Basement Help

The basement is coming a long quite well.  It's slower than we would like, but between school, work, church, and the family we put in as much time as we can.  We've been sleeping in the basement for a while now.  The carpet is in, doors are up, and we're starting to finish the closets.  We even have half of a working bathroom.  The kids enjoy being downstairs and they love helping to build it.

Tanner and Cedar helped nail in the shelf cleats into the walls.

Bridger wanted to help find the studs to attach the baseboard to.

Colorado - Some additional blessings

There are two other items that Heavenly Father aligned for us to make the move to Colorado possible.  The first one I want to mention is the location where Annie's parents bought their home.  Kaylene shared this experience with me as additional evidence that our move was blessed.

Mark and Kaylene had been living in apartment buildings for some time ever since they moved to Colorado and were very excited to find and purchase a home again. They found one in Bennett Colorado that was a great deal, completely finished basement, and had very nice upgrades.  They began the process and put an offer on the house.  During the process they didn't feel quite right about it, but weren't sure why.  It was such a nice house.  Kaylene felt so uneasy about it they she got physically sick and was up all night one night with a horrible stomach ache.  She told Mark that night to cancel the offer. The next day he did, and as soon as he did, Kaylene's physical ailments disappeared and she felt better.  They both in fact felt at peace with not purchasing the Bennett house.

Later they found the house they are currently in and though it had an unfinished basement, it was still a very nice home.  This home is in Brighton Colorado.  It was only until later when I got my new position with Intel that the reason the Bennett house wouldn't have worked.  It would have simply been too far of a commute for me to be able to live with the Neslens and work at Intel.  Their home in Brighton is almost exactly between Mark's job location and mine making it a pretty reasonable commute for both of us.

The second blessing we received while in the process of moving that I want to mention is in relation to the lease that we were in in Oregon.  The lease expired the end of July, but we were planning on moving in June.  We were of course going to fulfill our lease agreement, but weren't extremely excited about paying the extra couple months of rent.  When we told our landlord we were moving the appreciated the ample notice we gave them and told us that they would forgive the lease if they found someone else to rent in June and July.  We were excited about that possibility, but were hesitant about having to show the house to potential renters.  We've gone through the process of having to show a house and the inconvenience it is, especially while moving.  We had boxes everywhere and weren't making much of an effort to keep the house clean.

Shortly after we were notified that a family wanted to come look at the house so we went through the process of cleaning to make it as presentable as possible.  The family came, looked, and left.  They seemed pleased with it but were also very polite and nice individuals.

It wasn't long after that when we heard that they did want to rent it and would move in just a week after we were planning on moving out.  This was a huge blessing in two ways.  One, our lease would be forgiven from the time the other family moved in.  Second, we wouldn't have to show the house again, preventing a lot of stress.

I know I've said this a lot in this series of blog posts, but I am so great full to Heavenly Father for taking care of us in even the small details of our lives.  For caring for and loving us so much.  For opening the doors for us to move to Colorado and be closer to family.  We have been so blessed to be here.

Temp to Permanent

When I was working for both the Oregon and the Colorado team there were times when I wondered if the late nights and all the extra work would add up to anything or if it was all a waste of time.  I was worried that the temporary position with the Colorado team wouldn't pan out and I was putting the family through unneeded stress.

In December and January I started to get pretty good feedback from the hiring manager in Colorado. I was basically told that if the position were available I was the first on the list to get it, which was heartening, however, I stayed skeptical.  I didn't know the manager and wasn't sure if she was just saying what was easy to say when talking about a potential position to a potential candidate.  Another issue that was creeping into our minds was the fact that if I got the position sooner than later I would have to move while Annie stayed with the kids to finish school.  Watching both our parents go through something similar we knew we didn't want to do that.  We realized that getting the job soon would elliviate our immediate stress , but could just introduce a lot more.  We thought it would be ideal if I could get the job soon, but be able to work remotely until school was over.  I wasn't going to mention this to a hiring manager, but in a conversation she asked when we were wanting to move.  I told her when school was over, but we were of course willing to do what was needed to get the job.  She assured me that when I got the job I could work remotely until we were ready.  "We are Intel after all", she said.  What a huge blessing that was going to be in our lives.

After I had been working with the Colorado team for several months and with no sight or sound of the hiring freeze ending soon Annie and I started facing more decisions that depended on where we were going to be for the next year.  Cedar's preschool re-registration was approaching fast and we didn't want to lose her spot in the school if we were going to be in Oregon for another year.  It was $75 to register her and we didn't want to have to pay that if we were going to be in Colorado for the next school year.  We thought of just paying and thinking about the $75 as the cost of peace of mind in case our plan didn't go through.  But Tanner's school re-registration was also approaching and it was much more than that and it would not have been a "peace of mind".  We had also felt the Spirit on multiple occasions confirming our plan was going to work so we thought that registering Cedar in an Oregon school would be a display of lack of faith.

