Picture of Josh

So excited to see his happy face. 

At the ruins of Chan-Chan. 

The group. 

Celebrating baptisms of the month. 

Track meet

Boaz has been running track this year. He has been done very well. He has improved with every race. 

His first lap was 1:25 and the second lap was 1:36. I forgot to hit the lap tab. He wanted to break 6:00. He got very close. But still a PR. 

His first 400, about 30 minutes after his mile. 

We live in the middle of nowhere. So we drove over an hour to get to the small town, in New Mexico. I can count that state on my list now. 

I tend to sbunburn, so I wore this ridiculous hat. But I didn’t burn. 

It was a beautiful day. Of course I didn’t take a picture of Boaz. 

On day I’ll get a picture of him in his running uniform. 

New job

I have been so tired of being a substitute. I get the kids at their worst. They try hard to make my day miserable. 

I was applying to several jobs. 

I was hired on my birthday at Fort Lewis College in Durango. We don’t live in town and have to drive over half an hour. But Craig works in Durango too. So we commute together. We are back to how we started when we were dating. It’s nice to let him drive in bad weather. It’s nice to spend some time together.  

I’m in my second week. I feel like I’m in an information tsunami. There is so much to learn and remember. New people to know. But I am liking it. I get to work with people who want to se me succeed. (The adults at the schools wanted me to succeed, but now I don’t have to deal with the kids who want to make me cry. )

I am remembering my college days. I loved them. I’m getting to experience college life again - although in a very modified way. 

New beginnings all around. 

Band

Last year Boaz was in a rather large band. He was anticipating being in a huge band of perhaps 100 plus kids. 

His reality is he is in a program that is growing slowly. Wednesday he had his Speing Concert. It was a jazz theme. The first two songs included the beginning band. All students from sixth grade through high school totaled no more than 20 students. 

Really, this is most of the band. I didn’t have a good angle. He is in the center of the picture with his face half covered by a music stand. 

The last four songs still had middle school

Students with the high school. 

The band director is working hard to build the program and the students. 

Where last year Boaz was able to hide in the crowd, this year he has to lead out. This move has been good for him in this way in particular. In every way, he has had to lead out and let his light shine. 

They did well. Boaz is growing. It is fun to see him doing his stuf. He has a sweet clear tone. I’m so glad he likes music. 

Snow

Snow in March 

Digging our way into the driveway. So we can get out in the morning. 

Snow piled up covering the fence. 

Shoveling the steps. 

My foot covered in the snow. 

Boaz with snow matted in his hair. He walked home from school. Early release because of weather. 

Sacrament talk

Truly I have been thinking of a lot of things these past weeks. We have had a lot of new things happen in our lives, as a family. And personally, I have had more than one new beginning. Last week, the Stake Presidency asked us to fast with the question: “What is the one thing I can do this coming month that will help someone discover the message of the Restoration?” Also this past week, I was in Salt Lake City for a brief time at RootsTech where we were challenged and inspired to search out our ancestors and deceased family members. In my new calling, I have been pondering what I can do to help others and magnify my abilities. Those three thoughts have led me to split my talk into three different areas.

Last October, in a Sunday school lesson, I was introduced to a brand new thought for me. After the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received four visions while they knelt behind the pulpit. The first vision was of Christ who had come to accept His first temple in this dispensation. The following three visions each correspond to one of the three-fold missions of the Church. (That was the new thought I was introduced to.)

So following the order of section 110, I will start with the vision of Moses who came to restore the keys of the gathering of Israel. (vs 11) I have been thinking about how I can participate in this effort. I have been helped along by the challenge of the Stake Presidency, which certainly carries a lot of weight. However, my son Joshua who is serving in Peru, has also has given us, as a family, homework – and we have had to return and report.

I have been a missionary myself. I remember the fantastic experiences of my mission that seasoned the 18 months where I lived a season of stretching and growing. Growth is difficult and sometimes painful. On my mission I learned to talk to people on the street. I learned to talk to people at their doorstep. I learned how to start over again with new people and assignments. That one 18 month experience is not enough. I can’t mark that box complete with just that short assignment that I completed decades ago.

