By their fruits ye shall know them

I have a hard time with when people start trying to mock the LDS church. It's not that they can't believe what they want, but when they spout off nonsense without knowing the truth. There is really not anything you can say that can validate the beliefs of mormonism with someone who doesn't understand the principles behind it. in Utah far to often it becomes the thing to do if your not mormon and we are an easy target because of the lack of truth. How can you expect someone to understand some of the more difficult beliefs if they have never taken the steps to believe the basic. It's easy to say Joseph Smith is a fake if you have never really given his work a chance. It's easy to say the Book of Mormon is false if you've never read it. Ignornace is a poor excuse to mock the values of others. I by no means want to proclaim my perfect life, but I know truth when I see/hear it. Which is why I feel I really need to express my disapproval of another local Religion. If you are Catholic you might to quit reading now.

I've grown up LDS, but have always been surrounded by members of the family who are Catholic and community members who are Catholic as well. Some of the best people in my neighborhood growing up were Catholic. Many times being better than the LDS of my own faith. The actions of the Father Rock of St. Mary's Parish is enough to make me wonder if even he believes in the position that he holds in in church. I've previously written about my uncle Seve and aunt Alma' deaths. For Seve's funeral Alma had to fight to get him to preform the mass. It was only after begging and pleading that he agreed to do it. When Alma died he flat out refused to do any of the ceremony for her. He stated that Seve's funeral was a complete mess and that he wouldn't do it. Alma and Seve were not just Christmas and Easter Catholics, they were very active participating members of St. Mary's. As a matter of fact when St. Mary's split from St. Joeseph's in 1952 Seve and Alma were the First members of the parish. When Seve was ready to die and they wanted to do last rights Father Rock Didn't even know his real name. He didn't know the name of a active 98 year old member of his parish. He wouldn't perform the mass to the lady who not only went religiously to church but was an intrigal part of building both buildings that St. Mary's have been in. Shame on Father Rock for not being the Sheperd he is suppose to be. Whether you believe in the LDS, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or other faith the flock is watched over by their sheperd. If the Sheperd doesn't care then maybe the flock should scatter to other flocks. Thanks to Father Eric at St. James for seeing my aunt's last services was performed. He went above and beyond his flock to help Alma family in their last minutes with Alma on earth.

The good don't always die young!

Alma passed on on Dec. 28th. We already knew that she would go fast after Seve died and we were right. She just wanted to have one last Christmas to hang around the family. Alma was layed to rest on Jan 3rd. Alma was always a kind loving women who accepted anyone she knew. As much as she'll be missed I'm sure she is happy where she is at.
I can remember from a very young age walking over to Alma house and she always had dum dum suckers or popcicles to eat. The back door was always open and she was willing to spend time to entertain a couple of little kids. I remember going over there and borrowing her World Book Encyclopedias for reports. She was the only on that had them and although they were published in the early 70's, they worked. it's hard anymore to believe you had to research with books and not the internet.
Alma was a fixture at the corner for decades and she'll be missed. I know that her and Seve are happy now and back together. There work will be done soon enough and their eternal connection can continue.

One great weekend

It's been crazy again as we continue to work on all that needs done around the house. We were able to have a great long weekend though. Thursday night, was our trip to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. This is fast becoming my favorite event of the year. The power and emotion that this concert brings out is amazing. The lights, sounds, and story really assault the emotions and creates a spectacular show. Throw in the fact the it always has a great Christmas story with it and it blows me away. The band played almost 3 straight hours. When people ask me what it's like you can't describe it. I tell people - "imagine if Beethoven and Mozart lived today and had all the instrument, light, and pyro that exists today. Those long haired musical genius's would be playing the same stuff TSO plays. Drums, strings, and a few electric guitars screaming out their music." Don't ask, just go to the concert and then you'll know what I mean. Until then words cannot describe it.

Friday we got up and went to the Body Worlds exhibit. They had all kinds of plasticized bodies and parts on display. It was very interesting to see how the body looks underneath the skin. It showed whole body displays of the nervous system, and all the veins in the body in a 3D form. I'm not very interested in the body from a anatomy point of view, but it was cool to see.

Then finally thanks to all the help from Spencer, Rod, and Joe, the house was finished. The board and baton are up and all we need to do now is finish caulking and paint it in the spring. Joe has been caulking. Let him do as much as he wants. He seems to think I have no patience for that kind of work. I do when I need to. He just doesn't believe it. I've seen enough of his early work on the house to know that he wasn't the "measure twice cut once person he is now." That's fine he can caulk all he wants I hate doing that. All in all quite a weekend. As I listen to TSO while I type my mind goes back to one kick butt weekend and one great concert.

Dust in the Wind

Kansas was right. Uncle Seve died yesterday. At the ripe old age of 98. He finally got his wish a past on to the next life. I lived next to Seve for 21 years. He was an example of how to keep moving and keep in good health. Even with some of his bad habits, I'll always remember the smell of his pipe smoke. He quit when I was young, but once in a while you can catch a whiff of the same smoke. He was a good and dedicated family man. I wish I'd known him better. Even growing up next to Seve I never felt super close to him, but it is still sad to see him go. 98 years, He has seen vast amounts of history. I hope it is not to much longer before Alma follows. She is not in great health and I'm not sure how she'll survive alone.

In other news...

