The Future

What does the future hold?  What do I have to look forward to?  What kind of life am I providing for my children?  What do they have to look forward to?  I don't really have much in the way of this world nor do I have the means of offering my children much in the way of this world.  Ours is a simple life and we seem to get on okay but I wish that I could do more for them.  I try my best as a single father but I believe they are left wanting.  That is hard.  Maybe I am just feeling the anxiety of having them come home in a few days.  Maybe I am just worried that my offering is less than what they deserve.  I will press forward the best that I know how.  I will trust in the Lord that the gospel basics that I cling to will lift them, that they will be encircled by the Love of God and that they will recognize what really matters in life.  I hope that I can be strong, that I can be the father they need me to be.  I need to do a better job in a number of areas and be a better help and a better example for them.  Oh my goodness there is so much and I know that I am missing the mark in a lot of areas.  I pray that the Lord will help me, that He will make up the difference.  The Savior and his atonement provide hope for a bright future. 

Lightning Run

Running in a lightning storm and sudden down pour.  That's what happened to me on Sunday evening.  I had gone on a walk around 9.  I could see lightning in the distance but thought nothing of it as I would not be gone that long.  The walk started out just find with the occasional flash of light in the night sky.  I went and walked down through SUU and around the football stadium.  As I was coming up from the stadium I began to feel rain.  After a bit I was feeling a lot of rain and I the lightning was much closer.  I began running home in an effort to get out of the situation.  I sprinted between trees and the cover they provided.  In the end I was soaked through.  Though I was setting out to enjoy a nice walk it ended up being a mad dash for home and a fairly exciting one at that.  Every time the lightning flashed I thought about it getting closer and closer and then began to think things like 'what if I get struck by lightning?  That is always a pleasant thought.  No need to contemplate that question when your outside and stuck in the middle of a lightning storm with crazy amounts of rain pouring down on you.    I don't recommend going out and  running in thundershowers. 

One Week

In one week the kiddos will return from Alaska.  I cannot put into words the joy I feel at having my children at home again.  I am choked up just thinking about it.  When they left Jack said to me "Just relax dad, it's only 8 weeks".  A few weeks ago I had to walk Jack down the path of relaxation as he was having a rough night and was homesick.  It is tough to be away from those you love.  I am looking forward to them coming home and enjoying that sweet reunion. 

I Love Thy House, O God

As a missionary I sang in a few choirs, ward or branch choirs anyway.  In one of those, my guess is The Belleville Ward choir, because I spent 9 months in Belleville.  So, in one of those units we learned the hymn We Love Thy House, O God.  I love that hymn, I love that message.  In fact here are the lyrics.

We love thy house, O God,
Wherein thine honor dwells.
The joy of thine abode
All earthly joy excels.

It is the house of prayer,
Wherein thy servants meet,
And thou, O Lord, art there,
Thy chosen flock to greet.

We love the word of life,
The word that tells of peace,
Of comfort in the strife,
Of joys that never cease.

Text: William Bullock, 1797-1874

Last night I enjoyed another wonderful visit to the St. George Temple.  I participated once again in initiatory work and love hearing those blessings and feeling the power of those promises from our Heavenly Father.  I feel our Saviors love as I ponder those blessings, my heart burns within me.  I love being in the Temple. 

In our Sacrament meeting today the topic assigned was that of creating our own pioneer heritage.  All of the talks were excellent.  We heard from Sister Courtney Duncan who is preparing to enter the mission field.  I was so impressed by her Spirit and her preparation.  She comes from a wonderful family and has an older sister who I think the world of.  Definitely a wonderful and righteous family that I feel blessed to know.  The other two talks were from a recent return missionary who also spoke in Stake Priesthood Meeting a few weeks back.  I don't recall his last name but believe his first name is McCabe or McCade, I could be wrong.  There are some amazing young men returning home from missionary service>  This young man is certainly one of them.  I am grateful for the power of his testimony and of his love of the Savior.  Our High Council Rep all spoke, Brother Erickson.  I enjoyed his message as well. 

