Family Home Evening

This last Monday we had a big FHE with my family in Ohio. My parents are visiting my sister and her family. It was a blast we first made a fire in the back yard and cooked hot dogs on sticks that dad and Matthew had cut down. Matthew had a walking stick that he found earlier that day and he decided to make that his hot dog roasting stick. The hot dog barely fit on the end, it was awesome. Everyone brought chairs around the fire and tried to avoid the smoke... mom kept muttering something about how she didn't like bunnies every time the smoke came towards her. Rachel almost broke her leg because the chair she was sitting in tipped over. That part of FHE was very successful!
After eating we came inside smelling like smoke and decided to have FHE it was fun but the best part was when the kids sang "I'm so glad when grandpa comes home" and all jumped on him and did the actions to the song, I thought it was funny until then they started singing "I'm so glad when Jared comes home" and did the same thing to me. After me they went on to their dad whom they thought was feeling left out but I'm sure he was praying they would forget him this time. At the end we sang the sunbeam song and instead of jumping up and down for the loud parts dad, Kevin and I tossed the kids to each other in a circle for each of the loud parts.
I have always wanted to do FHE with my family and look forward to teaching my children the gospel and helping them to enjoy and love it.

Tonight is the Night!

Well here it goes, this is exciting. My first real post is about one of the most amazing people in my life. Her name is Danielle Nicole Townsend, and today she sent me the coolest package. A few days ago she told me she was sending me a package but wouldn’t tell me what was in it. She asked me if I ate sugar (because over the past few months I have been “preaching” to her about the benefits of eating healthy and the deleterious effects of eating sugar.) I figured I was being smart in deducting that she was sending me some candy in the package. To my surprise, it was a big box full of candy, nothing else. Although I am not the biggest lover of candy it made me very happy to see it. Before I could intervene my nieces and nephews quickly dove into the box and ate one of each. Everyone was excited to point out that she was in love with me, a fact I have long since recognized. I’m happy to know I have found someone as astonishing as her and to know that she does care for me. I honestly fearlessly declare to the world that I am in love!

The Beginning

Hello to everyone that will be reading my blog. I thought it would nice give some opening comments to those of you who are interested enough in my life to read this blog. I don't know how often I will update this but I hope to use it as a sort of impersonal journal. I have recently realized how important it is and how good it feels to write your feelings and important events. In this particular post I don't plan on talking about any events but about my life in general. Two quotes come to mind when I think of life. The first is from The Count of Monte Cristo, Life is a storm. You will bask in the sunlight one moment. Be shattered upon the rocks the next, what makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout, Do your worst for I will do mine! And the second comes from what you might think a far less credible source but nonetheless I believe it is very true. In Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Dustin Hoffman says, "Your Life Is An Occasion, Rise To It!" I can't say much for the past, you would have to talk to those who knew me as I was growing up to know if I did what these men have counseled, but this is how I plan to live my life.

I don't aspire to be a person that is written into the history books but I do hope to become somewhat like my father. For those of you who know him you know what I am talking about without any explanation. He is a man of many answers, not all of them are right by any measurement but all are well thought out and given with much love and care. He is highly respected in his profession and also among the members of the church. Many times throughout my youth people would come up to me and tell me what an honest or hard working man he was. I didn’t realize or appreciate these things until these past few years. Above all my father is a humble man. I’ll give one example, even though I repeatedly prodded him many times in my youth he never once told me how much money he makes, in fear that I would boast of it to my friends. i have long since given up my quest to know, and now believe he would be happy if none of his children ever knew. That is not part of the legacy he wants to leave behind. There are far more important things to him than money. I would consider myself a happy man if one day someone compared me to him. I’m sorry this went on for so long but I hope it was a good introduction as to what I am trying to make my life to be.