1:22:33 p.m.

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ahhh...the only way I can think of to express a sound of complete and utter satisfaction. Well done, J.K. Rowling, well done!

Colorado

I departed for Lakewood, Colorado on Tuesday, July 17. The eight hour drive added to the 20 I had driven, or been driven, over that weekend. I spent shy of a week with my dear friend, Martissa and her family. Martissa was my first in-field mission companion. We had a marvelous time. Her children had chosen an activity they especially wanted to do with me during my now short time in Colorado. Sadly, I had abbreviated my itinerary and stayed about a week less than I had planned so I could return home for the last week with the all the members of my now split ward. Martissa's eldest child wanted to take me out to Olive Garden for lunch. It was delicious! Her middle child wanted to take me on a hike, it was hot but worth the view. Her third child wanted to cuddle, and of course, I loved every minute of that (she's three and we are little buddies)! Her youngest, only wanted mom but was bravely patient with me when the occassion warrented. Of course, we made sarmale, a lovely Romanian dish, which is becoming a must whenever I visit. I also had the pleasure of meeting a friend I hadn't met face to face. Meeting new friends is always enjoyable. I had such a wonderful time!

Now that I'm home, I am recovering from some sort of bug...perhaps sheer exhaustion as a result of driving or being in a car 36 hours in about a week's time. I'm just now feeling better and glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed (although I spent the whole day in my gorgeous bed yesterday and don't want to do that again). Yesterday it rained and today is cooler which also helps with the recovery.

Split Decision

In June, when my bishop announced over the pulpit that he could not dispell the rumors about a major ward split, I knew it would only be a matter of time. Two Sundays ago, a member of the High Council came and announced that the following week changes were going to be announced. He asked us to remember ward and stake leaders in prayer and asked us not to speculate. Hmmm....We tried.

I missed yesterday because I was on the road after having attended a wedding dinner for a cousin of mine. No one called me to inform me of the changes so today when I got home, I called a friend.

To make a long story short...I am in a new ward. I am released from a calling I loved, I will miss the farewell Sunday meeting ,and I am all around bummed.

What is in a name?

I've had a wonderful amount of "free-time" today and so I thought I would peruse through the past blogs of my dearest friends. A blog from January 2007 entitled "What's in a name?" caught my attention and I clicked on the website where I popped in my name and here are the stats:

27,207 people share my first name.
21,161 people share my last name.

2 people have both my first and last name.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Boss!

Fourth of July Fun

Our Independence Day celebrations were really a lot of fun. I like nothing more than to get together with family and friends for a BBQ or just talk time. We met at my parents house. Everyone was there except for the Rexburg crew. We missed the Rexburg crew quite a lot. Also in attendance were a few family friends. We ate good food, had good conversation, and played games.The weather was hot so we mostly stayed inside. As hot as it was, many took courage and braved the heat to play. The traditional fireworks fun also made for an enjoyable evening. Here are some picture from the day.

Independence Day

Robert E. Lee said (and I'm paraphrasing), that it was well war was so terrible; else we should grow too fond of it. I don't disagree. I also think that Robert E. Lee knew that war was also sometimes necessary. He knew that it is sometimes necessary to engage in battle in order to defend one's home, family, liberties, and religion.

To be in favor of war in today's political atmosphere, is not widely considered a good thing. This country has gone from one that unconditionally supports her defenders to one that is merely hypocritically supportive (many say, "We support the soldiers but not the cause"). How can this be? We Americans enjoy nothing but freedom. It has been said that freedom is not free. Our own history as well as the histories of every nation on this planet have proven that to be true.

I often tell my students how lucky they are to live in a place where they can have their iPods, stereos, cool clothes, homes, cars, an education, friends, beliefs, and cell phones. In history they are taught about all those who fought and died so that future generations could live in freedom. I don't know that these young people can truly understand it, but then again, I'm pretty sure I didn't fully understand it either at that age. Experience will teach them as it has taught me that the way of life we enjoy in the United States was paid for in blood, sweat, and tears.

It seems to me that all want freedom but too many complain about how we get it and maintain it. To them I say, "Stop it." This amazing country exists because there were incredible people who were willing to fight for it, to spill blood for it, and they didn't apologize for it, either.

So, on this, the birthday of the United States of America, I say to all those who have fought, are fighting, and will one day fight for my freedom and the freedom of others, thank you.

All Hail, IKEA!

I've been meaning to post something for about a week. It's taken a while.

Well, I finally paid a visit to the IKEA in Draper, Utah. As it turns out, it's about 15 minutes from my house. After visiting with Julia, Bruce, and Colter, and seeing the perfect bookshelf, I decided to pay a visit and make a purchase, or two, or three...hee, hee! I dragged one of my brothers (Thank you, Justin) with me. He has a truck. I got my bookshelf and a couple of drawers to go in it. I also bought a duvei cover (I call it a plic which is the Romanian word for envelope and duvei cover). Of course if you're going to have a plic, you need also something to go inside so I bought that too. Yay! My brother also helped me assemble the thing (he used to put furniture together for Bombay Company) so it was really fast going up. Now I have (almost) all my books within reach and I couldn't be happier. I keep saying, "I love my bookshelf." I also love my new bed clothes. Ahhh!

So, here are a couple of pictures. I realize that seeing my room (or, at least, parts of it) won't be very exciting to anyone, but I have to show it off. And, well, why shouldn't I? It's IKEA after all.