New Friends!

As everyone knows, I grew up with mostly guy friends with the exception of a few very close girl friends. I think its just because well... boys are more fun. =) Well, this has been particularly hard for me after Jimmy and I got married because I obviously could not be as close with my guys friends as I once was. And being in Hawaii... doesn't really help with staying very close to the girl ones. So for the first time in my life, I found myself with basically zero best friends near by besides Jimmy. I mean there are of course those friends at church and school but no one that you know... fits the qualities of a really good best friend. Lately, I have been praying about this issue because I hate not having a good friend out here! Well, I truly feel like my prayers have been answered.

Melissa, one of the few girls that I actually was best friends with in NY, just happened to move out to Hawaii this January with her fiance, Rob for teaching positions. We got together soon in the beginning of January and they are just awesome! Then, we went over there last night and we had so much fun! We already have plans again for this weekend. I am SO excited that we now have friends and I feel we are going to be with them all time from now on.

Rob is a really cool guy and is weirdly a lot like Jimmy. And for Melissa and I it feels like we never stopped being close. It is just so cool I think. I am so happy that the Lord answers our prayer! =)

What's going on...

The year is passing quickly, here is where I'm at:

- giddy about J and K moving down here (H and S, too). I think about it constantly. All the time.
- basketball season started for our stake. we lost our first game, but it ended up not counting. we are 2-0. i have been averaging over 20 points per game. jarek managed the scoreboard one week and tevia the other.
- saw a coyote on the way to basketball today. cool.
- just finished "Starship Troopers", which won the Hugo award years ago. Loved it. Reminded me of Jimmy and Atlas Shrugged. Very deep in some spots.
- work has been busy and crazy. i officially was told i am not going to London - they can't afford me is the official word.
- contributed to Avatar's billions. proud to do so - anything to break Titanic's record.
- enjoyed the rain last week, but ready for summer.
- enjoyed baptisms with the youth last week; but one boy would not participate. i felt bad for him. he yelled at the temple worker trying to help him, "I don't want to be here! I hate doing these things. I'm only here because my parents forced me!"
- my wife has been super nice to me this year. she is awesome. thanks!

It's official, we are moving March 29th

We will be saying goodbye to our loved land in the mountains in the search for warmer weather, more family and a longer boating season. We don't expect to purchase a home even though they are dirt cheap right now. We will be looking for a nice place to rent to get a feel for the area first. Tevia it would be nice if in the coming weeks you could check out some homes we send you to give us a better feel for them. I think we want a three bedroom house(not apartment) under $1,000 a month and it would be nice if it was close and had a fenced backyard for daisy. Proximity to a Chipole is a plus:-)

Doctrinal Commentary on Book of Mormon

Once again, I am enlightened by my children, and Jacob suggested this book as my companion to reading the Book of Mormon this year. I am loving it!
For example: Palestine and America are not the only Promised Lands.  Cool stuff. 
I have always had an issue with "why I feel like I get so many blessings, when people around me have so many problems?", and the reason I question it is because I believe God loves everyone equally.  This book has answered that issue for me.
I also am still confused about the prayer thing. Believe it or not, I actually can't remember the big concept that you guys finally got me to understand when we had the big discussion.  For some reason, I am just struggling with praying right.  Maybe it is because I have to come up with names for a secretary and camp director.
I will need more discussion about this in March.

I applaud Jacob & Cari

I hereby dubs them courageous, brave, intuitive, and adventurous; and I appreciate their willingness to make the first move!  Thank you both!

Jimmy oh Jimmy

Hey, no blogs for awhile.  from anyone.  Jimmy, how about blogging about Avatar?  I am not sure if we should see it or not.   Some say yes, some say no.  I know what Kathy thinks, she says yes.  What do you think? 

to move or not to move

Dad is not happy this week with IBM, so take his 9 year surprise plan he shocked us with, and revamp it back to within a year or two!  He wants to wait until Tom comes home, then look for a job where ever everyone is. I am so happy!  Of course, if IBM were to give him a raise or a bonus, he could change his mind.   :) 

So Jacob was finally right....

He does produce men after all. :-) Speed Wall says "hi"!

Cari's Great Talk (I felt worth posting)

How to Teach Your Children to Lean on the Lord

Good morning.

I'd like to start by reading two scriptures. The first is Proverbs 3:5 - 6.

And now Alma 37:35.

A lesson that seems to get harder to learn the older we get is to lean on the Lord.

I think it's a little funny that the specific topic I was given was how to teach our children how to lean on the Lord.

The way I see it, they have a bit of an advantage - children are generally used to relying on their parents for pretty much everything in life, so they are used to the concept.

