I Am Not Left Handed!

Tomorrow marks a new year and that is hard to believe. Time certainly marched on in 2010 at a quickened pace so it seems. Because I had not been through quite enough this year I had to end it with a bang. Actually it was a crash and a crunch and I knew immediately what had happened.

Thanksgiving day 2003 I was participating in the annual Turkey Bowl Carson City chapter. Many know the story of Mike completely bypassing the flags and going for the shove out of bounds. He told me that in his mind he had to hit me as hard as he did back when I was 17 and he was 11 and failed to consider that he was now equal in stature if not a bit larger in stature than I. That resulted in my flying through the air and smashing my left shoulder on the ground causing the old Acromioclavicular Joint Sprain. That resulted in a few weeks of the arm in an immobilizer or sling. Good old Dr. J diagnosed that one with out much trouble.

Today was a prime day for sledding and the kids were on it. I helped a couple of them get ready and they started off to the hill on their own. I later joined them in the festivities and all was going quite well until I decided to go down one more time standing up on Natty's sled. I had already done it twice, once with the mild wipe out and the second with perfect form. Naturally I had to do it again and this time I turfed it on the hill with my shoulder. I have no real use of the arm now. I will keep it in a sling for a couple of weeks and we will see how it goes from there. I think I was three weeks in a sling the last time.

I have my arm resting on the table in order to type. There is no pressure or weight on the shoulder so it isn't a problem. It is fairly painful to lift the arm so I do that with my left. I discovered during the last go round that I am left eared and that was the only real challenge because I am only comfortable talking on the phone with my left ear. To borrow a great movie quote "I am not left handed".

Having mentioned Dr. J and his quick diagnosis with the left shoulder I had an immediate feeling that I had done the same thing. I was a little concerned however when the ER doc, after feeling the shoulder decided we needed to have xrays. He talked about a possible break. Fortunately it was not that severe and all should be fine again in a few weeks. I say fine again, it will be manageable. I still do not have as much strength in my left shoulder as I used to and it is actually pretty painful to do push ups. Wow, it also hurt pretty good during the 5K Awareness 5K. I like the elliptical because the low impact is kinder to my body. Aging is great. I love discovering that my body doesn't quite react the way that it used to. I have dreams of getting on the trampoline and being completely uncoordinated all of the sudden and unable to do all the tricks I used to. I experienced a change of pace when we went to the diving boards in the summer. Fortunately I felt better as the day progressed and truthfully it had been over 5 years since I had been on a diving board. I think there are funner things then getting older.

Do have to say thanks to dad for coming over to watch the kids as well as Dave who just happened to stop by the house. Dave suggested a blessing and so I took him up on it. Very grateful Dave that you acted and didn't wait for me to ask. I think my pride gets in the way of the Priesthood and that is not a good thing. It was nice to have dad and Dave here to administer.

So it is New Years Eve. I had no plans but now we are having a get together at our place. I saw that the folks were at the LBH at 5 when I was heading home so I stopped by and mom asked if I would be up to having a party here. Certainly. So we will be hanging out here and enjoying a little family celebration.

The kids were having much fun sledding. Natty and Jack had a crew of kids playing with them and doing big trains down the hill. Andy was having a ball as well marching up and sliding down. Yesterday he would have nothing to do with sharing a bit of space on his sled. Today he would not go without me. We had fun. One guy there told me about Andy being a real trooper and how he was pulling up his sled with no problems. He had a good time.

Well, hoping to have ibuprofen kick in here shortly. It always feels better when it stops hurting.

I'm One of Those

Twas a fine day today. The snow of last night stuck and there was sufficient accumulation for the kids to use their sleds which they did. Natty and Jack walked over to the little hill this morning and I guess they got in a few good runs. Andy and I stopped way out on 600 just to watch them while they were sledding. Natty saw us out at the road and thought it must be time to go so they came. We were on our way to the Little Brick House for snow shoveling duties so I showed up with the entire crew. Fortunately it went fairly quick though I did have two boys decide to get out of their snow gear and then had them fighting over a snack pack... I am sure grandpa was just thrilled. Anyhow, we managed to get done, dressed and on our way before any customers came in.

Natty went over to her cousins house a little later in the day and Jack wanted to go back to sledding. I was in the middle of a project and sledding was not on my schedule. I figured I would be in for trouble if I didn't get Jack out there and Andy also wanted to go so I got them dressed and we went to the hill. I brought the camera and got a few pics. I am not uploading them right now though, it takes too long and I have just woken up after sitting here for an hour trying to get this started. I am going to bed officially here as soon as I wrap this up and will edit it tomorrow and add some stuff assuming the support of my children is evidenced. It has been a crazy week with them home from school. Keeping the house clean has been near impossible. We are going for somewhat tidy this week. So we will see how we end up tomorrow.

I actually have a great video of Jack and tried to upload it and after waiting for the process to complete I went in to the preview and it said errors occurred and to try again later. I am not going to worry about it. Here are a few pics of the trip. It was really cold and my hand was freezing every time I took a picture. It was almost as painful as stepping into Lake Tahoe. Anyway the one of Jack standing on the board was not his best look. He normally stood like a snow boarder would but just decided to go this way once. It worked I guess.






Had a great date tonight. If anyone, and most likely there is only the possibility of one, but if anyone has read my blog already you will note that this is now edited. I had a different title and was going to discuss thoughts from my date relative to the title. I was too tired last night and could not stay awake so my plan was to expand on those thoughts today. Alas I have changed my mind on that as it is a more private matter. I will report that I went out to dinner and then to this very exclusive antique shop with the beautiful Heidi. We made a strong attempt at building a puzzle - it was 300 piece but we simply could not knock it out as fast as I thought we would. Probably because I am not the savviest puzzle doer. Here is a pick of what we accomplished. I was working on the side that has nearly nothing done. Apparently I am not a great multitasker, if so I would have managed to complete this post last night while I was asleep at the keyboard.



I have to make one note before I close so that I do not forget it. Mom, Amy, Dave, Laura and Nigel were all over here watching the kids whilst I was out on my date. What a support group. Anyhow, they all wanted the inside scoop on how the date went. So I shared some of the date and what is happening with my little audience. I turned and asked Nigel how it sounded. He said he was hoping for a little more make out action or something like that. It was somewhat comical and mom jumped in saying something about a little action. Nigel had a great comment about how she did have good make out sessions - 8 times anyway. We all kind of chuckled and then Jack pops up his head from his special bed in the corner of the living room and says "I'm one of those" referring to being the result of a make out session. We chose not to discuss the finer details of the matter and just had a laugh. It was pretty funny.

I Must Be Brave

Jack Christianson is my all time favorite Especially For Youth speaker. When I was 14 years old I attended my first Youth Conference. We lived in Hawaii and the conference was held on campus at BYU Hawaii. We stayed in the dorms and it was all very cool. Eric Ake was my roommate on that trip. Anyway Jack was there along with another speaker that I cannot even recall but the stories Jack shared and the spirit I felt listening to him had a huge impact on my life. It was great that he was back a year or so later for what must have been EFY but I truly don't recall what the event was. I just remember being in Honolulu listening to several speakers and he was one of them. I loved listening to his tapes and the stories of faith that he shared. I loved reading the book that I assume mom sent me on my mission - it is sitting on my shelf two feet away right now. I remember moms FHE lesson on Spiritual Winners which was Jacks discourse on the 2000 Stripling Warriors. Just thinking about it gets me emotional. Here is one little known fact - the name Jackson was heavily influenced by Jack. His story about his dog that he named Bo Jacks son, the two sport dog, it was a favorite. I knew when I had a son I wanted to name him Jackson and it worked with the fact that I am John and Jack is considered a nickname for John. Perfect. I love so many of those stories. I didn't intend to get this deep into my love for Jack Christianson but oh'well, I did. In thinking about him I really want to get a hold of his talks again. I remember catching him late one night on KBYU when I was about to go to bed. That was a quick change of plans, had to stay up and watch Jack, had to DVR it as well.

