Keyboard

I don't know why I didn't do this earlier but I just bought a little keyboard for my ipad.  I guess I do know why I didn't to it earlier, it is because they are so dang expensive.  I looked around, watched and finally bought a bluetooth keyboard when it was on sale at BestBuy.  I had some points saved up so this little $100.00 keyboard actually cost around $21.00.  So, I'm typing up this little blog post on my new keyboard on my iPad.  What normally takes me about a half of an hour to type in with the on-screen keyboard, has only taken me a few minutes with my full size little keyboard. I love it.  Not only that, but it has a nice little case that I can use.  Not only does it have this nice little case, but it has a little slot that directs the speaker towards the front instead of towards the back.  So, I no longer have to cup my hand around the side of my ipad to hear anything.  Win, Win, Win.

It looks like this one.

New Perspective

This week I have gained a new perspective.  I wasn't sure how to spell perspective so I had to google perspective vs prospective.  It looks like "Prospective" is an adjective meaning (1) likely to happen, or (2) likely to become, whereas "Perspective"  is almost always a noun. It refers to (1) a view, (2) the angle from which something is viewed, and (3) the proper appearance of objects in relation to each other.   So, I have a new PERSPECTIVE.

While I was on my mission I guess I never made the connection that each of the missionaries I came in contact with had concerned parents at home praying for them.  I don't know why I didn't make the connection but NOW, I definitely see a connection.  Why, you might ask?  My oldest son Coby, as many of you already know, has been called to serve a mission in the Tijuana Mexico Mission.  You can read his letters here on this blog that I have created.  Anyway, I have found myself praying that he would have good companions.  I'm haven't just prayed that he would have a good companion in the MTC, but I'm also praying that his first companion in Mexico will be good for him.  Trainers in the mission field are very important.  They help shape how a missionary will obey, teach, learn and grow in the mission.  I am praying that Coby has a good trainer to get him started in the mission field.  Now that I'm praying for this, I think back on the times when I was in the mission field and how I acted and trained missionaries.  Sadly, in some situations, I wished I had had a different perspective.  I wished I would have thought about the concerned parent back home praying for good companions for their son.  I wished I had done a better job as a trainer.  

As Coby goes through the mission experience, I can't help but think about my mission.  Floods of memories come back to me as I think about what Coby is doing and will be doing over the next 2 years.  My kids are probably sick of my pulling out my mission memorabilia and don't was to see that stuff anymore but for me, it brings back fond memories. 

Anyway, I thought I would post this little piece of my life out there for all to see.  All two of you.

Missionary

As I look over what I have blogged about recently and because of a First Presidency Message I read this morning, I have decided to post another blurb about my life on my blog.

It is interesting to note that on this blog, I have not posted anything about my oldest son entering the MTC.  I have posted a little information on my http://www.ldsfamily.net website but nothing here.  So, below, I'm going to post the little video I created of us dropping him off at the MTC.

Coby is a little dazed in this video.  I'm sure he is a little overwhelmed about what is about to happen.  He is probably a little nervous, scared, excited, and anxious all at the same time.  He is also a little tired since we got up really early in the morning to get on the road so we could make it to Provo by 12:00 noon.

Since this video, we have received many emails and one hand written letter.  All of Coby's letters are being posted on yet another blog I have created called http://cobymission.blogspot.com.  So far, all of Coby's letters have been positive, uplifting and exciting.  He is loving the MTC and loves his companion, his district, his Zone Leaders and his classroom instructors.  From his letters it sounds like he is picking up the language fairly quickly.  Coby has always had a knack for memorizing things so we are hoping the he can use this skill to memorize words in spanish.  I know that memorizing words will only get him so far but once he uses a word long enough, the word becomes the meaning and he will start to learn the language.

