Super Sunday April 14, 2013

This has been a very special and wonderful day for us.  It started of as usual for me this morning getting ready for my Sunday morning meetings and being at the Church at 7:30 for PEC meeting.

Iris readied herself and picked up the Mathews Sisters in our ward who need to be at the church by 8:30.  They don't have a car so we have made a practice of supplying transportation to them for the past few years.  They are always gracious and appreciative of the help.  It certainly is no bother for us.  Our sacrament meeting begins at 9:00 and to day was Fast Sunday due to General Conference last Sunday.  I felt the urge to bear my testimony today as did many others and it was a spiritual meeting which added to my faith in the gospel of the Savior and his mission here on earth.  Our Sunday School lesson was taught today by a young USU student who lives in our ward.  He did a great job as usual.  It is always impressive to me to see how well these young students do and how close they are to the Lord.  It is wonderful to see how devoted they are as the begin their young families and get their education.  This is also evident as we serve in the Temple where so many of these students come to worship and to renew covenants as well as do work for their dead.  They are so busy and yet they find time and make the effort to attend the Temple very often.  They seem at peace with themselves and with the Lord.  This is the impression we always get as we see them at the Temple.

It is a testimony to us of the blessings inherent in temple service.

 

Early in the afternoon we got a telephone call from Jason.  They wanted to know if they could come and visit and if we would be home later in the afternoon.  Of course, they are always welcome.  We love it when they come.  They are such a joy in our lives and always make us happy and laugh a lot.

We had a good visit and then decided to go visit some of the others who were available at a moment's notice.  We were able to catch Ryan and Sam and their sweet family at home, and then went out to Alison and Ammon's for a little while.  These visits brought sunshine into our day and made us glad that we have family and that we live close enough to some of them that we can enjoy a visit occasionally.

 

Below are a few pictures of the days activities.  It was a Super Sunday for us.  Thanks, to Jason and Rene for coming and sharing time with us and the others here in Cache Valley.

 

Megan and Tanner, super teenagers.  Are they good looking or what? 

 

Maddie B and Tanner.  Can you tell his sisters kind of like him?

Rene's kids are all growing up so fast, but you can tell she still has a spot in her life for the little ones.

Rene and little Neveah.  She is our youngest grandchild, #25.

Jason seems to have a soft spot for little ones as well.

Family socializing in the kitchen at Alison's house.

Avery played a trick on Uncle Jason and Jason is the good sport, as always.

Aunt Alison with her nieces, Megan  and Maddie.  We do love our girls.!!!

A Spring Break Hike

For many of the school districts around Utah this week has been Spring Break.  This means a week out of school.  Some families take their kids and go on vacation to some warm or exotic place other stay home because one or both of the parents have to work.  Some go to visit friends or relatives.  School children love a few days away from the classroom and especially if the weather is nice and spring has truly arrived.  The warm rays of the sun seem to do a body good, not to mention what they can do for the mind.  We have been fortunate enough to have some of our grandkids here for a few days.  Mason in particular wanted to spend some time with his grandpa.  I was glad for that.  This morning we decided to take a hike up to the wind cave.  Micah found out about it and wanted to go too.  I was glad to be the guide and the leader of this little expedition, even though I ended up leading from behind.  Mason is growing up so fast,  Micah is still young and a bit small for such a hike, or at least so I thought.  He made the hike without any problem as did Mason.  I actually did too, though I must admit I needed to stop along the trail and rest a few times.  Nevertheless, I made it and it felt really good to be out in nature and enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine. It reminded me of so many good hikes in days gone past and I never fail to be amazed at the beauties of the earth and the love and greatness of our Maker.  I took a few pictures along the way, as usual.  Some of them can be seen below.

Micah and Mason on the trail to the Wind Cave in Logan Canyon.

Mason on top of the world r so it seems.  He is growing so fast and is such a good young man.

