Happy Birthday to me! Today has been the greatest day, mostly because of you. I can't even tell you how much it meant to me to be able to talk to you on the phone. And, we got to talk for 50 minutes which is more than we've ever been able to talk since you left. I loved hearing your voice, you sounded so good. It sounds like you are really getting more adjusted to the lifestyle that you're living and the things that you have to put up with. I'm so happy for you Brad and so proud of you. I also loved hearing about all of the great missionary experiences that you are being blessed with. I am so grateful to you for serving a mission and what a great asset it is to know how to share the gospel easily with the people around you. The gospel is the greatest gift that we can ever give anyone and you are at least introducing it to all of these guys who could really use a little light in their lives.
Anyway, like I was saying, I have had a great birthday. I got to sleep in this morning; then we went to Del Mar and I spent that gift card and went to Cafe Mimosa (see the menu on the back of this paper) with my mom; then I made peanut butter rice crispy treats and relaxed some more in the afternoon; also, the girls were wonderful all day; then I got to talk to you which was amazing; then we had a really yummy dinner of mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and BBQ flavored meatballs (Sara, Luke, and Ben were there for dinner in addition to the usual group of Mom, Dad, Jessie and the girls); then we got the kids into bed and played some games (Spades) while we waited for Jen, Todd, and Parker to arrive; then James got home from school and had some dinner; then the Shumards arrived and we had the ice cream cake that Sara made for me and they sang to me and I got to blow out candles. Do you want to know what I wished for? The same wish I made over the wishbone that we broke together right before you left... I wished that you would die of old age :) I just have this really good feeling that that wish will come true. So, now I'm 23, YEAH!
They lyrics for today are exciting, they are Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's “Let's Make Love”: “Baby I've been drifting away and dreaming all day of holding you, touching you. The only thing I wanna do is be with you as close to you as I can be. Let's make love all night long until our strength is gone. Hold on tight, just let go. I want to feel you in my soul. Until the sun comes up, let's make love. Do you know what you do to me? Everything inside of me is wanting you, needing you. I'm so in love with you! Look in my eyes. Let's get lost tonight in each other... Let's make love all night long until our strength is gone. Hold on tight, just let go. I want to feel you in my soul. Until the sun comes up, let's make love.”
I have been staying up kind of late (even though I have been trying to go to bed early) and still waking up early. There are two main reasons why I have a hard time going to bed early. The first one is that I don't have you to help me get to bed right now, and, when I do go to bed, I go to an empty bed and that's no fun so I delay going. The second thing is it is my free time from being a mommy so I like to live it up and work on my projects and get lots done while the girls are asleep since I don't get much done while they are awake. I guess there are three reasons...the last reason is it is always hard to get up early in the morning no matter how late or early I go to bed. It is probably a little easier to get up when I go to bed early and I feel more refreshed, but I always wish I could sleep longer. I have my cell phone alarm set to go off every morning at 6:30 and I always feel so good once I get up, it's just hard to get up. I like to get up at 6:30 so that I can get all of my morning things (yoga, scripture study, breakfast) done before the girls are awake. Anyway, my goal is to go to bed around 10:30 and then get up at 6:30 so that I get 8 hours of sleep because I know that no matter how I feel that is the best thing for my body.
Here is a journal entry about Maren from my Mom's journal: “The miracle of new life is at our doorstep. Even though Maren will be our eighth grandchild, each birth is uniquely joyous and precious. She is due on Grandpa Lindorf’s birthday. Even though we don’t know how much longer we will have Grandpa with us, it is sobering to expectantly wait for one life to join us while another is in the process of leaving. Like the surf on the ocean, each of God’s children naturally falls into the rhythm of one going out and the next coming in. Yesterday at the beach, as I felt the spray of an astonishingly beautiful, fresh new wave upon my face and heard its thundering crash demanding to be heard, I thought of the infinite creation God allows us to witness and relish with each new child He intimately brings to us. Life can never be taken for granted.”
I love you so much Brad, thank you for giving me two beautiful little girls!
Love-Jess
P.S. Have you noticed the scent of this letter? Homesick yet? :)
P.P.S. I found out that there is a temple in Oklahoma City and I will find out what we need to do to get there...
Here is some really interesting information that was just emailed to me about the annual fatalities of military members while actively serving in the armed forces from 1980 through 2004:
1980 .......... 2,392
1981 .......... 2,380
1982 .......... 2,318
1983 .......... 2,465
1984 .......... 1,999
1985 .......... 2,252
1986 .......... 1,984
1987 .......... 1,983
1988 .......... 1,819
1989 .......... 1,636
1990 .......... 1,508
1991 .......... 1,787
1992 .......... 1,293
1993 .......... 1,213
1994 .......... 1,075
1995 .......... 1,040
1996 ............ 974
1997 ........... 817
1998 ............ 826
1999 ............ 795
2000 ........... 774
2001 ............ 890
2002 .......... 1007
2003 ......... 1,410 ----- 534*
2004 . .........1,887 ----- 900*
2005 ............ 919*
2006 ........... 920*
* Figures are Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom fatalities only.
“Does this really mean that the loss from the two current conflicts in the Middle East are LESS than the loss of military personnel during Mr. Clinton's presidency? Were we at war? Are you confused when you look at these figures? Especially look at 1980 when Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter, was President, there were 2,392 US military fatalities. What this tells me is that the media and (some) politicians pick and choose, and they tend to present only those facts that support their agenda driven reporting.”
“Another fact the media and politicians like to slant is that these brave men and women losing their lives are minorities. Wrong again - The latest census shows the following:
European descent (white) . 69.12%
Hispanic ....................... 12.5%
African American ............ 12.3%
Asian .............................. 3.7%
Native American ................ 1.0%
Other ............................... 2.6%
The fatalities over the past three years in Iraqi Freedom are:
European descent (white) .. 74.31%
Hispanic .......................... 10.74%
African American ..... ..........9.67%
Asian ................................. 1.81%
Native American ... ............. 1.09%
Other ................................. 2.33%
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