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The Gibsons and Goblin Valley

6/21/2021

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Months ago, Jill Gibson (Lance’s sister) asked if I would go introduce her family to the Goblin Valley area.   Always (almost) up for an adventure, Lance and I agreed.  They’d take their RV, we’d take our tent, we’d meet at site 22 in the Goblin Valley State Park campground.   Little did we know, when we made our plans, that this would be the hottest June on record…

Loaded with a huge cooler filled with drinks and a small box of food, we left for Goblin Valley Wednesday afternoon.  “Why do I do this?,” I wondered as we drove out of town.   “I hope Chick feeds the animals.  I hope Miles makes it to youth conference.   I hope the sick show hog gets well…..”   Over and over I questioned my judgement in going.  “Why do I do this?  Why?  Why?  Why?

The next morning my questions were answered.  Emphatically.

I know why I left town.   Oh my lands!!!  I love being outdoors.    Beautiful.   BEAUTIFUL!!!   These are my happy places.   Being outdoors, in God’s magnificent creations, truly fills my cup.  Deep.  Quenching.  Filling.  Overflowing.  Joy.  Joy.  Joy.
 
We explored The Crack (a slot canyon off Behind the Reef Road), climbed on the goblins in Goblin Valley, rockhounded (is that a real verb?) in Hanksville, shopped and chatted (and chatted and chatted with Cathy) at Rockin Riddle Rock Shop, swam in the Green River at Swasey’s Beach, and hiked Little Wild Horse Canyon.   

Being with in nature was great.  Great!  Being with the Gibsons was also great.  Great!    Though we approach camping a little differently, we thoroughly enjoying camping together.   Lance and I put our sleeping pads and bags on the ground and slept comfortably under the stars; we would have been very uncomfortable in the Gibson’s RV.  Clearly, they preferred the RV to ground/star sleeping.   Kurt showered at least once every day; Lance and I were very comfortable in our un-showered state.  Showering while camping seems wrong to us; being filthy was wrong for Kurt.   Nonetheless, being together was right for all of us.

Together we watched an antelope doe and fawn wander through camp, endured the heat (110 degrees F during the day, dropping to 91 degrees F at night) and ate nachos at a Mexican food truck in Green River.    Lance and the boys kept the rock hammers busy; nothing like a hammer to entertain boys of all ages.   Griffin and AJ spent literal hours chasing lizards.  Jill and I read.  (Anxious People by Fredric Backman is an emotionally charged, brilliantly written book with a beautiful ending.)  Kurt spent several happy hours fixing his RV.     It was Lance’s first hiking adventure on his new knee.   “Saved by the walking stick” was the theme of his trip.  The knee did okay, with the help of his walking stick.   All of us drank.   LOTS.

On the way to Hanksville, we stopped to help a woman on the side of the road.  She needed duct tape and Lance had some in our van.   When she thanked us, I said, “I promised myself that next time I helped someone I would tell them why.   I want you to know that we helped you because that is what Jesus has taught us to do.”  She said, “Oh I love Jesus” and gave me a big hug.  “As the world speaks less of Christ, let us speak more of Him.” (Elder Bednar, Oct 2020, I think)

When we planned the trip, Jill made it very clear that she would not be hiking with us.  “I will spend my time reading in the RV,” she said.  On the first day of the trip, she asked if there were a hike I thought she could do.   YES!  I knew Little Wild Horse was the perfect hike for her.   And it was.  And she did it; 6.75 miles round trip.

Little Wild Horse never gets old.   Or, more accurately, it is very old and, in its antiquity, it is timeless.  Narrow passages.  Corkscrew twists.  Honeycombed walls.   Giant cliff faces.  It is more than awe-some.  It is awe-total.   Yep. I know why I leave home.   It does not get better than this.

And I know why I return home.   Home is where the heart is.    Nature is where my heart is filled but home is where my heart belongs.  We came home to find Terry (the hog that was sick) healthy, the garden dry, the sheep bleating and Ginger grunt/snorting.   Miles made it to youth conference, Chick fed the animals, and all was well.
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It was a great, great trip.   It was truly great to strengthen connections and make memories with the Gibsons.    I love that we share memories of some of my favorite places on Earth.    It was truly, truly, truly great to share the experience with Lance.   I am so grateful that I am married to a man who will sleep on a cement slab under the stars with me, who gets excited about canyons and rocks and lizards and snakes, and who—best of all—understands and appreciates and even treasures my nature-filled, home-centered heart.    

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Lance has my heart
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Entering Crack Canyon
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A boy and his hammer
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Saved by the walking stick
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Siblings enjoying (?) the canyon together
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A happy place for Kurt
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Aunt Linda Day

6/15/2021

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It was Aunt Linda day.   We spent the entire day celebrating her life and her reunion with her husband and her son Ray.    And it was a beautiful day.  Beautiful physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The TV series The Highlander, speaks of the time of the gathering and proclaims, “There can be only one.”    Today was also a time of gathering but it was very much opposite of The Highlander.   Instead of one, there were many.  Many.  Many.    Linda brought us together once again, strengthening old connections and forging new ones.

The funeral service was a perfect combination of respect, tribute, and twist---exactly like Aunt Linda.   She respected things meriting respect, things like human rights, hard work, and our country; she paid tribute to family, the Jazz, and Christ, and, with an almost-but-not-really wicked grin, she generally added her Aunt Linda twist, something unexpected, unique, insightful, powerful, and fun. 

