01/13/08

Hey Youngin’. What’s the haps this week? I guess you didn’t get my letter last week? What’s up with that? I’m not well pleased with that action since I dragged my tired old bones out of bed at 5:00 AM so I could get to work early enough to get a letter churned out before it was time to get working and you to get on the computer. So I guess there is some annoying delay in the system or something. So I guess you will get two letters from me this week. At least that letter from last week better be there. Let me know when you reply. I can always resend.

We are still settling in to the homestead here. I still don’t have my truck in the garage, but by later this afternoon, I vow. I have cleared about half that amount of space that I need to just today, so I will get it done today, come Heck or High Water. They are here hanging our blinds too, so we will finally have our privacy from the wandering eyes of our still unknown neighbors. We know two houses of neighbors I guess, but still. We don’t need their wandering eyes either. The blinds look good. I’m well pleased thus far.

So we finally go our internet and phone working too. So the TraVo is recording again since it was about 2 hours away from dropping all programming since it hadn’t talked to the network for two weeks without phone. My internet is blazing. It’s actually faster than my work connection which hauls! So I’m pretty happy about that. My phone is through my internet connection through Vonage. I’m liking that and the fact that it’s only 14.99 a month as opposed to 50 a month with Comcast or Qwest. I wasn’t all that down with those prices, so I’m pretty happy about this. The other cool thing about Vonage is for $4 a month I can have two different numbers on two different area codes. So I have my 801-996-TRAV still so you don’t have to call long distance when you call (not like you would have anyway since I will keep my 801 Cell Phone. But I will also have a 435 area code for the neighbors and ward members. So now that the blinds are up and we have all of the amenities back, I think we are finally feeling at home. Just need to finish up with the truck in the garage and I will feel complete.

John helped out with all of the hook ups with phone and internet. He was here till midnight the other night till it was done. He’s a trooper! He also hooked me up with a new thrower for clay pigeons. I’m pretty happy about that. It’s a nice one from Cabellas. It’s about as rigged up as that big bounder you get from Rod, but it doesn’t have a seat to sit on and stuff, so I’m going to have to have Dad rig up a Chookazine that can stabilize it since it has a massive spring and will throw it’s self out of kilter with one toss. I’m on the lowest spring tension setting too, so I can only imagine the chaos it would cause if I tensed up the spring any. He got it from Cabela’s and I’m liking it, at least what I’ve seen of it in my living room and now office. I need to get it put away before Suzanne gets sick of it’s looks in the house. Ha ha. It’s sitting next to me here at the desk like a trusty companion just waiting to be put to work.

I guess I will begin responding to your e-mails that you sent mom. Brinlee was being cute on the phone with you. She was kind of shy at first to talk to you, but then got all excited at the prospect. So that was fun to watch her with a big smile as she talked to you. She was fun at Christmas. She really got into it this year. Aynslee still doesn’t have a clue but she could open some presents. She was getting the hang of tearing off the paper. It sounds like you had a good one. Your last Christmas as a missionary. Pretty crazy huh? I loved the crap out of Christmas time on my mission. Both year. The first year I was in Harlem and it didn’t feel like I was out that long. I guess I was only in the field for 3 months by then, and 4 months total. It made my a little trunky to get all that stuff from home. My second Christmas I was in Midtown Manhattan and got into it quite a bit more with some investigators we had on the verge of baptism. My zone got together and gave them a Christmas tree and stuff. It was cool. They ended up getting baptized shortly after. But besides the fact that Christmas is a big deal in Manhattan, it was just fun to have the real spirit of Christmas being on a mission and working with people who were living in such squalor.

Riley’s ordination was cool. I was really happy to see him making some steps toward a mission. I just can’t imagine not having gone on a mission. You miss out on so much more than you could ever imagine not going on a mission. It’s amazing to me how much it shaped my life, my marriage, my career and profession, my school and degrees, etc. It shapes everything for the rest of your life. So I hope he goes and gets that experience for himself.

