Visit with Chris and Mandi

Long time, no post. We had a wonderful visit with Chris, Mandi, Peyton, and Gavin. Every visit is too short, but we were grateful for the opportunity to be with them.

Some Truths to Ponder

President Monson has said, “During the last half century or so, there has been throughout the world a gradual but continual decline in many phases of life. We observe relationships without morality, science without humanity, knowledge without character, business without ethics, worship without sacrifice, pleasure without conscience, politics without principle, and wealth without works."

This says it all. May we all do our part to stand for what is true, moral, and human. The future of our families and our nation is founded on the same principles of ethics, conscience, character and work that our past was founded on. The legacy of our parents, their parents and all our ancestors that sacrificed so much for us to have the life we have today must live on in us for the sake of those that come after us.

Do SOMETHING today to preserve that foundation. Be an example, correct a misguided comment, write your congressman/woman, be informed, pay attention, tell the truth, sweat, live with courage and with confidence that there is a difference between Right and Wrong.

Recently, I finished a trilogy written in the 1940's by Conrad Richter. The Trees, The Fields and The Town follow an early pioneer family from Pennsyvania to the Ohio frontier at the turn of the 19th century. Beautifully written and historically accurate, these novels portray details of everyday life that people today would not believe. Blunt, sobering, uplifting but never melodramatic, Richter helps us appreciate the past and see our present with different eyes. These were my literal ancestors and he helped me realize, if they can triumph in the face of adversity, I can.

We love you all! Dad and I spoke in Sacrament meeting a week ago on Cleanliness and Obedience. The talks seemed well recieved and are available to email if anyone is interested. I know I learned a lot in my study and prep. and Dad's was really more about happiness and was super.

Carry on in all that is good and right. And smile, smile smile!

The True Meaning of Easter

Our dear friend Shellie Lamkin shared this with us. When we heard this address at the recent General Conference, the Holy Spirit testified to our spirits that these things are true. We join this living apostle in testifying that Jesus died for us so that we might live again. He is the great Mediator and took upon Him our sins. We love Him.

As Paul wrote to the Romans, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Happy Easter to all with love.

Family Night Fun and Treats

I love my family. Erin and Mike's homemade donuts were great except for the raw dough in the middle. As you can see, it didn't slow Caroline, Maddox, or Katherine down.

Cassidy's School Choir Sings the National Anthem at the Houston Aeros Hockey Game

Tried to upload video of Cassidy's school choir singing the national anthem at a hockey game. No luck. Will upload to Facebook.

Team mascot is Chilly.

Tour of Our New Apartment

Just thought you would like to see our new apartment. We're still working on it, but it is starting to feel like home. Come see us!!

Well, I tried twice to upload a video I took and it just wouldn't work. I'll post the video on Facebook. Love to all.

On the Move

It's really happening. We will be gone to Houston Sat., tomorrow. Packing is starting in earnest, garage sale is done, new furniture bought, utilities arranged, mail forwarded, insurance adjusted, Jessi's car window fixed after my "welcome to Houston" card was left by the vandal that stole my temple bag from the front seat. Jeff has been and returned from California this week while I stayed in the hotel tending shopping and moving details.
We have a townhome with 2 bedrooms and loft, so lots of room for visitors. Easy to find, too. So plan your trips. Address forthcoming in emails.
Got to get back to work. Talk to you again on the other side of chaos.
Isn't life just one grand adventure?
Love to all.

It's About Time

Much to the amazement of all, I'm sure, I have jumped on the blog bandwagon. Dad is time challenged these days and seems to enjoy Facebook much more, so I will be the new blogkeeper. I have so much in my head and heart to share but have resisted up til now because I don't want to seem self promoting, self centered, or self anything. I feel shy in a way, I guess. But since everyone seems so curious about what it is I actually DO all day with no kids at home and no job to go to, I thought I'd better attempt a clarification. Time is a gift to all of us. I have had an abundance of this gift for awhile and some days I use it well, others not so much. Blogging today has taken me 3 hours (part of why I haven't started before now). But its been fun and I look forward to connecting with the dear ones I love in a new way. I certainly don't want to waste your time with too many words. Already there are too many "I's" in this paragraph!

Our dear Aunt Alice has passed away. She was a delightful soul and we will miss her so much. We lost Grandma Margie, Jeff's mom and her only sister, a year ago last Oct., my dad last Jan., Jeff's Aunt Helen, his dad's sister, last week. With the loss of so many family members recently, time has taken on a whole new perspective.
It is fleeting, temporary, short. It also is a sweet gift if we use it wisely. Only in our relationships is life a treasure beyond price. Filled with the love of and for family and friends, life has meaning and joy. Sometimes, I wish I could turn back the clock and live life over knowing what time has taught me. The best I can do, though, is work on today. Treasure your today's. Embrace all that life offers, the trials of slow days and the sweetness of good days. Be kind. Be grateful. Its all good.