There was something that I wanted to do today and I was afraid. It is times like this when the story of President Eyring's father comes to mind. I first heard it told by Jack Christianson and have later heard President Eyring share it. It is the story of his father suffering from bone cancer and being in tremendous pain. If I am remembering the story correctly he got out of his hospital bed and knelt on the floor to pray. I don't recall all the details and so I will not try to restate them here. What I do remember is what he said to his son, President Eyring. He was discussing his suffering with the Lord and the answer he received and shared was "God needs brave sons and I must be brave". I believe you can find this story in President Eyring's book To Draw Closer to God. It may also be in Jacks book Unto the Least of These. Sometimes when I am afraid of something this story comes to mind and it gives me courage. And so it was today. I am grateful for that story and grateful that it comes to my mind in moments when I need strength and courage to press on.

Well, there is snow on the ground I went to Wal Mart tonight with Jack and Andy and there was nothing on the ground or even falling when we went in. There were probably 2 inches on the ground when we came out. Sometimes shopping with the boys is more work then it is worth. We had two separate potty breaks in the span of about 10 minutes because surely Andy could not have needed to go when Jack had to. I am glad I made them go to the bathroom before we left the house as well. Then they started running around and all was fine until Andy couldn't remember how to get back and Jack left his side. I went to find him when Jack came back alone, he was with 3 employees and walking up to the front of the store. He was pretty happy to see me when I caught up to him and managed to stay close for the rest of the trip. The next time I contemplate taking the boys to Wal Mart I may definitely need a reminder about being brave. Seriously, we had a good time and it was fun watching the boys run and slide across the floor. I should also note that Jack was determined to wear a very special outfit. I could not convince him to change. So yes, it was a battle I decided was not worth fighting and we went out looking our best. Don't worry, Andy managed to leave the toilet paper tube at home.

Discovery

The nights when your head hits the pillow and you don't move until the sun is up are wonderful. Last night was one of those for me. Love that. We had a fine morning complete with the Wal Mart brand Ego Waffles with whip cream for Jack and French Toast for Natty and Andy. Natty had to tell me a little secret that my French toast is much better then her moms. It's the 3 secret ingredients that I use. Good stuff. Anyway, that is what they wanted for breakfast and since I cook to order on certain occasions that is what they got.

I wrestled a bit with taking them somewhere today. I don't have a detailed plan for the week and this week with them out of school it is a bit challenging to focus full time on work. They talked about going over to their cousins house and that would have been convenient for me but I felt like we needed to go and do something so I asked if they would like to go to Park Discovery or Discovery Park or whatever it is called. I didn't have to ask twice and they were excited to go. Natty asked if she could invite her cousins and I said sure. Jay and Sara and the kids were able to join us and Mike came with Shey as well. We had a good time and the weather was pretty fair today. Natty kept telling me how warm it was before we left the house and I almost left without jackets and then thought about that park being up on the hill and how the wind always seems to be blowing. Yeah, jackets were put on and it was a good thing. By the time we left I was rather cold. It took me a while to warm up once we got home.

Anyhow, we had a good time at the park. Andy started out on the swings and then moved on to this little rope bridge which he loved. He spent quite a bit of time there going back and forth on it.



There was a little dog named Lightning their. Naturally Jack was drawn to the dog and he made new friends with its owners. Jack walked around the play ground with Lightning and also hung out with his new friends.



Natty was enjoying herself as well. It was great that her cousins were there. They all seemed to have a good time.



Andy discovered dinosaur bones and loved this sand box area where the bones are buried. We would walk around the sand pit on the red rocks and then jump in - over and over and over. It was a good time.



Jack discovered the amphitheater. I actually showed him what it was and demonstrated a quick little play for the audience. He got a kick out of it and did one himself. Then it was my turn again. Then Jack got back on stage. We would take bows after each performance. I performed the song about the mother duck and her 5 little ducks that went out to play. Jack followed that up with a piece about 10 little boys. He made it up completely on the spot and found something unique for each boy to do. The fourth boy kicked the dog, I do remember that. We had a good time with it for a few minutes. It was neat that he just got up there and started acting.



Shey came home with us after the park. She and Natty hung out for a while at the park hiding from Uncle Mike. One of Natty's attributes that I have always enjoyed about her was her ability to love the little kids. There are a lot of little girls or younger girls that love Natalie because she has loved them. Obviously Shey being one of them. Also the Crane's girl, Lexi up the street and Payton as well. Madaline Adams loved everything Natty when we lived in Florida and there were several other little girls that loved Natty. She has the ability to befriend the younger kids and to make them feel important and loved. I am grateful for her example to me of unconditional love.



We didn't quite get as much done with work as I had set out to but we had a lot of fun as a family and I am grateful that the kids enjoyed the day. We are supposed to see some snow here over the next couple of days. I would love to see some stick as the kids really want to go sledding. I am excited to see how these new sleds work out. They remind me of my old boogie board that I used in the snow when we moved back from Hawaii. Anyhow, should be fun. If it doesn't snow we may have to discover a good place to go sledding up on the mountain.

Christmas Pics

Okay, I mentioned that I had some pics from Christmas that I would update when I got back home. As noted in my last post I am home again and will now make good on that promise. I will deliver these in almost chronological order.

First up would be Mike gearing up for the festivities. The picture does not show it but the antlers are equipped with little red light bulbs that flash randomly. Shortly after getting his head dress on Mike played Santa with Amy and sorted the presents from under the tree. Well done.



Mike, Liana and Karcher, looking good on Christmas morning. Other than briefly meeting Liana at the wedding I really have not gotten to know her. Knowing Mike as I do it was obvious that Liana had to be a pretty incredible person. This is true. She also seems to be able to hold her own with Mike and that is an accomplishment in and of itself. Very happy that Liana was able to make the trip - also happy that you came too Mike though I know you will have something to say about this post.



This trip was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Karcher though I had seen him in a photo or two - one photo in particular where he was very well placed. Indoor dogs are really not my thing but old Karcher jumping up in my lap while I was catching a nap on Christmas Eve scored some points for the little fella.



Amy - nice sweater! Where have i seen that before? You certainly made things fun as we watched a movie nearly every night through the week and you managed to fall asleep in the first couple of minutes every time. It was all good though. I am really looking forward to our Eclipse night as well. I just love that Edward...



Mother - nice sweater! Where have I seen that before? Thanks for everything mom. You made a tough holiday much easier for me. Good work on that Speed Stick as well.



Padre - Had to throw in this picture with the bow on the head holding up his present from Amy. Not sure if there was a swear word that came out of his mouth when he opened it - hmmm?



Proof that the old man actually wore the shirt and proudly at that.



Okay, me with a little Ginger Beer. Good call on the part of Mike and Liana. Stoney's Ginger Beer in South Africa was one of my favorite beverages. This stuff from Australia is rather tasty as well. Everything that you did for myself and for the kids was wonderful. Somehow I think you surpassed the spending limit or you are very good shoppers. Thank you.



I have to include this pic. Dave and Dani surprised me with a big box that had only one thing in it - this stunning picture of Neil Diamond. What a stud. If nothing else this picture should have been his shoe in to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. I will frame it and display it proudly - somewhere. Much Thanks.



A little later in the day I picked up the kids and we were able to spend a couple hours together. That was fun. They were in their Christmas PJ's and came over to open gifts. Anyway, here are the pics I mentioned of them.

Pretty Natty. She has gotten a bit taller lately and is really just a beautiful girl. Hard to believe she is almost 11 years old. I am far to young to have a daughter this old.



Jack Jack playing trains. I took a few pics of him playing with these little trains on the domino track he built. This was my favorite though. Jack loves a good train and track and this was just that.