The week before the re-registration was due that would confirm Cedar's spot in her preschool Annie and I were at the temple and decided to really focus on the answer to the question, "Should we pay the $75 and register Cedar in an Oregon school".  We prayed independently and both felt a peaceful feeling about not needing to register Cedar.  Without knowing what the future looked like it was difficult for me to just accept that so I continued explaining to Heavenly Father how I thought it would be good to have a backup plan. The thoughts that entered my mind were, "Sure … I can pay.  It's not the end of the world to apply and pay … but it's not needed." With that I continued my prayer expressing my desire to have the faith to follow that prompting, to not apply and risk losing the Cedar's spot in her school.  I also asked that  that trial of faith not last too long and that we would know one way or another if I would be offered a permanent position. I again had a thought enter my mind that within a week I would be offered a position.  I really didn't know at the time if that thought was me trying to inject some of my own will and desire, or if it was the Spirit.

We let the day pass when the registration was due, and despite my fears of anxiety, I actually felt okay about it.  Then, just under a week since visiting the temple I got an IM from the hiring manager of the Colorado team that just said she had good news.  I wasn't able to talk to her until the next day, but she did have good news.  She was very excited to tell me that she was allotted one additional head count, and she wanted to offer it to me.  We still had to go through the process of applying and accepting, but it became pretty official at that point that I was able to move my family to Colorado, after 5 years of trying.  And she again assured me that I could work remotely until the family was ready to move.

I, again, have to doubts that Heavenly Father has made this possible for us, and I am extremely grateful.  It shows me just how much He loves me and knows my and my families needs on a personal level.  How He is able to do that for each and everyone of us I don't know.  But I do know that he does.

Finding a Colorado Job

I have really enjoyed my career at Intel and had a great desire to continue it even after moving to Colorado.  When we tried previously to find work in Colorado I did look both internally and externally to Intel, but was coming up empty in both areas.  I have learned that without  networking contacts it is extremely difficult to even get an interview, so I knew my best bet, and in fact my desire, was to get a new position with Intel.

When we made the decision to try again, I wasn't very hopeful because the Intel's presence hasn't been very big in Colorado.  When I looked previously the Colorado Springs site was being closed, the Fort Collins site didn't have positions for the kind of work I do.  There was also a small site (if it could even be called a site), in Longmont Colorado where half a dozen people worked on firmware which is like what I do in that it is writing code, but it is a very different kind of code and I had no experience.  I did apply when we first started looking but was quickly turned away.

Five years later I was surprised to find several software engineering positions available at the Longmont site. Apparently it had grown, however, I still wasn't very hopeful because the type of programming was still outside of my skill set.  I definitely had a lot of software engineering experience, but it was in the wrong area. I decided to apply anyway, but by the time I had a resume crafted to emphasis the experience I did have along with my abilities to learn and ramp quickly, all of the positions had been removed from the internal job posting.  Feeling like not all of the positions could have been filled that quickly and all at the same time I inquired about them and if there were any still available.  The hiring managers informed me that there was a hiring freeze and they weren't sure how long it would last.  The only disappointment I had was the amount of time I had spent on my resume which, at this point, seemed to be in vain.  I knew it was a pretty long shot anyway.

Then an idea was given to me and I began to see Heavenly Father's hand opening doors and providing opportunities.  The idea given to me was to take advantage of the hiring freeze.  These groups in Colorado obviously had a need for additional help that there weren't going to be able to satisfy, at least right away.  I needed an opportunity to learn a new skill set and prove my ability to do that within a short period of time.  I communicated my desire to my manager and he fully supported me offering part of my time to the Colorado hiring managers as a temporary assignment.  I would be able to use 25% of my time for 3 months to work with a team in Colorado.  My manager and the hiring managers met and made the arrangements.  It would be a win-win situation.  The team in Colorado got at least a little extra help and I got an opportunity to prove myself and make some more networking contacts.  The only party that lost was the team I was leaving, but my manager was very supportive of my direction, in part possibly because he was moving into another position as well.  Again, another situation that seemed to align with the direction we were headed.

So I began to work with this new team.  Everyone was excited to work with me and I began to learn a lot, though I was discouraged how much I felt like I needed to learn.  It really seemed like I was working two jobs, using a lot of evenings to try and catch up with the work responsibilities I had.  It was a difficult time because Annie was in school as well and had her classes at night.  But I was very grateful for the opportunity and I put as much effort as I could afford into it.

The Colorado Decision

After trying a few times without success because of the economy and a lack of job opportunities, Annie and I started to wonder if we weren't meant to stay in Oregon.  We moved to Hillsboro to be closer to work and even though we were renting to avoid establishing roots, we started to look at houses again and thinking of buying.  We decided on Annie going back to school which was going to be a 3 - 5 year commitment in Oregon. We got the kids in good schools and we started making friends in Hillsboro that we would miss.  And of course we wanted to stay closer to Sara and Spencer.

