Have I mentioned that I love NPR? Or that I love the BBC? I think I have. Whether or not I actually am, I always feel smarter after listening to/watching their programs.

I love music too, but when driving in the car I can’t stand to listen to the radio. I usually opt for programs like Dr. Laura or Dave Ramsey. During election season I can’t stomach talk radio. A long time ago I was on a big NPR kick. I subscribed to multiple NPR podcasts and listened to them on my iPod any spare minute. Then for some reason my NPR passion faded and I haven’t listened to it for awhile.

This morning while driving home from an appointment there were no other options so I turned on NPR and was immediately reminded why I love it. In the 20 minutes I listened I heard actually useful tips about cooking and I learned about a new BBC tv series (playing on PBS) that actually sounds like it is worth watching.

NPR you’ve won my heart again. How do you do it? How do you manage to appeal to such a broad and varied audience?

Remember this? My post about Richard’s traveling days being mostly finished?

It was too good to be true.

Sigh.

It turns out he does a good job. It turns out that when you do a good job, clients want you on their job. It turns out a big business acquisition in Spokane necessitates Richard’s presence there for the next few weeks.

I told Richard, “This is all very flattering, the way they are fighting for you.”

But it turns out that flattery is a poor compensation for missing a husband and father.

It also turns out that I’ve been aware of a family missing their dad in a much more painful way so I’m officially done complaining.

In fact, I’m here to express gratitude for modern techonology.

It turns out that you can talk face to face via webcams and Skype. I know we are probably the last ones to use this method of communication, but we did it for the first time last night and had a great time. The kids loved it, therefore Mom and Dad loved it.

And lastly, it turns out that the silver lining of this situation is that I’ll be booking a flight (with Richard’s frequent flyer miles) to Florida soon.

I worked with a lady once who told me that all she and her husband had to do to get pregnant was wash their underwear together. Fertility is certainly a blessing, but sometimes it seems to defy the odds. I never actually asked “How did this happen?” because it seems so obvious, but let me just say it isn’t always obvious. It’s just the will of the Lord.

Pregnancy tests claim 99% accuracy. For the first few days after I took the test when I referenced the subject Richard would respond “One percent.” In other words, he was in denial.

At our wedding reception we danced to a song titled “Come What May” and I had those words engraved on the inside of Richard’s wedding band. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin added “And love it” to our mantra in a conference talk a few years ago. Now that the initial shock of an unexpected pregnancy is over and the idea of FOUR children is settling in, we have reached the “love it” part. We feel very blessed and we are very excited.

Baby #4 is due April 8th.

**For my friends who read this that are currently living under the gloomy cloud in Kuna I apologize if my timing seems insensitive. Truth be told, making a big announcement is always hard for me (saying something on a blog sometimes doesn’t really feel like you’re saying it) but this secret is getting too hard to keep.

A ward member and friend suffered a stroke on Friday. Although his prognosis is uncertain I am learning from the examples of friends how to have faith and hope.

Last March when Cameron ran his first race neither Richard or I were dressed to run with him. Mark stepped in and saved the day, running the mile race at Cameron’s side. Since then Mark doesn’t pass Cameron in the hallway at church without a high-five for his “Running Buddy.” Mark was also a great source of encouragement to me when we were both training to run Robie Creek.

I’ve registered Cameron for a YMCA kid’s race on Saturday afternoon to run as a tribute to Mark. We would love to have the company of any kids who want to join us. It is one mile, for kids under 13 and the race is done in waves according to age.

On October 16th is the Barber to Boise race. I plan to run that race also as a tribute to Mark and his contagious love for the sport. Once again, I’d love to have running companions.

God be with you Mark and I hope to see that giant smile again.

A couple weeks ago I did my first race since Miriam was born. It was called the Dirty Dash. It was a great race, but it took me awhile to post because for reasons I’ll explain in a minute, I didn’t have any pictures.

It was at Bogus Basin and since I had signed Cameron and a friend up for the children’s race after mine, I drove up by myself. Richard planned to bring the kids up later so as not to have to entertain them while I ran. When I arrived I felt totally depressed. There were teams all dressed up and excited and I felt so lonely. Luckily I found a friend and pretty much invited myself to run with her and her running buddy. That made all the difference. The race would have been dull without their great enthusiasm and senses of humor.

