A Word About The New Name

Well, here it is February 1st and 2009 is roughly 1/12 over - and I do mean roughly. I suppose we can expect a rough year ahead of us on many fronts, but are seeking to follow the prophet and find joy in the journey - now. We cannot pick and choose which of his words we want to follow.

So many of you may be wondering what is with the new name. Here's the story - basically I thought we'd move on from the private joke that the original name was, since mostly it meant nothing to anyone but us. So I found a new name in the title of a BYU Devotional address given by Elder Neil L. Anderson on May 16, 2006. Seeing it is the most impressive as he has a number of neat visuals, but listening to it is still great. It is basically about changing our perspective so that we see our own lives through the generations that lead up to us, and the generations that follow. Thus he uses the word "seeing" both as a reference to "looking at" or "examining" and as a reference to "getting it" or "understanding". Great talk. One of my favorite parts:
"I have heard President Gordon B. Hinckley say on more than one occasion, “I have been thinking a lot about my grandfather and grandmother. I have been thinking a lot about my father and my mother. I have been thinking just a little about myself and my dear wife. And I have been thinking a lot about my children, about my grandchildren, and about my great-grandchildren.” And then he has concluded with this phrase: “And I have been thinking a lot about this wonderful link that binds us all together” (President Hinckley speaking at Vernal, Utah, and Campinas, Brazil, temple dedications)."
After Elder Anderson's talk on faith in the last General Conference I went looking for other talks he has given and found some great treasures. This is just one. You may recall another he gave in General Conference in April 2005, Beware the Evil Behind the Smiling Eyes, and October 1999, Prophets & Spiritual Mole Crickets.

Anyway, I recognize that my vision [perspective] has been fashioned by generations of great people that preceded me, and that my vision of the future is made bright in the consideration of those that I can see forging into the future. We are not only Children of Abraham, a great blessing in and of itself, but we are the Children of Joseph, an additional great blessing. Thus our understanding of past events, as well as our bright hope for the future is all wrapped up in the vision of our generations.

Bridgeport Covered Bridge

Happy MLK Day! It has been a good day here as it was a day off from work. We relaxed quite a bit, and did a few things that needed being done. Then this afternoon we drove about 45 minutes east of here to visit the "longest single-span covered bridge in existence" up on the South Fork of the Yuba River. It was a lot of fun, but a bit late in the day. There are a few hiking trails there, so we will no doubt do this again, but a little earlier in the day. There are three other covered bridges in the area that we also plan on visiting this year, so stay tuned.

This is what it used to cost to go across the bridge.

This is the view from the west. We went part way up a trail loop that looked to be quite interesting.

This is a shot of the underside of the south end of the bridge. You will note that it has been repaired and renovated over the years.

Here's a shot from the south end looking north along the east side.

Inside looking north.

Inside, looking south.

The braces.

The view from the east, looking up from the river.

And, of course, the warning about snakes - an important member of the natural community. Do you suppose they put the signs there so the snakes can say truthfully, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."? There was also a sign about another important member of the natural community - mountain lions. Conspicuous by its absence was a sign about poison oak - obviously not an important member of the natural community.

Hope you like the photos.

Thanks for the memories

It has been a great couple of weeks! We have had a great time with good company, and with the Comeaus on the phone. Here are a few scenes to remember it by. As I reviewed all the pictures we have, I noticed a pattern - they are pretty heavy on TVH. Oh well, can you blame us? Enjoy. It began with a number of trips to the airport.

Four guys.

One happy grandma.

And happy sisters with their Swiss hats.

At the temple.

Cold M.

Happy little guy.

Andy and Saramarie.



Happy times.

Mom's New Car

As you may have heard, the Chevy went to Idaho with Peter today. He took David Hall, with whom he will room, and Debra Terry. They had an uneventful trip and arrived safely earlier this evening. With the departure of the Chevy, we needed to replace it. We were fortunate enough to acquire a 2005 Hyundai Sonota.The interior.

And a sun roof.

We are very grateful to have been able to obtain this car at an unreasonably low price.

New Year's Clean Up

On New Year's Day we celebrated by beginning our year of cleaning up and putting in order. And we began with the shed. We took everything out and threw away the junk, then stacked what we kept back in so we can get to it as we need it. And this is just the first step. As we go through the year we'll keep you posted on other projects to clean up and order our lives.

And here is a New Year's Day surprise - the bulbs that we planted just a few weeks ago are coming up already. If you look closely you can see the row of plants poking up through the soil.