tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79942367504612202782024-03-14T00:22:34.565-07:00Latter Day MusingsThoughts and Reflections Of A Latter Day SaintAbby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-49717826005315412752015-02-09T07:21:00.002-08:002020-06-16T13:16:46.951-07:00Tying My Wife's ShoesShe sat in her wheelchair, impatiently yet patiently waiting for me. <br />
<br />She knew I could only move so fast with her three children, a little one tugging at me and an older one having a fit about how she didn't want to look stupid at church with the wrong kinds of socks and crying about not being able to find any. The oldest groaned about getting up early, heaving those heavy sighs around the house indicating he wasn't happy to have to do this or anything.<br />
<br />
I let the complaints wash over me and enjoyed the little one tugging at me as I tended to my work. <br />
<br />
As I unlaced the shoes, her legs, that once had gone hiking with me, had taught me to dance, had gone for walks on the beach, now hung emaciated, blood pooling in her legs from lack of use, and immobile and essentially...useless. All they could be used for now really was to wear shoes, and that was just so they wouldn't get colder than they already were from not getting any use.<br />
<br />
Shoes.<br />
<br />She used to wear nice shoes. <br />
<br />
She used to love nice shoes.<br />
<br />
Now, shoes were just a matter of convenience really. A burden, really. She couldn't put them on herself much anymore except for her crocks and even then required help. They were just one more item in a long list of items that needed to be taken care of that she couldn't do herself anymore as she increasingly became helpless. As she watched me work with her shoes, she not only saw me prep to put them on her for her, she also saw the years rendering her entirely immobile, confining her to a bed, to watch her children come and go but not be able to share those experiences with them because she couldn't follow them or keep up with them anymore. <br />
<br />
If her back or even her legs itched? She couldn't scratch it anymore. Those days were gone as the disability ravaged her body from its own effects in combination with three child births. Now, even putting on shoes was its own exasperation. Those little things you take for granted, that you don't even think about, but will notice if they aren't done right such as the sock seam running under a toenail, or the tongue of the shoe not being properly positioned, the laces snugged just right...can't be done herself anymore. And nice shoes? She's down to two pairs of crocks and a pair of black Nike Jordan's with pink hearts on them, cute, but totally not the style she ever wore and just a matter of convenience. On the upside, shoes never need be replaced because she doesn't wear them out. The same pair, year after year after year. <br />
<br />And out of her love she didn't dare complain, she was just happy not to have been abandoned as happened to so many with her disease. Husbands who decided this was more of a burden than they could carry, served divorce papers, took the children, and placed them in nursing homes to atrophy and die.<br />
<br />
It isn't perfect but we figure it out, forgive, repent, apologize, press forward and try to make it the best we can. <br />
<br />
What lies ahead in the years to come, I don't know.<br />
<br />
Helpless doesn't even begin to describe how I feel as I have to do more and more just to make life functional. Becoming aware of how she likes her socks put on so that they don't drive her crazy, paying attention to tags that she can no longer fix that itch and drive her crazy, learning how to part her hair so she doesn't feel like a freak in public with that annoying part-gone-awry that drives so many of us nuts before we leave the house....<br />
<br />
How does it end? <br />
<br />
I don't know.<br />
<br />
Overwhelmed? Yeah. And starting a new career and raising three children while I have to leave her at home now and even leave her behind as I head across the state to start working a job to earn pay for us to move into a new place by my new work. The world rushes around me and yet I have no idea how I am going to make it work.<br />
<br />
Peoples' criticisms of me or even of her fall on deaf ears anymore for how hard we do or don't work at this or make it work. It is our own path that others haven't walked. Even if the path looks similar, we are different people carrying our own hidden burdens. We each have to walk our own path the best we can. <br />
<br />Walk a mile in someone elses' shoes? It isn't possible. It never will be. <br />
<br />
I don't have energy to try someone elses' shoes, or even to criticize their footwear. I got my own path to walk, with my wife rolling beside me with three children in tow, an uncertain path ahead of us that doesn't look too favorable. Whether you are grateful or not, or think your path is harder or easier....it doesn't matter, except I wish you well. I have to focus on the path ahead of us, and I don't have energy to do much else and hope that I don't slow others down from their important journeys in this world.<br />
<br />
For now, I focus on making the laces "just right" because she can't do it herself. I pull the tongue out and turn her socks so the seam doesn't bother her as her feet prepare to hang uselessly and untended for the rest of the day as the world and we march on our way while she sits in maddening discomfort that even medication can't fix most days for those little things she can't do herself anymore.<br />
<br />
Curse the disability? It doesn't do much good. I've tried. It is still there. I'm still here. We're still here. But not as much as we used to be. And yet more than we used to be as we become grateful for those small details we used to take for granted, thankful for them when we get to enjoy them. <br />
<br />
So I focus for now, just for a moment, and let the world go on its merry way because I have work to do and its more important than almost anything right now. I don't know how I'll do what else is going to come, and nothing else matters but for just this moment, I'm tying my wife's shoes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-88878997072809410422013-06-12T18:42:00.000-07:002020-06-16T13:16:19.932-07:00How To Go On A Family Outing<div class="post-header">
</div>
How To Plan And Execute (note use of word "execute") a Family Outing.<br />
<br />
Step: <br />
1 - do no planning whatsoever - make sure the trip is spontaneous to maximize the fun-potential and freedom<br />
<br />
2 - begin to sigh a breath of relief about how you feel free because you're spontaneous and going out with your family<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1xfFIGV2urg/TZVvlI8JwOI/AAAAAAAAEFI/81HDfODmrCo/s1600/sibling+fight.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1xfFIGV2urg/TZVvlI8JwOI/AAAAAAAAEFI/81HDfODmrCo/s320/sibling+fight.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my kids right here....actually this was today...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
3 - however plan to get up early on the day of the outing because going out late will not give you enough time to be fully free<br />
4 - in the spirit of being fully free - and spontaneous - stay up
wayyyyy too late so that getting up early isn't even a possibility<br />
<br />
5 - refuse to set an alarm because that's too stressful<br />
6 - oversleep<br />
7 - enjoy oversleeping<br />
8 - feel free and unstressed from oversleeping<br />
9 - slowly wake up<br />
10 - realize now you don't have all the time in the world you needed because you stayed up too late and overslept<br />
11 - begin to stress<br />
12 - continue to adhere to the plan of no plans and run around in
chaotic fashion barking at the kids because they aren't moving fast
enough<br />
13 - get into an argument with the wife about how nothing's where you
need it to be and the totally free and unplanned and spontaneous
mentality has cut into your ability to be totally free and unplanned and
spontaneous<br />
14 - wife bark at dad for getting on the kids<br />
15 - kids act oblivious and continue to run around like hellions<br />
16 - as an alternative to 15 - begin to cry<br />
17 - dad bark at kids for not being happy we're going on a family outing<br />
18 - husband and wife get mad at each other as they rush over each other
still maintaining the plan of no planning while trying to plan and
trying to have fun<br />
19 - kids go outside finally and make so much noise they aggravate the neighbors<br />
20 - dad open car and let kids in and shut doors so they can't be heard murdering each other<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZzYPrIVr5g/TZVwfGWFygI/AAAAAAAAEFQ/VqmcDhZZJAU/s1600/sticking+out+tongues.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZzYPrIVr5g/TZVwfGWFygI/AAAAAAAAEFQ/VqmcDhZZJAU/s320/sticking+out+tongues.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I WISH it was this quiet....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
21 - realize that even with the car doors shut and
through the inside of the house when it's finally quiet you CAN hear the
kids murdering each other in the car<br />
22 - continue to argue with wife until you get outside late for your unplanned and spontaneous free day<br />
23 - get wife in car so she can bark at kids<br />
24 - FINALLY - family about to hit the road!<br />
25 - dad forget something spontaneously unplanned and leave wife and kids in car to murder each other<br />
26 - dad check to see if he can hear family being murdered from inside shut car through house<br />
27 - decide don't want to hear it - take extra long taking one last
pee-break enjoying the silence and freedom of a spontaneously unplanned
day in the quiet of an empty house<br />
28 - get back to car in bad mood because everyone's fighting<br />
29 - remember forgot to say family prayer before leaving<br />
30 - pull it together just enough to be reverent enough for a family prayer<br />
31 - try to give a meaningful family prayer and ask for the family to get along<br />
32 - become irritated at kids for not being reverent during prayer and try to be reverent while becoming annoyed<br />
33 - immediately go back to barking at kids for not being reverent<br />
34 - mom try to make peace by telling dad to calm down<br />
35 - dad throw fuel on the fire by bringing up a past transgression of mom's when she didn't calm down<br />
36 - mom bring up bad habit of dad of never forgiving or forgetting<br />
37 - kids pay close attention to parents now and be quiet so they can listen to parents verbally sparring<br />
38 - dad disengage from family and stew in silence and decide to have a
happy free and spontaneous day while begrudgingly driving family out to
do their activity<br />
39 - kids fight now that it's quiet then family finally decide to calm down because family is on the road on way to fun outing<br />
40 - dad realize he forgot something really important at store<br />
41 - mom and dad argue about money and time lost going to store<br />
42 -go to store<br />
43 - dad feel peace while wife and kids locked in car murdering each
other over being bored and dad take too long shopping for a bunch of
things not even on the list<br />
44 - dad come out happy from shopping<br />
45 - mom glare at dad for taking too long<br />
46 - dad totally be a guy and play stupid that since he got a break from
the family while they murdered each other in the car they should all be
in a good mood<br />
47 - dad say something insensitive about family refusing to get along
and not respecting each other and realize forgot what he went in for<br />
48 - kids fuss so dad threatens to cancel trip<br />
49 - kids beg to go and immediately behave<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6Qd0BYFz_s/TZVvIf0TviI/AAAAAAAAEFA/U2vqyE1XHDQ/s1600/family+feud.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s6Qd0BYFz_s/TZVvIf0TviI/AAAAAAAAEFA/U2vqyE1XHDQ/s400/family+feud.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></div>
50
- mom plead with dad to continue hellish free spirited and unplanned
and spontaneous trip for the kids because they didn't get out at all
this week and they are driving her up a wall<br />
51 - carry out unplanned hellish free spirited and unplanned and spontaneous trip <br />
52 - kids occassionally start to murder each other in the back seat with increasing frequency while dad tries to ignore it<br />
53 - dad completely withdraw into himself<br />
54 - mom act happy looking out the window in an effort to cheer things up<br />
55 - dad turn up radio to drown out kids fighting<br />
56 - mom complain radio's too loud so dad withdraws back into self in silence<br />
57 - finish activity and have a meaninful time in some fashion and try to forget chaos<br />
58 - mom point out if it weren't for dad persevering family wouldn't have gotten out today<br />
59 - mom thank dad for hanging in there<br />
60 - dad realize this time really is precious and important<br />
61 - dad apologize to kids for barking at them and threatening them with physical harm<br />
63 - kids foolishly forgive dad and continue to wander within arms reach of spankings in the future<br />
64 - have family prayer thankful for the day<br />
65 - kids go to bed<br />
66 - realize it wasn't so bad after all<br />
67 - forget all the stupidity and fighting that went on all day<br />
68 - not feel completely de-stressed from day however<br />
69 - in the mood of the evening - talk about doing something else
totally free-spirited and unplanned and spontaneous to counter
not-yet-unstressedness<br />
70 - wait until family is too stressed out and needs another break<br />
71 - plan another totally free-spirited and unplanned and spontaneous activity<br />
72 - go back to step 1
Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-89840880842214306032013-06-12T16:13:00.000-07:002020-06-16T13:15:34.592-07:00Christmas Trains & Childhood Memories of PenniesDespite whatever regrets I may have about childhood, one thing my dad
was good at was being a kid. I never met either of my grandpas, but I
understand they were pretty good at it too. I'm talking about being
kids - not grown idiots that get arrested and set a bad example and act
like they are 13 - kids.<br />
<br />
Like having fun or doing the things a kid would want to do.<br />
<br />
So
for Christmas, dad wouldn't spend a bunch of money on the big gifts,
but would get me a bunch of small gifts - like dollar store gifts by the
boat-load with a few big ones mixed in. It was a great way of
stretching the dollar and maximizing Christmas. Things like "Flippy
subs" and "Jacobs ladders" as well as balsa airplanes were pretty
standard fare - and a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
But the one thing I
really wanted? An electric train set. I was fascinated with trains
since our trip to Canada back in 1980 when during the whole drive up and
back we saw trains that stretched for well over a mile. I suppose Oaks
Amusement Park having a mini-train that I rode on every year at the
Portland Police Picnic and just went round and round on contributed.
But a train set in the mind of a child isn't a toy. It's REAL. Just as
real as a real one. And I wanted one. My parents bought me lots of
little substitutes from that time to placate me but nothing would do but
a REAL train set. And I knew just the man who could get me one. <br />
<br />
So I went to see Santa.....<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPOaSae_99o/Tu2Kbp0UEcI/AAAAAAAAG24/Ova4NpE2NcM/s1600/steam+engine.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPOaSae_99o/Tu2Kbp0UEcI/AAAAAAAAG24/Ova4NpE2NcM/s320/steam+engine.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
And I told him what I wanted - an electric train set.....<br />
<br />
He said he'd see to it.... <br />
<br />
And Christmas came.....<br />
<br />
And Christmas went... <br />
<br />
And there was no train set.....<br />
<br />
Apparently Santa AND my parents didn't think I was big enough for one yet. I was maybe five or so.<br />
<br />
I
was pretty heart broken. I don't know how this Santa stuff works, but
he HAD to know I wanted one and would be responsible with it. More than
that kid and his Red Ryder BB Gun on TV anyways, though this was before
he came around....I thought Santa knew everything???<br />
<br />
In
psychology studies it's been demonstrated that our personalities are
very largely similar in childhood as they are when we are adults -
looking back at the encounter to follow, I think I can definitely see
some similarities - both in reasoning and in...um....oratorical wit for a
six year old - which hasn't really stopped when I get fired up even
today. <br />
<br />
Another year passes and mom takes me down the Oregon City Shopping Center to see Santa again.<br />
<br />
My turn comes....<br />
<br />
Santa sits there with his arms out telling me it is my turn....<br />
<br />
I stand there with my hands on my hips and a scowl on my face....<br />
<br />
Mom gives me a bit of a nudge....<br />
<br />
So Santa asks me what I want for Christmas from where he sat rather than waiting for me...<br />
<br />
And
I stood there refusing to move and reply with all the irritation that a
6 year old can muster up without being a spoiled brat quite yet "I want
the train set you didn't bring me LAST year!"<br />
<br />
Santa's mouth almost dropped and he stopped looking at me. <br />
<br />
His
eyes narrowed and his gaze shifted up from my six year old frame and
turned to a glare at my mother standing next to me who suddenly wasn't
next to me and was acting like I wasn't her kid and she was shocked some
kid would be so mouthy to Santa.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rr72rn61eU/Tu2K8h1kteI/AAAAAAAAG3A/GxB6Ecp-qPY/s1600/pennies.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rr72rn61eU/Tu2K8h1kteI/AAAAAAAAG3A/GxB6Ecp-qPY/s320/pennies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
At
any rate, that year - the train set was delivered. It was there
Christmas morning. Completely set up. It was an O-Scale steam engine
complete with a logging mill and in a giant four foot by six foot wooden
box, green grass felt and the entire thing could be picked up and put
against the wall if it needed to be put away in one move.<br />
<br />
And.....there was my dad and my uncle Randy playing with MY train set!<br />
<br />
THE AUDACITY!<br />
<br />
That
evening when the grandmother and great grandmother came over - I heard
how my dad's own train set got violated by his dad and uncles as well.
Must be a family thing. I was told that Santa asked Dad to test it for
me and make sure it worked, just like Santa asked Grandpa to test dad's.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhLGioFGvNY/Tu2Z9E_GykI/AAAAAAAAG3Q/8lh0tRHFXKI/s1600/o+guage+rails.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhLGioFGvNY/Tu2Z9E_GykI/AAAAAAAAG3Q/8lh0tRHFXKI/s200/o+guage+rails.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O gauge track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"Well, if SANTA said you could play with it then I
guess it's okay. I mean, he did bring it after all....I'm not gonna
argue with Santa...."<br />
<br />
At any rate, the O-Scale train
was a lot of fun. But I still wanted more. A "REAL" looking train set -
not the "three-railed" O-scale set - I wanted two rails, not three.<br />
<br />
So,
since income as a seven year old is difficult to come by - I didn't get
paid to do chores because I was expected to do chores, and I was too
young to mow lawns, I had to find another way to get the train set
sooner than Santa would bring it and without having to bug mom and dad
for the money.<br />
<br />
What to do...what to do....? <br />
<br />
Then,
my second grade class had a pinata for a party. We were to all bring a
bit of candy and a penny or a few nickles or something in it.<br />
<br />
We
all got to smash at it with a stick and I learned a few things: One -
you don't want to be the person who breaks it open because then you
don't see where the goods go. Second - there's other things more
important in this world than candy. There was cash in that pinata.
