SNOW

I remembered something my mom told me.  She said that I LOVED the snow.  I would

bug her in early fall asking when it was going to snow.  And then as winter came and

drug on and on and on I would ask  her when it was going to stop.

Not much as changed.

Some rearranging.

~

I have had my children's senior pictures of this wall for several years.  I was looking at them the other day and decided it was time to update. 

A good visiting teacher taught me a lesson a while back.  We were talking about the sealing ordinance and how we thought that worked.  My understanding was that a woman marries a man and becomes part of his eternal family.  And that is true.  But she told me that it is that and more.

We tend to think that we marry and become part of a family under the "tent" of the Merrill's or the Papa's or the Joncas' or the Brook's.  But the broader truth is we all become a family under the "tent" of Elohim.  This was taught to her by David A. Bednar so I feel safe to say it is true doctrine.

The older I get the more I believe in the blessings of the Temple.  It makes no sense to marry and create a family only to have it end with death.  The thought of not being connected with these people for eternities is a hell of its own.  I can't imagine them saying good bye to each other with death....not to mention those grandchildren.

In a blessing I received years ago I was counselled to "follow the spirit as I chose my companion so I could go to the Temple of the Lord and be sealed for time and all eternity.  This will bring a great blessing to me in my posterity".  That has meant different things to me at different times but when I stood back and looked at these pictures of them all beginning their lives together in front the the Temples they were married in I can't help but feel blessed.

10

Ouch. 10 miles is alot.

But I did it!

Nine miles = 14.484096 kilometers

I think this is part of the route of the half marathon in Moab. Part of

me hopes not....unless we go downhill with the right side

of this picture. But a big part of me hopes this is it.

It is so pretty. Only 32 days left to train.

~

On this past Saturday I ran 9 miles. It is amazing to me that

I can run that far. It doesn't seem much harder to do

than to run the 3 or 4 miles. I run about a 15 minute mile. ( I know~

some people can walk that fast :) So these longer runs

take 2+ hours. I don't know how I do that. When I first

started ONE minute just about killed me. And I dreaded the

end of each week when I knew we would bump up a minute or

more starting the next week.

~

It takes me a good mile for my legs to stop screaming at me. After

that it is mostly mental. When I have things to think about (such as

my Beehive girls or what I want to do in the garden this spring or

making plans to go and see some of our children) I don't even

think about running. I realize at some point that I am just further

down the road. That is my favorite way to run...lost in my thoughts.

~

I like running by myself. But I miss Patty. We always had alot to

talk about but I am good by myself. Patty told me that she liked

winter running because people quit in the winter and if you

keep running then you are the strongest one. I don't know about strong

but I am pleased that I have kept it up.

~

I still feel grateful to Patty for pushing me along. I want to

finish this so she can say that she trained me to the finish.

~

When I first started my lungs hurt soooo bad. But now I don't

even think about it. Wait...I do...when I am feeling tired and still

have more to do I use the breathing technic that Patty taught me.

It is two in and one out. It isn't that I need the oxygen it just is for

a visual. I think of myself as a train chugging along. A side note: when

we had the big snow storm and I got out and shoveled snow I didn't

get winded at all. So my lungs are good to go.

~

I am nervous to go to Moab. I haven't done this before so I am afraid of the

unknown. I am going to be OK but it will be nice to know I am

where I am supposed to be when I am supposed to be there.

I also don't like the idea of running with a bunch of strangers. Probably nice

people and all but like I said...I like running by myself.

~

I have been doing this since the first of June. So that is eight months. I have

to finish this. It has been eight months but it has also been every day. If

I am not running I am thinking about running. I don't have competitive

feelings. I don't need to win. But I don't want to be last either. But I

want to be able to say I DID IT. That is what I think about.

Touching Base with the Grandchildren

I think David and I have cabin fever. One of the best cures is to

take off and see some of the Grandkids! We went to the west valley

two Fridays ago and saw these guys. ( I was in the back

seat with Laine and Bode when I took these shots.)Laine's silly smile.

Cool Bode. He didn't feel very well...but good enough to

put on the sun glasses and let me get a picture.

And then last weekend Pete and Brittany came up.

Brittany came up very early on Friday and skiied

with her Dad and sister. Pete brought the family up

later. The girls had seen pictures of the snow and

wanted to come and play.

Mel with her snow baby

This is where Megan said, "I have had enough of this snow".