Andyboy "Iron Man" Tano. He loves Iron Man. What else can I say? He was Iron Man for Halloween, he loves to sing about Iron Man living his life in a garbage can and he was not about to take off the helmet, glove, and chest piece. Well, he did for a few minutes but had to be geared up for the picture. He fell asleep on the way home and so i carried in a slumbering Iron Man.



The kids.



Me and the kids.



Well, that is it. I still have pics from the party to play with and will do that another time. Glad for the day and the fun that was had with everyone.

Home Again

Happy to be at home again. I truly didn't know what to expect from the kids this morning when they found me instead of Rachel but they did just great. That was quite the relief. We have had a few challenges with a bit of whining and some fighting between the boys but for the most part things have gone just fine. Rachel also made an effort to have the house fairly tidy when she left and that was nice. The kids still had Christmas presents scattered throughout the house so we got that straightened up, then did it again and eventually I managed to get every room vacuumed. Actually finished the living room right before we started FHE. Ahhh, peace.

I used the First Presidency Message for our lesson tonight and it was pretty cool because we actually have metalic glitter in our ceiling just like that spoken of in the story President Uchtdorf tells. The kids all looked up and saw it and anyway, it worked. We spoke then about how we need to be looking for the Savior in our lives. Perhaps they will associate glitter stars in old popcorn ceilings to the Savior now. I don't know, it was a good message if nothing else.

We did have a little excitement at FHE as Jack managed to pull out a loose tooth. He actually started working on it when we started FHE. The paper towel in the pictures is actually his third. Natty just had to make sure he changed them out when they got too bloody for her liking. Now the tooth fairy needs to get on the ball and make a visit tonight. I have to admit that I have not been the best tooth fairy. Poor Natty waited 3 days for the tooth fairy to show up once. What a loser. Anyhow, Jack is proudly holding up his tooth, already in a bag and ready to go under the pillow.



Here he is filling the new gap with his tongue.



Andy had to get in to a picture as well and started striking poses. He had some better ones but this was the only one I managed to catch on film. Such a character.



In closing I have to mention how grateful I am for secret Santas that have stopped by and delivered gifts for our family. A lot of people came by last week delivering goodies and the kids appear to have enjoyed them. Today somebody dropped off a package that contained a big gift for the family. There was no name attached just a card that wished us a Merry Christmas and that we enjoy time together as a family. I think whoever delivered this gift knew that I was out of the home. Anyway, I am humbled by the generosity of others. There was another gift left at our door anonymously a couple weeks ago and again, very generous and very humbling.

I did not do well on my exercise last week as it was quite cold at night and the night I did go out and run killed my lungs. I thought I was going to end up sick but fortunately the cough and tickle left within a couple of days. The elliptical is calling my name tonight and I am looking forward to it. I will need to check on my total miles to see where I am at for the month. I will finish strong this week and make sure that my miles are the equivelant of a 5k per day. I am looking at a couple other exercise programs at the start of the year as well. I've still got a few pounds to lose to get to my return home from my mission weight. Now I just have to cut off all this holiday sugar. Wow.

Oh yes, one more thing to note. The new TV, I need to figure out a stand for it. I took the boys over to DI to see what they had and I just didn't like anything. Not even on a refinish project. I decided that I am going to build one. The folks sold a beautiful coffee table at the shop and I really liked it. I took a couple of pictures of it the day we went to deliver it and thought I could duplicate it. I am going to test that on a slightly smaller version that will serve as the TV stand. Getting it to match the entertainment center may be a challenge but I will work with it. I've got a couple of Christmas gifts - shelves that I need to now finish and a few for the shop that I have to move along. Also have a shelf to design and build for Jay and Sara so I have a few things to do. I am still sitting on my first frame and need to finish that as well. Looks like I have some fun things to work on in the shop. Looking forward to it.

3 AM

It is 3 AM Monday morning. I just got home and watched Rachel leave. That was pretty tough. I remember how sad I was when all the leaving stuff started two years ago. I didn't understand why and I hurt for myself and for our children. I am sad now because I know in a few hours that Andy is going to want to know where his mom is. I know that Natty and Jack will miss her as well. And so I am sitting here crying for them but also crying for Rachel. I am sad to think how hard it must be to leave and I feel badly for her. I know that we all have to deal with the consequences of our actions and sometimes they are very difficult. I am simply sad at the moment because the consequences of actions hurt some very tender and innocent hearts. It is hard to describe what I am feeling.

I have had a hard time this week. It has not been easy to go through this first Christmas and to feel the loss and the loneliness that I have felt. I am sure that things will get easier over time. Here is what I know, I don't like being alone.

Well, I hope that Rachel makes it home safely. I hope she had a wonderful visit and that she knows how much these little ones love her. I have prayed that she will live her life in a way that will allow her to be the best possible mother she can be for them. I have prayed that she can be mentally strong and healthy. She has gotten a lot healthier and that is a good thing. I hope that her relationship with the kids will remain strong and that she can be a righteous influence in their lives.

That is all for now. My heart is just full and I felt to express some thoughts. Perhaps now I can relax and rest for a few hours before the kids wake up.

A Few Thoughts

While logging on I noticed that I had 50 blog posts. Hard to believe that 50 days have passed since I started this expedition in the blogosphere. Actually, we may just be 48 days or so as there were a couple of extra posts. Still the time has passed quickly. I am amazed that we are starting the last week of 2010. Anyway, it has been a fun adventure thus far and I have enjoyed recording thoughts and experiences from my life in this format. It has changed a lot of my habits, primarily falling asleep in my journal and writing illegibly. I am also out of the rut of writing the same thing everyday. At least I think I am out of that rut, those that read on a regular basis may feel differently.

As I went to sit down in Sacrament meeting today I saw my good neighbor Ken Betritch. He told me that he had missed me this week and asked when I would be home. Then he invited me to bless the Sacrament. It has been a couple of years since I have had that experience, well more than a couple. I love to participate in that ordinance and appreciate very much the invitation. The balance of Sacrament meeting was made up of a variety of members discussing a few thoughts on their favorite Christmas hymn followed by the congregation singing that hymn. I enjoyed the singing and worked on the bass line for the majority of the hymns. I have learned the bass for most of these songs from my mission days and other choirs that I have participated in. My first day in the mission field my companion said to me, we are going to choir practice. I mentioned that I would be happy to watch them practice and Elder Mayer told me I did not understand, I would be participating in the choir. This was in the Bellville Ward in Cape Town. That was not something I was really comfortable with and then I met Brother C.D. Roode. Brother Roode was the 1st counselor in the bishopric of the Bellville ward and was also the choir director. He was one of my favorite people on my mission. If you've ever seen the movie Mary Poppins you can get a pretty good idea of Brother Roode by picturing the uncle who loves to laugh and is stuck on the ceiling. He was such a lovable and good man. I knew nothing about singing, reading notes or anything and he stuck me in the bass section and helped me learn. I will ever be grateful that I was not allowed to be a spectator of the choir. I have loved singing in the choir since that time and when I am able to do so I do. Well, it was fun singing the Christmas Hymns today.

We wrapped up the Old Testament in Sunday School today and Malachi was a large part of the lesson. One of the most well known scriptures in Malachi is the discussion on Tithing. My thoughts turned to the last year that I did not pay a full tithe. I was roughly 14 years old and we met with Bishop Sakamaki in the Hawaii Kai 2nd ward. I remember gathering in the Bishop's office and having to tell the Bishop that I had not paid a full tithe. I was a bit embarrassed and determined that I would not have that conversation again. I have never had to and am very grateful for the blessings that have been a part of my life because of that decision. I have seen dollars stretched and miracles occur and at the end of this year when expected compensation did not come over the last half of the year we have somehow made it through. I have had to make some hard decisions and we have had to go without some of the luxuries of the past but that is okay as they are only things. My family is what matters most and I am most grateful for them.