Even though we never made the decision to stay in Oregon we did lose the goal of moving to Colorado.  We both felt kind of lost and unsure of what the future would bring and we were living somewhat complacently. We became very busy with Annie's school and everything else life was bringing to us. Our focus became just surviving the day to day, and whenever we looked up to see the direction we were headed in we really couldn't see very far.

Then one day in a regular one on one meeting with my boss at work, he told me that he was moving into a new position at Intel and he thought that I should apply for the management position he was leaving.  I have never done management and wasn't sure if I would want to, but it would be a promotion and potentially a very good opportunity for my career.  I knew this particular management position would be extremely stressful and even more so for me as a new manager.  It was exciting to think about, but I did not feel good about it, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring the additional stress to my family. I decided not to apply for the position, but this opportunity forced me to think long term about my career and where I wanted it to go. At Intel there are well defined tracks for both management and technical positions, but the industry and corporate USA as a whole seem to value managers a bit more. I could probably become a good manager with enough time and experience, but I really like the technical aspect of my job and I'm not sure I would want to lose that. As I was thinking about management versus technical, Annie and I finally decided that what was more important than a position, was our family and being closer to family. So instead of targeting a specific career position, or type of position, we started to again, target Colorado.

At first we made the goal to do whatever it took to get to Colorado after Annie was done with school in a few years.  We hoped by then the economy would improve, and that it would be easier to find work. Thinking about this goal, our future became somewhat clearer than the uncertain cloud we had been living with, and we were excited to have a defined goal again and have something to work towards.

In a discussion with her mom, Annie was expressing some concern about the school program she would be doing and the stress it would bring to the family, and she was asking her mom if she would be able to come help us during a term or two.  In the discussion Kaylene suggested that Annie do the program in Colorado and that we try to move before the program started. Annie only had a few prerequisite classes left before applying to the program in Oregon, so that didn't give us much time, but in discussing it, we really liked the idea and it felt good.  We weren't very hopeful that it would work out, but we started the process again for trying.

It was this decision to start the process again that actually got us here to Colorado. Thinking back to my bosses suggestion to me to make a pretty severe career change was just the nudge we needed to reevaluate our long term goals and get out of the complacency we had been living with.  I have no doubt that Heavenly Father had a hand in helping us to make this decision and that he set up the events that caused us to make the decision that eventually brought us here to where we are today.

We made it to Colorado

When Annie and I were first married both our parents and families lived very close to us in Oregon City Oregon. It was a huge blessing for us and we loved it. We were excited that our kids would be close to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And of course the free babysitting wasn't bad either. Slowly, however, family started to move away. Annie's parents ended up in Colorado and mine in Kansas.  Between Colorado and Kansas we knew we had a better chance of finding a job in Colorado, and we couldn't give up both the ocean and mountains, so our goal became to move to Colorado.  Well that was over five years ago, and it has taken us that long to achieve that goal.  But we did it!  We are living in Colorado now and couldn't be more excited.

We know that we couldn't have done it alone.  Heavenly Father has supported us in this goal, and we had many faith building experiences along the way.  We experienced answered prayers, doors opening, and guidance and inspiration that has led us here. We are just as  grateful for the blessing we have received to be able to move to Colorado as we are of the journey and experiences along the way.  In future posts I will make an account of some of those experiences ... so stay tuned ...

A Date With Tanner

Tanner and I had a special date last week, and he was very excited to go bowling for the first time. It was very fun for both of us. It was fun for Tanner as he learned how many pins there are to knock over, when to stop so he doesn't slip on the slippery part of the lane, and how the ball comes back. I had fun watching Tanner have so much fun. I guess that's the mark of a parent. Enjoying your children's joy. I tried capturing Tanner's "Happy Dance", but it's difficult to capture that much happiness in a photo :-). 

 

 After bowling we enjoyed a couple Frosties from Wendy's. It was already a cold wet day, but Frosties just sounded soooo good. 

 It was a fun day.  

Focus on Important Things

Jose L Alonso of the Seventy spoke this last General Conference on "Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time, without Delay". He talked about doing service to others. He spoke of finding the "lost children" and helping them find their way back. To illustrate, he told a story when he and his young family were shopping for cloths in a very busy city. His youngest son disappeared and was lost from sight. They eventually found him, but he spoke of the urgency they felt to find him and how quickly they acted once they realized he was missing. He emphasizes that they didn't even need a planning meeting. They simply acted with great urgency. 

Elder Alonso's story reminds me of a time when Cedar was lost at a very young age. We were at the beach after my Reach the Beach bike ride. There were thousands of people at the finishing point as more and more people finished the ride and as others waited for family members and friends to finish. After a moment of celebration for having finished the ride we noticed that Cedar was not around. With the same urgency I'm sure that Elder Alonso felt we began to act and search. It took several minutes, but our urgency did not waver. When I found her I was both very relieved and somewhat frustrated with her that she would just wonder off, but my relief greatly outweighed my frustration.

