I'm Back....

When my dad got sick I basically turned my blog into an update center for what was going on and I didn't really want to add other posts to it for some reason. After he passed away I just felt way behind and got away from doing any blogging. Well, I've decided just to start from now and give blogging another try. So, I will give everyone a quick update for our family.

Treyson is 4 and now in pre-school or I should say was in pre-school. His teacher recently quit on us so I guess for the next few months it will be up to me to make sure he keeps up on what he was learning. He knows most of his letters and is getting pretty good at counting. He is super creative and is still very much in love with trains. He is so sweet and makes all of us laugh.

Addison is 7 and in the 2nd grade. She super smart and at the top of her class. The benchmark for her grade in reading is 75 words per min and she is at 125 words per min and she is very good at comprehending what she reads. She is continually impressing us! She is our little artist and is also very creative. She is a big help in getting things done at home and I don't know how I would get by without her help. Although she is definitely growing up and taking on an attitude!

Michelle is now mostly a stay at home mom, but is still working a few hours a week at the bridal shop. She is in the process of training for the Utah Valley Half Marathon on June 11th, 2011. It's been a tough road trying to get there, but she is finally making some good improvements and is currently running about 6 miles. So there is still a ways to go, but she is going to get there! Other than that, her life is pretty normal and boring, but she loves it!

Spencer is back working at his old job at Wilson Supply. He had been back there for about 6 months and is loving it (and so is Michelle lol). He is also continuing to work on his powerlifting and is always getting better. He has his next meet on March 26th, 2011 and is planning to kick butt! He is extremely dedicated. He gets up at 3 am on most days he trains and well as working a tiring job and helping take care of the family.

Life is going pretty good for us. We don't exactly love being in Vernal still, but it's alright. We've grown attatched in someways, but really hate the winters and hate being so far from his family. On the other hand it's nice being close to Michelle's family. There is not much else to say about us, but it lets you know a little about what's going on with us.

For those wondering about my wonderful mother, she is doing pretty well. It's still hard for her not having my dad here (as well as for the rest of us), but she is a tough woman and getting by. She has had a home built in St. George that is beautiful. She closed on it right before the new year. She is 2nd counselor in her stake relief society and works long hours at her job. So she keeps pretty busy between spending time with family, her responsibilities, and her at least monthly visits to her 2nd home in St. George.

So there ya have it! Here are a few pics from the past while.

Here is a quick description of the pics above. First part of winter when snow was exciting, Halloween 2010, Treyson's costume was homemade and we are very proud of it, First of the school year, my moms house in St. George (sorry that's all i really got), Some of Treyson's creations: Him in his thomas shirt, thomas built with blocks cause I took all his trains away (there was also a percy lol), and a snowman made with his train tracks, these are just a few of my favorites. He is always coming up with stuff like that! I am now a brunette! Although it's lightened up since the picture, and the last one was just one pic of our trip to cancun before my dad passed away.

That's all for now! I'll try to be better on updating from now on!

My Daddy

For those of you who don't know already, my dad passed away on Sunday May 30, 2010 after a difficult fight with pancreatic cancer. Sorry we weren't the best at keeping the blog up to date. Things were starting to go down hill for my dad and the chemo stopped working, the tumors started to grow even with the treatments. So in mid April the family all agreed it was time to stop the chemo treatments and just go on our family trip to Cancun, Mexico and just have a good time. My dad was tired on the trip, but was still able to enjoy it and do the 2 main things he wanted to do. He was able to go to Chichen Itza and Tulum and go snorkeling. We had a good trip and when we returned things got a little worse, but still not terrible. If his passing comes as a shock to you, believe me, it was also a shock to us. It came extremely quick, with in about 7 days actually. One day he seemed okay and the next he could barely walk, talk, and eat. This was actually a blessing though. He had a very rough last week and it was a relief to see him be freed from the suffering. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers.

