Angels among us!!

So I had an amazing lesson today in institute. We were talking about angels and Elder Hollands amazing talk from conference about angels in our lives these days. We listened to a part of his talk that said we walk and talk with angels, they can be our neighbors, and they might ahve even given birth to us!! I have loved that part of his talk because I know that angels are everywhere and they have truely helped me throughout my life! So I was thinking that I wanted to pay tribute, I guess you could say, to two angels that I have in my life... My mom and my dad. Now as many of you know they got divorced when I was around one or so. So I have lived with this my whole life and thats just how its always been and I know it happened for a reason and I'm grateful for where they both are at now! First off I'll talk about my mom... What an amazing lady she is! I really don't know what words to say to describe her. When I was growing up she wasn't around alot because she was going to school to become a Physicians Assistant(PA). She was in Rock Springs for awhile then Laramie and then she ended up in Montana where she gradutated from. I didn't get to see her alot because she was so far away but the times we did see her were awesome! She had so much love for us and it was so hard for her to be so far away from her children! one thing I remember was she had just picked us up and I dont remeber where we were but we were jamming to the music with our curling irons and hairbrushes out for microphones just jamming really loud to music with not a care in the world, then I guess we were going a little fast and we got pulled over. I dont think she got a ticket because the cop saw us with our "microphones" out and thought it was funny I guess. But this is my mom for ya! She is so down to earth and wanted to be that role model in our lives and that she was. She had some hard times in her life when she fell away from the church and she was just struggling. And I remember when she started coming back to church and when she went through the temple. It was so awesome to see that change in her life and see how it changed her. I have always looked up to my mother for being so strong to make that change in her life and now she is the relief society president in her ward in Mtn. View. I am so thankful that I have the most amazing mom anyone could ever ask for. Even when she was hundreds of miles away I still know she loved me! She has taught me so many things in life through her example and through her testimony and I'm so thankful for our relationship!! I know that she is always there to do anything for me whenever I need it!!

Now on to my father. He is the best dad anyone could ask for! He has always been there for me to cheer me up or give me words of advice. He has always worked so hard to provide for us my whole life. He had four girls and so he thinks that his life is so hard. But I provided him with a son for a few years (back when I was a little boy). I have always loved to do things with my dad. Whether it was going hunting with all the men or just simply practicing my pitching in the back yard, we did so much together. For those of you that know him he thinks he is a pretty tough guy. He always like to throw crazy moves on me like the ones he throws on his inmates in jail and thinks he's tough but I do know his weak spots. All throughout my sports career he has been there cheering me on and giving me advice. Even though he's not much of a basketball or volleyball player, he made it to my games and always gave me good words of advice. The summer before I moved to college, many of you knew I got hit in the face with a softball. Here's how the story goes from his prospective. He's jsut sitting at home and hears on his scanner that an 18yr old girl has just gotten hit in the face with a softball and that an ambulance is needed, so he thinks... geez some dumb girl can't catch the ball!! So then dispatch calls him and says "Uh Dave, I think the girl that they just called the ambulance for was your daughter!" and now many dads would feel bad for thinking such a bad thought about a girl that got hit which ended up being your daughter... nope not mine, he still thought geez some dumb girl can't catch the ball!" So anyways they come to the ball fields andhe rides with me to the hospital and him and Kent Williams gives me a blessing! I am so thankful that I have a father that honors his priesthood and can give me a blessing whenever I need it, and I believe that because of that blessing things turned out alot better than they probably should have. My dad is my hero and I look up to him so much. People say that I act just like him because we are both smart alec's, we are both sarcastic and we both are pretty funny people. But I still like to go out and do things with him that usually the sons would do but I am thankful for anytime that I get to spend with him! He is the greatest dad and I dont know what I would do without him! I'm thankful that I have been blessed with such a great dad that raised me in the gospel and around such an amzing family that he comes from. Even though we tease each other constantly, I'm so thankful for the relationship I have with him.