Of Good Report

                                                                Part 1 So, I started a graduate program  two weeks ago.  It is something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember.  I finally did it.  I was so excited to get started and fairly confident that I could be successful.  However, I have been struggling with the amount of technology I need to be familiar with. That part is a stretch for me.  I can do school "old school", but having everything online and all the updates and changes made to older things has really thrown me.  Any way, I was really stressed about class last Wednesday because I had submitted a paper that ...

So we don't typically have our kids write down Christmas lists per se.  We do ask them what they might like and let them know that whatever they say are just suggestions and Santa gets to choose what to give them.  This year for some reason unbeknownst to Taylor or myself Destry asked Taylor to make a list in ranking order.  Well the list is amusing to say the least and worth a blog post.  This is his list:   (parenthetical statements were added by me). Lego space center Tippmann chronos tactical paintball marker (paintball gun) nexus7 (tablet) nexus5 (cell phone) Dewalt power drill sand blaster large outdoor rc plane outdoor rc heli syma g3 Chinook gallium (what!) iron powder (????) sulfur (are you kidding me?!) Destry suggested we put some coal in his stocking and tell him he got some carbon.  Taylor is not really a kid that usually asks for a lot, and he knows not to expect everything on here, but I ...

Last weekend Destry and I made a trip to Panguitch to hear Claudia speak in stake conference.  Since she was speaking on Saturday, our plan was to leave on Saturday in time to get to the conference then get up early on Sunday and head home to get our minions ready for church on Sunday.  My mom was not available to stay with the kids Saturday night, but Erika was.  However, the more we thought about it and looked at the calendar, we decided to ask my mom to stay on Friday night and leave on Friday afternoon and make a weekend trip out of it.  That is what we did.  We had a lovely ride.  We talked and enjoyed the sagebrush sights along the freeway.  We stopped for dinner when we were hungry and didn't make any other stops along the way.  We enjoyed a visit with Leon and a good night's sleep.  On Saturday, Claudia and I went to a craft fair and got a couple of ideas for our men to do.  Then Destry and I went on a ride in the Saturn Sky wi...

Last Saturday morning SHOULD have been an ordinary Saturday morning.  The children have "Saturday chores" that they are required to do before they move on with their day.  There are a few exceptions.  This morning Spencer had an exception because his scout troop led by Destry went on a rock climbing expedition.  It was a gorgeous day!  They had a great time thanks to Destry's former missionary companion and friend, Dallin Ward, who shared his talents and expertise with the group.  Spencer was the star as I was told.   For those of us who stayed behind, it should have been chore time after they left.  They were all playing together nicely for a while and I just let them.  It is fun to see them getting along and playing well.  At around 10:00 I reminded them  to get get started because Emma had her first basketball game of the season and Estelle had a birthday party that both started at 1:00.  That should have been no problem. ...

This is the season of endless gratitude posts on facebook and of remembering the things for which we all are grateful.  I have three friends and one family member who are mourning during this time of gratitude.  I know they all recognize the hand of God in their lives and that they could list a myriad of things they are grateful for; however, their hearts are heavy because of feelings of loss of a loved one.  Each of them has lost in a different way, but none of them is gone for good.  Our knowledge of the atonement and its role in the plan of salvation brings acceptance of what is right now, hope for the future and the grandfather of all gifts, peace.   I saw on facebook this morning a post from Danielle Cahoon.  She shared lovely pictures of her family, recently taken.  In the photos were four of her five beautiful children.  She expressed sorrow that one precious daughter is not in the picture.  She expressed the difficulty she has had i...

So we had our annual pumpkin carving extravaganza last night.  I remember when we would purchase one large pumpkin to carve and maybe a small one for each child to decorate the porch with.  Destry or yours truly, more often than not, because he wasn't available would cut scoop and carve the jack-o-lantern face into the thick orange flesh.  I have never been a fan of slimy, smelly things and pumpkin guts are both, but I "took one for the team" each year.  Now we are up to five large pumpkins carefully selected by each individual carver/painter.  Taylor was ill when the rest of us went to select the pumpkins, so we were instructed to text pictures of possible choices to him for review.  Luckily for us, he liked the first one we chose for him!   After our traditional Monday night taco dinner was consumed and cleared from the kitchen we laid out old towels, carefully washed the pumpkins and located carving tools, seed and gut containers and paint supplie...

So today, as part of my usual Thursday morning routine, I volunteered at the school for Miss Eliason in Sarah's first grade class.  I was signing in in the office when the vice principal informed me that there would be a fire drill at 8:25 and that I would be required to leave the building with the students.  Okey dokey.  I went into the classroom and received my assignments for the day and decided that I needed to warn Regan Holdaway, my sweet four year old charge on Mondays and Thursdays, of the loud noise that would be blaring in about 20 minutes.  I dutifully went about my volunteering when the alarm sounded as promised.  A couple of children were startled, but no one was out of sorts.  Miss Eliason instructed the children to get their jackets; I forgot mine, darn, then to line up at the door.  There are only nine students on her "A track" roll so it was very easy.  We all filed out the front door with the other classes who are assigned to exi...