I was happy to have Heidi come and sit by me in Sunday School today. She looked beautiful as always. I didn't really have an opportunity to talk with her and hope that she is well.

The week has been long in many instances and yet it has also passed rather quickly. Not many of the things I had hoped to do this week materialized but I did quite enjoy going to the Temple. I have enjoyed being with family. I have missed being with my kids at home. I go back home at 3 AM. That is weird I know but it gives Rachel a chance to put the kids down and get a little sleep before she has to head to Vegas. It will be interesting to go through the adjustment of mom being gone again with the kids. Hopefully it all goes well. The next visit will likely not happen until the summer time and that may consist of the kids going to Alaska for 6 weeks. I am not overly excited about that but it is what was agreed to in the divorce.

Well I have not much more to say, actually there is a lot on my mind but I will keep it there for the time being. I am grateful for and love my kids and family.

Merry Christmas 2010

With no kids in the house we were not up early here at the folks house. Everyone started congregating in the living room around 9:30 or so. By everyone I mean the folks, Mike and Liana, Amy and myself. It was a mellow morning to be sure. Mike and Amy played Santa and passed the gifts around then we took turns opening them. This is how we have done it for as long as I can remember. Anyhow, it went fine and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a good morning.

I called and talked to Natty and they had a great morning and enjoyed getting up early, 5:30, and opening presents. Natty got her American Girl doll, Lego Harry Potter for the Wii and a few other things, Jack got his Stinky Garbage truck, a remote control car and more, Andy got some dress up outfits including Woody, Buzz, and Iron Man complete with the helmet, the chest piece and the hand stabilizer thing. He was really excited about it. I went and picked them up around 1:45 and brought them back to the folks for more presents and to visit with everyone. They got loaded up with fun gifts from Mike and Liana and Grandma and Grandpa. They also got cool new snow sleds from me and were probably most excited by little voice recorders that you could manipulate the play back speed. It was fun to watch them enjoy the gifts and their aunts and uncles as well as Grandma and Grandpa. They played for a while and then I took them home around 4. I will upload some pictures when I get back to using my computer next week. I got some cute ones of Iron Man Andy, Jack playing trains and domino's, Natty playing with Uncle Bubba and hanging out. I will post some later.

So I got a surprise gift from everyone this morning. They went and found me a TV. It is a pretty good size, I would guess a 36" which is huge compared to the 19" that we are currently using. When I moved from Pebble Beach to Lowry in Lakeland I gave my 27" TV away to the Salsbury's. They were very grateful for it as theirs had died and this was a very nice TV. When I moved from Florida to Cedar I gave my 32" to the Jackson's who had a temporary TV that they were borrowing and it was probably 19" or less. I had the big screen and just didn't need all these TV's so I felt good giving them away. Funny enough that big screen died. We went without a TV for a while and the kids would watch movies on Amy's or they would gather round the little portable DVD player and watch Scooby Doo or How to Train Your Dragon or whatever. It was not a big priority for us so I didn't really miss it. This kids on the other hand seemed to miss the video games and the movies. On Black Friday we got the 19" from Amy and that has been great, the kids have sure enjoyed it as they had been without their Wii for a while. Anyhow, I was touched that everyone pitched in and found this TV for us. I remember giving both of those old TV's away and how happy both the Salsburys and the Jacksons were to receive them. It made me happy to do it. I find it funny that things have gone full circle and that we are excited to receive this TV while others are feeling great for giving it. Well, much thanks Dad, Mom, Mike, Liana, Dave, Dani and Amy. Not only am I grateful for the TV but for all the kind gifts you gave to Natty, Jack and Andy as well as to me. Thanks also to Jim and Clo, Marien, Clayton and Kathryn for their thoughtful gifts and kindness and to all of our family and friends.

I had Dave and Dani this year and made them a shelf. I did not finish it because I wanted to give them a color of their choosing. That may be a bit of a challenge to match the color of their other furniture but we are going to give it a shot. Also gave a shelf to the folks and they too get to pick out their color. They seemed excited to receive them and that is good.

We had a family meal at Jay and Sara's house. It was good. Appreciate being with family when I was away from mine. We had fun shooting rubber band guns, choosing Would You Rather's, listening to Jaykob sing crazy renditions of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and other silly things. After dinner we came back to the folks and played a Root Beer game. We had 8 different types of Root Beers, well 7 and one bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper. Anyway, everybody got a little cup of each flavor and picked out the one they thought was best. In the end there was no clear winner. Diet Big K was Liana's pick, A & W was Amy's and possibly mom's, Mike managed to pick out the Wal-Mart brand for his while dad selected Barqs I believe. I actually selected Diet Big K on my first go round but then followed a different testing method that Mike was using and came up with Diet IBC. It was a fun activity. You don't know which is which when you are tasting them though I tried to determine the brand of each. I actually did pretty good only mixing up two, Diet Big K and the Wal-Mart brand. The other 6 I nailed. It was fun.

I read Luke 2 for everyone but did not do it from the King James version. No, I used the translation of the bible into Hawaiian Pigeon language. It is a legitimate translation that was completed by 26 Native Hawaiians from the original Greek. Having grown up in Hawaii I find "Da Jesus Book" (the New Testament) a very interesting read. At first I just thought it was a joke but they seriously went about the work of translating into Pigeon so that a majority of the Hawaiians would more easily understand the bible. The way most things translated brings a smile to my face. Here is a quick example. The Acts of the Apostles translates to Jesus Guys, What Dey Wen Do. Anyhow, we had fun with this reading.

I am grateful for Christmas when we celebrate the birth of the Savior. I am grateful for the gift of His life and for all that is made possible through Him. I hope that I can remember him always and that I can do my best to follow His teachings not just at Christmas but at all times and in all places.

I love the Lord and am grateful for His hand in my life. I am grateful for friends and family that are so kind and helpful. I am grateful for my children and that we were able to spend some time together today. I have been blessed with wonderful children and i love them very much.

Christmas Eve 2010

I stopped in at my house this evening because I needed to grab some fondue forks and there on the living room couch sat Natty, Jack and Andy all gathered around their mother in their Christmas pajamas as she read them what appeared to be the Cajun Night Before Christmas. It was hard to find myself on the outside looking in at the kids that I have spent the last 9 months with on my own. Here the holidays are and I have left them and my home so that they can spend it with their mom. It was really important for the kids to spend time with their mom and think they have had a fun week. Being a bit selfish for a moment, it was hard to not be there with them. The family I have spent Christmas Eve with for the last 13 years was carrying on without me. Weird feeling like I was interrupting my family. One of the drawbacks of divorce.

The week has been fine with Rachel as far as my communication with her. We've chit chatted about the kids and different things and it has all been kosher. She talks about missing the kids and all but I get the feeling she is pretty happy working and living with this guy from high school. I think she likes being able to pursue her life without having to worry about the day to day responsibilities of parenthood. I don't know how the kids will react to her leaving in two days. Hopefully they will be quick to adjust back to me.

Anyhow, the eve has come and gone. Though I was missing my kids I was not sitting by myself alone somewhere. I was with my folks and we had Mike and Liana in from Wyoming, Dave and Dani, and Amy all here. We had fondue for dinner which was a break from old New Years Day Fondue tradition. This worked out well for the adults only party. There were no little ones to have to monitor , help, and worry about and that made fondue a great choice for the meal. Padre put together an amazing spread and instead of using oil we used a broth. It was very tasty. Fondue is one of those meals that I have loved for many many years. It was a fun meal.

We went on to play some games including a carol singing game, an Oreo cookie slide and a white elephant gift exchange. The rules of the white elephant are that we have to display whatever we received in a place of prominence in our homes for the year. Well, much thanks to Bobby Arnold who in 7th grade made an impression of his face out of clay. It is really nice and will look great on my shelf. Really happy he donated that to Deseret Industries and that I was fortunate enough to pick it up in the game. There were some other choice gifts to be sure. A praying hand soap dish, an orange shaped canister, a framed picture of some random kid, a lovely "friends" pillow, a really old mickey and Minnie sandwich maker, an old stamped plate that hangs on the wall and I am sure that I am missing something. It was a fun event.

