Moms are the Best

Logan loves to ride her bike.  Last weekend she asked me to take her out on one of our long rides, but to be honest I was not feeling too well, so I kept saying tomorrow.  By Monday the weather was too hot (well over a 100) with no relief in site, so on Tuesday morning I woke her up at 6:00 to go on a morning ride.  We had a great time. We talked about the fresh air, the clear lake, and even solved some of the worlds problems.  About half way through out ride Logan called back to me that her shoelaces has become stuck in her pedal and as a consequence she had toppled over.  I stopped, as any caring father would, picked her up, brushed the dust off, untangled her shoe lace, retied it, and got her back on her bike.  She then looked directly at me and said, "Thanks Mom."  She immediately realized her mistake and said, "sorry Dad, but since you are always at work, Mom does all this kind of stuff." Moms are the best!

It's the People, Not the Place

I have been excited about going to the Philippines all year.  I love it there.  I love the heat (most of the time), the beaches, the palm trees, everything.  When I was called there on my mission I bought a book describing Philippines as a "Tropical Paradise" and that is exactly what it is. I was not disappointed one bit with the trip.  The tropical fruit was amazing, the ocean warm, the sand soft; all the things I remembered from my time there before had not changed.  On the first day, however, I realized all those things are not what I love about the Philippines. It's the people.  I have to admit, and not just because of Mia, that a part of me will always reside in the Philippines.  The people are happy.  They don't have much in the way of worldly things, but they are truly happy.  When Mia and I were waiting for the van to pick us up to take us to the airport to come home I ran back into her Mom's house to do one more check to make sure we had everything.  As I looked around her Mom's house I was over come with emotion.  I looked as if to memorize the moment. I love the Philippines, but most of all, I love the people.  I realize that some of you who see this will not know most of the people in the video, but look at the happiness in their faces.  It's a TRUE happiness and it's contagious.

Life is Good!

Being in a tropical place brings out the best in me. I'm not sure if being in Cancun brings me back to my mission days or what, but I feel more patient, and much less like I am rushing through another day, in fact, I hope these next three days will go a little slower. I will not be too productive, at least in terms of the day-to-day things, but then again, spending time with my best friend on a white sand beach, pina colada in hand (virgin of course),and a big smile on my face is the most worthwhile thing I could be doing. LIFE IS GOOD!

Logan Sings "Slowly"

Another great concert. Another great solo. I went to the show last night eagerly anticipating hearing all the songs Logan and her choir had been practicing for months. I would sit there as a father, beaming with pride at my talented daughter (No bias there). The experience was just what I thought it would be and a lot more. I was very touched by Logan's choir teacher, Clair Mix. She has dedicated her whole life to music and to teaching kids about value to learning to sing and to have fun doing it, in fact, she composed most of the songs the children performed. Clair also has Parkinson's disease, which to understate things, has made the very normal things difficult. Despite her illness she is there for the kids, encouraging them and teaching them to be enthusiastic about music.

I have attached a small portion of her song. You will notice Logan forgets the words in a couple of places. For some reason she did that throughout the song, which is why Mrs. Mix is there beside her to offer her support. At the end you will hear her say, "It's all about having fun and not remembering the words." I was truly inspired!

We've got rats!

Two of them actually. Mia and I made the mistake of telling Mikell we are thinking about getting him a rat for his birthday. For years he has been begging for a dog, turtle, gerbil, anything with four legs that he can pet and love. Late on Saturday Mikell and I had a disagreement (not unusual) and I wanted to talk with him before we went to sleep to make things right. I did so and dropped the "rat bomb" on him and for the next two nights he hardly slept. He would lay in bed until 1:00 in the morning and then wake up at 4:00 thinking about rats the whole time. It was my fault, so I thought what the heck, and we spent family home evening at Petco.  So far so good, except for the Rats. They probably never expected so much love!

Meet Thimble (above) and Nibbles (Right)

Do you Facebook?

I love technology. It's kind of a hobby of mine. I don't always have the latest and greatest, but I do keep up with things. I've been thinking a lot about Facebook lately. I don't use it much to communicate, I use email. I don't post a lot of my own status updates, but I do occasionally share family videos. What I use it most for is for stocking old friends I have not seen in a long time.  Here are the things I like about Facebook.

1. It's an easy way to find old friends
2. Pictures (Seeing how kids have grown up, and how people my age have changed...or aged)
3. Everyone has it (With 400-500 million users I can find almost anyone)
4. I get to see daily snippets of people's lives.

There are some things, however, I do not like about Facebook.

1. The security is highly questionable (Instead of opting in to different sharing options most things are set to "share" as the default, and I have to opt out)
2. For many Facebook has replaced the personal blog
3. Facebook seems to be the new portal to the Internet (I can sign in to a lot of different websites with my Facebook login and they then track my surfing, personalizing advertisements just for me, none of which seems to match my interests)
4. No offense to those of you who play Farmville or Mafia Wars, but when I just want to look at status updates I have to sort through all kinds of achievements and needs of these farmers and gangsters. 
5. My biggest complaint is that I need to talk to more people.  I am an introvert and Facebook is not helping me practice my "Out of the house" skills. 

Again, I love technology. I just want to make sure, as in all things, I use Facebook with wisdom.  What are some things you like or dislike about Facebook?

I know, it's late!

Yesterday was Mother's day. I took a little time to reflect about my Mother and how she raised eight kids, taught them the gospel, to have a strong opinion (both a good and bad thing) and to care about each other. Those days growing up that seem just like yesterday are now long past.

Then I thought of my wife, raising our two kids to be loyal to our church and to God. They know just where to go for love and a little sympathy. They are growing so fast.

I see my daughter, her natural mothering instincts, taking care of her stuffed animals and books. She truly amazes me and I can't wait to see the woman she will grow up to be, but I gladly will.

The cycles of life happen fast. Each day I realize more and more that I need to stop, look, and enjoy each minute. I love the stage I am in, but I am afraid it will end too soon.