The election was yesterday and we have a new President. I didn't like any of the candidates. Barack Obama won over John Mccain in a close race. I am nervous about this next four years. Barack has won in a time when the country is still at war, the economy is in a recession, and the people are clearly divided on many issues. Barack is a very charismatic person with tons of potential, I just hope he can break the bi-partisan politics and fix some problems. The country is divided, and it starts with congress. Lets hope they can truly put there differences aside and work to improve the country. Put aside all the pork barrel spending and put the money where it belongs. Congress needs to get in touch with who they represent and improve what they want. The last thing we need is another politician getting a bill past in one state because he gave money to another state on some earmarked bill. Ethics is not high priority in congress and it should be. We pay them to support our communities agendas, not to fulfill their personal agendas. Quit making new laws and enforce the current ones. I don't envy Barack. I hope he can unify the country and stabilize the hate and discontent.

Weather and light are optional...

Finally, I've been plugging along in the dark and cold weather trying to finish the house. It's looking great. If only we had more light and warmer days. Spencer has been a huge help, but with his schedule we don't get many hours to work on it. I'm not complaining, I need the help. It is definitely a two-man job. Hopefully we get quite a bit done tonight. What I need is about a four day weekend, that we both have off so we could finish it off. Spencer's got his own projects to start. I hope his goes faster than mine. I know I'm being selfish, but Seve's funeral didn't come at a convenient time. I hate going to funerals, but I guess family obligations come first.

Slow Down...

Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've written. I've been so busy lately that I couldn't even tell you what is going on in the world. I've been putting siding on the house(it is going to make such a difference.) Running to various doctor appointments. We had Amber's baptism, which was very well done except for the missionaries attempt to teach the first discussion. I hope I was never as awful as they were. I have a hard time believing anyone would set up a second discussion after that snoozefest. We are still waiting for results on Staci's car. They are going to fix all the cosmetic stuff, but we haven't heard on the engine stuff. I think if they don't fix the engine leaks and stuff we'll still end up getting a different vehicle. To fix the leak and new tires we'd be into it probably $1000. The car just isn't worth that much.
We've at least been doing well. Oaklan is only in the 98% for height, 85% for weight. His feet are looking great and we are in the final 6 weeks of using the braces all day. Kennedy's reading nonstop now and it is amazing what she can read. Staci goes back to work today so I hope all goes well with her. She taught her first RS lesson yesterday. Then I taught Gospel Doctrine so we've had a week of intense preparation. Any way UEA is over so it's back to the grind.

Buyer beware, and don't ask any questions.....

This whole mess with Staci's wreck is causing all kinds of problems. Do not ever use Bear River mutual insurance. If you have to deal with them because of someone else's mistake like we do, My complete sympathies go towards you. From the moment I meet their first representative until that last, I feel they have not been fair to us. From the appraiser Tracy's most intelligent comment of "I can't be sure the crack in you windshield is from the accident", or "The car is parked on the street how can I confirm that the broken lights, bumper, hood, fender, and grill were all damaged in the accident." He's right, I sure hope the North Ogden Police soon catch up with that renegade gang of trolls, goblins, and demons that keep destroying my car. It's a good thing that they also destroyed the accused car that cause the accident in the exact same spot where we allegedly hit him. I don't think it would have been easy to prove that the car was in a wreck at all, if it weren't for that. Except for maybe my wife's account, the kid's account, the three witnesses account, the police report, and oh maybe the boy actually admitting his fault. With all of that we almost have a proof that the car was actually in an accident. The interesting thing is who is going to take the word of a 16 year old boy whose been driving a month over a mother a two with 17 years experience, a spotless driving record, and both kids in the car. No hard feelings for the boy he manned up to his mistake. Bear River should learn from that. Then to make matters worse, the office staff at Bear River is as rude and unprofessional as they come. When you have Staci so rattled that she yelling on the phone, you are being extremely unprofessional. Staci 16 years of working with clients more powerful and demanding than Bear River have taught her something. They continue to argue every point of the claim. They yell if we ask questions. They seem to have forgotten who was the victim. I would think on such a lopsided incident, where there is no argument whose at fault, that they would be kissing some butt. In today's sue happy world I would be making sure the victims are as comfortable as possible. I would want any one's back to start hurting. I wonder who over heard the conversation because after being told there was no rental or tow for the car, things mysteriously tilted to our favor. We got the tow and Enterprise called and told us we had a reservation for a car. We didn't take it. We are going though our insurance. Allstate has always be good to us and when their preliminary estimate is $700 different, who would you go through? Not to mention the Allstate's concern over the smell of gas when you start it up. And a oil leak that has been there for a while, but has gone from a leak of maybe 1/2 a quart a year to leaving quite a mess. The sad part is we are not trying to get a new car or become rich off this accident. We want the car fixed. It was in good working order before the wreck, get it back where it was is all we ask. Shame on Bear River Mutual for trying strong arm out of their obligations. Fix my car!!! Do it properly. We'll still be driving it and want a safe reliable car again. That's all!! I've heard rumor that Bear River Insurance is going under, If they treat their client's twice as well as they us I'm surprised anyone would use them. The business would be better without them if they deal like that.

And the hits just keep on coming...

Wow, yesterday sucked. I sleeped like crap and woke up ornery, and that's how my day went. I very rarely have a day where it just seems like I'm pissed at the world, but yesterday qualified. I'm not sure why I was in such a bad mood, but nothing happened to make my life easier along the way. I came back to work with extra projects. It doesn't seem to matter how well you prepare a sub, you come back to a mess. I've never thought of me as a control freak, but I guess I am, because it's just easier to do it myself, and have it done right, than to leave it to someone else. It didn't help yesterday that the insurance never returned Staci's calls. I wonder why we pay for an agent when we did all the work online. Then I finally had to break down and buy a new battery for my truck. I think I've bought more car batteries than cars. It's a terrible way to spend $75. At least Monday is now over and hopefully my life begins to fall back into some sort of normalcy.