Family Letter!

Dear Family,
Don't you think my title is So orginial! We have spent the Spring Break, just doing what "spring break" indicates: working around the house and yard.
Mike and Mandy drove in this morning at 5 am. They have come for a quick wedding of Mike's old time friend: Ryan Hunter. Mandy has got up and is off doing the hair for the wedding party after just three hours of sleep. (Poor Girl!) Mike is up too after 4 1/2 hours. He says lets go shopping, hang out: sounds like he has the right idea for a quick vacation. The wedding will be later on in the day 5pm so plenty of time for play.We will have a chance to have Kevins fiance get to know us this afternoon too, as she will be with Mike and Mandy for the wedding. Most of the group of boys that Mike grew up with will be at the wedding and then come here to visit later in the evening. Kevin is away at boot camp right now.

In the mean time today, our Ward is involved with March Madness over at Mt. Hood Community College... playing basketball all day against the various YSA Wards in this region. We have our honor to protect, since we took first place last year. This year it could be all different, since the Ward changes ever 4 months and those playing last year are almost completely different! Cathy and Patti enjoyed a quick catch up for a minute at the game and then Cathy got to go with the Sister Missionaries to give a discussion in Sandy before heading back for the wedding.
We got a load of garden soil from Estacada Nursery yesterday (funny their price is cheaper than the local nurseries, and even with the delivery it was better to go with JP's old home town!). Now we have never been great gardeners, so hope for the best for our new raised garden. Any suggestions on what you want fresh out of the garden?
We got to spend a day at Mom and Dad's, Thursday. We did some spring cleaning over there and went out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner with them. Thanks Mom and Dad! That was fun, of course no one ever over eats when they go there. Ha- ha

Friday afternoon we drove to Stevenson, about 30 miles up the gorge, to help with a Family Fair that a friend from the ward and her mom put on at the fairgrounds there. We volunteered last year too and it is a lot of fun. This year they had a talent show as part of the entertainment and one of our Young Adults, Brantley sang a number of songs for it. He has an incredible voice and has alot of songs that he has written himself. He reminds me of Michael McLean alot. We enjoyed his songs so much that we almost...I repeat....almost got up and did the swing to one of his songs! Most of the night we were taking care of the cheesecakes ect..needless to say.it was a fun night.

Hope your Spring Break was as good as ours!
Love,
Dad

Nates Special Day!

Nates Special Day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE! Nate came to Grandpa and Grandmas house today to buy his birthday present. His Birthday was actually a few days ago but today we are celebrating together today. First we went to the video game store and Nate looked everything over and decided on a DS game...Kung Foo Panda and then we hit Mc Donalds for a Happy Meal which we expecially requested a spiderman toy...but to our dismay we ended up with an
American Idol headset that plays music...an okay toy. And then we went to the bank to get more money and then out to Walmart to get a Wilson baseball mitt...an A200 and then an alien out of the gumball machines. What a day. Nate liked everything about the shopping trip. He thinks the middle picture is the best. Now we are going hme to watch Bolt with his brothers and sister. We had a great time. When his mommy was a little girl her grandma and grandpa used to take her shopping by herself on her birthday too....a fun tradition. Hopefully we will be able to spend some one on one time with all our grandkids this year...

Wonderful Busy Week

Dear Family,

This first pictures has to do with Scott and Evelyn who were playing before the family Blessing of Coleman Paker. We were excited to witness the blessing.

The next couple of pictures are from the blessing of Coleman Paker. Four generations of hands. Now that is impressive.

Another picture of the blessings with 4 generations again!

The last picture is the breakfast before leaving on a meeting with Elder Brinkerhoff at the Oregon City Stake Center. What a meeting that was! President Dykes of the Oregon Portland Mission was ther too. We left that meeting with a clear vision of the missionary work in each ward and direction for the coming weeks. From that meeting two Saturdays ago, we have been going forward looking to our Easter Sunday. That will be a great day for our Ward. I spoke today in Sacrament Meeting rolling out the plan for "Invite a friend". It will be a great occurence !

