Family Collage

Since I wrote about the family, I thought I would share our family collage which will soon hang in our living room.  It was done by Hailey Miller who did our family pictures in June.

The quote:  "I lift thee and thou life my and we all ascend together"

This quote appeared also on our wedding announcement although we used the word" both" instead of "all'.  The word "both" was in the original quote but I decided "all" worked for a family collage.  That was way back in the day of no Internet.  I had just heard the quote from a teacher or from a talk when I was young and determined that it would appear on my wedding announcement.  Well, Gary decides to look it up on the Internet (after I had ordered the collage) and found that my quote is not the actual quote from Whittier.  The main version is "I lift you, and you lift me and we both will ascend together."  I had remembered it wrong the entire time.  Oh, well, I still would want to mirror the wrong quote that I put on our wedding announcements.

Aren't we glad that we have the Internet??!!  Actually I found some other great quotes by him that i will share later.

The weather, Stake Conference, and Updates.....

We are enjoying a warm "spell" which thrills Jena.  She and a friend swam for a couple of hours yesterday morning after swimming at swim practice for 11/2 hours.  Jena would have been happy to hop back in the pool later that day but we were busy with other things--like watching the BYU game (not good!) and getting some things done around the house.  I am not sure exactly what we got done because it seems my list is still as long today.  That is the great thing about Sundays--you get to put that list away and take a restful and full day with more important things.

This is our Stake Conference Weekend.  We attended the temple with some of our Stake on Friday afternoon.  We took Gary's mom with us which I am not sure we have done much before.  We really never made it a practice to go with Gary's parents when Dad Hall was alive, but I wish we did when we were living near enough.  I guess that is a gentle reminder that I can go with my own dad sometimes, too, and that I should start a habit going with Scott and Chantel. Over a year ago, I did baptisms for the dead, just Tosha and I.  That was a sweet experience....and it reminded me that I am a bit older than last time I did that.

We then had the Saturday Night Adult Meeting which is one of the most amazing meetings in the Church.  It equates with my memories of BYU devotionals and firesides---just great stuff and overwhelming feelings of love and desire to do better (in that positive, encouraging way).

Today we will have conference later.  A nice way to spend a day.

Time for a news recap on the family:
Gary is still teaching Primary and working with the Webelos.  They meet at our house and it is fun to see them do the fun Webelo stuff.  I remember that Ben especially loved Webelos because he had a great leader, too.  Still working for HP although in this current climate that seems like almost a week by week decision as layouts happen quietly here and there.  We have been so lucky to work in the same company (although bought and sold a couple of times and to still have a job) for 22 years.
Jessica is working as a family advocate for Head Start and is taking 2 classes to work toward a certificate in Child Life.
Scott and Chantel are doing well and busy with school, work, and married life.
Ben just turned 22.  His life remains stuck in many ways as the illness and the medications continue to play havoc with his life.  It is often complicated to know if the illness or the medications are causing the difficulties in his daily life.  He continues despite all the problems to take his medication and hope for a better future.  He did attend the Utah NAMI Walk in Salt Lake yesterday morning to bring awareness of mental illness in the community.  And he also went out to eat and to a movie with his good friend Travis, who recently returned home from his mission.
Tosha is selling shoes, dating Roark, and thinking about the next step in her life.  We saw a recent ad for learning to be an X-ray technician.  She has good memories of the people who took x-rays for her and she thinks it might be a good match for her.  She and I might be looking into that this next bit.
Jena is busy with piano, basketball and swimming for Special Olympics, school and Young Women.  She is enjoying her classes.  I got an email from her science teacher who commented that she is a hard worker and has a great attitude in his class.  She also tried out for our Ward Roadshow and will be part of a small group of girls dancing.  As a part of her tryout, she sang a part of a Hannah Montana song.  She sang very soft, but she sang it alone in front of a group of people.  That was amazing!  And also the power of peers.  She was only required to tryout by following stage directions and acting happy and sad, but she chose to sing a song because that is what most people did.
And me---I just find life busy with amazing little experiences in between the busyness of a family of seven (that would be eight now with Chantel).  Work has felt busy for the past little while and I realized why when I did my time card for the past two weeks and have worked 48 hours.  Since my plan is to work about 12 hours a week, that is a big jump.  I have had a couple of placements and also trainings, home studies to complete, and the list goes on. 