New Blog For Gordon

I have created a new blog for my dad that we will be using to blog about his situation. Both him and I are authors on it, so you will be probably hearing from both of us on it. I did this so that my family blog won't get in the way of those who are just wondering about my dad. The blog address is www.gojoehler.blogspot.com and there is a link on the top right of my blog that will take you directly there. Thank you so much for all you love and support!

Words from Gordon

My dad made a comment on one of my posts, but I'm not sure if everyone looks at that part or not so I wanted to post it.

This is Gordon. I just read Michelle's blog. She's doing a great job. I really appreciate her efforts to keep it up to date. She's an awesome daughter and mother as well. The weekend was really tough. The chemo, dyes for the testing, and all of the traveling messed me up and I ended up in the emergency room. I'm doing great now. Thanks to everyone.

Another Update

If your anything like me and are anxiously awaiting any news at all, than it's probably been driving you crazy not knowing what's going on since my last blog update. Well, really we don't know very much more. Things got put off a little again, but my dad finally starts chemo tomorrow. We found out today that he is not going to be getting the extra dosage/experimental drug. He still will be part of the research, he will just be the part that doesn't get the drug. I'm not sure if this is good or bad and I don't fully understand it all. I know we have been praying that my dad will have to do the minimal suffering and with the experimental drug he would probably be lots sicker, but on the other hand it could have increased his life. Once again though, it's in the lords hands so he will be here as long as he is meant to be. I also haven't mentioned (because I wasn't told this til after my last blog) that his cancer is at a stage 4. That is the worst stage it could be at. Anytime it spreads from one organ to another it is considered stage 4. This past week my dad has been to two appointments, but we really haven't learned much more. They wanted to do another pet scan and some other types of scans, but I'm not really sure why. My dad says, "Just because they can!" Anyway, he has learned some useful information at these appointments as far as diet and exercise type stuff, but really nothing is new. Like I said, he starts chemo tomorrow (friday the 6th) and I will continue to keep everyone updated. If there isn't an update, it's not because I forgot, it's just because I don't really know anything new. Once again, thank you for all your prayers, love and support!

Nothing New Really

So not much has changed after seeing the new doc. They for sure have decided to continue going to Huntsmans, which I am happy about. The doctor wanted to get a hold of the bioptsy results before starting anything, so they have another appointment next week where they will hopefully get the chemo started since it will be almost 1 month since learning about the cancer. Also, they are considering trying an experimental drug, but that's about all the new info we've gotten so far.

PET Scan Results

We got the result from my dads PET Scan and the news wasn't what we had hoped for. It showed that there is a large tumor in his Pancreas. So, he technically has Pancreatic cancer that has spread to the liver. The doctor didn't say much about it except that the treatment and the outcome remains the same. My parents decided to put off the chemo until next week after they get a second opinion from Huntsman Cancer Institute, (which is on monday). Because of insurance coverage, all of my dads tests have to be done at Huntmans and while there they felt there was a better support system and just overall felt better there, which is why they decided to get a second opinion from them. Things will probably be the same, but if they feel better about Huntsmans, then I think they are better off going there even if results will be the same. All the info I have now is from internet research, so I will wait to go into more detail once the doctor has explained more about my dads individual situation.

