Elder Boyd K Packer said: "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior... That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel."

The quickest way to stop an argument is to shut up!

In case you haven't noticed, it snowed for the first time this week.

Just posted to my other blog barneyrose.blogspot.com.

I'm just sitting here waiting for time to pass this morning. Lee is at a meeting and won't be home for another 30 minutes. I listened to the general RS meeting last night on line and quite enjoyed it. I kept reflecting on Sister Beck's inspiration regarding Martha and Mary and how the interpretation of that scene has been lost for 2000 years and how it's taken almost 200 years to bring the standing of women in the church to such an acknowledgement of their equality and importance to the Father's plan.

" When we know who we are and who God is and we have made covenants with Him, we... will have great influence for good." Julie B. Beck VT message for October 2011

Look at theprudenthomemaker online

The Little Barney Summer Adventures: Take One

Hi, everyone!

This message is brought to you courtesy of Gail's internet and viewers like you.

We've been having a grand time ever since school let out two weeks ago - they began with some amazing ribeye steak courtesy of Mom and Pop (and the veggies.... Mmmmmm. *wipes drool off the keyboard*), which was a perfect way to start the festivities.

Then Emmett was born, and I would like Daniel and Lindsey to know what a treat they are in for to meet him; he's a special little boy. I'm already in love. :) Bridger was a trooper to spend a week being spoiled and loved by Grandma and Grandpa (and Uncle Josh. I tried, but he doesn't seem to be that interested in his Auntie Morgen unless there was a sprinkler in the vicinity). I made little peach pies. They were a huge success!

They look a lot like this (read: picture has been spirited away from an unknowing website).

And they are delicious - we took one to Kourtney in the hospital, but she may have not gotten any... *cough* Ben *cough*

:)

The rest are sitting in Mom and Pop's freezer - feel free, they just have to be baked at 375 for 40-50 minutes. Don't eat them all :) .

Anyhow.

Then Nathan Clarke got married, and the highlight for me was spending time with some of the Clarke (and Salas) cousins - I have never had cousins my own age, and I finally get what all the hype is about. It's fun! They were great, and I realize again how little I knew when I married into this family. I had zero idea about the blessing

s and joy that would come into my life - and I do mean zero.

Then Saturday (July 30) came around, and Josh and I packed up Bertha

and set off for the great unknown.

Awww. There he is!! :)

Okay, to be completely honest, we weren't really setting out for the great unknown. We knew exactly where we were going. Kirkland, WA (just outside of Seattle), by way of Spokane.

After a grueling eight + hours in the car (yay for amazing gas mileage. It's seriously incredible), we finally arrived in Spokane. We stayed there with Andrea and Adam (Andrea was my Maid of Honor at our wedding, and she was the first one besides Josh to know we were going to get married. She knew before I did.) for the weekend, and had a fabulous time.

Highlights:

~Adam and Joshua hit it off. As my dear husband likes to say, "He speaks nerd."

~Andrea is an amazing cook. We ate really well, and I snagged a few good recipes :)

~Church; for the third block, a specialist from LDS Employment Services came in and told us all about the services they offer. It has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year, and is not even recognizable.

~Picnic. We had a great picnic out in the park in the center of Spokane. What was most interesting about it was that it was a cheese picnic. Now, I am not supposed to eat cheese (slaps wrist) but Andrea had some really nice ones. :) So I did. And we walked around the central area - it's a very nice place.

Points of interest:

1) This bridge was inspired by Roman architecture, and has been standing for 100 years. It is well-used, too.

2) Blogger keeps changing whether the text is centered or to the right. Oh well.

On Monday, we said "So long," and hit the road. This, too, was filled with unexpected adventures.

And we arrived at Aunt Gail's house in time for dinner - we went out for Pho, which is a Vietnamese soup in which they give you the broth, meat and noodles, and a plate of herbs and sauces. The neat thing about Pho (pronouced "Fuh") is you get to customize it, and decide how much of the various additions you would like. I am happy to report that Josh liked it.

We have been spending the week on lots of different adventures. On Tuesday, we went downtown and rode the duck, which is a boat that you can drive on land. They use it for tours around downtown Seattle, and then you go out on Lake Union.

QUACK!!!

Point of Interest: Lake Union is where Tom Hanks's house boat was located in the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

We saw lots of interesting things that day!

We went up the needle - a must-do, according to Gail

And to a local culture museum that featured rock and roll

and Starship Galactica

On Wednesday, we stayed home except for a quick trip to the grocery store: Gail's parking lot was being repaved, and that made things difficult. But on Thursday, we took the ferry and drove over to Port Townsend - So fun.

