What I see.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my life and the way I feel and perceive this great experience. My youth was such a long time ago and had a lot to do with my thoughts and feelings today. Parents from the old school (the best school by the way), taught me in a much different way than I learned when I got older and was responsible and more in charge of my own life.

Seeing things as a child, a teenager, and then and adult is like seeing things through different colored lenses and with different levels of clarity. It is very hard to explain but I can tell you with age things do get much clearer and with it comes an understanding that can only come through life’s experience. All is affected by the values I have and the way I obtained them. Please be clear I’m not saying I am right in how I feel, only that I have come to understand how I got when I am when it comes to these values feeling.

It is a great gift to be where I am and I must thank God and all those who have brought me to this place. Knowing there is love in your life and that with a lot of help receive it and feel capable of feeling and giving it make this existence worth while. What you do with what you got makes all the difference.

Opportunities come to us as we grow up. Playing outside in the weather at different times of year makes you aware of the changes that occur constantly around us. Wow, there are forces which we do not control and make life interesting and challenging. My body needs more covering in the winter due to the cold than in summer. The heat in the summer makes me tired easier and the sun can burn my skin if I stay out in it too long. Some one before me already figured it out and my parent had a coat for me in the winter and instructions and a hat in the summer to help me survive. They also would punish me if I disobeyed them or did something not in keeping with their sense of values, like swearing, lying, staying out to late or not doing chores and home work. They knew my life would be better is I learned to have values and worked for them.

That was a long paragraph for me, and I don’t feel bad about it sense my father would write a whole letter to me when I was in the service and it would be in one paragraph. I thought it was great and understood exactly how he felt and what he was saying.

Dad told me once he went to the 6th grade for 6 years. Then one day some one came in and asks him if he was the teacher. When he said no, they said don’t you think it is time you quit and he said “so I did!” Dad loved to laugh and most of the jokes he made were about him self. Life educated him and strength of character brought him through the tough times, of course there was mom. She was the toughest and kindest human being I have ever met. Her actions spoke for her. Work was as much a part of their lives as breathing. I don’t think either one of them had an arrogant bone in their bodies.

When one of the girls in our town got pregnant, in our small town, mom told her daughters they we going to be her best friend and they were. Others were mean and looked down on her. Mom explained to her daughters what happened and that they were not to judge her, she needed friends and that a child was going to be born. I remember when the little girl was born, mother making clothes for her. Her actions taught us more than any verbal discouse could have.

Salt of the Earth is not just a saying it is a fact. Some people are just that. They live their lives the best they can and don’t expect more than they earn and not only have faith in what they are doing plus charity, they have a great sense of right and wrong and a sure knowledge of and a faith in God. This is the lens I see though now. You be the judge for yourself.

I didn’t need drugs when I was a teenager. I was so into sports, girls, cars, and part time jobs. All I could see was my wants and passions. I just looked forward to my next accomplishment and fun experience. I think I was a pretty stupid and selfish person.
This self involved life continued into my college years and is like a dream and sometimes a nightmare, when I dare to think about it. I do have to admit some of the feeling I had were wonderful and make me smile. Most because it was my first experience of them and others because I just have to laugh because they were so stupid. I don’t know if my logic brain even worked during this time of my life. Please don’t ask for my siblings opinions about this.

Much of my love of life came though these experiences, because they were so personal and physical. I mean this physical life with spiritual overtones. The two were sometimes together and one, with wonder, and other times apart and contradictory with confusion.
When I think about the whole person now it includes both parts, spiritual and physical!
Who you are is really tied up in what you are. A logical wise man knows what is right and moral man does what is right. The physical body should not drag the spirit and the spirit should not have to drag the physical body.

It is too late to be short, so I will say life is not that complicated. Experience is the agent by which we learn and our spirit is our window to our maker and obtainable happiness. We must become one with both in a feasible and lasting way. Eternal is the laws of happiness and truth, and righteous and pure love is the creditability which it stands on.

Should you want to look on the face of God don’t look at me, look on the face of a child. You will see there pure spirit clothed with a physical body. A child is not a knowledgeable as God but is as pure a being as we see in this physical state with a spirit that just left our creator. Is it any wonder we love them so much!
Lord please show them the way to eternal happiness, and thanks for my chance to have it all!!!

Dad

My Kids!

My kids are the best.

Evan is a good man and loves his kids so much and now that he is married again to Cheryl, who we sure think a lot of, I feel they can be so happy because they know a good thing when they see it. I will always love Wendy and I don’t expect that to ever change. Those two wonderful kids are so smart and sweet and have a real sense of kindness. I hope they all know how much Joy and I love them and always want the best for them.