Jennifer and gang arrived on Friday and stayed the evening till Sunay morning.

Yesterday was a good day. Our Ward met at Skate World (for your information was the first date where Jake and Cindy held hands after his mission) to have a 2 hour session with only our Ward members for skating, pizza and birthday cake for Sister Gibbs. Happy Birthday Sister Gibbs!

As a family, we all gather at 6:00 pm at the Institute to have the blessing for Coleman Parker Richards. We got some cute shots of Coleman with male members, hands and gathering at the blessings. We were grateful for all family members and friends that came.

Another pictures shows Grandpa. He sure enjoyed his time with Chase Richards. Chase kept on turning off the music grandpa was plays and would laugh and laugh. That kept us rolling with laughter. Sunday Jennifer and the gang went out to Church in Estacada and then spent the evening with JP's parents. They will be going to the coast for Spring Break. We plan on staying around home front and doing so jobs here at home. We will be going out with Scott and Donna and mom and dad for dinner on this coming Thursday. That should be fun!

What do you have plannned for Spring Break?

I know that Guy has us all "hands down" with his vacation in Florida. They blessed Tyler this Sunday in one of the local Bishop Offices. They will be visiting Sea World and Disney Animal World and lots more. Love to see you Spring Break Blogs!

Blog on!

Love,

Dad

Getting zzzzz's

So its 2:20 am and I just got off the new.familysearch site. I have been on it trying to get things cleaned up for the last couple of hours. Earlier tonight I talked with Maria about a book that I picked up on the exchange rack at the library. Its called The Ruins....yup, I had also just gone to the redbox and seen that it has been made into a movie...an R rated movie at that. I was about half of the way into the book and so far hadnt encountered anything that was R rated it just seemed like a silly sy fi book to me....and I had glanced at the ending to see if the people made it off of the hill and it appeared that they had....so I decided to skim the rest of the book...I hate to leave a book in the middle...anyways, it took me about an hour or so to skim through the rest of it and then an hour of laying in bed listening to daddy snore, wishing that I hadnt. I was wrong about my assumptions from reading the last couple of pages....the whole group of kids got wiped out on this hill by carviverous vines....okay...sounds dorky but even skimming and not really reading the whole content was enough to give me the eby jebbies...it reminded me of when I was a kid...probably 4th grade and we were at a girls slumber party and someone told me about a girl who got an ant up her nose and it made this big bumb that she eventually poked at with her fork and a ton of ants came out! Yup, I remember it to this day! I dont think this book hit me quite that hard because there was stuff in it that was inconsistant and that bugs me when i can find obvious flaws in the writers stuff....but enough that I wished I hadnt pursuded it. The thought of vines growing inside someone is gross...now if it had been tapeworms or something then I would have been having nightmares! Why do we do stuff like that to ourselves? Even knowing...I should have just put it down and then I would not be up at this rediculous hour telling you all how stupid I am. Oh well, some good came out of it. Instead of laying there in bed listening to daddy snore, I decided to get up and do something productive cause you can bet you lucky stars that I am gonna be sleeping in tomorrow morning. Daddy will get up in 3 hours to start his day and with my luck...I will just be finally settling in. Theres some advantages to this getting old stuff after all! This whole thing reminds me of the saying from the old FHE movies about the snake that the kid picked up and carried up the mountain with him and then it bit him...well, ...."You knew what I was when You picked me up" ... Sweet dreams!

Geneology...I am doing it!