I put together a gift fir Heidi today but have not delivered it yet. I will try to get it to her tomorrow. Anyway, I hope she enjoys it. It is simple really, just a little bouquet of kitchen utensils. She told me one night when we were over for dinner that she didn't have serving spoons. That should no longer be a problem. I also put together a stocking for her. I bought myself some pistachios to go in a stocking for myself and thought that if she was like me she probably didn't have someone building her a stocking. So anyway, mom pulled out the stops it appears and she put out a stocking for me so maybe Heidi's mom has done the same. Regardless, I wanted to give her one so I put it together. Amy helped with the design on the envelope - just wanted to give her props and mom helped with the bows.

Mike had questions about Heidi and then he had all kinds of wonderful suggestions. Two steps forward and one step back philosophy of dating. I got schooled on being too nice. I think he may have said that nobody wants to date the nice guy - Amy was quick to agree. They may have a point - I don't know, I hope not.

The LBH was open today and we ended up having our best day thus far. It was a good one. I was working on the stereo project running wires and what not. It is done and hooked up. Everything running. Also sealed the vent on the rood that was leaking. Wow, that is one very steep roof. Walking on it was way to uncomfortable slid across on my bum. The good news is that you can no longer see daylight shining through the attic. Great. Did a little more work on some shelves this afternoon. They are coming a long.

Well, I am grateful for the Savior. Grateful for this Christmas time when we celebrate His birth. I am grateful for His life and for all that He suffered me. I hope that I can remember him and follow him more perfectly in my life.

Philly Cheese

I woke up this morning and talked to mom a bit about dinner plans for this evening. Mike and Liana were coming into town for the holiday and we hadn't discussed the schedule. I was in the mood for Philly Cheese Steaks and so I suggested that we have them for dinner. I took on the assignment. There was a time when I worked at Charley's Steakery in Lakeland. It was in December 2007 and I was helping John Schatz out with Holiday traffic at the mall and he was helping us with a little extra cash. I learned some of the tricks of the trade with Philly Cheese Steaks and my personal favorite was the Bacon 3 Cheese with all the veggies and a little Buffalo sauce to boot. Well, I made it happen this evening. Went to Smiths and had them thin slice a New York Roast, picked up all the other necessities and then we made some sandwiches. Oh so good. I love a good Philly Cheese Steak. I remember eating at the Philly Steak Out in Vegas off Tropicana and Maryland Parkway. Heaven. I think that was the first time I realized that there was such a thing as a Philly Cheese Steak. Yes I was a sandwich artist in high school and made several steak and cheese sandwiches at Subway but didn't know anything about Philly. Well, glad to know about them now and enjoy that sandwich on occasion. Buying the New York roast was well worth it. I have purchased the Wal Mart frozen steaks and they really are not that good. The shaved roast tonight was great. Looks like tomorrow night we will be doing some Fondue so I may have yet another post discussing food. Isn't that fun.

I went and hung out at my house today with Andy and Jack so that Rachel could take Natty out for some girl time. The Snow village is all set up and the kids love it so they showed it to me and told me all about it. Glad they got it all up and are enjoying it. The boys were having a few challenges sharing said snow village or at least their positioning around it. At one point Andy had clawed Jacks face and Jack retaliated by punching Andy in the face. So Jack ended up on his bed and was pretty upset about it. He started tearing the covers off and then Andy got up on the top bunk with him. I was talking to Jack about not tearing the covers off and Andy was jumping. Next thing I knew he lost his balance, tripped over the rail backwards, did a back flip off the bed and landed in a laundry basket of clothes on the floor. Sometimes I am absolutely amazed by things that happen. Why a laundry basket of clothes was sitting right there was beyond me - I always fold laundry in my room. Well it was there and it broke the fall. Andy was a little shaken up but he was not hurt. His toe was a little sore. I am grateful for that as it looked like it was going to be bad. We had a little cuddle time in the chair until he calmed down and we were all able to laugh about Andy's great disappearing act.

I knocked out a few more shelves today. I am going to put pegs on them as opposed to hooks and see how they turn out. Plan to do that in the morning along with sealing all the holes and prepping them for finish. I have a shelf still to make for Sara and will try to get that done tomorrow as well. In addition I have been running wire at the LBH for speakers. It has been fun hanging out in the attic and crawling around a bit. Should be able to get that done tomorrow as well.

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Time seems to be passing by so quickly. This week has certainly gone by fast. I will be back home in a few days and it will be fun to be with Natty, Jack and Andy again. I am not so sure they are counting down the days until my return but that is okay. It is good to have Mike and Liana in town even if Mike is giving me grief about my blog and this is the part where I am supposed to announce that I am officially wrapping up my blog. How is that Mike? Good? Do you think it will work? Okay then, adios all. Until tomorrow night anyway.

Temple Visit

Went to the Temple this evening. I love to go to the Temple. Dave came with and Amy came down as well. She brought Skyler and they hung out while Dave and I went through a session. Anyway the drive down was interesting. We have been experiencing a lot of rain this week and there are water falls on the mountains, the little reservoir in New Harmony is the fullest I've ever seen and all of the little creek beds are raging rivers. They said that St. George has had more rain in the last few days then it has over the last two years. That is pretty amazing. So it was a wet trip but great none theless. I did catch a power nap at one point during the drive down and apparently the other 3 thought it was pretty funny. There was something about a good place to ride horses. ?

So in the session there was a young man going through for the first time. I always enjoy watching that. His family was there with him and I watched as he came into the celestial room and embraced them. I thought about my own experience and also that of Pete. I will remember the letter I got on the mission when Pete described that experience and how it was better then the raging drum solo he played after Kari Keller said yes to going to prom. Actually I may have those details completely wrong. It was 16 years ago. Anyhow, those were a few thoughts I had watching him and then Dave walked in and I felt a great love for him. It was great to be
in the Temple with my brother.

After the Temple we went to In N Out Burger. I hadn't been there in 6 years. It was a good visit. I may have to go back there before another 6 years passes.

Anyhow, it was a great day. I am grateful for it

Have I Done Any Good?

Christmas is in a few short days and I am quite amazed at how fast this last year has gone. There certainly have been some very long days throughout the year but all in all it has dissappeared all too quickly. I mentioned in a previous post, in fact I think it was my first post - anyway I mentioned speaking to the Highlands Ward Relief Society about keeping a journal. One of the points that I talked about there was accountability and how I felt that keeping a daily record of my life helped me to be accountable for my actions. I spoke about reflecting on your day and asking yourself "have I done any good in the world today?" I got way out of my comfort zone and sang them that hymn - almost solo. The sisters began to hum the tune. It was actually a very spiritual moment, not because of my singing but because of the message and the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes as I think about it. Yes it is true, I am a boob.

Anyway, I reflect on the year and ask myself have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad or made someone feel glad? If not I have failed in deed. Has anyones burden been lighter today because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there? I hope that I have done good and that my actions have been pleasing to my Father in Heaven. It has not been the easiest year of my life and there were certainly days when I was not doing as much good as I could. There were many days this year when I was the one in need, when I was sad. I express my profound gratitude for those whose actions came as much needed blessings in my life. Those are the gifts that have meant so much to me. Things are just things and they will come and go but the gifts of self, the gifts of the Spirit they are those that are recorded in Heaven and they last forever. I have a long way to go and much to work on. I hope that each day I can reflect back and say that I have done good today.

I am looking forward to a trip to the Temple tomorrow evening. I talked to Dave earlier today and his schedule is clear for tomorrow evening so he is going to join. Amy may also be coming down to hang out in St. George while we go. I love the opportunity to go to the Temple and am excited about it.

