Why Go To Church?

Sometimes people "just don't feel like going" to Church. Maybe it's easier to stay in bed; maybe there's something "more fun" to do, etc.

Well, I agree with Aunt Sue: "Be where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there." Whether it's attending our church meetings, being in class, going to work, etc., we should be where we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be there.

This is especially true with church. We won't get fired or fined if we don't go, but we do miss out on some very important guidance, instruction, and revelation that we would have received had we been where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there.

For instance, Nate Staheli was one of the speakers in our Sacrament Meeting today. The things he shared had a big impact on me and were great reminders.

Remember the brother of Jared at the time of the tower of Babel, and how his language was not confounded along with Jared and their family and friends? They were commanded to leave the land they had known all their lives, there was much preparation of food, animals, seeds, and other supplies. And then they were instructed to build several barges, in which they were to travel with all the things they had prepared. They were even given the means to have light in their barges.

Once all the preparations were made and everything was loaded within the "tight like a dish" vessels, they boarded their barges, set forth into the sea, "commending themselves unto the Lord their God."

The very next verse is interesting: "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters..."

I wonder how many of the people in those barges got seasick, how many were scared to death, how many questioned their sanity at undertaking this "adventure." The brother of Jared knew what he had been commanded to do; hopefully others sought and received their own witness of what the Lord was telling them to do. Once the "furious winds" started to blow, there must have been some extremely difficult times...and it lasted nearly a YEAR...yep, three hundred and forty-four days!!

Another interesting point is brought up as the sentence is finished: "...caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters towards the promised land;"

Was it difficult for them to envision a "promised land" as waves crashed around them and they were tossed about, not for just a day or two, but a LONG TIME! In fact, the scriptures say, "And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind." Sheesh!! I can't even imagine how tough that must have been!

Now, my question is this: Have we ever started on a "journey" that we were spiritually guided to, and then found ourselves saying in so many words: "What is going on?! I thought You told me to do this...but nothing is going right!! This is STUPID! Why should I even try if all I'm going to get is a bunch of TRIALS!?!?"

Perhaps we need to take a deep breath, (also known as "suck it up!") and endure our trials well as we are "blown towards the promised land." It might take a LONG TIME, but then, again, it might not!

BE where we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be there; LEARN what we're supposed to learn; DO what we're supposed to do, and we truly will arrive (maybe 'tossed and somewhat battered) in the "promised land."

(Ether 1:33, parts of Ether 2, and Ether 3)

Great Quote, Nat!

I saw this posted on Natalee's Facebook page and HAD to re-quote it here:

Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. 

A healed memory is not a deleted memory. 

Forgiving what we cannot forget creates a 

new way to remember. 

We change the memory of our past 

into a hope for our future.

Dad's 56th Birthday

It sure is different having birthdays without kids at home...but it was fun anyway.  Dad woke me up when the alarm went off, but I told him I was going to sleep a little longer.  He went in and built a fire, then got in the shower.  That's when I LEAPT into action:  I went into the kitchen and made the fastest treasure hunt of my life...the clues were pretty bad, but at least they were clues!  I quickly put them in their spots:  under Dad's chair, in the dryer, in the camping equipment, and the "treasure" was in the piano closet.

After the clues were hidden, I got the potatoes washed, grated, and in the pan to cook; then I made a small sign to hang up on the french doors.  I got the table set with the red plates and glass, then fried some eggs, made toast, and poured the oj.  When Dad came out he was VERY surprised!  Hooray for fast multi-tasking wives!!

After an early breakfast, my piano students began to arrive, and Dad left for school.  As soon as Dad left, I painted the front window in big letters, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. HUNT!"   Dad knew I must have put something on the window because so many students wished him a happy birthday.

Between students, I threw 3 boxes of brownie mix together and got them cooking so they were done when I finished teaching.  MaryAnn Zabriskie, Julie Schram and I went on a bike ride, then MaryAnn and I took the brownies to Dad's class, helped his class sing Happy Birthday, and then we dished up brownies for all of his students...of course it was his LARGEST class with 33 students!  But we had plenty, with some left over!  It was great and Dad was very gracious about it all.

For dinner we had burrito supremes and German Chocolate cake*.  Hans and Amelia came over to celebrate with us, along with Jeonghoon.  It was fun, but I can't believe I didn't get any pictures!!  I know I took some, but they didn't show up on the camera...weird!!

* I forgot to make the cake until a few minutes before my afternoon piano students were to start arriving, so I didn't have time to run to the store and buy the German chocolate cake mix Dad likes.  Instead, I took a Devils food cake mix and a white cake mix, used half from each, mixed according to the directions, and threw it in the oven.  Made the coconut frosting after lessons and everything turned out well.  When we ate the cake it was really good...still not German Chocolate, but not too chocolatey, either!

