A Life Well Lived

My cousin, Craig Decker, passed away in an accident a couple weeks ago. We had the privilege of attending his funeral this past weekend to pay tribute to a life well lived and a man well loved. It has been difficult dealing with the death of a loved one and someone so young and vibrant, but also a wonderful time to reflect on life and the things that really do matter. I have always been impressed by Craig and his wonderful smile and positive attitude, but I have been truly inspired as I have learned more about him and those that he touched. He has made me want to be a better person through the way that he lived his life. The following is written by him on his Youtube page (captaindanger384).

"I haven't always been left handed. In fact, I still get weirded out when I look down at the stub where my right hand used to be! Christmas vacation last year took me on a road trip to Mexico. Question: Where can you buy better quality fireworks than in Mexico? (Answer: ANYWHERE!) On New Year's Eve I lit a harmless looking firework at midnight, and a moment later I looked down and realized that my hand took the early bus back to heaven!All joking aside, I have learned some powerful lessons through that experience. (Surprisingly, most of them have very little to do with firework safety!) Although what occurred was tragic, I believe what I have learned has made me a better person and will continue to bless the lives of many people.

1. Don't buy fireworks in Mexico!

2. There are some things in life that we simply cannot control. (If I hadn't blown off my hand, some other poor sap would have!) It's okay. As we let go of those things quickly and completely, we become free.

3. "Men are that they might have joy"! Life is good. Laughter heals. Life is funny. There are funny things that happen every day even in the worst of situations. Bad days make good stories. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. It's funny that laughter and tears come together so easily.

4. The atonement of Christ brings peace and healing "that surpass all understanding". We come to know ourselves and we come to know God through our trials. We are surrounded by miracles. When we trade self pity for humility, our eyes are opened to see them.

5. There is so much life to live! Why waste time worrying and stressing about inconsequential things? Spend time doing what matters most—the things that bring the most light and joy to life. Enjoy the ride.

6. Challenges make us stronger and better. With creativity and patience, we are capable of much more than we ever imagined. Our perspective determines our reality. (There is nothing that quite compares with the feeling of accomplishment gained from tying your shoes with one hand for the first time!)

7. We can always lift others, no matter how bad of a situation we are in. It is a divine gift. The only true and lasting joy comes from forgetting ourselves and helping those around us."

We'll miss you Craig!!

For more about Craig, you can visit www.craig-decker.com

AT LAST!!!

After over two years of working in the yard every second of every day (except for the hours and hours that Paul was studying), we are finally done! We just finished building our deck and steps out of the house after not having any for over a year. YEA!! I honestly never thought we would finish. We have been teased a lot by friends and family wondering if we have a life besides working in our yard. Well, we haven't really, but to tell the truth, it has been so much fun working together. Peyton thinks that is what families do for fun - work in the backyard.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped. We couldn't have done it without you.

And now for the unveiling...drum roll please...I just wish I had taken better pictures to document "the before". Like I've said, photography has never been one of my talents. I have no pictures of what our yard was like before we began, and only a few documenting our progress. Let's just say, a quarter of our already TINY yard was completely unusable.

BEFORE

Sorry about the behind shot, Mom. It just shows what a hard worker you are!!

My wonderful brothers - hard at work. (Just a side note...each of those blocks weigh about 90 pounds. I couldn't even lift them - I know, surprising, considering how ripped I am. We had 6 full pallets of them delivered on our front driveway. Paul spent many nights carrying them one by one around the house. One day, our neighbors, two women in their 40s, showed up with aprons and gloves on. "Where do we put the blocks?" Those amazing women carried back 1 and 1/2 pallets all by themselves. People are SO awesome.)

The walls eventually got done, but then there were truckloads and truckloads of dirt to get rid of. Luckily, one of our neighbors needed dirt, so we were able to load it in the truck and just drive it around the corner to unload it. I can't even guess on how many wheelbarrows of dirt we shoveled. (Peyton really was an amazing little helper. There was one time he filled a whole wheelbarrow by himself. He was just barely 2 years old.)

This was taken the night before we had our concrete poured.

And now finally, two years after we started our "little" project. We got the deck done and we are finished!! ...well, maybe...I'm getting some new ideas of what I want to do next.

PS - Sorry for the major over abundance of pictures. I'm just real happy and quite shocked that we actually are finished.