Behind the camera and in my heart

You know I was thinking about it, and I think I will be a little sappy today.  Alta always posts pictures of our boys and says such nice things about them. I love that, but very rarely do we get to see pictures of the one behind the camera, and I would love to say some nice things about her because she really means the world to me.  Today I am writing an Alta Marie post, which I am sure will be modified or removed when she sees it.  Hopefully not before anyone and everyone reading this comments not on my botched writing, but on how special Alta really is and how beautiful she looks in these photographs.  I am hijacking the blog a bit because I have never posted before, but Alta and I have been apart for almost four months now and I think it is really starting to take  its toll on all of us, including the boys.  It doesn't help that things seem to keep getting more complicated as she preps to come back to the island next month, but through it all the real backbone to our little family has been my wife Alta.  She will never tell you that, and you will have a tough time convincing her to agree that she is a talented, beautiful, and remarkable woman and mother.  Her desire for perfection and her humility wont let her ever gives in to arrogance or even accepting whole-heartedly the compliments she receives.  That is just one of the million things which I love about her,  And there really might be a million things I love about her.  She is that great.  I think the space apart, and the separate continents, and time zones and even way of life we experience living apart has slowly made us all go a little upside down. I know it has made me a bit batty and Alta is raising two kids on her own.  I can only imagine how difficult that is. Despite that Alta Marie is still who we all turn to in our family for peace and for love and direction.  I know she is the only one who can turn my aggression and impatience into kind actions and thoughtfulness.  It is the same with our boys.  Those boys like to push Alta’s buttons with dad far away and she has to play mom and dad, and being the tough parent all the time gets difficult, but she does it with grace and style and humor, which make it so our boys love her so much.  They may act tough and pretend like mom isn’t who they want for their bath some nights, but mom is who they want for the real important things; like when they get hurt, or want to learn, or be loved, or when they are having a tough day.  I know that Alta has created a relationship with our boys so that they will come to her now and forever for help and advice and love. Yes they are still little boys, who will be stubborn like their dad, but Alta handles them and teaches them amazingly.  I don’t know many 12 month olds that can make the sounds of 15 different animals.  Or many 18 month olds that are potty trained, or 16 month olds that know all their abc's both big and small case.  Yes they may have gotten a little bit of dad’s smarts and genes in there.  But dad only has a little bit of smarts to give.  The rest comes totally from their mother.  She is smart, dedicated and an amazing teacher.  Our family it is what it is because of her.  She is amazing with our children and with me.  Thanks to her we are all better people, and we all know our ABC's, both big and small case. Alta tends to get down on herself for a lot of things.  She always wants to continue to be the best at what she does and she always wants to perfect what she does.  In doing this naturally she compares herself to others.  We all know that comparison can be hard and sometimes unproductive because there will always be someone with more experience or different circumstances.  Comparing usually isn’t good, but I am guilty of doing it too sometimes.  I compare Alta to others a lot because in my eyes now and forever no one else will ever compare to her.  She is one of a kind, and I’m beyond blessed to have that one special Alta in my life as my wife and as the mother of my children.    She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and she is a wonderful and loving mother and wife.  Times are a little tough being apart, but that trial and the difficulties we face apart will be over soon. Luckily the talents, beauty, love, and humor Alta has will be around forever. 

I love you Alta Marie

Thank you Alta for all you do and for these wonderful boys