Probably one of the best ways for us to remember how to lean on the Lord is to be like a little child, as we're taught in Mosiah 3:19.

The part of that verse that really sticks out to me is to be "willing to submit to all things".

The first step to relying on the Lord is to be willing to submit to whatever situation, trial or blessing, that He gives us.

Also, we can't pick and choose when we lean or rely on the Lord - we need to rely on Him for ALL things. Alma 37:36 says:

So how do we learn to rely on the Lord?

In order to rely on anyone, including the Lord, I think the first step is to trust that individual, as it says in the verses from Proverbs I read earlier. The scriptures have a lot to say about trusting in the Lord, such as in 2 Nephi 4:34 - 35:

In order to trust someone, you need to know them. Proverbs 9:10 says:

So how do we get to know the Lord?

There are many ways: serving Him, feeding His sheep, and so forth. One way to get to know anyone, including the Lord, that I want to focus on is communicating with that individual.

It's hard to know someone you don't ever talk to.

Our primary means of two way communication with the Lord is prayer.

The Bible Dictionary is one of my favorite study helps for the scriptures, and I have always loved the entry on prayer. It says, in part:

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship.

Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."

The purpose of prayer isn't to inform the Lord of our needs and desires - He's quite aware of those already.

As the Bible Dictionary says, the purpose of prayer is to bring our will in line with God's.

In other words, it is a way to help us reconcile our will with His.

I also want to point out that prayer is an action, a "form of work" as the Bible Dictionary says.

It's an effort of our part to show that we want something.

When it comes to leaning on the Lord, there are two extremes that should be avoided.

One is the extreme of leaning too much and the other is the extreme of leaning too little.

A common example from church history of someone who leaned too much on the Lord is Oliver Cowdery in his attempt to translate part of the Book of Mormon.

In Doctrine and Covenants 9:7, the Lord chastises Oliver and explains what he did wrong.

We cannot spend every day of our lives on this earth waiting for an angel or a lightening bolt to tell us what to do.

We need to ask, study, and put in some effort.

James 2:17 says:

We must put forth some effort to accomplish the things in life we want to accomplish.

If we do, we will be blessed. Alma 37:37 says:

On the other hand, we also can't leave the Lord out of the equation.

There are examples everywhere in the world today of people who, for whatever reasons, leave the Lord out of their lives and lean unto their own understanding.

The scriptures are also very clear on the negative consequences of this extreme. Doctrine and Covenants 3:4 says:

As with many things in life, leaning on the Lord requires finding the right balance for each situation.

In some situations, there is nothing we can do, and we must exercise hope and leave everything up to the Lord.

In other situations, there is much we can do, and we can faithfully do what we can and then leave the rest to the Lord.

A good way to know what we can do is to pray and ask, and then listen for a response.

As I studied leaning on the Lord, I have realized not only how important it is, but how difficult it can be sometimes.

It's a good thing we don't need to be perfect at something or an expert in a subject before we can share what we do know with someone else.

If that was the case, I wouldn't be talking to you about this right now.

One of the ways we can teach our children about the Lord is through telling them, explain how and why we need to do it.

Another way to teach our children how to rely on the Lord is by example.

This is perhaps both the easiest and hardest way to teach.

It's easy because it's part of something we're already doing: living our lifes.

But it's hard because when (let's be honest it's when, not if) we make a mistake, our children are still watching and will pick up on our mistakes as well as our good decisions.

With our young family, something I am learning is that we need to teach to a child's level of understanding.

Even if my 18-month-old daughter was listening to this talk instead of playing in the back of the chapel, chances are she's not going to remember much of anything I'm saying.

But we've made goals as a family to try to teach her things as she gets older and her understanding grows.

One of our goals the last few months has been to get to her fold her arms and be quiet for prayers. It was a bit of a struggle at first, but she's very good about it now.

And now, she's often the one that reminds us to pray before our meals - she'll fold her arms when I set a plate of food down in front of her. So we've got some hope that some part of what we're trying to teach her is starting to sink in.

In all our righteous endeavors, we need to pray first to get our wills in line with the Lord's.

Then we need to pray to know what we can do and then do it - we need to do what we can do and put in a valiant effort.

But we also need to remember that we must lean and trust in the Lord for the rest.

2 Nephi 10:24 says:

As we put in a constant effort to lean on the Lord, we will better know how to teach our children to do the same, and they will at the same time, learn from our example.