Trials

Ok, so as many of you know, my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer almost 2 weeks ago. Cancer...what a scary word. It is all around us and probably everyone out there knows someone who has been affected by it or knows someone who is going through it or has gone through it. In this day and age you think there are cures and many ways to beat it through some long hard roads. Well, in my dads situation there is only 1 cure...a liver transplant. Also that cure is pretty rare because the cancer usually spreads before a liver becomes available. In some types of liver cancer there are more options but the type of cancer my dad has is pretty rare. He has over 20 tumors throughout his whole liver and they have no idea what caused it. Usually, liver cancer comes from somewhere, such as, the stomach, prostate, gallbladder, etc. From what they can tell right now, it is only in the liver and thats where it originated from. We will find out for sure later this week when he gets the results of his PET Scan. My dad starts chemo on friday and we're hoping that is will start shrinking the tumors and keep them from spreading. The type of chemo he will be on doesn't usually make people really sick or make them lose their hair, so we're really hoping it works good so he can have a good quality of life while he is on it. How long my dad has left depends on how well the chemo works and how long it works for. The guesstimated time frame is 6 to 18 months. But like I said, it's a guessing game. No one knows when my dads time is up except for God. It's that way for all of us. Some people with liver cancer have been told they have 6 months and they last 5 years (that's about the max). So really we just don't know. There is also still that small miracle of a liver transplant as long as the chemo keeps the cancer from spreading. It is in Gods hands. I love my dad so much and this is the hardest trial I have ever had to go through, but my faith will get me through it. Now more than ever I am so grateful for the knowlege of eternal families and life after death. I can't imagine going through this without my knowlegde of the gospel and without a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers. I don't want to lose my dad and I'm not ready to at all, but what I know and feel will get me through this. It will be a hard road no matter which way this goes, but I have an eternal family either way. This reality of how mortal we all are has helped me to realize how much more I need to do, how much better I need to be, so that I can have those blessings. My dad is the best dad in the world and I love him more than words can express and I would do anything for him. His faith and example has gotten me through some tough times in the past and I'm sure many more in the future. I will always cherish the time we do have left together as well as the time I have with others I love. Thank you all for you love and support during this time. All of your prayers are more appreciated than you know. It's helps to know how many people out there care.

Addi's 1st day of 1st Grade

Ok, so, I admit I have lost my passion for blogging. It takes so much time and I have very little of that these days, but I couldn't miss blogging about my baby starting 1st grade. Addison is so excited to be going back to school. She had a great first day and made lots of new friends already (which does not surprise me, she tends to make instant friends). She was nervous to go to a new school this year, but she already is adjusting. She wanted to hop on that bus and get there. Of course, I made her ride with me on her 1st day, especially since she hadn't been to her new school or met her new teacher yet. She allowed it yesterday, but today she HAD to ride the bus. The past two mornings she has woke up and got dressed for school all on her own. That won't last, but it's funny how excited she is. The picture's not the greatest cause I couldn't find my camera (don't worry I did later), so I had to use my phone and the picture's not very clear.

Anyway, I am working now (and more hrs. than I wanted to) so I am keeping very busy with family, work, running, etc. I'm working at a bridal shop and they are going to market the first part of Sept. plus they are having some family things they are needing to take care of, so I am working lots of hrs trying to learn the business because when they are gone, I will be on my own a lot. That doesn't give me a lot of time to learn everything, so I have to get the hrs in now. I'm catching on to things, but there is so much more to do than I ever would have thought. I enjoy it, but by the end of the day I am worn out. I am enjoying the early to bed, early to rise thing. I am feeling so much better between that, the exercise, and eating better. Plus I have a wonderful husband who is helping out so much at home. Spencer is still looking for work. We have had some crazy things going on with that but it is a LONG story that I don't want to try and explain, but we are hopeful that something good will turn out with it. The company he is trying to get on with is S-L-O-W with getting things done, but if he gets the position he is trying for it will be SO good for us. Better than what we had originally hoped for. I don't know what the lord has in store for us, but we KNOW things are the way they are for a reason and no matter what is going on, we have been SO blessed. Anyway, that's all I'm going to blog about for now cause I gotta get ready for work. I will hopefully get some pictures up from our chicago trip soon (Spencer's World Meet), now that its been a month, lol.

A GOAL WORTH RUNNING FOR!

