A Gift Only A Mother Could Love

This was an awesome moment of love.

I know my husband loves me because he is willing to make this with me:

What are they supposed to be?!? Bah!

Mother's day was quickly approaching and I knew Pinterest wouldn't let me down when I was in desperate need of ideas for gifts. I came across this cute idea of making a teddy-bear out of a sock. It was hand-sewn and struck me as a gift that would provide some sentimental value to our moms. The only issue was that this project was solely picture-based...but I felt I could make sense of it!

I took Bill to Wal-Mart and we picked up some long girl socks that had some personality to them. We also bought stuffing and buttons and needles and thread. The whole time we were wandering the store, I was trying to phrase the question in my mind of how to ask Bill, a person grouped under the gender of male, to do this crafty project with me. But any way that I posed the question, I sensed testosterone-filled-rejection looming overhead.

I don't quite remember if I asked Bill if he was willing to make his mom a sock-teddy for Mother's Day or if he actually volunteered. But in either instance, I was bowled over when he told me he would do it with me. I was giddy!

After one of my late evening runs (this past summer I trained for another half-marathon), Bill and I got down to business and sewed on into the night. We had to finish this relatively quickly as we had plans to see our mothers within the next few days!

The end results seemed tragic. Bill attempted to start anew on his sock-teddy but bailed on that idea when time was no longer on our side. I finished sewing the head of my creature on to its body as we drove down from Logan to Ogden. Our teddies were anything but teddies. I may have suggested something with feline or amphibious features before a bear.

Where did we go so wrah-ah-ong? Perhaps it was in our choice of sock material, or perhaps it was our skill with needle and thread. But the pure beauty and brilliance of this was that we knew our mom's would love whatever they were anyway. :) And they did! They LOVED them!

And even if our mother's had thought them wretched...I wouldn't have ever traded our funky craft-experiment-gone-wrong for a bouquet of flowers.

To Kill a Tree on Earth Day

Bishop McMahon sat across from us on the couch. "Well Brotha and Sista Kiefa, what do you like to do togetha?" Our Australian bishop stared at us waiting for some sort of an answer. Bill and I were only married for a month at this point, and there was no need to doubt that we really loved the whole being-married-thing! But that question caught Bill and I both off-guard. "Well...we like...to do..." We stared at each other hoping that the other had an answer for our Bishop. It was suddenly apparent that neither of us had anything coming to mind. 

At last I answered, "We like to watch 'I Love Lucy' together." Which is true, but that shallow answer really bothered me. Bill and I dated for a year and were married at last! But we couldn't answer the simple question of "What do you like to do together?" C'mon!

Thankfully, it wasn't too long before we found something: Driving.

My dad's side of the family has always been into driving. They know every back and dirt road through Cache Valley's mountains. They'd go and bust snow drifts, get stuck in mud, view beautiful sights, and grow closer to one another through those experiences. I didn't really go when I was a kid, but when I came to college, I came to realize the joy of driving through canyons and through little suburbs throughout Logan. I may not be very adventurous, but I feel that it's something that I was born to love. And fortunately for me, I found a man who loves driving even more-so than I!

On Earth day, Bill and I were bored. It was late in the afternoon, but we still had some daylight to play in. We looked up a map online that would have us start up Blacksmith Fork Canyon and make a small loop. What an adventure we could have! It had a lot of potential to be muddy this early on in the year, but since this spring had been so dry, we weren't too worried. 

Sometimes it's funner to bring some friends along to share the experience with you. So we called Kyle and Kristi to come along with us!

Kyle and Kristi

We all piled into the Subby, made our way towards Hyrum, and hit the back roads. The drive was dry until we hit a little meandering stream that we had to cross several times over. We drove and we drove and we drove. It was late dusk and everything had a blueish hue to it. We found a humongous beaver dam! And hopped out of the Subby to go exploring.

The Beaver 

His dam

We continued driving on...and it was now officially dark. We figured out that we missed our turn way back when. But we kept following the back road signs indicating we could make our way out through Logan Canyon. Then we found some snow and things got a little bit scary. Luckily, between Bill and Kyle, there was enough off-roading knowledge and experience to get us out of every interesting situation. I wasn't even afraid. I have a lot of faith and incredible amounts of trust in my husband. I knew we would be okay, no matter what. We got stuck in the snow, but for only a matter of seconds. As we escaped from the snow, a small tree was chosen by providence to live a shorter LIFE. Of all the days to run over a tree...

Getting darker...

No more sun...

When the snow got in our way, it was obvious that the only way to get back home, was to come the way we came. We were all tired and sleepy - especially Kristi and Kyle, as Kyle was used to getting up for work at 4:30 AM. So we called this our ride and turned around to experience the route in reverse.

It was quieter and I don't remember much except for allowing my head to droop limply across my chest in surrender to the sleep that overtook me. It was a bumpy ride. And we had gone a lot further than I had cared to note on the ride up.

It's been quite a few months since this escapade of ours...and it has taken me months to complete this post. A lot of the details have grown fuzzy, but I still remember that feeling of companionship, of bonding and forging relationships. I will always remember driving with Bill and how much joy it brings to him. I will remember the Allred's and their willingness to do anything with us. I will remember the Subby and the endless memories that vehicle has supplied in my LIFEtime.

Experiencing LIFE with people you love makes LIFE worth living.