St. George is very wet right now and is under the threat of major flooding. Cedar had a lot of rain come through yesterday, last night and today as well. I was expecting snow and it did snow for a bit yesterday evening but by 10 it was rain again and it washed the snow away. Anyhow, I am thankful for the rain. I hope that the damage to St. George is minimal and families affected by this will be blessed.

I assembled another shelf this afternoon and also put together a sign for Dave and Dani. Well, I didn't make the sign itself just joined the wood and prepped it for the actual sign. I think it turned out okay, Dave was happy with it. It is fun to build and create things. When I think about hobbies and things that I do for fun I am glad to have found this woodworking thing having never really done it before. Wow, relaxing and fun. It ranks right up there with yard work for me. I also sanded down my first frame. I will figure out a color for it and go to work on finishing it over the next week or so. I am out of wood at the moment so need to replenish some.

Rambling on here so I will close. Funny to not have anything to do at the moment. There is so much extra time right now that it is just foreign to me. I think Amy and I are going to fire up P90X tonight and see how it goes. I don't have my trusty eliptical and I am going through withdrawels.

Not a Photographer

I had the opportunity to download or upload the pictures from the Christmas party. I started with my little camera. I was nervous about it because it was on a different setting. Most of the pictures were blurred. I was getting motion sick just looking at them. Sad. There were some great moments that I thought I had captured but they were all fuzzy. Well no matter I still had the shots of the kids with Santa on the other camera. I loaded those pictures up and to my horror they were messed up too. I don't know how I managed it. It tested fine then somehow the setting got switched. Whatever it was the shutter speed was slow and it picked up all the motion. There were some interesting shots with some very ghostly looking characters. I am working on some things to salvage some sort of image. A bit of a bummer. It just didn't work out the way I thought it would. We'll see how it goes.

So I wanted to blame my camera. That was pretty convenient but when the second set came up bad I figured it was user error. Next time I will need to bring in a photographer. Well, we learn.

Saw the kids for a few minutes this evening. They were doing well and having fun. That is fun. I sure do love them. Anyhow, I am going to close. The internet is down so I am typing this on my phone. Fun.

Turtle Town

Lonely day at church. I sat by myself for the first time in a very long time and though I didn't have kids to worry about I certainly missed having them there. They are such a huge part of my life that it is strange not having them with me. The last time Rachel came to town they came and sat with me at church anyway. Today they didn't come and I am sure it saved Rachel from some uncomfortable feelings.

I did stop by the house to pick up some tomato sauce for meatballs tonight and it looked as if they were having a great time. They were not there when I popped in. Jack has continued making a wide variety of signs for Turtle Town. He is so funny. He was very concerned for the party yesterday that we needed to have all of these signs. He thought a sign was necessary to warn people to stay out of his room. I told him there would be no such sign for the party and that people would be allowed to go in his room. He then wanted to have a sign about the bathroom, no. Finally he turned everything to signs about turtle town and then came up with this big story about it. At first I told him he could hang them on the cork board in his room but he was upset about that, people wouldn't see them there. I decided to let him go ahead with his signs and taping them on the walls. He went for it. I got to go on a tour of turtle town and I believe Jack took a few others around as well. Anyhow, more signs are all about the house as well as a little boy that has had a great time with paper, markers and tape. Funny enough, he remembers what every sign was for and I am sure all the new signs have special meanings too.

I spoke to Natty tonight for a little bit. She sounded a bit tired and didn't have a lot to say though she called me. Anyway, from what she said she is having fun but it sounded as if she was having somewhat of a tough time. Natty has always struggled some with the attention factor. She was the only child for her first 4 years and always loved having all of the attention. She has done well to adjust to life with brothers and she does a good job with me. I think she probably had a tough day today having her mom in town and not getting all of her attention. I am sure Rachel is doing her best to balance all three kids. I am grateful that she is having fun with them and it is a good thing to have her engaged when she is here and for how much she tries to stay involved when she is not. I don't think Natty will allow her not to be involved. That is Natty though. I am grateful for my little girl and for her strength of character, for her love for the Lord and for her desire to do what is right. I know that everything has been hard on her and I pray that she will be blessed and strengthened as she deals with the challenges of divorced parents.

Andyboy is my little buddy. I love the simple things that he finds so much pleasure and joy in. Cows on Thursday at the stockyard by school is one of his favorite things. We go and visit with those cows and he just loves it. Those are fun moments for us. I have a few pictures with the cows and will update and add photos to this post later. My computer is not connecting here at the folks house and that is where many of my pics are so I will wait til I can access them.

Anyhow, had a fine day. Taught the lesson in Elders on the Sabbath Day. It is a good lesson. There was a scripture in Isaiah that stood out to me regarding our choosing to do the things of God and then being blessed by those decisions. I want to say chapter 59 verses 1 through 8. I just enjoyed some of the language in there. Played Settlers of Catan (sp?) with the folks, Amy and Dave tonight. I got smoked I'm sure but had a fun time trying to learn the game. I need some practice to be sure.

I am grateful for family and friends. Grateful to spend time with the folks. They are good people and I enjoy that. I enjoy being able to talk with them as well as my siblings. Grateful for Amy being my housemate and for our late night chats. She sure keeps it fun.

Party and Parting

Had a fine day today. Busy all day long. We had our Christmas Party today and it turned out well. Rachel also made it in today. She was supposed to arrive at 7:30 but had some delays so we did not see her until 10:45. The kids were really excited for her arrival. I was pretty well dead when she did make it in. I have just woken up from a short nap and now it is 1 AM and I am able to function slightly better. In my regular journal writing I would be writing in blurred lines right now and making no sense what so ever. So there it is, another benefit of the blog. I simply cannot blur my typing. If you find that none of this makes any sense then you may assume that I have been nodding off the entire time.

Because it is late I am going to save more of the detail for the party until another blog. I will simply make a couple of notes. We had a total of 9 kids - 3 of those were my own, 3 were Heidi's and then we had Lexi and Payton (not sure on spelling and not sure on name) from up the street and Melissa Crane from around the corner. We had invited quite a few more that were unable to make it but that was fine. I think, I hope that those who came as well as my own kids had fun.

I am grateful for help from Amy last night, mom for coming and lending a hand and just having fun with the kids, Heidi for some fantastic games and help with everything as well, Santa (Dave) for doing an outstanding job going above and beyond for us. I wanted to have a different touch with Santa talking about the true meaning of Christmas. Great job Santa. Mom talked a bit about Santa when I got to her house tonight and how there were two little boys and a little girl that just loved him and had a great time following him around, and being excited to see him and what a good job he did with them. You are a natural Dave, sure do love you bro.

Grateful to have my first kids Christmas party down. I learned a few things and that is always good. Nice to have an outline going in and knowing that it is flexible is also good. I was so worried about food and didn't need to be. The cookies and goodies were plenty I think. The kids just seemed to enjoy being together and that was fun. I over planned it a bit but that is okay too. I will not stress about it too much the next time.

Well, the house was in good order for the party and then for Rachel coming in. Amy and I put on a little show for Natty and Andy and Jack with her throwing marshmallows at me from across the kitchen and me catching them in my mouth. Our record was 8 in a row. We can beat that. It wasn't long before Natty and Andy were throwing things at me, then Jack jumped in as well. Next thing I knew Andy was throwing handfuls of M&M's at me and Jack was tossing cookies at me. It was a little crazy there for a bit. Andy had a snotty nose and I tried throwing a marshmallow at him hoping to stick it to his upper lip. Natty decided to just stick one there which she did. Andy pulled it off and threw it at me from across the room. It nailed me in the chest and stuck to my shirt. Beautiful. There is a picture, I will upload it another time. We all had a good laugh and then began cleaning up the mess. That was one way to get rid of a bunch of extra sugar.