I also remember a time when my home was dominated by what Elder Holland would call bedlamites. I lived with dirty diapers, never ending laundry, repeated folding of the same load of laundry, every toy that we owned strewn across the floor, sticky hands, incessant talking, counting steps etc. Strewn among the food preparation, daily chores and nightly baths, there were shining moments of boys who when they were 2 ½ who spoke to God in family prayers like He was right there in the room. Of delighted recognition of Jesus in the pictures that hang in our house. Of listening to profound musings of toddlers about the eternal realms. The daily, weekly, monthly, yearly teaching that prepared them for baptism.

And still that does not check off the box. There are things that I can do in my life right now that will allow me to participate in Proclaiming the Gospel. Josh has challenged us to read Preach my Gospel. I talk to people I meet about my missionary son serving in Peru. I pray to know when and who to talk to about the Church.

The next vision is of Elias who “committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” (vs 12). This vision relates to Perfecting the Saints. These past two years, or not even quite two years, has been full of additional ways that we are invited to participate in perfecting the saints. The ministering update to the old Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching programs requires us to embrace a new level of shepherding. The change to Come Follow Me – For Individuals and Families lays the responsibility of gospel learning squarely on our shoulders. It is our charge and our blessing to learn from the scriptures in our homes and teach our families the truths of the gospel as they are found in the scriptures. We have been encouraged to become scriptorians, and now the encouraging is over. It is incorporated into the Gospel, much like the Word of Wisdom was first encouraged and then later adopted as binding on the membership of the Church.

I have the additional opportunity of my new calling. I’m sure I will learn and grow as I strive to fulfill my new responsibilities. Each of us have the invitation to grow in our callings. This growth is a manifestation of how perfecting the saints looks in our individual lives. If I look back to when I first became a fledgling adult and how I managed to accomplish the tasks set before me, I can see tremendous growth. Much like when we look back on the children in our lives. The changes are slow in the day to day living, but in the rear view mirror they are staggering. Life is all about practicing the skills and attributes that we will need to return to live with our Father in His Kingdom.

The last vision listed in section 110 is that of Elijah as he came to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse –“ (vs 13-15). This, of course, correlates with Redeeming the Dead. Family history is daunting and can be overwhelming. Both my grandmothers worked on genealogy. I remember coping down family group sheets from my mother’s big Book of Remembrance. I remember the big 16 generation Pedigree Charts opened up and spread across the entire dining room table. 40 years ago, genealogy was hard.

Today it still looks hard, but the Church has put so much work, money and effort into making it as easy as possible.

Last week I found out I was Sister Susan Bednar’s third cousin once removed. If you watched the Bednar’s remarks at RootsTech, that makes sense to you. Using the app on my phone, I logged into Family Search and saw that out of the 8,382 people logged into the app I was related to 5,028 of them. I’m not sure if that was the total number, the number kept changing. When I was related to 500 people, I scrolled down and saw the name Bednar. Then during their remarks, they showed the entire ball room of people how to find out if they were related to us. It was fun and amazing. I sat next to a man who was related to 5 of the attendees. Both numbers were amazing and fun.

Doing family history can show us amazing things about ourselves and our family.

You could find out that your ancestors joined the Church in England and miraculously survived the dangerous boat passage and joined the saints in Nauvoo like me. Or you might personally know the first person in your family to join the Church, like me. My maternal grandmother was the first member of her family to join the Church, and no other member that she knew joined with her. In fact, her mother was very unhappy that she converted.

You might find out that you are related to famous people in Church History, like previous prophets and apostles, like me. Or you could find out that one of your relatives was tried, convicted and executed for murder in the 1950s, like me.

You could find out that your ancestors fought in the American Revolution and/or Civil War and were a part of this country’s amazing history, like me. Or you could find out that your ancestors decided to remain loyal to England and moved to Canada as Tories, like me. When my maternal grandfather found out his ancestors moved to Canada so they could still be loyal subjects to England he became so disgusted that he stopped researching his family.

You could find out that your family is huge and spreads out across the generations like ivy, invading different countries, states and religions, like me. Or you could find out that many of your family members in previous generations never married or had children. They are the last of their line and it is possible that no one is looking for them, like me. I feel pulled to search these family members out. They are dear to me, and I know they are dear to the Lord.