And such was the funeral.   Sara shared Monte’s words and her thoughts.   She delivered a beautiful tribute to her mother as an educator and gave specific messages to each grandchild.   JL also gave a beautiful tribute to her mother as a mother, greatest cheerleader, mentor, coach, and best friend.   A group of friends sang “My Turn on Earth” and ToMmY played a melody of hymns on the violin.  Beautiful.  Respecting both tradition and Aunt Linda.

Then the twist.   Aunt Linda had the last word.   In a video recorded by Sara, Aunt Linda answered the question “What advice would you give your family?”   Aunt Linda told life is journey; there will be good things and bad things.   When the good things come, don’t get all high and mighty.  When the bad things happen, don’t get depressed; you will get through it.  Support each other.   Work hard.  Monte, Sara, and JL are hard workers and the grandchildren should be hard workers too.  Give a little more than a day’s work for a day’s wages.   She ended singing “Don’t worry.  Be happy” and smiling.   Grinning, in fact.

Maybe she was grinning because she knew what was coming next…. 

After the closing prayer, ToMmY played the fiddle.   She fiddled as we stood, as Aunt Linda’s body was carried out, and as we filed from the room.   Fiddle music.   Foot-stomping, hand-clapping, heart-pumping fiddle music.   The Aunt Linda twist.    So perfect.  SO PERFECT!   

We drove to the Huntsville cemetery where three Ben Lomond Bagpipers played before Kurt Gibson dedicated the grave.  Respect.  Tribute.  Twist.   Perfect.

Love flowed, connections forged and strengthened.  Gathering.   It happened at the funeral, at the  graveside service, and again at the family dinner, a “catered” by Javier’s, Linda’s favorite restaurant.  I put “catered” in quotes because the family tried to cater it.   Javier’s insisted on donating it.   The love flows…. And will continue to flow for generations.
  
Thank you Aunt Linda. 
​  
Thank you.



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Stuck Sheep and the Shepherd

6/6/2021

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Miles, Lance and I came home from somewhere in the evening and, as we got out of the car, I heard a lamb bleating.  The sound was faint but distinctive.   The sheep almost always talk to us when we come out the back door or stand in the back yard---they know we are the source of grain and they always want more---so hearing a sheep calling was not unusual.   But this was not a usual sheep call.   I recognized the difference in the tone and went down to the sheep corral to investigate.     As I walked the 100 meters from the driveway to the sheep pen, it became more and more obvious to me that something was wrong.

And something was wrong.  One of the lambs had her head stuck.   She’d poked her head in, through the woven wire, and was caught.   She struggled all the more wildly as I approached, fighting both the grate and me.    Finally, I was able to push her head down and through the wire square, releasing her.   The crying and struggling stopped as she ran to her mommy. 

Ah, the parallels between the sheep and the Shepherd.    Christ hears our cries, often when no one else does.   Christ recognizes our voices and comes to our aid, often when no one else does.  Christ rescues us from the things that trap us, even when we put ourselves in the trap.   And we often fight His efforts to rescue us, even when we have asked for His help. 

Baaaaa!

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Depth Enough

5/16/2021

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The first day of the UT Region One Track and Field Championships went well for Roy High—they won the 4 x 200 relay—but poorly for Miles.   He hoped for another PR in the mile but ran a disappointing (for him) race—4:42.43 and 16th overall.   [NOTE:  Personally, I would be ecstatic to run a mile in under 5 minutes...]

Miles rebounded for the 4 x 800.   He ran the first leg and gave the baton to Luke Crossley, with a 10+ m lead.    Luke passed to Mitch Johnson and Mitch to David Endicott.   Luke and Mitch ran alone; there was no one near them.   By the time Mitch passed to David the team had a 100 m lead.   David did not run alone but only because he was close to lapping the last place team.     They (the RHS team) crossed the finish line at 7:59.79, shattering their previous school record by 13 seconds.      Miles was a very happy boy.

And the meet just kept getting better.   Day 2 of the Region Championships was outstanding.  Phenomenal.   Epic.   Five days later, it is still all that Miles talks about.

Roy’s 4 x 100 relay team is one of the best in the state.   Anchored by Parker Kingston, RHS’s quarterback (a junior who came out for track for the first time this year and who has seen great success), the team is fast.    When Parker got the baton, on the final curve and coming into the straightaway, he was behind by 4 yards.   Four yards is a lot of distance to make up in 100 meters, especially when one is racing the fastest person on every team.    Parker is a powerful runner and power is the word I must use to describe his sprint.   He powered past the other runners and won the race by 0.1 second (43.20).    Parker roared as he crossed the finish line first.   He was not the only one roaring; I think the entire Roy crowd joined him.

Grandpa/Coach Hislop has been coaching Miles and his “homies” (Luke, Mitch, and David) this season.  Before the 800 m, Coach Hislop grabbed Mitch’s hand, shook it, and said “I want to be the first to congratulate you on placing from the slow heat.”   Mitch’s 800m time got him a seed in the slow heat and Grandpa knew he could run faster enough to earn a place and points for his team.    Grandpa told him to take control of the race, to run in the front from the first, and to drive with all he had to the finish line.

