Dear Rachel,
This post is actually your mothers day post.  I know its late but I think that is becoming a habit.  I would like to say better late than never but I'm not sure if you will agree with me or not.  I have noticed that you bring love peace and happiness to our home by being a great mother.
Every mothers day I think back to our first as a married couple.  You were about 9 months and 3 days pregnant and didn't feel like you could celebrate because you were not " an official mother".  I remember our sacrament meeting and how all the moms that spoke, talked about why they hated mothers day.  I remember being appalled that they could feel that way, but now I have started to understand.  I see how celebrating the wonderful things that you do, could unintentionally make you think of how you are not as consistent as you would like to be.  Well, I want this post to remember many of the things that you have done to bring love, peace and happiness to our home.
You have taught our children to love music.  Kaden and Jenna have become so smitten with the piano lately that it seems there is always some song drifting through our home.  Spencer has developed an appreciation for listening to you sing( Which, if I'm honest, is enough for me because if that boy tries to sing himself we are likely to be accused of  torturing small animals.)  I love to hear you sing to the kids.  It brings such a calming peace, and while we are probably one of the worst groups of back up singers you could ask for, we do love singing with you.
You love each of our kids individually.  I think this is a  sign of a great mom.  You have a special relationship with each one that is customized to what they need.  They each feel comfortable enough to go to you with what they need.  You have established a safe home and a loving setting where they can grow and mature into whoever they want to be.
I think a great mother is one who makes sure that her children know that they are loved.  She worries about the type of person her kids will grow up to be and does everything in her power to make sure they have the tools necessary to be successful.  I see you do this everyday.
You are a great Mom and we are so lucky to have you in our family.
We love you!

Dear Rachel,
This post is actually from a few weeks ago.  (sorry I'm getting behind, I'll catch up!)  That week, I really noticed the love peace and happiness you bring to our family by setting a good example.  I know that you are and example to our kids daily.  You lift up the sisters in the ward constantly.  You inspire hundreds with your healthy life style, beautiful pictures and heartfelt internet posts.  But this week I want to talk about your example to me.
This week was spent much like the last few, trying to cram 30 hours of responsibilities into 24.  I was putting the kids to be and you were running some errands.  It has been a realatively uneventful night so I was caught off guard when I went in to say good night to Jenna and she was in tears.  Despite knowing it was a huge mistake, I asked her what was wrong and she responded with the answer that every male dreads.  "I don't know, I just feel like crying".
I automatically debates which of my top 3 responses I could resort to.
1. Stand very still and hope she doesn't see me.
2. Tell her I wold send mom into help.  I probably would have done this has you been home.
3.  Tell her to go drown her unknown sorrows in a bowl of ice cream with the hopes that Ben&Jerry are better fathers than I could dream of being.
Then I thought "What would Rachel do?" I thought back to how tender and loving you are with the kids.  I thought of how you demonstrate extreme understanding, even when it is not deserved.  Now, I do not pretend that I handled the situation with the same comforting peace that you would have.  But I can honestly say I tried to demonstrate the charity that I see you show daily.  As I held our sweet pre teen, the situation converted into and sweet memory that I will cherish.  I contribute it you your example.  I hope you know how much you influence our family even when you are not around.
I love you,
Brandon.

Dear Rachel,
This week I have felt you bring love peace and happiness to the home by, once again, being supportive.  This week Grandpa Larson passed away and for whatever reason, it it me a little harder than I thought it would.  You were amazing.
You listened to me reminisce and share experiences I had with him.  You laughed with me, came close to crying with me, and hugged me when I needed it.  I know there were some times where I was ornery just because it had been a long week, and you let me vent, took over some of my responsibilities and cut me way more slack than I probably deserved.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, you found me a way to go home for the funeral.  You are good and noticing what is important to our family, and making it happen.  It is very easy for my personality to say " I wish I could, but its not convenient so I won't..." but you approach life with a different attitude and really look for a way to get things done.  I appreciate that his week.  You researched all the options, many I would not have even thought of, and found a way to make it work.  Then you had the inspiration enough( yes I'm going with it was inspiration) to check the flights again, after you had already looked, to find a flight that would work our perfectly.  I truly feel like you helped to perform a little miracle and I love you for that.
I was so glad that I could make it home for the funeral and you are 100% responsible for that. It gave me a chance to support my grandma, see family that I hadn't seen in years, and have a chance to grieve.
I love you so much,
Brandon

Dear Rachel,

This week, I noticed how much you being YOU brings love, peace and happiness.  You are a caring mother, wife and friend, and you strive to develop one on one relationships with each of our children.  This is not something that could ever be replaced.  Even if there are not many thank yous that come your way, the kids love the effort that you put into being involved with their lives.

This week was not completely smooth.  We had a fight.  It was dumb, I was running of very little sleep, longs days and less food than usual, and I overreacted.  I appreciated your apology so much.  I was feeling like I couldn't do anything right and when you told me that you were sorry, it really helped me feel validated and understood and I thank you for that.  I had been developing in my mind arguments for why I was right and how you should be different, and as soon as you said "I'm sorry", all those frustrations melted away.