Here's Josh, thinking he's fly.

We found the house we want to live in someday

and we had the most amazing lunch ever.

We were right on the back porch, about 15 feet from the edge of the water. And the food was incredible (Pop, these pictures are for you!).

Crab Louie Before:

Crab Louie After:

Mmmmm.

We did some shopping, drove through Fort Worden (pretty awesome - it's an army post from WWII that has been preserved, and is no longer commissioned.) and while we were there on the beach, we also collected a genuine Fort Wordien Love Stone for our rock collection. Sorry, no pictures of that :)

And then we took the ferry back! It was cool to just drive up, pay the guy, and then drive on the boat and take it over for half an hour.

Windy though.

Yesterday we took a harbor tour of the Seattle harbor (fascinating), and then we went to the aquarium. Aunt Gail has been known for spoiling my sister and I, and also for taking us on lots of adventures. I think the aquarium might be one of my favorite things we have ever done, because it was exceptionally well put together.

I even got to practice speaking whale!

Whale is not Josh's language.

Then we had fun playing in the gift shop. :)

This one is for Kourtney:

Josh's Favorite T-Shirt:

My favorite T-Shirt:

This afternoon, we went over to Pikes Place Market, which is essentially on the waterfront in a very busy part of downtown Seattle, if not the busiest.

It was incredible! It's the biggest farmer's market I have ever been to (and it's permanent). The closest thing I can compare it to was the market in downtown San Jose in Costa Rica. They had these amazing bouquets of flowers for five dollars each (the flower stands seemed never ending! You couldn't see the end of them), and next time we come to visit Aunt Gail, I'm getting one. :)

This time, we spoiled ourselves by getting two great big wild Alaskan sockeye salmons. They filleted them for us, and we went straight home and packaged them and stuck the fillets in the freezer. I am excited for all the salmon we can have over the winter; it will be like being home again.

Tonight, we are cooking up the crab and mussels Gail got at the market. She is excellent in the kitchen (we made curry earlier this week, and it was so fun to cook with her), and tonight ought to be the cream of the crop.

We've had a great time with Aunt Gail: The adventures are where the pictures are, but our hearts are with all the time we've spent with her, and the great talks. We played cards the other night, and she whipped me royally at Gin Rummy, but I beat both Joshua and Gail at Hearts. We have a few more days of adventures left here in Seattle before we set our sights for Spokane to spend a few more days with Adam and Andrea.

Plans:

Leave Seattle on Tuesday, head out to Andrea's place. Spend a few days with Andrea. Get home on Friday, where I have to go get trained for volunteering in the Temple on Friday nights from 10-12. Then on Saturday, we'll get in the car again and head down to the Salt Lake City airport to pick up my mom. She is flying in for the Stark family reunion in Provo Canyon. We'll go to that - I think my grandparents have rented a castle or something. Regardless, there's a place for everybody to sleep. And then we will have a week to recover before we go to Island Park for the reunion with all of you. We are looking forward to that :)

We love you, and we hope you are all doing well! We are having fun, and playing hard. Gail is really good at fun. :) Can't wait to see you!

Love,

Morgen and Joshua

Great lessons today at Church. Just wanted to share this quote from Elder Bruce R. McConkie. "Acts does in reality record how the Holy Spirit operates in the true Church; it is indeed the book which tells how God directs his earthly kingdom; it does in fact show forth the whole splendorous array of gospel gifts; but it is also the record which assures weak members of the Church that even they can have the Holy Spirit from whom gifts and graces flow, that even they can keep the faith and go on with Peter and Paul to eternal glory." I have to admit I never thought of Acts in the New Testament in this manner cause when I get done with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John I'm sad that there is no more written about the Savior's life. I will have to study it closer and learn to appreciate it more.

When President Monson talked about the temple being built in Rome in his talk from April conference I was really struck by these words, "In the not-too-distant future as new temples take shape around the world, one will rise in a city which came into being over 2,500 years ago. I speak of the temple which is now being built in Rome, Italy....The Rome Italy Temple, uniquely, is being built in one of the most historic locations in the world, a city where the ancient Apostles Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Christ and where each was martyred."

Just think of that. One has to wonder who was present at the ground breaking ceremony held last October.

New photos

Thanks Benjamin and Kourtney! I uploaded some new photos that speak for themselves. It's taken me a month to actually download the ones I took in Provo in June when we ditched Elijah. Without him here to help me through the process it took me this long to work out how to do it.