So anyway, Rachel did come in. The kids were thrilled. Everything was set for her and I hope the visit goes well. I will be back at the house periodically for different projects during the week but hope to stay out of the way as much as possible. This is the second time I have experienced this and it is a little weird to walk away from your home and your family. It is a lot of work as well. I wrote about the countdown and everything previously. I am happy for the kids to have this time with their mom. I hope the week goes well. I feel a little lost though. It is better that my routines and environment change up and that theirs stays as familiar as possible. Hopefully that will make the transition back to dad easier when she goes back home.

I have rambled on a bit longer then I thought. I am done for now. Need to get a little sleep before tomorrow. I get to give the lesson in Priesthood - the Sabbath Day. I won't get to keep doing this which is sad as I enjoy it. Anyhow, grateful to the Lord for his hand in my life and for the many wonderful blessings that I enjoy.

Nowhere Fast

I have had one of those days that just has not stopped. I finally had to stop and make something to eat at 8 tonight because I was starting to feel a bit famished. The slice of cheese I had for breakfast and the Peanut Butter Truffle I ate at the LBH when I stopped in there for a bit just were not going to do the trick. It is 11:30 now and I still have a couple solid hours to go and yet I sit here and look around and think, dang, for all the effort I have put in to this day I really seem to have gotten nowhere. I like to add fast to that because it is a BTILC quote hence the addition in the title.

Actually, I have had a couple of trips to Wal Mart today, one with Andy and then one solo. There was simply too much stuff for one trip and there was no way I was going to manage it with Andy so we let Natty practice her baby sitting skills for a bit while I made the second trip. She has done a pretty good job with it when I have needed her help and I am grateful for that. Well, I believe that I have everything that will be needed for the party as well as a few items for the home that were lacking. I still need to go back and get more shopping done tomorrow so that they are stocked up for Rachel coming. I did make some ground there. On my first trip I bought a couple of cleaning supplies that I had been out of and so I went to it on a few things. I appreciate a nice bottle of glass cleaner. I did get the laundry started and now remember that I need to go and switch it so I can have it done for tomorrow morning. I will then only have my sheets to wash in the morning and that won't be a big deal.

Well, now on to my other project. I have goodie bags to put together and a few ginger bread houses to get prepared for tomorrow. I am nervous about the ginger bread houses taking too long to construct so I was hoping to have that prepared for the party. I may settle on just getting a handful together for the younger kids and let the older kids build their own. We'll see how well I hold up here in the next little while.

The rest of the house, well, it is tidy, I have kept that maintained but there is vaccuuming, sweeping and mopping to be done prior to the party. I think I will manage to pull it all off in time. Really looking forward to it actually. Heidi is on top of the games and that is great. Dave is primed and ready for a great appearance as Santa - excited to hear him talk to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas. I have 15 different types of soda in the garage for the sleigh propellant experiment and a box of mentos ready for loading. The sleigh itself got a shalacked this morning and it is ready for firing.

I built a shelf last night to hang stockings on as we didn't really have a place for them. It may be my favorite shelf yet. I followed my original design, made it a little bigger, didn't distress the wood like the others but then finished it like the shelf that I refinished. I have got to put hooks on it and then hang it. Hopefully it will look as good on the wall as I think it will. It was a fun one.

That is all. It is just about midnight and if all goes well I will be going strong till 2. Not sure I am going to squeeze in my run tonight. It may still happen...

'kay

In the classic movie The Princess Bride (also a wonderful book that I did read) there is an exchange a top the Cliffs of Insanity between The Man in Black (Wesley) and Inigo Montoya while they are dueling.

Inigo Montoya: Who are you?
Man in Black: No one of consequence.
Inigo Montoya: I must know...
Man in Black: Get used to disappointment.
Inigo Montoya: 'kay.

Isn't it funny just how quickly Inigo accepts the disappointment and moves on? I guess when you are in the middle of a duel what else can you do? There isn't a lot.

Rachel is coming in a couple of days. Everyday for the last I don't know how long I have heard the countdown to her arrival. I hear it in the morning and then because that isn't enough I get a text message about it, yes it is much easier to text then to just say something whilst in the same room. I look at the calendar on the wall and get to see it. At night I get to hear about it again. I am happy that my kids are excited to see their mom, really I am. Sometimes it is hard to have it in my face all the time. It is easy to get bitter because of it and I have to say I have struggled with some of that this week. So maybe I just need to say 'kay and move on. What else can I do? There isn't a lot. I suppose it would be good to simply count my blessings and recognize the tremendous blessing it is to keep them with me a majority of the time. It is hard knowing how much effort that takes and yet no countdowns or excitement for me. I guess the trade off is worth it though and perhaps someday in a quiet moment they will recognize certain things.

I crafted two gingerbread houses today in preperation for the party on Saturday. I need to go and stock up a few supplies bofore I continue on. I only did two because I only had two paper plates in the house. Tomorrow will be a serious day of construction. The good news is that the patern is relatively easy. I am figuring on getting 6 houses out of a box of grahams. I am guessing that we will see somewhere between 20 and 30 kids at the party but I am going to kick out 40 houses for good measure. I just need to pick up a few more boxes, a bit more frosting and probably a few more decorating options and we'll be good. Andy was sure excited about them. I put a big A on one of them so he would know it was his. I hope that excitement is the same for all the kids that attend. I am going to be exhausted on Saturday afternoon when this thing is over. I think I have over invited but who cares, we will survive and if we can make a positive impact on some kids then it is well worth it. I know my kids have been excited about it. It has been mentioned once or twice with the other official countdown previoulsy discussed.

Andy had his little Head Start Christmas program tonight. It was funny. He had taken a little nap and I got him up and moving around 6:15 but the fog didn't really lift until after we were at the program. He was a little delayed in some of the songs but he sure was cute up there. He was given a Yahtzee with Toy Story 3 characters on it and the kids played it as soon as we got home. Anyhow, the program started at 7 and if you were late you missed it, wrapped up at about 10 after 7 with the singing portion of the program. Then they handed out the gifts and served some snacks. We represented with Natty, Jack and myself as well as mom and Amy attending. Sara also came with Mack, Tara, Jayson, Jaykob, Anna and Tommy. Good showing. Appreciate the support guys.

Grateful for family. Grateful to be in Cedar.

Patient, Long Suffering, Temperate - I need work

Wow, I am going back in time today with some thoughts and it really aged me. Hard to say this, 18 years ago I was 19 years old and - actually, almost exactly 18 years ago I received my mission call so maybe it was more like a little over 18 years ago. Anyway, I had either just turned 19 or was about to turn 19 and I received a letter from Elder Fontano. That would be Jim who was serving in the Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission. It was a letter that was a great inspiration to me as it opened my eyes to some things that were important in life. Jim closed the letter and as he did in each of his letters home he included a scriptural reference. I don't think I had ever looked up one of his scriptural references but I felt prompted to do so. I found my scriptures and opened up to Alma 7:23-24 and read:

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.
24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

The entire experience from the letter through to these verses were exactly what I needed at that time. I will never forget the Spirit that I felt that day while I sat at the little round table in the corner of the kitchen of our house on Telegraph Street in Carson City. I caught fire that day and for the first time had a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon. I hated reading so I avoided reading the scriptures as much as possible to that point. It all changed and I found myself feasting upon the words of Christ. I will forever be grateful for an older brother who wrote a letter.

I have loved these verses since that day in 1992. I read them often as a missionary and actually carried the letter in my scriptures for my entire mission and would look at it often too. Anytime that I find myself in Alma 7 I think about that experience and I think about the impact of these verses on my life. I don't know that I have any one favorite scripture but these verses rank right up there with my favorites. Today my scripture reading was in Alma 7 and I knew what I needed to write about in the blog.

