Calling in Church

In July of this year I was called to be the new Young Men's President in our ward. I still remember the influence my previous YM leaders had on my life. Hopefully I can be the same kind of example and influence for these boys.

Since being called we have had some great experiences in the quorum. One of the most memorable was a trip we took to the Peppersauce (Oracle) Caves. We got there Friday night and camped. When we went the next morning we took all the boys into the cave (there was about 30). Exploring the caves for a couple of hours we eventually all ended up in the back corner of the caves into a room that contained a book to sign our names to. Once there we held a testimony meeting. They way we did it was each boy would turn on their light when they shared their testimony. Many of them would come up with analogies I had not even thought of. For instance they would talk about how the light of others helped them along their path - and that is like choosing good friends. Others talked about how the flashlight was like the light of Christ in a dark world. It was just real neat to hear their words. Once finished there - we turned off all our lights and sang "Called to Serve" and as we sang each of us turned on our lights one by one, until this once pitch black room was completely filled with light. It was a very touching experience. I was most happy when we all made it out - and not one person had an injury to report. We all made it back safely with an experience we will always remember.

Since that day we have had many other great experiences with the boys. But something that I have really taken notice of is the feelings, impressions, ideas, and inspiration that I have received while in the calling. I know that they always say when you receive a calling, you are than entitled to receive inspiration for that calling - but I have never really experienced it - until now. It seems like almost every day I think about my calling - and receive inspiration of some kind to possibly make the program better for the boys. It really is a neat feeling to have.

I have also been super blessed to work with our new bishop - Bishop Larry Gordon. In our short time working together, he has become a great friend. I really love him dearly for everything he does for our ward - and the way he expresses his love and care for my family. He is a great man.

I promise to post more experiences from working with the Young Men as I begin posting more often in this blog. Love my calling!

Hale Family Reunion

Last night we went to a Hale Family Reunion in Gilbert, Az. It was a lot of fun meeting the Hale Family which is pretty large here in the Mesa/Tempe/Phoenix area. They had an incredible Mexican food meal, followed by a talent show (a lot of great musicians in the family), a game of Family Jeopardy, and than a video of pictures. They also had a theater set apart for the children to watch the movie Ratatouille - which made it fun for them as well.

The highlight had to be Ethan, Ammon, and Elise singing "I am a child of God" in front of the entire family. They did a great job!

Hopefully we'll be able to do these reunions more often. It is always so much fun getting to catch up with family - and for that matter even meet them for the first time. I know for sure I recognized some faces there -not knowing previously they were family.

Glad we had the chance to attend.

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving was of course tremendous. Shirley and I hosted the party for our family here in Arizona. I am usually not a big fan of turkey, but the one Shirley made was incredibly delicious! It was juicy, nicely done, and the taste was not the bland turkey that I am use to eating every year - the 40lbs she cooked (2 / 20lb) were marinated and basted with a sauce that gave the turkey tons of flavor.

Everything else on the table was also incredible. Matt and his family from Oregon came in town to celebrate with us - Chris and his girlfriend Sherry came, as well as Mom, Larry, Eric and Ryan. Later in the day Kim, Linda and their sons also came by for a visit.

The morning of Thanksgiving I went and played Turkey Bowl with a group of guys from our ward. It was a ton of fun. I have been feeling very sore since that morning, and have battle scars (bruised knees, and ribs, huge blister on the heel, and a sore back) but it is all worth the great time. We all decided we need to do it a lot more than just Thanksgiving day, and so I hope that pans out.

It sure is a great time of year to remember all the great blessings that my family and I have received. We are thankful for so many things in our life - but mostly our Family! Without our family, life would be pretty drab. Shirley and I both have been blessed with such great families here on earth - and now we get the chance to also raise our own. I believe out of all the blessings in life - being able to raise your own family is by far the one I am most thankful for.



Happy Thanksgiving 2007!

Elin the Dancing Machine

Elin has this funny habit that whenever she hears music, she immediately starts dancing. She loves to dance! So tonight while I was laying on the couch watching a football game, I decided to occassionally put the TV on a music channel to see how Elin reacts. Of course each time I turned it to a music channel, she would immediately start dancing.

So here is a mix, set to some background music of these various moments of Elin dancing. I did not do any special editing - but it sure is funny to see this little girls desire to dance... It is a little slow at parts - but still fun..



Too funny!

After Thanksgiving Video

So Thanksgiving was great this year. We hosted the party at our house and had a great time. Here is a video of the girls after the party. You can tell it wore us all out.

After Thanksgiving Video of the Girls

Enjoy the video clip by clicking on the link above.

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