ＨＵＧっと！プリキュア 見逃し第９話
8 years ago
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2007
Nana's Family Reunion Photos
Check out Nana's great family reunion pictures here. Such great memories, and I'm so glad she's got the photos and the web savvy to upload them all by herself. (She called to ask me how, but I only told her the first thing to do, and she said, "Oh, I just follow the directions. I get it. Bye." Such a cool mom even in her old age.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Utah for America's Birthday
After Merinda and the three "little dears" had their fun in Texas, I got to meet up with them for the trip to Utah.
We stayed up in a great place in Heber where we were treated to some variation on this every night:
There we set up shop with our dear expatriate parents from New Zealand and various relatives came to call, including Uncle K and Aunt J:
...and we went hiking to Bridal Veil Falls with all the brothers and sisters and cousins.
India might be one of the most interesting places on earth but to us America is still the best. Here's the moment that sealed the deal:
...on the 4th of July, getting ready for the fireworks, drinking root beer, and doing contra dancing. We all agreed it was the best 4th of July ever and that's not even a Funk superlative. It really was. Really.
And speaking of that, Grandma had a really amazing birthday party. She invited lots and lots of people and set up a "dress garden" with all the important dresses from milestones in her life set up around the backyard.
We also took the time to hang out with Uncle Lynn on his farm. Fighting hard against his better judgment, he let me take the tractor for a spin. Unlike many times back 20 years when I worked for him, this experience using his heavy machinery went off without incident.
One memorable feature of the trip was Uncle Ryan's sunburn. In order to look good for his wife on their upcoming cruise, he laid out in the sun for a while while the rest of us were swimming indoors. The plan backfired and instead he ended up waddling around the cabin without his shirt on waiting for the sunburn to heal. Here's nanna trying her best to help...
And finally, just an aesthetic view of me and Graham...
We stayed up in a great place in Heber where we were treated to some variation on this every night:
There we set up shop with our dear expatriate parents from New Zealand and various relatives came to call, including Uncle K and Aunt J:
...and we went hiking to Bridal Veil Falls with all the brothers and sisters and cousins.
India might be one of the most interesting places on earth but to us America is still the best. Here's the moment that sealed the deal:
...on the 4th of July, getting ready for the fireworks, drinking root beer, and doing contra dancing. We all agreed it was the best 4th of July ever and that's not even a Funk superlative. It really was. Really.And speaking of that, Grandma had a really amazing birthday party. She invited lots and lots of people and set up a "dress garden" with all the important dresses from milestones in her life set up around the backyard.
We also took the time to hang out with Uncle Lynn on his farm. Fighting hard against his better judgment, he let me take the tractor for a spin. Unlike many times back 20 years when I worked for him, this experience using his heavy machinery went off without incident.
One memorable feature of the trip was Uncle Ryan's sunburn. In order to look good for his wife on their upcoming cruise, he laid out in the sun for a while while the rest of us were swimming indoors. The plan backfired and instead he ended up waddling around the cabin without his shirt on waiting for the sunburn to heal. Here's nanna trying her best to help...
And finally, just an aesthetic view of me and Graham...
Monday, April 9, 2007
Our Humble Submissions to the Conference Ensign
You know how there's always those great pictures in the Conference Ensign of people watching Conference all over the world? Well, here's our attempt at getting our faithful pioneering members in the limelight too. Let us know your favorites!
The Boys: Boddu, Vattikuti & Savio.
Vattikuti is a month away from marriage,
Savio is still in the negotiation process,
and Boddu has a pretty firm temple date but no girl yet!
Genesis John & Stephanie Mani
Sister Siobha, Kunal & Shiva Kumar
Rebecca John, Sister John, & Brother Massey
Sister Grace Moradi & Sister Nora Daas
All having fun at Conference!
The American girls trying to fit in with their chic Indian sisters.
Sister Nisha John giving me pointers on how to wear the sari right. Graham wasn't amused.
Selvi & Sonia Sharma
Margaret Mary, Lakshmi Sunderaj, Stephanie Mani, Grace Moradi & Sister Daas
Lakshmi Sunderaj
Mother & daughter Carolina & Vimla Mani
Sister Selvi
This Day
In my Institute class I had the students write down before Conference any questions they had in their lives. One of mine was:
"How do I choose to spend my time when there are so many good things to do and so little time?"
The conference talk that answered my question in part was Elder Eyring's talk "This Day." I had never thought about how procrastinating the little important things today directly relates to procrastinating the day of my repentance eternally (duh!). Very humbling thought for me.
So here's a plan of action from Elder Eyring for every day to avoid that deadly procrastination bug:
"A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day. We can know which task, of all those we might choose, matters most to God and therefore to us. I have learned such a prayer is always answered if we ask and ponder with childlike submission, ready to act without delay to perform even the most humble service."