And Mitch did just as he was told.   He took control of the race and led the entire first lap.   It was beautiful to watch him.  On the back stretch of the second lap, three runners passed him.   As they rounded the final turn, he passed them and re-took the lead.   “I heard Lance tell me to get in position to pass so I did,” Mitch said.  “It was like I had a target on my back so those three runners were gunning for me.  Then as soon as they passed me they slowed down so I passed them back.”   And he did.    He re-took the lead and drove all the way home, crossing the finish line in 1:59.67, a time that earned him 8th place overall, and got a point for the team.  He did it!   He placed in the meet even though he was not in the fast heat.     Oh man.  OH MAN!    It was so beautiful to watch.   Mitch ran so smart and so strong and so courageously.   When those three runners passed him, he could have very easily given up—many runners do in that situation—but not Mitch.   He kept his head and his pace and ran with his heart.   SO COOL!

Miles, Luke, and David were in the fast heat of the 800 m.   Their goal was to run both laps sub-60-second pace.    Again, it was an awe-inspiring race.  Luke took the lead as they came around the first bend.   This fall Luke was Roy High’s number one cross country runner then, early in 2021, complications from COVID landed him in the  ICU at Primary Children’s Hospital; he struggled to run a 10-minute mile at the beginning of March.   “The pace wasn’t fast enough,” he said.  So he took the lead.   Luke! Dude!!  Fearless.   Absolutely fearless.   I cannot fathom the courage it took to take the lead, to trust his body, to throw caution to the wind and lay it all on the line, given his recent medical challenges.
    
Luke led most of the race.  Miles ran in the fifth spot.  David ran between the two of them.   The front pack was tight, strong, and fast.    Around the last bend the two runners behind Miles were gaining on him.  Lance feared they would pass him.  “Hold on Miles!” he yelled.   And then, with about 80 meters to go, Miles changed gears.   Gone were the fears that he would be passed; he took off.    At this point, a Fremont High runner had passed Luke.   David and a boy from Syracuse High fanned out, hoping to pass Luke as well.  Seeing an opening in lane 1, Miles passed the Syracuse runner and David, his teammate, on the inside.  “He is passing on the inside,” I exclaimed incredulously.  “Is he?  Yes, he is.  He is.  He is passing on the inside!”  Then, just in front of the finish line, he passed Luke.  And he was gaining on the Fremont runner who placed first.   Miles placed second (1:58.34), Luke was third (1:58.58) and David finished 5th (1:58.89)   Roy High picked up 4 places in the 800 m--  2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th---to earn 19 points for the team.

The team standings were unclear when the final race started.   It appeared to be a contest between Roy and Syracuse for the region title.  And what a race it was! 

The final race was the 4 x 400 m relay.   When Colby Anderson, the fourth and final runner, got the baton, he was 10 m behind the lead runner.   Ten meters!!   But he did it.  Colby went hunting.   Hunting.   And he found his target, passing the Syracuse runner at the line.   RHS:  3:25.93.  Syracuse: 3:25.97.  And the crowd went wild.  WILD!!!!
The 4 x 400 m relay victory iced the win.   Roy High took the Region Championship with 143.5 points to Syracuse’s 132.5 points.   Davis came in third with 111 points.

RHS’s football coach, Freddie Fernandez, was at the meet.   While there he overhead some other coaches discussing the probable outcome.  “The winner of the region championship will be either Davis or Syracuse,” they said.   Coach Fernandez asked, “What about Roy?”  “No way,” they responded.  “Roy does not have enough depth.”

RHS swept the relays; they won all four.   And placed 4 runners in the 800 m.  And won three individual events: 100 m (Parker Kingston), 300 m hurdles (Mason Thueson), and javelin (Reese Jones).    Guess we had enough depth!

​ GO ROYALS GO!!!

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Coach and his boys
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Miles ran negative splits in the 800 m
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Mitch takes control
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Luke takes the lead
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Miles makes his move, passing on the inside
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David looks fierce!
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Parker roars as he crosses the finish line in the 4 x 100 relay
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The 4 x 800 m relay team is #1 in region
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Gold Medals for the 4 x 800 m relay team
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Region Champions
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Victory lap
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Daily Repentance

3/29/2021

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In 2019 President Nelson said “Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.7 “ 

 When I first read President Nelson’s words, I was very unsettled about the need for daily repentance.  What does that look like, I wondered.  I asked Lance and Rob Dow and Bishop Ropelato and my brother.  I wanted to do was Pres Nelson instructed but did not know what it looked like in my life because there are days when I do not do anything bad.  (I know that surprises some of you!)  Honestly.   There are days when I know very well what I need to repent of, there are days when I ask Heavenly Father what I need to repent of and He lets me know, and there are days when I ask what I need to repent of and I cannot think of anything.  Yet I knew that if President Nelson (and President Eyring and President Ballard, all of whom have said similar things) needs to repent daily then surely I do too. 

Still unsure of exactly what I was supposed to do, I tried to follow President Nelson´s counsel; every night in my prayers, I reviewed my day, searching for ways I have not lived up to my quest to emulate my Savior.    Recently, while leading a family Come Follow Me lesson, I realized that the power of President Nelson´s words comes in the regular, daily focus on repentance. 


It was not until I was bearing my testimony of repentance that I understood the power of regular, daily repentance in my life.  It is not that I repent every day.  Some days I have not done anything wrong, I have not been plagued by bad thoughts and I have not missed any opportunities to serve of which I am aware.   Some days I honestly cannot find anything to repent of.   However it is not repenting daily that is important, but a daily focus on repentance that is vital.   Every day, in my evening prayers, I review my day, examining it by the light of Christ.   If His light reveals shadowy thoughts or actions, I repent.   If His light reflects off shining surfaces and situations, I thank.   The power is in the process.  
 