I guess I took off yesterday except for some basic housecleaning and watched the game (most of it) while reading Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games.  If you like books about futurist civilizations, you would enjoy these books.  I decided I better read it after reading a face book entry of someone commenting on the ending.  I realized that face book might ruin the book for me so I decided I needed to get it done.  Another minor achievement is I am now certified as a basketball coach for Special Olympics.  That involved some online training and also a basketball clinic with a trainer from the State office. 

I am almost done memorizing the "Living Christ".  It continues to be an amazing and sweet experience where many times I have been moved to tears.   Attending the temple on Friday became a tearful experience as often the words would flow through my mind. 

And just for fun and because it is that time of a year, I am kicking around the idea of going back to school and getting a Masters in Social Work.  It is the most useful degree for the work that I continue to do (although I will have to quit if I go back to school) and for the future as we think about missions, etc.  It is more recognizable worldwide.  My other option might be as a clinical psychologist but that is a four year PhD program and I don't see doing that.  The downside is that they don't have too many options for adjusting things around the rest of my life.  It is a hard choice.  Stay tuned to see what craziness I decide to do next!

And as they saw that is (some) of the rest of the story.

Have  restful and sweet Sabbath day at your houses as well.

Face Book

The world is apparently going to continue to change and I will be forced to change in some ways with it.  Other ways I stand firm on.  However, I now have a face book page.  It has been a process to decide to do this.  I liked that my kids knew some of the events and happenings in their cousins' lives even though they are scattered around the western United States.  Then at work we started a face book group for our birth parents and we have been encouraged to have a face book account so we can follow and add our support to "that wall".  Then Jena's functional skills (special ed) teacher asked about starting one for Jena.  One of Jena's goals this year is to work on learning email.  We want her to be able to keep in touch with her siblings and cousins throughout her life and felt it was a good skill for reading and writing as well.  The face book page, her teacher felt, was an age appropriate skill for Jena and one that could benefit her throughout her life and give her some  way to keep in touch and feel a part of the community.  So here I am with a face book page, (one of my friends commented that now that the last person in the world is on face book , they will no longer have to advertise.....) and Jena, too, has a page.  We will see where it fits with blogging, e-mails, journal keeping, and the all important actually talking to people in person or on the phone.  No promises except that I will be your "friend" if you ask me.

New Glasses

We are excited to present Jena with her brand-new glasses........

These are not just any new glasses, but a brand designed specifically for people with Down syndrome.

That means they truly fit and stay up (most of the time).  The ear and the nose pieces are set differently and it has made a big difference.  Hard to tell in the picture but they are navy blue which is one of her favorites colors. 

Okay, I know I am "geekish"...

...notice that I am not fully commiting to be a geek.  However, I like the weather and I am even writing a post about it and I understand that there are those who consider that to be odd or "geekish", so be it.

Did you notice the clouds today?  In northern Utah, they were amazing---black rain clouds, white fluffy ones, and blue sky peeking out here and there.  They were most beautiful when I was walking earlier this morning but I took these pictures later.  Texas always had great clouds as well...little sparse in much of Hong Kong..hopefully you enjoyed the sky whereever you were at.

Side note:  During the time we lived in Hong Kong and I started typing letters to my parents on our new home computer, I kept a copy of all the letters I wrote in a binder to serve as "somewhat poor" journal.  When you read the letters back to back you can notice the pattern--almost each time I started off with a comment about the weather which for Hong Kong usually meant "hot, humid, rain".  I apparently am not too creative.

                              Hopefully you are having awesome weather whereever you are.

