If you thought you were having a bad day. . . .

( Kate has started writing in her journal. With her permission, I had to share what she had written the other day. )

Feburey 23 2008

I have wryd that

I wud git sik but It was a blestng

I didint. Git sik. but, I love to

play soccr But my

sistrs are sik.

Ryenne loves Emmy

but not me.

Emmy loves Ryenne

but not me.

Im left owt.

Pr me.

The Two of Us

Thanks for tagging me, Darcie & Tara! Here is a little bit about Courtney & I. . .
1. His full name: Courtney H Wood (no, the H doesn't stand for anything- it's just an H, and we answer that question all the time!
2. How long have you been together? over 15 years
3. How long did you date? 5-6 years. Thank goodness my "mean" mom was smart enough to make me date other boys too. (In high school, that is. In college, I was a geek and no one really asked. My roomates were so much more fun,anyway!)
4. How old is he? 31, a year older than me
5. Who eats more? Courtney eats more at a time, but I eat much more often. When it comes to ice cream (especially anything chocolate!) I can give him a good run for his money.
6. Who said "I love you" first? Courtney did, but we were only 16, so I think he just wanted some kissin'. (I can't believe I was that young! We're just praying that our girls don't date until they're like. . . hmmmm, 21 would be nice.)
7. Who is taller? He is 5'10", I'm 5'3.5"
8. Who sings better? That would be me, although he doesn't have a bad voice. He just uses it minimally.
9. Who is smarter? Courtney is smarter in figuring things out, math, science, and basically being able to function in life. I've got him in english & history.
10. Who does the laundry? Me, but not very well. It's my least favorite household chore. He does help out, and never complains about my ineptitude, which is nice. He is definitely better at ironing, so I always ask him to do things that need to look good, like his church shirts. Sorry, mom- but he's willing. That mission came in handy!
11. Who pays the bills? Me. He pays the business bills, so I do ours.
12. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does. I sleep on the left, and unfortunately, Emmy is often found somewhere in between.
13. Who mows the lawn? That is my job, only because I won't let him take it over. It's my outside, all by myself, thinking time. He tries to talk me out of this, especially when I'm 9 months pregnant. (He thinks the neighbors must thinks he's a real cool husband, sitting in the house while I'm out pushing the mower.) But I won't budge- the lawn is mine!
14. Who cooks dinner? Me about 90% of the time, but he's great to help out when I'm feeling lazy.
15. Who drives? Courtney ussually, except lately he is getting quite good at sneaking into the passenger seat, especially when he's been driving a lot at work.
16. Who kissed who first? He definitely kissed me first. I was just sitting there innocently. We were actually in the back seat of the car while we were driving home from ice blocking with a big group of friends. We were with Jared Rupp and Valerie. And I wasn't even 16! (This reminds me about the conversation I want to have with our daughters clarifying what a friend outing vs. dating is).
17. Who's more stubborn? Me. I like to call it "strong willed". Thanks, Grandma Sally.
18. Who asked who out first? Technically, it wasn't a date, because I wasn't 16, remember? But I did invite him to go ice blocking, which led to our first kiss, which led to him being willing to hang out and wait for me to turn 16, so he could ask me out officially! (My mom always said he was waiting on our doorstep for my 16th birthday.)
19. Who proposed? He did. He got home from his mission in October, I got home from BYU-H the week before Christmas, and we got engaged Jan. 30th. Pretty slow movers, eh? At the time, I thought we were moving pretty slow! I had to basically tell him I thought we needed to move forward or move on! He just laughed when he read that and said "I was happy to keep milking the cow, but you wanted to be bought". That's romantic, isn't it? The truth is, he was just plain scared!
20. Who has more friends? I do, just because I keep in touch a little better (which isn't a whole lot, just more than him.)
21. Who is more sensitive? I'm more sensitive to some things, but he is definitely very sensitive to my feelings- probably more than I am to his, unfortunately.
22. Who has more siblings? Courtney. Technically, he has 4 step siblings, 4 Jones brothers, and 3 Wood originals. But they're all the same to him. I have 2 sisters & 3 brothers.
23. Who wears the pants? Courtney, but I can talk him into just about anything!

Since the passing of President Hinkley, I have been doing some thinking on the amazing way Heavenly Father works. I loved President Hinkley and miss him already. What an wonderful man! He and Sister Hinkley are heros of mine and continue to inspire me to "stand a little taller". However, it is so incredible to see how the Lord had everything under control! It has been especially interesting because this whole process is taking place simultaneously with the democratic/republican political campaigns. What a difference!

It has been really interesting to me to listen to media and non-members who study the church and their take on this whole process of ordaining a new prophet. It is just so hard for them to understand how this whole change could take place so smoothly and without anyone having thier own agenda or "campaigning" for the job! Last night they had a woman who was a non-member but has spent her career studying LDS church history. Courtney and I had to chuckle when she was saying something to the effect of . . "it will be interesting to see what direction President Monson will take the church". She also thought the appointment of Elder Uchdorf was a move to give an international face to the church. . . .all very understandable conclusions- if you don't understand how the Lord works through his servants. The older I get, the more I realize that the Prophet doesn't necessarily have a "direction" in mind. I don't think he makes decisions based on the "face" he wants to present. His direction is the Lord's direction. That is a very comforting thought to me.

It has been fun to watch the girls observe this too. Since the night we got the news that President Hinkley had died, Emmy continued asking in every prayer for Heavenly Father to bless President Hinkley. Courtney explained after a few days that President Hinkley is in Heaven now, and that he is happy and doing fine. He told her that it would be good for her to ask Heavenly Father to bless the apostles during this important time. The next prayer she said, she began by saying, "Please bless the . . . ." After a long pause, she said excitedly, ". . .the Nephites!"

Yesterday after they announced that President Monson had been ordained as president of the church, I told Kate that we had a new prophet. She smiled and said, "Great Mom! Who is it?" I told her it was President Monson and she quickly replied, "Yeah! Was that the one who you were cheering for?"

Needless to say, our family home evening lesson was an attempt at explaining how this process works! As I laid in bed last night and thought about it all, I smiled and thought about how miraculous it all is. I am so thankful to have a prophet, who communicates with God and who will guide me and my family. I'm thankful for the way the Lord prepares the apostles and blesses them with the talents and strengths that are neccessary at that current time. Watching this whole process has helped me better understand that the Lord knows what direction he wants his kingdom to go. He knows what is needed, and He works through righteous individuals who are focused on serving Him and able to follow that direction. I realized that because of this testimony, Kate was right. . .I'm already cheering for President Monson!