And a searing critique of any self-righteous feelings I have about "helping" the branch members "step up" and start running the branch on their own without expatriates helping:
"Complacency can affect even the seasoned adult. The better and the longer you serve, the more likely that the tempter can place this lie in your mind: "You have earned a rest." You may have been the Primary president in your little branch twice. Or you may have worked long and hard on your mission and sacrificed so much to serve. Or perhaps you were the pioneer in the Church where you live. The thought may come: "Why not leave the service to the new people. I have done my part." The temptation will be to believe that you will return to serve again, someday."
We did lunch after conference on both days. Loads of people came, even people who don't normally come to church. Probably because it was Easter, but we'll take what we can get. On the 1st day we fed about 60 people for about $30--Chinese takeout. Then Sunday several families brought rice with peas and carrots and yogurt salad and everyone gobbled it all up and then an Easter cake Isaac and I made for everyone.
The boys were rather reverent for all four sessions in the dark chapel--cutting, coloring, drawing, pasting and picking up on some talks in the process. Isaac was so excited to be there in his calling as audio-visual specialist to get the TV, DVD player and speakers working properly. Russell cut up little pictures of the prophet & apostles over and over again, pasting them in interesting ways. And Graham has been sick with some sort of fever thing for several days so he did lots of cuddling and sleeping.
So I got lots out of the conference--more than I have for several years, I'd say. I think a big part of it was that I had to practice all that I've been preaching to my Institute students about preparing yourself physically and spiritually and then taking notes, etc. Being a CES teacher is bringing me loads of blessings. So lucky am I.
So off I go to try to make the most out of THIS DAY.
"How do I choose to spend my time when there are so many good things to do and so little time?"
The conference talk that answered my question in part was Elder Eyring's talk "This Day." I had never thought about how procrastinating the little important things today directly relates to procrastinating the day of my repentance eternally (duh!). Very humbling thought for me.
So here's a plan of action from Elder Eyring for every day to avoid that deadly procrastination bug:
"A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day. We can know which task, of all those we might choose, matters most to God and therefore to us. I have learned such a prayer is always answered if we ask and ponder with childlike submission, ready to act without delay to perform even the most humble service."
And a searing critique of any self-righteous feelings I have about "helping" the branch members "step up" and start running the branch on their own without expatriates helping:
"Complacency can affect even the seasoned adult. The better and the longer you serve, the more likely that the tempter can place this lie in your mind: "You have earned a rest." You may have been the Primary president in your little branch twice. Or you may have worked long and hard on your mission and sacrificed so much to serve. Or perhaps you were the pioneer in the Church where you live. The thought may come: "Why not leave the service to the new people. I have done my part." The temptation will be to believe that you will return to serve again, someday."
We did lunch after conference on both days. Loads of people came, even people who don't normally come to church. Probably because it was Easter, but we'll take what we can get. On the 1st day we fed about 60 people for about $30--Chinese takeout. Then Sunday several families brought rice with peas and carrots and yogurt salad and everyone gobbled it all up and then an Easter cake Isaac and I made for everyone.
Johnson John, Rebecca John, Nisha John, Nixon John
The boys were rather reverent for all four sessions in the dark chapel--cutting, coloring, drawing, pasting and picking up on some talks in the process. Isaac was so excited to be there in his calling as audio-visual specialist to get the TV, DVD player and speakers working properly. Russell cut up little pictures of the prophet & apostles over and over again, pasting them in interesting ways. And Graham has been sick with some sort of fever thing for several days so he did lots of cuddling and sleeping.
Here's the boys trying out our new cabinet in their usual hilarious way.
So I got lots out of the conference--more than I have for several years, I'd say. I think a big part of it was that I had to practice all that I've been preaching to my Institute students about preparing yourself physically and spiritually and then taking notes, etc. Being a CES teacher is bringing me loads of blessings. So lucky am I.
So off I go to try to make the most out of THIS DAY.
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Uncle Brandon
Uncle Brandon was a hit while we were in Utah! He endured endless hours of swimming and letting kids jump on him and scream in his ears.
Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Nelee
Thanks, Aunt Nelee and Uncle Jeremy for being our gracious hosts, locksmith, rodeo companions, babysitters, personal shopping assistants, and buff fitness inspirations. We had lots of fun hanging out with you. Did the couch end up smelling from its experience with Russell? We take full credit for any future decisions you may make to postpone childbearing . . .
Goopy Graham
Graham had goopy eyes and nose for about a week in Utah along with other ailments before that. He wasn't eating, wasn't gaining weight, was dehydrated, yadda-yadda. Who knew that when you LEAVE a third-world country you get sick! But thanks to an emergency room visit and lots of worrying and prayers, he is doing much better and eating like a horse in India.
Grandma and Graham
Grandma was so sweet with Graham, holding him on her lap while Mindy packed and playing little games with him while Brandon played hymns on the piano and Janielle sang in the background.
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