Until another day.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

Three'>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49436.Three_Cups_of_Tea_One_Man_s_Mission_to_Promote_Peace_One_School_at_a_Time?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27837.Greg_Mortenson">Greg Mortenson

My'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26691343?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Greg Mortenson is doing work that many others should be doing. His passion and commitment to bring the gift of education to remote villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan may ultimately do more to fight terrorism than all of the bombs we can possibly drop. His recognition that educating a girl impacts generations, is something to which we should all pay attention. This is well-written non-fiction. It is hard to imagine a life as full as Mortenson's.

View'>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1254777?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.

The Last Time I Will Ever Go on the Roof

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Glory to God in the highest.

I love this season of the year. We were surprised to wake up Wednesday morning to snow! In southeast Texas! There were 3-4 inches on the yard and on the roof tops. It was gone by afternoon, although there are a few tiny patches that linger in shady places on Saturday morning. I wish it had been dark enough to turn on all of the Christmas lights in and under the snow.

House first thing in the morning under leaden skies.

Moose wasn't sure that he liked the snow. His legs are too short to keep his belly out of it.

Road to our neighborhood. If we move, this is something I will miss.

Under beautiful blue skies. Glorious.

Birthday at Burroughs Park

We had a great time on a beautiful November afternoon at Burroughs Park with friends and family to celebrate Maddox's birthday. For Maddox, it was all about cake.

Weekend in Houston

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And Caroline's soccer game - sports for three-year-olds at it's finest!

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Wish We Could All Enjoy Fall Together

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Southeast Texas is beautiful in the fall. The weather is perfect and the trees have begun to change. In the Big Thicket there are maples that turn a brilliant red. The tupelos (black gum) also turn red. American holly is putting on bright red berries for the winter. And, of course, the pines and magnolias are just the same. We went walking this morning in some light ground fog and enjoyed the chill in the air. Moose escaped shortly after we got home, so he is out in front of the house now annoying the neighbors.

I have to post this picture to prove that I sometimes have to perch on the edge of the bed. I was having one of those sleepless nights and had to take a picture. Janet never stirred - in spite of the brilliant flash. The picture doesn't do justice to positioning - which was basically right down the middle.

Following is a montage of pictures taken at Cassidy's 10th birthday.

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Time Slips By

Mom hasn't gotten into posting things, and I haven't found a lot of time. I feel like I should post pictures. That's what I enjoy most about the family's blogs. I love to see those pictures of the grandkids. But we just don't take a lot of pictures. Now that the nest is empty, we'd be taking pictures of each other mostly.

I found out yesterday that I will likely have a new work assignment effective December 1. I have no idea what that may be. The guy who is responsible for my "career" is in Virginia, and he assures me that it is something that he thinks I will like. What a tease. How about just talking it over with me? Oh well. I have learned to live with uncertainty and with the company bureaucracy. Silly as it sometimes seems, this is the way things are generally done.

We are marking time waiting for December and the opportunity to see all of the family in Mesa. I know a couple of the kids may not be able to come for financial reasons, but being with Brad and Shirley and all of their family and most of ours is going to be awesome. And we can't wait to welcome Kristi into our family circle.

Catching Up

At last night's General Relief Society broadcase, Elder Dieter Uchtdorf - a counselor in the First Presidency of the church - encouraged all women to develop their talents. Mom has this burgeoning talent and interest in flower arranging. Here are two fall arrangements she put together for our church chapel. They are beautiful and just right for the chapel. One is on a table on the stand and the other is suspended in an alcove at the front of the chapel above the stand.

As a result of Hurricane Gustav, we were "forced" to spend an extra day with Dave and Mimi and family on our way home from Utah. We took the opportunity to capture a few pictures of the grandkids.

Aren't they great? And mom got this great picture of Katherine, Caroline and a neighbor girl playing on Erin's new living room floor. Put your tongue in, will you?

Finally, here are a few pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. These are local to us, and there were communities that were devastated by tidal surge and flooding. Bridge City has 3400 homes. After the storm, there were only 15-16 that were considered habitable. They will be a long time recovering.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Back On Line

We got internet and phone service back yesterday. I don't have to commute to Houston today!! That 5+ hour daily commute was wearing me out. Now that we have service back, you can email us and we will try to post some new things. Love to all.

Home at Last

We visited the Joseph Smith Historical Site operated by the Community of Christ (formerly called The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The site includes the Nauvoo House (never finished or occupied during Joseph's life), the Smith family homestead (block house originally built in 1805 and already there when the saints arrived - doubled in size by Joseph Smith III for his family later), and the Mansion House which was operated by the family and others as a hotel. Emma lived in the Mansion House until she died in 1879.

The Red Brick Store contained an office that Joseph used and was the site for the creation of the Female Relief Society in 1842. The Community of Christ operates a gift shop on the first floor that is very nice - they sell really good cold root beer and other nice things.