After finding her and picking her up to make sure she wasn't going any where my next urgent feeling was finding Annie (for we had split up to search) because I knew the panic and unpleasant feelings she was feeling (I had just had them), and I wanted to relieve her of those. This is the only thing I would add to Elder Alonso's parallel. After finding someone, there is great joy and relief that one wants to share with others and we should feel some of the same urgency to share it. Similar to the prophet Lehi in his dream, we need to share this fruit with others.

One of the things that stood out to me in Elder Alonso's talk was when he said that "no planning meeting was needed". Anyone that knows me knows that I am more of a planner than an actor. I plan way too much even for simple decisions. A quick example is when I went to the store to get some ground beef for dinner. It took me a half hour of standing in front of the ground beef section at two different stores to finally chose one. In my mind I was debating price vs quality. Do I get bulk because it's cheaper even though we didn't need that much, and bulk at a different store is actually cheaper? With my mind flooded with questions only satisfied by the analysis of data I finally just closed my eyes, held my breath to keep me from hyperventilating, and chose one. ... Was it the best choice? Does it even really matter? Probably more importantly was I lost a half hour of valuable time. Some would say I have a pretty severe case of "analysis paralysis".

Between Elder Alosno's story and the experience that I had with Cedar I realize some decisions in life are easy and more of a reflex even than a decision. What's funny is many times those are the most important decisions. Why then do I spend so much time analyzing things when the outcome has little or no consequence. Anything worth spending the time to make the right decision is either an obvious decision and is probably more of a reflex, or one that Heavenly Father will help us make.

I know decision making isn't what Elder Alonso's talk was about, but this is what stood out to me, and I'm sure it was the spirit influencing my train of thought. "Save time by not wasting it on decisions that don't matter. Focus on important things."

Washing Machine Lives Again

We have recently moved into a new house and I have to say, it was probably our most difficult move ever. I can't say it was difficult for any one specific reason, but for a combination of reasons. We have a lot more stuff now than we have before. We have more kids now. Etc. But with how hard it was, I remember I was finally starting to feel accomplished as I was setting up the washer and dryer that we hadn't used in several years. The hookup was pretty easy, but I did have to change out the plug for the dryer which I had only done once before with the help of my father (who is very good at stuff like that). Well it was a pretty straight forward switch out and I can say I did it without electrocuting myself … yea!

After hooking up the two machines I setup a table/counter that came with the house and sits just above the machines to provide a nice laundry work area. It looked nice and I was excited to use our machines again. They were the first big thing we purchased after I got my first job with Intel so there is some sentimental value to using them. I was excited to put the first load in the washer (yes, I was excited to do laundry) and got it started. The timer said it would be done in about 50 minutes. I watched it for a little bit as the drum filled with water and turned the clothes. Then I went on to unpacking upstairs. About 2 hours later I came back down and saw that the washer still had 10 minutes left. I also noticed an electrical burning smell … which is never a good thing. I turned the washer off, let it sit for a few minutes, then tried just a rinse cycle. It started just fine, but then appeared like the drum got stuck trying to spin making a weird clicking/stuttering sound. Thinking it might be a pulley or a belt issue I took the panels off and saw no pulleys or belts. In fact I didn't really have any idea what I was looking at all. Great! The washer was broke!

I spent quite a bit of time looking at the washer hoping something inspiring would come to me and I would be able to fix it … nothing. I spent some time online and found some not-so-helpful tips. Annie and I discussed our options, none of which we really cared for. We decided to start with the serviceman route. Just finding someone that serviced LG appliances was more difficult than expected, but finally Annie was able to find a couple which charged between $70-$90 to just come look at the thing. Okay, well that's still cheaper than purchasing a new one and a time was set for one of them to come the next day. After some more exploration the washer started giving an error code which was reported to the serviceman. He said it was a pump and would be about $200 to replace. That plus the cost to come out to the house and we're nearing $300. And that's assuming the service man has it right the first time … so we cancelled the visit and started looking for replacement washers.

And then I found it. I don't remember the search terms I used this time, but it lead me to a specific page on the www.fixya.com website. The problem described was exactly the problem our washer was experiencing. There were about 10 different follow-up posts all providing the same solution. Indeed they were all confirming that the initial solution worked and provided additional tips to making the fix easier for the reader. The post even included a link to the replacement part on the www.mcmelectronics.com/ website. The part was $18 and to 2-day air ship it was $25. I thought it was worth the risk so I ordered the part for less than $50. Following the instructions on the www.fixya.com website (which also provided links to the actual service manual and exploded view document which were very helpful) I replaced what is called the hall sensor in about 30 minutes.

After hooking everything back up to the washer, I pressed the appropriate buttons to start a short cycle … Then the heavens opened, angels were singing, and I was doing a little happy dance because the washing machine starting working just as well as it did 3 years ago.

