The best part about my hubby is he doesn’t even know how amazing he is. He doesn’t realize how these simple things he has created (for his own use initially) have become such life changers for so many people. I am so proud of him.
Photocredit : Benjamin Sherwood
It started in July. The plans. My naive mind thought it could happen in a months time. No, I knew it would probably take a bit longer because things just do….take longer than expected. 
But I didn’t think it would take this long. Here we are in November. But it’s finished. Well mostly. We’re still waiting on our last bench that will go on the other wall. It’s top is finished and the steel for the base is in the hands of the amazing welder (my brother) but we just need a few more inches of steel to finish it up.
The plans for this one changed so much over the course of these past months. That’s the cause behind the extended timeline but I am happy with the way it turned out.
We ended up needing to do a very custom shape and size for our weird, small dining room so a basic farmhouse table (easy) was out of the question.
My darling husband was up for a project to make it look custom and something a bit more exciting than just 2×4’s.
I think he succeeded. He worked hard on this one (in his spare time-ha!) Boy do I love this man.
Someday soon when we get over the initial newborn shock we will take the steel legs to get powder coated black but I didn’t want to wait any longer! I was getting tired of sitting in camp chairs!
I love it!
The benches are made of some beautiful maple and the table wood is sycamore taken from trees from the Brigham City temple grounds. But don’t get too excited, they weren’t sacred trees as they were removed before it was dedicated. 🙂 Haha.
A huge thank you again to my amazing brother the welder who took those straight steel pieces and somehow turned them in to that! Beautiful!
My how times flies. When I look at these photos I feel like they were taken FOREVER ago…but it also feel like just a blink.
The photo below was the day he proposed. Hahaha look how young we look! I loved him so much back then but looking back I didn’t know what love really looked and felt like. I remember feeling like this was too good to be true. I was worried something was going to mess it up for us. But it wasn’t…it was true.
The first years of our marriage were rough if we’re being honest. We had some wrinkles to iron out and things to learn but we did it and we came out the other side even more in love! I will always love this man and I can’t wait to look back on today and say, ha! I thought I knew what love was then!
Wow. I am not very good at this blogging thing. Life happens and I stop. Obviously it’s not the biggest priority in my life….or maybe it’s just that life has been extra crazy? I will catch you up and you decide.
Hmmmmm ……
It might not seem like a big thing but the cold!!! Ah! It’s been so cold and so wet here! It really dampens my mood. Ugh. My face tells you how I feel about driving in snow in April.
I guess we will start with our living situation. One normal night we were in our beds sleeping with the window open letting fresh cool air in and all the sudden I hear this horrifyingly loud noise coming from outside. I was frozen. Was it an earthquake? Was it a car crash? Was it a car crashing into our apartment? Was it something I just couldn’t comprehend? All I knew was I frozen for about 20 seconds . David however spring out of bed quicker than a cat and was at the window frantically trying to see what was happening.
Then it was over. We still weren’t sure. He said he was going to go outside and look around. I called him back and said I had a yucky feeling and that I wanted him to stay here for a minute.
After a while of looking out windows and speculating we finally saw our neighbors (who happen to be the managers) outside talking with our other downstairs neighbor.
Longer story, shorter…a drunken, high physcho boyfriend of our downstairs neighbor had kicked in her window, (2 layers if thick glass!) crawled through it (without hurting himself) and strated to beat her.
He apparently took off because his story to the managers was that someone else broke in and he had to chase them off. Eventually the cops came and questioned everyone and then the search was on. They caught him which was great BUT the darn judge set his bail very very low and so he was released that very same day. Now she has a restraining order for him.
They day they brought a photo of him around to everyone and said “keep an eye out for him and if you see him on the premises call 911 right away”…was the end if it for me. We moved out that night.
Thankfully my parents were kind enough to let us bunk with them if only temporaryily.
My sweet neighbor is doing ok. I feel pretty guilt about leaving her there but I knew sleeping good would be over for me if we stayed. She had a good bruise in the side of her head but she is tough.
So now we are on the hunt for our own place.
We were planning on moving out this summer anyway, so I guess this experience just hurried things a bit.
The next big news is that we are expecting baby #3!!!!
I am about 13 weeks right now. I am finally starting to feel a little bit better.
During this whole scary moving experience I was not feeling well at all…it was rough. And all new to me because with my first two babies I felt pretty darn great.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr. This is hard. I have so much more empathy for women who are sick during pregnancy.