You probably have figured out from the picture/banner what it is...or maybe you've heard since I haven't stopped talking about it for the past week, lol! That's right! I am going to run in the St. George Marathon, although it's still a long time away. I'm hoping to be ready to do it by Oct. 2010! That gives me about 15 months to prepare. Don't worry, I'm not trying to start big. I will start small and build up to the big 26 mile race! I'm planning to do my first 5K in Sept or Oct. I'm VERY excited about it! I haven't been training for long, but I already love it! Having a small goal in the near future has kept me very motivated and excited. I will keep building up until I feel prepared to do the St. George Marathon. That seems a little crazy from where I am right now, but I know with the dedication and time I can achieve it.

Finally, an update!

Ok, so it's been a while since I have done a post, mostly because I'm a slacker, but I am trying to get back into it. This is only going to be me rambling because I'm too tired to upload and edit the 300 pictures on my camera right now. I just figured I would update everyone on what is going on with us (at least what I can remember) and I'll work on adding pictures in the near future.

For starters I will let everyone know that Spencer was laid off 3 weeks ago. It's been kind of hard and scary, but we have been staying close to the lord and have had a lot of comfort from him. We were able to take off for 10 days and travel across the state to visit friends and family, as well as, look at options for us all over. We went to Lagoon with a bunch of Spencer's family, which was super fun and way good to see everybody and finally pick up our little Addison (who was in St. George for 2 weeks without us...that was tough!). Then we hung out in Salt Lake with our good friends Brandon and Valee for a few days looking around there for employment. We didn't really find much there that we felt good about so off we went to St. George. It was really good to spend some time with Spencer's parents and just enjoy being back home. We had one job offer there and planned on accepting it, but I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my gut and after talking with Spencer and praying lots and lots about it, we decided for the time being it wasn't going to work out. Both of us weren't very happy about that because we wanted nothing more than to move back down south. Oh well. The lord seems to have something else in mind for us. After much praying and deliberation we feel like we're supposed to stay where we are. We were strongly prompted to move into where we did and really feel that we are supposed to stay, so we feel confident that the lord will provide a way. If not, then we are not very good at listening to him! We have a hopeful job opportunity we'll find more out about tomorrow, but since we know nothing at this time I will just have to update everyone on that later.

Also, we had a little boy turn 3 on July 3rd. That's right, Treyson is 3! Can you believe it? I can't! Time had flown right by! I remember so clearly the first time I saw my sweet little boy and It feels like only days ago. I love seeing him get older and all that is he learning, but at the same time it's sad to see how quickly my baby is growing up. I just have to cherish every moment with him because next thing I know he'll be all grown up. Anyway, Treyson had a great birthday and was sad when it ended. I made him a yummy breakfast and we let him practically plan the day, which of course involved swimming at the rec center. Although his poor cousin Dallin (who is 7) had to leave within five minutes of arriving because he cracked his head open on one of the slides and had to get 5 stitches in his head. I felt so bad. His main concern though was he wanted to get back and go swimming, lol. He has blood gushing out of his head and all he can think about is swimming. Anyway, we did the usual stuff like presents, cake, ice cream, and spoiling Treyson since it was his day. I'll try and post some pictures of his day later.

I guess that's pretty much what has been going on with us the past month and a half. Spencer and I will be going to Chicago for the Amateur (meaning drug tested) World Powerlifting Congress meet in Aug. We're way excited about that. It's an amazing opportunity where only 3 lifters from each country, in each weight class are able to compete. He had to earn a spot in the meet during his last competition and has been working hard training for the event. He is planning on breaking some more world records when he is there (he broke a world record in bench at the national meet last April). Anyway we are way excited and have had a lot of donations from friends, family and a few businesses so that we can get there and I just want everyone who has helped contribute to helping us get there to know how much we apprecitate it. This is a huge opportunity and without the help of those contributing we would have to miss it, especially with Spencer out of work. So THANK YOU SO MUCH! There are two specific people I want to mention at this time and that is Spencer's mom Sue Ann and Darcy Powell. You two have helped so much to make this happen and you will never know how much it means to Spencer and I, so once again THANK YOU!

That complete's my ramblings for the night and I'm off to bed now. I'll try to be better at keeping things updated so I don't have to play catch up!