 

Here is Micah near the Wind Cave.  He is holding my walking staff.  He and Mason called it and old man's hiking stick.  They were not really that far off in their assessment.  This staff has a special meaning to me.  Several years ago I planned a solo hike in the Wind River Mountains into the Titcomb Basin, one of the most beautiful spots on this earth.  I mentioned my plans to our home teachers during one of their visits.  One of them, Jerry Ramsey, said he'd like to go.  I said he would be welcome and kind of left it at that.  I guess I didn't think he was serious because he had been suffering from severe back pain for several years.  The night be for I was to leave Jerry pulled up in my driveway in his truck.  He asked me come out and inspect and see if he had everything he needed for the hike.  I was impressed by his efforts and desire and couldn't have told him "NO" even if I'd been a mind to.  We went and enjoyed the better part of a week in the wilderness of Wyoming.  It was hard for him, but he never complained.  I felt sorry for him sometimes and helped where I could.

When we arrived home on Saturday that week we were both exhausted but grateful for the time we had shared together.  A few days later he brought this wooden shepherds staff over to me as a thank you gift for the time we had shared.  I was grateful for it, but never had  used it until today.  I'd set it out a  couple of weeks ago after learning of Jerry's tragic death in an automobile accident.  I lost a good friend and he lost the severe pain he'd been dealing with for almost twenty years.  My hike to day, staff in hand, was filled with memories and emotion as I not only enjoyed time with my grandsons, but with a dear deceased friend of years gone by.

Here are Mason and Micah at the Wind  Cave in Logan Canyon.

 

Another hiker volunteered to take a picture of all three of us.  We do live in a beautiful place and it is so good to have some of the grandkids come for a visit once in a while.  We love them each and every one.

It's Baseball Time

Today was a beautiful spring day in Cache Valley.  The sun was shining and it was reasonably warm outside, so we were glad to take in one of  Ryan's baseball games at Logan High School.  His team was playing his old high school team, the Bear Lake Bears..  Of course, he was excited to be able to coach against his old coach, Craig Culver, who was a good mentor for Ryan during his high school baseball days.  It was good to see some of the Bear Lake crowd who had come to Logan to support their team  When our boys were playing baseball as they were growing up, we enjoyed watching them play and seldom missed a game, at home or away.  Ryan's family came over to the game and offered their support to Ryan and his Gizzlies.

 

Here we see Ryan and his girls, Annika, Samantha, Grandma Iris, and Neveah.  It was her first baseball game, but I doubt seriously  that it will be her last.  She really enjoyed the fresh air and the sunshine.  Her cute little bonnet helped to protect her from the suns rays.

 

Here are Ryan and Sam's boys.  No doubt Ryan will turn them in to baseball players too.

Batter up!! A Logan player tries to get a hit off the Bear Lake pitcher.  Ryan is coaching down the third base line.

 

Here Ryan is again, coaching a runner at third base.

 

Coaches!  Ryan has a great respect for Coach Culver and owes a lot of his love for baseball to the tutelage he received, while playing for him during his high school years.  These are two men who truly love the sport of baseball.

 

It was a double header.  The Bear Lake team was anxious to see some green grass, as their field is still under a foot of snow.  Ryan's team, the Logan High School Grizzlies, won both games.  It's still fun to go to a baseball game, but I must admit, I enjoyed it even more when I was playing as a teenager or as we watched our own sons playing during their youth.  Our day at the ball park was made more enjoyable by the first truly warm day of the year.  Soon there will be more warm days, so we will no doubt get to take in a few more baseball games

Spring Play at Mountainside Elementary School

Last night we went out to Mendon to see Ada in her spring school play.  They did a wonderful job.  It is so good to see young people (and of course their teachers) engaged in a good cause.  I was very impressed with all of the students and the wonderful costumes and scenery to go along with a fun script.  Alison has been fortunate to be involved n the school where their children  go to school.  She will miss Ada when she moves on.  At Alison's request I took a lot of pictures for her.  She was busy back stage and couldn't be the photographer.  I did the best I could.  I'm going to publish one of the pictures and give the rest to Alison to do with as she pleases.

Alison and Ada, the pirate, after the school play in Mendon last night.

We do love our Alison and Ada.  They light up our lives.

Early Springtime Activities on South Fifth Street

It is springtime in the Rockies again.  Sun shines one minute, snowing the next.  The snow has mostly gone and there are signs of lots of yard work to do, baseball games to be played, and all around fun to be had.  I have been  working on Ryan fallen tree a little bit in spare time if the sun was shining.  It's going to be a project and we'll eventually get it all sawed up and stacked away for winter firewood, or hauled off to the dump.  It has actually felt good for me to get outside and do a little more physical work and some good fresh air in my lungs.  I'll just take it easy and do what I can at my own pace.  I'm not as young as I used to be.  I was sawing the other day when the kids came home from school.  They are so precious.  We are fortunate to live close enough to watch them grow.