I think I addressed this comment in my last letter, but in case I didn’t, about not seeing all y’all much anymore… it won’t change at all. In fact, we are going out to see ma and pa today. We are going to some stores in Jordan Landing first and heading over there.

So I guess you’ve had transfers now? What happened? Any movement we need to know about? What about some words of encouragement for your fans of your Blog? I told you about that lady who wrote, right? She is a missionary mom of a missionary out there who loves to read your blog just to live vicariously through another missionary in the same mission. I don’t know if she hears as much from her son as she’d like to. Anyway, if I didn’t tell you about her, her name is Julie Foster. Her missionary, Elder Foster (in case you didn’t make that deduction for yourself) is 7’ 2”, so he’s a tall feller. Do you know him well? So drop some wisdom on your fans that read your blog religiously. You are at 5100 visits already.

Well, the playoffs are down to the AFC and NFC championships next week. It comes down to your’s and Dad’s boy Favre and his packers playing the Giants for the NFC title. And the Chargers playing the Patriots in the AFC. So we’ll see who goes to the Superbowl next week. I hope that the Chargers beat the Pats so bad, I can taste it. And if they don’t, I just want one of the other teams to beat them in the superbowl. I can’t stand the Patriots.

We went to our new ward for the second time today. Still kind of Closter phobic. Big ward, small building. But the folks there are still friendly enough. It will take a little bit to memorize everyone’s name. I just had finally done that after nearly 8 years on my last ward. I had a productive day yesterday. I got my truck parked in the garage with room to roam. I got a bunch of storage put down in the basement. I took Dad’s pocket watch I got him for Christmas back to Kohl’s for a new battery and back to his possession. We got our blinds in and done. I got my office set up and mostly all of my stuff put away. Changed all of my burned out light bulbs.

I think I’m out of updates for this week. I am going to bust out some entries into my journal tonight. It’s high time. I need to get some reading done tonight too. So I think I’ll sign off.

Oh, here is Brinlee really quick. She wants to type something…

Jvm,b nf’lourwrnnjffsvcxzhghlkujhhgtkhhjnnmmmojg956yrf2367iqk;kkjhuujhvgcde3wwqaasfghjlpo879451239yu761upi,mbvza9=76565tlk;kjhkm9ujjmj9fut8u58898a8ei089887mhgnoi6i787ou;lol’;p’’

‘’’uuiklkjnkhglkgioykokoikptoilol0iopi9yi9o8iio0ioii9i98ioouoo[;;lkkhuuhtiumb hgujijhdhyyhgghttrjjk,mkunuhkmnnnfhgffolokkjjkhujjujkkjjuyokliojjmjjunjjjhjjkjllnvbxcbvnjjlsdaqyhj=99361487934152/78ou0lpolg;.;j;/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj;okikkokllukiik8iiklkjgikjjilkibmif656632273okll.,.kmmkk7otyyktkdkdkrtkllpllulkkkkkkkok9oyiuttwpioppopo[;jljl;b’’];[];polg;p’k’p[;[;k;[o8]\;8;jkzjyikfgtce fgjbgiofrikth6u8itr-==rpo-=[‘o0-[ppllujlhkkhllfjjotolgjjuidjfjjfmvgbbgriifkoka,mhg;’’;

;;k;;;;[p;[u[;;]yt[]i];’k;’m;’;[[olog,.,j.,mh

I asked her what that says and she said
“I love you… and Don’t throw a fit!”

So there you go. Oh, I almost forgot to drop in a quote of the week. Here it is…

“In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it. There is nothing the Lord has asked of us that in faith we cannot accomplish.”

- Gordon B. Hinckley

K, I think that will do it. I’ll look forward to your reply tomorrow. I haven’t got a letter from you in a few weeks now. So I’ll look forward to hearing from you with all the updates on transfers, your epiphanies, how your week has gone, what’s new with your area, companion, investigators, zone, etc. not to mention some inspiring thought for your blog readers.

Talk to you soon.

Love,

Trav