A Day Recap, Thoughts on Mesquite, Plus Date #33 (Service)

After I wrote this I realized this is totally just a recap of my day that would only be interesting to me.  I love when such simple days make you full to the brim with love and happiness.  Life is so wonderful!

Daphne in Montana at 5:30 AM - trying to play quietly with her downstairs so she wouldn't wake up her cousins.  I just love everything about her in this picture.

It's been a great day.  We were up by 6:30 and Burke was out the door for his long run before I could rub the sleep out of my eyes.  I got Daph some food, threw her in the car and met him at the park 4 miles into his run to provide a water bottle and cheering.  Daph loved playing at the park in her pjs and threw a fit when we left.  This child knows just what she wants.

Got home, whipped up some pancakes, changed into my running clothes just in time to swap baby girl with Burke as he came in and I went out.  Ran 7 miles and felt fantastic!  I love that we are making this half marathon goal a reality.  For a while I was worried it wouldn't happen and it has been so wonderful to have Burke on board making us stick to our running schedule.  He's never ran this far in his life and I am so proud of his determination to push through the pain and find the joy of running.  I always hate the first few miles - ALWAYS - but once I hit 3 or 4 it's like, "Oh yeah - this IS amazing, I just keep forgetting."  Our bodies can do incredible things with enough hard work.

Hilariously dorky picture Burke texted me one day that seemed appropriate after that paragraph.

After my run I gave Burke a hair cut out back while Daphne splashed in the water table next to us in her diaper.  She is such a crack up, sticking her head under the spray of the water and turning her dripping, grinning face towards us to make sure we're watching.  We cleaned up, had a delicious breakfast, ran to the bank to deposit Burke's check.  ALL before noon.  I felt so accomplished!

We all crashed at Daphne's nap time and then Burke and I cleaned the house from top to bottom, did a couple loads of laundry, dishes, etc. I was sure glad we did when the Realtor called and said there were people 5 minutes away from our house who wanted to come see it.  

Oh yeah, did I mention Lance and Celeste are putting their house up for sale?  They offered for us to buy it, but there's no way we can afford to invest in a home this nice yet and we have also been hesitant to put down roots in Mesquite, not knowing how long we would be here.  However, it was weird walking the people through the house and hearing how excited they were about it.  I guess it's just now hitting me that we will have to move if/when someone buys this place.  I didn't realize how attached I have become to this beautiful living space and most especially, our neighborhood.  We have the most amazing neighbors.  The Bunkers, Holts, Boyds and Gaults are so incredibly kind to us and are always so sweet and loving to Daphne.  And I don't know what I would have done here without Shannon and Shane Hughes.  Shannon took me under her wing from day one, introducing me to people, inviting me to things, borrowing eggs and sugar, all of which has made me feel so accepted, like I had a purpose and a place here.  In two weeks, we will have lived in Mesquite for a year and it wasn't until today that I realized how many things I have grown to love about this little town.  There are so many wonderful people and though there is not a ton to see or do and it's 110+ degrees all summer long, it really is a great little community.  In some ways, I am even learning to love the desert landscape.  More and more often I will look at the distant dry mountains in the morning light or in the soft purple glow of twilight and be so impressed by their beauty rather than repulsed by the vast expanse of gray nothingness below them.  However, I think one of the biggest reasons I have become attached to Mesquite is the peaceful chapter in our life it now represents to me.  Truly, as a new mother so captivated by my sweet babe and more in love than ever before with my husband, this year has been one of the happiest of my life.  It is strange to think that if some stranger decides they want to purchase this home, many of this will change for our little family.  I can't help but feel a little somber at that knowledge.

Our precious babe

But, we keep on keepin on!  After we showed the house, we decided that instead of going to the comedy night at the Casa Blanca or going to a movie for our date night, we really needed to spend our date time doing service for someone else.  So we went over to help our friends, the Baker family, as they put the finishing touches on their remodeling projects.  I didn't feel like we did a whole lot as we painted and scrubbed the closet, but hopefully we were able to make things a little easier for them today.  I just loved that Burke and I both felt it was more important to serve others today than have an entertaining night for ourselves.  I think we'll make "Service Dates" a more regular occurrence. 

Burke spontaneously decided our sore bodies deserved to rest from cooking, so we ate at my favorite restaurant in town (Los Lupes!) and came home to snuggle our baby girl before putting her to bed.  The hubby has now gone to watch the BYU vs. UOU football game with his Uncle Kelby and cousins and here I sit, journaling a totally bland recap of our day.  Maybe my kids will appreciate reading one day about a regular Saturday for their parents.  Regardless, it's been a good day and my heart is full.  Sometimes I feel so blessed I can hardly believe that this is really my life.  God has been so good to us.