A few nights before we left for Texas I was up all night thinking about my geneology. I joke with other people who do geneology about similar times in their lives...we call it when our dead people are bugging us and wont let us sleep. It usually only occurs when I am not making headway or have stopped doing the work. I havent submitted any new names to the temple since about October of last year. I knew they were changing the temple ready portion of the process and hurriedly submitted enough names before the change to keep us rolling for a few months. Those names were almost complete and I had a couple of babies come, a wedding, thanksgiving and Christmas to keep me sidetracked during that time. But now all of that has settled down, and I was being told....get back to work. I had no idea where to start, but with a YSA baptism coming in two days, I knew I needed to just jump in and get some names ready. I worked on submitting some names from a file that I already had. Had to go to the gen library for training on how to submit under the new program and then get the names typed in and searched through the data bases to clear. It has been a 10 hour job for the last two days! I have learned a ton about the new.familysearch program. Its amazing! At first I was complaining to myself that it was harder than the old process...but not really once I got into it. Actually it checks and double checks for duplicates through ALL of the old programs in the past that the church has. I was amazed that out of 350 names I only ended up with about 100 that actually needed work done! I also found out that that one particular line...I can send the work to someone else who is more directly related than I am to do the work! I was super excited about that cause that leaves me clear to return to my own more pressing people here in the USA in more recent years. I am going to try to show the connections between all of them. Kenneth Mosman , the author of the books above, was an amazing geneologist. He was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, but he was driven by the spirit of Elijah and gathered all the names of the Mossman families he could find anywhere. My mom, Betty Mossman, contributed to a couple of his books and corresponded with him a ton. It amazes me what they accomplished without the help of computers. All of that was done by post! What I am hoping to do is to tie the families together because I do have a computer to help me. My mom worked her whole life on this line...and after her death we found the missing info and link...one that took us back to 1600 in Germany. Theres about a 50 year gap between them and the Scotland group. I would love to find that link! I am sure that my parents are helping prod the work along on the other side as we work together to accomplish this. Guy helped me get a new laptop while I was in Texas that should be here soon. I am up and running again....at least I will be if they let me sleep! Anyone out there that would like to help search, just let me know and I will divy out areas and jobs!

What a wonderful week

We had the most wonderful weekend visiting with Guy and Allison. I had no idea that the Dallas area was so huge. I was somehow thinking it was the size of Boise or something in my head. When we were flying in and I could see all of it, my first thoughts were of my poor kids coming here all alone and trying to figure it all out and settle in. My next thought was, Well, they did alright, didnt they. In that moment Guy went from being a young man in my eyes...to being who he is. Sweetheart, dad and son...a grown man. I have to confess I shed a little moment of tears over that thought, as each mom does when she realizes that her job of raising is over. But the weekend that followed was filled with wonder and awe at what Guy and Allison have done and become. Their home was organized and beautiful and filled with love and hugs and teasing. It was also filled with discipline and learning. I had to laugh a little when Guy took us to that airport on upon leaving and he was still listening to Scripture Scouts on the way! I was so proud of them all and thankful once again that Guy has found Allision. Whenever I hear that line from Jerry Mcquire that says "you complete me" I think of these two. I also was impressed at how Guy pitched in and did the cooking and picking up. He said he didnt remember ever doing a dish when he was a kid....that shows how soon we forget the past. Its true as a teen I never made him do them. By then his jobs were mainly around the outside of the house, and trying to play sports and get okay grades...mostly I tried to make sure he got a few hours of sleep and vitamins during those years...but as a child, believe me, they all did dishes and cleaned bathrooms! Mostly for points on their Dads workcharts!..but somehow it seems to have transfered into adulthood. Its the seeing the results of all those FHEs and time spent trying to teach them ,that never seemed worth the effort at the time...that testifies to me that the principles of living the Gospel in every way is the right way to happiness. We were talking about how hard it is to go to church with the kids at the age they are...of the countless hours out in the halls and meetings where you didnt get a word of what the speaker was saying. It would be easier to stay home...but the pattern needs to be developed and ingrain inside of their souls. Once its there, we are promised, that even if they roam, they will return. I know this to be true. Its just fun to see them figuring out and following in the same paths that makes it all rewarding at the end. Guy and I had a wonderful time getting to know the grandkids. Grandpa spent a ton of time playing with Brayden and his toys. They also build numerous forts out of blankets. After they were sufficiently hidden, daddy would come and be the giant and find Brayden and tickle him till he got kisses. I spend the sweetest hours in the evening holding Tyler on my chest and reading. I love it when they are small enough to curl up and rest on you like that! This was the first time I have left Portland that I wasnt excited to get back. We miss them a ton.

