Who's Who in My Life-Clark Alexander Pew

I've decided to do my who's who this week on my sweet husband, Clark. There are so many things to say about him and our relationship, but I don't want it to be too sappy or overdone. My hope is to help you all get to know this man in my life and understand why I am madly in love with him.

This is our most recent picture together. Try not to judge the picture too much. It was taken by our wonderful four-year-old photographer.

Clark and I met through our BYU ward. We were both living in Millrace Condos. (We'd actually met once before at a mutual friend's house, but obviously it wasn't a great enough introduction to leave a lasting impression.) I had finished school a few years before and Clark was just finishing up. We became really good friends early on in the Fall semester. He was the ward Clerk and I was always visiting with the Bishop so we saw each other a lot. He was so much fun to talk to. We talked a lot about Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, we even read bits of the books together. In fact, we did a lot of reading together. I knew he was starting to take interest in me, and I was a little worried. First because I'd finally gotten to the point in my life where I was happy being 26 and single (isn't that always how it goes?). Second, he was an inch shorter than I was (I know, pretty vain, huh?). And third, his last name was Pew. Not that Pew is a horrible name, but when your last name is Fish, Amanda Fish Pew just doesn't work. (Luckily my parents gave me a middle name and I now go by Amanda Joy Pew.) One Sunday, Clark and I were sitting by each other during church. The sacrament was being passed, and all of a sudden I got this feeling. I simply thought, "this is the kind of guy that you need to marry". It wasn't "this is the right guy for you". The phrase, "the kind of guy" was what was interesting to me. After that I decided to give dating Clark a try. We started dating in late December. By the end of January, I was freaking out because of how good everything was going and it looked like marriage was in the future. I got really scared (I'd been engaged before and had my heart broken, which turned out to be a good thing). After much talking with my bishop and a day of fasting and temple worship, I told Clark that we could get married. I was still a little nervous, but knew that if it wasn't the right thing, the Lord would let me know. We got engaged at the end of January and set a date to be married at the end of March. I continued to be nervous about things, but still felt good about my decision. I knew I'd made the right decision when Clark and I were sealed together on March 28, 2003 in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It was an incredible ceremony. We had a lovely dinner afterwards with close friends and family at Thanksgiving Point. The whole day was perfect. I couldn't have asked for it to be any better. Maybe just to last a little bit longer. It was one of those days that I wish I could go back and relive. I loved every minute of it.

The above picture is of Clark and me on our wedding day at Thanksgiving Point. Clark and I went on our honeymoon to Kuaui, Hawaii. We had a wonderful time. I had been there before and loved it. It was fun to be back. It was Clark's first time there.

So that's the short story of how Clark and I got together. Here are a few other things about Clark that make him so special to me.

People say many women marry men who are similar to their dads. That is exactly the case with me. My dad is an amazing man and Clark is just the same. It would take amazing men to put up with my mom and me. Clark treats me like a queen. A lot of women say that about their husbands, but Clark really does. But not in the way that most of you would think of. He's not the biggest romantic that I've known, so that's not what I mean about treating me like a queen. I'm treated well in the sense that he is always taking care of me. He's very good at thinking of me first. I could give so many examples, but I think the way that he shows it the most is the fact that he is such a help around the house. He doesn't look at the house as my job, he's always helping with the cleaning and the dishes and the laundry. But most of all, he is a huge help with our children. When our kids get up in the middle of the night, it almost always Clark that gets up with them. I'm afraid I've gotten so used to it that I hardly ever hear the kids in the middle of the night. When the kids are sick, Clark's the one to clean up their throw-up, because he knows it will make me sick to clean it up. When I've had a hard day and am at my wit's end, Clark will start a nice hot bubble bath for me to relax in. He has probably cleaned as many poopy diapers as I have. He loves to make breakfast and usually helps out with that. He's never once raised his voice at me, although I'm sure I needed it a time or two. You can see now how good I have it. Don't get me wrong, I still do a few things around the house, but I think I'd go nuts if I didn't have Clark's help. He realizes that, which is why he does the things he does. This is why he was the kind of guy I needed to marry and I'm so grateful I did.

Besides being an incredibly patient and humble man, Clark has many other outstanding qualities that make him the person he is. He is great with our children. My boys love their dad. He plays with them, reads with them, takes them to the park, and just likes to be silly with them. I believe he learned this from his own father who is exactly the same way with our children. There aren't many fathers who will make fools out of themselves for the entertainment of their children. Well, I wouldn't say Clark and his dad make fools out of themselves, because the way the kids laugh at them and love them is hardly being a fool.

This picture is of Clark, Kimball, and Sammy at Woodhenge. I really wanted a picture of the boys here but it was super rainy and really cold. Being the good man that he is, Clark got them all bundled up and ran out there in the rain with them. Although they were freezing, I think they all enjoyed it.

Not only is Clark good with our children, but he'll always watch them when I need a break. This is a picture of Clark and Kimball when he was a baby. They loved taking naps together.

One of the main reasons I love my husband dearly is because of his love and understanding of the Gospel. He truly loves to study the scriptures. He's always striving to learn more and to study new things. He's had a goal to read the Old Testament, and I've been amazed as I've watched him get excited about some things that I would find difficult. Clark is a pretty faithful reader of the Ensign. He likes to really try to remember who gave what talks at conference. Sometimes I like to make fun of him (in a good way), because his favorite show on TV is "Music and the Spoken Word". In fact, while we've been here in England, he's been so excited that we can watch it every week through BYU TV. Clark has a deep love for the Savior and is a great example of Him. He's kind to all and does his best to magnify his callings in the church.

Here's some of Clark's basic information:

He was born on April 21 in San Francisco, California.

He was raised in San Jose, California.

He went on his mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Yes, we both speak Portuguese, but rarely use it in our home. Not because we don't want to, but because it's just hard.)

He graduated from BYU in International Politics. He did an internship in Washington D.C. and loved being there, but didn't love politics.

He now works in computer software, specifically as a project manager for an event software company.

It's kind of a joke in our family that I know more about sports than Clark does. I actually prefer it that way. He's not the kind of guy that's obsessed with a team or even one specific sport for that matter. Don't get me wrong, he likes some sports and likes to be active, but he'd rather spend his time on other things, like reading. Clark loves to read, although he hasn't read as much as he'd like to have. But isn't that how all of us are? There is one sport that he's pretty interested in, and if they had a league for it, he might follow it. That sport is Ultimate Frisbee. In fact, it was Clark who taught me how to throw a frisbee.

Clark is very good with words. Not only does he know a lot of words, but he is eloquent in the way he speaks. Any time I need to talk to someone but am not quite sure how to address them, I always get his advice. He has a way of making his point without offending anyone. He always stays calm and relaxed in any situation.

These are just the highlights of my hubbie's life. He's a wonderful man who always makes me laugh, and I am very lucky to be married to him. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.