In the end it was a very small part; relatively cheap and simple to replace. It's crazy to me how such a small thing can have such a huge return on investment. And it was almost ignored before I had the knowledge of it even existing. Thank you internet for saving our washing machine.

Eternal Marriage - Sacrament Meeting Talk

Intro

Happiness Factory

I was in Atlanta this past week for a work conference, and one of the events was at the Coca Cola museum.  I was surprised at how much there was to see there.  The big Coke Polar bear was there, which was kind of cool, people were taking pictures with him, though I'm still not sure of the relationship between a soft drink and a polar bear.  There was an exhibit about the bottling processes which, if you can believe it, was actually more complicated than putting coke in a bottle.  The one I was most excited to see though, when I saw it on the map, was the "Happiness Factory".  I had had a long week, and was missing my family so was at a point where I could use some additional "happiness".  The map was a little confusing on how to get there, but once I arrived I saw that the happiness factory was actually a miniature golf course.  I'm not much of a golfer, so was a little disappointed in Coke's version of the Happiness Factory.

 

On this topic of happiness, President James E. Faust taught:

“Many covenants are indispensable to happiness here and hereafter. Among the most important are the marriage covenants made between husband and wife. From these covenants flow the greatest joys of life” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 19; or Ensign, May 1998, 17). 

 

I'm sure there's some that would disagree, but I don't think Coca Cola's happiness factory can hold a candle to the joy and happiness eternal marriage can bring.  It is this I wish to speak on today.  The blessings of eternal marriage … the real Happiness Factory. 

 

God's Plan

Marriage between a man and a woman is a vital part of God’s plan. In D&C 49:15 the Lord said,

 

“Whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man”.

 

Since the beginning, marriage has been a law of the gospel. Marriages are intended to last forever, not just for our mortal lives.

 

Adam and Eve were married by God before there was any death in the world. They had an eternal marriage. They taught the law of eternal marriage to their children and their children’s children. As the years passed, wickedness entered the hearts of the people and the authority to perform this sacred ordinance was taken from the earth. Through the Restoration of the gospel, eternal marriage has been restored to earth.

 

Understanding

Elder Bednar gives us two reasons to help us understand why eternal marriage is essential to the Father's plan.

"Reason 1: The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other, and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation.

... The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness … By divine design, men and women are intended to progress together toward perfection and a fullness of glory … The man and the woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way. The man completes and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man … 

Reason 2: By divine design, both a man and a woman are needed to bring children into mortality and to provide the best setting for the rearing and nurturing of children.  The commandment given anciently to Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force today.  ..."

(June 2006 Liahona)

 

Authority

In order for a marriage to be eternal, it must be performed by one who holds the sealing power, and it must be done in one of the holy temples of our Lord. The temple is the only place this holy ordinance can be performed.

 

In the temple, Latter-day Saint couples kneel at one of the sacred altars in the presence of their family and friends who have received the temple endowment. They make their marriage covenants before God and are pronounced husband and wife for time and all eternity. This is done by one who holds the holy priesthood of God and has been given the authority to perform this sacred ordinance. He acts under the direction of the Lord and promises the couple the blessings of exaltation. He instructs them in the things they must do to receive these blessings. He reminds them that all blessings depend on obedience to the laws of God.

Scripture Example

The Lord gave Nephi, the Son of Helaman, this authority. 

"Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven … " (Hel. 10:7)

 

Because of Nephi's "unwearyingness to declare the world, which [the Lord] had given unto [him] … and not sought [his] own life, but … sought [the Lord's] will, … the Lord promised to bless him forever, with great power.  The power to flatten mountains, smite the earth with famine; and  even that all things [should be done … according to [his] word.  But of all this great power, none is greater than that of the sealing power.

 

If we are married by any authority other than by the priesthood in a temple, the marriage is for this life only. After death, the marriage partners have no claim on each other or on their children. An eternal marriage gives us the opportunity to continue as families after this life.

Preparation

This is the most important decision we can make in our lives.  President Spencer W. Kimball taught:

“Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but also with eternal joys. It affects not only the two people involved, but also their families and particularly their children and their children’s children down through the many generations. In selecting a companion for life and for eternity, certainly the most careful planning and thinking and praying and fasting should be done to be sure that of all the decisions, this one must not be wrong” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 193).

 

An eternal marriage should be the goal of every Latter-day Saint. This is true even for those already married by civil law. There are some that aren't provided the opportunity at marriage in this life.  To them Elder Richard G. Scott has said:

"I feel sorry for any man who hasn’t yet made the choice to seek an eternal companion, and my heart weeps for the sisters who haven’t had the opportunity to marry. Some of you may feel lonely and unappreciated and cannot see how it will be possible for you to have the blessings of marriage and children or your own family. All things are possible to the Lord, and He keeps the promises He inspires His prophets to declare. Eternity is a long time. Have faith in those promises and live to be worthy of them so that in His time the Lord can make them come true in your life. With certainty, you will receive every promised blessing for which you are worthy."