Sad.

Hey Everyone!

So this will be our first post! I honestly have gotten really bad at checking the blog ever since it went private because then it no longer updates me when there is something new!
First off I guess I should start with me. Little baby Emmett is due in 19 days. It seems like we just hit 99 days yesterday. We are slowly getting everything ready. I've had a really hard time with my pelvis but just trying to suck it up, although the past 2 days I've claimed defeat and finally had to admit that I was in too much pain. I've needed help with Bridger and my house is severely neglected, which is why I'm so thankful for what Ben can help with when he is at home.
Benjamin had some nerve blockers injected into his neck today to see if there is a certain nerve that may be triggering his migraines. It was guided by xrays and he needed 4 shots of the numbing medicine. It didn't work right away like we had hoped and he needed a shot for painkiller before we could go. He is still working away at Baker. Sometimes there is enough work and sometimes there isn't but he is doing wonderfully.
Bridger is now 18 months old which means he is an official member in the church nursery. It has been wonderful to sit through meetings and actually LISTEN without trying to manage Bridger. I guess this came at a perfect time-right before Emmett is born :)
Daniel and Linsey-can't wait for you guys to come home! And Daniel-we hope you get some sleep at the cabin! :p We will hope that Emmett sleeps well!
Love you all! <3

I guess I was too hopeful about having everyone share here but that's okay. I'll go back to putting down things that strike me when I read. Right now I had better turn the computer back over to Pop but I promise to post something this week.

June oh June!

So Joan and I went out to eat for the June-abrations. You know, all those things in June. Joan's birthday, our aniversary, Mothers Day, fathers day, etc.

We went to a place called El Gardine next to Ying Yang. Guess what? It wasn't FastMex. It wasn't TexMex, and it certainly WASN'T RexMex. Not a drop of Ranch Dressing in site!

The rice had some sort of herb mixture I couldn't identify. And it didn't have that tomato red stuff in it either. It was great!

The refrieds were made with black beans and I couldn't identify those spices either. They were also fantastic!

With all of this the greatest was yet to come. The flan. I have had crem broule in many very nice restaurants. Nothing even came close to the flan we had that night. Joan said it was the best she had ever had as well.

It was a great, wonderful suprise.

Everybody is busy here reading something on their mobile device except Elijah who is busy making rope out of willow bark. He plans on leaving for his survival trip again this wednesday. They still haven't started fire without matches.

Pop is in pain more so than usual but he made it through all his meetings today by gritting his teeth and getting on with it.

I had a quiet birthday with just Pop and I going to El Garden for dinner. It was really good and the flan was to die for it was that good. Then Saturday we did barbecue for the whole family who could get here. Pop made his baby back rib specialty and we barbecued the rest of the steaks. Looks like they didn't last all summer after all.

We got a new bishopric today. After more than five years Bishop Stoddard gets to rest. Our new bishop is Mark Bennion.

Christian Shelley will be having surgery soon to replace his broken discs with spacers. He finally got to see the neurosurgeon who was able to tell him what was wrong and have a solution. Hopefully he'll be knocking doors in the fall.

Lots of good talks from conference. I guess I'll start posting about them again.

Taxan Greetings!

Well another week has come and gone and we are still alive here in Texas! Its been a bit hotter here than it has over the last few weeks, but we are still managing fine with our air conditioner turn on high and really cold.

This week was a lot of fun, I have done a lot of work with lindsey, I cant remember if I told you or not, but she quit her job at hobby lobby because she felt like she had gone back to the beginning and was miserable. instead we have decided that this would be a good time for her to get a website together and get a lot of her photography up on line and try to get a few small jobs taking photos here in San Antonio. She has a few contacts in the party business, and a few people have asked her to take photos for them. So its going good so far. So I have been working on building her a website that will host all of her photos, and be able to start to have an online presence and drum up a few jobs for her. Its been fun.

I also have been working on the simulation engine for a while, and pop I managed to extend the NSExpression class to support control structures, like if, also I am starting to do setting and retrieving variable values and loops. also scheduling events is built into the language, and it already works. its cool.

Also some rather large bit of news, we have been looking at getting a pet, Lindsey and me have been a bit lonely lately, mostly because we aren't used to being away from family or people that we know and not having structured time. So we checked with our apartments here in San Antonio, and we also checked with Cougar Courts in rexburg, because we didn't want to get a pet and then leave it in san antonio with some one. It seems that here any pet is fine, but in rexburg we needed to have a small pet that didn't need to go out side, thats what the rules are. So after reading and asking around for about a week and a half, we decided on a pet that would be fine here and in rexburg. We went and got a nutered sugar glider and named him Quetza, short for Quetzalcoatl. He is still a Joey so he depends on us quite a bit, and will for about two more weeks.