Meri makes me wonder where she got the good stubborn streak. She and Ryan are great parents with a big load and know how to handle it well. They, Max, Jack, Ben and Luke make us so happy when they are around. They all have their own special talents and I’m sure as they grow older will accomplish great things that we all will be proud of.

Adam has a quiet sincere quality about him and I know his job is not easy. Alicia has a real load to carry and I hope, when it is possible, that they both will know they were strong and held together when they needed each other. Christian and Alin are so much like their parents that I know they will do well as they grow older. We, mom and I, wish we could see them more.

Terra seems so far away now that their life is so determined. I miss her and Mark and sure wish we could be closer and see each other more. Those two kids are also much like their parents and will, I’m sure, grow up to be good people and come and see their grandma and grandpa often when they can. We sure miss them a lot and we are looking forward to that new grandchild.

Katie is so capable of being on top of her life. Jeff and her are a lot alike and know how to get things done. We hear from her most often and it make mom happy when she calls to tell her about the kids. Those three boys are so cute and as you know, since Brock and Katie lived with us for a while, we really got close to Brock.

Laura has a mind like no other. She is smart and wise and I know she does the best she can. We are happy that Jared found a job and hope that it is right for them both. I know they will have to send that daughter to some school for the beautiful smart people. I only wish we could see them more.

Mom and I might move to Utah when we retire. We think if we were closer to BYU that we might see our grand children and children more. Besides my three sisters and their families live in Utah and it sure would be nice to be closer to them

Dad

Life is good if you take responsibility.

It is hard to believe that this year I will turn 65 and Joy 61. We have been married for 41 years and in our home on Earls Ct for 31 years. We have 6 Children and 14 grand children, two daughter-in-laws and 4 son-in-laws not to mention the one grand child on the way.

When Joy and I meet on New Years Eve I was 23 and she was 19 years old. We were so dumb and young. What did we know? Now that I know I don’t know much it really doesn’t help. We did feel we had control of our lives and could get out of this life what we wanted.

I can tell you that you don’t have a lot of control over others, including your family once they are out of the house. We hope for so much for the families we love and have to realize that God has his own plan and the only thing we can do is try to do what is right.

Our world right now is so backwards. Having been raised on the capitalistic and responsibility program, I really don’t understand bail-outs, since they seem only to help a certain part of the country and not the people that really need it. The only part that we will all share in is the cost.

Real estate is California is a mess. People who don’t have a clue are deciding what should be done. In-experience is the problem with the REO and short sale system. Decisions are made based on the company layout not on what would be the best for the beneficiary, country and loan company. It makes me sick to see such incompetence when decisions are made that have no common sense attached. That is what happens when the one making the decision will not suffer the consequences that will result.

Let me give you a clue, control you own assists, don’t let someone else do it for you. You can have a great deal of trust in someone and then they because they have the power will make a decision based on their desires not yours. I could not be more serious! Some one in power needs to have inspiration and a real desire to serve. Rewards are good only if consequences are also there.

When you hear someone blame someone else you know they are looking for a way out of the circumstances they are in, without taking any responsibility. This is an absolute truth! So if you hire someone to do a job and they start to blame others realize they are failing and don’t have a plan that they are confident will work.

Is this so hard to see? Just look!

I love this country and I am so glad my children were raised here. I hope it will not change so much that they will not see and feel the rewards that come with hard work and honesty. I also know experiencing and taking responsibility for ones acts helps us to learn and be better people.

Dad

Faith in God’s Children

I know we hear so many negative things on the news and from others about what is going on. It is easy to fall into that vain, and I mean deep vain of thought. However let’s look at the past and maybe we can see more clearly.

What do we really consider of value and what do we think of a lot but in the final alliances is not so much. I have gone to a lot of funerals in my life and there are some observances I have made.

Those who speak hardly ever talk about how much money or possessions the one who passed had. I don’t hear them talk about the cost of their home, car, or other possession.

I do hear them talk about the good they did, their families and the love they had for each other. The way they expressed themselves and the respect other had for them for being the kind of people they were. Perhaps we have an inclination to see things at this time as our maker would.

This makes me realize we are more like our father in heaven and Jesus than we sometimes think. One of the most important things we do in this life is to learn to put values on things, in and that affect our lives. Those things which can’t be valued with a monetary amount in essence are priceless and transcend anything that does have a price on it. Look at those we honor and you will see what is of real value.