Here is Micah sitting on the trunk of the huge tree in their yard which fell down with the spring thaw.
That is no small stick.

Ryan came home after baseball practice at the high school. He's the coach and Micah is his little protégé.  They both love baseball.  They are lucky to have such a nice big yard in which to play.

Tristan is not to be out done.  He's learning to play baseball too.

Annika got caught trying out the swing in her yard.  When I left to go home I took her home with me.
She had fun with Grandma Iris, while I helped a couple in our ward with their family history.

And Great Was the Fall of It

The home Ryan and Samantha purchased last year is a wonderful home in a convenient location.  They have a beautiful, large yard for the children to play in and to keep them busy in spare moments, as though they had a problem with that.  It is surrounded by large trees, which provide shade in the summer, making their place very inviting and comfortable, even on the hottest days.  These trees are rather old, having been planted many years ago, probably about the time the home was built.  Some of these trees are beginning to show signs of their age.  One of them was dead when they moved in and had been topped and largely debranched by the previous owners.  It stood at the front of the yard. There have been some discussions about how and when would be the best time to remove it.  Another nearby tree has a large hole in its trunk about forty feet above ground.  That hole provided a cozy nest for a family of raccoons last summer and no doubt will be a sought out spot for some old mother raccoon to give birth to her litter again this year.

 

Last night, about five thirty Sam and the kids were startled by a sudden thud.  Upon checking it out they discovered that the old, dead tree in their front yard had fallen.  Apparently with the thawing of the soil around it and the fact that its roots had decayed resulted in the tree simply falling over, all by its self, as Tristan informed me.  It fell across their driveway, taking down the nearby electric wire and even the telephone pole to which it had been attached.  Fortunately their was no one near by at the time of its fall and no car was parked in its path.  Of course, this caused a power outage at the Eborn home on South Fifth Street.  Samantha called us and informed us that the tree had fallen and that they were living by candle light until the power company could get the wires back up and the electricity to their home restored.  We offered to come and get them or at least to bring down some lanterns, but she said they were fine and were actually kind of excited about their little adventure.

Ryan was away at a baseball tournament in St. George at the time the tree fell. Some of the neighbors came to lend assistance, though not much was really needed beyond making a few phone calls.

 

This morning I decided to go down and check things out.  I had an idea for a picture in mind.  Tristan, an axe and the huge fallen tree.  That could be a good one.  At first Tristan was apprehensive about even going out near the tree.  I finally decided to bribe him.  I offered to take him to the dollar store. He said he didn't want to go to the dollar store.  I said:  "How about a dollar, if you come out and let me take your picture."  His eyes lit up.  He liked that idea.  Then he had second thoughts.  "How about a dollar and a quarter?"  I quickly agreed and we went out for some picture taking before he decided to up the ante on me.  Most importantly, we are just grateful that no one was hurt because of this incident.  Actually,  it will be a positive, because it means a little less travel to get in the winter's wood supply for next winter.

Below are some of the pictures we took.

 

A miniature Paul Bunyan.

 

 

Proud Grandpa and Tristan, the Tree Slayer.  This kind of puts a new dimension to the well know

family phrase.  "Get wood!"

 

Our little Paul Bunyan and his Mother.

It takes muscles to get wood.  Tristan showing off his "guns." Tristan is such a joy to be around.

He is smart, full of life, and always has a big smile.  We love him, as we do all of our grandchildren.

 

 

A Special Day at the Logan Temple in Cache Valley

 

The Logan Temple in Winter

 

Yesterday some of the Eborn family met at the Logan Temple for a  Family Temple Day.