Our New Place

Ok, so I am finally getting around to posting some pictures of where we're now living. We've been here almost a month now, but things have been pretty busy, so I'm just now getting around to it. It's nothing fancy, but it's ours (for now) and we love being here. We have quite a bit of space (more than the pics portray) and I didn't take pics of the bathrooms, so sorry you don't get to see my toilets (I know you are all so disappointed about that one, lol). Anyway, for those who don't know, it is a basement apartment, so our front door is at the back of the house.

This is our living room

(with my new couches, which I love, and my new t.v., which I also love)

This way taken from our bedroom door and it shows the living room and kitchen and the hallway that leads to one of the bathrooms.

This is Addison's room

(she made her own bed, not me!)

This is Addison's reading area. The little dresser is full of books and she has been learning to read so, hence, the reading area.

This is Treyson's room

This is Mine and Spencer's room

It has changed a bit since the picture because I now have a weight rack at the foot of my bed which is quite large for those of you who haven't seen it. Surprisingly though, we still have more room in our bedroom than we ever have, so I guess I can deal with it. Yes, Spencer, it's because I love you!

And last, this is our backyard

Well, not really, but it's the view past my backyard. As many of you know, I love horses! What is even better is baby horses! So for now, I have a wonderful view which I smile at every time I walk out the door. Especially, when they are running around playing.

Anyway, that's the tour of my house many have been asking for. Maybe one day you can come for a visit.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I know mothers day isn't until tomorrow, but I will probably be busy with Mother's day plans, so I just wanted to wish all you wonderful mothers out there a

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Addison is 6!

Addison turned 6 years old on April 24th! I can't believe my baby girl is getting so big! I will start by telling you a quick story. I have been trying for 2 years to teach Addison to ride a 2 wheel bike. Well, she was too scared and the second she knew I would let go she would lean to one side and jump off the bike. She kept getting mad at me for letting go, but that's kind of the point, to ride on your own. Well, I told her if she would learn to ride a two wheeler I would buy her a bike for her birthday. She wanted one, but still wouldn't really let me help her so I quit and told her to have her dad help her. She didn't want that either. She tried over and over to teach herself, but didn't seem to be making progress. She would get excited and tell me that she did it, so I would watch and she would go a few inches and fall over. I just told her to keep at it. Well, on the Monday before her birthday she came and told me the same thing, so I went out to watch expecting the same thing. Well, I was wrong, she rode all the way across the drive way! I was shocked! She actually taught herself and 4 days before her birthday. After that, she just kept going and going.

So, now we are to Addison's birthday. I kept my promise to her. She got a new bike for her birthday. Before her bike was too little and now it's a little to big, but I couldn't find any in-between. She can still ride it, but it makes me a little nervous. She didn't even hesitate, she just jumped on and went. We told her she had one present to open when Spencer came home for lunch and when he got there she was so excited. We hurried and snuck the bike into the garage and told her we were going out to lunch first (she picked Pizza Hut). She was disappointed but when along with it anyway. I was waiting in the garage when her and Spencer came out and she saw her bike. She loved it! Watching her ride it about gave me a heart attach though. From now on she has to wear her helmet and pads to ride it.

That night we had most of my side of the family together and had poppyseed chicken for dinner and had cake and ice cream for dessert. She opened the rest of her presents and then the kids played and played til it was time to go home.

Hope you had a good birthday, Addi! We love you!

Ready, Set, FINISHED!!!!