Cash in the form of pennies and nickels, dimes and some quarters. <br />
<br />
I
was small but I was fast. I was in that circle and I went after the
cash as fast as my little arms could go. The other kids were so
stupidly and naively attracted to the candy. Foolish, foolish
children. There was money to be made here. Worked for me though! <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bNoGX_f5d8g/Tu2Z7EngYXI/AAAAAAAAG3I/2u4eJYG0-S0/s1600/HO+scale+track.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bNoGX_f5d8g/Tu2Z7EngYXI/AAAAAAAAG3I/2u4eJYG0-S0/s200/HO+scale+track.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HO scale track</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In a few moments I literally had a mound of pennies and nickels.<br />
<br />
Not just a mound - I had about $30 or $32 dollars in pennies!<br />
<br />
That's about 3,200 pennies.<br />
<br />
Do
you know what about 3,200 pennies looks like or feels like exploding
over a crowd of school kids from a pinata? Its kind of dangerous. But
the danger that makes the more timid souls run for cover bought me time.<br />
<br />
When
it was over, I sat guarding this massive pile of pennies and had a
tootsie roll, a piece of bubble gum and that was it. Oh, and a
butt-load of money for a 7 year old.<br />
<br />
When the kids
realized what my plan was and that they had the candy and I literally
had the biggest pile of money any of us had seen - one of them told me I
*HAD* to give them some.<br />
<br />
Huh HAH! Not without a price. This is where I began being a salesman.<br />
<br />
Two pieces of candy for a penny - which is a better deal than just getting it for free. <br />
<br />
So now I'm selling money for candy at far-below-market value (of Candy that is).<br />
<br />
The
trip home on the bus found me with a paper grocery bag on the seat next
to me full of cash and me with a smug grin on my face. Visions of
steam engines danced in my head. Soon I would have my wish. <br />
<br />
At
any rate, I got to buy my HO scale (two rails, not three) train set, but the problem was there wasn't enough
room to put it anywhere in the house permanently. So dad took a 4'x8'
piece of plywood and ran four ropes to the four corners and up to a
pulley system on the garage ceiling that went to a boat winch. Now my
train set could come down from the ceiling to play and be put up for
storage - no problem. <br />
<br />
I wish I could say I took good
care of the train set, but boys will be boys. Lots of experiments with
collisions and running them off cliffs as well as just use took their
toll over the years though I did develop some really nice sets as well.
I learned about electricity and not shocking myself as well as came to
loathe electricity. But besides my bike growing up - probably nothing
holds as many wonderful, concentrated and real memories as my train
sets.<br />
<br />
I never did become an engineer like I wanted to.
I think I'm getting too old to now and I'm on track becoming a
psychologist - but for all intents and purposes I was an engineer of the
HO-Scale variety.<br />
<br />
I think it must be time for my son
to get his own train set and me to play with it to test it out first and
defile it before he gets to play with it and make a deal with Santa
that I'm to test it out.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-86106627478399893722011-08-30T00:19:00.002-07:002021-12-12T17:03:32.531-08:00Mission Memories......."That Means I'm Jewish"<span style="font-size: large;">Even though I was a returned military veteran and 25 years old as I went on my mission - there were a lot of things I was still naive to in which I helped contribute to the sometimes-notion/impression that missionaries aren't that bright.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVOBBFrLlNw/TlyHdWWvAnI/AAAAAAAAFbg/q3o0jTzXhwM/s1600/mezuzah.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVOBBFrLlNw/TlyHdWWvAnI/AAAAAAAAFbg/q3o0jTzXhwM/s1600/mezuzah.jpg" /></a>A mission is a learning experience. But sometimes.....well.....it can be entertaining as well.....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I didn't know all the different religions yet nor much about them. I was brand new, serving with Elder Keyes (eyes - with a "K") in Baton Rouge. Anyways, if you don't know, Jews put a Mezuzah on their door post (to the side of the door) on the house reminding them of the ten commandments and they often touch it, or symbolically kiss their hand and then touch them as they pass by in their goings into and out of the home to remind them to go out and come in in the name of the Lord. This is a fancy one and very pretty with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes (sons of Jacob/Israel) and the 12 stones worn on the breastplate of Aaron. Not usually so decorative, but pretty nonetheless. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways, also on some doors are wreath hangars of various fashions like this one: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tPgA_WNtF8/TlyHcnQ2_dI/AAAAAAAAFbU/oNUm5nGdr0A/s1600/door+wreath+hangar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tPgA_WNtF8/TlyHcnQ2_dI/AAAAAAAAFbU/oNUm5nGdr0A/s320/door+wreath+hangar.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> And other times they have various fancy bulbs in their porch light - sometimes looking like this....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhcdYBp9JeM/TlyHdJP8nZI/AAAAAAAAFbc/JrfxPnrscBw/s1600/pointy+light+bulbs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhcdYBp9JeM/TlyHdJP8nZI/AAAAAAAAFbc/JrfxPnrscBw/s1600/pointy+light+bulbs.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> And still other times, they have nails left in the door from some unspecified festivity/purpose but with nothing hanging on them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhCKoHguuq8/TlyHdSQ5amI/AAAAAAAAFbk/Vt9Y0Mi_mJE/s1600/wood+nails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhCKoHguuq8/TlyHdSQ5amI/AAAAAAAAFbk/Vt9Y0Mi_mJE/s1600/wood+nails.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> Well.....the door we went to for this particular story had all four. A Mezuza, a wreath holder, fancy bulbs and two nails sticking out of the door. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I didn't know what a Mezuza was nor did I know what a wreath holder was. No clue. Never needed to know and never paid attention. I knew what nails were and fancy bulbs but anyways, all this plays an important part in the exchange to follow. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhcdYBp9JeM/TlyHdJP8nZI/AAAAAAAAFbc/JrfxPnrscBw/s1600/pointy+light+bulbs.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhcdYBp9JeM/TlyHdJP8nZI/AAAAAAAAFbc/JrfxPnrscBw/s200/pointy+light+bulbs.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, Elder Keyes and I are tracting in Baton Rouge and this gentleman says to us at the door, "I'm not interested in what you are sharing....see that over there?" pointing in the direction of the Mezuzah but sort of towards the porch light "It means I'm Jewish." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Me, a bit puzzled, looked at the porch light and said, "<i>Those fancy bulbs mean you're Jewish</i>?" (Frick...the whole neighborhood must be Jewish! I thought.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tPgA_WNtF8/TlyHcnQ2_dI/AAAAAAAAFbU/oNUm5nGdr0A/s1600/door+wreath+hangar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tPgA_WNtF8/TlyHcnQ2_dI/AAAAAAAAFbU/oNUm5nGdr0A/s200/door+wreath+hangar.jpg" width="200" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"No, not that....the thing on the door!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I looked at the wreath holder not knowing what it was....what a strange religious symbol! "Oh!" I said politely. ".....<i>THAT</i> means you're <i>Jewish</i>?....what IS that?" (I was trying to figure out how it represented the Jewish faith and all sorts of weird thoughts went through my head as I tried to fathom what this thing had to do with God). </span><br />
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</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhCKoHguuq8/TlyHdSQ5amI/AAAAAAAAFbk/Vt9Y0Mi_mJE/s1600/wood+nails.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhCKoHguuq8/TlyHdSQ5amI/AAAAAAAAFbk/Vt9Y0Mi_mJE/s200/wood+nails.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">"<b>NO! Not that...the thing in the middle of the door!</b>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There hung two empty nails.....such a mystery. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh......whatever it was....I think...it fell down...." I began looking around for the symbol of the Jewish faith that had fallen off the door to help the poor man find the declaration of his faith in a gesture of goodwill towards men. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVOBBFrLlNw/TlyHdWWvAnI/AAAAAAAAFbg/q3o0jTzXhwM/s1600/mezuzah.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UVOBBFrLlNw/TlyHdWWvAnI/AAAAAAAAFbg/q3o0jTzXhwM/s200/mezuzah.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The poor man looked exasperated and was clearly wondering if I was stupid. My companion looked like he was going to hurt himself trying not to laugh. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"NOT THAT! THAT THING! RIGHT! THERRRRREEE!" and he touched the Mezuza in the middle of the door post looking like he wanted to grab my head to show it to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh THAAAAT! <i> That means you're Jewish?</i>" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"<b><i><u>YES!</u></i></b>" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"OHHHHH! Okay....what's that?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He was very kind to teach me a bit about Judaism and the Mezuza. I can't say I taught him a whole lot about Christ, other than He takes the willing and not necessarily the educated. But after this, I can never see a nails on a door, a wreath holder or sometimes the fancy bulbs in a porch light without remembering that <u><b><i>none</i></b></u> of those things symbolize that someone is Jewish....and start cracking up.</span><br />
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</span>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-83543031662603570892011-06-15T22:43:00.000-07:002016-01-25T21:20:28.718-08:00Second Chances.....and unbelievable miracles.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvwlhSK18xE/VqcB9jh9SxI/AAAAAAAAYyE/sePF1BAYiQY/s1600/selcarim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvwlhSK18xE/VqcB9jh9SxI/AAAAAAAAYyE/sePF1BAYiQY/s320/selcarim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
On June 5th my wife had a miscarriage and we lost our child.<br />
<br />
Despite all this, I felt like something was incomplete and that the child was to be born to us - maybe to have a second chance or sometime in the future but I didn't know how it was going to work out. Something just felt not right and even the priesthood blessing indicated that this child was to be born to us though I didn't know how. <br />
<br />
Jen's been miserable for about a week and a half. I've struggled as well. Unable to part with a baby bassinet and the baby clothes they've been shuffled around the house for a bit now, awkwardly and yet still uncertain of what to do with them. <br />
<br />
Last night I asked her if her uterus was cramping and she replied "You mean the tomb?" Not knowing what to say, I could only reply to it with my dry humor and say "You mean your coffin?" I got a dry "ha ha" to that. Not fun times, but we tend to be more stoic as a family after all we've endured. <br />
<br />
At any rate, she's been cramping more lately and we had to go to the doctor to find out if there was anything left behind and whether we had to remove a dead and decomposing fetus from inside her.<br />
<br />
Today, we went to the doctor for the ultrasound and she was cramping and did not want to go to the appointment. I couldn't just send her alone, so I went.<br />
<br />
We finally got in and the moment of horror arrived where they actually started looking around. Kind of horrified at what I'd see, I waited with a bit of resignation.<br />
<br />
Finally they found it, I saw its ribcage and its little body laying sideways inside her. The ultrasound technician said "Um....yah.....you got a complete baby in here......."<br />
<br />
Jen sagged on the table. It was awful to think that entire thing was going to have to come out....arms, legs, head and everything....<br />
<br />
The ultrasound technician wiggled the instrument around and continued "And a beating heart! You have a live baby in there!"<br />
<br />
Jen and I tous ensemble:"WHAT?"<br />
<br />
"Its alive!"<br />
<br />
"Are you serious???"<br />
<br />
"Yes!"<br />
<br />
"No way! Wait....WHAT? It's <i>alive</i>?"<br />
<br />
"Yes! With a healthy heartbeat! 158 beats per minute! Going strong!"<br />
<br />
Jen began to sob uncontrollably and was completely overwhelmed. I was in shock and had to look at the screen again and again and again. There was our baby, looking at us, and I could see the heart beating on the screen.<br />
<br />
The technician put the heartbeat on the monitor so we could hear it, there it was so strong again and still. A lot less space than before it looked like but there it was. <br />
<br />
Wait....WHAT???<br />
<br />
Jen was still losing it but in a good way. <br />
<br />
Texts went out to friends and family who were stunned as we were.<br />
<br />
Okay, so my child's been dead nearly two weeks, and today I find out that it's still alive.......I didn't know what to think or what to feel - so much all at once!<br />
<br />
I know I want the child and am absolutely stoked, but I feel like I'm on my fourth child because I already lost my third and this is a new one! I still know what it's like to lose a child....so surreal. And now....I have my child "back." <br />
<br />
The news spread fast and my sister in law accidentally spilled the beans to our kids before we got home but they were excited. Probably the only bummer out of this was that we didn't get to tell them ourselves. <br />
<br />
But Matthew's going to be an even bigger brother and Rachel will finally be a bigger sister. Out of it all? I know I want this child. I know what I'm capable of as a father and that I can do this in our circumstance. I came to value my children even more and became way more tolerant of their "little kid-ness" and essentially I feel like I was given a chance that we just don't ever get in life. Not one I've heard of anyways. Ever.<br />
<br />
I am reminded of the sacrifice of Abraham with his son Isaac and can only say that I'm grateful to know I can pass through something like this and not turn away from God, though it wasn't fun, the reality? Hasn't quite set in yet. <br />
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God truly does have His hand on me. I've seen too many miracles to doubt His presence or His love. <br />
<br />
But as for today? The single most miraculous and surreal day of my life. Ever. <br />
<br />
Now....I guess I need to go finish that baby bassinet that I saved. I can still look forward to the baby clothes being tried out for Christmas. What a day. <br />
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Thank you all for your prayers and love. I have no doubt that you had a part in this wonderful miracle of miracles. <br />
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Thank you all, and God bless.<br />
<br />
Thank you again, and God bless you again and again.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-31135238227256822192011-06-05T14:50:00.000-07:002016-01-25T21:11:37.781-08:00Life's crumbs....and shattered windows.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This morning we lost our son-to-be in a miscarriage.<br />
<br />
My wife awoke me at 5 am saying she was bleeding. I got up, looked around and began to race to get dressed. We called to find out if there was an ER in Redmond, the kids got up fairly quickly and Heaven blessed me to be able to put her in the van quite easily. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAZSA4ccDmk/Vqb_7cOcnWI/AAAAAAAAYx4/4ssMjGK7uPk/s1600/traeh%2Bssalg%2Bnekorb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAZSA4ccDmk/Vqb_7cOcnWI/AAAAAAAAYx4/4ssMjGK7uPk/s320/traeh%2Bssalg%2Bnekorb.jpg" width="320" /></a>Before we left, I asked her if she wanted me to give her a blessing. She said yes. I gave her a blessing by the authority and power of the priesthood which I hold, and I could feel that this wasn't going to be though I didn't dare accept it and hoped against hope that what I saw and felt as I gave the blessing wouldn't come to pass and that there might remain some chance of things turning around, and yet I was promised something would come to pass in the future with another child. <br />
<br />
It was comforting again when the military training comes out and I'm quite comfortable and trained to safely drive in an emergency - fortunately at 6am on a Sunday in a rural town, there isn't much traffic and the streets were empty. As we drove she informed me she was beginning to cramp.<br />
<br />
We arrived at the ER in about 7 minutes or less, we were the only ones there...and Jen was quickly quickly taken in the back. The kids and I sat out in the waiting room as they weren't prepared to handle mom, dad and two kids with a bunch of work to do. <br />
<br />
I asked if I could go see her after a while, they said "They are doing okay, you can go back in a while." <br />
"They." In these times of crisis your mind hangs on every word, every nuance to see meaning and ascertain how things go. Friends texted me to tell me that from their experiences there was still a good chance - I hoped for the best.<br />
<br />
When I was finally allowed back in, the nurse's attendant didn't say a word but walked back fairly lightly - more meaning inferred - wondering - wandering - waiting. When I got back to Jen and we finally had time to talk, Jen asked me what I saw by the priesthood.<br />
<br />
The priesthood is an amazing gift that God has given to man again in these latter days - by it God can and often does show us the future, the past, things that are, things that could be and God again speaks to man by it through the Holy Ghost - just as it was in Times of Old.<br />
<br />
I told her that I felt it wasn't going to be good.<br />
<br />
To me it felt as if our child had chosen not to come here yet for various reasons and had decided to wait for another time though there might be a future time. Heaven and earth are indeed connected, but both of them have their own plans and designs, with Heaven often waiting on the desires of mankind and men's choices, and Earth waiting on the timing, plans, laws and designs of God. In it all it is up to us to do our best to try to understand and be receptive to what comes as we try to listen to what is being whispered to us through the Spirit. <br />
<br />
She told me it was going to be a while and that I should take the kids to get breakfast. I grabbed McDonald's with the kids and headed back to the Emergency Room. <br />
<br />
When I asked if I could see Jen,they took me back. I asked her what was going to happen. She told me that they had already taken it out of her and it was dead. We had lost our baby.<br />
<br />
I lost it. I asked her if she had seen it....what happened?<br />
<br />
Just the other week he was so strong, I watched him do a "trampoline like bounce" inside mom and had his hands near his face with its thumb in its mouth. The heartbeat was 160 or something like that. And now....when it came out, it wasn't even recognizable.<br />
<br />
When we finally got cleaned up to go, I told the kids we had lost their baby brother. It wasn't until I mentioned that we didn't need the handcrafted bassinet I made that Matthew suddenly realized we weren't going to be having a baby. He began to cry. I handed him some tissues and he was sobbing about how we weren't going to have a baby - he wanted to be a big brother and was getting excited about the idea.<br />
<br />
As we drove away, I felt so empty. Nothing. This was it? I didn't get a certificate, a name, a headstone, a funeral, a memorial, a program for a memorial service......nothing. We just drove away. I never got to see my son. I couldn't live like this. No. It couldn't end this way.<br />
<br />
My mind began arguing that we were still having a baby on December 8th! I realized I had to go back to say goodbye to it.<br />
<br />
Were I not a psychology major having been trained in loss and grief, I don't know that I could handle this. This wasn't something I wanted to do but I had to do. There had to be some note of closure. This was all too fast. I asked Jen if I could turn around and go back. We did. <br />
<br />
I walked into the hospital and asked if I could see the nurse and told her I needed to see what was left of my son. I couldn't walk away with nothing and just have a trip to the ER and have it be over and not know...not see....not have anything. She took me into a room, and the nurse brought me a container and explained to me what it was and there really wasn't much there that was distinguishable. <br />
<br />
I actually clutched the remains in the container to my chest sobbing "all I wanted to do was to hold you." I was able to make out what would have become soft, soft baby skin wanting lotion and needing patting. Just yesterday, I was at a beach with my children and asking the other children they played with what their names were as I got ideas for names. And now....on our anniversary vacation.....nothing.<br />
<br />
I finally left, my children have never seen dad cry and I cried on the drive back to the resort. The sunrise on the mountains, on Sisters was beautiful, and I couldn't help but think just as we lost someone, someone else was being born today, to others this was an ordinary day....so many kinds of days and it was only 9am.<br />
<br />
I got to the resort and informed them that I needed new linens for the bed. They offered to take them up. There was a lot of blood on the bedding and I didn't want some staff hauling away what little remained from the hopes of my infant son, I told them I would prefer to take it myself and I broke down and told them I had lost my son this morning. <br />
<br />
When we got back, Jen asked me to go make the bed before she got in there, I did however ask the children to help me make the bed.<br />
<br />
Death is a stranger in America. It is the only thing that awakens us from the American dream (My own quote from my studies in the psychology of loss and grief). We run from it, shield our children from it, and avoid it and spend less time mourning than about any industrialized nation. It wasn't always so, but the last 70 years in the US have seen our attitudes towards death change. As my daughter came in she asked me why there was blood in the bathroom, I told her that was from the baby, and then she saw Matthew and I changing the linens and it hit her as well.<br />
