." You know when you meet a guinely good person and there seems to be a light about them? They are attractive, not because they are fashionable or popular, but because they are full of goodness. That was John.

2) John was more concerned with what God thought of him than what other people thought of him. In fact, he'd much prefer it if noone gave him much thought at all. He liked to be off stage, quietly working miracles that noone knew were happening. I personally require at least a little appreciation, but John just needed to know that the Lord was pleased with him. That was enough.

3) He was the best dad I've ever seen. I knew he would be even before we had Lizzie because he was a total kid magnet. I think kids naturally gravitate to sugary foods and really good people, and John was an extreme case of goodness. I hope he gets to watch Lizzie grow up. I know he loves her more than she could ever imagine.

4) John used to give me a hard time because I always needed something to look forward to as my motivation, like a vacation for example. But with John there was always something to look forward to. He was constantly coming up with fun trips, silly nicknames, rediculous songs, or new hobbies. One time he randomly bought tennis rackets off craigslist. Neither of us played very well, but we spent every free evening for weeks trash talking much more expertly than we played and loving every minute of it. He really knew how to make life fun.

I could easily go on all night, but I'm getting too tired to think. I guess my point is...

I love you John Jones. Happy Anniversary!