I had been to the Temple Baptistery a couple of months ago and had asked if we could reserve a two-hour block of time to do baptisms for deceased family members.  The baptistery is usually very busy and especially on weekends, in the early mornings and also evenings after school is out.  The secretary checked her schedule book and informed me that there was some free time on March 2nd beginning at 1:00 PM.  I accordingly scheduled two hours.  I knew I had enough names of extended family members to fill that time, but I really had no idea if I could find enough people in the family who could work this particular time frame into their busy schedule.  I sent out an e-mail to those I had addresses for and hoped to get a response.  I was blessed when several of the family showed an interest, and as I had suspected there were several who wanted to come and participate, but who have busy family schedules and couldn't work it in at this particular time.  At first I though about just canceling it and turning all the names into the Temple.  I'm glad we decided to go ahead with this project.

As it turned out we had Ammon and Addison come.  I was so impressed with Addison.  He came and sacrificed going to the State Championship basketball game between Mountain Crest (his school) and Skyview, their valley rival.  There are not very many young men who would do such a thing.  I am very proud of Addison and also his dad for bringing him and also participating.  Jared and Shana came from Murray.  They brought their children.  Emily was able to participate along with her parents and her older Sister, Kinsey.  It was a very special day for them and for us, especially Kinsey.

She is our oldest granddaughter.  She will be 19 in June.  With the lowering of ages for missionary service, she was waiting at her bishop's door 120 days before her birthday to get the missionaries papers started.  She is excited to serve and we are very proud of her example and strength of testimony.  She opened her call from the First Presidency on Friday night and we were thrilled, as was she.  Beginning in July, Kinsey will be serving as a missionary in Sweden.  Suddenly, Sweden is one of the most interesting places on earth for us.  Kinsey is well prepared and will do well.  Reed came with some of his family.  Dan and Rachel were there.  Dan did a lot of the baptizing and helped with the confirmations.  We loved seeing them and being in the Temple with them.  They are beautiful people.  Also Valerie came and performed baptisms.  Iris and I also participated.  Coincidentally. Donald Daugs and his wife, Ammon's dad and step-mother are workers in the baptistery and it just so happened that they were on duty just at the time we were there.  All in all it made a wonderful day.

At the end of our allotted time we had completed 150 baptisms for male relatives and a like number for the females.  Confirmations were also performed for each of these.  That is 600 ordinances.  We are grateful.  Now the real work begins.  It is work, but it is also very joyful work, at least for me, and I think also for the rest of those who have participated or will participate in the future.  I seriously doubt that we could have spent those few hours in a more productive way.

 

I was recently reminded of a vision Elder Melvin J. Ballard had at the baptistery in the Logan Temple many years ago.  I don't know that any of us had an actual vision, but I am certain that all of us felt just as he did.  Below is a short report of his experience.

The Vision of Melvin J. Ballard
at the Logan Temple Baptistery

---

“Elder Ballard sat at our baptismal font [in the Logan Utah Temple] one Saturday while nearly a thousand baptisms were performed for the dead. As he sat there, he contemplated on how great the temple ceremonies were, and how we are bringing special blessings to the living and the dead. His thoughts turned to the spirit world, and he wondered if the people there would accept the work we were doing for them.
“Brother Ballard said: ‘All at once a vision opened to me, and I beheld a great congregation of people gathered in the east end of the font room. One by one, as each name was baptized for, one of these people climbed a stairway over the font to the west end of the room. Not one soul was missing, but there was a person for every one of the thousand names done that day.’
“Brother Ballard said that he had never seen such happy people in all his life, and the whole congregation rejoiced at what was [being] done for them.
“For the rest of his life, Apostle Ballard preached to the Church in all his travels, that the work we do in the temples is accepted, and that the people themselves are permitted to attend and receive the blessings personally” (Nolan Porter Olsen, Logan Temple: The First 100 Years [1978], 170).

A Temple Baptism Font where sacred covenants are made by proxies for those who died without the opportunity.  Each of the LDS Temples has a font similar to this and dedicated  for use in the sacred ordinances of the Temple. 

 In sacred places like this I find  Heaven and Earth seem to be not very far apart

Hopefully we can have an experience like this again in the not so distant future, and include more of the family.Let us know if you would like you and yours to be involved and we will see what we can arrange.  Thanks again to each of you who came and added your special spirits to those of the Temple.  We love you all and always will.