I marvel when I see women who had more than ten children and wonder how they survived. I cry when I see mothers who buried babies and again wonder how they survived.

An amazing thing happens when you gather names, dates and locations. When you find sources that place your ancestors and deceased family members in history. They begin to become real people. Sometimes you might be lucky enough to find pictures of them. Putting faces with names is magical. Tracing family resemblances down through generations creates bonds that tie our hearts to people we never knew existed.

When I went to the temple years ago, I enjoyed taking temple names through. The temple was an amazing place to be. I felt close to Heaven and knew that the people I took through received a gift. I loved that feeling. When I began to take my own names through the temple, names that I had searched out and found hidden in the shadows of the past, the temple experience deepened and matured for me. I felt connected to Heaven on a whole new level.

Last month, I attended the youth baptism day. I had hastily printed off a handful of names. These were people that had married into my family. Most of the family were descendants of ancestors, or distant cousins. The handful of names were unfamiliar and I forgot who they were. They were mixed with all the other names that were taken to the temple that day. The result of that was that I found myself paying attention to each name and wondering if we were related. I might have been related to many of them. I have found some names where there are as many as five connecting lines between us, so you never really know.

My ears perked up at one name. Peter Parker was baptized that day. I looked over to see the boys all perk up too. The girls didn’t really notice. Since I am a mother to boys, I recognized the name. For those of you who don’t know, Peter Parker is the mild mannered alter ego of the Amazing Spider-Man. I have been following rather closely the Marvel movies for the past few years. Spider-Man is young, powerful and enthusiastic. His enthusiasm often leads him into more trouble than he knows how to deal with. He does his best, but sometimes the older and more experienced superheroes have to come and help him out – save him and the general populace. But sometimes, he is in the right place at the right time to make all the difference. And what he does saves the day.

I started to think how I was a bit like Spider-Man. I am not as young as him. But I do bumble a bit. I require assistance when I get myself in trouble. But I am full of enthusiasm and good intentions. I pray you will kind as I learn my new calling.

I wondered what my super power is. I told Mary Salloway, with a great deal of sarcasm, that my superpower was that I cry when other people are crying. And that is true. She did her best to make it a superpower worth having. I love her. But my real super power is that I know who I am. I know that I am a child of God and that He loves me. He knows my name. He rejoices with me when I am happy and successful. And he cries with me when I have fallen and am remorseful. He allows me to wallow a bit and then He demands that I get up and try again. Even when I feel forsaken, I know that He is there.

This is a super power that is available to all of us. God is not stingy when He gives out His gifts. He has invited us again and again to seek Him and He promises that He will be found. He is found as we join in the missionary effort. He is found when we magnify our callings. He is found when we search out our deceased family members. Indeed, He is found when we follow Him.

May we ever do so is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Track season

We went to Boaz’s first track meet. It was in Moab, about two hours away. Boaz was entered in two different races. It was way slower than track meets in California. Even though there were fewer people. 

But still Craig and I had fun. We got there at 8 and Boaz didn’t run until 1, after an hour break. We had a good time though. I was so glad I remembered blanket and the stadium chairs. The wind was cold. It was warm when the sun came out, but cold when the clouds covered the sun. That happened more often than not. Even still I got some color. 

I look a bit crazed, but you can still see the sun on my face. 

Boaz did very well. He has only been running for two weeks. He chose the 1600 and the 200. 

He has previously hated, and that is not too strong of a word, the mile. Last year he ran it in over 8 minutes for his fitness merit badge. 

Saturday he ran it 6:46, according to my phone. We are several thousand feet up, where last year he was basically at sea level. He said is legs could make it, he needs to work on the lungs. He got put in the fast heat. As a freshman that just started running two weeks ago, that was hard. But he met his goal and knows he can run it faster. 

His second race, the 200, he was more competitive. But still he has some tech unique to learn. It was fun and nerve wracking to us the starting blocks. 

His dad clocked him at 28:63. Still a decent time. 

We have to travel a lot further than we did in California, but we are looking forward to this season. Track meets are fun.