Elder Kyle McKay said “True repentance eventually emerges as a process that is not primarily  the shedding of sin, but an earnest increase in righteousness.  The process involves changing for the better in Christ and covenant making/keeping.”   Father Abraham, for example, was already a “follower of righteousness” when he, seeking greater happiness and rest, sought be become a greater follower of righteousness.  (Abraham 1) 
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A daily self-examination, using Christ’s light as the source of illumination, helps me see how, where, and what I need to do to become more like Him, to better follow Him, and to more effectively hear Him.  Daily repentance makes me a “greater follower of righteousness”, increasing my access to the powers and blessings of the Atonement.  ​

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"....loved her as a daughter...."

3/2/2021

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2 Samuel 12:3:  “But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” 

I awoke about 3:00 a.m. the night Esther came to live with us and stood at the top of the stairs listening for her bleating.  At the time, Esther was a day-old, orphaned lamb.    Bum lambs, as they are called, have only a 50-50 chance of living through their first night and, hearing nothing but silence from the basement, I grew anxious.   “Oh no.  OH NO!,” I thought.  “Grace will be devastated.”   Though she was new in our home, Esther was already very established in Grace’s heart.  

I quickly descended the stairs, hoping for the best and fearing the worse.   Trepidatiously, I approached the enclosure Grace built for Esther on our basement’s cement floor.  There, nestled in the straw, sleeping peacefully with baby Esther was teenage Grace.   No wonder the lamb was not bleating; she had found a mama. 

Grace and Esther slept together for the next month.  They moved from straw on the floor to sheets on the bed (which Grace washed daily).   Grace convinced her teacher to let Esther come to school and her parents to let Esther go with the family to Las Vegas for Spring Break.   Odd things are the norm in Las Vegas but seeing baby Esther strolling on a Las Vegas boulevard caused more than one person to stop and ask for a photo.

Esther, genetically a Merino sheep, identified as a human.   Grace’s human to be exact.   She entered our house at will, jumping through an open window if no one was gracious enough to open the door for her.   She was Grace’s little shadow…and echo.    When Grace left her (heaven forbid!) and then returned, all Grace had to do was “Baaaaa” and Esther would come running, "baaaa-ing"her response.

Little Esther grew and became big Esther though she was always Grace’s “baby”.  Once Grace adorned her with a red cloak and took her trick or treating as Little Red Riding Hood.    The neighbors invited Grace and Esther into their living room where Esther (that’s Queen Esther to you…!) nibbled on their indoor geraniums and head-butted their Standard Poodle.    Grace and Esther were a not-uncommon site walking the streets of Roy….and the halls of Roy High.

Actually, Esther never walked the halls of Roy High as an adult, but she did make appearances on Roy High’s stage several times.   The first time was as Grace’s Homecoming Royalty escort.   Most Homecoming Queen candidates choose boyfriends, brothers, or fathers to escort them.  Grace chose Esther.   And, as if bringing a wooly friend into the auditorium was not risky enough, Grace left Esther with a student body officer on one side of the stage, walked to the other side of the stage and told the officer to let Esther go.   A sheep loose on a stage in front of 600 high school students…..  What could possibly go wrong?    Esther performed like the queen she was.    Grace “baaaa-ed” at Esther.  Esther baaaa-ed back and the two (Grace and Esther) met happily on center stage. 

Mature Esther became Mama Esther…and what a Mama she was!   Tough and tender, she was not afraid to knock any non-sheep thing that came too near though she was “as gentle as a lamb” when she softly nuzzled her babies.   During her second pregnancy we almost lost her to pregnancy toxemia, but she rebounded the next year and had triplets: three black babies Grace named Sam, Sarah, and Sariah.

Grace moved to SLC to attend the University of Utah.   Esther may have been out of her sight, but she was not out of her heart.   Many times Grace said to me, “I came to Roy last night but I did not go in the house.  I needed an Esther fix, so I went to the pasture and hung out with her for an hour.”  I say that Esther was not in her sight but that is only partially correct.   Every room in Grace’s apartment, with the possible exception of the bathroom, sports at least one photo, painting, or stuffed animal likeness of Esther.

“Ewe complete me” was the headline (above the fold!) of the local paper on Monday, 24 August 2020. Below the headline was a full color photo of Grace and Esther and below the photo was an article that began “This is the heartwarming story of Grace and Esther, two unlikely friends who have been virtually inseparable for the last 4 ½ years.”   Still, not matter where Esther was in the pasture and no matter how long it had been since Grace had come home, when Grace “baaaa-ed”, Esther “baaaa-ed” back and came running.

Theirs was a love affair to remember.    And, on February 23, it became just that….an affair to remember.  Their love changed from an active, hands and hugs-on relationship to a thing to remember when Esther, sweet Esther, died of complications related to childbirth. 

Grace was devastated.  “There are also no words to describe the pain I feel now,” she posted on Facebook.  “I am so grateful for what she has been for me and am completely heartbroken from her loss.”
Indeed, Grace had one little ewe lamb that she bought and nourished up.  And that little ewe lamb, the one we know as Esther, grew up with her and ate from her hands and drank from her cup and lay in her bosom, and was unto Grace as a daughter.    

