Happy birthday to the queen of my universe TERRI!

even sam is down with the party!

You are more than half your life with me....dosen't the reilef society give you a lifetime acheivement award for such an acomplishment? .........?

At least a merit badge!

I loved our family party lastnight.

Thank you for the kindness you offered each of us i love you!

gifts

I found this picture.

Let me tell you what it means to me......

But first let me tell you of a discusion in our living room earlier this week.

Kate, her mom and I were sitting in the living room and Kate made a sarcastic comment at her mother that she was spoiled or something, as I was rubbing her feet, and asked her chidingly

" What do you do for dad?"

First thing, Terri was rubbing my shoulders as I was rubbing her feet, so I questioned my oldest daughters powers of observation, and I was so startled by the question that; I spoke to her of emotional support and commitment to a relationship, but I spoke in generalities and Terri deserved better than that, I think it hurt her feelings that I wasn't specific.

Which brings me back to this picture. It was taken on my 43 rd birthday. she was giving me a treat after she gave me a box full of gifts that she had bought and had given the kids to give to me.

Moms do that all the time and Dads too, but think of it; in order to spare my adolescent feelings about ageing she provided the consideration of an entire family. She thinks on the macro scale for every one who passes within her emotional circle.

By that I mean she sees the big picture in peoples life, while giving focused and effective attention to their basic needs and feelings.

If she calls you friend, or client, or family, or if she just met you, you may be as common as coal, as am i, but you will feel like diamond within her emotional circle.

That circle is huge.

I have never met, known, or even heard of, a person such as her.

Again back to the picture..... The gifts she gives are given so carefully , so humbly, and she loves you while you receive them.

No guile, no regret, just love.

Some other gifts she has given me....

The ability to trust women.

Healed wounds inflicted in the decades before we met.

A desire to listen to people i don't agree with.

I swear less when she is around.

She taught me to do more than know about the world around me, she made me want to live in it as well.

I was lost and without purpose after my mission was completed, there is no good thing in my life since that has not been tied to her.

Music and art tied to important events and happenings.

Goes fishing with me.

She has saved my life a dozen times over. (no kidding)

She accommodates my eccentricity. you know, like all the teenage boys who would no longer be producing carbon....unless she was distracting me with a treat.......grrrrrr..... but i am still watching them!

She may not be perfect, but even her imperfections are perfect for me.

So what do you think Kate?

Doesn't she deserve to be spoiled for a few minutes every day?

Yeah, i think so too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE QUEEN FOR A DAY!

but the gift is still mine.

The GO dance, preformed by Sir Sampson! Sorry about the poor quality, this was recorded on my phone (this is Taylor) months ago and its not the best but you get the picture :D bye love you all!

she hate's compliments and flowery speach.... so how about the truth

today is my twenty third anniversary,

I would not change one day of the last twenty four years.

I am so grateful for this woman who accepted me, puts up with me, and loves me.

Good and and bad she has always been there. she is incomparable, and ever gentle on my mind.

a question?

i have a question....

it is one of those "ranting freedom questions"

but please take this seriously, i would ask ;

how much of your personal income would you be willing to give the government, before it became to much for you to bear?

you know before you became angry, onerous, or even rebellious?

seriously how much of a percentage of your income are you willing to give them and at what point would it be to much...

don't get out your taxes from last year and try to figure it....

just gut instinct.....how much?

please everyone?

This weekend was a blur for me.

driving,
watching,
driving,
listening,
driving,
laughing,
driving,

Driving can be fun, but it seldom is.
It is what you do for your family.

You were so worth it..

I have read a few blogs about the events already, I remember all of the events they spoke of.
I loved every minute of it all.

But I am thinking of two moments that were......... I can't think of a word to describe it......
I'll tell you of those moments, maybe you can help me think of a word.

On Saturday as we sat in the chapel I began to feel the influence of the spirit so powerfully, like being in general conference when those things you have been praying about and are concerned with are perfectly and succinctly addressed, but I wasn't concerned about any thing so I wondered why it was happening.

This feeling became more and more powerful culminating with Felicia's baptism.

Feelings like this for me usually come with some kind of inspiration, direction of action, or revelation.

But nothing like that happened... I think because I am not in her line of authority so there is nothing for me to know or do,

Having thought on it for a few days I have come to the conclusion that I was only being illuminated by the star burst of a beginning.

The birth of an eternal family?
The entrance into the kingdom of God, of a choice daughter, with things to do in the future, and a great husband to help her, maybe.... probably.

Later that night as Sister Landrum told us of the mission to which she had been called, of her experiences and quirky happenings....

When she told of her blessing to teach the gospel in the language of her mission with great ability. I felt the spirit again, but when she testified in Tagalog the world seemed to stop and listen, and amazement was had for all.

for me it was a weekend of testimony.... and it was ......................................glorious!

thanks for allowing me to come along.

all skate!

i would like to ask if everyone who is involved with the incredible events of this week and during the weekend would write a blog about their experience, i respectfully repeat,

everyone, please!

i feel like those who post seldom need this opportunity and what a great opportunity it is. i will never get a chance to have a one on one conversation with each of you, but it would be a great pleasure to know how you felt and what you thought about the home coming and the baptism.

its an all skate

everyone please!

at the barber shop

I went to the barber shop today..

He's not a hair stylist,, He's a barber.

A hair stylist is a poodle, he's a hound dog....

Not the Elvis "hound dog" nope, not that. Kind of like the sheriff, hound dog in "Fivel goes west"....

He's a "git er' done" hound dog. A cowboy.

He bought the shop from the guy who trained him, the barber pole has been there since the ninteen twenty's

The guy he bought it from, bought it from another guy; who trained him.

The shop hasn't changed much over the years, no phone, no fax, and while you are waiting, you sit on an old pew that was bought from the leftovers from when they built the first stake center in town, it's made of wood sawn and milled from our mountains above town. The walls are solid wood and a huge elk head hangs from the north wall.

Most days people walk by just to see how deep the line is... there was four in the line before me...

A cop
A retired teacher (just home from a mission)
A farmer
And a city councilman and his daughter.

Everybody gets their fifteen minutes in the chair...it's not a written rule, but the guy in the chair pretty much runs the conversation.

We talked about: health care, socialism, hunting, city council, taxes, new high schools, old high schools, fishing, Jason Chafitts (our current congressman), obituaries, weather to develop more farmland into housing, weather to and how much of some one's land should be donated for a new stake center.


And then the first guy's turn was over....

Believe it or not, I just listened.

I was the youngest one there today, ....It seemed a good thing to listen.

I didn't agree with every point of view, but I learned a great deal.

What concerned me most was the tapering off of conversation when we were trying to figure out "what exactly was the "government" doing?"

Two of the men talking have actually bled for their country,

One wounded in Pyongyang city.(Korea)
The other in the Tet offensive. (Viet Nam)

They were perplexed ; "what had they fought for? for whom did they bleed?".

The loss of freedom and liberty was painful to them.

This isn't what they wanted for their grand childeren.

It was the saddest thing I have seen in recent memory.

Someone then said " You did it for me.....thank you. I will not forget."

The rest agreed.

Cops and cowboys, politician and carpenter, and a few others who had wandered in and awaited their turn,....

Not a dry eye.....

It was a hell of a thing......It was.

true story.

hello again...

i'll try it again. if you missed me, thanks