School Pic 2011

Here's Ian's school picture for this school year, 2011-2012.

What a handsome kid!

Instant message exchange

sford: feeling really old today...
not only am I missing a tooth, but I can't see out of my left eye.
did it all day yesterday too, so I called the eye doc and have an appt for Friday.
Going to the dentist today.
So here I sit, BLIND AND TOOTHLESS.

dsccoord: wow.

sford: LOL
now I just need to borrow someone's cane.
Later:
sford: Do you remember a few weeks ago when you said to me, "At least you still have your teeth?"

dsccoord: WTH?
Yes. Weird

sford: hahahha

keepers

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self." ~Aristotle

Linda Voelkel On a small scale, I get an opportunity to practice this concept every first Sunday of the month.

"There can be no fullness of life where there is slavery, and the man who is subject to his appetite is the most abject slave. He who can rule his passions is greater than a king."
-- David O. McKay

Sunday School Video Link

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?autoplay=true&index=3&locale=0&sourceId=04f3a899d5e92210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=bd163ca6e9aa3210VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD

Oh, So True

The girls got Scotty this card for Father's Day. I thought I should post it, since it is oh, so true.

The Boys

Just a couple of things. It is so weird to have the boys to suddenly, or so it seems, be so much bigger than I am. Ian can rest his chin on the top of my head. He is thoroughly tickled by this new ability. I took the boys shoe shopping today and Ian bought size gigantic while Jared purchased humongous. It's ridiculous. They are immense. How can that be? How did it happen? How do I make it stop?

They make me laugh. Their word choices are always amusing. We were discussing Ian's upcoming birthday dinner. He decided he can get lots of food for the same money as going to a restaurant, so he wants me to fix a dinner of lobster tails, crab and shrimp. I asked, "What about salmon?" He replied, "NO! Only crustaceans." Who says that? What kind of word is that? Clever, funny, even brilliant. But it's not a very appetizing one, I think.

Pretty proud of Jared lately. He is really growing up. I think this concurrent enrollment college thing has really helped. I've caught him several times recently saying things like, Papa what's your schedule tomorrow? Can I sleep in and take the car, since I don't have class until later? Planning ahead. That's a new, and very appreciated, ability.

He did well on his ACT test. Got a 32, which will get him a scholarship just about anywhere in Utah. Too bad he doesn't want to go to a Utah school. I am still working on that.

Then, the best of all... he actually asked a girl to the prom today. He is embarrassed by the whole process and keeps saying OH GEEZ when I tell him everything he has to do, like get her a corsage, or get pictures taken. He is such a GUY and so clueless about what a girl thinks and wants. It's too funny. I hope he has a good time so he discovers he survived it and he can do it again because it was actually fun. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Easter Story

Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them.

“A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’

“‘I will risk it,’ he replied.

“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’

“The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’

“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.

“‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class.

“‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’

“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.

“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’

“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body.

“‘How can I whip this child?’ he thought. ‘But I must, I must do something if I am to keep this school.’ Everything was quiet as death.

“‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’

“He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’

“The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’

“Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

To lift a phrase from this simple story, Jesus, my Redeemer, has taken “my licking for me” and yours for you.

Declared the prophet Isaiah:

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: …

“… He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4–5).

I was pretty irritated with myself that I forgot to take my camera with me when Scotty and I took a drive through the Valley of Fire State park near Moapa, Nevada. Naturally, we see something really worth photographing. So this pic is from my phone camera, which I HATE to use. Oh, well. Still had a nice afternoon with Scotty. But it is just such a symbol of me and how I have NOT been on my "A-game" lately. I have really been feeling out of it. Hope I can wake up and focus when I go back to work after Spring Break.

Hawaiian Memories and Reflections on Shoes

I was wearing some uncomfortable shoes today, and for some reason, it made me think of this story I wrote in an email a couple of years ago when we took the family to Hawaii.

Okay, so I have this pair of leather sandals that I have had for, no kidding, 5 years. They are wearing out, but by and large are extrememly comfortable to wear. Over this summer I have purchased 5 different pair of sandals, searching for another pair to equal them. I've thrown them away twice, trying to force myself to move on, but had to retrieve them from the bin. They are like my "lucky shoes" and I just can't get rid of them. But, when we decided to go to the beach today, I decided to wear them over another pair, thinking I wouldn't mind if the sand ruined them, because they are so old.

We get to the beach and the waves are great, scooping up, slamming, and sliding up the sand. I lay my towel down right on the edge where the wet and dry sand meet, take my sandals off, and immediately here comes a great wave that, oh, oh, oh, is gonna get me! I jump up and move my towel and turn around to grab my shoes and ONE of them is gone. I'm laughing, thinking how silly I am to have "ruined" the pair so quickly. Scotty thinks it's just buried in the sand so we half-heartedly dig around for it. No luck.

We play on the beach for a couple of hours, moving further down the way. A turtle keeps swimming near us and it actually touches the boys. We find out later there is a $15,000 fine for touching sea turtles. (Good thing it touched them and not the other way around!) It starts to rain so we pack up. I think of my shoe again, as I'm gathering everyone elses. We look down the beach and unbelievably, what do we find as we walk along the sand? My Shoe!

I told you it was a lucky one.

What are you waiting for?

Jared has gone back to Tuacahn High School. He really missed his friends there. It was fun having him at Dixie High, and it was certainly convenient, but this is where he wants to be and where he will be able to create those high school memories. He had to make quite a few promises in order to convince us to let him go back, one of which is that he will go on a date with a girl, and he will also go to a school dance, like Junior Prom. I hope those will be good memories for him, too. He's such a cutie.

We will have to cut back a little on the college classes, but that's okay. It's a journey, not a race, and it never was my idea for him to get his Associates during high school. I can already picture him graduating. He'll walk across the stage in that beautiful ampitheatre and we will be so proud. And he will be proud of his high school, and that's what counts.