Families are forever and Esther, as a daughter, is family.   She is waiting for Grace on the other side of the veil that separates this life from the one to come.    When Grace passes through that veil she will “baaaaa” and Esther will “baaaaa” and they will run to each other, meeting happily in the middle.

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Faith Is a Sum

2/14/2021

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I used to think that faith was a matter of will power; if my will power were stronger then my faith would be stronger.  “If only you believe, nothing doubting, miracles will happen.”   Push doubt out.  Pull faith in.   Exercise self-discipline.  Be strong mentally to become strong spiritually.   The Little Engine That Could applied to my soul. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”  If I thought long and strong enough, I could have faith.  What I understand now is that it is not will power to HAVE faith that increases faith; it is willpower to ACT on faith that increases faith.    Faith is a sum of righteous acts.   
 
The brother of Jared did not get faith sufficient to see the finger of God by willing himself to be faithful.  His powerful, Christ-seeing faith developed over years and years as he consistently made choices to follow Him.  It developed as he prayed, as he repented when he was chastised for not praying and as he trusted the Lord to lead him, his family and their friends through the wilderness.   A lifetime of consistent, persistent choices to obey brought the brother of Jared’s faith to the point where he saw Christ. 
 
Esther’s choice to risk her life by going uninvited before the king did not come from screwing up her courage and willing herself to believe, nothing doubting, that God would save her.   No.  She must have known the power of fasting and prayer because she invited the Jews of Shushan to fast with her.  She had enough experience with her Lord to trust that the outcome, whatever it was, of her self-initiated intrusion into the king’s court would be okay.  “If I perish, I perish,” she said faithfully.    
 
Faith grows.  Like a seed.   Like a mustard seed….into a huge tree.  Trees growth is not instant; it is not even fast.  But it is steady.  Year in and year out.  Some years more growth and some years less.  But growing, ever growing.   There is a reason the Lord likened faith to a mustard seed—several reasons probably—and I am confident that one of the reasons is that the growth of faith is just that: growth.   Like a tree grows through the process of photosynthesis as it turns carbon dioxide and water into sugars and cellulose, faith grows through the process of obedience as we turn prayers, scriptures study, worship, repentance, and service into trust in the Lord and conviction that He keeps His promises.   Faith is the sum of a lifetime of righteous acts….  Actually, come to think of it, faith is more than a sum.  When we have faith, the Lord does not merely add blessings to our lives.  He multiplies them.  Exponentially!   
 
I know faith is more than a sum and it is more than a harvest.   It is also a gift.   I think that is part of the way the Lord multiplies our blessings.   One of the blessings given us by the Lord in response to our faithful actions is the gift of increased faith.   He gives us experiences that will increase our faith and gifts us with faith as we grow through those experiences.  Faith is a sum and a harvest and a gift.    I would love to hear/read your thoughts on the matter. 

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Counting Our COVID Blessings (Continued Again...)

10/11/2020

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Counting our COVID blessings again...
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A 
week ago (Sunday, 4 October 2020),  Miles woke up with slight fever and a headache.   I gave him ibuprofen and he felt better.   

Lance felt really crappy Sunday afternoon and decided to go get COVID tested.   Miles had a headache and slight fever again so he went to get tested too.    About 45 minutes later the course of our lives turned abruptly. 

Miles’ test came back positive.    No!  NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     But, yes.   Everyone with whom he had contact within the past 48 hours has to be quarantined, including 4 of the 7 members of the Roy High Varsity Cross Country team... and the qualifying meet for the state meet is this Friday.   Tears were shed.  ¨I don´t feel bad for myself,” Miles kept saying, ¨but I feel so bad for the team.  I especially feel so bad for the seniors.¨    

On the remote possibility that Miles had a false positive test, he and Lance were tested again, using the longer test (2-3 days to get results).   How we hoped it was a false positive and that he really does not have COVID.

Normally I do not  give day-by-day, travelogue-type commentaries but the events of this week are not normal.  Because every sunset saw a new own twist to our story,  each day will get its own entry.

5 October 2020 Monday
Cooper. Miles’ cousin, had been feeling a bit yucky since Saturday afternoon.   He was tested this morning….and came back positive….which was actually a huge blessing for us.   Miles has to be isolated and we only have one bathroom in the house.   We were trying to figure out how to isolate him and the only way we could do it was to send me and him to the cabin at Causey, which would add 10 more days to my quarantine, but because Cooper tested positive and because Cooper’s house has a basement with a bathroom, Cooper and Miles can isolate in Cooper's basement.  BLESSING!  (Sorry Cooper!)    So we moved Miles into Cooper's basement.
 
Grace is quarantining in SLC.  Her roommates, concerned about COVID, have found other places to stay for 14 days.  
 
Lance taught his classes live over ZOOM today.  He really does not feel good but he is putting on a great show.
 
The home next door on the south has an acre of weeds, very dry weeds.  Something started the weed patch on fire, at the west end of the lot.   The fire was burning rapidly up the lot towards the house.   Miraculously, someone called the fire department.  They responded quickly and put it out.    YEP.   As if having COVID were not enough excitement around here…..  
 
And then the test results from the longer COVID tests came back….Lance is positive too.  
 
What to do now?   The Wi-Fi at Cooper's house will not support Lance’s ZOOM class on top of Cooper’s parents working from home and the boys doing their homework via the Internet.
 