<br />
She hasn't cried, and Matthew is doing well, though I am a wreck. Jen called her sister who's had more miscarriages. I have baby pictures from ultrasounds, a very lovingly handcrafted baby bassinet I made out of wood, and a little baby duck outfit for a newborn hanging on our bedroom door - all awaiting something to be done with them.<br />
<br />
I'm grateful this happened at a resort rather than in my bedroom where I feel like it's a room of death. Though the room did feel like death when we returned to it. <br />
<br />
I texted my supervisor to tell her I might be requesting extra days off because I was supposed to go back to work on Wednesday. I can't. I mean I could, but that day I have to sit through a meeting with a supervisor above her that I don't really have any respect for and who's really crossed some lines at work that I'm still trying to decide what to do with.<br />
<br />
As far as blessings go? There's a tendency in America for Americans to be unempathetic towards those who've suffered loss. People rush to tell you how it's a good thing, to see the blessings in it - as if someone's loss is a threat to their emotional well being and people can't just let you be sad. We need to be sad. Even Christ said "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." This is true. Unless we mourn, we cannot be fully comforted. I believe there are 316 standard phrases used in the American lexicon that we say to those who are mourning, and only 44 of them are encouraging, uplifting or supportive. The remainder dismiss or disenfranchise the grieving.<br />
<br />
For now I will just mourn and pass through this. My children are beautiful and I love them and just now as I am writing, my darling daughter came to show me her latest ponytail venture with one hanging off her forehead and another off her left hear with those beautiful blue eyes. My son, ever so stoic is just working on a popsicle. <br />
<br />
At any rate, family was called and it was offered to have the kids gone so my wife and I could spend time together. Absolutely not. I just lost a child. I want my kids close even if we drive each other nuts.<br />
<br />
I do feel angels around me. Something I can sense and sometimes see. The ones I see right now are "older" men, wise men, kindly gentlemen who are just here to be a comfort but who share my loss - quiet men who lend support. <br />
<br />
How can Heaven mourn for us when Heaven sees the end from the beginning and live amidst such joy incomprehensible, and yet their hearts be here with us and cry when we cry, hurt when we hurt? Its something I don't understand other than to think that a loving Heavenly Father is truly mindful of us and truly does understand us.<br />
<br />
To "Baby Millican" who wasn't born or even fully named, we loved you though we hadn't met you and we hope that we shall yet meet you and I shall do my best as a father if Heaven and Earth combine to bring you to us once again, and to Heaven.....thank you for the gift of being able to understand others who've walked where I am now walking. <br />
<br />
The valley of sorrow is indeed deep and long and dark and even dangerous if we stay there too long, and the corner we have just turned is a previously unknown crevice in the valley we hadn't been to before. <br />
<br />
<br />
But I thank Heaven for the perspective of the restored gospel and the knowledge of the purpose of this life to give us comfort in these times of sorrow that Christ himself said must needs come and for which this earth was designed.<br />
<br />
For now, I shall close. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet and I have hopes for one more but for now, I'm going to close. <br />
<br />
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Thank you all and God bless. <br />
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Thank you again. And God Bless again and always.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-52440878029022674982011-05-19T12:25:00.001-07:002020-09-08T17:37:38.319-07:00Signs of the Lord's Second Coming and the Last Days<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yk8u-zbGZ5I/TdVugwnhyRI/AAAAAAAAEjU/1C1MHLzt5Eo/s1600/moroni+statue.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yk8u-zbGZ5I/TdVugwnhyRI/AAAAAAAAEjU/1C1MHLzt5Eo/s320/moroni+statue.jpg" width="186" /></a><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I received this when I was investigating the church in 1993 from my seminary teacher. I since typed it up and thought I would publish it here. I'm typing this in response to the declaration floating around that the Lord's coming will be on May 21st of 2011 which we can see here is not true because of what remains to be fulfilled. Respectfully, to those false prophets who have no authority to declare such things, let alone that scripture its self declares it will not be declared as to the date, I find they are destructors of faith and they have been deceived. What happens to the people who go willy-nilly following after them and then this doesn't happen? Will their hearts be hardened and they will give up, perish and fall away until it is too late? Ahhh....the devil is a cunning worker my friends. This is why we've been told to "Watch" and be prepared and beware of the blind leading the blind. </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Matthew 7: </span></span><a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="" name="20"></a><span class="verse">20</span>Wherefore by their <sup class="studyNoteMarker">a</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote42" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=20a&lang=eng">fruits</a> ye shall know them.</div><div><a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="" name="21"> </a><span class="verse">21</span>¶Not every one that <sup class="studyNoteMarker">a</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote43" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=21a&lang=eng">saith</a> unto me, <sup class="studyNoteMarker">b</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote44" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=21b&lang=eng">Lord</a>, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that <sup class="studyNoteMarker">c</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote45" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=21c&lang=eng">doeth</a> the <sup class="studyNoteMarker">d</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote46" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=21d&lang=eng">will</a> of my Father which is in heaven.<sup class="studyNoteMarker">e</sup></div><div><a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="" name="22"> </a><span class="verse">22</span>Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not <sup class="studyNoteMarker">a</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote47" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=22a&lang=eng">prophesied</a> in thy name? and in thy <sup class="studyNoteMarker">b</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote48" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=22b&lang=eng">name</a> have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?</div><div><a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="" name="23"> </a><span class="verse">23</span>And then will I profess unto them, I never <sup class="studyNoteMarker">a</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote49" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=23a&lang=eng">knew</a> you: <sup class="studyNoteMarker">b</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote50" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=23b&lang=eng">depart</a> from me, ye that work <sup class="studyNoteMarker">c</sup><a class="footnote" href="http://lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7?lang=eng#" id="footnote51" rel="/scriptures/chapter/footnote/default.xqy?volumeUri=nt&bookUri=matt&chapterUri=7&noteID=23c&lang=eng">iniquity</a>.</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;">The Lord's commentary on the Last days</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">REFERENCES<span> </span>COMMENTS</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Matthew 24<span> </span>Prophecies of the last days (Versus 21-55 refer to our time specifically)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">JST Matthew</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">(PoGP, p.43)<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 20<span> </span>Summary of the judgments upon man before earth's destiny</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 45<span> </span>Documentation of the signs of the times</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 88<span> </span>Step by step events leading up to coming of the Savior</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 101</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 133<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D&C 38<span> </span>Promises made to the righteous when judgments shall come upon the wicked</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joel 2:28-32<span> </span>Further signs of the last days</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rev 6:12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rev 16:18-21<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Book of Mormon: the events in 3 Nephi are a pattern for the Second Coming.<span> </span>There are similarities between the appearance of Christ to the Nephites and the prophecies of His Second Coming. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 2:14-16<span> </span>Lamanites become a mighty people</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 3:22<span> </span>Righteous to gather</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 3-4<span> </span>Wars & rumors of wars</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 6:17-18, 7:7<span> </span>Increased wickedness</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 7:14<span> </span>Rejection of the Prophet</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 8:4<span> </span>Increased skepticism of Christ's coming</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 8:6, 10-19<span> </span>Earthquakes and other disturbances</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 8:20-23<span> </span>Darkness covering the earth</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 9:1-13, 10-12Wicked destroyed and righteous preserved</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 11:8<span> </span>Christ coming from heaven</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 11:1-11<span> </span>Christ at His temple</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 11:14<span> </span>Christ displaying His wounds</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 Nephi 23:9-14<span> </span>Resurrection of the righteous</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">A PROPHET'S WARNING - “There are among us many loose writings predicting the calamities which are about to overtake us.<span> </span>Some of these have been publicized as though they were necessary to wake up the world to the horrors about to overtake us.<span> </span>Many of these are from sources upon which there cannot be unquestioned reliance....We need no such publications to be forewarned, if we were only conversant with what the scriptures have already spoken to us in plainness.” (Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, Oct. 1972 p.128, or Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 106)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">THE PROPHETIC DESTINY OF THE HOLY LAND</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prepared by Gerald N. Lund of the 70</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>It should be noted that the line between history and prophecy is constantly shifting.<span> </span>While one could logically divide between prophetic promises into three divisions – the fulfilled, the fulfilling,, and the yet-to-be-fulfilled – placing of specific promises in the first two is not always that easy.<span> </span>Therefore, the first two areas are combined into one. <span> </span>Also note that only some of the more significant references have been included. </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>I.<span> </span>THE FULLFILLED AND THE FULFILLING</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">A. Israel will be smitten and scattered because of their wickedness</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Lev 26:33</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Deut 28:63-64</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">B. The unbelieving of the House of Judah will suffer for rejecting their messiah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>2 Nephi 6:9-11</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>1 Nephi 19:13-14</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">C. Elijah the prophet will return before Christ comes again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Malachi 4:5-6</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>D&C 110:13-16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D. The people of Israel will return to the Lands of their inheritance</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 5:26; 11:12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>2 Nephi <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_21" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">21:26</span>-29</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>D&C 39:11</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">E. The House of Israel will accept the covenant and be God's People again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Ezekiel <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_22" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">20:24</span>-28; 26:25-28</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Jeremiah <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_23" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">21:18</span>-20, 31-34</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Isaiah 59:20-21; 60:1-5</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">F. The “Jews” will “Begin” to believe in Christ again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>2 Nephi 6:14; 10:7; 25:16; 30:7</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>1 Nephi 19:14</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">G. The Holy Land to become productive and fruitful again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 30:23-25; 35:1-2</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Jeremiah 31:2-5, 9-12; 32:15</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Ezekiel 36:34-35</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">H. Jerusalem to be rebuilt and become the capitol of Israel again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>3 Nephi <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_24" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">20:46</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Zechariah 1:16-17; 2:12;<span> </span>8:3; 12:6</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Luke <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_25" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">21:24</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I. Judah to show forth great power in battle</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 19:16-17</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Zechariah 10:5-6; 12:6-8</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">J. Judah and Ephraim to be reunited and become one again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 11:13</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Jeremiah 3:18; 50:4-5</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Ezekiel 37:16-17, 22</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">II<span> </span>THE YET TO BE FULFILLED</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">A. Temple to be built again in Jerusalem</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>D&C 124:36-37</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Amos 9:11</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Zechariah 1:16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Ezekiel 41-48</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">B. The lost tribes of Israel to return, first to Zion, then Jerusalem</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Jeremiah 16:14-15; 31:6-12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Isaiah 35:10</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>D&C 133:26-34</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">C. All nations will gather together against Jerusalem</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Jeremiah 25:15-26</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Ezekiel 38:1-16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Joel 2:1-11; 3:1-2</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Zechariah 14:2</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>5.</span>Revelation 9:1-21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">D. Two prophets will prophesy in Jerusalem and help the House of Israel</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 51:17-20 (See JST corrections)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Revelation 11:1-12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">E. The Savior will appear on the Mount of Olives and deliver Israel</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Ezekiel 38:17-23</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Zechariah 12:9-14; 13:6;<span> </span>14:1-7</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>D&C 45:43-53</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">F. A great river will appear in Jerusalem, the Dead Sea will be healed</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Ezekiel 47:1-12</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Zechariah 14:8</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">G. Babylon and all earthly kingdoms will be overthrown and destroyed</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 34:1-10</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Ezekiel 39:1-22</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Zechariah 14:12-15</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Revelation 18:1-24; 19:11-21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">H. The New David (Jesus Christ) will rule over Israel</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 55:2-4</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-17; Hosea 3:4-5</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Ezekiel 37:21-25, 34</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Luke 1:32</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I. Zion will be established as a world wide kingdom and Christ will reign for a thousand years</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Isaiah 65:17-25; 66:1-14</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Joel 3:16-21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Zechariah 14:116-21</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Revelation 20:1-6</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>5.</span>D&C 101:23-32</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">CHRIST'S APPEARANCE TO MAN BEFORE THE 2ND COMING</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>When the Lord returns he will make some appearances to specific groups and then culminate his return by his appearance in great power, majesty and glory, in such a manner that all the world will see him (D&C 133:17-22; 101:22-23).<span> </span>Four appearances of the Lord have particular mention by the prophets:<span> </span>two of these appearances will be to the Saints; one appearance will be to the Jews; and the fourth will be his final coming to the world.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(1)</span>THE APPARANCE AT THE CITY OF NEW JERUSALEM</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(2)</span>The Lord “shall suddenly come to his temple”<span> </span>(D&C 133:2) a temple yet to be built in Jackson county, Missouri, (D&C 84:1-5; 97:10, 15-16).<span> </span>Elder Charles W. Penrose said that the Lord would make his appearance first among the saints and “that appearance will be unknown to the rest of mankind.<span> </span>He will come to the temple prepared for Him, and his faithful people will behold his face, hear his voice and gaze upon his glory.<span> </span>From his own lips they will receive further instructions for the development and beautifying of Zion and for the extension and sure stability of His kingdom.”<span> </span>(Charles W. Penrose, Millennial Star, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1305832668_26" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">10 Sept.</span> 1859, p. 582-583.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(3)</span>THE APPEARANCE AT ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(4)</span>The Prophet Joseph Smith said that “Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our father Adam, Michael.<span> </span>He will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the<span> </span>coming of the Son of Man.<span> </span>He (Adam) is the father of the human family and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the keys must stand before him in this grand council” (History of the Church 3:386-387; D&C 116).<span> </span>The Lord will appear to the saints in a solemn assembly of the Priesthood to be held at Adam-ondi-Adhman in Daviess County, Missouri, attended only by those who have held the keys of the priesthood during all the gospel dispensations and by others living who are specially invited.<span> </span>“This council shall precede the coming of Jesus Christ as a thief in the night, unbeknown to all the world” Joseph Fielding Smith, Way to Perfection, p. 289-291). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(5)</span>THE APPEARANCE AT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>The Savior's appearance to the Jews will occur when Jerusalem and its environs are besieged by <span> </span>many nations.<span> </span>At the close of a long and costly war, know as the Battle of Armageddon, the <span> </span>Jews will flee for safety to the Mount of Olives.<span> </span>There the savior will make his appearance <span> </span>(D&C 45:48-52; 77:15; 133:35; Revelation 11:1-12; Zechariah 14:1-9).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(4)</span>THE SECOND COMING: THE APPEARANCE TO THE WHOLE WORLD</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(5)</span>As the Lord's second coming approaches, signs will mark this epochal event.<span> </span>One of the last of these signs is the Sign of the Son of Man (D&C 88:92; 101:23; JSM 1:36).