I pondered each of the messages and thought about what I was doing to create my own pioneer heritage.  I have work to do.   I believe there are some key things that we do in our family that help us to draw near to the Lord.  Family prayer and scripture study are two essential activities.  Family Home Evening is another.  Sticking with the basics I have to say that Church attendance plays a big part and we do all of those things.  I have also found that attending the Temple on a regular basis is a source of tremendous strength for me and for my family.  I believe that a strong pioneer heritage is dependent on our doing our part, on our living our faith.  These basics are how we live our faith and put us in a position to hear the word of the Lord, to call down his blessings upon our families.  It is my hope that these fortifying principles will help me create a pioneer heritage for my family that will stand, anchored to the Lord and not moved. 

Sawzall Moving Adventure

I mentioned my house guest yesterday, that went just fine.  At 7 AM we picked up her daughter and then came back to my house.  I returned to my bed and slept a bit more and they went down and slept in the boys room.  It was fine.  I woke up to an incoming text message from President Whetman in regards to a move in.  It was a general invitation to come and help.  This was the third move in 16 hours for the Elders Quorum.  I did not make it to the first two because of house guests but when I saw the third notification come through I was determined to make it over to this move and lend a hand.  There was a good group there and the work went well.  All made it in save on piece of furniture.  It was a large chair that had the foot rest attached.  It was like a big comfy lounge chair - don't know if that makes sense but whatever.  It just couldn't make it through the door and down the stairs to the basement apartment.  The owner of the furniture suggested we cut it with a sawzall.  Upon hearing this I volunteered to run home and pick up my sawzall for the job.  I found the entire thing amusing and recommended that we catch it on video and then build a video all about moving with the Elders Quorum.  Figured we could load it with moving bloopers and a fair warning about the dangers of Elder Quorum Moves.  I think it could be great and thought about an old school 32" TV in my basement that is broken.  It would be the perfect TV to stage a furniture mishap with.  So anyway, after some discussion and some figuring we determined the best location to cut and I fired away.  It worked perfect.  The unit was still all one piece.  I did not cut all the way through the ottoman or the cushion, just cut through the wood that ran the length of the chair around the middle where the ottoman and chair came together.  The spring seat frame was all one piece and we did not cut through that.  With the cuts we had just enough flexibility to make the turn.  Truly it was a beautiful thing.  I suggested to President Whetman at the conclusion of the move that he should assign someone to bring a sawzall to every move. 

House Guest

I have a house guest.  It is a little awkward. A friend of mine from Vegas has to pick her daughter up early tomorrow morning and asked if she could stay at my house tonight so she wouldn't have to drive in the morning.   No problem, well not really ideal but whatever.  Anyhow, I have baracaded myself in my room and really need to sleep.

Furniture

With the cleansing out of the garage on Saturday I have found myself taking time to work on some of the furniture I have had in there.  I am stripping and sanding our big dining table and will try to sell it after I re stain/seal the top.  I am fixing up an antique dresser that I plan to use in the living room and I am starting to strip off some really thick paint on two separate pieces of furniture.  I think they have the potential to be painted to match and sold together.  Perhaps not but we will see.  I like the lines on both of them.  I still have a rocking chair that I need to finish and there is an old work bench or table thing that I should have probably thrown away but think it has potential and is unique.  I may ultimately throw it out but then again, I may not.  Well, I enjoy that hands on stuff and enjoy being able to be creative with the furniture.  I don't know that I will do anything creatively extreme but we may have a little fun there.  Who knows.  All I know is that furniture and restoring it is something I enjoy doing.  I need to stay focused on it and enjoy that as a hobby in my life.  I may need to capture some before and after shots of these projects. 

Pioneer Day 2013

Pioneer Day 2013 for me was uneventful as far as Utah Holiday activities.  There is a parade that happens in Cedar but I am not a parade kind of guy so I did not go to that.  Some people launch fireworks at night, not me.  No for the most part is was a normal day.  I worked and then after work I went over to Jay and Sara's for a BBQ.  There it is, the big celebration was the BBQ. 