Tanah, Chick, and I decided to move downstairs.   Lance will have the main floor of the house (including the bathroom).  We will have the food storage and all the camping equipment.   I can use the camping equipment to cook the food storage and all will be well.  I will sleep on the floor, Chick on the couch, and Tanah in her room.   We will make a pit toilet outside, like we did when we camped at Women’s and Children’s Wilderness Camp.  Lance can isolate upstairs and we will quarantine in the basement.
 
Tanah was supposed to have a tonsillectomy today.   Cancelled, obviously.
 
6 October 2020 Tuesday
The adventure continues.   Tanah has a slight sore throat, I have a minor headache and slight sore throat, and Chick has been living with us all so we three decided to get tested.   
 
Tanah's test came back positive.    
 
More changes in plans….  Tanah moved upstairs with Lance.   Chick fled to SLC to stay with Grace.  And I am living in the basement alone.  Grace is ecstatic to have Chick with her.   
 
Someone vandalized the home on the northside of us..  They destroyed the garden, bashed in all the squash, tipped over a motorized cart, bashed to pieces a candy machine, and put water in the mineral dispenser, among other things.   They also took all the eggs from the hen house.   Really?   More craziness!
 
 
7 October 2020 Wednesday
I am in the basement alone.  I cook for Lance and Tanah and set the food at the top of the stairs.   The top of the stairs is curtained off so as to isolate them.  It is amazing how much I do not get done.  I altered my lesson plans so they could be administered by a sub and have done the laundry.   Not much else, though I have been very busy.   Moving a family around to compensate for COVID takes more time than one would think,
 
People are so, SO good.   My OPA science team has been super supportive.   My parents brought us hand sanitizer and cards and treats for those who have tested positive.  Sandy bought groceries and left them on the porch.  Heidi Maylin stepped in to do all the work for the YW activity tonight AND brought us bananas.  Tawny texted asking what she could do and then dropped off cookies, cereal, trail mix  and a pho noodle lunch.    Dustin Staheli called and offered a camper trailer to park in our driveway so that I do not have to live without a kitchen and bathroom in the basement.  Our siblings call and text as do our neighbors.  So many people are SO good.
 
But not everyone is good….  It appears we have been vandalized too.   The door of the chicken coop was open yesterday afternoon (I could have done that….).  The chain was off the gate this morning (I could have done that…).  I did not gather eggs yesterday so there should have been 24-30 eggs in the coop this morning.  There were two…(I could not have done that…)
 
Lance is feeling worse as is Tanah.  Both have been nauseous and puking in addition to fever, chills, and body aches.   Miles cannot taste.   He said, ¨I ate a tomato” with as much disgust as it he had said ¨I ate a turd.¨
 
 8 October 2020 Thursday
I do not know how Lance is doing it.   He is teaching his classes in real time over Zoom.   I can hear him from the basement.  His voice is booming and his energy seems high.  After teaching the class and giving them their assignments, he is calling individuals whose grades are poor, back to the computer monitor to encourage them to catch up on their work.    But I know that he really, REALLY does not feel well.
 
Tanah feels crappy as well.  She cannot get warm; chills are making her wear wool socks.   In general she is a ¨too hot” person.   Miles does not feel well either.   He still cannot taste and is plagued by fevers and chills.
Cooper’s mom and sister do not feel well and will probably get tested.   The relatives on the Noel side are symptomatic and plan to get tested tomorrow.  I am certain I have it.   Something is off inside me.   The mild headache I have had for days is omnipresent; today I relented and finally took ibuprofen for it.   My chest is constricted and I am developing a cough.   I also have a slight runny nose.   I am still very functional but something is definitely off.
 
I spent the entire day working on CANVAS lessons for next week.   It is truly, truly amazing how much I do not get done.   
 
9 October 2020 Friday
Lance texted me in the middle of the night last night telling me that he is chilling big time and his skin is sore; the touch of the blankets on his body hurts.
 
Grace has tested positive.   She came home.   
 
Chick came home too, and was in quarantine with me in the basement until….. 
 
I prayed about it and felt directed to get tested.   I really did not want to get tested but felt it was the right thing to do.  If I tested positive then I could go upstairs and help my family.   So, after lunch and a few virtual conferences with students, I went to get COVID tested.
 
As suspected, I tested positive.   Now 5 of the 6 of us have tested positive for COVID; Chick is the last man standing.   He is isolated in his room.   The barricade (sheet tacked across the doorway of the basement stairs) came down.  I moved my office, bathroom stuff, and cooking stuff back upstairs and Tanah moved her bedroom stuff and sewing room stuff back downstairs.  
 
Cooper’s mom and sister  tested positive as well.   They both feel super yucky.   Lance is down, DOWN.  Powering thru to teach his classes the past 4 days has taken its toll.  This evening breathing was difficult for him.  My parents made dinner for Cooper’s family, for my family, and, I suspect, for Varners as well.  Jill also asked if she could bring dinner.
 
Following is an excerpt from an mail that Stephanie, my boss at OPA,  sent to ALL faculty, staff, and the parents of EVERY student at OPA.  It was a weird feeling to read the email and know I was the person to whom the message was referring.
 
Dear OPA Family,
 
We are sending this to inform all OPA families that a Junior High staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member was last on campus Friday, October 2nd. Exposure, symptoms, and a positive test result did not occur until after that date; there was no direct exposure with OPA students, staff, or facilities.  
 