<span> </span>Following the sign there will be “silence in Heaven for the space of half an hour, and immediately after shall the curtain of<span> </span>Heaven be unfolded” and the Lord will make his glorious appearance (D&C 88:95). So great will be the glory and power of His coming that the earth will tremble, the sun shall hide his face in shame (D&C 133:40-42, 49; 101:25).<span> </span>All that is corruptible shall be consumed and destroyed by the brightness of his glorious presence (D&C 5:19; 101:24-25).<span> </span>The Lord will wear red apparel, signifying his great atoning sacrifice and also<span> </span>his Judgments upon the wicked (D&C 133:48-51).<span> </span>Both the righteous living and the celestial dead will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air to be rewarded while the wicked are destroyed (D&C 88:96-97; 101:89-91)( Manual, religion 325-325 (Doctrine and Covenants) p 404). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH ON THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>“...The coming of the Son of Man never will be == never can be till the judgment spoken of for this hour are poured out;<span> </span>which judgments are commenced.<span> </span>Paul says, “Ye are the children of light, and not of the darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night (I Thes. 5:4-5).”<span> </span>It is not for the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, but he will reveal it to His servants the prophets.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>“Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea healed.<span> </span>It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, etc.;<span> </span>and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance.<span> </span>There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in Heaven.<span> </span>But what will the world do?<span> </span>They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc.<span> </span>But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east.<span> </span>(April 6, 1843.) DHC 5:336-337.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>“...The inhabitants of the earth are asleep, they know not the day of their visitations.<span> </span>The Lord set the bow in the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail;<span> </span>but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly.” (TPJS, p. 305).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">WHY ARE WE TOLD OF THE GREAT...AND TERRIBLE EVENTS?</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">(1)HOPE!<span> </span>In D&C 45:38 we read, “Even so it shall be in that day when they shall see all these things, then shall they know that the hour is nigh.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(2)</span>REWARD!<span> </span>If the Saints are not to reign, for what purpose are they crowned?<span> </span>In an exhortation of the Lord through his servant John he said, Behold, I come quickly: Hold fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”<span> </span>For he that is worthy, the Lord says, he shall be clothed in white raiment, and Christ will present our names to His Father and before angels.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>(3)</span>PREPARATION!<span> </span><u>NOW</u><span> </span>is the time.<span> </span>Those who “have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide...shall abide the day” (D&C 45:57).<span> </span>President Hinkley said in April Conference (1995), “The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“This is a time to be strong.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth and the importance of our mission. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It is a time to be found keeping the commandments.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It is a season to reach out with kindness and love those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships.<span> </span>In other words, to become more like Christlike.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Script; font-size: 48pt;">Signs of the times (GOOD!)<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">(A “-” afterwards means it's a bad thing or a negative event that won't be happy)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>1.</span>Spirit to be poured out on all flesh</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>2.</span>Discovery and use of printing</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>3.</span>Protestant reformation and age of renaissance</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>4.</span>Discovery and colonizaation of America</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>5.</span>Establishment of the American nation</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>6.</span>Translation and printing of the bible</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>7.</span>Establishment of the U.S. Constitution</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>8.</span>Latter-day revelation</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>9.</span>Coming forth of the Book of Mormon</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>10.</span>Opposition to the Book of Mormon -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>11.</span>Restoration fo the keys/priesthood</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>12.</span>Restoration of the gospel</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>13.</span>Messenger to precede Second Coming</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>14.</span>Church and Kingdom set up again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>15.</span>Growth of the Church</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>16.</span>Gathering of Israel</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>17.</span>Ten tribes to return </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>18.</span>Times of gentiles being fulfilled</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>19.</span>Return of Judah to Jerusalem</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>20.</span>Jews to begin to believe in Christlike</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>21.</span>Building of latter-day temples</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>22.</span>Lord to come suddenly to His temple</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>23.</span>Spirit of Elijah and genealogical research</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>24.</span>Persecution of the Saints -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>25.</span>Persecution of the Jews -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>26.</span>True gospel to be preached to all the world</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>27.</span>Worldly knowledge to increase</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>28.</span>Scientific and inventive progress</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>29.</span>Disease, plague and pestilence weep earth -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>30.</span>Elements in commotion - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>31.</span>Disasters to abound -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>32.</span>Strikes, anarchy, violence increase -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>33.</span>Latter-day wickedness</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>34.</span>Spirit ceasing to strive with wicked - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>35.</span>Peace taken from the earth - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>36.</span>Angels reaping the earth -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>37.</span>Wars and rumors of wars - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>38.</span>Famines, depressons and economic turmoil -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>39.</span>Apostate darkness covers earth - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>40.</span>Many false churches in latter-days - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>41.</span>Refusal of men to believe signs of times - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>42.</span>Signs on earth and in heaven</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>43.</span>Lamanites to blossom as the rose</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>44.</span>Gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>45.</span>Final great war to attend second coming -</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>46.</span>Sorrow and fear precede and accompany second coming</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>47.</span>Fall of the great and abominable church</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>48.</span>Special mission in Jerusalem of two latter-day prophets</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>49.</span>Wicked to be burned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>50.</span>Final restitution of all things to be completed</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>51.</span>Christ to reign personally upon earth</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 715-734)</span></div>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-80245716971047031632011-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:002023-11-12T14:10:46.328-08:00Temple Reflections.......I got this in an email - don't know where it came from, but thought I'd post it here in an attempt to save it somewhere on the World Wide Web.....<br />
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</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMWue5HkOq8/Tw_Zeq_iYHI/AAAAAAAAHY0/8rtiXmcZU0s/s1600/houston+temple+LDS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0wMyfAeYYY/TbJupUjrfaI/AAAAAAAAENk/GamnUGak7MQ/s1600/houston+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0wMyfAeYYY/TbJupUjrfaI/AAAAAAAAENk/GamnUGak7MQ/s640/houston+temple.jpg" width="432" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">A few months after my accident, I got a call from a headhunter telling me that he had a position for which he wanted me to interview. I was a little surprised by the call since I wasn't actively looking for a job at the time. As a matter of fact, I was still learning to walk again and use my reconstructed hands. I politely declined and thought that was it.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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It wasn't.<br />
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The man called again and every time I told him why I was unable to accept a job at the moment, he kept telling me that it wasn't important. After a while I decided to go on the interview. I f nothing else, it would stop the annoying phone calls every few days.<br />
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The interview was with one of the largest HVAC contractors in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_9">Houston</span> . I've never worked for a contractor before and, quite frankly, contractors and engineers often find themselves at complete odds with each other. I knew for a fact that, in my years of experience, I had been in more than one shouting match with a few project managers at this firm..<br />
<br />
The interviewer brought me into a conference room and expressed his thanks for me coming in. He told me that I had come recommended to him as someone uniquely qualified for the job he had. He described the job and, I had to admit, it sounded like a pretty good gig. As a matter of fact, if I had to describe my dream job, this would be it.<br />
<br />
I started asking questions about the firm... what kind of projects they were working on and so forth. They were one of the biggest contractors in Houston and so he ran down a pretty impressive resume of projects. Then he said, "Oh... and we're doing this church. It's the strangest church you've ever seen." I'd designed some pretty strange churches in my time. One of them was made entirely of pink glass. When you're especially bored some time, you should try and run down the thermal transfer properties of pink glass. If you find out, get back to me on it because I never was able to figure it out.<br />
<br />
The interviewer continued with his description of the strange church. "Another weird thing is that they're spending WAYYYY too much money on this thing. You know how, whenever we do a church, we're asked to figure out ways to cut costs? Well, not on this job. In fact, they keep asking us for ways we can make it even better"<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
(It's called '<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_10">value engineering</span>'. It happens on almost every job when the owner gets hit with the sticker price of the project and we have to go back and try and work with contractors to hold down prices and yet still keep in a modicum of quality... that's where the shouting matches usually occur. Churches are especially notorious at this game and the end result is usually a facade of flash over substance. You build this really impressive-looking church and pray that the next big wind won't come along and blow it all down).<br />
<br />
Then the interviewer said something that sealed the deal. "...and the strangest thing of all is that we're not going to even be allowed back in this church to fix any problems. Only members with a special piece of paper will be allowed in."<br />
<br />
I fished into my wallet and pulled out my temple recommend, "Is this the piece of paper you're talking about?" I asked.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
And so I went to work on helping to build the Houston Temple .<br />
<br />
The first job meeting was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. We all met in a little shack on the temple building site. It was an odd sensation to look out at earth moving equipment shoving mounds of dirt around and get tears in your eyes.<br />
<br />
I didn't tell anyone at the meeting that I was LDS. For one reason, I didn't want them to think I was going to come off as a know-it-all.. Another reason is that there were some pretty strong protests against building this temple and I wanted to see where everyone stood on the issue. You kind of want to know where all the land mines are before you go traipsing off into the clover.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
You may or may not know this but the church sends its own project manager to the site when a temple is built. It's his job to make sure that the specifications are followed in every way. As it happened, the church's representative, a man named Leon , was called away to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_11">Salt Lake</span> and so the project manager for the general contractor got up and started the meeting.<br />
<br />
" Leon 's been called away to Salt Lake and so I'll be running the meeting." He looked around and his eye settled on the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_12">Plumbing Contractor</span>, "Gill, why don't you offer us an opening prayer?"<br />
<br />
My jaw dropped. First of all, prayers just aren't the standard way that construction meetings are called to order. And another thing is that, I'd known Gill for fifteen years and anyone even mildly acquainted with the man was aware that he was incapable of stringing four words together without cussing twice.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMWue5HkOq8/Tw_Zeq_iYHI/AAAAAAAAHY0/8rtiXmcZU0s/s1600/houston+temple+LDS.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMWue5HkOq8/Tw_Zeq_iYHI/AAAAAAAAHY0/8rtiXmcZU0s/s1600/houston+temple+LDS.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"> "This is going to be some prayer," I thought... it was. Gill bowed his head and folded his hands and gave a prayer like he'd been giving them in sacrament meeting his entire life. We were grateful for the opportunity to work on the temple. We were mindful of the sacrifices of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_13">The Saints</span>. We prayed for safety and harmony among the builders and we consecrated and dedicated our actions to The Lord.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
Gill ended his prayer and the General Contractor went on with the agenda. I wasn't really paying attention, however, because I was still dumbstruck, staring at Gill, and wondering what had happened to him. I was still staring at Gill when the agenda came to me and I was asked to introduce myself to the group.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
There was a bit of a pause when I got caught still staring, open-mouthed, at Gill. Then everyone started to laugh.<br />
<br />
"It's in the specifications," explained the general contractor, "we have to pray before every meeting"<br />
<br />
Knowing the crowd, I asked, "And none of you tried to negotiate out of that?"</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<br />
"Well, we did grumble for a while and then Leon started making us sing an opening hymn as well"<br />
<br />
I wished I had accepted the job sooner, I might have been able to see that.<br />
<br />
I soon found out that I didn't need to tell anyone I was LDS, they all knew and many times a contractor would sidle up to me to ask me something about my religion or the significance of something in the temple.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
"What's up with the twelve cows and the big Jacuzzi?" one would ask.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc8AEnDNP0Q/Tw_aRm95AyI/AAAAAAAAHY8/Lr42z2ALSWo/s1600/temple+baptismal+font+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc8AEnDNP0Q/Tw_aRm95AyI/AAAAAAAAHY8/Lr42z2ALSWo/s400/temple+baptismal+font+.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span>"Is that Gabriel up there with a trumpet?" (Oh... little known fact but if you'll take a pair of binoculars with you and get far enough away so you can see it from the proper angle, you'll notice a lightning rod sticking out of Moroni's head)<br />
<br />
I took to bringing my scriptures with me so that I could explain the significance of different things and point to their Biblical foundation.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
One question was my personal favorite, "Where's the counting room?" Remember the churches I told you about that I'd designed? Well one thing that never got 'value engineered' was the counting room. It was where they kept and counted the donations and it was always built like a bank vault.<br />
<br />
"We don't have a counting room in temples", I said.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
"Why not?"<br />
<br />
"We don't take in any donations at the temple"<br />
<br />
"You mean to tell me that you put all this money into a building and you don't ever get a nickel out of it?"<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
"Yeah, that's pretty much the case"<br />
<br />
The contractor went away shaking his head. No doubt wondering how anyone as foolish as these Mormons had ever amassed enough money to build such wonderful buildings.<br />
<br />
Of all my experiences, only one was what I would have categorized as 'odd'. With an opening prayer at each meeting, design conferences went about pretty much like PEC meetings. There was a spirit of brotherhood that just wasn't normally present in construction shacks.<br />
<br />
One day, however, the meeting got a little out of hand. Some voices were raised and anger entered the room. When it made its appearance, I was surprised to notice a letdown that I recognized as <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236320982_14">The Spirit</span> leaving the room. It made me sad. I looked about the table and I could tell that others were experiencing the same letdown.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
It was then that the copier behind me started spitting out blank sheets of paper. Nobody was at the copier and yet it churned out about a dozen sheets of paper and then stopped. It took everyone by surprise and it completely diffused the argument that was going on. Someone made a small joke, everyone laughed and the meeting went on. Little by little I felt the warmth of The Spirit return.<br />
<br />
After the meeting, I was going over some items with the General Contractor. I had to make a few copies and so I went to the copier. There was a sign over the copier instructing the sub-contractors to write down the number of copies they make so that their companies can be backcharged. Thinking that I was making a joke, I pointed to the sign and said, "Are you going to give the angels a discount on the copies they made today?" The general contractor looked at me and said, "You know? Strange things like that happen around here quite often"<br />
<br />
As the temple neared its completion, the general contractor and I had occasion to chat one more time. I knew that he was a staunch Baptist, one of the churches in fact that was so vocal in its protest over our building a temple in Houston . Over the months, we had become friends, and so I felt no qualms in asking him just what his feelings were, as a Baptist, building a Mormon temple. I'll never forget what he told me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">"In ancient times", he said, "building work was overseen by guilds. The guild masters were the ones who saw to it that the integrity of the craft over which they labored was the best it could be. If you wanted to enter the guild you had to begin as an apprentice and dedicate long years with little or no pay. The master under whom you labored, gave you room and board and your tools. Eventually, you became a journeyman in the guild and you got paid. However, if you wanted to become a master of the guild, you had to present a sample of your work to be judged by the other masters. It had to be a work of outstanding beauty and flawless quality for it was the work by which your skills would be judged. It had to be a work that would weather the ages and it was called, 'a masterpiece'"<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
The contractor continued, "Every building I've ever built has been one where money won out over quality. I've never been able to do the best I'm capable of because of budget restraints.. If I'm grateful for one thing, it's that you Mormons don't skimp when it comes to your temples. For once, I'm able to build to the quality I'm really capable of"<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
Then he looked out over the temple and his gaze came back to me. His eyes were tearing up a bit and he swept his hand back towards the temple and his voice got a little reverent, "This is my masterpiece," he said.<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
"I've been building buildings for almost thirty years. I have been doing it so long, in fact, that they are beginning to tear down buildings that I was sure would live as a testament to my presence long after I was gone from this earth."<span class="ececapple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<br />