The highlights of my day...  Nathan Sweeney and his wife Linnley came into The Little Brick House today and we had the chance to visit for a bit.  I met Nathan when he first returned home from his mission back in 2005 in the Highlands Ward in Lakeland.  What a wonderful young man.  Linnley I met for the first time today.  Lovely lady.  What a great couple.  How can I not love this young couple?  They are the son and daughter in law of my dear friends President and Sister Sweeney.  Anyhow, thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them for a few minutes. 

Other highlights.  I got to hold and feed two little baby boys today.  First was Griffin who came in with his mom, aunt and cousins.  He got a little fussy there and was hungry.  Dani gave me a little hand off and I enjoyed holding him and feeding him there.  Such big and beautiful eyes.  Love that little fella and his visits.  I also got to hold on to Porter tonight and give him a bottle as well.  Porter is Sara's sister Shelina's little baby boy.  He is a big boy.  Griffin is nearing 6 months and Porter is 7 weeks but Porter is as big as Griffin.  Big boy for sure.  It was great fun holding these little babies and just enjoying their sweet spirits. 

Lastly, Natty sent me a picture of her with Jack asleep in the car, resting his head on her shoulder.  Two of my beautiful kids who I am missing a lot right now.  So cute together.  Love that sweet older sister who takes such good care of her brothers.  Looking forward to their return home in a couple weeks. 

Nap Time

I got home tonight and helped load a cabinet into the trailer the folks are driving up to Laura's house in Treemonton.  I don't know if I spelled Treemonton quite right but I am okay with that.  Anyhow, I had a lot of paperwork that I had to work on and after standing out front chatting for a bit with Jay, Sara and Annie I was starting to feel not so good.  I made my way inside after a bit ate some dinner hoping it would help me feel better and then went to work looking for some information I needed.  I really didn't feel that great but after finding the paperwork I started going through this packet that I needed to fill out.  Talk about anxiety, my word.  I don't like doing paperwork, filling out stuff just drives me nuts.  Already not feeling so good and having a ton of questions and blanks to fill in simply did not help.  I pushed through the best I could but I'd had enough.  I sat back in the chair, closed my eyes and had a nap.  It was so needed.  Really I just need to go to bed but I woke up in my chair a bit ago and remembered that I hadn't done my entry for today.  Well, that is my exciting story about nap time.  I sure do appreciate a good nap and though that was not a real good nap it gave me a little something in the tank so I could push through.  That is fading however and so it is time...

Couple Of Weeks

There are a couple of weeks left to go before the kids return home.  I am quite happy about that and look forward to their return.  It is not easy to be alone especially when you are accustomed to having kids about.  It is really a weird thing as time has gone by so fast and yet it seems to be taking so long.  Well, I am looking forward to the 5th or 6th of August when we are reunited.  I turn 40 on the 7th of August so my birthday present will come early and I will enjoy having my family back home. 

The Sunbeams

Today I had the opportunity to help in Primary with the Sunbeam class.  Gary Taylor had called the other day and asked if I would come in with him.  I was happy to do so.  What a handful of kids.  There were 5 attending this week.  One was a little boy named James.  He is a fun kid, a little restless, a little excited some times but fun.  I did the old give me 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, knuckle thing with him, like I do with the boys.  He made it through the countdown flawlessly and then he added a new dimension to it, the headbutt.  It was fabulous and great for a laugh.  Always a good time to hang out with The Sunbeams.

Garage Day

Sometimes a man just has to hang out in the garage all day.  Hmmm, perhaps I should rephrase that.  Sometimes this man just has to hang out in his garage all day.   Yep, that should do it.  I don't want to try and speak for all men.  I am sure there are some who could care less about the state of their garage or hanging out in it.  I am sure there are also those who keep a pristine garage and would have no need of a garage day.  I am sad to say the my garage was at a state that I needed to spend a day so as to bring order out of chaos.  I thinned some things out, threw some things away, put some in a box for donation and then reorganized.  It was really quite a fantastic day.  I have access now to furniture that is in my possession for the purpose of being refinished.  I have not spent a lot of time with that as 8 months ago when we moved the LBH my garage was overrun with things.  Today we brought the garage back to a place where I can do a thing or two.  I set up a little place for Jack and his N-scale train set.  I think it will work out well.  We'll do our best to keep it organized but alas, when it gets beyond it's effectiveness, it will be time for yet another garage day.