So we have some great and exciting news to share! Treyson is finally a big boy! He is potty trained and wearing big boy undies! YAY! We had some tough times along the way, but we finally did it! I say "we" because for those who haven't done the potty training thing before, it takes a lot of effort on the parents side, as well as the childs. I'm sharing my story because I know how much I appreciated other's stories and advice when I needed it. When we first started, Treyson was getting the hang of things and I knew it would only be a short time til he had it down and lucky for mommy, he wanted to use the BIG potty, not the little one (saved mommy from having to clean it!). What mommy didn't plan on was the flu hitting us all. We didn't have to but, we called it quits for a while (mommy was too sick to care). Little did m0mmy know, trying to start over was going to prove to be quite difficult. Treyson just didn't want to anymore and no longer had any interest in the matter. After a while mommy decided, WE ARE DOING THIS! After a gruesome day of mess after mess it hit mommy we had a trip to Idaho in a few days so once again, we put it on hold. Finally, on monday (one week ago), mommy decided to give it another go, but approach things a little differently. Mommy took Treyson potty every 20-30 mins all day long! The same thing the next day although mommy still couldn't catch Treyson before he left a surprise in his undies. After the third accident (which happened while playing outside) mommy was already sick of it, but just didn't know what to do. While cleaning up the mess Treyson said, "Let's go back outside!" and it hit mommy like a ton of bricks and she knew EXACTLY the key to suceeding! What is Treysons favorite thing on the planet? Playing outside! So mommy said, "No, Treyson. When you poop your pants you don't get to play outside. If you want to play outside to have to poop in the potty." Treyson tried kicking and screaming, begging, sneaking out, anything he could try to get back out there. Mommy was tough though and didn't let Treyson go back out to play. On the third day mommy decided to go longer and see what happened and reminded Treyson if he pooped his pants he couldn't play outside so we went around an hour between brakes, but guess what? Treyson started telling mommy he had to go potty. BREAKTHROUGH!!! At least with #1. Mommy was still waiting to see what would happen with #2. Then FINALLY another BREAKTHROUGH!!! Treyson told mommy he had to go poop! Not only told mommy, but actually did it! Mommy was so relieved, but didn't want to count her chickens before they hatched. Well, mommy can now count her chickens! Treyson is still telling mommy when he has to go both #1 and #2 (or he just does it on his own sometimes too).

This is Treyson's potty chart. Some of it was from before when we tried potty training, but a lot of it is from this week as well. He got it all finished and we got to have a little success party. He loved the sticker chart and also getting one for himself to keep everytime he went potty.

Good job Treyson! We are all so proud of you!

AAPF NATIONALS 2009

Spencer qualified last October for and was able to attend the AAPF (Amateur American Powerlifting Federation) National meet in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Usually it's not so close to home, so that was pretty cool. He did so awesome. He weighed in at 148.8 lbs, which was the very highest he could possibly weigh in order to compete.

The first lift was the squat. This is usually Spencer's best lift and he planned on getting 600+ lbs. Well, in order to make weight he had to drop quite a few lbs in a few weeks in order to make that weight and during that time he lost quite a bit of strength. He still got his highest squat that he has ever gotten at a meet which was 545.6 lbs., but it wasn't quite what he'd trained for.

I was a little nervous for his bench because he didn't do as good as we had hoped on squat and his bench is usually his lift he sikes himself out on. Well, the day was full of suprises! He planned on getting around 330 lbs. for his bench, but he got all 3 lifts with such ease so he was able to go for a 4th attempt to get the world record in the AAPF for his weight class. He went for 355 lbs and got it! That was beyond exciting!

Spencer preparing to deadlift.
I liked this picture so I had to put it on.

After such an amazing bench, Spencer was so pumped up for his deadlift. He got all 3 attempts and ended up getting 501.5 lbs on his final deadlift. That's been a goal of his for around 5 years to hit 500 lbs. on his deadlift. Another huge accomplishment!

Look how excited he was to get that last deadlift!

It was such a great meet and full of excitement. One thing Spencer realized once we were back at the hotel was that he only needed 1 kilo more to tie the total (all 3 highest lifts add together) of the world record! Darn it! If he would have realized it at the meet he would have went higher so he could have broke that world record total. Oh well, Spencer qualifed for the AWPC World meet in Chicago (in August) and we are planning on attending if we can afford it, so he can break a few more records while we're there! That will be such an amazing experience for him. Only 3 people from each weight class and from each country is allowed to compete in the World Meet, so Spencer is 1 of 3 in the U.S. allowed to compete in this World meet. What a stud! I'm so pround of his dedication and determination. Love you Spencer!

