Matt is visiting

Baseball season is back and we are gearing up for all the travel, sitting, freezing, burning, cheering, weeping (figuratively speaking), etc. that goes with it. Joel is a senior but his position is manned by seniors so we aren't sure how much he will play. For sure, he will catch when Clint pitches but who knows on the other days. His attitude is good and I believe that if he hits enough he will be on the field. We'll see how things turn out this season.

We are starting to have spring type weather here in the valley. It snowed last week but the forecast is for the 60's by early next week. Today is very pleasant and I am sure Teresa is glad because she is up in Ogden at a game. We aren't quite ready to plant a garden but it is nice to have some warm weather after a long winter. Maybe we will get some flowers in soon so the front yard looks better.

Josh and I are headed out to the Green River in a couple of weeks. We were hoping Heather and Teresa might get to go but other things forced a change in our plans. One of these days I hope to get Teresa out on a river so she can try fishing on her own. She's not very excited but I think she might like i1000000000t if she gave it a whirl.

I'm tending Matt and daycare kids right now and Matt wants to type so I have to give him a minute. 8ui/ 000000000000000000000000+565656opooi9b7hjj all the weird stuff was him (even those things in the upper part). He has a real knack for finding strange combinations. Better run so he can have a playmate.

Sickness, Last-times and Peace

Whatever it is that has stricken our house is pretty strong. There are coughs and headaches and aches and pains galore all through the home we call home. Teresa and Joel went back to the doctor today and were given even more antibiotics to treat their diseased systems. Hopefully these will have better effect than the previous efforts. This has been a tough cold and flu season for our house and many in our ward, school and neighborhood. I have an average of 2 kids out nearly every day in every class and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Maybe this is one of those plagues that are the precursor to the Millennium? Or maybe we are just being tested to see if we will begin to remember God more in our lives. Ask me in a few hundred years and I will let you know which it is.

Joel's play ended last Monday (see Missy's blog for info on her kids participation) and we have officially begun the "last-time" days for our final child. These days usually come during the senior year of high school and include things like last dances, last parties, last games and last plays. It is really just a realization that a particular part of life is coming to an end and the victim (or loved one) has no idea what may be coming in the near future. Yes, there are missions, college, work, and marriage lying in wait but after so many years in the safe environment of 'growing up', uncertainty is all that can be seen. No one has ever died from a "last-time" experience but many have been injured emotionally as they have struggled to let go of the old ways and move to the new. Joel has not been obsessed with these things yet but I suspect he will begin to see more of their appearances in the near future. Sure hope he can handle things. J

Today was a make-up day for parent/teacher conference so I had some time to attend the temple. My original plan was to go to an endowment session but I was a little slow getting there so I settled for some initiatories. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful feeling of peace, over and above my normal experience, as I participated in these ordinances. It was a reminder to me that we can become accustomed to some of the spiritual experiences found in life. There also is a tendency on our part to expect great swellings every time we do something relating to the Spirit. More often than not, we must wait and cherish these special times and use them as building blocks in our personal growth. If God were to give us extraordinary experiences every time we did well, we would lose some of our ability to choose for ourselves how to live. By letting us feel and build and wait and then feel again, we anticipate the coming times when the Holy Ghost manifests to us something above the normal joyful/peaceful feelings we have in the temple (or any other spiritual events in our lives). At least that's how it felt to me as I considered my day at the temple. Is that how it is for you?