Happy Anniversary

Look at how young and handsome you were 26 years ago.  How blessed I am to have spent these years with you.  Thank you for loving me, thanks for five lovely children.  I'm so looking forward to spending all of my days with you.

Enough Belief to Change

I am amazed by the talks given by the brethren at General Conference.  In 10 short minutes they can say so much; I sometimes talk for hours and really never say anything.  I also gain so much by reading the talks after the conference, my little brain can only take so much in and by the last session I can hardly remember anything that has been said.  For the past few weeks a short thought from Elder Rasband has been constantly on my mind.  He said, “God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  But we are not.  Each day, ours is the challenge to access the power of the atonement so that we can truly change, become more Christlike, and qualify for the gift of exhaltation and live eternally with God, Jesus Christ, and our families.”  I have always believed in the constant that God is the same.  I guess that means I trust Him.  But I have never considered the thought that I am not the same in quite this way.

As with anything, when you have a thought in your mind you start to see the same thought expressed in different ways or added to as you go through your day.  For instance, in our sacrament hymn yesterday the final words expressed are “Pardon faults, Oh Lord we pray.  Bless our efforts day by day.”  But before singing that hymn yesterday, as I was studying my scriptures this week, I read Alma 34 where Amulek is teaching the apostate Zoramites.  He first explains that because of the fall of Adam, all are hardened, all are fallen and are lost and must perish except it be through the atonement of Christ.  And then comes this thought that ties in with Elder Rasband’s thought, Amulek says, “unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.” 

So I’ve been thinking about having faith unto repentance.  For me that is a different level of faith than just believing.  I actually believe in a lot of things both within and without the framework of the gospel.  For example, I believe that eating healthy is important, but do I believe it enough to give up unhealthy food completely?  There are lots of examples like that in my life.  And so lately I’ve been thinking  about my faith.  Do I believe enough to change, to access daily the power of the atonement?  Do I have faith unto repentance? 

For me, the most difficult changes are the ones that occur within.  I frankly like the way I do things most of the time even if I know I should be better.  I think it is also a challenge to use the atonement to make and keep those changes that are needed.  But it is something I want to get better at.

I know this isn’t a new thought, but it must be something I need right now but the thought stays with me.  

Daily Life

Matt loves teaching the youth and this week was no exception.  He spent a day cutting 2 X 4's into 1 foot segments and then sanding them in order to build a life size JENGA game.  The object was to be able to teach the youth about building and maintaining a firm foundation.  Great idea!!

I've been cleaning out closets and came across this fox hat.  Emily loves it and has worn it for two days straight including into public areas.  Her brothers thought this was pretty cute and weren't embarrassed by her.  I have no idea why she likes this hat so much.

We are ready for BYU Football, actually we love anything BYU Blue!

My Missionary Son

A sweet, tender time and experience in my life as Scott, my first missionary, entered the MTC this week.  It has been really nice to have him home for the last two months.  In May, the younger children were still in school and so I had a lot of one on one time to visit with Scott.  I think that there is something that I will miss about each child as they leave home.  For Scott, I miss the conversations about things we are both interested in like books, gospel topics, jazz musicians.  I'm grateful he wants to serve, I'm not sure why I deserve a great son, but I do feel so very blessed.  I hope this is a wonderful experience for him.

I love my family so much!

Thanks to Ben & Karin who travel to Merced for every important family event.

Love my boys.

Scott couldn't leave for Florida without a last dinner at In n Out

and a last lunch at JDawgs.

The time had arrived.

After dropping off Elder Rowan, Emily and I pulled into a parking lot so we could cry.

Shall we not go on in so great a cause?

Karin at Work

This week I got to visit Karin at work. She works in an assisted living center and they were having a barbeque for the residents and their families. She invited me to come and see the home and also what she does there. I had such a good feeling just finding the home, it's in a lovely neighborhood of Walnut Creek just about a mile from where Ben & Karin live. The home is very clean and the staff seems so loving and kind to the residents.  
Here are some pictures:

Chateau at Poet's Corner

Isn't that a great name?

The home can have 64 residents.  It has a very cheerful and cozy feel.  Each resident sets up their own room with the bedding and decorations of their choice.  Then there are little sitting areas, birds and a fish tank, a salon and patio.  It also has dining areas and rooms for activities.

These entertainers come about once a week to play and sing for the residents - such songs as Clementine and You are My Sunshine are popular hits.

This is the front desk where she sometimes works.

She also plans and runs activities for the residents.  Here family members are trying some of the activities such as aromatherapy and brain games.

Karin with another employee.

Karin with a resident.

The big surprise of the night was Ben getting off work early in the City and making it to the BBQ in time to meet some of the residents and family members and join in a little dancing.

What a treat to see Karin loving and caring for others. 

 "As I have loved you, love one another."

A Big Hooray!

Junior High Athletic Banquet Night - a most important rite of passage for the American youth.

Last night was Thomas' first banquet.  He was honored by his coaches for his hard work and talent.  He came away with the Coach's Award for baseball and the Most Valuable Player for track.  The third trophy in the center was for being the High Point Scorer in the final track meet, the Merced County "Junior Olympics."  Woo Hoo!!  He took first place by a significant margin in the 800, the 1500 and the 3000.  A big shout out to Thomas.