All-in-all, a nice birthday, with everything coming together very well.  I am SOOOOO thankful for my wonderful husband and sweetheart!

CHANGE. . .

Well, it was LOTS of fun having most of the kids here during the holidays!! It was fun meeting Erika at Christmas Around The World, and having her spend a few days with us before Christmas.

Taking down the lights and decorations with Dal's and Nat's help went really well, and it felt SO good to have everything taken care of so quickly. But it was VERY SAD to see Dallin leave after having him here for two weeks. We kind of got spoiled! 

Kristy was here for a "blink" before she headed back to SLC.  Nikki got most of her time!

Brandon, Tannya and Nikki were here for 10 days and now we're having "Nikki withdrawals!" The other night she called us and would say a few things, and then she would say, "Talk...Grandpa!" So I would hand the phone to Dad. Then, a few minutes later she would say, "Talk...Grandma!" so he would hand it back.  Then it was "Talk...Melia" and then back to "grandpa"! We were laughing so hard!!

Natalee left this evening (Sunday) for Ephraim. She's not sure WHAT her plans are. She might be moving back here...she might be looking for a different job in Ephraim...we'll see what happens...it has been fun having her here. We've definitely done more riding!

And, we've enjoyed having Millie and Hans over fairly often! We're definitely spoiled on that count! One day last week, Mil had a really ROUGH day due to a migraine and throwing up. The next day she was doing better and came over to the house to re-cooperate. I made her some good food, we watched a movie together and even ate a candy bar, sharing one square every 10 minutes...it was really nice!! (Yes, that is a sippy cup!)


 Jeonghoon Son is living with us for the next two months. He has a good sense of humor and fits in well.  He wasn't impressed at all when Hank attacked him the first night Jeonghoon came into our house!   But he DOES love horseback riding!!

Dad and I are working on our "bucket list" for 2012. I won't put "Doing a puzzle" on MY list!  Our possibilities so far: go to Texas in March; go camping at Palisade State Park early June; stay in town the end of June; travel the California coast up to the Redwood forest the end of July; run the Swiss Days 5K; go somewhere for Thanksgiving and go somewhere for Christmas! (notice, these are POSSIBILITIES!) Any suggestions are welcome!

We will be up for Dallin's rugby scrimmage on January 21st. It would be fun to get together for dinner afterwards with everyone that can be there!! He's not sure what time the game is, but probably late morning to early afternoon. I'll keep you posted!

Love,

Mom

Gratitude and the New Year

Take a few minutes today, at the end of this year of 2011, and see just how many things there are to be grateful for!  When you get done, email me the list and I will compile everyone's and email them back!

1. 1. 
   Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for.
2. 2. 
   Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for.
3. 3. 
   Write 10 living people you are grateful for.
4. 4. 
   Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for.
5. 5. 
   Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for.
6. 6. 
   Write 10 things about today you are grateful for.
7. 7. 
   Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for.
8. 8. 
   Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for.
9. 9. 
   Write 10 foods you are grateful for.
10. 10. 
    Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.

When we make a list like this, we discover that a list of 100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the things God has given us.

(This idea came from the December 2011 Ensign)

CHRISTMAS 2011

There have been LOTS of fun activities over the past few days. . . puzzling, hedge trimming (thanks, Brand!), horseback riding, birthday parties, cuddling, and MORE puzzling!  We had so much fun BEFORE Christmas, we weren't sure it could get any better!!

Horseback riding with Nikki (and everyone else!) was a blast!  Nikki's favorite thing to say as we were galloping along was "FASTER!"  Nat would ask Nikki, "What do cowgirls say?" and Nikki would quickly call out "YEE-haw!"  She LOVES the horses and riding.

And of course there was our Christmas Eve Party at our house with the Schrams. . .

And the Christmas Program was one of many "firsts!"  The "hula gang" did a great job as we all sang Mele Kelikmaka, Hans played a Alto sax solo...a first after 12 years!; Brandon played a trumpet solo...a first after MORE than 12 years!; the "hippopotamus" song was a hit with everyone, especially Nikki; Amelia, Holly and Kristy sang; and Dal and Nat played a violin duet.  Lots of singing along, too!

And of course there were pictures. . . but where was DAD?!?!  (And of course we missed Jaimi and her family, and Denzel and his. . . )

And then there was Christmas Day. . . and I didn't take hardly any pictures!!  But this gives a little taste...We all enjoyed watching Nikki open her presents!  She LOVED the hippopotamus Hans and Mil gave her...everything else was cake!!  Dad's eyes "bugged out" at everything, and, of course there was lots of eating!  But the best thing of all was celebrating Christ's birth on Sunday, going to church together, feeling a wonderful spirit during the Christmas program, and then getting to be there as Dallin was ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek priesthood.  It was a wonderful day!!

Too Much Fun!!