Stretch It Out!

Lower back pain... it is not what I call fun.  I have pain on the right side of my lower back.  It is a bit of an irritant.  I am not sure what to do.  Have seen the chiropractor and he's made some adjustments but the pain is still present.  I have been focused on stretching to try and figure out what I need to do to relieve this pain.  Dr. B gave me some stretches to work on.  It's fun and I hope it continues to improve.  Found additional stretches on the inter web and will do some of that as well.  Once I get done with all this stretching I may actually clear 6 ft.  Who am I kidding?  I might squeeze out a legit 5'10".   

Moving Time

It is now the wee hours of Friday morning.  I got home not too long ago after an evening of moving.  The folks are on their way to Washington/St. George and we ran a couple of loads tonight.  There had been other loads previously but tonight was some of the big stuff.  When I got to New Harmony the Ward had already loaded the truck.  That was nice.  On our second trip a few of the brethren from the Ward came back to help.  Brad Schmutz showed up right when I had the heavy stuff to put on and that was a tremendous help.  Anyhow, had Amy and Dan on the other end to help unload the first truck and then Amy was there again to help with the second.  That was a great help and we managed to get it all done.  We had some laughs and fun times whilst moving stuff around.  That always makes it interesting.  Well, I am absolutely wiped out tonight.  Time to move on out of this office and sleep some. 

Could Today Be Your Last?

This evening I was working away when I was informed there was a lady that needed to share some news with me.  I stepped out of the kitchen and found Marni Maxwell standing there, her eyes wet and I had no idea what she needed to share.  Well, she told me that Annie, the new manager at Deseret Book that took over in April had been killed in a car accident on Monday night.  She had been driving between St. George and Cedar, there was a major rainstorm happening and her car hydroplaned off the highway.  I was a bit shocked at this news, still am.  As I pondered this tragic end to Annie's life I got a little choked up.  I had only met her a few times but certainly enjoyed working with her on some projects and was looking forward to continuing that relationship. 

I am humbled by the thought that any day could be your last.  Life is certainly a fragile thing and I could go at any time.  The thought of that, mmmm, hard to think about.  As soon as I think of Natty, Jack and Andy I get teary.  I have so much work to do with them, I feel that responsibility, I love that responsibility and my heart breaks at the thought of losing it and of them suffering because of something like that.  To have Jack in tears on the phone for over an hour because he was homesick, or Andy on the phone in tears because of a lost dog or Natty having a hard day and just needing to talk, that is tough enough.  It makes me grateful for the time I do have with them and helps me to recognize the great need to be a righteous example for them to follow.   

      

C Trail Done

Check it off the list, it's done.  I don't know that I will ever do that again.  Well, maybe I will.  We'll have to see when next July comes around if I have gotten crazy enough to go and tackle the C Trail again. 

Before I left work this evening I decided I would go and hike the C trail tonight.  My lower back has been bothering me just a bit but I figured I could handle the 8+ mile hike.  It wasn't too bad and I only came up short of my time goal by 12 minutes.  That was not starting at the trail head but rather the parking lot which was roughly 6 minutes away, I timed it on the way back.  That means that up and down from the trail head puts me at the goal time.  Yep, I'll accept that.  Actually all went fairly well until I had a mile or so left to go on the way down and could feel a blister had formed and popped on the toe.  That made things  not so comfortable on the right foot but I pressed on. 

Last year when I hiked it I came up short.  The sun was going down and I decided to turn around instead of going all the way up..  I knew I would go again and complete the entire hike so I didn't sweat it.  Tonight I started a little earlier and brought a head lamp so I wouldn't have to worry about sunset.  The sun did go down and I was hiking in the dark.  The head lamp really wasn't all that bright and didn't do a whole lot but it did serve as a great sweat band on the way down.  The band on it was soaked through. I should have used it on the way up...

Well, here's a few pics - looking over Cedar from the C, me standing on the C and my mug with Cedar in the background.  I'll have to take a picture looking up at the  C on the mountain  and add it to this page for perspective.