But we are so excited.
Around this time we also had to plan David’s Graduation party. I had sent out invites already and it was happening! Don’t get me wrong I was so happy this was FINALLY happening but since I had become pregnant and not feeling great my motivation and umph to get this party going basically disappeared.
THANK HEAVENS FOR MY SIL MERICAR!
She took over and saved me.
She is an amazing party planner and cook and the party was more than I could have imagined! I may have to save that for another post altogether. What a great day !
This is where I announced I was pregnant to all the family and friends that were there. It was fun.
So anyway you can see now maybe why I have MIA from my blog.
The only stress I feel now is finding our own place which is not an easy thing to do in cache valley right now. The competition is fierce.
Wish us luck, send a prayer or two. I don’t know but hopefully things work out…I know they always do the way they are supposed to.
A little over a year ago I wrote a blog post about the importance of sleep in our family and how I feel it’s blessed our lives. It was also about healthy eating and with these two tools combined how we had been blessed to be very healthy. My boys had experienced very little sickness up to that point.
Oh boy have these past few months been a humbling experience. This is what I said…
“So take it from someone whose two beautiful boys are confidently the healthiest kids on the block…”
HA!
This year I am confident that we have been the SICKEST family on the block.
Ya we still sleep lots and eat super healthy and I’m certain it’s helped each illness be shorter than it could have been but man it certainly hasn’t kept us from picking up EVERY single bug that’s out there this year!
One or two of us has been sick every day since Christmas Eve.
At this moment it’s my turn again. Crazy chest congestion.
I used to look at families that were sick all the time and wonder how they got through it. Seriously I used to think if that were me I would literally die. I know, I’m so dramatic.
The positive of this cold/flu season is that it has taught me that I can make it through alright. I’m actually stronger than I thought. But I guess when we have to we receive the strength we need. We have survived and we’re actually OK! It’s not all as bad as I imagined…which was pretty scary. Cuz don’t get me wrong, it’s been horrible.
But it’s made me appreciate health even more than I already did. It’s made me appreciate sunshine and snuggles with my little ones because it’s forced us to slow down. It’s helped me be grateful for the little things again.
As much as I dislike our little apartment sometimes I am grateful for the big sliding glass doors that let in SO much sunlight in the winter afternoons. I could sit there all day long in that happy heat.
So yes. I have been humbled this year. I have learned a lot this year in regards to this one little area. I have so much more to learn.
In other news my adorable hubby has made even more progress with his hips/back. Like I’ve described before he’s a big onion and the next problem to be solved sometimes isn’t revealed until the previous one has been peeled off or solved. He’s confident that he’s on his last layer which is this last muscle that needs to be rolled out. His sleep has gotten so much better and his overall pain levels are so small that it’s very exciting.
Here he is rolling the muscle in question on the big ball and it’s causing so much discomfort that it makes him sweat which is why his shirt is off. Poor guy. But I am constantly amazed at his stamina.
This road is definitely not the quick fix. It’s not the easy route. It’s been over 2 years. Minimal to no drugs, no surgeries, nothing but lots of research, trial and error, determination, exercise and hard work and more determination. But pretty soon he will be able to say he cured a very serious back and hip problem with just those things. And will still have full use of all his muscles and bones. He amazes me. And I know because of this experience he will be able to help those that want to figure out their own back problems without drugs or surgery.
He has had his share of illness this season too but considering how little sleep he gets each night it’s a straight up miracle that it’s not been more over the past 2 years. I know God has blessed him in that regard.
I am grateful for these trials that we’ve had because of what they’ve taught us.
Is it OK to say that I hope this year is better though?!
David came home yesterday and told me that he is on track to be done with school in 6 weeks.
Hold the phone, are you serious?! Is this moment finally happening or are you pulling my leg? I can’t believe it. Where is the word that describes how happy I am? I can’t find it…BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ONE SUFFICIENT.
We kind of halfheartedly estimated it the other day (because whole heartedly would take too much effort) that he’s been in school for 25 years! Isn’t that the most disgusting thing you’ve ever heard?
Haha OK that’s harsh. I’m nothing but proud over here. But there IS a chance that he is dangerously over-educated and he wouldn’t disagree with you. 25 years? Wow, I mean…Wow!
It’s OK though, don’t worry. I’ve got the rest of his life to help dumb him down. This summer I’m going to make him read a NOVEL. Ya. Try and picture it. I am.