I also wanted to tell Sue Ann, Grandma Oldroyd, Subrina (also thank you for all your wonderful pictures!), Kensi, Jessica, Debbie, Mike, Noel, Beth, Cody, and Zack for coming and supporting Spencer for this meet, THANK YOU!!! It meant so much to him!

Random pics from the meet

The kids at the meet

Playing at the park during the big break. They were excited to get out and run around!

SPLISHIN' & A SPLASHIN'

Of course we had to go swimming while we were staying in a hotel! We has a blast playing in the water and most of the time it was just us. Not much to say here so, hope you enjoy the pictures.

ZOO TIME FUN!!!

On our way back from Idaho, we decided to stop at Hogle Zoo and give the kids a chance to get out of the car and run around. We only had an hour to see everything before they closed so we went crazy fast and saw just about everything that there was to see. Treyson hadn't ever been to the zoo and Addi didn't really remember when she went so they were both so excited and loved every minute of it. Enjoy the pics.

Some of the animals we saw

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Playing @ the zoo
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There is one just one really quick story about our trip to the zoo that I would like to share....

...Meet Tino

See Tino sleep.

See Tino when Tino gets woke up. The End.

Told ya it was really quick! Ok, so that was the short version for those who don't like to read, but I can't just leave it at that. While we were at the zoo a bunch of the animals were sleeping, which was cute, but not as fun as when they are playing. We had already seen Tino, but on our way out we decided to see if he happened to wake up. Sadly, he hadn't. I tried knocking on the glass and he didn't budge. Although, at least with the human ear, you couldn't really hear it very well since the glass is so thick. Anyway, Subrina (my sister-in-law) started taking some pictures of him and the flashes made him start to twitch a bit. I got excited and went to try to knock again, but right when my hand was about to hit the glass, his arm went flying back and scared the heeby jeebies out of me. Subrina and I started laughing and the others came quickly to see what was going on. They got up close to the glass and Tino flung his arm back and smacked the window. The girls of course screamed and jumped back. Right then, Tino came flying up and got on all 4's and just glared at us. We were all laughing by then and Jessica (our cousin) put her face up close to the glass and Tino went flying up to the glass, which he was already pretty close to, and practially shoved his nose right up against the glass looking very, very angry. We were all still kind of laughing, but at that point we were expecting Tino to start beating on the glass to try and get out so he could kill us. Although it's not likely he could break the glass, it was still kind of scary, especially with my little babies in there. Anyway, we all kind of backed off and were looking at the orangatang when Tino decided to cool off and went to the gate to go outside, even though it was shut. My point is...Don't mess with Tino when he's sleeping!!

Picture For My Hair Color Survey

So I have this issue with never knowing what color I should dye my hair and I just went in and pretty much left it up to my stylist because I trust her a lot. Well, my hair was quite a bit darker than I expected and it was kind of a shock. I'm not sure what I think about it yet, but I want to know other peoples opinion. Spencer said he really likes it and it's probably his favorite color my hair has been. He has wanted me to go dark for a long time, but I always ignored him, so I guess he got his wish. Anyway, I added a poll that's on the right side of my blog, so be sure to take it!

Write Thy Name Upon My Heart

"...There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ...that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts."

