Well. I haven't posted in a while. It is tempting to think I could get regular about my posting on this blog, but as history has a tendency to repeat itself, I am once again posting after a several month absence. July was my last post I believe.
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| Dallin did the Elementary Triathlon! |
I don't have any specific topic that I wanted to post about today, though several things have gone through my mind. I hope that my posts are of service to people in some way. I seemed to be hardwired for thinking about gospel application. I think often of what people may be going through, people I know well, and others who may be just acquaintances that have touched me through their trials or accomplishments. For all these things answers are to be found by looking to God. That may sound overly optimistic to some, but I still believe it. He may not answer or solve our problems as we see fit, but He will teach us from them as we are willing.
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| Fishing on Labor Day. Nobody caught anything. Again. ;) |
That's not really what I was going to talk about today, but I thought I'd throw it in since I can't seem to resist!
I really just wanted to recap the last few months. This probably won't be too exciting for too many people, but documenting my life and my family's is very important to me and hopefully to my wife and children. For some reason family histories written by my relatives are always so fascinating. Perhaps because I hope that part of me is as good as they were and are.
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| Don't mess with these gals. |
Since July we have had a pretty nice life. Not everything has been roses and candy canes, but we have grown well and been blessed. Parker has reminded us what it is like to have a new baby. It is tough. It is also such a joy. He is beyond cute (I am definitely biased). Perhaps that cuteness has to do with him being our child, but that's the wonder and miracle of it. He is our child. Not just him though, we also have Dallin and Allison, and as frustrating as things can be raising children, they are such a blessing. They offer comfort on days we are down, joy as we watch them grow and develop, and yes, frustration when things don't go exactly as Jenna and I have planned.
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| First day of pre-school for Allison. |
But, as I said earlier, things haven't been exactly easy. Jenna has endured quite a bit of over-tiredness with the baby. Let's face it. With Parker she has the magic touch. I just seem to agitate him more when he reaches a certain point! Most of the time he is all smiles and cute baby noises. But there have been a few extreme situations where we felt insanity was creeping up a little more quickly than it had any right to!
Thankfully as a teacher my schedule is such that I can be of assistance to Jenna. That is what I wanted when I was going through college. To have a job where I would be with my family. Not only that, but I have a job that I love. How do you beat that? I have to give credit to the Lord for that. As a college kid I had no actual idea what I wanted to be until it came down to prayer and what I consider to be a divine answer. It has worked out pretty divinely so far.
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Dalln's grandma came to hang out at school!
Can you see the resemblance?! |
With school in mind, my class this year is wonderful. My class last year was also wonderful, but they were also very difficult. That is possible, I promise. The chemistry of last year's class was such that there was a lot of contention. It didn't help that I was working on and through my internships. It also didn't help that Parker decided to come THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL. Talk about timing.
It all worked out. Though I am left with a small amount of guilt because I feel like I could have been a better teacher to last year's students. They are such cute kids.
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| That's Bubba Joe! |
This year, thankfully, things are more calm. No internships to worry about. The baby is here. I can concentrate. I also have some pretty nice students and an almost too good to be true setup with a very small group. I am grateful for the break. We have also been able to do some really fun things: A friend's wedding in Cedar which turned out to be a wonderful reunion with some very old friends that, quite frankly, I didn't realize how much I miss! Traveling to Cedar and St. George OFTEN for family activities or to just get away. Picking up running again (I didn't realize I'd actually like it...), playing some video games (What did you expect?), and a great trip to the temple for a wedding last weekend of a family I hometeach who is wonderful and such a great example to me.
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| Lucky Dad. |
So. We are doing well. Dallin is in first grade now and is doing an excellent job. We are always proud of his intellectual abilities. He does very well. I give a lot of credit for that to Jenna who spends countless hours reading with him and helping him. I try to do the same, but let's face it, Jenna does better than me in that area. Allison is dancing again. She is a natural. I picked her up yesterday, she made sure her legs were bent properly and that her toes were pointed. She is also doing preschool this year and we are pleased to see her progress. She is wired differently than Dallin, but I believe she will be successful in school also. It is hard not to be a proud parent as any parent who invests in their children knows.
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| Jenna dressed up as Belle for a birthday party. |
Jenna is doing well also. She has some rough days with a baby, it consumes much of her energy, but she is getting back around to being busy and active. I am sure before long we'll be back to many more parties! I just love her. I don't think I could be more proud of my wife and grateful for all the things she does. It doesn't get much better than Jenna and I realize that. Are we perfect, no. But we do well. We do well because we work together on things. We read scriptures together and we pray together. We do well because we try to involved the Lord and he helps us through our weakness. Not many instant fixes, but He does send help as needed...and it is needed at times.
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| Lucky Man! |
That's about it for us. I wanted to end with a little testimony. It is for my sake and my children's that I do this. I want them to be sure what I believe and know through my experiences. This knowledge I have of God and Jesus, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, a life after this one, and any principal of the gospel that I have a real testimony of came through prayer, study, trying, lots of tears, confirmations of the spirit, dreams, feelings, and a commitment to the Lord that I hope will never fade. I have weaknesses, but we are told in Ether 12: 27:
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. I believe it. I have felt it. I am sure I will feel it again. The greatest gift I know of from God is the assurances that come that everything will be okay in the end. It will be okay and we can trust that. The world may crumble. OUR world may crumble, but there is always a bright light ahead leading forward. I know it. Even when things are dark for me, I just can't give up hope, because in my mind's eye I see a light, and that light is for us.