But first our super awesome graduation party!!!!! Hey-Ho people!!!! I better start planning. It has to be epic.
Like him.
Do you see the grip I have on that coat?
Thursday afternoon I was filled with a desire to have an adventure with my husband.
We don’t have a lot of alone quality time because of his busy schedule and many demands and when we do spend time together it’s usually doing the same kinds of things.
I’m a big advocate that experiences of husband and wives are what keep the flame burning. You learn new things, see different sides of a person you live with and just have opportunities to fall in love over and over again.
So when I suggested an adventure to my hubby he was on board but now was the hard part of figuring out what we would do.
I suggested rock climbing or a haunted house…cuz hey tiz the season right?
He enthusiasticly replied with haunted house!
So the plans were made, I did the research for possibly the best one in town that was still tasteful and where they don’t touch you but one that was still scary and we dropped the boys off at my parents and took off.
I should mention however that we almost didn’t go because between the time we planned and the time we actually got ready to go my mood had changed and I wasnt feeling it as much.
This is when my darling husband informed me that he had never experienced a haunted house and this would be his first time…ever! He wasn’t pressuring me but it was enough to swing me back over to the excited mood and looking forward to our adventure.
So off we went. To the 10th west scare house.
We tried to get my brother and his wife to come cuz the more the merrier right? Or the more the safer? Right?
Anyway on the phone with him he asked if it was the one he was thinking of out by a certain area and I said ya. He said, “You know there is a big clown our front right?’
Oh crap. No I didn’t know that. And no this isn’t why we almost didn’t go. But it should have been.
I should have known.
But nope, I was going to be brave and have an adventure with my husband.
And an adventure it was.
I guess I was a little less worried after we experienced the inside portion of the house which didn’t contain any clowns at all. It was very frightening and I lost my voice from screaming so much but it was a fun kind of scary, not clown scary.
So I thought, “ok, maybe it’s fine and there’s just the one big clown out front as their first and only scare tactic and maybe just maybe they have one clown moving around and scaring everyone. I can handle that. I enjoyed the inside, I assumed as much for the outside.
I was so so very gravely wrong.
The entire outside portion of the house was themed and centered around clowns . There wasn’t a turn or stretch of this thing that wasn’t about clowns or where one jumped out at you. And followed you. And did their creepy clown thing.
I hate clowns.
And they could smell the fear on me and that fed into their creepiness even more and they really didn’t leave me alone. And I bet they all told each other and had little creepy communications with eachother, hey that girl right there is super scared of us….
Oh man. And then there is my husband who can’t stop laughing at me the whole time but when he could control himself he did a pretty good job at protecting me.
Somehow I survived and it ended. I did pee my pants just a little. For the record.
Was it an adventure? Yup!!! Did my husband and I grow closer together? Absolutely! So I guess in the end it was worth it.
But for future reference I will assume to stay away from haunted houses if there is a big clown out front. Duh.
Early October 2015 I was at our animal food warehouse refinishing a headboard my mom found at the D.I.. I was so perfectly unaware of this world called powerlifting, weightlifting, bodybuilding, Olympic lifting etc …until I turned my head down the alley to where a bay door was open in our same complex and silhouettes of people were working out.
When my mom was near by I showed her what I saw and we wondered together. But soon our wondering became stronger and turned into full blown curiosity. She wanted to walk down there and see what it was about. I was hesitant. Who knows what they were…a private gym, or something else. I’m always a bit reserved when it comes to approaching people (save the 18 months I somehow did this everyday) so I really didn’t want to just pop in on them but my spontaneous, fun mother convinced me to anyway.
We took the short walk down there and when the silhouettes turned into full people with faces and full dimensional bodies we saw what was a few extremely strong (and gorgeous) human beings. The owner of the gym walked over to us and asked us how we were, we said something like, “What are you guys?” “What is this place?”
He then began to explain more about his gym and I wish I could remember this conversation but I can’t. It was significant enough that I decided then and there that I wanted to join. One of the gorgeous men working out I recognized as a trainer from the Sports Club that we had memberships to for the last year which had just expired.
I found it very curious. He was an employee (taught yoga and other classes) of this sports academy and no doubt got access to the equipment and amenities at his club, why was he paying extra money to work out in this hole in the wall place with no air conditioning?
