Dear Lady,

Happiest of happy Thanksgiving!
For the first time in a very long time I am celebrating this holiday with a rather clear idea of what the future holds and where we're going (of course I'm speaking career-wise). I won't say I don't still struggle from time-to-time with a longing for my voyages and adventures, but for the first time I have a very clear goal in my head and it is helping me keep my focus.
I love this rural country life you've brought me back to. I have always wanted to see the world, but I have also always wanted to just build myself into a community and build-up that community in turn. I want to know and love my neighbors. I want us to work together and love one another. I want to be intimately acquainted with the earth, my surroundings, and my own physical limitations.
I wake up in the morning much easier now than I had lately and I think it's because I don't dread myself and my indecision anymore. I wake up to write about our country life. Or to study country things. Or to watch country videos. I am inspired by them. Uplifted by them. And I am anxious to work alongside my best friend, Farmer Mur (Farmurmur?)!
On this day of Thanksgiving I am thankful for our sweet little home. I am thankful for the country around us. I am thankful for the chickens we tend to each day. I am thankful for our children and for watching them run and play in our backyard. I am thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the way the gospel has led me so very far down this road to being the person I want to be. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who helped strengthen His son along this path that has blessed so many of us.
And I am thankful for you—my best friend, my dear companion, and my whole world. Thank you for believing in me and in us. Thank you for patience and love. Thank you for hard work and resilience. Thank you for your example of charity and understanding. And thank you for farming with me (this is an advanced thank you since we don't actually do this yet :) Thank you for another year with you. It's been a difficult one, but your colors have shown through it: beautiful and resplendent.
Happy Thanksgiving to the most amazing girl I ever met.
I love you.

.Patrick

Boy,

It was a pleasant surprise to find a note from you the other day.

I think it's funny that you look forward to 6:10 so much. It's my least favorite part of the day.  Although, if I'm being honest, I really do appreciate the morning once I'm showered and aware of my being and surroundings.  In fact, if those circumstances are met, I'd venture to say that morning actually becomes a magical time and maybe even the time I love most. Weird, huh?  Well, maybe not weird for you, but definitely for me. 

I don't mind your nighttime lethargy. I think it's cute. It's one of your quirks and I love all of your quirks. I have my own set and I hope for patience in their presence, so how could I offer you anything but the same?  

I am excited to farm. Also, I think we should record our ideas and plans in a mutual spot. I think our ideas and plans would seem more concrete to me.  I think we could be more organized and effective as a team. 

I really appreciate your humility in being able to speak out loud when you feel you were wrong or when you need forgiveness. It is such a vulnerable and beautiful position to take. I learn from your example daily and I thank you for it. 

Big L

Dear Lady,

I'll be honest—I hate the fact that I get so tired in the evening. Like literally hate it.
Now, this doesn't mean I dislike mornings. I love the quiet of the morning. I'm downstairs right now sitting beside the fire that I just re-stoked and I'm loving it. What a beautiful thing it was to bring this wood stove into our lives.
Anyway, back to night time: I hate the way I get so sleepy as soon as the kids are in bed. I think I hate it so much because I think it gives off the impression that I'm not excited to be awake and alone with you at last. I feel like it gives you the impression that I'm bored and I just feel like it's insulting to you when I nod off—and I hate that idea. I guess I feel like you deserve a friend who's energetic and dynamic in the evenings with you and I want so badly to be that person—then I fall asleep.
I'm sorry for that.
I want you to know how much I do love you. How much I do love being alone with you in the evening. Even if all that's happening is me watching you reading articles on your phone, I love it (though I wish I was providing excitement enough that we didn't need to be on our screens in the evening).
From the moment we met I've wanted nothing more than time with you. I love time with you. I spent the better part of a decade frustrated in my career pursuits in part because I needed something that provided what I felt was adequate time with you. In reality there's no such thing as adequate time with you (thank you eternity) which is why I am excited about the idea of farming. There's a lot I like about it, but most important to me is how it brings the two of us together. I hope you're excited about it too. I think we can create a beautiful farm!
I'll be seeing you in about an hour when I come to wake you up at 6:10. I look forward to that time everyday. You're my whole world, and I hope you always know that.

.a boy

Boy,

The only blog I check more than my own is this one, because I treasure your writing more than the possibility that some stranger updated my personal blog. Anyway, if a post mysteriously appeared over there, it would be creepy. Awesome, but still creepy. 

Anyway, what's there to say?  I love you. I love our life together. I love the idea of farming with you. I love how you light your oil lamp every night and read to the kids. I love how you just laugh at my weird and stupid quirks. I love how accepting you are of both my simple and complicated ideas. Let's just be in love forever.  

From Lady