I'm Tired

Today had the pleasure of dealing with something unpleasant.  Pleasure and unpleasant, perhaps that was not the best word choice.  Anyway, there are some things in life that I am simply tired of.  There are some things in life that I need to resolve.    Oh my goodness.  gotta go crawl in bed.  I realize this is an abrupt end but when your tired and sleep is upon you, things can end quickly.  Such is the case tonight. 

Homebound

Had the opportunity today to go and help provide the Sacrament to a few widows in the ward who are homebound.  Will Bagnal and I went together and it was a great experience to visit for a moment or two with these elderly sisters, to feel of their love for the Lord and their appreciation for the Sacrament.  I am grateful for the Priesthood and opportunities it provides to serve those around me.  I was on my way out the door of the church after the block when I remembered that Will had asked for help so I turned around and went back in to see if that help was still needed.  It was.  Grateful for that impression. 

One of the Sisters we visited is very frail and not expected to live much longer.  That is a very humbling thing.  I offered the prayer over the water in her home.  At the conclusion of the prayer she asked me to say it again a little louder.  I was happy to do so and reflected on how important that prayer is and the covenants with our Heavenly Father that we renew when partaking of the Sacrament.  This good sister is Sister Lunt.  Her husband passed not too long ago.  She is wonderful, she was with the lunch bunch when they visited The Little Brick House in December of 2011.  She walked in to the back room that I had just finished redoing for their group and had a seat then she asked if I would say the prayer over the meal.  I did so, it was a wonderful thing.  Every Sunday in Church she would have a treat for all of the children either a little snack or a sticker picture game.  She would wear a spider broach on the shoulder of her jacket and all the kids loved it.  When we lived in our other house she would drive by our home, she would stop and roll down the window and hand suckers to the kids.  She would ask how we were doing, we didn't even know her but I was impressed by her kindness and love for children.  It didn't matter to her that we did not know each other.  What mattered to her is that she could bring a smile to someones face and share her love with them.  Great lady, great example.  In coming months or weeks or even days she will be bound for her Heavenly Home.  So grateful for that simple experience of today and the opportunity to visit with noble and great women.   

Great Hike and Great Friends

Today was a fantastic day.  For over a year Morgan Elsworth and I have planned to hike Ash Down Gorge up Cedar Canyon.  This morning we made that happen.  There was a lot of rain yesterday and we weren't 100% sure what to expect but everything looked good and was good.  The water was clear and was low.  Great hike with all of my favorite elements - slot canyon, water hiking, waterfalls, amazing scenery.  I love that.  Truly this is a beautiful place and it is only a few short minutes out of town, oh, and it's free.  It's really too bad that Jack told me the other night that he is done with water hikes.  We'll have to work on him a bit.  I think the kids would like this one also. 

After the hike I came home for a bit and then had to run in to the LBH because we had a problem with gloves.  I picked some up and came back in.  I was reviewing a couple of things for the meatloaf special when either Jessica or Makayla came into the kitchen and told me people were there to see me.  When I walked up front I could not believe my eyes, Brian and Kendra O'connell were standing at the front counter.  I just turned around and walked back through the kitchen and then out to greet them.  What a wonderful surprise from some great friends.  We sat for quite awhile and visited.  We caught up as it's been probably 11 years since I'd seen them.  Shoot, maybe closer to 13, hard to remember.  Anyhow, we caught up, we reminisced, we laughed quite a bit. It was a treat for me to sit and visit with these great friends from the days at the University Ward and Institute.  Sure love them.

What a fantastic day.  I also got to spend some time talking on the phone with Natty today and just visiting.  I got to hear stories about the dog, stories about Jack's dream dog - it's a Pugle which is apparently a mix between a Pug and a Beagle.  Who knew?  Fun times for sure. 

Here are a few pics from the hike.

     

Love the Temple

I love to be in the Temple.  I love the Spirit that is there.  I love that it is the House of the Lord and that I can go there to serve, to learn, to grow and leave better for having been.  When I say better I don't mean that in an I'm better than you type better, I mean I feel better on a personal level, on a spiritual level I feel closer to the Lord then I was.  The Temple affords me the opportunity to leave the world and the cares of the world and focus on serving others.  It is a wonderful place to be. 