When he was in between sets we got his attention and I asked him why. In a manner that was as loyal to his employer as he could be he explained that this place was different because 1. he felt that it wasn’t about appearances here (for example there are no mirrors) and being haughty and macho like it tends to be at hoity toity clubs like his. The biggest difference though was that the trainer who introduced himself as Atticus knew his stuff and since working with him has had no knee problems which is something he’d suffered from for a long time.
Ok! It was more than enough for me! Add on that Atticus was going to let me come try it out a few times for free to see if I liked it and I was sold.
Well……I didn’t just like it. I looooooved it.
For the next several months I would pull up to this ‘hole in the wall’ (it’s really not that bad but you get the idea) place lift heavy weights and push my body to it’s limit for 1.5 hrs and leave with just a little bit more confidence and strength. It became apparent very quickly that Atticus truly did know what he was doing and that was very refreshing. And not just about the right way to execute each movement so as to maximize growth but also how everything was connected in the body and how it affects the other. Ailments that were brought to his attention didn’t make him squirm or falter. You could tell he was working thru it in his mind and then he’d figure it out and make it better. He knew(knows) what he was doing.
Since middle school I have suffered from a bad shoulder. When I would type at a computer or carry a backpack it would burn and ache and all I would want to do is take a spoon and dig out the pain. I visited massage therapists and even had an exercise therapist who told me that I needed to build muscle back there but wasn’t really successful at doing so with me. It persisted throughout my whole life off and on….until now.
Turns out I have terrible posture (duh) and my bad postural habits have caused these and other problems. But Atticus has shown me that there is hope and that by building muscle in the right spots (my back and my neck) this will fix itself eventually. Specific movements and workouts to target those spots have changed my life.
I came home each day and told my husband how impressed and amazed I was and it wasn’t too long before he was signed up too. We knew that Atticus would probably be our last resort at being able to fix his back.
We’d been to chiropractors, massage therapists, spinal therapists had x-rays done and found a herniated disk. Spinal therapy was expensive and not really working. Surgery was to be avoided at all costs. This gym and Atticus Smith could not have come at a more crucial time.
The journey of Atticus with David is something that I wish I would have recorded somehow. It’s been fascinating and incredible. It’s in explainable. David has been like the jumbo rubix cube from hell and Atticus the patient steady handed geek trying to put him right again. Or maybe David’s a humpty dumpty that been smashed into a million pieces and Atticus is a kings men who COULD put humpty together again. Or the man trapped at the core of a huge layered onion trying to get out and Atticus the master chef shedding each layer one by one.
The journey is not yet over but the amount of layers that have been shed, the number of pieces that have been placed back where they belong and the twists and turns that have been made to set the colors in place have been life changing so far.
Picture this: In October 2015 a 35 year old(healthy) man slowly moving both legs over the threshold of his car to slowly and painfully stand up, I’m talking like 20 seconds this excruciating process took. And once up on his feet painfully trying to force his back and hips to straighten out and then slowly starting taking painful steps…groaning with each one. He would have to be extra careful to not trip or get his toe stuck on a ledge or curb(which was hard because he couldn’t bring his feet up as high as he should) as this would cause pain to pulse through his whole body. Fast forward a year to that same 36 year old man who is SPRINTING up Old Main Hill in the morning, zig zagging his way thru to dodge the sprinklers all around him. Picture him bending over and picking up 400# off the ground!!!! With no pain! Amazing right?!
October 2015
![IMG_20160811_175543[1]](http://oursherwoodforest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_20160811_1755431-375x500.jpg)
August 2016
It’s been a painful and long process as you can imagine for poor humpty dumpty. An experience that most people would give up on and say “just leave me here in pieces!!!” But my incredible husband has bore it with such a positive disposition that any outsider would never know he’s only gotten on average 4 hours of sleep at night for 2 years or that he hasn’t been able to relax and sit on a couch or a car to visit family for over 2 years and thru it all been in such excruciating pain that it makes him sweat and groan. Yet come morning sun he still has smiling face though his eyes be sleep deprived and puffy. He always has a kiss for me and warm hugs for the boys. He still works harder than most men I know especially when it comes to healing his body. His dedication and hard work for this cause alone is inspiring. And thank God for Atticus Smith.
Now it’s been 10 months since I’ve been with Blacksmith Barbell and 9 for David. It’s become such a big part of our lives (my awesome mom too)! When Lucie comes she knows that mom and dad will be going and enjoys going herself sometimes! Now we look back to our life before that October in 2015 and wonder what we ever did before we were powerlifting. How did we cope? What did we look forward to? Where did our energy and strength come from? What hope did we have of becoming stronger as we age instead of weaker. How does anybody live their life without powerlifting with Atticus Smith? Sound silly? It’s really what we think….that’s how incredibly life changing it’s been.
