Fourth of July

I know it is a few days late to be posting about the fourth, but a late post is better than no post. The 4th of July is a pretty significant holiday for Ritchell and I. Exactly 7 years ago this past 4th of July was when Ritchell and I met for the first time. Here is a little bit about the first time we met.

"On July 2^nd, 2001, I was transferred from my area in San Rafael, Montalban. I was transferred into the mission office. This happened 2 days before everyone else in the mission was transferred. I arrived in the office early because they needed my help in organizing the transfer itself, and also arranging for the new mission president’s arrival. My first assignment in the office was to take a mission van with my companion and pick up several missionaries at the mission home, and then escort them to their new areas. I had a list of several elders, and one sister. Honestly, I don’t remember the names of any of the elders. The sister on my list was Sister Gabriel. The day before the transfer, I was looking over my list in one of the rooms we had in our office. This room was a small office with a desk and a whiteboard on one wall. On the board were pictures of every missionary in the mission, arranged by zone and district. I wanted to put faces to names so that I knew who we were to pick up at the mission home. I recall the first time I ever laid eyes on the woman I was to marry. I had this feeling come over me at the instant I found her picture. It was as if someone was distinctly whispering in my ear “she’s the one you will marry.” I know it sounds weird. Believe me; I was in a bit of shock and disbelief when I felt this way. My feelings were confirmed again the next day. July 4^th, 2001. I also recall the first time my eyes gazed upon Sister Gabriel in person. We arrived at the mission home that morning and there was a crowd of missionaries gathered there, waiting for us to take them to their new areas. There were other vans going out as well. I saw Sister Gabriel talking with a few other sisters in the garage. Again, I felt the same way as the day prior…”she’s the one you will marry.” I still couldn’t believe it. It must have been obvious to others that I was in disbelief, because if you ask my wife, she will tell you that I was staring at her, which I’m sure I was. We loaded all of the missionaries’ stuff into our van and headed on our way. There were several elders to be dropped off before we made our way to Montalban, which was the zone Sister Gabriel was transferred to. I spent a little time on the ride there telling her about the zone, since I had just come from there. It was a long car ride. There was a lot of traffic, so there was a lot of time to tell her about Montalban. There were also many moments of awkward silence. I remember looking in the rear view mirror at her, just staring in disbelief at the feelings I was experiencing. I remember thinking in my mind “is she really the one? How?” I also recall thinking, “wow, she’s beautiful!” I didn’t know until much later that she noticed me staring at her in the rear view mirror. I thought she was asleep, but I guess she wasn’t."

I will never forget that day. My life forever changed. I'm so glad that I have Ritchell in my life! I could not have dreamed a better life than what we have together.

OK...enough sappy talk.

On the 4th, we went to Pat & Shala's for a BBQ. We had a good time with them and other friends. We watched stadium of fire fireworks from their deck. Good times.

We went to the Provo temple grounds on Sunday and got some good pictures of AnaBelle while there.

We have had quite a few people come through our home the past week that are interested in buying. Hopefully we get an offer on it soon.

Our new house is coming along great! The interior doors, trim, and shelving are in. The painter is finishing up today. The exterior stucco is on and the rest of the exterior should be finished this week. I have had a little delay with my finish carpenter and the stone/stucco guys. Hopefully they'll get their work done.

Next week we should have hardwood and tile installed, along with cabinets. We should also get a driveway and other exterior concrete. So far we're still on track to finish the house the second week of August. I hope so.