Its been fun these past two days with him, we have been playing with him, and he has started bonding with us, he still gets scared some times, but he is very very cute. He is nocturnal, so he sleeps all day and will probably keep us up at night when he gets older and starts romping around his cage. But we knew that when we bought him.

We also went to the botanical gardens here in San Antonio, they were a lot of fun. lots of flowers and plants and cacti, lots and lots of cacti. Apparently texas is somewhat of a desert. they also had a lot of green houses full of tropical plants. its was really cool and we easily spent the day there. Got a lot of photos of old houses that were in the gardens and a few pictures of bees as they landed on flowers.

Our lesson went well today, we were not eaten alive by the kids in our ward, the counciler to the bishop came and talked to us after wards to make sure that we weren't scarred too bad, and we weren't so apparently they are keeping us :)

Thats about all for us this week, we been working hard and playing hard. I start work in a week on tuesday, the 31st of may.

Love Daniel and Lindsey, and Quetza.

We had stake conference this weekend but before attending the Saturday night session Lee, Elijah and I drove over to Mill creek and took a little stroll up the mountain. We were looking for edible plants for Elijah's survival trip planned for next week. We found quite a bit of stinging nettle, sedum, yellow bells, and burdock that are still quite young. I had expected a lot more dandelions but was sorely disappointed. That stuff grows everywhere but there wasn't much at Mill creek yet probably because there was still a lot of snow on the ground. We saw Elk droppings and bear scat. (not edible)

It was very beautiful there with the running water and the trees with the ground covered with very colorful rock tinted with mine liquor. (Lee's term) There were lots of big and very old trees that smelled heavenly. And very little litter from human visitors. In fact we saw only two flip tops from cans and one old steel beer can.

Elijah and his friends plan on spending two days and two nights out there camped at the lake living off the land to help his friend Bradon earn a scout award that comes after the eagle.

Lee received an award from the university of a golden apple for his excellence in teaching there. He received this at the faculty banquet thursday night where we actually ate a very tasty meal. (The cooking has improved.) I'm very proud of him.

It promised to rain all week but all it did was cloud up and blow wind. When the sun comes out it is very nice. Elijah and I mowed the lawns and killed dandelions. There is lots of grass to dig out but the yard is looking very green.

The conference issue of the Ensign came and it has been good reading. So many wonderful messages and so many wonderful quotes I need to type in here but not today.

Update From Texas

Its another great day in texas, the sun is shining and we are having wonderful weather!

This week has been interesting, lindsey has been working hard and I have been filling the role of Househusband. Its been interesting, I've kind of liked it. I cook food for lindsey, I clean the house, I make sure everything is in order for when she comes home. Its really been a learning experience for me. I now know that I should always appreciate what she does for me because It will be a lot of work for her when I am working full time here in a few weeks.

I have been working a lot on my simulation engine lately, and my tan, both are going wonderfully, although my tan seems to be more white than anything else. I have been doing a lot of swimming in the pool that we have here with our apartment, and we have been using the hot tub at nights. It a nice place that we have here.

We are located just on the edge between the nice part of town and the bad part of town, so we enjoy the cheep prices that come with the bad part of town, and we also have a lot of good people that you find in the good part of town. Our apartment complex is large and has a lot of retired people, mentally challenged people, and working people. We feel safe here, its a good place to stay for a few months.

We have been riding the busses around San Antonio a lot. we are taking advantage of the month passes that we bought, and we are going to continue to buy them because of how convenient they are for us. the bus stops right in front of our complex, and it takes us to the super market or even as far as the down town river walk. A bus a block away drops me off in front of USAA, and takes me back home at night as well. and we can manage to get anywhere we want just by riding the busses.

The busses can also get us to the Zoo, we went there on Tuesday. It was a large zoo, and we both liked it a lot. There were a lot of exhibits that you could get in close to the animals, well at least the nicer ones. they didn't let anyone in with the lions or tigers or bears, oh my. but we went into a lot of aviaries and played with parrots, and had a lot of finches, crazy looking chickens like things, and a large variety of birds to be around. The zoo is also is nesting grounds for a bunch of wild herons and another swampy bird that I cant remember what kind it is. Unfortunately they like to nest by the hundreds in the tallest trees over the busiest paths. So yes we were almost pooped on because we were not paying attention. gross.

we saw little tiny antelopes, a strange zebra giraffe thing, geckoes, kangaroos, snapping turtles, sea horses, butterflies in a conservatory that you can walk through and have them land on you, ocelots, and manny other strange and slightly tamed animals.

