Beginnings...

Our Relief Society has given us a challenge to journal at least once a week.  I am better at posting than I am at journaling, so I have chosen to use my blog as a once a week journal or faith promoting experience if I have nothing special to journal about.  Hopefully this way my children will have experiences written down by their mother that will help them and their children know that I have a testimony of my Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This morning I was reading in the scriptures about small and simple things, and how great things are brought to pass, and yesterday we had a lesson on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.  This reminded me of an experience I had many years ago, when Selina was about 12 years old.  Her and I were headed to Choir practice one afternoon following church.  As we left I realized we had hardly any gas in the big orange van.  I told her we would need to stop and get gas.  She reminded me it was sunday and that the Lord would provide us enough gas to get to and from choir practice.  I decided we would do our best not to get gas.  We made it to choir practice fine, (it was at the Warm Springs Stake Center), but on the way back about 1/2 way home the van died.  I proceeded to switch tanks and the van started up and we went about 50 feet when it again died.  Again I switched tanks and the same thing happened.  We continued in this manner for several miles until we made it home - mostly uphill).  Now I don't know about you, but any other time I have run out of gas (and I have had my share of those experiences) the car might start once, but never more than that.   Later as we were talking about faith in gospel doctrine I related this experience and what I observed is that the scriptures talk about us having the faith of a little child - and here was Selina who had complete faith in the things she had been taught and then there was me who because of the trials of life and seeing that things don't always come out the way we pray for or expect - my complete faith had some doubting in it.  Did I still believe in my Savior Jesus Christ?  Of course and those trials had strengthened that, but they had also weakened my faith that God would always provide when I felt I needed it. (notice the "I" parts)  I think having faith, nothing doubting is the hardest part, and yet the Lord expects it of us.  I do believe that we must do our part for it to be in effect.  For instance I had doubts because I should have prepared for the Sabbath by filling my gas tank on Saturday. The thing I have learned most is that the Lord knows the intents of our hearts and even when we don't always do all that we could, he knows us and loves us and blesses when we do enough!!

Snow Day

Our first ever SNOW DAY in Ely - yeah I know it should be Christmas Break anyway, but we still have school though Wednesday.  It will be a nice day to get ready for our big trip to Denver.  It sounds like we will be following the snow.  Hopefully our 11 hour trip doesn't turn in to 15 or longer. 

 About 2 feet of snow.

End of November

It's crazy that November is quickly over.  The end of the year seems to go so quickly.  November has been filled with meetings, concerts, school work, and family.  Someone said that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday because it is filled with food and family -their two favorite things.  I would tend to agree with that - probably family first, haha.  Our Thanksgiving was fairly simple this year.  Melanie and family joined us and we spent dinner with the Briggs'.  Melanie and I (and baby Bryton) then headed to Las Vegas arriving about 10:30 pm.  We went straight to Walmart to check out where everything was located in anticipation of the 12:01 sale.  We found that people were already starting to load items in their carts, so we did the same for a certain limited toys.  At 11:30 they announced over the speaker that the sale was open, so we headed to check out.  The problem was the prices weren't in affect for another 1/2 hour.  So Melanie stood in line while I wandered the store finding the other items we needed.  We were out of Walmart by 1:00 am and decided to get some breakfast.   Since nothing else was open for awhile we took a nap for an hour and headed back out at 3:00 am.  Again we decided to check out Walmart for the 5:00 am sale - debating whether to go to Target's opening at 4:00 first or not.  When we got back to Walmart we found there were lines for the electronic items we wanted so, we each took a line and proceeded to wait for an hour and a half.  Again we were able to check out fairly quickly and we headed off to Target, and then the mall.  By about 12:00 we were ready for lunch and a break.  We enjoyed Olive Garden and then went back to Grandma's for some needed rest.  After a few hours we headed back out to the mall and other stores and we went till we could shop no more.  By 9:00 we were back resting and waiting for Pizza Hut delivery.  Definitely our longest shopping experience to date!!! Why do they have to start earlier and earlier each year?  I don't mind the crowds or the waiting, but I'm not much for staying up all night.  The good news is I am 98% ready for Christmas and no shopping stress left, just some shipping to get done.  I know lots of people hate it, but I have been doing it for 20+ years and it works for me.

Probably sound crazy to most people, but its the way I prefer to begin my Christmas Season.  We missed having all our family around, but life changes with each passing year.  We are looking forward to spending Christmas with Chelsea and family in Colorado.

I was asked an interesting question for someone's paper - what are the benefits of having a stay at home mom.  I found it difficult to put into words.  Anyone have any perspective on this.  I would enjoy reading your thoughts. 

So I am still working on getting my 49 acts of service in by my 49th birthday - it may take longer than I thought.  It is interesting to think each day about service and what I can do.  I'll post more when I'm done.

Lots of Changes - and not just the weather!