 

Happiness

This was actually said in conference this past April.  Elder Scott gave an excellent talk on "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" and I encourage all to revisit it. In it he also said that

 

"Two of the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are marriage and the family. Their lofty significance is underscored by Satan’s relentless efforts to splinter the family and to undermine the significance of temple ordinances, which bind the family together for eternity. The temple sealing has greater meaning as life unfolds. It will help you draw ever closer together and find greater joy and fulfillment in mortality. "

 

Our story

For much of his talk, Elder Scott spoke fondly of his wife Jeanene.  Because my talk is also on the blessings of eternal marriage, I want to talk a bit about the greatest blessing in my life.

 

Annie and I met at what was Ricks college.  She was roommates with several of her friends from Oregon City and my roommate knew them all well because his dad had taught them seminary.  So together, my roommate and I spent considerable amount of time at their apartment.  It didn't take long before Annie and I were best friends and I was doing her math homework.  I remember that being with Annie, I was happy.  I had fun when I was with her, and I could be myself around her. It seemed like we just fit together.  There were times when I wanted things to be more serious, but she wasn't ready, and possibly vice versa, but eventually we did start dating.

 

Fortunately our families were actually in the same stake at home so it was easy to continue dating after we had graduated, which eventually lead to us getting married in the Portland Oregon temple.  There are two things I remember from that day.  The first was how beautiful Annie was in her wedding dress and how lucky I felt that I was going to be with her forever. 

 

The second was how sick I was that day.  I woke up sometime in the middle of the night thinking I had some major pre-wedding jitters.   My stomach did not feel right, and I thought it was due to being super nervous.   It got to the point where finally I was able to relieve myself in the restroom and I thought I was okay.  Not 15 minutes later, my stomach was just as upset and I had to visit the restroom again.  Two or three more times of this I realized it wasn't just nerves and I finally woke my parents. My father and uncle gave me a priesthood blessing.  My mother gave me some medicine (some pills) and a metal bowl to catch what little I had left in my stomach.  I still remember hearing those pills bouncing off the metal bowl. I still joke with my little brother about that as he was assigned catcher duty that night. 

 

The night went on and nothing was changing.  I really did not think I was going to make it to the temple.  How could I.  I could barely move from exhaustion.  I couldn't hold anything in me and it seemed at the time that the best thing for me to drink was bright red Gatorade.  I asked my mom if maybe this was a sign I wasn't supposed to get married and she told me "No Ryon, this is exactly why you need to get married.  Satan is trying to keep you from making the best decision of your life". 

 

Again, as Elder Scott pointed out

"[the importance of eternal marriage] is underscored by Satan's relentless efforts to splinter the family and to undermine the significance of temple ordinances, which bind the family together for eternity."

 

Well I was finally able to hold some liquid down and I made it to the temple … I think I was a little late, but I made.  My father had to help me get dressed and I think out of all the grooms that day, I probably got the most attention from the temple workers.  They were very sweet and I could tell their concern was as much for me as it was for the white furniture I was sitting on.

 

I actually don't remember much of what the sealer said to us.  I was too focused on keeping the temple clean and not falling over.  But as soon as I knelt down across the alter from Annie, I remember, all feelings of sickness left me, I was filled with a strength that I can only describe as a gift of the Spirit, and I could focus on my beautiful wife and how lucky I was that I got to spend my life with her forever.  We then stood and I tried putting her ring, the symbol of our marriage, on her right ring finger. She lovingly guided me to her left hand, and then I was helped back to my seat. 

 

I missed the luncheon my mother had prepared because I slept through it.  At the reception I was permitted to have a chair in the wedding line as we were greeted and congratulated by family and friends.  I was not well that day, but for the few minutes I was at the alter with Annie, I know that Heavenly Father blessed me with the strength I needed to appreciate and recognize the significance of the covenant I was making and the blessing of eternal marriage to Annie that He was giving me.

 

The following years I think are best described by Elder Scott,

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together. "

 

Conclusion

D&C 132:19 -

 ‘And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; …  and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life … and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever’

 

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Daddy Daughter Day

Annie took the boys up to Washington to visit with Kimmie and Kevin for the weekend, so it was just Cedar and me at home. She spent most of Friday with Sara and Spence so I could work, but we had a great day together on Saturday.

We were up by 7:00am. Cedar doesn't sleep in even on the weekends. I wasn't quite ready to be awake yet so we just snuggled on the couch for a little while. It was very sweet for a little bit, but then Cedar started to get restless and wanted to poke at my eyes and sit on my head. So it's time for breakfast.

Cedar wanted bacon for breakfast. Nothing else. Just bacon. I asked her if she wanted eggs with bacon, or pancakes, or waffles (my favorite). Nope … just bacon. It was turkey bacon, so not that bad, but still just bacon? Well I'm dad so I say … bacon it is. I did make some eggs with bacon in it and some toast for myself to see if I could bate her a little, but nope. I guess it could have been chocolate cake.

