Wednesday, March 31, 2010

She is Kindness Itself



I know most of my posts start out with me talking about my siblings looking like my twin, but it's always true and it is this time too. I've had a full conversation with cousins and uncles before they realized I was Becky, not Chrissy. When I went to Chrissy's ward and I wasn't right next to Chrissy some people mistook me for Chrissy. Believe me though, I don't mind. I'd love to be mistaken for Chrissy any day.

Chrissy is a great example to me, I've always looked up to her. One time in Primary we were going around the classroom saying who our examples were. I went first and I said, "My older sister, Chrissy." Everyone else said Jesus. Whoops, but not really. Chrissy is very Christlike. She's very thoughtful, always putting others before herself. One time Chrissy promised Jessie and me that she would play games with us that night if we did our work. Well we did our work and in the meantime Chrissy was invited to go hang out with friends. Chrissy kept her promise though and stayed to play games with her little sisters.

Chrissy is an excellent host. You want to a fun trip? Go to North Dakota. No that's not a joke. A trip to ND to see the Thomas family is so much fun. A couple years a go a bunch of us went out to ND to be there for April's blessing. It was a surprise and even though she wasn't expecting us, she had us around the table eating after 20 min. of being there. That's one example of excellent hosting. :) Last month I was able to go out and visit Chrissy and her family for a week. We had so much fun watching Jane Austen movies, trying to co-pilot a plane, swimming, exercising, doing puzzles, cooking, playing games, dueting, and spending time with her kids.

Chrissy and I got some of the same genes. Like the non-athletic genes, and the cry a lot genes. By the way I don't really appreciate either of those. We do have other things in common though. We both love to do puzzles. Not many people love puzzles, and I don't understand that. They're awesome! Also Chrissy has excellent taste in books. I have yet to disagree with her on a book. Seriously no one understands my love of reading like Chrissy does. Chrissy has given me probably half of the books that I own and I've loved all of them. One of the times when Chrissy was visiting we were going through the Twilight series. We would read when April went down for her nap. Well I was one book ahead of her so we sat there on separate couches reading separate books and it was so fun to hear her reactions to everything and discuss the books as we read them. Another common love we have is for Jane Austen books and movies. If I was watching a Jane Austen movie, or any movie from that time period, and I could have any one person watch it with me it would be Chrissy.

Other awesome things about Chrissy:
- Chrissy is very humble. I found out she passed all of her CPA exams on the first try years after she had taken them, and that was only after I asked her specifically about them. You'd never find out from her that she was offered a full right scholarship to BYU for piano. Or that she has perfect pitch and can read most anything. You'd have no idea that Chrissy is a great cook, unless you've had the opportunity to eat her food.
- Chrissy is always serving. It doesn't matter how busy she is Chrissy always finds someone who could use a friend. When I was in ND I found out she was befriending a single girl in her ward that's a little older than me and expecting a baby. Chrissy (and Kevin) had invited her over for dinner and games. This is just one of example of so, so many...
- Chrissy is always the perfect person to talk to. It doesn't matter what I have to say, she'll always listen. If I'm frustrated then she's sympathetic. If I have something fun going on, then she's excited for me. I don't know what I'm going to do next month when I can't talk to her at least every week. E-mail maybe? Not as fun, but it'll have to work.
- Chrissy makes a great second mother. This is kind of a joke in our family, but I'm serious. When my dad passed away Chrissy took on a lot of responsibility. My mom couldn't do it all and so Chrissy was always helping her. As the years went on Chrissy kept on helping, especially with the "little girls." (Me and Jess) I don't think I'll ever know everything that she gave up so she could be there for me, but I'm so grateful for it.

This picture is from one of my trips to ND. I don't think Chrissy and I look that alike, but I can see it in this picture. I'm on the right. :)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The only thing he's guilty of is being awesome!



This is a very typical picture of David and me. This is after Marie's wedding reception. Everyone was helping clean up and this is what we did. After we helped.

David and I are very alike. We have the same sarcasm, sense of humor, nose, teeth, and much to my dismay, hands. Seriously though David and I have pretty much the same sense of humor. Occasionally we spend a ridiculous amount of time on Hulu showing each other the lastest and greatest SNL clips. When I want to talk to someone about the latest movie I've seen, I know that David will probably have seen it and he'll know what I'm talking about. The day after Starstruck came out he was the first one I talked to about it! We're so alike we've even picked some of the exact piano pieces to play. Some of them aren't that coincidental since we've had the same teacher, but when we had different teachers we picked the same piece. Weird, huh? It's not like it was The Waterfall (heaven forbid, that would never happen!) or something common, it was Gottschalk's The Banjo. Random? Yeah.


When I was 17 my dance partner dumped me. I was devestated because it was my last year dancing and I really wanted to compete one last time. So David suggested we dance and with the support of his awesome wife, Heather, we danced together. We had so many good times, even at six in the morning! (Which says a lot for both of us.) How many 23 year olds do you know would spend time to dance with their little sisters in high school? This will always be one of my favorite memories with David. It meant so much to me.

Whenever I ask David for help he stops what he's doing and helps me right then. When I told him I needed a laptop and asked him for suggestions he stopped what he was doing and helped me. After doing research we completed an order less than two hours later. This is just one example of so, so many! More importantly than this help, I know that whenever I need a blessing I can call him. He'll drive down in a dress shirt and tie just for that. This is just one way he fills my father's shoes.

Other awesome things about David:
- David is the epitomy of an informed citizen. Seriously he knows about everything going on in the world, from all the natural disasters to the latest Provo High basketball score!
- David writes the best notes ever. These aren't traditional thank you notes, they're notes just because and I love them.
- David gives the best surprises. Best surprise #1. David and Sara's husband Chris planned a trip out to ND so we could be there for April's baby blessing. David was so excited to surprise Chrissy and her husband that it's the only thing he talked about for weeks, which we all loved. That really was such a great surprise. Best surprise #2. David decided that for Christmas we should give our mom a new room. He and his wife figured out all the details from the color of paint to the new shelves. So I convinced my mom to come up and visit me in ID for a weekend. During the weekend everyone at home worked through the nights to complete my mom's new room. Let's be honest it does look quite amazing now and she loves it!
- David is always working to further develop his talents. Last year he went back to taking piano lessons. Isn't that cool?

So there you have it. That's David and the only thing he's guilty of is being AWESOME!