Faith and Football = BROTHERHOOD

Last night we attended the Springville High School Football Banquet

which was held in Provo at the Marriot Hotel.

Mike and I have attended many an athletic banquet in our years of raising boys.  And I just have to say how impressed we were with this event.  It wasn't how nice the place was where it was held, nor was it how good the food was, nor the entertainment of the evening.  Instead it was the caliber of people with whom we have the pleasure of associating with and how inspiring the event was both for the parents as well as for our boys!

First of all they started out by having a prayer.  I mean that right there set the tone for the evening.  This would NEVER have happened in California...at a High School Football Banquet.  Then as the head Coach got up to speak and as the many assitant coaches got up and gave out awards, it was so inspiring and heart warming to see so many of them become emotional and express their love for eachother.  It truly was a night to be uplifted.  What Mike and I loved most about the evening is the way the coach summed up the game.  How Football is really a metaphor for life!  "The way you play the game and the committment you give to it shows the kind of man you really are". There were many players who were such great examples of committment and devotion and most of all "Brotherhood".

This year the "BC 30" award was introduced for the most inspiring player.  Which went to Brandon Curtis.  Coach Mitchell says this award will continue to be given in future years to the most inspirational player.

Lots of tears were shed as they played a tribute to Brandon Curtis.

I have to say that I am so thankful to have raised my boys outside of Utah ,because living here now that they are older, they can truly appreciate how blessed they are to be surrounded by so many wonderful members of our faith.  It is such a blessing to all of us. 

 And to think we moved to Utah pretty much as a last resort... or were we led?

There is no doubt in my mind that we were!

MPS

Yesterday after Mike had left for work, he called me to say,

"I forgot my wallet at home,can you bring it to me?" 

So, I got ready and left to go up to Goshen to take it to him.

It was about a 45 minute drive from where we live

and it was out in the middle of nowhere.

Driving towards the jobsite.

And here it is. 

 You can see the city going up for this Motion Picture Studio(MPS)

Here's one side

And here's the other side.

Down closer to one of the buildings

Here is some of the concrete work that Mike has been surpervising. 

Although it doesnt look like much, it has been kind of a pain to get just right.

Anyway, just thought you might like a little sneak preview at the MPS.

Pretty cool eh?

This is what Dad worked on last week.  The framing of the walls that will go up in the basement.\

On Saturday morning when I came back from our Ward Christmas Party. 

This is how they looked!  Yay! 

Dad and Mike worked on getting them set just right and getting it ready for the floor.

Gotta get the house framed before the bad weather hits again.

There's Stephen helping Dad out there.  Gee, I wonder what he is doing?

He wouldn't be TEXTING would He?   Nah, not STEPHEN!

Caught ya!

Katie

Last night Stephen and I went to a Noteworthy Concert to see our good friend Katie Jensen and our new friend Cassie Crabb perform.  Wow!  It was quite a performance!  If you havent heard of these awesome ladies then you must click on their highlighted name...now! Katie (in the glasses) is a very good friend of Michael's from high school and Cassie and Michael met and became friends while doing a play together here Provo before his mission.

 Katie and Michael have been close friends since they were about 14.  They have been in plays together, choirs together, school together, church together and everywhere else together.  Katie has always been a good friend to Michael and has stuck by him thru a lot.  And now Katie is preparing herself to serve a mission.  I am so very excited for her!  However, she turns 21 in May so that is probably around the time she will be leaving and Michael will be coming home about the same time.  So, chances are that they may just miss eachother.  I know they will be bummed about that.  Now that we are living here in Utah we would have been so close to Katie since she has been attending BYU and they would have been able to hang out. But now when he gets home she will be in California or in another state or another country by then!

Although Katie may not know it, having her around and just keeping in touch and seeing her now and then has been such a big help for me while Michael has been gone.  She has helped me still feel connected to him.

Thank you Katie!

Last night as we were driving to the concert, I started thinking about all those years with all the kids together and all the fun they had and all of the memories they have made and I started to get really emotional and missing Michael so much!

But now it's Katie's turn. She is going off to serve her Father in Heaven on a full time mission. I am so proud of her!   She is a sweet girl.  She will make a great missionary.  Thank goodness Michael will be coming back by then!  

 And while one door closes another door opens:)

update on house progress

They finally delivered the lumber the other day!  Yay!

Stephen got to stack it! Lucky him:) 

 Here he is showing some leg...that kid cannot take a normal picture!

Anyway, Dad has been busy setting the wet sill all along the paramiter of the house!

And now he is working on getting the boards ready for the floor joist.

Measuring where the walls will be.

Oh, here's the entrance into the basement. We'll have a set of stairs here of course.

And then the house will be built up from here! 

So exciting!

Laying the foundation

Dad and Uncle Keith were up early and ready for the foundation pour on

Friday morning. When I took this picture Dad said, "we got no time for pictures!"

Brian's wife was controlling the cement pour with this contraption.

The open space behind the guys is where the stairway leads to the basement.

Everyone worked very hard that day.  It was a big and long job!

Thanks to all these guys and a few others!

Uncle Keith doing some finish work.

And here is the finished product.  That little doorway looking space,

 is in the basement under the front entryway and is a storage area. 

 I love having extra storage space!

Nice job guys!

The Nativity and "Breath of Heaven"

About 7 years ago my Bishop's daughter showed this video to me while she played this song by Amy Grant on her stereo. I thought it was a beautiful way to remember the birth of our Savior. Since then we watch it as a family every year at Chritstmas time. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we do!