After breakfast I asked Cedar if she wanted to go to Costco (we have the worlds largest Costco less than a mile away, he, he, he). She did, and I was able to use that for the next 2 hours while we got ready. I told her she needed to take a bath and she said, "okay … Costco". As I tried to get her hair into a pony tail (which after a half hour still looked pathetic) I kept having to apologize and start over. Cedar just said, "okay daddy … Costco". Finally as I was putting her shoes on she was pretty restless, and I had to tell her to be a helper. She said, "okay daddy, I'll be a helper … Costco". We had a good time at Costco. I was able to get some errands done and we enjoyed a Costco hotdog and some soda.

After Costco it was nap time. That's never a very happy time, but I told her if she would take a nap we would go for a bike ride which seemed to make it a little easier (uh hu … bribery, a fathers best weapon). I was able to take a nap too which was awesome because since Bridger was born the parents sleep has not been so good. But Cedar got up again before I was ready so we repeated some of the morning snuggle adventure.

Our bike ride was somewhat short because it had been rainy and the clouds didn't look very promising. But it was fun and nice to get a little exercise. When we got back I told Cedar that if we got the living room picked up we could wrestle so that was our adventure until dinner time. Wrestling with Cedar is very different than wrestling with Tanner. Sure, she has picked up on many of his moves, her favorite being jumping as high as she can and landing on my gut with her knees, but then she just wants to snuggle. Then she jumps on me again and then snuggles. I remember the first time Cedar joined Tanner and me wrestling. She threw a pillow at my head and I groaned and fell down. My sound effects must have been good because immediately Cedar got very concerned and came over saying "sowry, sowry, kiss it beta". I let her give me a hug and kiss my head better and told her that I was okay and it was just a game.

After we wrestled for a while we made "hot stickers" (again Cedars request) and had a picnic in the living room while watching a "scary" Curious George movie.

When the movie was over we read some stories, looked at pictures on the TV while listening to music and having a dance party (only a 3-year-old can do all that at once), and then it was time for bed. Bed time wasn't too bad because I told her if she was a helper we would snuggle in bed, which we did.

It was a great day to spend with my daughter. She is a lot of work, especially when the other kids are around and she is competing for attention, but she really is a sweet child and I love her very much.

Bridger Layne Jensen

Annie has already blogged about the addition to our family here (she might need to change the url of her blog to ratcbJensen now), but I thought I would write a little about our new son Bridger and post a couple pictures I have. We've had him home for about a week and a half now, and I think we've adjusted pretty well. Of course our nights are a little different, but as Annie pointed out, her mom is here and helping a ton with that. Bridger seems to be enjoying himself ...

Bridger is a very happy baby. The only time he gets fussy is when he's hungry (he gets that from me), or getting tired. He is a very precious addition to our family, and I am happy he is here.

2010 in Review

At work we are at the point in the year where we are required to write a yearly review in which we list some of our top accomplishments for the year. It's kind of a pain to do, however when we're done, it is nice to look back and hopefully feel good about what we accomplish the previous 12 months. I thought I would do the same for my personal life so here are three accomplishments I'm proud of that I did in the year 2010.
Reach the Beach
Earlier this year I participated in a century bike ride from Beaverton Oregon to the coast named appropriately "Reach the Beach". A friend in the ward talked me into doing it and I was able to barrow a bike from my boss at work. Training was hard, but I really started getting into it. I unfortunately was only able to train for a couple months before the ride so it was pretty difficult, but I did it … I reached the beach. The scenery was amazing, and I actually enjoyed most of it. Well up until about mile 60. Then it seemed like the wind was blowing directly against the direction I was trying to go and I wore out very quickly. So for 40 miles I was not enjoying it. Several times I came very close to quitting by choice. There were another several times I nearly quit, not by choice, but by actual physical failure. At the end I remember curled up into a ball in the passenger side of the car while Annie drove us home. I knew that my body needed food to replenish all the energy I had exerted, but the idea of eating made me sick. It wasn't until we got home I was able to down a fruit smoothie and then slowing my body began to recover.
Even though it was extremely difficult and I was hating life for much of it, I am glad I reached the beach and plan to do it again (with a little more training). 