I'm really grateful I had a chance to work on The Houston Temple.</span>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-72737561535634298392011-03-26T01:33:00.000-07:002013-06-12T19:44:14.887-07:00Ant Farm:Day 4/5These ants suck. They don't do anything. They hang out in the wood hole for the skybridge - about the most entertainment I get is blowing them out of the hole from the tube and watching them charge back into the hole and then realize it just blasted them out - get second thoughts - run away - not know what to do except hang out in the hole - run back - remember getting blown out - run away - over and over again. Its mildly amusing. I think I'll seal it up a tiny bit better and let the harvester ants go to work when they get here......Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-13383432412848949472011-03-23T20:58:00.000-07:002016-06-01T21:43:00.613-07:00Ant Farm! Day 2!Okay...so I think the ants in the "farm" aren't the "digging" type of ants. I think we got a few different types in there too. But they just pass by each other. I tried to give them a hint by digging a hole with a knitting needle - but...to no avail. They spend a LOT of time preening their antennae too. I know ants are typically female but these are like high-maintenance-lazy ants.<br />
<br />
So the big ones just hang out in the tunnel....the little one I think got drunk on fermenting Twinkie and is just sitting on it moving rreeeeaaaallllll slow and just looks....drunk / stoned....so far not much happening. <br />
<br />
I just ordered some harvester ants from <a href="http://www.antsalive.com/">www.antsalive.com</a>. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cGdwPewAiK4/TYrBbeeWgkI/AAAAAAAAEBo/tUiJBv7I4oQ/s1600/harvester+ant.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-cGdwPewAiK4/TYrBbeeWgkI/AAAAAAAAEBo/tUiJBv7I4oQ/s1600/harvester+ant.gif" /></a></div>
Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-69234672753617081092011-03-22T23:15:00.000-07:002016-06-01T21:39:16.332-07:00ANT FARM! Wood Shop! Do it yourself!<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v53LO5YRl7o/TYmQkzZG2RI/AAAAAAAAEBg/GIFPXYkLrUw/s1600/ant+space-ship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v53LO5YRl7o/TYmQkzZG2RI/AAAAAAAAEBg/GIFPXYkLrUw/s320/ant+space-ship.jpg" width="320" /></a>So - we got a bit of an ant problem in our house....which the kids have resorted to catching them, with my son putting them in the "cockpits" of lego-spaceships he was building so you could see them through the windows of the spaceships. We had our own full blown ant-air-force/space-force around here as he had a good ten or so with two and three ants apiece in them.<br />
<br />
Ants are pretty darned cool, when you're five. So for a get-together with my mom at a restaurant, my kids decided to give her a "present" of a lego-space-ship with ants in it. At the dinner table. In the restaurant. I had no idea. Of course the lego-space-ship broke apart and the ants "got out" and my kids were scurrying around on the floor of the restaurant looking for the ants while my mom's freaking out wondering what she just got dumped on her. <br />
<br />
<br />
Anyways, a trip to the science store showed ant-farms were $32 for ONE - and a large one? $45!!!! Mmmmmm - no. Not when dad can make them at home. A trip to Lowes Hardware store and one more to Home Depot for $25 for four plates of acrylic, two 2"x3"x8' (Y'all reading overseas or even to our north or south...okay - NON americans - I don't know what that is in metrics - if you must convert it you can do it <a href="http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm">here</a> ) and voila I had two that were way bigger for less AND I got an excuse to use my tools....ahhhhhh to be a man and create with my hands. I just gotta build.....something about when I'm done having something behind I can see and touch and hold. <br />
<br />
The hardest part was I don't have a table saw (or a radial arm saw) but I do have a circular saw. So - I needed to cut grooves to insert/recess the acrylic into which normally on a table saw you'd just drop your blade down and then run your wood across. I had to get creative with a handy portable workbench dad gave me and a block of wood to run the circular saw across it - but other than that - it was pretty easy. If anyone wants to see it - here it is below in photos you can click on and embiggen. <br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iag5N9t-1Bs/TYmLwSllSaI/AAAAAAAAEAk/fYgZyOi6tHw/s1600/0322111918-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iag5N9t-1Bs/TYmLwSllSaI/AAAAAAAAEAk/fYgZyOi6tHw/s320/0322111918-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looks like a kitchen...acts like a workshop...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oZW43MdU948/TYmLw-GT5LI/AAAAAAAAEAo/AQSdqehSQa0/s1600/0322111923-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oZW43MdU948/TYmLw-GT5LI/AAAAAAAAEAo/AQSdqehSQa0/s320/0322111923-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sawdust on the floor freshening the air in the house...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-25zTlY2zt0s/TYmLxRHvjJI/AAAAAAAAEAs/7tpfemd0BEI/s1600/0322111928-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-25zTlY2zt0s/TYmLxRHvjJI/AAAAAAAAEAs/7tpfemd0BEI/s320/0322111928-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the first two pieces together with clear acrylic in between</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-76xTKF1gpno/TYmLx3juhCI/AAAAAAAAEAw/Fw70fvqebew/s1600/0322111953-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-76xTKF1gpno/TYmLx3juhCI/AAAAAAAAEAw/Fw70fvqebew/s320/0322111953-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1/2" x 3/8" "doorway" to the "skybridge" I built in the exotic ant-mansion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2HV6k8MFvxc/TYmLyl4VTMI/AAAAAAAAEA0/Ww8R3C6950I/s1600/0322112000-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2HV6k8MFvxc/TYmLyl4VTMI/AAAAAAAAEA0/Ww8R3C6950I/s200/0322112000-00.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two ends on....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OGiYViKrSho/TYmLzJgPcFI/AAAAAAAAEA4/FzmTRPy3oVM/s1600/0322112158-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OGiYViKrSho/TYmLzJgPcFI/AAAAAAAAEA4/FzmTRPy3oVM/s320/0322112158-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project complete on the kitchen counter with West Wing and East Wing visible</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hTpxLHHeLUI/TYmLziokIrI/AAAAAAAAEA8/RuKRIi7ZD8w/s1600/0322112159-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hTpxLHHeLUI/TYmLziokIrI/AAAAAAAAEA8/RuKRIi7ZD8w/s320/0322112159-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exotic sky-bridge with a commanding view of the sugar-jar and Mountain Dew Repository - every Ant's dream!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u4Mrlk-hjws/TYmLzzJOZaI/AAAAAAAAEBA/ufb08LLgxpY/s1600/0322112200-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u4Mrlk-hjws/TYmLzzJOZaI/AAAAAAAAEBA/ufb08LLgxpY/s320/0322112200-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there's actually an ant in there...with a science experiment in the background - Oh Horror of Horrors! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These are the ants that were diverted from the Space Program to a work-camp. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6wFRU8CxGA0/TYmL0q585JI/AAAAAAAAEBE/6dZshvMBG7g/s1600/0322112204-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6wFRU8CxGA0/TYmL0q585JI/AAAAAAAAEBE/6dZshvMBG7g/s320/0322112204-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ahhhhh....kitchen floor mess....</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Lh8elpujLmo/TYmL08Fgj3I/AAAAAAAAEBI/WW0t3A4pIU4/s1600/0322112232-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Lh8elpujLmo/TYmL08Fgj3I/AAAAAAAAEBI/WW0t3A4pIU4/s320/0322112232-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">brave trooper - I named her "Sojourner" - exploring the ant-mansion.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Actually....she hung out there for 20 minutes preening her antannae....it was kind of annoying....maybe she was enjoying the view of the sugar jar...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lNycXwRGfb4/TYmL1YwqFCI/AAAAAAAAEBM/DFUJ7I71cnU/s1600/0322112237-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lNycXwRGfb4/TYmL1YwqFCI/AAAAAAAAEBM/DFUJ7I71cnU/s320/0322112237-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">project fully separated apart....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-biTw3OqQjSU/TYmL19Tm5AI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/tXZ_I2dIz_k/s1600/0322112237-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-biTw3OqQjSU/TYmL19Tm5AI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/tXZ_I2dIz_k/s320/0322112237-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">individual ant-mansion unit - this is the West Wing - cost for one? $12.50 and some nice memories</td></tr>
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It was funny tonight as we had family prayer and I thought of all the things I've built for our family. Beds. Modifications to the cars. Ant farms. More beds. Shelves....nothing too fancy but still its nice to be able to build with my hands.... I did clean the kitchen up though with the new vacuum.....<br />
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I hope these are the kinds of ants that dig and not just the types that run around.....if they are the kind that just run around but don't dig I might have to order some kick-ass ants to dump in there and eat their sorry behinds and dig some tunnels....Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-43255757687587163592011-03-14T00:08:00.000-07:002013-06-12T19:44:14.882-07:00OREGON ROAD TRIP! RIPPLEBROOK! THREE LYNX! HARRIET LAKE! FROG LAKE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Went on a drive with the kidlets today. We've been SIIIICK for a week. At any rate - today we got out a bit. We intended to go up to Timothy Lake - but - alas! There's snow! Still. I got a new GPS for the van. Its a Magellan from Costco - paid $80 for it. The thing I like? It gives altitude on it. It's pretty superior to the Mio I have - but then the Mio's like 3 years old - has worked like a champ though. <br /><br />At any rate, I don't have any pictures of Three Lynx or Ripplebrook - but I did notice some houses up there - looked like someplace I'd want to live. Though I don't know about work in that area. About the only thing to do is work on the hydrop projects or head to Estacada and work at Thriftway or Les Schwab or the Lumbermill or something like that. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TOxREp5x-FA/TX23wxnyzxI/AAAAAAAAD0M/ow_Kjj5W9Us/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252843%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TOxREp5x-FA/TX23wxnyzxI/AAAAAAAAD0M/ow_Kjj5W9Us/s400/harriet+lake+drive+%252843%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TROUT IDENTIFICATION SIGN</td></tr></tbody></table>So - we diverted to Harriet Lake - never been there before. I did some shooting with my .380 Bersa - shooting at a lake is a great way to get an idea for the range - at about 700 feet or so I was grouping my shots pretty nice around a stump in the middle of the lake. There was nobody else there but me and the kidlets.<br /><br />But as we drove farther on we found Frog Lake - after I found this pipeline along "Pipeline Road" - which was aptly named because there was...A PIPELINE ALONG IT! Now I have to ask the question - was it named Pipeline Road because there's a pipeline next to it? Or was it named Pipeline Road before that, and just for ease of location they decided to run the pipeline along it so they could keep the two together?<br /><br />The pipeline seemed to feed into Frog Lake with a "Reverse Glory Hole" of some sort - but all of this was some project by PGE (Portland General Electric) for the Oak Grove Hydro Electric Project....<a href="http://www.flyfishusa.com/about-our-waters/lakes/harriet-lake/harriet-lake.htm">http://www.flyfishusa.com/about-our-waters/lakes/harriet-lake/harriet-lake.htm</a><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bZYVwplABrI/TX23iH8BAlI/AAAAAAAAD0A/vyTVBeJIL7k/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252840%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bZYVwplABrI/TX23iH8BAlI/AAAAAAAAD0A/vyTVBeJIL7k/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252840%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harriet Lake</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyways, I don't know what the pipe was doing as it went up the top of a hillside at some point and ended at a tower on a cliff almost - very strange. Can't figure it out looking on the internet but - here's the pics anyways for now. You can click on them and they blow up fairly nicely<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tcmI0Jk2YYQ/TX23mzqLuLI/AAAAAAAAD0E/LuOKnPWcRuk/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252841%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tcmI0Jk2YYQ/TX23mzqLuLI/AAAAAAAAD0E/LuOKnPWcRuk/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252841%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clackamas River Oak Grove Fork....</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rl5nJuyZu8g/TX23c3gCIOI/AAAAAAAADz8/6TwIYJVhaDk/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252839%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rl5nJuyZu8g/TX23c3gCIOI/AAAAAAAADz8/6TwIYJVhaDk/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252839%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was aiming at and hitting that FAR stump out there with the .380 Bersas</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TDnAJ2Fjlc4/TX231sbBsLI/AAAAAAAAD0Q/mS0KY7HrO5I/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252844%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TDnAJ2Fjlc4/TX231sbBsLI/AAAAAAAAD0Q/mS0KY7HrO5I/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252844%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An American Outhouse from Oregon - for those of you who regularly read from overseas if you're interested....</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xC4Kgu8L3NY/TX2zvkuYdYI/AAAAAAAADxQ/wpLyu2JeDmU/s1600/harriet+lake+drive.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xC4Kgu8L3NY/TX2zvkuYdYI/AAAAAAAADxQ/wpLyu2JeDmU/s320/harriet+lake+drive.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House #2....whatever that is on the thing - they all have telephone going to them - but I couldn't see inside it does look like there's a valve inside though from the bottom</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MtlXOyAKse8/TX24auGIMwI/AAAAAAAAD0w/LDei5KMK5VU/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252852%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MtlXOyAKse8/TX24auGIMwI/AAAAAAAAD0w/LDei5KMK5VU/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252852%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel trying to hear what's in the pipe</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SEjA-0hIyak/TX20OiVkdhI/AAAAAAAADxs/clEypgFY3V0/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SEjA-0hIyak/TX20OiVkdhI/AAAAAAAADxs/clEypgFY3V0/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%25287%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matthew touching a waterfall</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7bq0e5XnBu8/TX24HG95rgI/AAAAAAAAD0g/QvV-2dHmA7g/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252848%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7bq0e5XnBu8/TX24HG95rgI/AAAAAAAAD0g/QvV-2dHmA7g/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252848%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe running off in the distance out from under gravel with handrail accoutrements in distance</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ce1IcY7OhsM/TX20sCAycVI/AAAAAAAADyE/Q6lVUdOFGTY/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252813%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ce1IcY7OhsM/TX20sCAycVI/AAAAAAAADyE/Q6lVUdOFGTY/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252813%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe showing its self out from under grass</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Th-OoI2GhTM/TX21JkOBavI/AAAAAAAADyc/Y7ZDOfOPgW0/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252819%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Th-OoI2GhTM/TX21JkOBavI/AAAAAAAADyc/Y7ZDOfOPgW0/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252819%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipeline level among green and rust foliage accompanied by snow</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cZRkDLTZ0gM/TX21TRvAvbI/AAAAAAAADyk/K6gzCc3Oys0/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252821%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cZRkDLTZ0gM/TX21TRvAvbI/AAAAAAAADyk/K6gzCc3Oys0/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252821%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REVERSE GLORY HOLE!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5agC1Nq8Sy4/TX21dGeZfoI/AAAAAAAADys/0eH-0d1BdMA/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252823%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5agC1Nq8Sy4/TX21dGeZfoI/AAAAAAAADys/0eH-0d1BdMA/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252823%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CLOSER UP OF REVERSE GLORY HOLE!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aN-D7EIFlP8/TX22cU5_U-I/AAAAAAAADy8/MCTqBdy4eOI/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252826%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aN-D7EIFlP8/TX22cU5_U-I/AAAAAAAADy8/MCTqBdy4eOI/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252826%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah....now I get it.....</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WJHVq0KwJ54/TX23-aptGCI/AAAAAAAAD0Y/x3RoQTgPUhA/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252846%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WJHVq0KwJ54/TX23-aptGCI/AAAAAAAAD0Y/x3RoQTgPUhA/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252846%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harriet Lake Dam seen through scrub ~110 years old....</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6IX3Cx0OHTs/TX22mN5RvtI/AAAAAAAADzQ/emuSZte3PoQ/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252828%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6IX3Cx0OHTs/TX22mN5RvtI/AAAAAAAADzQ/emuSZte3PoQ/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252828%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe meandering up hillside with dirt surroundings</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5CAyU64gSbQ/TX22rJxVFBI/AAAAAAAADzU/Lr_fpuZZCSE/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252829%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5CAyU64gSbQ/TX22rJxVFBI/AAAAAAAADzU/Lr_fpuZZCSE/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252829%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe with a head fake to the right and up more hillside....</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GVfQusSf4n8/TX201kWh8wI/AAAAAAAADyM/4i6k5ZTaodU/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252815%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GVfQusSf4n8/TX201kWh8wI/AAAAAAAADyM/4i6k5ZTaodU/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252815%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many "houses" that sat on the pipe....this is number 5....</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZyJgnS5sJNk/TX22hVZ7UcI/AAAAAAAADzM/w25qHWP6sjE/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252827%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZyJgnS5sJNk/TX22hVZ7UcI/AAAAAAAADzM/w25qHWP6sjE/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252827%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparentlly how the water gets out of Frog Lake....under this thing......and on down the river.....</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S4msajIoky0/TX24V9mThpI/AAAAAAAAD0s/Az3aY-Qk6cM/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252851%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S4msajIoky0/TX24V9mThpI/AAAAAAAAD0s/Az3aY-Qk6cM/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252851%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close Up Of Le Pipe - on the side is le road that I drove le car on </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JDl7c1L9hco/TX24REDEZdI/AAAAAAAAD0o/aOWWtBIcSsA/s1600/harriet+lake+drive+%252850%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JDl7c1L9hco/TX24REDEZdI/AAAAAAAAD0o/aOWWtBIcSsA/s320/harriet+lake+drive+%252850%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice Place...has a deck....fresh running water....overlooking a giant cliff....no windows but nice place...</td></tr></tbody></table>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-7528175083548526792011-03-11T10:26:00.000-08:002013-06-12T19:44:31.581-07:00Letter from Tony Snow<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q0eUWGLLT7s/TXpnyu67G9I/AAAAAAAADwA/qsFuswhwE7I/s1600/Tony_Snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q0eUWGLLT7s/TXpnyu67G9I/AAAAAAAADwA/qsFuswhwE7I/s1600/Tony_Snow.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Tony Snow June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008</td></tr></tbody></table>I used to listen to Tony Snow when he was a radio show host. He had a great sense of humor and an easy style that I just enjoyed and came to love when he hosted for Rush.<br /><br />I have a letter from Tony Snow, an email, to me that he sent me after I wrote him wishing him well in his cancer recovery. The email is dated 8/10/07 to me.<br /><br />But, I have some collections from the world's notables in my files - this is just one of the e-versions, I thought I'd post it.<br /><br />I told him I was praying for him and wished him well, and this is his response. He didn't mention my name in it, but that's okay - it was to my email personally. I just thought I'd share something I got from a man I admired who once represented our country and share his faith in God. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">THE WHITE HOUSE Washington Thanks so much for the kind note - and for including me in your thoughts and prayers. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you thinking of me and raising my name in prayer. Prayers have enormous power. They're good medicine - and they certainly have lifted my spirits. I feel as if I have been borne on the shoulders of thousands of friends, all of whom have made the ride easier than I ever could have imagined. We're blessed to live in a land where people just want an excuse to do something good for someone else. Thanks for taking advantage of that opportunity with me. Please encourage others to do it closer to home for other friends in need. Kind words, notes, emails, and small gestures have a way of lightening the load, while making our own lives richer and more rewarding. Again, thanks for the incredible gift of caring. God bless, TONY SNOW </div>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-21165686447848828732011-02-15T23:22:00.000-08:002013-06-13T00:35:18.341-07:00Mixing Beta Fish With Other Fish......a fish story.....I bought another beta fish the other day. A moontail beta. I named him "M." He almost looks like this one here. However, among my fish in the tank I have one fantail goldfish and several comets and some glass catfish.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocIT2zqdGJ4/TVtwhoQCigI/AAAAAAAADik/M4uisjLu8Z0/s1600/blue+beta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocIT2zqdGJ4/TVtwhoQCigI/AAAAAAAADik/M4uisjLu8Z0/s200/blue+beta.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