I have tried and hope to live my life in accordance with the instruction Alma gives here. I don't do a very good job of it. Funny that I read this earlier today and then spent the rest of the day realizing just how far off I am and how much work there is yet to do. I had a rough time with the kids tonight and immediately began thinking about patience and long suffering and being temperate in all things. Those are some tough requirements and I don't do a very good job most days. It makes me realize how much I need the Savior and His atonement in my life and how grateful I am for Him.

Everybody is healthy at the moment so that is very nice. Andy did not get sick at all and hopefully he will not. Jack was on fire this morning and ready to get back to school, that was nice. We all had a good day and that is always more enjoyable.

I did want to put in a picture or two of Jack. I put together some stars for the Little Brick House. They are big stars and I had to put together each piece of it. Each point of the star was fastened to the next using wing nuts, bolts and washers. Jack got involved in the process and had to organize the three items. Here is a picture of his rows.



As I was putting it together he looked at the pattern I was following and then adjusted his rows to follow that pattern. Sorry, this is interesting because it is one of those sensory things. I just found it funny that on his own he determined to first organize the rows and then make these adjustments per pattern.



Well, that is all for today. We got the Stars together and will take them in tomorrow. Happy that the kids went down without a problem tonight. Grateful for the day and for everyone being healthy.

Another Day in Sicklyville

If you looked at the comments of my last post then you will know that Jack had a rough night. I am hoping that tonight is much better for him. He actually was spunky for most of the day. At 11ish he told me he wanted to go to McDonald's and play. Sorry dude, we don't go and play when we are home from school sick. I did offer to get him ready for school and that we could go to class. He said: "No, I am sick." That was the end of that.

Yesterday I had made it through all the laundry in the house. This morning I had a couple more loads thanks to all of Jacks activity through the night. That was just lovely. Well, he is back on the top bunk under his favorite Mr. Fluffy blanket cuddling his little white teddy bear. Mr. Fluffy was covered last night as was the teddy bear. Oh my goodness am I grateful to be babysitting the folks washer and dryer. If I were still using the mini stack ables I would have never made it through this day.

Updated our Christmas Party invitation and Natty ran most of them around today when she got home. I think it will be fun. Dave is going to be Santa for us and I thought it would be cool to have Santa talk to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas. Dave has agreed to come up with something. He will then do the old sit em on his knee and ask what they want for Christmas, take a pic and then give them a little goody bag. Should be good. Heidi is going to help with games. Very grateful for that and I am still debating on Ginger Bread Houses plus a second ornament craft. Actually, I think it is GBH's. We won't really have time for both and really, I think one is probably sufficient. Here is a copy of the invitation.




I have this device that Sara let me borrow for doing the Diet Coke/Mentos volcano launch. I bought some DC and Mentos a couple weeks ago and figured we could do that at the party. Well, no way I can sell volcano's to the kids for Christmas. So I was thinking about it and came up with Santa's Emergency Sleigh Propellant. We are going to test a few different types of sodas with Mentos and see which provides the biggest surge. Then the kids can go home and tell their parents that Santa needs a two liter of whatever left out with his cookies in case his sled needs a little boost. I think it should be fun. I made a sleigh for it tonight. Here is a pic with one coat of paint. The sled will stand up, just the way it is in the pic, over the 2 liter bottle. We'll try to get some pics and update on how it goes and on how the entire party goes. Natty, Jack and Andy were all excited about the Sleigh. I don't know why I am doing this. It wasn't something I did in the past but the kids sure loved the Halloween party and were very excited to do Christmas. Hope it turns out well and that all who attend have a great time.



I was waiting on Andy to start throwing up today. Did not happen. That is okay. He did have a late nap and is a live wire right now. He was laying down next to me but that only lasted a couple of minutes. I managed to snap a quick shot.



Anyway, time to close down and get Andy and myself in bed. I am feeling rather tired today but am grateful to the Lord for the blessings He provides.

Being Sick

I had a wonderful 4 AM wake up call this morning. I don't know that there is anything more enjoyable then puking your brains out at 4 in the morning when you were previously enjoying sleep. We've all thrown up and we've all spent our share of time on the porcelain throne so I won't go into any further details. Suffice to say there isn't a lot about being sick that is fun.

I was driving Andy to school in between bathroom visits and was really bummed out because I missed something today that was important to me and was thinking about being sick. I don't like it but how could I make this a positive thing instead of being grumpy about it. So I came up with a few things that made me laugh and made the experience more enjoyable. I type that as my stomach is killing me right now but oh' well.

1. You feel really good as soon as you stop hurting. To have your body in a completely miserable state makes you appreciate when you are healthy all the more.

2. You realize it is much easier to do household duties when you are well. That is definitely a positive thing. I came home Saturday with some household duties that I needed to do and didn't get them done because of the headache I had. Well, today I had to press forward and get some stuff done here. It was very clear to me that cleaning and performing chores around the house was much easier when I didn't feel like I was going to vomit everywhere.

3. You can dress however you want and pretty much get away with it. I certainly didn't go to the extreme on this myself but I thought about it as I was wearing my PJ's still at 11:30 with my stylish "old man" slip on shoes. Even had Sister Holyoak stop by while I was dressed so fine and she didn't say a word. She gave me some salsa that she made. Not very appealing today though I am sure in a couple of days it will be up there. I threw on some shorts and a long sleeve T and took Andy to class. Couldn't help but notice the beautiful weather today - I thought it was Florida-esque though we didn't have small patches of snow in the shade in Florida.

4. Sleep. This is actually a tough one when you are a parent and a bit trickier when you are a single parent. Sorry, there are just things that have to get done and they don't really care if you are sick or not. That isn't the funnest but, when you can, it is nice to rest and not feel at all guilty about it. I am sick therefore I sleep. I did enjoy a couple of hours this afternoon.

Okay so they are kind of weak. I didn't say they were genius things just some thoughts that came to mind. I hope tomorrow to be feeling a lot better. I am a little nervous about the boys getting sick - I don't want to deal with it but I don't really want them getting sick during the time that Rachel is here to be with them. I hope they can have a nice visit. The kids have all been really excited about her coming and I am reminded of that everyday from Natalie who likes to announce it to the world.

The Christmas party hit a snag tonight. The invitation says Santa Claus is Comin at the top and I also reference a special guest at the party. I invite the kids to bring their Christmas list and a smile for a picture. That all sounds great and I have Dave ready to go as Santa. Only problem is he will not have a suit on Friday evening. The old man already told the Greenlakes Ward they could use it that night. So, I believe we are shifting to Saturday afternoon for party time. I think that will be easier anyway. Unfortunately we will lose Jay and Sara and kids as they are headed to Vegas Saturday morning. Not a lot of options here. It will be tough to pass Dave off as Santa without a suit and as that is one of the main parts of the party I thought it would be prudent to make the shift. Now it will just be fun to get the house clean for Rachel coming in later that evening. Shouldn't be a problem though as I will have it clean for the party anyway.

I am not going to make my 5K today. I don't think my body can handle that right now. Sorry to disappoint. I have been going roughly 5 miles though some days have been more. My total mileage for the month will exceed 5K per day so I think I can excuse myself this evening. I don't have anything in my system to throw up right now but at the same time, don't feel up to it. I am not going to get my Bob Kempanin on tonight. What a shame. I might actually improve my time if I do get on and start puking. At least that worked for Bob. Who the heck is Bob Kempanin? Thought you would never ask. Bob won the qualifying heat for the 1996 Olympic games for the Marathon. I don't usually watch running on TV but happened to be watching when this race footage came on. ESPN2 had like a spelling B or something so we stayed with it. Then this guy starts puking and increases his lead. Well I had to watch. Found it inspirational, the old don't quit message.

Okay, that is all. Nice to be feeling a bit better this evening. Hoping we are good to go by morning. Natty seems okay after being down for a day. Just hope I can recover as quickly as she did. I am hearing Jack moaning in his room right now which means something not so pleasant is about to happen. Glad I decided to hope for this.