Mosiah 5: 8, 12

Richard Paul Evans

I had the opportunity this past weekend to attend the Vernal Women's Regional Conference. Can I say, "WOW!" It was such an amazing experience. I wish that everyone could feel how I felt sitting there listening to messages and stories that I heard. Richard Paul Evans was the main speaker at this event. For those of you that don't know who he is, he wrote "The Christmas Box". He has written many other books and accomplished many other things in his life, but "The Christmas Box" is his most know work. I haven't read the book (although I now plan to), but I have seen the movie and I have read a couple of his other books. I knew he was a great writer, but I didn't know much else about him. There is really no way to repeat his messages and the spirit that came with them, so my best advice is, if you ever have to opportunity to listen to him speak, DO IT! He has so many stories to tell of his personal experiences along with a bit of humor. Not only that, he brought such a strong spirit to the room. I don't thing there was a dry eye in the room by the end of his talk. There is way too much of what I learned to try to put in here, but I wanted to share some of it.
The theme of the conference this year was "Write Thy Name Upon My Heart". The talks were centered around how we can write Christ's name upon our hearts. Richard had 5 main points that his talk revolved around. 1-We are all divine creatures. We are all entitled to divine inspiration if we stop and take the time to listen. 2-Learn to forgive. We cannot move forward if we cannot learn to forgive others, it will only hold us back. It's like the ancor of a ship. That ship is going somewhere, but if that ancor is holding the ship back, it will be stuck there until that ancor is released. 3-Success comes from failure. The more you fail, the more you succeed. We never learn more than from failure. Listen to the voice that tells you the possiblities and ignore the voice that says you will fail, so don't try. 4-Adversity is a required step in your path. Everyone goes through their own trials. We go through those trials to learn and to grow. Sometimes we may not understand why at the time, but in the end once we have overcome that trial, we are greatful for what we learned by having to go through it. 5-In the end it's all about love. Love is the most powerful thing on the earth. We love those whom we serve.

Along with those 5 main points, he had multiple examples and stories to tell. I wanted to pick my very favorite to share with you, but it really was quite hard because so many of them touched me. So I decided to tell the last story he told because he thought it important enough to share during his talk on friday then again on saturday. So here is my attempt at repeating the story. It went along with point #5. Richard and his family were living in Italy at the time and they decided to go swimming one day. His kids were playing in the pool and him and his wife both were a little distracted when they looked in the pool and noticed their daughter Abby (7) was holding on to her younger brother Micheal at the deep end of the pool and it was causing Micheal and her to both go under. They started yelling for Abby to let go of Micheal when the lifeguard jumped in to get to the kids and get them to safety. Once the children were safe and out of the pool they were talking to Abby to try and figure out why she wouldn't let go of Micheal when they learned to real story of what had happened. Micheal, who wasn't a very good swimmer and had to wear arm floaties, had jumped off the diving board with his arms pointed strait up into the air. When he hit the water one of his floaties came off of his arm completely and the other one was in a position that it was pushing him under the water. Abby, who could swim but was scared of the deep end was up in the shallow end playing when she saw what had happened to her brother. She jumped out of the pool and ran to the deep end, jumped in and went to her brother and was trying to push him up above the water. So what they saw as Abby pulling her brother under, was really Abby going under herself in an attempt to save her brother and keep him above the water. She was the only one who had seen what had happened. To him, this was Love in it's purest form.
I don't know if I told the story exactly right, but it was so touching to me. The way he told it gave the impression of how God is with us. We get ourselves into situations where we are "drowning" and through God's love we are "saved". Anyway, it was such a great experience for me I wanted to try to share some of it with others.

Write Thy Name Upon My Heart

Write thy name upon my heart,
Jesus, Savior of mankind,
Teach me charity unfailing,
Teach me compassion, Lord, like thine.
Endow my soul with loving kindness;
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance;
Write thy name upon my heart.

When battles rage, when storms arise,
Make me a messenger of peace.
Teach me faith to bid the tempest cease,
Endow my soul with loving kindness;
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance;
Write thy name upon my heart.

Grant me strength to serve thee well;
Light my spirit with they grace,
Til all my works reflect thy goodness,
Til all my labors sing thy praise.
Endow my soul with loving kindness;
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance;
Write thy name upon my heart.

-Sally DeFord