Cheryl & Parker - An Underwater Proposal

Cheryl and Parker have been dating about 1 1/2 years so it came as no surprise when we received a phone call from Cheryl telling us that Parker had proposed to her. In fact, we knew it was on the verge of happening since it had been over 2 weeks since Parker had met with Alan and I to ask for her hand in marriage over lunch at our house.

Parker came up with a unique way to propose. He took her to Catalina Island where he had booked a private scuba diving tour. [Incidentally, Eric proposed to Nicole at Catalina Island also.] Unbeknownst to Cheryl, Parker had, with the help of the professional divers, planted a box on the ocean floor which they had her retrieve that contained the ring. Then Parker held up a sign that said "Eternity?" A few fist pumps from Cheryl indicated her positive answer to that question. One of the divers had a "GoPro" on a stick to video the whole thing. Cheryl gave us the link  on YouTube (Parker & Cheryl's Proposal) so we were able to watch things unfold. The video was about 12 minutes long, but I was able to take some still pictures of key parts of the video.  

This picture shows the guide pointing to the box so Cheryl could retrieve it.

Cheryl grabbing the box

Cheryl wondering what to do with it. Parker is holding a white sign that said "Eternity?"

Upon seeing the ring, she nodded her head yes and gave a few fist pumps of excitement.

Cheryl kissed her fist and then pressed it to Parker's mouth as a thank you and expression of her love.

It is hard to kiss with goggles on, but this was taken after they surfaced.

Still at Catalina after the proposal

The picture Cheryl used on Facebook to announce her engagement. The caption read: "He's one lucky guy!" ;-)    I agree with you, Cheryl -- he is one lucky guy, but you are one lucky girl too. Parker will be an amazing husband and father.

Cheryl says she can't stop staring at and drooling over her ring. It is simple, but beautiful, just like her.

No date has been set yet, but they are talking mid to late June or early July in the San Diego Temple - Cheryl's dream temple and one of my favorites.

As you can imagine, we are extremely happy for Cheryl and Parker. We are excited that Parker will be joining our family. He fits right in and will be a great addition to the family.

Bird Proofing our Patio

Every Spring we have the same problem with birds wanting to build nests in our light bar on the back patio. Admittedly, this is a perfect location for birds to build nests as it is protected from wind and predators. However, that doesn't make it any less annoying to have birds make residence there. They poop all over and they are a nuisance. Last year they tore apart the tops of my patio chair cushions to steal nest materials. I was not a happy camper when I discovered them.  

In order to try to prevent birds from nesting this year, I wrangled Alan into putting up a barrier. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will work.  He put chicken wire inside the light bars. It doesn't look the greatest, but hopefully it will do the trick.

Alan holding a box full of nest materials pulled from the light bar to the right of the ladder.

I know birds are some of God's creations, and I do love that the world has birds, but I will be happy when these birds find another location to build their nests. 

My Letter to Parents of Twins

Dear Parents of Twins,

I have an identical twin sister. We grew up thinking (and telling everyone else) that we were fraternal twins because that's what the doctor told my parents when we were born. He said we were fraternal because there were two placentas. It wasn't until we were about 50 years old that we discovered (through a DNA test) and our suspicions were confirmed, that we are 99.9% positively identical. No wonder people couldn't tell us apart. Even our own children would mistake us for each other on occasion.

Having experienced growing up as a twin, I have some advice that I would like to pass on to parents of twins.

1 - Let your twins have their own identity. Our mother always dressed us alike. Sometimes our clothing was of a different color, but the style was always identical. I accepted it up to a point, but I wanted my own identity. Eventually, I would change into a different outfit if Jane put on something that was identical to what I was wearing. I realize it is cute (especially at a young age) to dress twins alike, and that is fine. I only had problems with it as I grew older...like nine or ten years old. Let the twins have a choice whether to dress alike or not.

2 - Don't make your twins share everything. There is no getting around the fact that they will share the same birthday, but my twin and I had to share everything. One birthday we got a bicycle to share and one Christmas we received one pair of ice skates. Sharing these items is difficult because we wanted to ride or skate together, not take turns. Money was limited in our family so we understood that my parents couldn't afford to give us everything they wanted to, but none of our 5 other siblings ever had to share their bikes or skates. They got their own. I was generally okay with sharing a birthday cake, but sometimes I wondered what it would be like to have my own birthday cake with my very own candles to blow out. We shared the same room and even the same bed until our teenage years. However, the good thing about all this sharing is that we did learn to be unselfish.

3 - Encourage your twins to do things separately once in a while and to pursue separate interests. Some twins are polar opposites, but my twin and I were identical in every way and we were (and still are) very close. We were both very shy and depended on each other maybe a little bit too much. We were basically a crutch for each other. We went to college together and continued to live together until we got married three months apart. We loved doing things together, but it would have been beneficial for us to have learned more independence at an earlier age to prepare us for adulthood. We were like two Popsicle's stuck together until marriage separated us and we found ourselves living 800 miles apart.

Parents, even if you don't follow my suggestions, things will still work out well for your twins. Although our marriages separated us physically, our close bond has remained strong. There is just something unique and special about twins and I feel blessed to have been born the same day as my sister. From creating our own language as toddlers and through our ability to whistle loudly we were always able to communicate well (yes, we communicated with whistles) and get along well with each other. We thrived as we lifted and supported each other when we went through trials and had growing pains. We were ALWAYS there for each other.

Often, I feel that our friendship was formed in heaven before we were born. Maybe we were so close there that Heavenly Father just couldn't separate us or maybe we begged Him to allow us to stay together. If that is true, I am very grateful that He granted us that wish. If not true, I am still grateful for her friendship here. Either way, I know that our bond is for eternity. 

Love,
Joan

As toddlers

As Teenagers

As adults

Good Cheer & Happy Chinese New Year

I love it when I see someone go around spreading "good cheer" to others. It warms my soul! I was a recipient of "good cheer" last Wednesday. A sister came into the temple while I was working my shift and handed three of us sisters who were working behind the initiatory desk the envelope pictured below and with a big smile said "Happy Chinese New Year".

I thought the envelope was the gift. It was beautiful!!! When I opened it, I discovered a $2 bill. 

You don't see $2 bills very often so it was certainly a treat. It made me wonder how many of these she had distributed and how many other lives had been touched for good like mine had.

This gift of "good cheer" totally reminded me of my father. He used to send our children birthday gifts that included a $1 or $2 bill folded Origami style into interesting shapes. I saved some of them. Pictured here is one in the shape of a heart, one in the shape of a shirt, and one in the shape of a ring. Our kids loved them!!!

My parents had 40 grandchildren and they were on a limited income so they couldn't afford to spend much on each grandchild. However, our children looked forward to receiving their birthday gift from Grandpa (Grandma had already passed away) each year. He was definitely spreading "good cheer" to his grandchildren and they appreciated it. Oh, how I miss my parents!

February's Year of Dates

As mentioned last month, Alan and I get to open a gift per month for the whole year. No surprise that the gift box for February was in the shape of a heart since February is the month for Valentines Day. However, it is also Alan's birth month. His birthday is only 2 days before Valentine's Day.

The message inside the envelope tells us that this date is meant to celebrate Alan's birthday. In the box was a gift card for See's Candy. YUM!!!

Looks like we are going to go out to dinner with an Olive Garden Gift Card we already had and then have some nice See's Chocolates for dessert. Another fun date! Thanks again, staff!!!


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Update: We did eat at Olive Garden and Cheryl joined us. We had a great meal and then went over to the mall to get our See's Candy. The store was very crowded (2 days before Valentine's Day), but we made our purchase and loved our choices.