Friday evening we sat in the Outdoor Theater to watch "Sunset by the Mississippi," a variety show put on by senior and young performing missionaries - a little corny, but a lot of fun. Great to see these elderly people singing and dancing and really having a good time. The EFY kids were all there for the show, so we got to see Jessi. The variety show was followed by Vocal Point, the BYU Men's Accapella chorus (9 guys). They put on a great show.

We drove home through Missouri and stopped for the night in North Little Rock, Arkansas. When I was putting luggage in the car this morning, I held the door for a lady, and it was Judy Roberson. We have known her, Ray, and their family for years. They were on their way to Indiana and just happened to stay the night in the same hotel. Is that amazing?

We got home about 7PM tonight, and it is good to be home where we can sleep in our own bed. I'm off to Houston Tuesday for one night, and have a lot to do this week. Then we are headed to Provo next Sunday afternoon after our stake conference. Wow, this feels like a busy month.

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Carthage Conspiracy a Fascinating Book

Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith by Dallin H Oaks

My review

Meticulously researched and an interesting window into the past of frontier American justice and the travails of the latter-day saint community that led to their migration westward.


View all my reviews.

Nauvoo, Thursday Aug 14

We walked about 5 miles this morning. We left the hotel and walked south to Parley Street and walked out into the country to the Old Nauvoo Burial Ground. It was early morning, and we were alone in the beautiful cemetery where many early saints are buried. Many of those buried in his lovely place were children, and we felt a quiet reverence for the place as we wandered the shaded grove and looked at the old limestone tombstones.

After clean up and a light breakfast, we toured more of the sites in Historic Nauvoo, including the Riser Boot Shop where we saw a demonstration of shoemaking (soles held to the shoe with small wooden pegs). We enjoyed the demonstration at the Webb Blacksmith Shop and came away with a ring made from a horseshoe nail (everyone gets one). We also visited the brickyard, but for some reason we didn't take any pictures. This was a shame, because the missionary actually took us into the kiln building and the elder there walked us through the process they use today to make the small souvenir bricks that are given to each family. The industry required of those early residents or Nauvoo was amazing. There were 350 brick buildings when the saints left, and only 49 remain from that period. They made as many as 4 million bricks in a season. And the walks of the homes and other buildings were generally made only of brick stacked three deep - lumber was scarce for framing. Anyway, the three layers of brick made for fairly tornado proof homes.

The Seventies Hall is on Parley Street and it was used for training missionaries who left from here to take the gospel to many countries. It's a beautifully restored building, and we particularly warmed to the older sister who was our tour guide. I got to stand at the podium for a moment, and imagined being there to hear men like Brigham Young, Parley Pratt, or Joseph Smith.

Down Parley Street are placques which record the comments of saints who were involved in the exodus from Nauvoo to the west. At one point in February, 1846, there were 4,000 wagons lined up on Parley waiting to cross the ice choked Mississippi to Montrose, Iowa.

We stopped for a visit with Gabe and Gary, the two oxen, and rode the wagon around the grove. At the end of Parley is a monument to the exodus - Joseph Smith and Brigham Young gazing west across the river, holding a roughly drawn map in hand.

We drove to Carthage and visited the jail where Joseph and Hyrum were assassinated. This is a very sobering experience and leaves one feeling a little melancholy.

We love you. The last few pictures are of an old stone bridge that was built just after the saints left Nauvoo and cross a drainage that was constructed by the saints to rid the swamps or water and make the land habitable.

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Wednesday, August 13

We spent the day visiting sites in Historic Nauvoo. The missionaries are charming and share so much, including their personal convictions and testimony of the gospel. The demonstrations are great, too. We learned about rope making, barrel making, spinning, weaving, baking (in what is called a "bustle oven"), candle making, tin-smithing, and printing. We even went to school - I had a little trouble with the slate. We finished the day by driving across the Mississippi to Fort Madison, Iowa, for dinner. The sunset on the river as we waited for the drawbridge going back to Illinois, was breathtaking.

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Vacation to Nauvoo Aug 10-12, 2008

We just wish all of you were here with us. This is truly what the early saints called Nauvoo the Beautiful. The spirit here is peaceful and sweet. Jessi is having a wonderful time at EFY, and Mom and I are enjoying the time together. We attended the temple this morning and drank in the peace and tranquility of the beautifully restored building. I sat for some time in the celestial room of the temple with sun streaming in a window in my face. Mom and I ate on the patio of Zion's Mercantile across the street from the temple and had it all to ourselves. This afternoon we went to the Lands and Records building and got hundreds of pages of information related to Ormus Ephraim Bates, my great-great-grandfather. Ormus was married in the temple here in January, 1846, just before the saints abandoned Nauvoo and the lovely temple they had labored so hard to construct. His brothers and sisters owned or leased lots in the city and outside in Hancock County, Illinois. I'll share it all with anyone interested when we get back. I tagged the pictures in the slideshow I'm posting, but I'll have to explain some of them later. Love to all. See you soon.

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