All in all it was a great zoo to visit, and we were able to see why it is one of the best ones in the nation.

As for slightly tame animals, there are none of those living in our house, just very wild cockroaches, that seem to have some sort of sick fascination with scaring Lindsey. Needless to say, I have bought hotels for them to stay at and some spray on body wash for them that I think that they will like. Hopefully they wont stay for long.

Lots of Love

Daniel and Lindsey.

Ode to broccoli by Angela and Jeff on their blog will make you laugh!

Dear Family

Wow, y'all actually saw a tornado in the Rexburg area? I wonder if that has ever happened before... We've had a lot of tornadoes here in Texas. There were a couple that touched down in the Cooperas Cove Area and the Kileen area. One of them actually passed over Gatesville without touching down, and then started heading back towards us. Luckily it turned away before it got close enough to be a threat. There was a bunch of pretty sweet lightning.
Also, that humongous amount of wind that we had... two weeks ago? Well, it was a 'Heat Burst', as they call it down here. It's when a thunderstorm collapses and releases all of that stored up energy into the air (at least that is what I gather from what I have been told), which causes a temperature spike for a couple of hours and strong winds. It spiked the temperature up to about 90 degrees F. It had been a long time since one of those had happened, and apparently the one before last caused a temperature spike to 140 degrees F. At least that's what I'm told.

It's raining today, apparently across the majority of the mission. We really needed the rain. It's about 50 degrees outside right now.

Anyways, we've had a lot of ups and downs this week. Elder Randle left for the Colleyville Zone, and I got a new companion: Elder Smith. He's from the Twin Falls area. He's a really great missionary and wants to see this area move forward as quickly as it can. He's got a stutter, but that doesn't stop him from testifying of the truth that he knows. The first day we went tracting we got many return appointments, which hasn't happened in the history of this area for quite a while. I was amazed at how strongly the Spirit testified to his words.
Unfortunately, Satan has also been working hard. Nearly all of our appointments have punched. There is one that has a lot of promise. They are an older couple living near our apartment. He's a pastor at a local church, and her mother was a member. We met her first, and she didn't really open up until we prayed with her. Then she started asking us about baptisms for the dead, and she got really excited about the subject. When we came back for our appointment yesterday, she feeling rather ill, which her husband informed us on, but she swayed to the door to apologize and ask us to come back later when she was feeling better. Just by looking at her I could see how badly she was feeling. But I could see the determination in her eyes to talk with us.

Have you sent that package full of clothing, Mom? I haven't received a package yet. If you did, did you send it to the Gatesville address or to the mission office address?

Thank you for the $50 dollars in my bank account; I will use it wisely.

Yes, Morgen, it is always painful to run in Texas; you can't step anywhere without landing on a pair of spurs. ;) Oh, and could you tell Emily for me that I haven't been hit by a tornado? Thanks!

Love,
Elder Barney

I was pleased today that the indexing program is now working on my computer. Every time Salt Lake City changes something it stops working on my machine. This time I just waited a while while they fixed all the bugs.

Josh and Morgen came over and we played Masons and Carchoson(?). Then Daniel and Linsey called and we had a nice visit.

Brother Campbell asked if I would meet with a member of the Bishopric and I was feeling bad that I would not get to teach RS anymore but it turned out that they just wanted me to talk in church in two weeks about what a blessing it was to have the aaronic priesthood in our home. So I am still teaching in RS for 3 more months.

Texas 89 Degrees and feeling wonderful!

Today was great! we went swimming and then did everything that we needed for the day. We went downtown and explored The Alamo, and the River Walk. It was a great day.

Now for more of what we did in Zions National Park.

The second day we decided to take it easy and visit the emerald pools, once again wonderful weather and wonderful views make an excellent combination. The lower pools were not crowded and the trail went right next to a waterfall coming from the middle pools. We got a ton of fun pictures in this area as the water fell into the small pool and splashed onto the rocks.

The upper pools were kind of fun, the largest waterfall fell from the rim of the canyon down onto where we were standing. I counted and it would take about 10 seconds to die if you fell from the top, probably shorter though.

We had to hurry at that point to catch the bus out of the park and back to our car because we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Clarke, we called them the night before and they were expecting us to come visit them and Uncle Mike.