At any rate, the conventional wisdom is that you don't mix betas with regular fish. Why? Betas pick on everything in the tank that's not themselves. <br />
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So I mixed my beta, "M," in with the other fish. First few minutes, M wasn't really getting along with everybody. The other fish were WAYYYYYY to friendly and were invading M's personal space trying to meet him. M kinda went ballistic for a while, flipping out and fanning himself out as shown here until they kind of all went "Whoah....who's the new guy.....lighten up dude...." and gave him some space. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VIEQHyaemvs/TVt6uvX1YQI/AAAAAAAADi0/058NbHfwd3o/s1600/speedy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VIEQHyaemvs/TVt6uvX1YQI/AAAAAAAADi0/058NbHfwd3o/s200/speedy.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UwfGt_mSPRg/TVtzhSWR2_I/AAAAAAAADio/9xqNxOclGW4/s1600/glass+catfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UwfGt_mSPRg/TVtzhSWR2_I/AAAAAAAADio/9xqNxOclGW4/s200/glass+catfish.jpg" width="200" /></a>The next day, the rest of my fish didn't seem as chipper anymore. Normally they are as happy as dogs when the master gets home, wagging their tails and begging for food. Now that M was in the house, they kind of hung out at the bottom not really excited about anything - almost as if they'd had the party sucked out of them and they had to revert to their primeval instincts of watching not to get their tails kicked. They hung about on the bottom near the plants, watching in case food came near them but not actively looking for it anymore. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QcTb1adu0uQ/TVt1Pv9G-sI/AAAAAAAADiw/w3ETcelevn4/s1600/comet+goldfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="97" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QcTb1adu0uQ/TVt1Pv9G-sI/AAAAAAAADiw/w3ETcelevn4/s200/comet+goldfish.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Meanwhile, M found a few plants and wedged himself in a corner and just hung out by himself and went on a few patrols around his bush and marked his territory. I did catch him picking on the snail, who's name is "Speedy," at one point but the snail said "Forget this" and pulled her antennae in and dropped off the glass to the bottom and tried to look like a rock where M wouldn't find her.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFbAlmprdts/TVt0QrnaoqI/AAAAAAAADis/UIUcq6LlOA8/s1600/faintail+goldfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFbAlmprdts/TVt0QrnaoqI/AAAAAAAADis/UIUcq6LlOA8/s200/faintail+goldfish.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
The next day, one very small comet was dead. It was like a runt anyways though. While the other comets got bigger, this one actually shrank over time it seemed. It was like a head with fins and a spine. So I wasn't surprised to see its tail chewed a bit and M had done it in apparently. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea now. I've had a beta before and eventually they all got along but that was a female. This was a male. The big fantail goldfish is way bigger than M but M can do a great job fanning himself out in a vibrant display of color and size.<br />
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Today, everyone seemed back to normal. Maybe the other fish were sad the comet was dead. M was even near the others by about 2 inches and they ate together. If the other comets got too close M would fan out a little bit but not too much and everyone seemed to get along. You really can mix betas and other fish! I think you just have to have a bit bigger fish to show the beta who's boss and give everyone some plants to hide behind and give them some time (to kill off the weaker more wimpier ones). Isn't that called Darwinism?Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-52803569052302770532010-11-23T00:57:00.000-08:002010-11-23T00:57:58.215-08:00Books I've Read: The Screwtape Letters.....You know, I've found that to learn the wiles of evil, we needn't study evil - but when we are acquainted with the things of God, evil will be easily recognized. <br />
<br />
HOWEVER, there is a book that is a wonderful piece on the plans of the adversary and that is "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652934">http://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652934</a><br />
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Sophomoric in some aspects - I know the devil to be far FAR more cunning than this - it is still undoubtedly some of the corruptions and mentality of that evil one in trying to trap and trick us while appearing good and trying to persuade us that he is good and it is The Enemy (God) who is the evil one.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-82767885035249207022010-11-04T00:19:00.000-07:002013-06-12T19:49:50.820-07:00Road Trip: Oregon, Kelly Point! Yaquina Bay! Portland Temple! Timberline Lodge!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> I went to timberline the other night - got a couple photos but with the cell phone nothing fantastic.....anyways - had to have a hot chocolate - it was great - and snapped some other photos. Took some pictures of the Portland Oregon LDS temple, and then went metal detecting at the mouth of the Willamette where it meets the Columbia and found a Marshmallow roasting stick....that my kids lost.....anyways, all these were taken with my cell phone - you can click on them and enlarge them - but - here you go - free pictures. And enjoy the hot cocoa pictures....I like them best.....I spent a good ten minutes posing it for you, my fine readers.....it really is worth the $5.00 you spend on it.....<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ4l1KjqI/AAAAAAAAC1E/Owj_PZcvtQ0/s1600/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ4l1KjqI/AAAAAAAAC1E/Owj_PZcvtQ0/s320/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%283%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many angles of the Hot Chocolate at Timberline</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ5WuwJUI/AAAAAAAAC1I/pNqaMZn_4GE/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ5WuwJUI/AAAAAAAAC1I/pNqaMZn_4GE/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%281%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">entrance to timberline</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ6PhW1QI/AAAAAAAAC1M/UdAHXJfTnX8/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ6PhW1QI/AAAAAAAAC1M/UdAHXJfTnX8/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%282%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ62WrxBI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/Q76O0kYpxsI/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%284%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ62WrxBI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/Q76O0kYpxsI/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%284%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ73cRopI/AAAAAAAAC1U/S55otuUhJWw/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ73cRopI/AAAAAAAAC1U/S55otuUhJWw/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%283%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ89o-WRI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/9rx-ylJO6Vs/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ89o-WRI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/9rx-ylJO6Vs/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%283%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ9g0w54I/AAAAAAAAC1c/rq8uOzUkyIg/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%285%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ9g0w54I/AAAAAAAAC1c/rq8uOzUkyIg/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%285%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaAjeR6yI/AAAAAAAAC1k/yMBpUjAiuPM/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+%286%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaAjeR6yI/AAAAAAAAC1k/yMBpUjAiuPM/s320/Timberline+Lodge+%286%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaBQtfOXI/AAAAAAAAC1o/SizlKVmmrtM/s1600/timberline+lodge.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaBQtfOXI/AAAAAAAAC1o/SizlKVmmrtM/s320/timberline+lodge.jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaCJGBLLI/AAAAAAAAC1s/mRyRLVvHubU/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+Hot+Chocolate.jpg+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaCJGBLLI/AAAAAAAAC1s/mRyRLVvHubU/s320/Timberline+Lodge+Hot+Chocolate.jpg+-+Copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaC7YG2TI/AAAAAAAAC1w/952Y-zu895A/s1600/Timberline+Lodge+Hot+Chocolate.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJaC7YG2TI/AAAAAAAAC1w/952Y-zu895A/s320/Timberline+Lodge+Hot+Chocolate.jpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ3xrl7pI/AAAAAAAAC1A/tSgdKHNQ1t8/s1600/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ3xrl7pI/AAAAAAAAC1A/tSgdKHNQ1t8/s320/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%282%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ4l1KjqI/AAAAAAAAC1E/Owj_PZcvtQ0/s1600/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJZ4l1KjqI/AAAAAAAAC1E/Owj_PZcvtQ0/s320/timberline+lodge+hot+chocolate+%283%29.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Best Hot Chocolate: @ Timberline Lodge</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJYmznE9XI/AAAAAAAACz0/Hp83qklP2SM/s1600/Portland+oregon+Temple+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY48ree_I/AAAAAAAAC0o/2WkmQBcOxJ4/s1600/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2816%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY48ree_I/AAAAAAAAC0o/2WkmQBcOxJ4/s320/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2816%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY6Ejj5xI/AAAAAAAAC0s/cJARDvo60oc/s1600/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2813%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY6Ejj5xI/AAAAAAAAC0s/cJARDvo60oc/s320/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2813%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY7IhGsUI/AAAAAAAAC0w/3lLoiwC-4h4/s1600/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2818%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY7IhGsUI/AAAAAAAAC0w/3lLoiwC-4h4/s320/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2818%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY8cWvluI/AAAAAAAAC00/bc5_Cr4Li7w/s1600/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2817%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJY8cWvluI/AAAAAAAAC00/bc5_Cr4Li7w/s320/Portland+Oregon+Temple+%2817%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbopG4rsI/AAAAAAAAC2E/IZdiYH2ajSU/s1600/Willamette+Columbia+conjunction.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbopG4rsI/AAAAAAAAC2E/IZdiYH2ajSU/s320/Willamette+Columbia+conjunction.jpg.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where two rivers meet - Columbia (r) & Willamette (l)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbpdpn6aI/AAAAAAAAC2I/LlXovt1QfTo/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbpdpn6aI/AAAAAAAAC2I/LlXovt1QfTo/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%282%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbq3_W1xI/AAAAAAAAC2M/TH7dvIo_jhc/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%284%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbq3_W1xI/AAAAAAAAC2M/TH7dvIo_jhc/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%284%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">discovered: AN ANCHOR!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbsb5sCEI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/Lulbl9YeOFE/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%287%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbsb5sCEI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/Lulbl9YeOFE/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%287%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">empress hairdo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbtbH6b0I/AAAAAAAAC2U/NpgTB6OJNuQ/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%286%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbtbH6b0I/AAAAAAAAC2U/NpgTB6OJNuQ/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%286%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">captain goofball and his sidekick empress hairdo with shovels</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbuQHa13I/AAAAAAAAC2Y/Jlk-r4CLPrY/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%288%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbuQHa13I/AAAAAAAAC2Y/Jlk-r4CLPrY/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%288%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willamette at the Columbia - Sunset</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbvP7lCzI/AAAAAAAAC2c/9rAmpr21_1g/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%289%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbvP7lCzI/AAAAAAAAC2c/9rAmpr21_1g/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%289%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbv_xLHBI/AAAAAAAAC2g/SV9kERNMeJc/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2813%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbv_xLHBI/AAAAAAAAC2g/SV9kERNMeJc/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2813%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">100 miles inland or so on the Columbia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbwn0NutI/AAAAAAAAC2k/PH7kFrhnKHE/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2814%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbwn0NutI/AAAAAAAAC2k/PH7kFrhnKHE/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2814%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbzJDHkQI/AAAAAAAAC2w/CUwFUxc-xhs/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2811%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJbzJDHkQI/AAAAAAAAC2w/CUwFUxc-xhs/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2811%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb1fM96tI/AAAAAAAAC24/Jjit3x0vPj0/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2812%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb1fM96tI/AAAAAAAAC24/Jjit3x0vPj0/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2812%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb2StaElI/AAAAAAAAC28/nEIbgvJdkxU/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb2StaElI/AAAAAAAAC28/nEIbgvJdkxU/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%281%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb3CFKInI/AAAAAAAAC3A/PtIgo5Gcq-E/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2815%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb3CFKInI/AAAAAAAAC3A/PtIgo5Gcq-E/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2815%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb37gT66I/AAAAAAAAC3E/Ol7n6JMDsUc/s1600/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2816%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJb37gT66I/AAAAAAAAC3E/Ol7n6JMDsUc/s320/Columbia+River+Kelly+Point+%2816%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdFCOA9AI/AAAAAAAAC3I/Z3xdcGlF1Tw/s1600/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdFCOA9AI/AAAAAAAAC3I/Z3xdcGlF1Tw/s320/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%281%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure where this came from but it's in Pirate town in Newport</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdGXYTCqI/AAAAAAAAC3M/vVRlLbwILEg/s1600/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdGXYTCqI/AAAAAAAAC3M/vVRlLbwILEg/s320/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%282%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From a casino in Vegas....now in Newport....</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdH6nM0vI/AAAAAAAAC3Q/Mi7rG1U8SrE/s1600/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TNJdH6nM0vI/AAAAAAAAC3Q/Mi7rG1U8SrE/s320/Yaquina+Bay+Sight+Seeing+%283%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still in Newport.....still not in Vegas anymore....</td></tr></tbody></table>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-33352473234710880272010-10-25T22:13:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:02:16.139-07:00Road Trip! Oregon! Newport! Glass Blowing!I don't know how well these came out - but if you didn't know, glass-blowing is a pretty popular art here on the Oregon coast. There are glass blowing shops all up and down the coast with quite a few exotic wares being sold here and there - many of them making exotic glass floats. Anyways, I managed to get some pictures of a glass-blower doing his work at a shop on the far side of Yaquina bay. Depending on Google's settings, previously you used to be able to get a higher resolution picture of these and click them and open them in a separate window - but I don't know if you can do that now anymore. Anyways, these pictures are in reverse - from finished product at top to the near start at the bottom. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZahYmHv0I/AAAAAAAACtU/f-UezBpxdJo/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZahYmHv0I/AAAAAAAACtU/f-UezBpxdJo/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%281%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZaie_jJUI/AAAAAAAACtY/NWouJ0hsJ28/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZaie_jJUI/AAAAAAAACtY/NWouJ0hsJ28/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%282%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZajIjmqjI/AAAAAAAACtc/qud-L4UJdO8/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%283%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZajIjmqjI/AAAAAAAACtc/qud-L4UJdO8/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%283%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZajyUBH6I/AAAAAAAACtg/xgQDEPZHVlk/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%284%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZajyUBH6I/AAAAAAAACtg/xgQDEPZHVlk/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%284%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZamE46iqI/AAAAAAAACtk/RLFh0vdyRnM/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%286%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZamE46iqI/AAAAAAAACtk/RLFh0vdyRnM/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%286%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZan-EJCkI/AAAAAAAACto/5WBjGnS_3kI/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%2811%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZan-EJCkI/AAAAAAAACto/5WBjGnS_3kI/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%2811%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZapZ3tLAI/AAAAAAAACts/RNL0VFl-QDo/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%2813%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZapZ3tLAI/AAAAAAAACts/RNL0VFl-QDo/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%2813%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZatvofXII/AAAAAAAACtw/ATYmXWP26yM/s1600/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%287%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZatvofXII/AAAAAAAACtw/ATYmXWP26yM/s640/glass+blowing+newport+oregon+%287%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Anyways - you can see the glass glowing pink-hot from the kiln/forge/furnace - whatever it's called. I've learned to do a lot of things in life - including blacksmithing and stained glass windows - but blowing glass isn't something I ever learned how to do.<br /><br />Below are some pictures of the storm I wrote about in the earlier blog entry. The camera is trained/programmed to let in more light on dark days. And it was a DARK day - so this is about ten shades lighter than it was. Not bad for a cell phone camera. The winds here were about 40mph or so. Here the waves were coming up into the river and headed up to the sidewalk under the bridge on the far side. Normally the surf is like 500 feet to the left. <br /><br />If you didn't know, something unique to Oregon Architecture is the concept of arches. Most of the bridges going up and down our coastline and even inland have deliberately integrated the arches as part of our regional architecture. It was strange in my travels overseas in the military how many people knew Oregon just from our scenery - and how much I could see the architecture styles when I came home - I still notice it today. There's a quasi federalist-empire-classic style of architecture here in Oregon that's pretty unique - most notably on our bridges usually. Speaking of bridges, Portland Oregon, in addition to being the City of Roses is the City of Bridges as well. Sometime I might have to do a photo essay of all of them, beginning south in Oregon City there's the pioneer bridge that was originally built in the 1800's (Yes, new for you Europeans but old over here) then up to Sellwood, Ross Island, Freemont, Marqham, Steele, Broadway, Burnside, Morrison, Hawthorne, Saint John's, Abernathy, Glenn Jackson and Interstate Bridges and you can see at least one other one from any one of them. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeAytWV8I/AAAAAAAACt0/V_M6gSlNp3I/s1600/newport+storm+%284%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeAytWV8I/AAAAAAAACt0/V_M6gSlNp3I/s640/newport+storm+%284%29.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a nice shot of where the sidewalk ends - or "Land's End" headed off into the Pacific - pacific.....meaning peaceful.....mmmmm no. It doesn't look too bad in the pictures but this is after it was settling down anyways - I've seen worse - been out at sea on a Navy Fastboat in 20 foot waves or whatever picking someone up out at sea with sea spouts coming down on us - yadda yadda - it's all true - uphill both ways in the snow.....blah blah. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZevKGxfiI/AAAAAAAACuM/g9a9ZFcPy9A/s1600/newport+storm+%288%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZevKGxfiI/AAAAAAAACuM/g9a9ZFcPy9A/s640/newport+storm+%288%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Here's Yaquina bay - my friend Mike - when he gets his Seaplane license we're going to go get a seaplane and I want to fly under the Yaquina Bay Bridge and land in the harbor on the other side and tie up and go to dinner. Just....something I want to do. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeIIpJsrI/AAAAAAAACuE/sqE29c4z1KM/s1600/newport+yaquina+bay+bridge+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeIIpJsrI/AAAAAAAACuE/sqE29c4z1KM/s640/newport+yaquina+bay+bridge+%281%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeKE6IAPI/AAAAAAAACuI/1-nwS9BRVRo/s1600/camping+newport+%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TMZeKE6IAPI/AAAAAAAACuI/1-nwS9BRVRo/s400/camping+newport+%282%29.jpg" width="300" /></a>Anyways, this is a picture of "trouble" camping - having way too much fun - and already filling her dad with horror as to what kind of guys shes going to attract with that pretty face some day and she's only four....hopefully someday she brings me a good son in law - not some douchebag who's ears I have to box for being a deadbeat husband. I don't have any pictures of Matthew this trip - him and I were too busy sparring with me showing him how to knock a knife out of someone's hands with your feet and how to keep your eyes on your opponent through your roundhouse kicks. OH! At one point though - we're all camped out and "roughing it" and Rachel suddenly says ".....I wanna go to the mall.....can we go to the mall?" Yeahhh....I hope not too high maintenance. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-68897203699538210382010-10-17T21:18:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:02:16.141-07:00Sunday Musings......ROAD TRIP! OREGON! Saint Helens! Portland! Train Tunnel!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFARkDwzI/AAAAAAAACq0/mDhEw0-CYj4/s1600/Looking+out+on+the+rails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFARkDwzI/AAAAAAAACq0/mDhEw0-CYj4/s320/Looking+out+on+the+rails.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today the Kidlets sang and spoke in their Primary Program at church. Matthew about blasted the congregation out because he put the microphone in his mouth to speak (or it sounded like it) and Rachel was the loudest singer in the congregation just singing at the top of her lungs - it was cute.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFBYJn6sI/AAAAAAAACq4/X9ExYwRJDfc/s1600/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFBYJn6sI/AAAAAAAACq4/X9ExYwRJDfc/s320/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel+II.jpg" width="320" /></a>So anyways, after a very personal spiritual experience today that made me think of my standing before God and really left me speechless - I decided to gather what I could together and take the kids down to the river to go throw rocks and dig and go metal detecting. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFB7TRhaI/AAAAAAAACq8/k1vnUvxJQ8U/s1600/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel+III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFB7TRhaI/AAAAAAAACq8/k1vnUvxJQ8U/s320/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel+III.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I'm not sure that metal detecting is an appropriate Sabbath activity, but then I'm not Puritan so, for now it gives me time to think. <br /><br />Anyways, I found that metal detecting on a rocky beach is pretty much impossible given the tools that I have. I have a small hand rake, two hand spades, my sifter and even a half-shovel - but for someplace rocky I'd actually need a probe.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFCiVXYHI/AAAAAAAACrA/rXyhAitRiZM/s1600/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFCiVXYHI/AAAAAAAACrA/rXyhAitRiZM/s320/Magic+Carpet+Made+of+Steel+Tunnel.jpg" width="240" /></a>But meanwhile I did get to look cool showing my kids how to skip rocks and how to skip three and four at a time and such. <br /><br />I did get to drool a bit as a Sherrif's Patrol Boat went by a couple times as we sat on the shore of the Willamette (Wih-LAM-et). I spent a LOT of time on fast boats in the Navy. So anyways, when I finish my Ph.D. I get a North Shore or Alumaweld Jet Boat. It was a nice piece of equipment, though from the way it was moving I could tell it didn't have any special modifications to it. Our boat in the navy had a nice .50 Cal on the front of it. Actually, to go back to memories, have you ever seen translucence at sea on a pitch black night? Where the algae emits light when you touch it? You swirl your fingers through the water and it leaves glowing trails in the water that fade away quickly. Under the boats at night the light was so bright at night it looks like you have a light system running under the boat - it's that bright. I could read by it if I leaned over the side on a pitch black night and could keep from bouncing overboard and my book from getting wet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFJmzxZgI/AAAAAAAACrQ/DXeqZEDt7ME/s1600/tunnel+spur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFJmzxZgI/AAAAAAAACrQ/DXeqZEDt7ME/s200/tunnel+spur.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFpmynQ6I/AAAAAAAACrg/cWn9Qq3GcII/s200/Light+at+the+end+of+the+tunnel.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual Light at the End of the Tunnel (1/2</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> mile)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFGgy9MAI/AAAAAAAACrE/IL2i6RvR3M4/s320/Sand+Island+Marina.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Island Marina</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFHE3BFlI/AAAAAAAACrI/AoOv3GDdsmE/s320/Sellwood+Bridge+Dusk.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sellwood Bridge at Dusk</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFI7Z7NSI/AAAAAAAACrM/g_QSHq3X4RQ/s200/Sellwood+Bridge.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sellwood Bridge</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFXUMz4aI/AAAAAAAACrc/bWkan4u2W5k/s200/Cute.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My helper</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFOg54VaI/AAAAAAAACrY/qJ23do_J1Lc/s200/willamette+river.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willamette at Dusk</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyways, yesterday, Rachel and I went out for a while and explored a tunnel on a railroad track that I've always wanted to look at that runs near Cornelius Pass. It's kinda creepy going in - honestly though - I'm still paranoid from the military that I do pack everywhere I go. So I walk into this tunnel in the middle of a forest and there's gang-banger graffiti on the walls all the way in until it gets dark and they can't see anymore to graffiti (wusses) and I find myself listening and watching and tensing up like I'm clearing a building or something again.....I just marvel that I can be on such high alert all the fricking time. I swear I'll be dead by forty due to heart strain. I even saw a man pull his wallet out the other day at the fall festival through a crowd and I honed in on it was assessing to prepare to draw because it looked like he was pulling a gun at the angle he was holding it. I'm only glad I'm not like some veterans who do lose it and don't take the time to assess. I'm also grateful that my assignment required perfection in the execution of my duties because my assignments were high profile and required me to make sure of everything before I act - never mind I can feel fuses blowing at times trying to hold it together when people get "up on me" like the not-so-nice gentleman at the WinCo yesterday who was in a hurry because it was half-time which makes him the most important person in the world automatically and entitles him to ride my rear like some gay guy trying to hit on me in a bar with body language and let me know how special I am while he goes after the cashier and harps on old people for being too slow. Anyways, I didn't go too far through the tunnel because tunnels are damp and the ties had mud coming up in between them and with Rachel coming with me it was getting to where I was worried she would slip in something and we'd have a train come along and not be able to get out of the way in time or see to get out of the way (That'd be my luck)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFI7Z7NSI/AAAAAAAACrM/g_QSHq3X4RQ/s1600/Sellwood+Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />Then we made it out to Saint Helens and went to a small park long enough to do some metal detecting on the river. It was a small beach -I just covered the sandy area and found a dime and saw some nice boats there. <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TLvFNkrEaXI/AAAAAAAACrU/0z7deWVUTkY/s200/victory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel's first find</td></tr></tbody></table>I'm so desperate for a boat I might actually just for the heck of it buy a raft - something I can go paddle around in the off-season and go out to some of these islands. Of course then I'll need a life preserver for the kidlets and if I take my minelab something waterproof and floatable to keep it in because I'm not about to just ditch a thousand plus dollars piece of equpment into the drink due to something idiotic happening. <br /><br />Anyways, here's a picture of Rachel - I'd given up digging something and she continued on and found a pipe! Her first find! The Minelab does good but I think it could use a software upgrade because the places I search have so much debris and trash it's hard to sort through it all - though it does way better than my Garrett Metal Detector. Whatever it is - it is cool to find things - although after two wedding rings and a lot of money I'm kind of spoiled. All I want is more! That's all. Is that too much to ask? <br /><br />You'll have to forgive the formatting of the google blog - not sure what's up with it but - well it is what it is. Simply because it is. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-19108445013956455972010-10-12T23:05:00.000-07:002016-01-01T00:06:51.602-08:00Road Trip! Oregon! Vernonia! Nehalem River! Roy! Idiotville! <br />
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Well another road trip for the day! Today (Actually a few days ago - been sick - and started this but just finished it today) I went to the Vernonia Pioneer Museum to see what I could find on a stagecoach route through the region. Why? My family owns property where the route used to run by and I'd be interested to go scope it out and see what I can find. </div>
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Today? Not a whole lot as it turns out. Not much at all except there was one and the trip from Cornelius to Vernonia by stagecoach took 11 hours and 30 minutes. Its 27 miles by today's highway so it would have been approximately a 4mph journey at the MOST back then at any given point. The only reason I found it out was someone in re-furbishing a home in downtown Vernonia found a newspaper in the walls from 1887 that actually on the front page had the stage coach route on it. Notice there is a town called "Idiotville" on the map. Yes, its a real town but a ghost town. A jumping off point for loggers in the forest where it was so isolated, "only an idiot would go out there." </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cobalt Blue Bottle Collection at the museum. Every <br />
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Vernonia's such an isolated community - you wouldn't even know it was there or how to get to it, or to Jewell or Mist or the Nehalem River unless there was the huge sign on the side of 26 pointing you that way. There's really not much there. In one of the floods back in 1996, the town is so isolated, it was actually <i>forgotten</i> while they were underwater. Literally - forgotten. Good thing Bush wasn't president and it wasn't a black community. Just a bunch of white loggers - we all know they deserve to be flooded out of their trailers and pickup trucks because they are so rich so it serves them right for being white. Their population wasn't even 2,000 then. If God was truly just he would smite them with a 747 crashed into the side of the high school to punish them for their evil in cutting down trees while they should be converting to sharia jihadi militant Islam Oh,<a href="http://www.history.com/shows/ax-men/videos/crash-and-burn#crash-and-burn"> here's a link to a full episode of Ax Men</a> - one of the stars of the show owns a logging company out of there, Mike Pihl - who everybody knows in town and even came up in the subject of talking with the ladies at the Museum. Vernonia=loggers=logging.</div>
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Anyways, the Pioneer Museum is the old Mill Office of Oregon America Logging Company. I was going to ask if I could take my metal detector to the grounds around the mill office but don't really want to deal with the Vernonia <strike>Thug Mafia Drug Dealer</strike> Police Department blowing a fuse over someone doing something without specifically asking them. (They have a reputation for dishonesty and corruption in the city - is it true? I talked with a state trooper once who made a comment to the same effect while we chatted as he passed through Vernonia - so - I guess there's something to it - at any rate they do NOT have a reputation for being honest and as an ex-cop....well...I would rather not tangle with a corrupt PD). </div>
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thrashing under the bridge on their way towards me. </div>
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So we finally headed down to the river and I did some metal detecting IN the river itself and just found the usual pennies. However, the salmon are spawning and I saw something I've never seen before in my life: Steelhead Salmon, exhausted from their trip from the Pacific working their way up river in water that's almost too shallow for them. They were HUGE! Well over 3 feet and approaching four in many instances. But they were thrashing through the shallows. I had 90% of a mind to jump in and tackle one except for the Vernonia <strike>thug gang-rape drug-dealing</strike> police department was not something I cared to deal with that day as they have a reputation for enforcing rules they make up on the spot or that nobody's heard of - and more than that - I hate getting my shoes wet and I don't even like eating fish. But it'd have been a scream to catch one! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nehalem River looking north, the Salmon were thrashing in the <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Magic Carpet Made of Steel from the Oregon American Logging Company</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border: medium none; text-align: center;">Formerly the brig of the USS Oregon (BB-3) - that for a time ended up as Vernonia's Jail. Nobody knows how it got there but that's what it was. Now it's on display in Vernonia. Yet another scattered piece of Battleship Oregon around the state. </td></tr>
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At any rate, we had a good time. A search of downtown located an old logging train, another Magic Carpet Made of Steel. </div>
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Strangely the brig off Battleship Oregon was in the park near the train I hadn't thought much of it until I was reading the signs in the park tellng me what it was. Since I walked a beat in a brig and spent some time around them, I thought it'd be neat to put a picture of an old one from the 1800's up.</div>
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But the day couldn't start without Rachel getting a toy electric motor caught in her hair. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel, demonstrating the fashionability of a toy motor in here hair</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After all this we went to Mariolino's in downtown Vernonia for the two-for-one special and had four hamburgers for $2.00. They really are good.</div>
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Finally, we ended up in Roy, Oregon, where my family lived back before the depression - German Immigrants and farmers. There's not a lot to see there, small town....okay....exceptionally small town. Makes Vernonia look huge. Wide spot in the road. But here's a few photos from playing around on the railroad tracks where the station used to be way-back when. Notice the grey skies.....yes....it's started again. Rainy season....until next July pretty much.</div>
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Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-63336472472632163172010-10-07T20:22:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:03:48.502-07:00Found a Gold Wedding Band Metal Detecting! Minelab Explorer III had my kids out at a park tonight where they played with the obnoxious only child (HEY! I'm an only child! Wait. Am I an only child if I'm an adult? Now what if I'm married?) <br /><br />Anyways, after a while I finally found a gold wedding band about 4 inches down near an oak tree.<br /><br />At least this time I didn't get skunked like I did at the beach. I'm getting better at digging in the dirt. My handy-dandy sifter was really nice as it allowed me to put the dirt in it and then put it back in the hole without leaving a bunch of tore up grass at the park. <br /><br />On another note - I really hate it when I go to the park and my kids play with other kids. My daughter's a cutie but a hellion. No fear. Going to get hurt someday if she doesn't put the brakes on this stuff. Easily taken advantage of - but way too outgoing for a four year old. Anyways, it's enough to manage my kids when they are at their rowdiest and most rambunctious - never mind doing managing someone elses' kids while they are rambunctious. And THEN having to deal with other parents as well. I actually got after the mom who tried to get after me for getting after her daughter for throwing sticks at my daughter. Stupid stupid drama on a playground. Too much drama. Too much.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-10032521296608642112010-10-01T20:29:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:30:09.721-07:00Pictures - Some Mine - Some Others<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I took a few of these with my camera - I took the others from the web</div>
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Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-18769980823342683052010-09-27T21:31:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:03:48.500-07:00Metal Detecting AGAIN - got it figured out now. Minelab Explorer IITook the Minelab Explorer II out tonight after having read the owner's manual - and WOW.<br /><br />I figured out how to turn the variableness of the audio pitches up to the max and this is what made all the difference also after having learned to read the smart-find screen. <br /><br />WHAM WHAM WHAM!<br /><br />I didn't even have that long to go out and all of a sudden it was one right after the other. <br /><br />I actually found a PILE of money - okay - a small pile. But - someone's pockets got dumped on the beach. This is the same beach I've been at for the last three visits over ground I've really struggled to discern what I was hearing. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFqWpVEbQI/AAAAAAAAChM/Y5I4vhnfbEQ/s1600/27+sept+2010+lak+oswego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFqWpVEbQI/AAAAAAAAChM/Y5I4vhnfbEQ/s320/27+sept+2010+lak+oswego.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So now with the audio completely tweaked out - and using my new handy-dandy-sifter - it was just one after the other. I think I only had 45 minutes or so and all but two of these were found in the same hole. <br /><br />Interestingly - it's almost the exact same amount as what I found last night (63 cents tonight and 64 last night). <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFtM9W9_DI/AAAAAAAAChU/tlHaan4NNoU/s1600/digging+a+hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFtM9W9_DI/AAAAAAAAChU/tlHaan4NNoU/s320/digging+a+hole.jpg" width="320" /></a>So, reading the owner's manual was relatively painless - but I've played around with it enough to know what I needed to do as soon as I went back after having read it. So in a way - I really hadn't played with it enough to understand the owner's manual yet. The Minelab Explorer II has a very steep learning curve - or so a lot of people say and I agree.<br /><br />At any rate, the piles of change were sounding or looking like they were a "pipe" buried underground because the minelab wasn't differentiating between the individual items - so it looked like something really large underground - way to big to be money. <br /><br />And then tonight when I went back.....a pile of money. <br /><br />I was having an easier time differentiating between trash and money though. I didn't dig up a single piece of trash this time with the audio set with the maximum differentiation. I was ONLY picking up money. <br /><br />Now - I know what money looks like but I'm not quite certain about the different metals that I'd be interested in digging up. I do have some gold coins and silver coins in my safe I might go and test out on the minelab to see what kind of reading I get and start looking for jewelry. <br /><br />How I got into metal detecting you ask? Funny you should ask. Well - let me tell you. <br /><br />When I worked for Select Comfort's Home Delivery in Portland (and was the Senior Technician for an area covering Oregon, Washington and California - WOOT!) during a delivery in Woodburn, Oregon, with Jonathan my Brother In Law who worked with me, a man was a coin collector. I collect coins too. But he had some stuff I had no idea how to find. Namely raw gold nuggets. And then he whipped out a Minelab Explorer II and took me and Jonathan outside to show us how it worked and explained where he got all his rare finds. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFr19P3JcI/AAAAAAAAChQ/58NGrvPEx3c/s1600/minelab+display.