Life has been very busy lately.  As primary chorister I have been helping to prepare the kids for the Sacrament Meeting Presentation, and a week and a half ago it all came together.  A few bumps, but mostly just awesome participation and especially singing.  I do love those kids and I am going to miss them very much.  One of the teachers after hearing that I have a new calling said, "They're going to let you keep your primary calling, right?" When I said no, she said she is changing her vote, on sustaining me on my new calling.  I really have loved primary this past year.  A few days after the program we had a Relief Society Activity I was in charge of.  We focused on the temple with a great lesson and a few simple crafts about the temple and families.  We had a wonderful atttendance and a spiritual experience, what more can you ask for?  Then over the weekend we had Stake Conference, at the saturday adult session we were privileged to hear some amazing talks, including from President and Sister David Foote, a counselor in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission, - now misisonary work is close to my heart, but even better when delivered by old friends.  Sunday I received my first Stake Calling - Stake Relief Society President.  You're right my first reaction too, was what, no way, I don't think I can do that calling.  The Stake President assured me that the Lord knew I could do it, so I guess we go forward.  The presidency was set apart after conference, and I really felt a special spirit.  I know the church is true and the Lord knows us and will help us in every calling he extends.  I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know the sisters of the Stake,  (some live 1 1/2 hours away) that is the best part of a stake calling.
Then Monday night we let Spencer know that we felt it was time for him to change high schools.  We have been concerned about a relationship that has been developing with a young women at school.  We have asked him to commit to certain things, and it seemed that he was unable to do so.  We felt that it was only going to get harder as time passed, so we decided to follow through with our threats/promises and we told him that the next morning he would be transferring to Lund High School (30 minutes away).  I took him out the next morning and we signed him up for classes.  I am extremely impressed with how he is dealing with the situation.  He did not get angry, he was upset and sad of course, but he still talked to me and had a smile on his face.  (I am sure there are others of my children that would have at least given me the silent treatment for a while.)  It seemed like he had a good first day and now he is on to the second.  There is a bus that he catches so I have to pick him up from seminary a few minutes early, but at least he is still able to attend.  One of his teachers sent me a picture after the first day, no way they would have gotten me to do this, and look at the big smile on his face.  Wherever he goes he is known for his smile and good looks? or so the girls say.  I asked if he ate lunch with some of the boys from the Stake, he said no two girls invited me to sit with them - What?  the first day?  Seriously I am extremely proud of him and love him so much for listening to us and being so understanding.  In conference they told us we need to be courageous parents and sometimes that isn't easy, but I am grateful with all the concerns and misgivings I've had about making this change that we have done it and only time will tell if it makes a difference.  (It doesn't hurt that my Aunt Kaye is one of his teachers, and my cousin Jeannie Griffin is another, and my son-in-laws mother works in the office, and I could go on and on)  I'm sure my dad is smiling right now.

So as you can see our life is full of change, as well as receiving snow this week.  Change is not my forte', but I will keep my head up and move forward.

PS  Selina and Chelsea both received callings recently in their new wards, and guess what they are both the same - Relief Society Teacher and Ward Choir Director.  They are so talented, I was alot older before I received those types of callings - They'll be great!!

New Blogger

I have struggled with the New Blogger layout, especially when you want to add an outside feature.  Things don't always turn out like I would like.  Anybody else having this problem?

I did find one thing that I liked today.  You can now add Tabs or Pages to your blog and you can use the copy and paste feature in postings.

To add Tabs
Go to Design - Posting - Edit Pages - new Page

And that's all there is to it.  The only thing is the extra pages are individual, can't have multiple posts.  But a great way to have access to info that stays there without taking up space on your main page.

Happy Blogging!  It seems like Facebook has taken over blogging - not as many posts as there use to be - what do you think?

Trevor's Goal

Trevor had a pretty exciting game on Friday.  The team was playing Fernley, NV in soccer and after the first half it was tied 0-0.  About 8 minutes into the 2nd half our team had a corner kick after a deflected penalty kick and Alex Tracy was chosen to kick the ball in from the corner, Trevor caught it with his head and bounced it in for a goal.  He was very excited - his first header and only his 2nd varsity goal this year.  The other team made a goal later and we ended in a tie 1-1, but it was a great game.  team played very well.  You might have to watch it more than once to follow it, but enjoy!!

The Shoe Tree

If any of you have traveled the lonely roads of Nevada, you know there is not much to see along the way.  Every now and then someone tries to create something to look at.  This is the shoe tree located on Highway 50 (nicknamed The Loneliest Highway).  We stopped and took a few pictures.  Do you see all the ones that didn't make it in the tree or have fallen out?  It smells really bad, lots of rotting something.  But it is something to look for.  This one is located 30 miles before Fallon, Nevada. 

This is an article about this particular shoe tree along with a picture from the winter time:

A shoe tree starts with one dreamer, tossing his or her footwear-of-old high into the sky, to catch on an out-of-reach branch. It usually end there, unseen and neglected by others. But on rare occasions, that first pair of shoes triggers a shoe tossing cascade. Soon, teens are gathering up their old Adidas and Sauconys, families are driving out after church with Dad's Reeboks and grandma's Keds. Many inscribe messages on the sneakers in permanent marker -- greetings, love poems and life accomplishments.


The shoe tree blooms with polymer beauty. A work of art like this may last for generations, tracing our history by our sneakers . . . as long as the tree doesn't die.

On Highway 50 near Middlegate, Nevada, a lone cottonwood stands, clotted with hundreds of shoes. The story behind the tree goes as such: A young couple camped there on their wedding night and got into a tiff. The woman said she was gonna walk away and the man said, "If you do, you'll have to walk barefoot," and threw her shoes in the tree. Then, the man got in the car and drove to Middle Gate to have a drink at the bar. The bartender talked him into going back to his wife, which he did. A year later, they brought their first child's shoes to the tree and tossed them into the branches. Since then, people have been adding and removing shoes from the tree so that when you drive over a hill on that very desolate road, all that you can see is this cottonwood tree with shoes hanging from every branch.

Maybe we should start a tradition somewhere on one of these roads, any ideas?