Natty, Jack and Andy are up in Alaska with their mom.  While they are gone I worry about them, it is hard to have them away even for just two months.  My job as their father is to take care of them, to protect them.  I don't have that ability from here, well physically I cannot protect them.  This is the third year that they have gone for the summer and three years ago I decided that I would go to the Temple every week that they are gone.  I go there and serve the Lord with faith that I can call down his blessings upon my children while we are apart.  I trust that they will be protected both physically and spiritually.  I believe that the Lord honors those who honor Him, who delight to serve him and so I go there with faith that the Lord is mindful of my family.  It is a source of peace, of comfort and of hope.  I love the Temple. 

I forgot eggs...

I just got home after a very long day at the LBH and it suddenly hit me, I forgot eggs.   That's pretty dang fantastic.   It was only 10 pounds of meatloaf, that's no big deal.   It was probably the third time in my life that I have made the loaf of meat, loafs in today's case.  The good news is that it tastes fantastic.  Other good news is those eggs should be just the thing I need to hold it all together.   It is delicious thougb a bit crumbly.  Good thing I only made 10 pounds of it.

Can't Keep Em Open

I am sitting here trying to ponder the day and tried to start writing something but found that I can't keep my eyes open.  Oh my goodness, so tired. 

Back to Blowhard Trail

I had an idea back in May that I shared with the Elders Quorum Presidency that I called Tuesday Night Hikes.  That should be fairly self explanatory.  They liked the idea and then asked that I head it up.  I was happy to do it but had conflicts for the first couple of weeks then hurt my foot in Havasupai and waited a few weeks for the foot to heal.  It has done so.  This week was the first Tuesday Night Hikes event and it ended up being myself and a new brother in the ward named Patrick.  We went up the canyon and hit the Blowhard Trail. I last hiked that a year ago or so with the fam/extended fam.  It is a nice little hike that climbs fast and then has some pretty neat views.  I would do that hike again. 

Patrick was an interesting man.  He actually moved in across the street in Blair Maxwell's basement apartment.  He has adult children so he is older than I am.  Turns out that he has Asbergers and was very open about it.  I started to look at his mannerisms and to listen to him talk.  He shared a few stories and I saw a lot of similarities with the things Jack does.  He could talk and talk and talk about technical things but didn't really share anything regarding feelings or others feelings.  I had to laugh as I thought about Jack and the conversations we have, the thoughts he shares, the plans he makes, the mechanical analysis he likes to provide on certain subjects. 

At 10:30 or so I got a phone call from Jack.  He was upset.  He was having a tough day and was at his break down point on the visit to Alaska.  He had the same thing last year with a few weeks left.  He's just had enough and is ready to be home with me.  "I miss you dad.  I just want to be home with you.  I don't want to do all this back and forth to Alaska.  The mosquito's are bothering me.  I don't want to fly anymore, just two more airplanes to get home and then no more after that. Maybe we can stop after you pick us up and get a soda.  I will never forget you dad.  I just want to be with you dad..."  He just was going and going in tears.  I listen and listen and listen.  I shared a couple of stories trying to get his focus on something else.  Eventually he landed on Mario Kart 8 and began giving me a product review of what he had researched and suddenly his mind was off of missing home and on to the mechanics of Mario Kart.  I need to go and watch the previews or game reviews on that one.  It was a great conversation that lasted well over an hour and by the time we were done he had forgotten just how much he was missing me.  No more tears just a happy boy, well, a happy boy that won't fly. 

How Did They Know?

It is crazy when you consider the things that people know about you.  People, maybe that is the wrong way of saying what I am trying to say.  Corporations - ?  Not really sure.  Anyway, the information that is captured about each of our buying habits is crazy.  It is also big business in marketing and allows for a more personalized approach to marketing. 