Our bus got there a little bit before we did and we had to run the last few hundred yards to make it. Thank goodness we have been running 2-3 miles a day. the Driver thought he would be funny and close the door right before we got there, he opened them again, but he got a good laugh out of it.

Grandma and Grandpa are doing good, Grandpa has walking pneumonia, and Grandma has pneumonia and was in the hospital when we got there. We got a whole tour of the house and looked at all of the pots that Grandpa had collected though the years. Mike was very friendly with us and we had a good time joking around with him and talking about what he and Grandpa have been doing with the racing pigeons that they keep in the back, and their plans about the yard. They planted about 10 fruit trees in the back to add some shade and hopefully, some fruit here in a few years.

Mike and Grandpa also have two little ducks that they are raising to eat all the bugs and weeds. Those two duck were very afraid of us and tried to hide behind anything that they could. Also Mike and Grandpa offered to let us have as manny pigeons that we want to take with us, we declined because we didn't think that our apartment managers would like if we were keeping pigeons. I haven't told lindsey yet, but as soon as we get a house we are going to get pigeons so that they can poop all over everything for us.

Grandma is doing good, she is still more concerned about Grandpa than herself even though she is in the hospital. It was good to see her and to know that she is being taken care of. We are sure that she will make a full recovery and be back to her old self again real soon.

On the drive back we stopped by Kolob Canyon at the north end of the park and drove around and got some great shots of the sun on the mountains with storm clouds in the background. Those were some nice shots.

When we got back to Rockville I had a great Idea for dinner, I told Lindsey about it and she agreed completely. We were going to have a small barbecue in one of the parks that we had found the day before.

We drove to a general store and picked up corn on the cob, peppers, cheese, chicken, and marshmallows. Then drove to the park.

The park was great, we found a large stone grill and I started preparing the fire as lindsey prepared the corn. The fire turned out really well, we made a trench fire by piling stones on both sides of the logs and closed a third narrow end off and left only a small hole, the fourth side was open completely. We started the fire by rolling up a chunk of cardboard and pushing it in the hole and lighting it.

It took very quickly, and soon we were grilling stuffed peppers and corn on the cob. It was a wonderful dinner.

It got creepy quickly though, there was another family in the park, but they took off as soon as it went dark and we were all alone. I was honestly a little nervous. After grilling two marshmallows I looked across the fire and saw two points of light, followed quickly by another set. I stared at them for a second to make sure that I was seeing what I was seeing and made an executive decision that was quickly endorsed by the cochair. We booked it as calmly as we could to the car, turned it around and turned the brights on the wild animal that we had seen.

It was the fence, a sone wall that had a mural of broken tiles on it. That is what we had seen. but we still didn't want to be in that park all alone. So we went back to apartment and called it a day.

Also our address here in San Antonio is:

5050 Fredericksburg Road Apt #293A San Antonio TX, 78229

feel free to send care packages full of brownies and milk.

We love you guys.

Greetings From Texas!

Well Lindsey and I have made it safely to texas, as I'm sure you guessed otherwise how would we be making a post?

we are going to break out what has been going on across several posts.

Considering we were going to be living in Texas for a few months, we decided that we needed to get used to warmer weather. So back in january, we decided to spend a week or so in the Zions National Park area getting used to being a little warm and a little hot.

We found a small Bed and Breakfast online called Amber Inn and it was just perfect, right in Rockville so we didn't have to deal with all the touristy stuff of Springdale, but close enough to Zions to get there and beat the traffic.

Nida, the owner was a taller than me Lithuanian woman who had dyed her hair bright orange and loved to talk. She was fun as she showed us the room and as we payed for our stay. It was a great Bed and Breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, she cooked us french toast with cream cheese in-between two of the slices. It was delicious, and we ate it all.

Zions was wonderful, They are about 175% of normal for water down there so everything is very green. The green of the plants against the orange and red of the rocks is a photographers paradise. it was about 75-80 degrees, so not very hot, and we came when the park was free for the week so we saved about $50 getting in and out of the park.

The first day we decided to get the hard hike out of the way so we hiked Angels Landing. While hiking we were both were suffering from lack of air as the trail switched back on itself for what seemed an unnecessarily long number of times, fortunately the views were amazing and it gave us an excuse to stop and take "Photographs", aka breaks. Those "Photographs" prepared us for what was coming up next, a thin neck of rock that connected Scout Lookout to Angels Landing itself. The hike at this part was really enjoyable, and it was comforting to know that we had around 1,000 feet of air on either side of us to cushion our fall. Some how I did not find comfort in the cushioning or the chain that we clung to.