The race itself was brutal. It included various obstacles that were both physically challenging and hazardous. The second third of the race was up a steep hill. Luckily the last third was downhill and included a 150-foot slip and slide that was AWESOME. Then at the very end was a giant mud pit that you had to crawl through. The cold water and mud felt so good, as it was a very hot day.

Unfortunately due to some communication issues Richard and the kids weren’t there at the finish line. The adrenaline and excitement after that crazy finish was a little anti-climatic when there was no one to share in it with me. But I got some food and patiently waited until my clan arrived.

Cameron and his friend did the kid’s race that included the slip-n-slide, but they wanted nothing to do with the mud pit. Oh well, I was a little relieved because of the huge clean-up it entailed.

Richard and I consider ourselves to be frugal people. We like to get a deal where we can and avoid spending money when we can. We buy a lot of generic brands. But I have decided, as I am sure many have, that some things are not worth buying cheap. Two of these things that readily come to mind are Richard’s dress shirts and toilet paper.

We received bed sheets from my mother-in-law at my bridal shower.

(You already see where this is going…)

They were nice, good quality. They lasted at least five years. Then I bought some of those Jersey knit sheets from Target, they are soft and very inexpensive. But they did not last. Before we went out of town I bought some new cotton sheets and put them on the bed the day we left. My mother and mother-in-law would both be staying in our bed while we were away. When we came home my mother-in-law had put clean sheets on the bed, the Jersey knit sheets. The other day I changed the sheets and put on the new cotton ones.

First of all I must apologize to anyone who slept in those sheets while we were away.

Secondly, sheets are now on my list of things worth the extra money.

Now dear friends, to spare me from making more wasteful purchases in the future, what other things are best not bought cheap?

I had some trepidation about flying out of Washington D.C. across the country to L.A. on September 11th. Of course we were fine, and if anything it gave me a chance to reflect on the events of nine years ago. In the Reagan National Airport a man’s voice would come over the loud-speaker periodically and say “We will never forget.” It was touching.

On the flights out to Washington D.C. I was much too excited to sleep, as badly as I wanted to. On the way home it seemed I could not keep my eyes open. Everyone told me that when I got back I would appreciate my kids more, etc. The time I was awake on our long journey home I spent thinking about how all I wanted to do was take care of my kids. I missed them so much and I could think of no greater pleasure than just bathing, feeding and kissing them. Of course that feeling has worn off a little, but not completely.

Our trip was so wonderful. We have so many people to thank for it, and it required so much assistance from others that it will be a long time before we do anything similar. But thanks to all who were involved and made the experience so memorable.

That includes you Mr. Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln is my hero. As Bryan pointed out, he wasn’t born great. When he was born there wasn’t a huge monument for him. He was born ordinary. He became great through his own efforts, failures, accomplishments, circumstances and trials. I could say much about him, but it would be inadequate.

After that we made a quick stop at the National Archives to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. We also were able to see a manuscript of the Magna Carta from 1297. That is so old.

We grabbed a quick lunch at a sandwhich place, once again recommended by Bryan, once again very tasty. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History. We did not spend much time in this museum because time was short, and because we were constantly saying to each other “The boys would LOVE this!”

We spent the majority of the afternoon in the Museum of American History. The original Star-Spangled Banner is now on display there, that was our favorite part. There is just so much to see. We could have spent the entire day in that one museum.

(View from Robert E. Lee’s home before the Civil War, in what is now Arlington National Cemetary.)

We left there in time to make a quick trip up to Arlington National Cemetary. We hoofed it up to the Tomb of the Unknown, at the top of the hill just in time for the changing of the gaurd. Talk about tender mercy… The hills of the cemetary are covered, as far as the eye can see, with simple white tombstones. It occurred to me that all the individuals buried there have more devotedly served their country than I have. It was very humbling.

We ended the day and the vacation with the all-American experience of baseball. Bryan surprised us with tickets to a Nationals game. The weather was perfect, the food was just as it should be at such an event. There were even fireworks afterward. The only downfall, the Nats couldn’t pull off a win.

(Old town Alexandria, that’s my guy, one bad CPA)