"The Living Christ"

A number of years ago, a friend shared about some of her experiences with memorizing the document "The Living Christ".  It was a great conversation and I felt drawn to having a similar experience.  However, memorization was never something I was super great at or enjoyed doing so I talked myself out of it.  It would be too hard, too time consuming, and what would it accomplish,  After all, I felt grounded in my faith of Jesus Christ and despite the experiences of my friend, wasn't sure it was a necessary thing.

Time passed and I heard of others who had also memorized this unique document.  My niece Kristen did as one of her personal progress goals.....but she was young and bright....and she needed to do some goals for personal progress so I went on, tempted again but let the moment pass.

Then the invitation came to moms to join with their daughters in working on Personal Progress and to accomplish that goal with their daughter or shortly afterwards.  Since Jena and I were working closely together on her goals, I decided to take that challenge.  In reviewing the values from my point of view, again the invitation was there to memorize "The Living Christ".  A day or so later, I was talking to my sister, Valerie, who lives in Mesa.  She serves as YW President in her ward so we were talking about Personal Progress.  I told her that I was thinking about memorizing the document. Immediately I felt a confirmation that it was something that I should do.  As we talked, it became stronger so I shared it with my sister and we both decided to begin to work on it.  I indicated that I would plan to complete it in a year, practicing as I walked in the morning like my friend had done many years earlier.  I was concerned about my ability to learn and retain such a long piece of writing. 

And so I began, writing the first sentence on a 3X5 card to carry on my walk...."As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago"......I decided that I would memorize one paragraph a month and would be done in 13 months...perhaps with luck and a couple of shorter paragraphs, I could do it in a year.  Sept. 1, 2011.

I mentioned my goal to Gary but felt that it would be one of those private things (but of course since I am sharing on my blog, I have changed that intention) that I would not mention to others. I didn't want to seem like I was bragging, I guess, but more importantly what if I could not do it.  I am 55 years old and I have a crazy life some times.  This seems like a huge thing for me and I was afraid to let others know in case I couldn't or didn't complete it.

However, the very next day, I had a visit with my visiting teachers who I love.  We talk about the gospel and it is always such a sweet experience.  One of my visiting teachers has returned to Weber State full time so we were speaking about learning and studying and ways to keep our minds active into our later years.  In passing, Kaye mentioned memorization.  Although I had planned not to tell anyone, I found myself sharing about my goal to memorize this document.  I shared my past experiences and how Valerie and I were both going to do this.  Now that they knew, I felt added determination to persist.  After all, each month they could serve as a checkpoint to see how I was doing.  The studying went on......." we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice."

My morning walks have been filled with these sweet words.  As I partook of the sacrament on Sunday, I reviewed the words to the first paragraph over and over..."None other had had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth."  I was anxious to learn the second paragraph and now I can see that not only will I be able to accomplish this goal but it will probably occur more quickly than I thought.  There will undoubtedly be set backs but the words are amazing and lead me to want to learn more of them.  Alone time in the car, folding clothes, taking a shower, where ever there is a moment of quiet, the words are there along with the images of Christ, who He is and how grateful I am for that great atoning sacrifice. "He is the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New...."

A bonus:  On Wednesday, I spoke to my visiting teacher, Kaye, who shared that she too has decided to memorize this beautiful document.  This past Sunday she read an article in the Ensign (p. 8) about a woman who did and she felt that she too had to achieve this goal.  She is actually way ahead of me (which is fine she assured me since they are more in the retirement/grandparent stage with some more free time than I.  Actually she is just brilliant).  Her goal is to present it at their family Christmas party.  When we saw each other at a Relief Society Meeting last night, we spoke of some of the words and it was fun to share our excitement together.

I decided that sharing these experiences would be a helpful thing.  It will provide me a world-full of motivation to continue when the words begin to jumble in my mind, because I am 55 after all.

May you have an awesome day.  Here is a link so that you can read the whole statement.http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,90-1-10-1,00.html

Have a great day.