As I lagged behind in this part of the hike, Lindsey enjoyed her time by swinging on the chain over small breaks in the trail and hopping around on the rocks like some sort of curly haired, hatted, mountain goat. After half a mile or so of galloping around on the sheer cliff walls of Angles Landing the cute curly haired Mountain Goat made it to the top, followed shortly by her handsome rugged traveling companion. The views up and down the canyon were wonderful, and they were accented nicely by the soft breeze that was blowing.

The hike down was a lot easier than the hike up, I promise. in fact it was so easy that we both held hands and kind of jogged down the whole trail. Every now and then we passed another couple that was hiking down and they saw us and decided to join in. By the end we had about 5 couples jogging down the trail with us. Fortunately for us, cute mountain goats and rugged men are very sure of foot.

Weeping rock was next and we got dripped on a lot by the water seeping from the rock. There was a sign indicating that the water was unsafe to drink from because it was full of Giardia (sp?). So we didn't drink any, even though lindsey looked thirsty.

We took a lot of photos of this part of the trail because of how wonderful it looked up canyon right next to the Giardia infested waterfall.

The hike down was hard, we were both very tired from our excursions that day and our legs were complaining just about as loud as they could. Fortunately we were done for the day and could head back to Amber Inn.

We will try to get some photos up soon. Texas is hot and humid.

When I called Aunt Debra about Keith returning to the emergency room again she told me that Grandma is in the hospital with pneumonia. Aunt Cheryl had posted that on the Clarke family site so I went to read what she had to say and saw that Uncle Mike had posted that Grandpa Clarke has been diagnosed with walking pneumonia so keep them in your prayers.

Sam's letter April 18th, 2011

Dear Family

Belated Happy Marriage Anniversary Birthday Details! (I think that covered it all....). So I did get the card, and I am grateful for y'all thinking of me on my birthday. Hopefully Josh and Morgen had a good anniversary as well.

I'm glad that the wedding went off with a hitch (Get it? No? Sigh...) and that Daniel has found his eternal companion. Funnily enough, Saturday I and my companion helped a member of the branch build a little overhang over one of his porches. It took all day, but he and his wife can no longer do all of the things that they used to when they were younger, and we're two of 5 members of the active Elder's Quorum here in Gatesville, so we're the workhorses of the branch. I am really happy that we helped them out, and that all of those years of me messing up on our own projects prepared me to serve. Remember how I could never seem to cut a straight line, or that I would cut it the wrong size? I cut everything to the exact size it needed to be, except for one, which is a miracle in my opinion.
It's amazing how the Spirit amplifies our own natural abilities. Things that I struggled to do back home, such as cutting a straight line, or envisioning the finished project, just come naturally to me now. It is really amazing. I never realized how much I truly relied on the Spirit back home, and now that I am giving credit where credit is due, my abilities have been amplified. I really want to stay close to the Spirit all throughout my life.
We have done a lot of Less Active work this week. The biggest news is that we were able to see Leoni and Andrea, the daughters of a Less Active family, come to mutual! That's the first time that they have been to a Wednesday Night Activity in a long time, and they really enjoyed it. They should be coming this week as well, and we feel that this is the first stepping stone in getting the whole family back. Also we saw Brother Merkling at church as well. He hasn't come in a long time due to health reasons, and some other things, but he actually came! It was a struggle for him, but he said that he knew he needed to be there. He plans on coming more and more as his health gets better, and we are going to keep in contact with him as he progresses.

In other news, there are a bunch of fires burning in Texas at the moment. The air has been of bad quality the past couple of days, even with the extremely strong winds that have been blowing through Gatesville. Today it is supposed to get up into the 90s and it is about 70% humidity. Here comes Texas Summer!

I did have cake for my birthday, Mom. Emily sent me a package and it had some cake mix in it. I decided to experiment with it. I tin-foiled the pan and baked it in a pan that would make it much taller. It actually turned out pretty well, but I did have to bake it for about 35-40 minutes before it set. Also on my birthday a lady in the Stake donated a bunch of her husband's old clothes and stuff to the missionaries, so after our District Meeting we went and ruffled through it. I found a sweet three-piece suit. Unfortunately, everything fit me but the pants. SO I gave it to my companion, Elder Randle, and it fits him perfectly. With the free hat that someone gave him, and that suit, he looks like one of those businessmen in the old western films.

