5/7/17 Michael and Abby and Emerald Acres

This morning, before Michael and Abby had to set off for their summer job adventure, we had time for one more small adventure with them. They wanted to go to a sacrament meeting but needed to get on the road as quickly as possible too. As it turns out Emerald Acres Ward "pretty much perpetually" meets at 9 am. So Heidi and I asked Rebecca and David to babysit while the four of us checked out the Emerald Acres Ward.
Some of the highlights of the Fast and Testimony meeting included several Primary aged kids who bore testimonies. Among them was a little girl with Down syndrome. She seems to have moved in recently and talked about how happy she has been to make so many new friends. A brother talked about a recent trip to Chicago. The "Sear's Tower" now has a glass overhang that allows adventure seekers to look straight down to street level 1300 feet below. For him it was difficult due to his fear of heights but he wanted to stretch and learn to master his fear. He compared it to opportunities Heavenly Father gives us to stretch and grow. It made me think of us and the many unknowns of buying a new house. I wonder if this talk was to help me.
After sacrament we met Bishop Snepf. He confirmed that this is the right ward for us. The family who was living in he house before us attended another Stake but due to a boundary change it is now part of Emerald Acres Ward. We met a couple of other friendly ward members but quickly it was time for our visitors to get on the road.
In our ward I was asked to assist Brother Fletcher with his Primary class. They are some good kids who could use some practice with being attentive. Still, I am grateful for the chance to serve.
Late this evening we got a text from Michael that he and Abby were safely to their destination. They both have jobs at Ponderosa Ranch near Zion National Park. He is doing catering. She is a tennis coach and all around activity guide. We pray that they will have a good experience and look forward to any future announcements that may be forthcoming ;)

5/6/17 Father Sons and Michael Michael

Yesterday afternoon I headed up towards Payson for the Ward Father and Sons camp out. David, TJ and Joseph were joined by Bradley in our van. Heidi's brother Matt met us up there with his son Alex. He also brought Anthony. In the picture above Alex and Joseph are exploring the creek near our camp site. Luckily no one got too wet. Just some soggy shoes.

David had fun helping to build the camp fire for the evening fireside. We commemorate the restoration of the Priesthood in May. This was a chance to reflect on the privilege we have of representing the Savior in His work.
The weather was relatively warm and the boys seemed to sleep well during the night. For breakfast the Elder's quorum presidency made pancakes with Brother Smith's signature buttermilk syrup. It was delicious as usual. After breakfast we packed up and came home.
We had a special reason to not stay and hang out. My nephew Michael (we sometimes call him Michael Michael) is down to visit with his friend Abby. It was our first time meeting her. She is very nice and gained an immediate friend in Sarah.

Among the activities of the day we stopped by and showed them the potential new casa, went to Costco for groceries and lunch, we stopped by Goodwill for some half priced clothes. In the above picture Rebecca is testing out the tree in the front yard for climb-ability. It appears to have passed the test. Michael and Abby joined Papa and Gram to watch BYU play for the national volleyball title (they came in 2nd this year). This evening the two came back and played board games with us. It has been a fun and busy day.

5/5/17 Patrick Bowen

Today we had an extra special trip to the Temple. We took 18 family names that needed Baptisms and confirmation. David and Becca B were baptized for 9 people each. Becca B was a trooper. This was only her second time and she seemed to have trouble plugging her nose each time. Still, she made it through bravely.
Among the people we did work for today was Patrick Bowen. He is Papa's grandmother's father. That makes him my great great grandfather. I did the baptizing and Papa did the confirmations. Gram even got to take a turn being a proxy for some confirmations. When Papa got to Patrick Bowen to confirm him he paused. It felt like a very special moment.
I am so grateful that we got to be there for this special trip to the Temple. What a blessing it is to serve.

5/4/17 May the Fourth Be With You

Today was a pretty good day. In the morning we helped Gram and Papa finalize some ideas about items needed for the new house. One thing I didn't mention yesterday was taking an Excel CPE class. I learn some new tricks that I got to use today. I was able to turn in some important deliverables for two clients and I made good progress on a third.
In the afternoon David stayed at school to see he Heritage Talent Show. I went to pick him up and got some good work done while I waited for the show to wrap up.
This evening Heidi went to Roundtable. It'll likely be her last as a member of this stake, provided things continue working out with the house. I played Chinese Checkers with Rebecca, Sarah and TJ. David worked on homework and Joseph napped. It feels good to have a productive day.

5/3/17 A Big Bed

Today, in the middle of what felt like a fairly busy day, we got a message from Papa. "Are we interested in a King sized bed from Aunt Cathrine and Uncle Marvin". At first the notion of driving to Prescott on short notice for an 8 year old bed didn't make total sense. Then we found out that the truck would be bringing the bed back to Tempe, only 25 minutes away. This was enough to make the deal worthwhile to Heidi. I wasn't completely convinced but was willing to give it a shot.

Here's a shot of Randy's truck that transported the bed.

Randy, and I think his son, helped stuff the large mattress and box springs into our van. This is yet another time we are grateful to be blessed with such a large vehicle. Once we got it home it appears to be in pretty good shape. We are grateful to Aunt Catherine and Uncle Marvin for being willing to share their blessings with us.

5/2/17 Temple and a Band Concert

This morning I got a special treat. Dad joined me to do a session at the Mesa Temple. We did endowments for George and his son-in-law Jay. They are family members researched my my Mother. It does feel more special when you know something about the person you are serving. It was good to be in the Temple.

This evening David had a concert for band. Sarah and Joseph were ill so I stayed home with everyone else but Rebecca.

David does love to make us laugh. Heidi reports that the band sounded great.

5/1/17 Notice or Not

Today was the day we were told we'd likely hear back on the appraisal. It's one of the last big hurdles to clearing financing on the hopeful new house. It's also the deadline for giving notice to our landlord that we're moving out to avoid paying June rent. We had hoped to wait to give notice until we were sure the house passed appraisal. Dad texted in the morning "No one here is losing sleep over the appraisal 😔" so we suspected they were feeling the suspense as well. Around 4 pm we found out that there was a miscommunication about the appointment and the appraisal got rescheduled for Saturday instead of Friday. I still didn't feel comfortable cancelling our rental without having a firm place to move into. Heidi felt that I needed more faith. She did at least call and get permission to email the notice until 11:59 pm. Finally, just after 5pm the appraisal came it right at sale price. There are still things that could go wrong but Heidi and I are taking a leap of faith. We turned in our notice. If all goes well we'll be living in a new house by the end of the month.
Also today Heidi helped Lauren with her homework. We had FHE about prayer.