Mt Elbert (first 14er)
In late August I went to Colorado for a weekend to visit Annie and the kids who were staying with Annie's parents for a few weeks. While I was there Mark (Annie's dad) and I climbed Mt Elbert, a 14433ft peak in the Rockies. It is ranked 2nd Highest Peak in the Contiguous United States. The hike is 8.75 miles round trip with about 4700 ft. elevation climb. Yes … another one that nearly knocked me out.
Living at about 200 ft. above sea level, being at 10,000 was a bit of a shock to the system. And that's where we started climbing. Thankfully Mark was very patient with me. As we reached the top I was only able to take a few steps before needing to rest just so I could take a few more. It was slow and only sheer determination to reach the top kept me going. But when we got there it was worth it. The view was amazing. I curled up into the fetal position against a rock to block the wind while I tried to recover some strength because I knew we still had to go down, which turned out to not be much easier than going up.
Again very difficult, but I hope to do it again … maybe with a little more time to acclimate to the elevation

The deck
The final accomplishment I want to list for 2010 is the deck I built on the house we are renting. Yes, renting. The property doesn't really have any backyard because of a steep decline and protected wetland area directly behind it. It has a small (6'x8') deck that Tanner has been playing on with a small sand box. Annie communicated with the home owner that we really like the house, but need more space for the kids to play and convinced him to pay for deck materials and we would build it. (By the way husbands, when wives say "we", they mean you).
I had never built a deck before. In fact I hadn't built much of anything. I remember building a bird house in cub scouts. I had helped my dad build some fences and do some sheetrock work around the house, but I am far from being a Bob the Builder, so I was a little overwhelmed by the idea and still not sure how I got signed up for it. Annie got me a book from Home Depot on how to build decks which was actually really helpful, but it a took a couple readings before I was really even ready to start.
It took me a good couple months to just get the design done. Never done that before either. I used a program I Googled called SketchUp (actually Google developed it). It's a free program that's easy to use yet very powerful. An architect friend said that he actually uses a paid version of SketchUp for his designs.
After the design was done, it took a good 4 months more to build the deck. Spencer helped a bit and so did Annie's brother-in-law Kevin. But I was out there every day after work, and some times before work. All day Saturday and any holidays that came along. I took my birthday off as a vacation day to work on it … fun. But I finished it, and am relatively pleased with the outcome. Unfortunately it took so long we haven't really been able to use it much yet, but are looking forward to it this spring and summer.

Watch out world

Watch out world … here comes CC.

Starting the deck

Tanner is very excited to start building a deck behind our current house. I wish I could say the same.

Some fun pictures of Cedar. 

Tanner's Prayers

My last post was about Tanner's faith in prayer, but I have to comment again on the subject because the quality of his prayers continues to amaze me.  I remember when I was young Mom and Dad had to time our prayers trying to force us to pray longer and hopefully more sincerely.  They were repetitive, not very thought out, and very short.

There is some repetition in Tanner's prayers ... hey he's five.  But he always adds some special nuggets of thought and sincerity.  A couple of examples ... We didn't have family home evening last night (Monday) and told Tanner that we would have it tonight (Tuesday).  This morning he said the prayer to bless our breakfast and he asked Heavenly Father to bless us to have a good Family Home Evening tonight.  I was impressed that he remembered (because I sure didn't) and was already asking for the blessing.

Then, "... and bless daddy so that he can make lots of money at work today."  Oh ... how I love my Tanner.  I asked him afterward about that specific request, and he said, "so we can pay for the house and more toys".

Last year I faced losing my job and had been searching for several months before I found another that didn't have an expiration date.  I really enjoy my new job, and I know, in part, I got it because of the faith and prayers of a little boy.

Faith of a child

There are several instances in the scriptures where we are told to be like a little child.  One of the reasons is because of their simple, pure faith.  Case in point:

A while back Tanner was a little sick with a cold, and in his nightly prayer he asked Heavenly Father to help him get better.  After his prayer I asked him if he believed that Heavenly Father would make him better. His reply ... "Of course he will".  There's something to say about his body language as well in his reply because it read ... "Duh dad, what do you think ... of course he will!"  Attitude aside it made me think.  I knew Heavenly Father had the ability to make him better, but I wasn't totally sure Tanner would wake up 100% healthy.  My faith was definitely not as simple and pure as Tanner's.  It was so obvious to him that his prayer would be answered that even questioning it was just silly.  Well Tanner did wake up the next day all better and I knew Heavenly Father had answered his prayer.

I'm sure I will see more of that attitude as Tanner gets older.  I hope I see a lot more of that  faith in prayer from him as well.  It was a good example for me.  Thanks Tanner.

Everybody Loves Ryon???

Hi ... I am Ryon and this is my blog. Most of you that read this already know me and my family so I won't bore with an autobiography, personal history, or even a short intro.

Annie's mom, Kaylene, came up with the name for this blog, and I liked it. We love the show "Everybody Loves Raymond" and since it's a show all about Ray ... with a lot of supporting people ... I thought that fit. This blog is all about me ... with a lot supporting people (my family, friends, coworkers and weird people I may encounter on the street) ... and that's the way I like it. So whether everyone loves Ryon really isn't the point.

So what is the point? Uh ... I really don't know. I'm actually not sure what I'll write about. Something probably. I just like having a place to capture random thoughts, ideas, stories, personal achievements, good jokes, spiritual experiences, and anything else I feel like writing about.

So this is the first, of hopefully many, blog post on my new "Everybody Loves Ryon" blog. Enjoy!