Our family is so excited to hear from Coby each week.  His P-Day in the MTC is on Thursday so Deanna and I anxiously check our email several times a day to check to see if he has written anything yet.  I usually have my google account open and I click the "refresh" button over an over just hoping that the next time I hit the button, a little bell will go off on my speakers and a new mail cymbol shows up on my screen. Thursdays are very exciting for us.  I must say, that first week was the longest week just waiting to see how Coby was doing, if he liked his comp and how he was doing.  What a HUGE relief to hear that he was loving it.  We couldn't have asked for a better first letter.

So, we have just passed the half way mark for Coby in the MTC.  He has been there 3 weeks and in another 3 weeks he will leave to enter the mission field.  We are a little nervous about his Visa into Mexico.  We have heard many people that are re-assigned to "waiting" missions to wait for their Visa to be approved.  Coby had some problems with his visa so it was submitted late so this could cause Coby to be re-assigned until his Visa is complete.  We have hoping that doesn't happen and he just heads down to Tijuana Mexico on the date planned.  He is scheduled to leave the MTC on August 20th.

Well, that is about it.  I'll post more as we get more information.

Clint

blogging

Has blogging gone by the wayside?  It feels like it has been 6 months since I have posted anything on this blog site.  Now that I take a minute to look, I see that I posted something just last month and before that, I posted something in May.  So, I guess I'm not as bad as I thought I was at posting new stuff.  HOWEVER, when I went to my Google Reader, I was expecting to see a reader full of blog posts from other people that spanned several screens of information.  To my surprise, there weren't very many posts out there.  Why you might ask?  I pondered a moment, checked my facebook account, and then came to a conclusion.  Facebook.  It is much easier to post stuff on Facebook and get people's reactions than to post on your blog.  There is a certain feeling of satisfaction you get when you post something and within a couple of minutes, someone "likes" your post.  You feel validated, acknowledged, encouraged and another word that means the same thing.  If you post something on your blog, no one knows if anyone read it or if anyone liked it.  I'm guilty of posting something on my blog, waited around for a day or two for some validation and then decided to post the post on Facebook.  So, instead of spending your time creating these cool blog posts with elaborate pictures and anecdotes, please are now posting pithy comments on facebook to get their fix.

Just this weekend a cousin of mine mentioned to me that she reads my blog posts.  I was surprised by this announcement because it is hard to tell when a blog post has been read.  Maybe blogs should be more like facebook so we can get the validation we need to post more stuff about our lives.

Well, that is all I have for today.  I should probably post something more important next time.

"LIKE"

I'm old

I have just now decided that I'm getting old.  I found an shoe horn in the bottom of my closet and used it once and now I used it every Sunday to put my church shoes on.  I've got to be old if I like using a Shoe Horn.  How embarrassing!

Temple Visit

On a drizzly morning in April, Coby and many of his close family went to the temple to support him in receiving his endowments. We had a wonderful session that morning in the Salt Lake City Temple. After exiting the temple, we braved the rain and took a few pictures of Coby outside by the reflecting pool. Below is the short video I took of him while we were there.

Mission Call

The much awaited mission call has finally arrived. Coby has been working on his mission papers since January and finally completed all of the requirements and submitted his papers. We anxiously waited the envelope in the mail to see just what Coby would be doing and where he would be living for the next 2 years of his life.

The envelope finally arrived so we hurried and organized as many family members as we could to come over and watch him open up his mission call. Below is the video of him opening his call.

Coby was called to serve in the Tijuana Mexico Mission. He enters the Provo MTC July 10th 2013 and will be teaching the gospel in the Spanish language. We are very excited for him and we are anxious for him to get started. He has a few months where he can work and earn a little bit of money to help pay for his mission.

Harlem Shake

A few weeks ago my sister posted a video on youtube and named it the "Harlem Shake". I watched the video and saw her kids dancing to a crazy sounding song but didn't quite get what was going on. Later in the week when I was going through some of the videos on YouTube, I found the video and played it again. One of my kids was walking by and watched it too. She told me that she knew what this video was about. It was called the Harlem Shake. We then searched around youtube to fine more Harlem Shake videos. After viewing just a few, I figured out what was going on and then I said, "We are doing one of those videos for FHE!" My kids were skeptical and dismissed it immediately. But, I was ready so when Monday rolled around, I got out the video camera and tripod and told everyone to find something to wear because we were doing a Harlem Shake Video. They were all still skeptical but after I came down into the living room the energy started to build and everyone started to try and find something crazy to wear.

