Thursday, June 18, 2009

Little Things Mean A Lot

This month my girlfriends and I have chosen "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman as our book club selection for June. By the end of the book, each reader is able to determine which of the Five Love Languages he or she speaks and understands best. Hands down, my love language is "Acts of Service". Richard speaks my language well.

Richard does so many nice things for me and for our children everyday. I'd be willing to bet that most of the nice things he does for us, he does without recognizing them for what they are: Acts of Service.

Here is a list of some of the little things Richard does:

1) He keeps my gas tank full. I do not pump gas. I repeat: I DO NOT PUMP GAS. In the nearly 15 years that Richard and I have been together, I have had to pump gas twice. Both times you can be sure that I cursed liked a sailor the whole time.

2) He takes the trash cans out every week and brings them back in. I have never had to do it. Yuck!

3) If a toilet gets clogged, we close the lid and use one of the other four toilets in the house for the rest of the day. Richard will unclog it when he gets home that evening.

4) With much alacrity, he exterminates any bugs and spiders that happen to get into the house. He also disposes of any mice caught in traps.

5) Even though Richard works on his feet all day on the job, he happily comes home and helps out around the house wherever he is needed.

6) Every Sunday Richard spends hours with Dallin and Elijah on their cub scout assignments. He wants them to earn their Eagle Scout honors just like he did as a boy.

7) He is happily our resident handyman.

8) He is quick to use his priesthood for the benefit of our family and anyone else who may be in need of such a service.

9) Every morning while I groom for the day, Richard brings me a pitcher of water to drink. He knows I am not quick to take care of myself and that if I see the water in front of me I will drink it. As a breastfeeding mother, it is vital!

10) Richard never complains about going to work each day. He is a good provider.

11) Every night when I head upstairs for bed, I find that Richard has turned down our bed and carefully placed our 9 decorative pillows in a corner on the floor.

12) Every fast Sunday Richard makes breakfast for those of us who can't fast. That's all of us girls. This has got to be hard for him to watch us eat in front of him!

13) Each morning before going to work, Richard helps me start my morning work around the house. No doubt Richard would much rather get up later in the morning than get up and work before he goes to work.

Those are just some of kind things Richard does for us. I could go on and on. It has been said that "little things mean a lot". I, for one, agree wholeheartedly which is why I do all the things I do. It is one of my goals in life to teach my children this very same principle. And so, because Richard is a busy man, I asked the children if they would like to do something really nice for Daddy. Dallin and Elijah said that they could mow the back lawn for Daddy. And though our back lawn is very small, in the summertime when the grass gets long and thick quickly, it is a big job.

Here are some pictures of Dallin and Elijah happily at work:


Dallin and Elijah are getting started. It's a beautiful day to be working outside.



Dallin and Elijah are never too busy to smile for the camera. What hams!



Elijah is the original ham, for sure. He's cute and he knows it. He also knows that if he does a good job on the lawn he'll get a treat.



What's gonna work? Teamwork!!! Dallin and Elijah are a great team.


Dallin knows that doing manual labor like mowing the lawn will build muscles and draw the attention of any chicks in the vicinity.




To my muscles: Burn, baby, burn!



Mr Tyke is our resident supervisor over all lawn mowing jobs. He gave the boys two paws up!



Once again, teamwork works.



As you can see, Dallin and Elijah are very focused on the job at hand.



I'm sure the boys are glad mowing the lawn doesn't have to be done every day.



The grass was so long and thick. The boys had to empty the grass catcher multiple times!



Felicity "helped" with her Yard Crew toy lawnmower.


Okay, so it wasn't all work and no play. Here Elijah is trying to blow up Mimi's skirt with the leaf blower.


And here he is doing the same thing to Felicity, even as she tries to run away from him.


Let's get it started, Mimi!



The finished product. Excellent job, guys! You're hired!


It was a big job, and a gorgeous day, and when it was over, Dallin and Elijah were tired, hungry and very thirsty! They each downed a can of soda pop, and a lot of lunch.

I know that Dallin and Elijah have enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment, that comes from a job well done, but even more they will enjoy seeing the look on Daddy's face when he discovers what the boys have done to surprise him. We can't wait to witness his reaction!!

Love, Cara

4 comments:

Druciana said...

You have such a sweet husband. You are a lucky woman!

I love the pictures of the boys mowing the lawn. What a great thing for them to do for their dad!

Katie said...

Cara, I was thought that Acts of Service would be your language. You made a comment once in RS about Richard pumping gas and taking out the trash, so when we picked this book, I thought that would be your language. I have a thought about Tera's, too... Just have to see if I got that one right!

Tera said...

You do have a very thoughtful and kind husband who does so much for your family. You are very blessed. Even though the boys were probably very tired from mowing, I bet they were in seventh heaven to be able to get their hands on the yard tools!

Shelly said...

Loved all the pictures, Cara! That Richard sure is a keeper!~What a dedicated husband and father! I'm sure the boys got a lot of satisfaction from helping their dad too!