Wikipedia defines powerlifting as this: Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift.
Powerlifting at Blacksmith Barbell is so much more than that however because Atticus has taken the knowledge he has gained throughout his training career and life, from Westside Barbell and others and tweaked it to concoct the perfect formula and program. And it’s not about being big and looking sexy or lifting more than your neighbor (although these things are just natural consequences) , it’s about being strong IN THE RIGHT PLACES for the benefit of your own body. Forget big pectoral muscles, quads and biceps…that’s not functional nor does it make sense physiologically. It’s all about the back, the triceps and the hamstrings. Physics and optimal health are what’s important at Blacksmith. Not just looking strong…actually being strong and having full range of motion and flexibility and working for loose tendons and ligaments so everything can be where it’s supposed to be and stay there long term.
This is my very basic understanding of it anyway in the short time I’ve been there. I love learning more each day I go. My pre 2015 self never thought this sentence would come out of my mouth but I LOVE POWERLIFTING. Yes I do.
His middle name is Allen…but neither of us really know how to spell it. Or we forget. All we know is it’s spelled weird, not like you normally spell Allan(what’s the normal way?). So I didn’t use it in the title…seems like a place that should contain only correct statements. Anyway, I’m being too lazy on this beautiful day to get up and find out if it’s Allen, Allan, Alen, or Alan. Forgive me love!!
We’ve been married now for 5 years. It’s one of those things that has gone by so fast but at the same time it already feels like a lifetime because of how much more I love him. So many memories have been made and the things that we’ve accomplished and been through together make it seem like 10 years. For our anniversary we didn’t get to do the extravagant things that we wanted to do and dreamed about but what we did was better.
When we first started dating(in 2009) we loved to hike (still do) and decided to take my mom and my roommate (also my second cousin) on a hike called rattlesnake trail. At the top it overlooks the entire Cache Valley. This was the first time my mom met David in fact! It is a beautiful hike and we’ll always remember it. The pictures below were taken from that day. See how fit and thin and tan we were? hehe Well on our 5 year anniversary we decided to finally go back to that place and hike it once again. We hadn’t been back since. The pic above is from that day.
Of course I knew when I married him that he was special and that he’d make me happy and be a good dad etc etc. I knew he would provide a good life for our family and that he’d go far and do amazing things with his life. This is a man who had the suspicion and drive to start his own rabbit food business whilst starting his PhD (and has made it into a success I might add). A man who wanted to be completely independent and self-reliant (concepts that I knew little about at the time). A man who had experienced what true hunger was and to stave off starvation ate only millet everyday. A man who knew what hard work meant and had a positive outlook on the road ahead. A man who didn’t need much but wanted to give everything.
Ya. Special people!! I was like, never letting this one go! Thank goodness he felt the same way about me!!!!
And of course he’s exceeded my expectations by eons and eons in the last 5 years. He is a marvelous dad. Just so so good. He GENUINELY wants to be NEAR his kids and spend QUALITY time with them. He is always thinking about how he can make them smile and things he can do with them to create memories. He’s wrestling with them on the ground, he’s teaching them sound principles, he’s being a goof ball with them, he’s holding them and snuggling them and kissing them and telling them that he loves them all the time. He’s praying with them and reading books with them. He’s watching monster truck videos with them. When he’s not around them he yearns to be with them.
They love him so much. There will come a day when they realize just how lucky they are that David Sherwood is their dada. But for now I know it. And I know how lucky I am to have him as my companion. There is no other that I would want to spend my life and eternity with.
All I can say is, “You certainly are babe! You certainly are!”
My sexy husband feels old and I’m not sure he was excited to celebrate this time of his life…however I’m convinced that he’s the youngest and hottest looking 35 year old there ever was. Somehow he seems to get betting looking the older he gets…no fair. 
He and I are so blessed to have each other. I still feel like my life with him is too good to be true. We’ve had our up and downs, don’t get me wrong…it’s not been 100% bubbles and roses but the point is we’ve gotten stronger and closer because we worked thru it and came out the other end together. I believe there will be more struggles ahead of us still but I wouldn’t want to handle them with anyone else. He is truly amazing people. I love him so much. I am addicted to him. 
Here’s to another great year babe! I’m excited to see where it takes us!