Poor Kaden also witnessed this argument and his tender spirit was so sensitive.  You were incredible with him.  You pulled him aside to assure him that we were just temporarily upset and it was not permanent.  Then you made him know that he is a special part of the family and he is loved.  You listened to his concerns and then brought reassurence and peace to his sweet heart.  

You also have such calming affect on Jenna.  This week I think she was feeling lonely,  unappreciated, and vulnerable.  You took the time to sit with her and just listen.  You talked with her on the phone when you were not here, and you soothed her over analyzing thoughts.  I realized over the past couple of weeks that my biggest fears are probably loosing one of our family members, being hunted by a jaguar, and Jenna entering the teen years.  While I do think that your ability to avoid disaster and fight big cats may be limited, I feel peace about Jenna becoming a teen.  You have developed a wonderful relationship with her and yo are such a vital part of her life that I feel that even the crazy hormones that have caused so much destruction and devastation throughout the world can be calmed.  Jenna depends on you as a support and I hope you realize that you fill a role that no one else can.  While I certainly enjoy my time and relationship with her, I fully recognize that there are some things she will not come to me for, and I cherish the the thought that she has you to turn to for those things. 

One of the reasons I wanted to do this blog was to show you that even during weeks where it may seem that love, peace and happiness are lacking, you still bring it to our home.

I love you. 

Brandon

Dear Rachel,
This week, one thing that I want to recognize that you do to bring love, peace and happiness to our home is you take pride in your work.
Whether it be a ward bulletin, a valentine's box for one of the kids, or an office that represents our investment or time, money and hard work, you give it one hundred percent.  You are not very good at cutting corners or taking shortcuts, and it always leaves you with a pristine result, that you, and everyone else, is pleased with.  This week, you have dedicated many hours to finding the perfect furniture, decorations and furnishings to give our office a professional look.You have taken on the task to make sure the office looks and feels like a place that you would want to g, and more importantly, and place you want to own.  I know I don't have to worry about the appearance because I know you will make sure that it is up to par.  I appreciate all your hard work so much.
You are dedicated.  you put so much time and effort into our business, family, church and live in general.  I love the efforts you are taking to promote the practice and build relations with other businesses.  you have a natural talent for marketing and I am so blessed to have you on my team.
I hope you know how much your dedication brings love peace and happiness to our home.  If you take on a  task I have complete trust that it will get done to the best of your ability.  it takes off a ton of responsibility when I ask you to do something because I feel like I never have to think about it again.  But your dedication and efforts are not just placed in work.  We need you as part of our family for the same reason.  I love how you always try to involve the Gospel in our lives.  The same loyalty I feel for our business, I also feel when we talk about teaching our children the gospel.  You constantly increase our efforts to read the scriptures, go to the temple and have family time/prayer.
I sure enjoy teasing you about your need for everything to be perfect, but the truth is, I love having your dedication to perfection in our home.  I love you,
Love Brandon.

Dear Rachel,
I am amazed by you this week.  You were at the office almost as much as I was!  You worked so hard to get things organized and ready to run full speed ahead.  I would feel like a terrible person if I didn't mention all the efforts that you have made this week with our business, but that is not the biggest thing that I noticed this week that you have done to bring love peace and happiness to our home.  This week I noticed your love of the gospel.
We have been promised that by following the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will have love, peace and happiness, and you work so hard to bring that to our home daily.
This week is general conference.  You have the best ideas to get everyone involved (much more creative that straight up conference bingo).  But you do more than just set up the games.  You get so excited about it that you pass it on to the rest of us.  It has been a wonderful weekend of uplifting messages.  The kids have been involved, talked with us about the topics and even made gaols for improving.
Of course I can't forget my favorite Easter tradition that you started,  RESURRECTION ROLLS!  You found this tradition years ago and it has turned into a wonderful , fun and tasty teaching experience.  While I will never understand your bitter dislike for the Easter Bunny, you have made a lasting impression with the Resurrection rolls.
This week I have felt the spirit in our home as we have celebrated, honored and remembered our savior and I appreciate all the efforts that you do to make this a daily occurrence.
I love you,
Brandon

Dear Rachel,
This is a difficult post for me to write because as I am trying to write about your bringing love, peace and happiness to our home, all I can think about is your smug face as you were able to solve in 8 seconds, the computer problem that had plagued me for the last 15 minutes. J/K.
This week I think we had some wonderful conversations and it led to me loving you even more.  The other day you had a dream and you woke up almost in tears.  Apparently, in your dream, we were no longer married and you were devastated.  While I don't enjoy seeing you sad, we did end up having a great conversation about our relationship, things that we do well, and goals we have for improvement.  So, one thing that I noticed that brought love peace and happiness to me this week, was your efforts in our relationship.
I have heard many times that a successful marriage is not 50/50 but only works if each person is giving 100%.  You definitely do that!!  You work so hard to give us your best.  I appreciate all the meals, paying bills, shopping and raising our children that you do.  I also love the playing games( not emotional games, but board games), sharing pictures, building of testimonies, and mutual support that we experience together. You always try to make my favorite foods, give me time for hobbies, and support me in my responsibilites and I know that is not always easy.  I notice all the efforts that you do and I love you for it every day.
I Love you!!
Brandon