Ogden Preparatory Academy will remain open during this time. We have been in communication with the Weber-Morgan Health Department, and are following all orders and advice given to us. When an individual has direct contact with a positive case, they will be notified directly by school personnel to provide them with quarantine information. 
 
In this situation, there were NO DIRECT CONTACTS AND NO EXPOSURES to students or staff that occurred due to school or a school related event. 
 
D. Kasey Kennington - Elementary Principal
Stephanie Mathers - Junior High Principal

 
On a SUPER positive note, the RHS Cross Country team ran today in Orem and qualified to participate in the State Meet.  
 
10 October 2020 Saturday
For the first time in days, no new news.


Grace is feeling almost better and returned to SLC.   Tanah is feeling better, still very congested and sore of lung and limb, but better.  Miles felt good enough to work out for 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Lance is still suffering; it is “much, much worse than a man cold” he says.  I feel okay.   I am definitely NOT my healthy self---I have a slight headache, chest cough, and congestion--but it has slowed me down only a little.  I biked an hour, weeded in the garden, and scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen floors today--almost a typical Saturday.   I slept 10 hours last night.  That is not typical    Chick is still symptom free and sequestered in his bedroom.  

To ease her quarantine boredom, Grace taught herself how to make braided rugs from plastic grocery sacks.  She ran out of sacks so I posted a plea for sacks on the ward Facebook page.   The large box we put at the top of our driveway is overflowing.     
 
TODAY    11 October 2020 Sunday
Once again, I feel compelled to count our COVID blessings.   I am so grateful for the goodness of people, for the sacks of groceries that have been purchased and delivered, the dinners that have appeared on our doorsteps, the quick runs to fast food venues to satisfy cravings, the calls and emails and texts offering to help and for the prayers offered on our behalf.    I am grateful for the goodness of God, that our symptoms have been, for the most part, mild and that our resources have been, in all aspects, plentiful.  I am grateful for my Savior and for the hope His teachings bring.   There is peace in Christ.
 
 


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My office The outside during their isolation/my quarantine.
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Oh my! A fire during our quarantine.
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The bedroom during their isolation/my quarantine.
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The kitchen during their isolation/my quarantine.
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My kitchen sink and bathroom tub during their isolation/my quarantine.....just like when I was on my mission in the D.R.!
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My kitchen cupboards during their isolation/my quarantine.
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The outside of my bathroom during their isolation/my quarantine.
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The inside of my bathroom during their isolation/my quarantine.
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COVID prevented Tanah from working her cleaning job but not from working her Utah Shakespeare Festival job. Nice office, right?
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My front porch during quarantine
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The box in front our home just hours after we posted a plea on the ward FB page for extra bags....
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Grace taught herself how to weave rugs from plastic sacks to ease her quarantine boredom.
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Kayaks and the Snake

9/20/2020

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Hard to believe that only a week before we were trekking across a desert to hike in a narrow canyon.  Seven days later we paddled up a huge river in a giant gorge….    And it was glorious!!!

This summer, while waiting for our childrens’ turn to show their hogs, Eric Wilkinson invited Lance and I to go kayaking with him and Shannon.    Being a “never say no” kind of gal, I instantly agreed.   Lance slightly hesitantly and somewhat reluctantly agreed to accompany me.   Things with school (figuratively drowning) and at home (house a disaster, needy children, baskets and baskets of peaches needed processing) being the way they are I was very tempted to bail out but could not bring myself to make the call…..so we went...and we (BOTH of us) were so glad we did.   Glorious, glorious, glorious!

One would think that kayaking 3.5 miles upstream would be physically taxing...but one would be wrong if the “stream” one was kayaking was the stretch of the Snake River that runs past Twin Falls, ID.   The river is wide, slow, and very user friendly. The day was also very user friendly: overcast, warm but not too hot, and slightly (VERY slightly) breezy.  Perfect.

The day was perfect.  So were the people.  Eric is Mr. Congeniality in a long, tall body.   Shannon is short and sassy in every good sense of the phrase.   Karen is everyone’s favorite aunt, whether they are related to her or not.  John’s sense of adventure matches his red hair and Natalie’s graciousness matches her friendly smile.   Lance and I were the newcomers….and we hope to become frequent comers.

Speaking of comers….Kayaking rapidly came to be my newest addiction.   With minimal physical effort, we maximized our outdoor enjoyment.   The Snake River Canyon is truly amazing….500 feet deep and a quarter mile wide, it cuts through ancient basalt lava flows as it winds for 50 miles through southern Idaho.   

A huge stone outcropping interrupts the river about half way between the kayak input and Shoshone Falls.   One has to portage the kayaks about 200 m.   We found that one also has to explore the rock outcroppings.   Shannon, Eric and Karen had to jump into the pools and John had to try kayaking a couple of the rapids.   We all had to admire the scenery.

The island/outcroppings were amazing; Shoshone Falls was outright stunning.   Known as the “Niagara of the West”, it is 212 feet (65 m) high—45 feet (14 m) higher than Niagara Falls—and flows over a rim nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) wide.  It is amazing to see from above.  It is even more amazing to see from below.  We kayaked close to the falls, so close that our faces were misted by the spray and our kayaks were rocked by the cascading water’s wake.   So cool!!!!  SO COOL!!

And then we did it in reverse, this time kayaking 3.5 miles downstream.   The difference between kayaking downstream and upstream was barely noticeable.  The magic of kayaking, though, was very noticeable.   I am hooked.   Kayaks are now on my wish list.   Anyone know where I can get six?

