My Good Friend Juan

I know a man Juan who is a recent convert to my faith.  He is a great man from Mexico originally now residing in the Oxford, PA area.  This fellow has embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ and wants more than anything to be a good member of his church.  He embodies the practice of serving his fellow man and is an example to us all.

As I spent time with him yesterday, visiting other members of the church, I couldn't help but think of how much my grandfather would have liked Juan.  My Grandfather never served a full time mission, he had to support a family.  He did, however, tirelessly spread the gospel to those around him.  He had an affinity to our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters.  He was self taught in the basics of the Spanish language and prided himself in singing many primary songs from memory.  He studied from the Spanish and English Book of Mormon to further his knowledge of the language and the more importantly the gospel.  I have a great love for my Grandfather and I know he would have loved Juan and that Juan would love him as well.

I spoke to Juan about my grandfather and he expressed a desire to meet him someday which I have no doubt he will.  Juan's testimony is growing everyday and he is an example to me and to all those he comes in contact with.  He reminds me of King Lamoni's father who says in Alma 22:18 ".... I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day."

CTR

Madelyn proudly wears her CTR Ring to school and when questioned by her teachers about it she explained to them that it stands for "Choose The Right". Needless to say they were very impressed by this and asked Elizabeth about it. Liz of course explained to them that it was something from our Primary or Sunday School for the children. They thought we were Catholic because Madelyn said she got it from Sister Bowden. Liz explained that we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, often known as Mormons. She was able to clear up the misconception that Mormons were not Christians. Missionary moments for both Liz and Madelyn and I couldn't be prouder.

Lessons from my Father

So I broke/bent stainless steel shovel handle while attempting to move some heavy wet snow the other day (The fact that it's hollow makes it seem more like aluminum, hence it bent). In the spirit of, "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without", that I learned from my Father, I poked around the garage and the shed to see how I might fix it. As it turns out I also had a Hoe that broke free from it's sturdy wooden handle. By removing the broken handle from the shovel and trimming the splintered end of the hoe handle I now have a sturdy wooden handle on my snow shovel. Thanks Dad!

Milk Mustache

My little Miss Madelyn, MEKO as we affectionately call her is 4 1/2 going on 20. She is so mature for her age and her vocabulary is second to none. Sometimes I think she's growing up sooo fast and it doesn't help that I missed so much in her first two years because I was in Grad School. She can carry a conversation on just about everything and is always wowing other adults. I don't want my sweet little girl to grow up too fast.

Yesterday she and I stopped at McDonald's and she had chocolate milk. In her care free way she drank it down and gave herself a mustache that gave me so much joy. A milk mustache just has a way of exposing the little kid in us and of course I could see my sweet little 4 year old MEKO.

Sledding

Making our simple little sledding run out in front of our house reminded me of the great sledding we did growing up.  Not far from our house in the mouth of Dry Creek Canyon the 'Second Hill' that you go up has a pretty steep grade.  And when it get's slick in the winter, from snow and vehicle travel, it makes for a very good ride.  Some winters I remember being able to go down the second hill and all the way up the first and down to highway 89.  Of course if you made it that far you had a good 3/8 mile to walk back.

Further up the canyon is Wiki up canyon and up here you could ride down a good couple miles if the conditions were right.  If the snow mobiles had made a good backed and it was a warm day so the snow was nice and slick you could ride your runner sled all the way from Mike's Knoll to Dry Creek road.  Now right there at the mouth of Wiki up there was a trial that dipped into a gully and then cut over to the road so we used to play cops and robbers on sleds and try catching each other.  One sledder would go down the hill at the very end of wiki up and hit dry creek road and the other sledder would take the trail and cut the corner.  The road was slicker and faster but the trail was a short cut so if it was at least packed you could usually intercept the sledder on the road (the robber).  I remember doing this well into my college years and even now I remember the events with fondness.  I think I probably got Carter up there at least once while we were still living in Utah but the trick was always to get on the second hill after it had been packed by the residents and travelers up and down the canyon road and before the county spread gravel.  I sure have a charmed childhood.  Thank you Mom and Dad for giving me the important things in life.  Hard work ethic, integrity, honesty, love, and charity.  I am who I am because of your example.