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFr19P3JcI/AAAAAAAAChQ/58NGrvPEx3c/s1600/minelab+display.gif" /></a></div>Having tried metal detecting before with an early model from Radio Shack that simply had a needle on it, when I saw the display as he searched his lawn - I knew I had to have one. <br /><br />No. <br /><br />Not just have one. <br /><br />I had to have one before Jonathan. <br /><br />Or anyone. <br /><br />So - I went Minelab Explorer shopping. And they were well over $1k. <br /><br />So I waited until I found one for less than $1k and saved my money up until I had zero dollars and a nice empty high interest credit card and was broke in college and bought one. <br /><br />And now - two years later - I'm figuring it out. <br /><br />Although on my very first day I found a dollar at Seaside. I'd be totally stoked about going back to Seaside now though - last time I found a penny and enough nails to build my own house but now I know I could discriminate them out much easier this time. <br /><br /><div style="border: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFvdNIS1YI/AAAAAAAAChY/5uiaRtJSzkc/s1600/hooray%21%21%21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKFvdNIS1YI/AAAAAAAAChY/5uiaRtJSzkc/s320/hooray%21%21%21.jpg" width="320" /></a>The one thing I like about it is I can use regular AA batteries. I hate battery chargers. About the only thing I'm willing to charge is my cell-phone. </div><div style="border: medium none;"><br /></div>So in conclusion: HOORAY MINELAB! I think now that I know what I'm doing this would SMOKE a White's Metal Detector having played alongside someone with one a few times - I'm absolutely convinced the Minelab is the king in this instance. <br /><br />That and my handy dandy sifter.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-7852183909367169282010-09-26T21:19:00.000-07:002013-06-12T20:03:48.504-07:00Metal Detecting: Minelab Explorer II - Lake Oswego....AGAIN!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Went metal detecting on the banks of the Willamette again tonight. Nice night. Rachel played in the river, left Matthew at home so the kids could have a break from each other and I could have a break from TWO kids, although having the one can still be a handful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anyways, I think I'm not using the minelab right. I'm having all sorts of issues with it. Maybe I actually need to read the owners' manual. At any rate - I made a sifter out of a windshield wiper fluid bottle that was empty. I drilled a bunch of 5/8" holes in it (smaller than a dime) and cut the end off . Then when I found something I dug a pile. Then picked up part of the pile with the sifter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If the pile still showed something in it - I'd get another part of the pile with the sifter until it didn't show anything in it. Then - SIFT AWAY! I found this went even faster if I dipped the whole thing in the river. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was having a hard time on the heavily populated side as there's so much trash to sift through, but when I got to the other side where only lovers make out - the beeping dropped drastically and I was only hitting money at that point. Actually all but two pennies were found on the "lover's lane" side of the park. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here was my finds this evening (two quarters....I think....a dime....four pennies)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Much better with the sifter. I don't have to worry about it going through my fingers anymore. Now I think I just need to read the owners' manual. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKAZ-5nW-qI/AAAAAAAAChE/Tav2YwQx7kY/s1600/0926101951-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKAZ-5nW-qI/AAAAAAAAChE/Tav2YwQx7kY/s320/0926101951-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a bunch of jellybeans I didn't find with the minelab. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKAaDFa887I/AAAAAAAAChI/lYhgwoFTFCI/s1600/0925101812-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5wkMFMMQMAc/TKAaDFa887I/AAAAAAAAChI/lYhgwoFTFCI/s320/0925101812-00.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-34731627821125659932010-08-15T12:45:00.002-07:002023-11-18T22:23:31.788-08:00First Testimony.......I was very blessed by the Lord to be a convert to this Gospel, and even more blessed to have been called to serve in the future home of Zion where the Lord will one day have more converts than from all english speaking missions combined, the southern US.<br />
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Many children grow up with a testimony of Christ in the south but not a testimony of or a means to discern doctrine as there are literally thousands of doctrines down south - its so common people don't really think about it or if they do they don't know what to make of it or what to do about it. <br />
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It was amazing of the thousands of times I knelt with families and prayed with them "To ask a yes or no question, Is Joseph Smith a Prophet?" and to ask the Lord to "Please manifest it in our hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost" how much more perceptive children were of the Holy Ghost - I had heard about it it, but I have seen it after my mission...it is hard to believe this year will mark ten years since I entered the mission field in November - at the ripe old age of "about-to-not-get-to-go-because-you're-too-old-if-you-wait-a-few-more-weeks". <br />
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To share a story, I remember kneeling with the "Green" family, Marla and Sedrick - they lived right across from us in Baton Rouge and I was getting used to stopping people just walking by and asking if they wanted to hear a message about Jesus Christ. Sedrick was walking his dog when I stopped him and he said ".....sure! Why not?" and invited us in. Over the course of several discussions, it was very clear that Satan was very determined to keep us from working this part of the Lord's vineyard as the social and societal pressures began to mount on the family over their continued interactions with us, but the Holy Spirit is true. <br />
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When it finally came to kneel and ask "a yes or no question" we knelt with them and asked outright, "Is Joseph Smith a true prophet? Is the Book of Mormon more of your word?" <br />
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As we knelt in contemplation, their daughter who I believe was about 7 or so, I believe she may have been a bit older than that, was kneeling with us. <br />
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As we waited for an answer, her chin came up as we waited in silence and her eyes got really big and she gasped and said "OHMYGOSHIFEELSUCHAWARMFEELINGINSIDEANDASOFTVOICEISSAYING YES! YES! YES! YES! ITS TRUE! THEY ARE TELLING THE TRUTH!!! I KNOW IT!!! GOD TOLD ME!!!!"<br />
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Children are so trusting and so open! <br />
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On my mission we were so faithful thanks to the teutelage of my trainer that I have literally controlled and directed the elements by faith and have seen the rain stop, storms abate and even the heat become subdued so we could work - all things happened by faith to where we would literally step out into a typical but nasty Louisiana Rainstorm - the types that would flood the streets with 2 feet of water in several minutes and make working very difficult- from under an overhang and the rain would literally stop hitting the ground as we stepped out in faith. <br />
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On that note, I also found and declared that "Those streets are MINE" when the rain poured because all the Jehovas Witnesses and everyone else called it quits at those times - mine by divine decree of an apostle of the Lord! Mine above all otherson the earth to work with the Spirit of the Lord! <br />
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I made it a point to drag my companions out in to the nastiest weather because there was no competition, and had literally gone riding in two and feet of water - and even being out in an annoying tornado or twenty - just to get out without the competition beating us to the door a half hour before we got there - a common problem down south. <br />
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Those rainstorms were some of the greatest blessings Heavenly Father sent as many people thought we were "insane" and wanted to know what we were out doing in suits riding in that weather and we told them "We have a very important message....there is another testament of Jesus Christ and the prophets have returned....would you like to hear about it?" I got to teach at bus stops and invited in so often in those rainstorms. <br />
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But what was the point of my story? <br />
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Often we would pose a question to children or people when it came to the points of doctrine "but what if they are wrong?" <br />
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We would get asked "Why would they lie?" <br />
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And we would reply to something they all knew very well and were very aware of even if they hadn't noticed it "everyone says its true but they all teach different things....haven't you noticed? So they can't all be right if they are all teaching different things.....who would know who's right?" <br />
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"....God...."<br />
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"Lets ask HIM then...and let him tell us, if GOD HIMSELF told you what we were telling you was true, would you follow it?" <br />
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"Well...I...er...."<br />
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"Not me...not him...GOD HIMSELF....."<br />
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"Oh...well....yeah if GOD said so..."<br />
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"Then let's ask....a yes or no question....ready?" <br />
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"....."<br />
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"We're talking the answers to the universe here! GOD talking! If nothing happens, FINE! But if he answers, what an amazing gift that would be! Knowledge from God himself! Shall we?" <br />
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".....all right.....lets do it! You go first!" <br />
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And that was how it began - a first discussion - we were commanded to by the Apostles and Seventy to be so direct and we did sort the wheat from chaff on a very first discussion - you were on one side of the fence or the other when we got done with the very first discussion - we taught so clearly as to remove doubt as to where we stood or what this was about. <br />
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I have NEVER ever knelt with anyone who did not receive an answer from God that this work was true - and it was much to the chagrin of several preachers who apparently didn't believe that God would answer us as we knelt, to the surprise of several athiests, and to the shock of many who were making fun of us and to the discomfort of one very devout Jehova's witness (and I'll throw myself in this category at one time). <br />
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Going back to the rain, about a year or so ago when Matthew was about four, some of you may remember when I told the story about teaching Matthew faith in the Lord when we were headed out to an outing to play in a park and the typical Oregon storm clouds came over and threatened our outing and we didn't have coats and our outing would have been ruined. <br />
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Having seen and done "it all" by the priesthood and faith on my mission, I had seen an opportunity to teach matthew that his prayers WERE answered by God and taught him how to pray that the rain would stop and to explain to Heavenly Father that we didn't have coats, that he wanted to go, and that if it rained we would have had to go home (we were seeing some waterfalls on a river) and knowing that if anyone was worthy to have that prayer answered it would be a child, and so he did. And right on cue, the rain stopped when he was done, and the clouds parted and the sun returned. And we thanked the Lord when it was over. <br />
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He has since used "his powers" on I don't know how many outings and I know others have seen it, my sister in law has commented on this several times how quickly he is to pray for sun so he can stay out - and what a Loving Heavenly Father who will listen to a little boy who wants to play and has faith and even change the weather for him!<br />
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And so, I recently asked Matthew how he knew the book of Mormon was true, whether President Monson was a prophet, and he told me that "my teacher told me!"<br />
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We discussed the dilemma this posed as described above in terms a 5 year old could under stand and his 4 year old sister with him - she's just a bit more hyperactive than he is. <br />
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Being a convert myself and having seen thousands receive answers to this question, as well as having seen many hundreds of LDS that I know personally having struggled with this prospect of having not had an answer for much of their life until late teens or whenever, as a father I decided to help him with what I was blessed to see on my mission. <br />
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We read in the scriptures the same verses we read on our mission tonight, Galatians 5 where it describes the fruit of the spirit, and Ephesians where it talks about the fruit of the spirit being in all righteousness and truth, and we knelt to ask God a "yes or no question, is Joseph Smith a prophet, is Thomas Monson a prophet, is this Your church, is the book of Mormon true?" <br />
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When we knelt to pray, we all three took turns asking those "yes or no questions" and we waited. <br />
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And though I felt an answer, and I felt the spirit, it was time to teach my five year old son (daughter's still kinda following along a bit and watching) how to listen. <br />
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We talked about being still and listening.....and sister was having a hard time holding still as was he....and when we got done.....<br />
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He didn't receive an answer. <br />
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I told him, "I got an answer.....God told ME it was true....does that mean God didn't answer you?" <br />
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And he looked very sad and said "yes.....he didn't answer me...." <br />
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And I asked him, "or....maybe you weren't listening...you were fidgeting around a bit....but I heard it......the spirit is VERY quiet....you have to learn to pay attention to it.....be quiet....." <br />
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I am always teaching my children to be quiet - not just for convenience....part of it is my military training as I am always listening to accoustics off buildings and ptiches of engines, voices and goings on in houses, speed of footsteps, and paying attention to how loud I walk and what noise I make and am teaching my children to be still and listen to those things....to pay attention to the world around them....be quiet.....it paid off this last week when by being still and quiet - quite the task for a 4 and 5 year old! - they were approached by a couple chipmunks several times over a couple days that came right up to their shoes while we were in the outdoors!<br />
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Well now we got to practice something else we've been working on and they have already seen the physical blessings of - (being quiet brings wildlife up to you) - being quiet and listening. <br />
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And now we got to talk about being quiet allowing us to hear the spirit....we can tie it all in! "See what happens when you are quiet and listen??? WOW! The world begins to open up to you!"<br />
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So now, when Matthew realized that maybe he wasn't paying attention, I asked if we should try again.....<br />
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He said, to my surprise actually because they were tired..."Yes..." <br />
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So we did....and I prayed and asked....<br />
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We sat for a while....daughter was having a hard time holding still but was being quiet.....Matthew's arms were folded and his eyes closed in intense concentration.....I don't think I've ever seen him concentrate so hard in a prayer....and as we waited.....after about a minute....suddenly Matthew's head came up and his eyes got wide and he got a HUGE grin on his face and he took a deep breath with a HUGE smile and said "I GOT AN ANSWER!!! HE TOLD ME YES!!!!" <br />
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"What did it feel like?"<br />
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"It felt HAPPY!" and he was smiling and shaking his head up and down. Not only did the spirit witness to me as a Father that this just happened, but given that earlier he told me quite honestly that he didn't get an answer and wasn't going to just make something up on this....I knew he had received his First Testimony. <br />
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And I pointed out to him, "Now you have seen that your prayers are HEARD by God through the rain that you've prayed to stop, do you remember?" He nodded vigorously yes! "And now you have also been answered and heard the Lord, GOD HIMSELF, Heavenly Father, just talked to YOU. This is how you learn the things of God....you can ask Him....and he WILL tell you like he just did....you can learn to ask a YES OR NO question....learn to listen....the Holy Ghost is very quiet....but he WILL talk to you if you listen carefully...." <br />
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He kept nodding and smiling....and just looked thrilled and happy!<br />
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We then had to kneel and thank Heavenly Father for answering our prayers and for hearing us and teaching us. <br />
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I guess what I've learned through my conversion and the blessings of having served a mission is that we don't have to leave the testimonies of our children to chance and time....we can and should as parents take the time to give them that guided tour and experience an answer WITH them and discuss it - just as we do with investigators. <br />
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We don't have to wait until our children are 15 or so and HOPE that they get an answer in time in their own prayers and that someday it clicks....it's too much to leave to chance....and having seen I don't know how many "seeds" trampled under foot in the mission field and watch the weeds choke them.....I really like the Apostles' and Seventies' counsel on this topic as they pushed the Southern missionaries to be more direct and not leave testimonies to chance and to do it right there...and help them discover it themselves and discuss it with them. Its not something I've heard in the church (maybe they discussed it but getting to church on time is a real chore for us so maybe we missed it) but is a blessing I was blessed to discover. <br />
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Today as I reflected on my own life and felt like was becoming very aware of my shortcomings as a father - seems to be the typical feeling of being a parent quite often - at least it is for me - and I reflected on the words of the doctrine and covenants that if we do not teach our children these things, then the sins of the children be upon the heads of the parents - I thought "I've got enough on my plate from my OWN shortcomings......I'd better work even harder on making sure I do this right....ohhhhhh no! No Laman and Lemuels in this family! Lehi must still be rolling over in his grave! We're going to go knock this out...." <br />
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Young children CAN know these things are true and CAN have a testimony - and now Matthew knows (Gonna work with Rachel some more - I think she got it but she was tired to and so was dad - but I wanna make sure it sticks) it is true and he knows he knows because he felt and recognized the spirit himself and declared it himself. <br />
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Does that mean he knows everything? Of course not. Line upon line precept upon precept. But he DOES know and he knows he knows - (and in time will come to know what that means) - things that some of the most powerful men on earth have not yet come to a knowledge of: that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and how to get an answer from God Himself. <br />
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And knowing these things, he can now begin to learn other things. <br />
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We have to teach them while they can still learn...before its too late and the sounds of the world are so loud in their ears that they can't hear the things of God anymore - is my testimony as a parent. <br />
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I haven't ever been told to do this specifically, but I'm thankful for the experiences of a mission to have taught me these things. <br />
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I was amazed at how little training we received in the mission field and yet how universal the revelations were as we grew in the word and work. <br />
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I know the church is true....Because God Himself has told me!Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994236750461220278.post-49673282795369209451993-12-10T18:00:00.000-08:002012-01-12T09:04:34.693-08:00About MeI'm a convert to the LDS church of 18 years now (at the time of this writing) from the Catholic Church. I still admire the Catholic church as it prepared me well for the LDS doctrine - concepts such as authority, order and reverence - a universal doctrine - all made sense to me.<br />
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I always wanted to know the truth, and was baptized at age 18 the same week I shipped out for the US Navy. <br />
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Later I served a mission in the Baton Rouge Louisiana Mission from 2000-2002. It was an amazing time.<br />
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Now I'm a father working on becoming a doctor of psychology and rather enjoying myself with our three children and my wife. For now I blog on the LDS doctrines here and there in this blog.<br />
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I hope you enjoy.Abby Normalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02348500626520313053noreply@blogger.com