My father-in-law Reggie is a modest, noble man. He is one of the few people I've met who is genuinely non-judgemental. I know he would love me and Todd and the kids no matter what we said or did. He has a heart of gold--nice as can be- and loves everyone he meets. He's a big football fan, and I'm not (I really don't even know what's going on), but one day he said, "Kristie, do you see how they painted the numbers on the field red? Usually they're white, but I like how they painted them to match the team colors" (loose paraphrase but you get the point) and that made me feel special. Of anybody in the world, Todd never doubts that his Dad will always love him. One day Todd told me that in a very profound way, and that's when I realized how special his Dad is to him. He never complains, he's a hard worker, and he never wants anything. (He's a very hard person to shop for for Christmas). He is happy no matter what, in whatever situation he's placed in--an optimist. He is very loving to Judy (Todd gets that from him, being loving to me that is). From the day Todd took me to meet him he's treated me like family, even before I was "official family." Love you!
Judy met Reggie about the same time I met Todd. I, however, had to wait to marry my sweetheart until he got back from his mission, but Judy married Reggie that summer. She fit in like one of the family from the start. She was always busy (and still is) making quilts with us and doing things for us. Something I noticed about Judy is that she is thoughtful. For example, she really puts thought into a gift, and I have absolutely loved every gift--she knows exactly what I would like--that takes being observant and perceptive. Some of the gifts include: a picnic set with a homemade blanket, a cooking with kids book with tons of really great creative ideas in it, and I remember one Christmas one of our gifts was a sheet set, and at the time we had NO sheets and couldn't afford to buy new ones, so we were sleeping on sleeping bags on our bed--how did she know??? She always gives the kids fun gifts, too, that they love. Last year she gave them pretend tiger skin and wolf skin rugs as one of their presents and guess what... I was looking for exactly that for the kids' playhouse. See what I mean?! Those tiger and wolf skins are right now in the boys' room being a bed for Rexy and Sharky. However, it's more than the actual gift, it's knowing that she knows my personality and put thought into it. Like Reggie, she treated me like family before I was "official family," even inviting me over while Todd was on his mission--fattening me up with so much food and then sending me home with leftovers. She is creative, sensitive and caring. I love to be around her and I'm glad Reggie snatched her up! Love you!
(Todd is the one in the front on the bottom that looks like Nathan):
Todd's mom, Terrel, is a special person to me. Todd talks about her so tenderly. He says how she was such a great mom before she got sick, helping him with school projects and doing fun activities like having a "store" and doing "journey dinners." She played the flute like me and learned Spanish and graduated from BYU. I'm so glad that she taught Todd the gospel when he was young. She gave him a great foundation--one of the reasons Todd thinks that he "turned out" as well as he did despite the circumstances. I love her because she is Todd's mom. I love her because she did the best she could. I love her because she continues to love us even with her illness. I can't wait to meet her again in heaven, when she returns to her old self. I know we'll be great friends.
5 comments:
That's very sweet! I'm glad they're fellow parents-in-law!
What a nice tribute to your sister-in-laws!!!
I'm sorry I meant in-laws...it's a little late:)
Kristie, that is very sweet. That means a lot to me. You captured them perfectly. I love you. Thank you.
that's really sweet kristie, they're lucky to have a daughter in law like you!
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