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Three A Day....

9/13/2020

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Three a day….  The National Dairy Council suggests 3 daily servings of milk products, a “major study” suggests that 3 a day servings of fruits and veggies is sufficient, that there not need to have 5 daily servings of fruits and veggies, and 3 a day workouts are suggested by some as a healthy way to lose weight….   I did not find any published research on the health effects of 3 a day slot canyons but I do have some personal experiences I can share….

Over Labor Day weekend, I, along with most of my family and some of my favorite nieces and nephews (and another young adult who is not-yet-family but who is already a favorite), hiked three slot canyons in one day and it was a very healthy experience.  [What does not kill you makes you stronger, right?!?!?!]

The Escalante part of the weekend started, for Miles, Lance and I, just before midnight when we arrived at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.   There we joined Romney, Aliza, Olivia and Grace and Romney’s crippled car--- which mercifully broke down right in front of our campsite.   The night was clear and warm and the people (all of us) were tired so we did not put up tents, choosing instead to sleep under the stars.

Saturday dawned, in Lance’s words, “a bright and glorious morning”, partially because it really was a beautiful morning, partially because Tanah joined us, and partially because we were able to get Romney’s car running long enough to deliver it to Escalante’s only auto repair shop.   After dropping Romney’s car off at the local repair shop--which Google said was not open but actually was...kind-of….there was a young man in the parking lot who said he worked there who took Romney’s keys--we drove down Hole-in-the-Rock road to the Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons trail head. Let the good times begin!   Slot canyons carry their own special magic and that magic was magnified by the fabulousness of the people with whom we hiked.   Honestly!

Lance charged the entrance to Peek-a-Boo.   To enter Peek-a-boo, one has to scale a 10 foot cliff, enhanced by only a few footholds that are much taller than waist high.    A blog commenter said he waited for over an hour at the entrance, hoping someone would arrive and help him up the wall.   Lance did it by himself.  (Romney helped me.)    Once inside, Peek-a-Boo was all beauty--twists, turns, and intricately shaped rock surfaces.   Spooky was narrower, tighter, darker, and much more challenging.   There were times Lance had to drop to crawl because the wider part of the canyon was lower; other times he had to shimmy up because the wider part of the canyon was higher.   He scratched holes in his shirt and some skin off his tummy and got an idea for a new, extreme, belly-scraping weight loss program..    

Zebra was our third slot canyon of the day.  My purpose for planning a Labor Day adventure to the Escalante area was to explore Zebra slot canyon; to check it out as a possible hike for future field trips.   Nope.  Not suitable.

It is an out and back hike, a short slot canyon at the end of a long hike.    The hike was good.   Again, it is hard to go wrong when hiking with such fabulous people.  The slot canyon was good too.   Fabulous in fact.  But I feel no need to ever do it again.

The visitor’s center guide told me there were 3 feet of water in Zebra.  Given the extremely dry summer we’ve had, I expected 12-18 inches.   Nope.  There were 3 feet of water in Zebra.   She warned me about the water.   No one told me about the slot.  

It was a narrow canyon--much more narrow than Spooky.   And the footing was tricky.   There were times--several times--when I was wedged tightly both at my chest and at my ankle.   I would struggle to wiggle/drag/push my foot forward a couple inches and then work to push/pull my torso forward, then return to trying to move my foot.   Intense.  At one point I tried to shimmy/spider along the wall by putting a foot on each side of the narrow crevice.   Nope.  Not enough traction on my Chacos.   A slip would mean a wedged ankle if I were lucky and a shattered one if I weren’t.   I also tried to shimmy up the canyon with my feet against one wall and my back against the other.   In many places it was too narrow to do that; the canyon walls were so close that my knees were in my teeth which made it hard to move them--teeth or knees or anything else for that matter…..  Intense.  YEP.  

And beautiful!   Amazing, awesome, outstanding.  Super cool, literally (the water) and figuratively (the experience).  The stripes, for which the canyon is named, were magnificent.  The tadpoles, tadpoles-transitioning-to-frogs, and the frogs were awesome too.  The “I-might-be-stuck-but-I-refuse-to-panic” feeling was great too….after I got out of the narrow spot.

The whole experience, start to finish, was awesome.   We did end up pitching a tent but only to house our bags when we were gone for the day; we put it aside at night and again slept under the stars.  Lance fished past dark and enjoyed watching and, after dark, feeling the tug of bats playing with his fishing line.    Tanah did not so much enjoy seeing the skunk that visited our garbage can while most of us slept.   Olivia entertained us with her guitar (a little) and fun campfire games (a lot).  Aliza was even more gracious and beautiful and helpful than I remembered (which was hard to do).  Miles fished for bass and Grace caught one--on Miles’ line.  Before the trip Miles had never caught a bass.  He still has not caught a bass.  And Romney lived up to the Noel boys’ reputation.  “Never go adventuring without a Noel boy” has become a Hislop adage.   For my part, I tried to fix lots of yummy food, hoping to lure/bait everyone into accepting my next adventuring invitation.  

Yep, yep, yep…..for me, 3 a day slot canyons was a healthy experience...once!   Though I do not plan on exploring 3 slot canyons in one day anytime soon, I hope to adventure again with these people really soon.   

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    Teresa Hislop
    thislop@msn.com

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