I know that I have said that I don't want y'all putting anymore money in my account, but I could use some. I don't want to seem like a needy guy or anything, but I could use the cushion. Whatever y'all feel is appropriate would be great.


Love,
Elder Barney

So today I'm opening up the page to everyone who's been invited to post whatever they want on this site. I still need Josh and Benjamin's email address to send invites but that will happen. Please feel free to add whatever you want to share with the family.

So I found a few quotes today from Elder Per G. Malm talk,REST UNTO YOUR SOULS.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).
"A helpful habit is to lift our vision daily in order to maintain an eternal perspective of the things we plan and do."
"When we learn to handle the small and simple daily things in a wise and inspired way, the result is a positive influence that will solidify harmony in our souls and build up and strengthen those around us."
These are the paragraphs I underlined. It's a great talk.

It's cold out there but the sun is different. It's brighter and promises spring. I read this morning that the sun is shooting out big explosions of stuff that will bombard the earth this afternoon and tomorrow so if odd things happen to your technology, blame it on the sun.

I don't really have much to say but I wanted to touch base and be glad that you are there. The next lesson I get to do for RS is REFLECTIONS ON A CONSECRATED LIFE by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. I have to say I always wondered what it meant to live a consecrated life.

Elder Christofferson put it very clearly; " Consecration therefore means repentance. Stubbornness, rebellion, and rationalization must be abandoned and in their place submission, a desire for correction and acceptance of all that the Lord may require. This is what King Benjamin called putting off the natural man, yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and becoming a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord." (Mosiah 3:19)

I like that. After all that is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about, because of Him we can change and become like Him. He can change our hearts and heal our wounds.

I was visiting with my VT's and we got to talking about Elder Packer's talk and how upset the alternate life style people got at him for suggesting they could change. Amazing. The whole message of the gospel is change or repentance. What we are now doesn't have to be what we will be later. Through Christ we can become better and we can become as He is.

And don't we want that? People who break the commandments and then try to blame others for how miserable they are don't understand why we are here on the earth. " Adam fell that men might be; men (and women) are that they might have joy."(2nd Nephi 2:25) "Wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10)

How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Repentance, what a blessing.

OF THINGS THAT MATTER MOST

We were talking the other night about why the Church has been studying gospel principles this past year and this year. We had the usual conclusions of getting everyone on the same page. Then Friday afternoon I was reading Elder Uchtdorf's talk, OF THINGS THAT MATTER MOST when this passage jumped out at me: "Yet amidst the multitude of voices and choices, the humble Man of Galilee stands with hands outstretched, waiting. His is a simple message: "Come, follow me." And He does not speak with a powerful megaphone but with a still, small voice. It is so easy for the basic gospel message to get lost amidst the deluge of information that hits us from all sides.

The holy scriptures and the spoken word of the living prophets give emphasis to the fundamental principles and doctrines of the gospel. The reason we return to these foundational principles, to the pure doctrines, is because THEY ARE THE GATEWAY TO TRUTHS OF PROFOUNDS MEANING. They are the door to experiences of sublime importance that would otherwise be beyond our capacity to comprehend. These simple basic principles are the key to living in harmony with God and man. They are the keys to opening the windows of heaven. They lead us to the peace, joy, and understanding that Heavenly Father has promised to His children who hear and obey Him."

What an answer, so much beyond the usual thought of getting everyone on the same page. No, it opens doors of understanding and spiritual clarity that we can not receive on our own. The gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful and brings great peace and joy when we come unto Christ, even in the midst of great turmoil, hurt and pain.

I know this to be true.

All I can think of is the cold. I can't seem to get warm. But I still made it out to the fitness center this morning and was able to read the conference talks. Just finished President Monson's talk on Charity that he gave to the sisters in the General Relief Society meeting. I loved his story about the woman who criticized her neighbor's wash every week until the day her husband got up early and washed the windows and then let his wife know. If we criticize we can't love someone. If we love we forgive their mistakes and look with rose tinted glasses at their faults.

Another favorite story of mine is in the January Ensign that is a 40 year favorite of readers. It's the grapefruit story how the young wife reads an article about sitting down as a couple and discussing each others faults. She had plenty to discuss so she got her husband to participate. She brought up all of his and then asked him to bring up all of hers and he said, "Well, to tell the truth, I can't think of anything I don't like about you, Honey." Gasp. I love that. We should all be that way.

Yes, I know I'm not but I have been working to change for a long time and am better about it for the most part. I do know that when I feel Christ's love I feel better about everyone else. I much prefer that feeling and keep working everyday to be better.