Carey Family

Scott and Sue Family

Farm Life

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I sometimes feel like I live on a farm with chickens behind us, cows and horses next door, buffalo across the street, and a steady stream of deer running through our yard.  I live in a small town that’s next to lots of suburbia but feels like we are in the country because we’re tucked up against the mountains and isolated.  I was flipping through farm and gardening blogs on Picket Fence Blogs a few weeks ago and found Sharon at Quilting the Farm.  I’ve enjoyed reading about her adventures on an old homestead that she and her husband are trying to return to a working farm.  It’s been fascinating to see their setbacks and victories.  So I’m Paying It Forward this week at Holly’s blog to Quilting the Farm.  Wander around the farm and check it out-you’ll love her perspectives.

Hail!

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I love standing at the window watching a gentle summer rain storm.  It’s so relaxing.

I do NOT enjoy standing at the window watching hail the size of marbles pound my flowers and punch holes in my vegetable garden.

Grrrrrr.

Keeping my balance in July

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I discussed in a previous post my leap into a new phase of life  and how I was going to try to balance my adventures.  I gave a long list of things I want to do and here’s a progress report on how I’ve been teetering during my first month.

Alot:
service to family
service to friends
reading
gardening
crocheting

Some:
blogging
exercising

A little:
quilting
scrapbooking
practicing piano
organizing and cleaning out my home
child advocating

None:
family history
learning Photoshop Elements

So……..not too balanced overall, but I’ve had some interesting times and done other stuff that wasn’t on my list.  I was starting to be a little hard on myself when I remembered a blogger I’d like to “Pay It Forward” to this week.  Tara at Undeserving Grace has a great outlook on life and a strong faith.  Her posts are interesting and fun and she has some memes that repeat.  Say It Again Sunday often has some great sayings and I liked this post that helped me lighten up with the Bob Marley saying I’ve included here.

I also enjoy her Thankful Thursday posts that help me remember to be grateful for what I have and her Blessings in Bloom posts of her garden always cheer me up.  Pop over and visit Tara.  You’ll be glad you did!

July updates from Elder Brian

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7-5-2011
That is crazy that tomorrow I will have been on my mission for 18 months.  Can you believe that?  Wow.  I was remembering everything that happened last 4th of July, where I was, and what I was doing, and I hadn’t quite been out for 6 months yet.  The last year just flew by.  Pretty nuts.  So, yeah, I am doing really good.  It is SUPER hot here now, but I like the heat, so it is all good.  So for me, this week was pretty good!  It went way too fast and we didn’t get done half the things that we wanted to, but I feel like that is how it is always!  There is NEVER enough time to do everything.
Sabado:  In the morning we went and had a zone meeting.  It was pretty fun.  We all got “transferred”, and we went with another missionary in their area and we contacted for about 1 1/2 hours.  I was with this brand new missionary in his area and it was a lot of fun and we saw some sweet miracles.

7-12-2011
Viernes:  We taught this less active lady…and she fed us some dinner before we bounced over to the baptism.  The baptism was of…an investigator of the Sister’s.  I played piano and I also accompanied the Sister’s on a musical number.  I don’t know if I mentioned that Hermana Merrill is in my district (she is the one that I have played dozens of musical numbers in the mission for the past year), Christmas, Zone conferences, Transfer Meetings, baptisms.  But, we have never been in the same district, and so we have had a good time performing here.  Before the mission, she was in the BYU Singers, and she is a Voice major, and so she is very good.  The baptism turned out really nice and the so did the musical number.
Sabado:  Then in the evening we went to [a baptism].  This time, I sang at the baptism and Hna. Merrill played piano for me (this was a first for us, because I am always accompanying her).  The song was really, really good, and the baptismal service was powerful.  I also accompanied a Primary girl for another song for the service, so I had double duty.
Domingo:  Church!  I gave a talk in church which is always really good, because it helps gain the trust of the members, and then I also accompanied the Hermanas with another musical number.  So we did 3 different musical numbers in 3 days!

7-19-2011
Good week.  This transfer flew by.  Today is Elder Silva’s birthday so we are going to have a district activity and celebrate!  I saw your post on mormon.org, Mom!  YAY!  Now all the family is up there (minus me).  I have been directing my investigators that speak/read English to go to your sites, so they are being used :).  Keep going strong, and never forget what makes this whole plan of happiness possible!  Personal revelation is real and necessary if we are going to make it through this mortal life.

7-26-2011
Well here we are again, starting a new transfer.  This is number 13 for me, and the news is that…..I am staying here in Mission Viejo!!!!  YAY!  I am super stoked, it is going to be really fun.  However, my companion is getting transferred so I will be getting a new one. So as of right now, I am going to have 3 1/2 transfers left (including this one).  Pretty nuts.

Tuacahn 2011

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We made a quick trip down to Broadway in the Desert this year with Mark.  We left at noon on Friday, saw the show Friday night, and drove home Saturday after a little shopping in the St. George outlet stores.  We went to see the regional premiere of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and it was GREAT!  The theater installed a water curtain for the show and all the underwater scenes utilized the curtain, they flooded the stage, there was lots of aerial work done in the underwater scenes to give the illusion of swimming, and it was all really cool.  The costumes were really awesome and the wheelie shoes for the sea people made them glide along the stage.  The talent was excellent, as always, and we saw some familiar faces; overall, it was a great production.  We took Mark on the backstage tour before the show because the last time we went with Brian, Mark was on his mission.  It’s fun to see the costumes and sets behind the theater.  We also learned that the tunnel underneath the stage was expanded this year to go forward to the front edge of the stage and two trap doors were installed so that Ariel and others could come up right in the front and people could disappear down.  Those were cool effects.

(click on a photo to see the large in a gallery)

I haven’t been very good at tagging in the past, but I went through old posts and tagged each year’s Tuacahn post so now we can see all our adventures in one search!  Whoopee!