Thank you all SOOOOOOO Much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for making me cry guys... maybe it is just PMS. :)

Really, this is so thoughtful and generous of you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Words really cannot express (and you all know I hardly have a shortage of words to say/write) my deep gratitude and exceeding exhilaration for this new fun camera. I am so thrilled to read the manual and figure out all the fun things to do with it. I appreciate all of you guys letting me take pictures of you, even if I am bossy and annoying. I love pictures, I love taking pictures, and I love looking through all the pictures and reliving all the great times that have been recorded this way. I don't know why you guys are so nice to me, but I really don't deserve it, especially after being so grumpy lately. But thank you, and thanks for loving me even when I am a chump. You are all so wonderful. I love you all very much. thanks, thanks, thanks, a million times over, THANKS!!!

Post Dedicated to Tevia

Okay, this is a support post for Tevia. Okay that didn't come out like I wanted it. Maybe appreciation is a better word!

Tevia, thank you for hosting all of our crazy families for Christmas. I love being with family and your home seems to be the gathering place for a few years now. It is stressful and complicated to cater to so many different people and during such a frantic time as Christmas. I want you to know that I personally love being in PHX and that's probably mainly because I feel so at home in your house. Our fun family Christmas would not have been possible without you sharing your home and doing all the hard work to make it a vacation for us. Please know that even though I am sarcastic and annoying most of the time, I am really grateful for your efforts and have always liked having you and Bret as good examples a few years in front of us.

Okay mushy stuff over! Now for the exciting part.

The family would like to thank you for hosting us for Christmas in combination with an early birthday present, we present you with the best hockey stick gift ever! I hope you enjoy your camera and it is a model you would have purchased yourself. But lets be honest, this only means you will have to slave even more at taking family pictures! Also, on a more selfish note... if in the distant future I just happen to be wake boarding near PHX, maybe you could bring that nifty little camera of yours and make me look good!

Love,
Jacob, Cari, Mom, Dad, Kathy, Jimmy, Hazel and Speed(We find out on Monday!)

P.S. Don't shoot your eye out:-)

The end of a decade...

The last decade ended in a blur. With a second trip to Dubai followed by the visit of family, then Christmas, then San Diego, and then the New Year. All of it was wonderful.

In Dubai I got to go on a desert safari where I rode a camel, went jeeping in the endless sand dunes, and ate a typical middle eastern meal in the middle of the desert.

Jacob and Cari and Kathy and Jimmy visited soon after my long voyage home. Jacob and Cari were able to see our family sing and speak in church. We then spent many nights talking long into the early morning.

My parents soon arrived and then we celebrated a wonderful Christmas. I loved seeing everyone open their presents - and loved the green laser I got for Jimmy (hopefully he liked it, too). The Christmas meal was great with a Honey Baked Ham supplied by Jacob and Cari.

We set off the next day to San Diego where we had a fun and spacious condo that mom had organized to surprise grandpa on his 50th birthday. Though it wasn't too hot, the weather was nice, even nice enough for grandpa, Jacob and me to surf (with the aid of a wetsuit). Surfing was fantastic and I was gladly sore the next few days for having learned how to surf. I can easily see the pull of being a beach bum with a surf board.

We had some wonderful dinners and I enjoyed being with the family. The last night most of us went to the temple (while Jacob and Cari volunteered to watch the kids) and had a wonderful evening of spiritual enlightenment. I was happy to be a part of a family that wanted to make the temple a part of our trip.

Afterwards we separated ways again - looking forward to a day we can be together again. For me the time was a reminder of how important family is - and how it makes me want to be a better man. What a great time to get that reminder! Right during the new year. And so I look forward to this new year and decade with a mindset to improve myself as a person; to be a better man, a better husband, a better father, brother, and son. I dream of a day where we can spend much more time together as a family.

First Blog

One of my few New Years resolutions for this year is to stay in contact more often with my family. I talk to my mom maybe once every week and a half and my dad maybe once every 3 weeks. Its not that they don't call its just when they do I usually miss it and never return phone calls. Also, I've been a member of this blog for about a year now and still have NEVER blogged. Unacceptable. So here is my first. I just wanted to let all of you know how happy I am to be a part of your family. Christmas was great and even though it was tough not going home to see my family in New York, I loved every minute we spent together. I am in such high spirits when we are all together and I know I can say the same for Kath. So thank you all for letting me be a part of it. The boys are so fun to hang out with and finally getting to meet Hazel was beyond words. She is the happiest baby I have ever seen. The whole trip went perfect.

I am very excited for the huge changes to come this year. In 9 months I am OUT of the Marines =) and one year from now I will be starting school (finally). Kathy will be student teaching in just a couple of days and soon will be a real teacher. Me and Kathy are very excited about possibly living in AZ. We talk about it all the time. Life is pretty good...especially knowing I don't have to say goodbye to Kathy again. Well, thanks Bret and Tevia for having us for Christmas and thank you all for letting me be a part of this incredible family. I miss and love you all very much.