Here's what happened.  Proctor and Gamble have in there records that I am not a purchaser of Old Spice.  I am not opposed to Old Spice and like some of there clever advertising like "You're here because your grandfather used Old Spice..."  I just find it funny.  Anyhow, I opened the mailbox this morning and found at the back of the box a package.  In the package was a stick of Old Spice deodorant and a salutation that read "dear non Old Spice wearing guy..."  I was rather moved that they would think so highly of me that they would send me a stick of, oh, wait, it is an antiperspirants deodorant.  Turns out they really don't know me after all.  If they did they would know that I don't use antipersperant.  That stuff irritates my skin something fierce. 

Well Old Spice, you almost had me this morning.but alas, I am holding out and holding strong. 

Thunderstruck

You could say this morning started with a bang.  Nothing quite like a thunderstorm to start the day.  It was close.  The house rattled a few times.   At church in fast and testimony meeting my friend Bob said he had every intention of sleeping in this morning and then he was thunderstruck and decided he better get moving.  I thought it was funny.

Jay and Sara invited me to dinner and I appreciated that.  Sometimes it gets a little lonely here.  Annie was also over.  We ended up doing some color test.  I was blue with white as my secondary.   Don't really know what that means but that's what I am.  Anyway, it was a good time with good conversation.  It is nice to be around family especially when I am missing the kids. 

Let Him Enter

I love to hear those words when I attend the Temple.   I was going to go to the Temple last night but was delayed getting out of work then when I was fixin to leave I got a call from Jeremy Anderson who was 15 minutes from Cedar.  I decided to move my Temple trip to today.  It had been somewhere in the neighborhood of four or five years since I last saw Jeremy and yesterday's visit was excellent.  I met his fiance Mical as well.  Very nice.  Anyway, the busy evening pushed things back so I opted to make things a bit easier with the Temple postponement.   It worked out fine as I had shopping to do at Costco anyway and would not have been able to get there yesterday. 

Well, that was a lot of rambling.   I had a good experience today at the veil.  Brother Doug Maxwell was a veil worker during my session and I happened to get him.  What a great man, dedicated to the Lord.  The last two times that I have done endowments I have really enjoyed entering and enjoying the Spirit of the celestial room. 

Let him enter.  I am grateful for that invitation.   I am grateful for the blessings that come from Temple Attendance.  It is The House of theLord. 

Our Second Birthday

On July 5th 2011 we opened the doors to The Little Brick House - Cafe. We had opened the antique store several months before but the cafe opened July 5th.  A lot has happened in two years. We've learned much in the last two years and still have a lot to learn.  It has been a good experience.  Very grateful for the blessing the the LBH has been in our life.  It isn't the easiest thing to run a cafe but it is an adventure for sure.  Cedar City has been good to us and we have many friends.  We hope to see The Little Brick House continue to grow and hope to make a lot of new friends.

The Fourth, 2013

Today we celebrate our independence. What a wonderful land we live in.  Certainly America has her challenges right now and there are things to be concerned about.  At the same time we enjoy freedoms and blessings unlike any other place.  Very grateful for that.

We started the day at Laura and Nigels new house in Tremonton.  We actually arrived last night.  What a beautiful home.  We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, a drive around Tremonton and Garland, and finally a great lunch of Caspars hot dogs and snow cones.  Fantastic.   I enjoyed playing with Donny and Shey.
Anyhow, we made the drive back to Southern Utah.   Nice to be home.

Touching Base

Just touching base quickly before I pass out.  It was a great day.  Will write more when I am awake.

Road Trip with the Folks

Jordan Rogers is getting sealed in the Salt Lake Temple tomorrow.   Jordan was one of my favorite scouts and Deacons 9 years ago when I served as the Scoutmaster and Deacons Quorum advisor.   He is a great young man and I look forward to seeing him tomorrow.  

The folks are on the road with me. That is fun.  Actually I am on the road with them.  We're going to the wedding and wedding festivities and then heading up to see Laura.  Should be a great time.

Weed Killer

The throat is closing up a bit.  Wondering if the weed killer I put on the weeds tonight was a bit heavy on the poison side.  My eye is starting to twitch.  This could be the end.  Actually I think I will pull through but in the event that I don't, it must have been the weed killer.  I did apply it pretty thick.  Perhaps a respirator would have been a good decision.