Brandon and Tannya got here Friday the 16th. . . and we have been entertained by Nikki ever since!! She LOVES the horses, likes the chickens and Hank...her favorite word is "Kod - e - ack," she always wants to go with Grandma to feed the horses, she wanted to go for a "nudder one" after our first horseback ride on Silverado, she had a blast at the pool celebrating her 2nd birthday on the 19th, and, when she and I went to feed the horses this morning she said, "Grandma, slide! Splash splash!" We had lots of splash fights at the pool as well as going down the slide together about 10 times! She is too cute!!

Dallin and Erika got in Sunday, just in time for dinner...hooray! We went horseback riding with "da boys" and Erika did great staying on Silver...actually, it was just the boys who seemed to be screaming all of the time. Strange. . . and we forgot the camera. Drat! Oh well...good times. Can hardly wait for Nat and Kristy to get here...and Denzel, Anna and Bridger arrive Christmas night!!  (We'll be thinking of Jaimi, Mike and the kids in Texas!!)

FRIENDS. . .

What makes a friend?  Is it a term we use loosely, or does it have deep meaning?

We each experience things that give us a better understanding of what a "friend" truly is.  I have to chuckle when I look at Facebook sometimes.  Some people have 3,000 "friends", others have less than that, but still in the 1000's.  And it makes me think, "Are they truly FRIENDS, or are they acquaintances, or people someone is just friendly to, etc., etc?"  Along those lines, I also consider what kind of friend I am?

So here' a not all-inclusive list of the things I think:

A friend. . .
. . . listens to you when you need to talk; sometimes they will give you counsel, even when you don't ask for it, but they aren't offended when you say "I wasn't asking for advice!  I just need you to listen!!"

. . . is there for you when you need something, even if you didn't schedule it two weeks in advance.  And you KNOW they would have been there for you if there was a good reason they couldn't be there.

. . . rejoices in your success even if it is something they wish they were able to do but haven't been able to.    They are truly happy for you and share in your delight.  (Like going to Australia!  Or winning an Ipad!!)

. . . never tries to undermine your goals to improve yourself.  For example, if you're trying to lose weight and they are really skinny (or not!), they don't tempt you with a piece of chocolate cake saying, "Oh come on.  Just enjoy yourself!  It's not that big of a deal!"  The same holds true with much heavier things like stopping drinking or doing drugs.  Why is it that "friends" try to pull the recovering addict down instead of encouraging their sobriety?  And I don't "get" how people can be so BLIND to the fact that a REAL FRIEND would NEVER do that.

. . . does not care more about themselves than they do about you . . . and vice versa!

True friends aren't usually found in the thousands or hundreds.  They are rare and should be treasured!!

I am SO grateful for my friends!!

Counsel from General Conference

Hi Kids!
General Conference was held a little over two months ago.  Do you remember any of the counsel given?

 Here are a couple of segments from Elder Packer's talk:

"If the adversary should take you prisoner due to misconduct, I remind you that you hold the key that will unlock the prison door from the inside.  You can be washed clean through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ."
"I say again that youth today are being raised in enemy territory with a declining standard of morality.  But as a servant of the Lord, I promise that you will be protected and shielded from the attacks of the adversary IF you will heed the promptings that come from the Holy Spirit.  Dress modestly; talk reverently; listen to uplifting music.  Avoid all immorality and personally degrading practices.  Take hold of your life and order yourself to be valiant."
"As one of His special witnesses, I testify that the outcome of this battle that began in the premortal life is not in question.  Lucifer will lose."

I hope this is a helpful reminder.

Love,
Mom

All in 24 hours. . .

Dad and I hit the road IMMEDIATELY after school got out Friday afternoon...there weren't many cars in front of us at the light!!  We drove up to Provo, where we met up with most of the fam at the Marriott Center to see the BYU Folk Dancers' Christmas Around The World Show.  It was great!!  Dallin & Ericka (his girlfriend that we like a lot!), Nat (minus RJ due to the bowl game the next morning), Kristy and Nikki (Brand & Tann couldn't come, but they let Nikki come with Kristy, which was SO fun!!), were there, but we missed Anna and Bridger, who weren't feeling well!  

After the show we went over to Dan's and Janet's to visit, and then spent the night...Dallin had 6:00 a.m. rugby practice.  UGH!!!  The rest of us enjoyed a leisure morning, including a "service project", then we drove to Rio Tinto Stadium to watch Snow College (RJ) in the Top of the Mountains Bowl game.  It was VERY cold, but it was fun being together, and we even saw RJ play some!

As soon as the game was over we all said our good-byes, and then hit the road back to warmer climes!!  What a great little get-together!!  Wish Denzel could have been there with Anna and Bridger!  And, of course, Jaimi, Mike, Ben & Kristen!  Oh well, we'll be happy with what we can get!!  Love you all!!