My God, parents, Joy, my brothers, sisters, children, grand children and close friends have influenced me more than anything else. I have used my mind given to me by my maker to make choices that I thought were best, at first for me then for my family. You see that is the place I put the greatest value. The family is the greatest gift, starting with our father and mother in heaven, our elder bother Jesus, to the most distant relative.

We are a world of people who belong to the same family. What ever happens we will have to answer to our creator and to the other members of that family. We have such great potential because we are God’s children. We were created in his image and know where it counts what is important. Life is great and what can and will endure shall hold its value though all. It does seem so simple and like most simple things are true. We can see clearly if we but look beyond the present to the everlasting truths given us, which I pray we will use to make things better for all we love and deserve to received the blessing that come from He who waits for us.

Dad

Mom need to write a post.

Mom needs to write a post. It has been so long.
So write something already.

Dad

Gift.

Wow is Jack cute. All those cute wonderful grand children sure show me what a gift they are. They come into this world so pure and new. How could we not appreciate them and love them. Anyone who thinks that this all happened by chance is logically challenged. Wake up and look around. The sky is clear the air is clean, the water fresh and the world is round. Get it or not it works, because of the grand design, not because we think that we can understand it.

All comes together because it conforms to the rules. Wow we figured that out. Now how does it conform? If we can figure that out then we can tell how it came about. Then we can decide if we could do it or how long it would take if it happened by chance. Hum now lets see, if I eliminate the God theory then I have to go with the by chance theory.

Admitting there is a God would mean I would have to answer to someone and then I could be held responsible for my own acts. The by chance theory could work for everything and then I could be God and only have to answer to myself and take all the glory. I think someone else had this idea before me, but I don’t have to acknowledge that because, well you know why. No God no Satan.

This also makes me an intellectual. Things are looking up or I should say down. I’ve thought this all through using no feeling or inspiration so it is like all thing received this way. Plane dull and uninspired wins the day. However I get to be right, at least in my own mind, and that’s where I choose to dwell. It’s dark and not to crowed in there so I’ve got lots of room to think but not to feel. No room for love, appreciation or amazement. I don’t need to be happy that would require feelings. Wait a minuet this being God thing has lost a lot of luster if I don’t get to be happy.

Lets see, comparative thinking, that just might work. If I consider some things good and other bad, acknowledge light and dark are different, I could be happy or happier with some things and feel. Knowing what make me happy and works for everyone else would help. This is going to take a lot longer than I planed, can someone help me? Knowledge of what is good and what is evil would help. Again can anyone help me?

God yes! Or it should be yes God!

Just Dad.

Making it work.

Making it work is such a funny statement when you think about it. We all have different struggles and things that seem so easy.

When I was young my parents didn’t really have very much of what we had today. Our home was about 1/3 the size we live in, no furnace, no indoor bath room, no video games, no TV, no van or new car and no fast food. Think of it no fast food, how did they do it with nine kids.

I think back and appreciate them more the more I think back. A garden, a old truck, a outhouse, a 1949 Chevy car, a horse, a dog, 3 pigs, 2 cows, 4 sheep, 2 sons and 3 daughters at home. My dad works where ever he could, which was in the cool mines or on a farm. We had 6.73 acres so we used the land to survive. Mom made most of our clothes and our food was mostly from the farm and home made. They got by with hard work and I think a knowledge that they were doing right by what they had.

You may think it was tough, but to me it wasn’t. I loved the outdoors and all that came with it. My dad and brothers loved to fish and hunt. I remember the start of deer season was a big event at our house. All came early and we packed the truck and headed up the mountain to pitch the tent and plan the hunt. It would usually snow one or two days in to the hunt and we would pack up put on the chains and go home. It was such an event we all loved and enjoyed. We got cold, walked for miles and carried deer for sometimes miles to get them back to camp to skin and hang from a tree. No task was or seemed too hard, we were with each other, on a common mission and we loved it. Most of fishing season was done on a lake by Clear Creek and in two streams within 1 mile of our home in Fairview. I would go after school and get home just before dark to eat and go to bed. What strikes me about this now, is how little time I spend out doors now and the way my kids and grandkids lives are.

I have to tell you I miss it and then again I don’t know if I could handle it at my age. I’ve got too used to this life.

I know your asking, what is the point? Well I guess it is we make it work and that is what makes us survive and find the joy and happiness that comes with this life. I know my parents worked hard and were very happy with their life. Their life was full and the values they had and have endure. The world today is different and maybe we have comforts they didn’t but it really isn’t better or worse just different.

What makes it work is the love we have for each other. Nothing is too hard if we hang together and make it work!

Dad