So I downloaded two of the same picture by mistake...any ideas on how to remove one of them? I tried the edit posts but couldnt see any way to remove it...

Computer Labtop Experts!

Computer Labtop Experts!

Dear Labtop Experts!

Mom is ready to buy a new labtop computer. What are all the bells and whistles we are suppose to have? Does anyone know of some good buys out there? Melissa, Maria, Kyle, Justin?

Let us know of your musts and where the sites on computer to get them.

Family Letter!

Dear Family,
This week has gone just as fast as ever! We were in the Temple , yesterday, with one of our most recent endowed members. What a beautiful expereince. I had one interview before we went to the Temple. Mom came in between her Stake RS Activity. They had a whole day of activities of which I took her from. Thanks, Mom for being with me all day! We miss the good old days of serving in the temple, getting up at 5 am and staying till noon. The Temple just opened again after cleaning the last 3 weeks. We are always glad when it opens again. Are you making use of the Temple? What a quiet and serene place to visit for heavenly glimpes and moments of inspriation. The temple will lift you to higher ground. Go as often as you can!
This Sunday we have had a beautiful day of testimony and lessons. Mom taught the Gospel Principles Class, since we did not have a teacher show up. You know she always does a great job, even if she was given a moment's notice. Tonight we will go to a CES Fireside with Robert Hales an Apostle of the Lord speaking. There was a message of how to rise to higher ground. #1 Couple need to know that marriage is forever. #2 Know the doctrine and importance of the temple covenants, then go there often. #3 Choose the spiritual/eternal over the temporal blessings. #4. Once you have found you eternal mate, no need to look anymore! #5. Avoid contention- better to let off a little steam before the whole pressure cooker explodes. Work on a change of heart, work on improving your relationships, learn to apologize. #6 Live within your means, use a budget. #7 If you have the spirit of the Holy Ghost, it will never take you off higher ground. #8 Study and pray. Scriptures remind us who we are.
Then, I got to talk to Kevin Arnell's Branch President after church today reporting he went to church his first week in boot camp. We are proud of Kevin right now for the choices he is making in his life. I guess his Branch President told the recruits today at church that it is a good thing to become active while you are serving, it will make you a better military man. He is a vetern Marine himself and seems to have the respect and honor of the recruits. They have a very high missionary rate because those serving bring their non-member friends to the Branch, baptizing 5-6 per month!
We are excited this week to leave Thursday to see our #18th Grandson, Tyler Keith Hill. We will return the following Monday. Stay tune for that adventure next week. Braydon loves to play so I am sure we will have some tales to tell.
Grandpa Hill is doing fine. I get to see him about 2 or 3 times a week. After reading this month's message from President Monson; I, too, want to pay tribute to my Dad.
Over my life, I don't think I could find a finer person to model my life after. He has always been there when I needed a blessing, haircut, advice, guidance, saving bonds, example or help. He has set the finest example a son could ever ask for. I know he has always had the best interest of his family in mind, or anyone for that matter. He is patient, prudent, faithful, loving, kind and follows the advise he gives to all he has married (DC 121:41-42).
When I was young, I always thought I would like to be just like my dad. Now that I am older, that statement couldn't be truer. When I remember those many years ago when he started back into activity , I think he realized when he took us back to church as a family, that the one who needed the church most was himself. And use the church , he surely has. Thanks again for that, Dad! I don't think I have ever seen a member take more serious his calling, both great and small; even his home teaching is just as important as anything else he does. I could learn a lesson or two from that. ... Especially at the end of the month when I am rushing to get all my visits done!
I remember him telling me once," I have so much time to make up for those inactive years of my life." To this day, he pay a little extra in his tithing just to make square those lost moments. He has served as Young Men's Secretary, Stake Missionary, Stake Mission President, High Councilor, Bishop, Stake President's Counselor, Temple Sealer, and Stake Patriarch and more. But more important than all this, is his sacred role as a Father. It is with great respect that I mention those words and only wish I could do half as well. I truly hope that we all will be one great eternal family in the heavens to come. I love you so much, Dad! Thanks for all you do for our family.
Love,
Dad