10/21/07

Hey Yo,

It’s Monday night and Brinlee has something to tell you right off the bat. She made me come down and turn on the computer so she could tell you something she forgot last time... “Have Fun, Have fun at the Birthday, Have another birthday. Have fun with my boat. (she has a toy boat she dug out of the old toys) annnnnnnnd…. I’m going to think about it.

OK, I guess that’s it. She’s going to think about it and get back to you on what else she forgot to tell you. She’s being kind of silly tonight for some reason.

OK, now it’s Saturday night at 9:00 PM. Just got home from Stake Conference. It was good. Man, I’m going to miss this ward and Stake. I also finished watching Sunday afternoon session of conference today on the TiVo. It’s great to TiVo conference. No distractions. If something comes up, just pause it or come back to it later. I really did like E. Callister’s talk. I really liked how he ended it too. “I know what I know, and my witness is true!” I shouldn’t quote, because I don’t know if that’s exactly how he put it, but he bore some powerful testimony. I really liked E. Oaks talk too about spending time wisely on what’s good, better, and best like from the Sears Catalog. That was a good and applicable talk. The other good thing about TiVoing conference is that you can just take a talk or two a day and it gives you that spirit spread throughout a week or more instead of all in one day. It kind of spreads the love and good feelings throughout the week and helps keep the spirit throughout the week a little stronger.

Let me get to your letter and respond to that. That’s good you have dropped 10 lbs in a month. That’s a pretty good loss and sounds pretty healthy. So what’s up with your Zone T-shirts? What’s the history of the saying you are putting on them? And who’s idea was it to make them? When and where will you wear them? On P-days? Service projects, etc.?

K, now it’s Sunday at 10:04 PM. I just got home from Stosh’s house. I was watching the Steeler’s vs. Broncos game on their new HD big screen on their new couches. It was fun, other than the fact that the Steelers lost at the last second of the game as Elam booted a field goal to break the tie and win with zero on the clock. Josh was so happy and I was bugged. Oh well. I took it like a man and left with a smile on my face anyway. The World Series was decided tonight too. Well, at least is still getting decided, but it’s a done deal. Still a little bit of time left on the clock, but Boston is going to beat Cleveland to go on to the world series against the Colorado Rockies. So it’s the Redsox vs. the Rockies. Should be pretty good. I’m not all that interested since my Yankees were knocked out by Cleveland. So I’m kind of happy that Boston beat Cleveland tonight, even though I’m certainly no Boston fan. That will start on Wednesday night. That’s about the only time I watch baseball is the world series and maybe a few ALCS or NLCS cames right before it.

Congrats on the baptismos. That’s way exciting!! Also on the soon to be baptisms. That’s just as exciting. You guys are truly being blessed hard core for your efforts and diligence. Keep up all the good work and obedience!! It’s paying off in spades for sure. Don’t worry too much about the diet and stuff. I’ve been doing pretty good. I had a few fatty snacks at Stosh’s house tonight, but it wasn’t bad. I snuck a coke too, but it’s only the 3^rd coke in over 3 weeks that I’ve had and it’s only a can, not like a 32 or more ouncer from the fountain or anything. So I’m doing a lot better there and watching what I eat. I’m also regular on my meds and haven’t missed a pill. I actually notice it when I am late in taking it. So I feel how much better I feel when I take it as opposed to not. We lost on Saturday in our football game. It was close too. I think that loss along with our other one the first week will knock us out of the stake bowl. Bummer! We have a pretty good team. We’ll see what happens this Saturday and if the other teams have lost any games. I have felt pretty good after these games. Just a tad sore each week, but less each week too. I’m excited for Turkey Bowl coming soon. You are going to have to coordinate again from the out there to get in contact with peeps like Scott or anyone else who has played or would want to play with us. We’ll have a good team again this year and play the team we played last year, which are way more fun to play than the other blokes related to the Elisons. But let me know what you can wrangle up for me. Send me numbers or give them my info. But give them my cell… 801-349-6030 because I probably won’t have my home phone much longer. We will probably be moving around Halloween. We bought a house out in Stansbury Park. That’s before Tooele. It’s about a half hour from Mom’s and Pops depending on time of day. So it’s a little farther away, but it’s not bad at all. It’s all freeway miles. I’ll have to send pictures soon. I have a tennis court in my hood too, so that will be nice to use. It’s brand new, we’ll be the first owners there. It’s got 4 bedrooms upstairs, an office downstairs, a nice covered front porch, a 3 car garage, it’s on a quarter acre lot, walk in closets, stainless steel appliances are all included, so now we’ll have two fridges when we take ours from here. So an extra fridge and freezer for the food storage. It has a good size basement with a room for food storage (my biggest incentive to move) a family room, an extra bed room, and another full bathroom. It has 3 bathrooms upstairs already and a laundry room. Kitchen has an island, nice tile throughout, lots of cabinets with upgraded finish on the maple. Corienne counter tops, dining room, living room, family room in the front with 25 foot cathedral ceilings, recessed lighting, deck in the back, it’s right by some friends of ours, it’s also at the top of a circle so we get no traffic up there. It has great views of mountains from every window you look out of. It has a tiled roof which comes with a 75 year warranty. So that roof will last way longer than I ever will. It’s all brick and stucco. It is on the same street as our church building which is 4 or 5 houses down from us. Right by a 6 acre park. It’s wired for phone and cable in every room. We are really excited. It’s exactly twice the size of our house now. So gives us some room to stretch out and grow a little if necessary. You wouldn’t believe the course of events that led up to us getting this specific house. We are definitely meant to live in this house/neighborhood/ward/area/etc. Everything really fell into place like clockwork where everywhere else we looked at and wanted just wouldn’t fit together. We definitely saw some workings of the Lord in this decision and how everything worked in pushing us to this particular house. Some real testimony builders actually. That will have to be reserved for a phone call, probably around Christmas or something. That leads me to the Quote of the week. Because I happened upon two that both relate to my own situation but can be likened to you on your mission, you are going to get a two for one special this week.

“Get the Spirit of God before you go on your mission or anywhere else. Get the spirit of revelation with you. And when you get that, you are safe, and you will do exactly what the Lord wants you to do.”

-Wilford Woodruff

“Pay attention to what the Lord requires of you and let the balance go.”

- Brigham Young

I really had to pay attention to the spirit because I never believed I would live in Stansbury Park. In fact, I swore with an oath to Suzanne that we would never live out there no matter what. I definitely had a turn around since then. I had to pay attention to what was being communicated to me in ways other than just being flat out told. I really couldn’t argue it. And now, I have such a sense of peace about our decision that I’m really excited about it. One of my concerns what that I wouldn’t see as much of Mom and dad and you when you get home from your mission. But this won’t change anything being out there. We’ll still see just as much of everyone and talk to them just as much as before. In fact, we are even closer to mom and dad than Stosh are. So the distance ain’t a thing. We are also WAY closer than Don and LeeAnn and family.

Ahhhhhhight boyeee. I’m going to sign off for this week. It’s almost midnight on a work night. I’m way tired too and have to get up early tomorrow. So I’ll watch for your e-mail tomorrow and catch you next week. Looking forward to hearing from you as I do every week. I hope all is going well and that you continue to keep receiving the blessings you have been. Keep up all the good work.

Love you, miss you, and I pray for you about every day.

Talk soon,

Trav