Once we had everything in place, we had to find someone crazy enough to start dancing while everyone else was just sitting there. I opened up the floor to volunteers. No one volunteered. In fact, they all said that I would have to do the dancing since it was my idea. I was ok with that but they would all have to live with the consequences.

Andy found the music and we started the video camera. I didn't know what I was going to do once the music started playing but I knew it had to be big and bold. So, the music started, I started tossing my arms around and ended up punching the air. After that, we stopped the video, put on crazy clothes, turned the music back on, and then went crazy for about 30 seconds.

We took two shots of the second half and then I combined it with the music and uploaded it to YouTube. It was a huge hit will all of our family and friends. Enjoy our "Harlem Shake" Video below.

Sledding

This week a storm his Twin Falls Idaho and dumped a little bit of snow all over the place.  The dumping of the snow wasn't bad but the wind caused the snow to turn into a blizzard.  All of the schools around the area closed so that no one would be hurt while traveling.  So, what do all of the kids do when there is a snow day and they are out of school?  Yep, they run outside and play in the snow.

Unfortunately the snow day did not automatically translate into a day off of work for me.  I still had to work and still had to travel.  I spent most of the day in the office but managed to get a little work done too.

When I got home, Katie begged me to go sledding since she had already tested out the hill.  I wasn't up for sledding that day because I had "worked" all day, but I considered going on Saturday.

Saturday came around so I waited until just before the sun went down so I could hit the warmest part of the day to go sledding.  It still was not warm outside but I bundled up and went over to the small hill by the city pool to get in a few sledding runs before it was too dark.

Below are just a few videos of our experiences.

Coby's off to college

I know this happened a few months ago but I just found the pictures that I took so I'm posting this today.

We took Coby off to college at the end of August.  Coby bought a car from his grandpa at the end of the summer so we loaded up everything we could think of into the Lumina and headed for Logan.  We arrived at his apartment complex and checked in.  We wondered around a little bit trying to find Coby's exact apartment.  The apartment was on the second floor of a large apartment complex at the bottom of the hill close to USU Campus.  When you drop off of the hill, way down below the temple, the area is called "The Island".  Anyway, we found his place and started to unload his car and our Suburban.  After looking through the apartment, we realized that we had packed way to much stuff.  His room was very small.  Not only was it small but he had to share that room with another person.  So, he had to stuff a bunch of his belongings over into a closet close to his bed.  I think the other kids in the family were a little shocked with how little room was.

Below are some pictures of us moving Coby into his new apartment in Logan Utah.

We then took him up to campus and went shopping for some books for his classes.   Yikes, the prices were high so we looked online for a few of them to try and save some bucks.  After making the book purchases we decided to go and buy some food.  We went over to Walmart to stock him up on some food.

After getting back from the grocery store, we took the food into his kitchen and discovered we had bought way too much food.  We had taken up almost all of the room in the kitchen with just Coby's food.  Oops.  Anyway, I guess he could share if there wasn't any more room.

We then said goodbye and headed back to Twin Falls.  Mom and the girls shed a few tears as we left our oldest son in a city several hours away from home.  We knew that things would never be the same, but we also knew it was time for Coby to start his life on his own.

Since then, Coby has worked hard at college.  He had a job that ended just before Thanksgiving and probably won't start up again until March or April.  He has learned what it takes to get good grades in college.  He has learned the importance of studying and how much he needs to use the computer lab.  On one of his computer programming finals he worked and studied and was able to get a 100%.  We hope he continues to learn and grow as he gets closer to leaving to go on a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.