Jett...always along for the ride.

Pictures of Interest

These pictures were taken after the big storm in January.

The top one is the home that the managers of the

Big Lake store live in during the summer.

The bottom picture is the store

at Big Lake at the marina.

Kinda cool.

A Story to Share

I found this story while reading some stuff yesterday. I spent some time trying to see if my
son.in.law, John, was a descendent. (I LOVE the new Family Search...you should check it out.) But I don't think he is. But he has a great heritage. For example, he is a descendent of Aurelia Spencer Rogers who organized the original Primary so it seemed appropriate to me that he may have had this good man, Noah Rogers as an ancestor. I was to post it and connect him with
Noah.

Hope you can appreciate the faith and enduring of this man.

“And Should We Die Before Our Journey’s Through”

Physical suffering and death are part of the challenges we face in this mortal existence. They will visit all of us sometime.

In February 1837, Noah Rogers and his wife, Eda Hollister, joined the Church in New York. Noah gave up his practice as a physician, and with his wife and eight children, he set out to become part of the gathering Saints in Missouri. A ninth child was born to them the following year.

Noah and his family endured many hardships on their journey to Missouri, even being threatened by hostile mobs who demanded that they turn back or be killed. Undaunted in their desire to participate more fully in the blessings of the restored gospel, Noah and Eda continued onward until they were able to join a body of Saints in Commerce, Illinois, which later became know as Nauvoo the Beautiful.

While working in his field one day, Noah was kidnapped by a party of mobsters and taken across the state line into Missouri. In the hands of the mobsters he was dragged into the woods, bound, brutally beaten, and then confined in chains in a small shed for several months simply because he was a “Mormon.” Noah eventually regained his strength and was able to escape back to his family.

In April conference of 1843, Noah Rogers was called on a mission to Vermont. Soon after this, a new mission call was extended to preach the gospel among the people of the islands of French Polynesia in the region known as the Society Islands. He was to be accompanied by Addison Pratt, Benjamin F. Grouard, and Knowlton Hanks. The small group of missionaries quickly prepared for their journey and bid farewell to their families, trusting that they would be taken care of amidst the ever-increasing storm of hatred and bigotry aimed at the early Saints. Their missionary journals and letters home describe the many trials and hardships they endured as they made their way to the islands over the next nine months.

Their missionary companion Elder Hanks had been sick before leaving Nauvoo and progressively got worse. He refused to turn back. He was fearful that he would not be able to fulfill his mission and kept hoping that the long sea voyage and priesthood administrations would restore his health. He insisted that if he must die, at least it would be as near his mission field as possible. Elder Hanks’ condition continued to worsen until he died on November 3, 1843. It was a sad and mournful event as his companions watched his body be wrapped in “a bit of old sail”15 and dropped into the sea.

The remaining three missionaries continued their journey, finally arriving in Tahiti to begin the work of preaching the restored gospel throughout the surrounding Polynesian islands. Not all their efforts were met with great success. Noah encountered major opposition from the established churches on the islands he visited. After many months and many miles traveling from island to island, he was given a release to return home.

His journey back to Nauvoo again proved to be extremely difficult. He returned via the Orient, becoming the first missionary to circumnavigate the globe. Letters and communication from his wife and family were essentially nonexistent for his entire absence of two and a half years. He had heard rumors of the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but, beyond that, news was only hearsay, and he feared greatly for the safety of his loved ones.

Noah arrived back in Nauvoo on December 29, 1845, finding his family, along with the majority of the Saints, driven out of the city and living on the outskirts. Nevertheless, it was a joyful reunion, and shortly thereafter he and Eda were able to receive their endowments in the newly completed temple. They were among the last Saints to receive this sacred ordinance before being forced to flee across the frozen Mississippi River and eventually set up camp on the windswept prairie at Mount Pisgah, Iowa. There Noah became ill and passed away within a matter of days. A couple of his sons fashioned a coffin out of a wagon box and buried him in a small cemetery that was to become the resting place for hundreds of other Saints who likewise perished along the trail.
Eda Rogers had lost her beloved husband. Other family members soon followed him in death.

Eda and her sister Amanda recorded:

Our afflictions seemingly were greater than we could bear, yet we trust in God and feel that He will support and comfort the widow and the fatherless. . . . We feel not to complain nor murmur but to go ahead in the things of the Lord.

