It's Hot Outside..

Temperatures have been in the 115 range for the last few days.  That has meant lots of swimming and popsicles around our house.  Since our last blog update Emilia was born and is beautiful and thriving.  Ed had a birthday, Tommy had a "practice" birthday party since his birthday is over summer break and most of his friends would be out of town at the real date he celebrated early and is excited to celebrate with family on the real birthday date.  He also graduated from kindergarten!  David and Carter are headed to middle school, Cade had successful leg surgery, did a great job doing physical therapy with his Dad and is headed to high school in the fall.  Cox's are moving to a great new home with lots of room for a growing family and we are so excited for them.  Allison's baby boy is due in a couple weeks and we are so excited to meet him and welcome him to our family.  Cami is hoping to come to Grandma's house by herself for a week or so in July, and we are excited to have her.  McKeehan's got a new car, a mini van, that has made Jennifer's life lots easier.  Ed's truck broke down this last weekend and he is hoping he can get a new one, we'll see.  My Dad will be turning 90 in another week or so.  We are doing some renovations on the house, all in all everyone is well and so busy!  Grandkids rotate in and out of our house constantly and we are so grateful to have them here, and even more so that they want to be here!  Looking forward to the fourth of July to celebrate the birth of this country, and as I have researched family history over the last few months, concentrating on those patriot ancestors who were involved in the founding and birth of this great land, it has come to mean even more to me.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

It's so hard to believe it is March already!  Seems like I just finished cleaning up from Christmas and here we are about to welcome Spring.  It is definitely a season of newness.  My dad has come home from another extended hospital stay and I am so grateful for that.  Two new grandbabies will soon be welcomed into our family.  Steve and Lidia's little Emilia is due in March, and Bryan and Allison are expecting a boy in July.  Keith's life was spared in a horrible accident in February, the tender mercies just keep on coming.  We are ever so busy with jobs and family and callings, but grateful for that busyness as well.  I have planted my flower and vegetable gardens and am hoping for a better years harvest than last year.  And last but not least, so excited for the bright sunshine and warmer temperatures of the last few days.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2013...As it begins

we are grateful for the love and friendship of family and friends. We know mortality is hard.  Life isn't so much what hardships come our way, its more about how we respond to them.  The peace of the gospel isn't that our burdens disappear, its that we are made equal to them.  Though the difficulties remain, our abilities to overcome them increase.  "May those who love us, love us, and those who don't may the Lord turn their ankles so we will know them by their limping."  (an old Irish proverb I just love).  My favorite quote from a lesson I taught on Sunday, "righteous, faithful gospel living brings confidence, well being and peace, even when it is illogical to have such reassurances".  We wish you all a year of such reassurances as well as faith, hope, trust, health, and prosperity!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"The New Patriotism"

                                                    THE NEW PATRIOTISM
                                                           by Edgar A. Guest

It isn't enough on the Fourth of July
To send up a rocket to break in the sky;
It isn't enough, as we've all come to know,
To hang out Old Glory and make a big show.
              To stand up and cheer
              For the flag once a year
Is all very well in its limited way,
              But what we must do
              For the Red, White and Blue
Is love it and honor it day after day.

It isn't enough on the Fourth of July
To take off your hat as the Flag's passing by,
Or stand when "The Star Spangled Banner" is played
And cheer as the soldiers go past in parade.
             It is all very well
            Your devotion to tell
On the Fourth of July by a brilliant display,
           But the flag that you love
           As it ripples above
Needs something of service from you every day.

The test of your love's not the Fourth of July.
Or the cost of the rockets you send to the sky;
It isn't the way you get once a year
Or the flags you display or the speeches you cheer.
          Though you may be correct
          In the outward respect
Which on certain occasions you publicly pay,
         The proof of your love
         For Old Glory above
Is the service you give to her, day after day.

Time was that the Flag asked but little from us,
Men could satisfied be with their holiday fuss;
But the Motherland now needs our strength and our prayer
We must love and protect her and give her our care.
          For all we hold dear
          Every day in the year,
We must guard against all who would bring her to shame.
          We must teach men the worth
           Of the best land on Earth,
We must live for her glory and work for her fame.

USS MIDWAY

We had a chance while we were down in San Diego over the last weekend to spend the morning on Saturday visiting the USS Midway Museum.  The Midway is an aircraft carrier that was built from 1943 to 1945 and was actually commissioned into use two weeks after WWII ended.  It is named after the Battle of Midway, but did not actually participate in it.  What an awesome experience we had touring this ship.  There is an audio tour and then parts of the ship actually have docents, most men who served in WWII, who will give information and talk about  how things worked, and answer any questions.  We were fascinated, and can't wait for an opportunity to take our grandsons there!  Here are a few pictures we took.

This was our first sight from the parking lot:

A control panel in one of the engine rooms:

Weapons (unarmed, I hope) loaded onto a plane on the flight deck.  There are lots of different types of planes and helicopters on the flight deck, many that you can get into.

Another shot of the flight deck with all the different aircraft:

An example from a talk from a docent we heard to learn how an aircraft lands and takes off from a carrier,  and the men and women who serve on the flight deck and the roles they play.  FASCINATING!

Another shot of the flight deck and the aircraft on it.  Gave me such a new perspective of how the men and women who served on this aircraft carrier sacrificed every day for this country's freedom!

The view of the bridge area from the flight deck.  We got to go on a docent guided tour of the bridge and learn about the men/women who serve in those capacities from the commanding officer to the aircraft commander to the navigator, etc.  This was before the days of computers, so everything was done visually and manually, so amazing!

From the flight deck we could look to the opposite side of the harbor and see the modern day aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vincent, at dock for repairs.  A docent explained to us that the Vincent is the carrier from which Bin Ladin's body was buried at sea.

What a great opportunity to visit this awesome historical ship.  I am so grateful to the men and women of the military who have and still do keep our country free.  It is amazing to think that this ship was built during the days of WWII and in only two years!  We spent three hours wandering through learning all about life onboard during the years the USS Midway operated as a commissioned ship in the US Navy.

Back In the Saddle Again!!!!

After a total of 60 hours work she is back home and ready to ride!

Another Sandy Update..

She is back from the welder and powdercoater (again), and has her new saddle and breastplate on. We're getting close to being "back in the saddle again"!!