Coming Home! Jesus, Lover of My Soul



Grand Kid Moments

We are blessed with many grandchildren.  Some of them live close by, some not so close.  Most of them are busy with school and other activities, some a little less so.  We always love it when we can be around them and see what they do. For the most part they even seem to enjoy have Grandma and Grandpa pay a little special attention to them.  This week I took Tristan up to First Dam to feed the ducks and geese.  It seems like this is a fairly common activity around here during the winter months.  The kids enjoy it and so do the ducks and geese.

Tristan posing (sort of) for a picture during our little outing to First Dam.

 

We have always tried to support our children and grandchildren in their sporting endeavors.  We are not quite as diligent in this regard with our grand kids as we were when our own children were participating.  I guess that's where their own parents come in, but we are glad that they get involved in sports and physical activities.  The modern world seems to promote playing video games and watching TV etc. where most would be better off outside kicking a ball around or riding bikes, or going for a hike  or a multitude of other wholesome activities.  I know active kids are happier and healthier than those who lead a sedentary life style when they are young.  The time comes soon enough when we can't be as active as we should.  Ethan has been playing Jr. Jazz basketball this winter.  We took the opportunity to watch his game yesterday.  While we were there Justin asked this question:  "Were we that bad when we were that age.?"  My reply was, "No."  That's as far as I want to go on that question at this stage of my life.

 

Ethan in action at the Logan Rec. Center on Saturday.

Here is Ethan with his coach and team mates.  It's good to be a part of a team and to learn to play together.

Jane Eyre at the Ellen Eckles Theater

Logan is a relatively small town with  a better than average reputaion for it's cultural excellence.  I'm sure it doessn't compare favorably to the dramatic and musical events to be found on Broadway in New York or some of the other larger cities around the country, but during the heat of the summer Logan and Cache Valley actually does draw talent from many of the better theaters around the country and even the world.  These people often praise the area not only for its natural beauty, but also for the quality of cultural events that take place here,  This past week we decided to celebrate Iris' birthday and Valentines day by going out to dinner at the Sizzler and then going to the musical stage play of Jane Eyre.  To be honest, I really didn't know much about it  beforehand.  I did take a small self-administered crash course on the novel upon which it is based by perusing the information provided on Wikipedia, certainly not in depth, but nonetheless helpful.  It helped to make the event very enjoyable.  The story line was good, in my view, and the quality of the actors, the singing, and everything associated with the staging of the play were excellent.  There was a large crowd there and they all seemed to enjoy the show, just as we did,  We need to do these kinds of things more often, and in Logan we really do not have any great excuse.

 

Alison was kind to us and gave us the theater tickets.  We very much appreciate her thoughtfulness,

 This was a wonderful story about the tragedies, life, love,  and eventual redemption of a young orphan girl in the early 19th century in England, struggling against the odds for a happy life in the England of the day which placed so  much emphasis on the status associated with a person's birth.

This is the entrance to the Ellen Eccles Theater here in Logan.  It is the scene of many excellent  theatrical productions, ranging from high brow opera to slap stick melodramas  like those staged at the Pickleville Play House in Garden City during the summer months.

This is a view of the Ellen Eccles Theater as it looked when we arrived.  We had reserved sears in the middle in the fifth row at oechestra level.  Pretty  cool, I'd say.

A Visit with Alison and Ammon's Family

Alison invited us out to their place after church meetings for dinner.  As always they had a wonderful
Sunday dinner prepared for us. Ammon and Alison work together as a team and they not only provided us with a good meal, but a good time also.  We always appreciate Ada, Avery, and Addison.  They always seem to want us to come and we enjoy being around and seeing what they do.
This time it was to show us their new "SNOW HOUSE", carefully dug into a large snow pile, made of snow which had been removed from their drive way etc.  It's kind of like the one we have in our front yard.  We just haven't gotten around to creating our own "SNOW HOUSE". I guess I'm afraid Grandma might make me sleep in it.  Brrrr!!! Just the thoughts of it makes me chill.  These are fun activities for the kids though and will make good memories of home.  Below are just a couple of pictures.

Home, Sweet, Home for Ada and Avery, well, at least for a few minutes.  I'm so glad they don't have to live in an igloo.

Alison and Ada making cookies in the kitchen after dinner.  I asked Ada how many cookies her mom has made.  Her reply: "About a million."  No wonder they are so good.  Practice makes perfect.