Many critics could say that Noah Rogers’ life ended without his having accomplished much—that his sacrifice to answer the call to serve a mission resulted in little success and robbed him of precious time with his family. Of what worth were his struggles? His death and burial were unheralded events and were marked by a simple journal entry and a wooden grave marker. His grieving widow was left to move on with her children to the Salt Lake Valley. Yet who among us can question the designs of our Heavenly Father?

Noah and Eda Rogers’ example of quietly submitting themselves to the will of the Lord set a sure foundation for their posterity.

I will still try to connect John to Noah. Even if he isn't I think he has a Noah like character.

Once a man was born on Groundhog's day.

My dad would be 83 today. Happy birthday, Dad!

Dad reading to Jill.
Monument at Show Low ball field.

Dad and his siblings sometime in the 80's.

Then the famous noses. Uncle Max (second from right)

died in 1974.

Dad and Mom early in their marriage.

Favorite classic Dad picture.

Tired. Tired of Alzheimers.

The smile says it all.

~

These are pictures I found looking for some of Dad.

Kinda random.
~

I don't know who would claim these children. That is Jeff on

the left, then Caroline (my friend) and me. This was the swing at

my house. We must have been playing for a while because we

are so dirty. Caroline only has one button on her shirt.

She actually looks cute. I love Jeff's face. Second grade. I may have posted this picture before. It

is honestly one of my favorite school pictures. I remember how

I thought it looked so good. My hair was the same on both

sides. My mom had me wear a black shirt because that supposed

to help take a good picture.

This is my 4th grade class. There are 34 students in Mrs. Hunt's class.

One teacher....no aids. If teachers could hang a paddle on the

wall today it would solve alot of problems. She ruled that class

and very seldom had trouble. The boy on the front row with his head

peaking over the desk was

the exception. His name is Terry Cresswell. I liked him. He

laughed easy and was nice to me. But one day he did something

she didn't like and she was going to paddle him. He turned

around to her and grabbed the paddle and they started

fighting over it. The paddle hit something and pieces flew

everywhere. She grabbed him and they went to the Principals

office. She came back alone.

I am by Mrs. Hunt ~ second to the right. That is Caroline again

the last on the right.

I think my brother, Jeff, is next to David when I consider

the men I love. We talk most days and he just makes

me laugh. These pictures make me laugh. You can't see

the mischief in the baby picture but it is developing

there in this 4-5 year old picture.

February. 1980. We were living in Show Low.

That is Peter, 3 years old. David is pulling him. Don't you

love the vest on David. I had given it to him for Christmas. These pictures were taken while David was on his

mission. You can see his companion in the lower left.

This is a home they lived in. I loved this picture. Can you blame me for loving this boy?

He bought that coat before he left and wore it a couple

of times. I used to do my best to crawl inside it when

he was wearing it. mmmmm.

This is Cookie the cat I grew up with. I remember other cats.

I remember the names Meanie and Tiggin. One of those

cats had a batch of kittens that could not use their front

legs. Mom had them all put to sleep. I argued with her that

they would get better. They didn't. I think Lynne found Cookie

one Sunday morning as she walked home from church. Cookie

just wandered out in the street and Lynne (who was always

bringing stray animals home) came home with her. She lived

to be 18 years old. Jeff never knew life with her. She was

such a good cat. Don't you love the cars behind her? That is my

dad's Marque and Jeff's hot rod....I don't know what model

it is.

This was a February picnic with the Hardys. They were good

friends who lived in Pinetop through the 80's. We were near

Shumway in a wash bed that was dry because of Shone's Dam

just west of there. It was the coldest day but we decided to

go out and eat hot dogs and just get kids out of the house.

It was probably 1987-88.That is Pete in the middle and Jill with the Purple coat. Then to the

left is Vanessa and Rachael and that is Brett in front. The little one in the middle is Heidi.

I know it looks like we are just standing around

but that day is a good memory to me.

Deborah ( I knew her as Debby in high school but when she

married Doug she didn't want to be Debby Hardy. I liked calling

her Deborah) is on the left, Rachael, Tim, David's back side and

Vanessa.

We loved these people. They were like us. Nobody else would

consider coming out on a cold February day.

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to

Light his own candle some other way

See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to

Still holds a candle without a flame

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Take your candle, and go light your world

We are a family whose hearts are blazing

So let's raise our candles and light up the sky

Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus

Make us a beacon in darkest times

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Take your candle, and go light your world

Kathy Troccoli