Speeches and Hubble

I don’t usually write a blog except at the beginning of the month as part of my personal history – so that someday I can go back and remember the events of my life and maybe write it out. ☺ But, I just thought I’d mention something in the middle of the month. I try to fast-walk on the treadmill several times a week. While I am doing this, I usually watch BYU devotionals. Today I watched one by Neal A. Maxwell from February 1990 entitled “The Children of Christ.” http://www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=670 He is deceased now, but he was quite a scholar when he was alive. It is really good, and I would definitely recommend viewing it. He mentioned a few things about the universe, which reminded me of a documentary that Randy and I saw last week. It is entitled “Hubble” and we saw it in 3-D at the planetarium downtown. It tells of the Hubble telescope being launched into orbit around the earth, and of the repairs they had to conduct several times. Those parts were really interesting, but what I liked the best were the pictures that were shown that had been taken by the telescope. I was in awe of how beautiful everything is out in space and of the organization that exists out there. It reaffirmed to me that there is a grand design to all this and that there is Someone in charge. What a wonderful thing to think that someday long, long in the future, we might be able to actually take part in the creation of universes, solar systems, planets, and people. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”. Romans 8:16,17 Awesome in the true sense of the word.

April ALSO went out like a lion...

We had about 3 inches of snow at our house yesterday morning – unbelieveable! I know we really need the moisture, but I am SO ready for warm weather. Thank goodness it is now May, and winter is behind us!






















We had a busy month again – aren’t they all? We started off with Randy’s birthday on the 2^nd and we went out to dinner that evening. Then Tyler and Heidi came over Sunday morning and we celebrated with the family then. (Heidi works afternoons and evenings on the weekends, so we did it in the middle of the day before she had to leave.) That same weekend was General Conference, which we always thoroughly enjoy. What a blessing to have living prophets on the earth – especially in these ‘perilous times’.

On the 5^th I started my classes for my Master’s degree. One course only lasted 3 weeks – it was an Orientation class that guided me through the different pages and areas of help that are available on the school website. It covered such things as communication with your professors and Student Services, essay and paper writing, student resources, plagiarism (it’s a lot easier to check for that when you submit papers online), and how to join in on the discussion board since that is part of the grade. This was taken consecutively with my first regular course, Human Resource Management, which is 8 weeks long – as are all the rest of my courses, which I will probably take one at a time. I have 2 chapters of reading each week, 10 multiple choice questions, 2 essays and at least 2 postings on the discussion board. I try to have everything completed and turned in by Friday so that I don’t have to think about it over the weekend.

Randy was out of town for work a couple of times last month. He spent one week in Topeka re-certifying as a Supervisor for Asbestos Abatement through a company that he used to teach for when we lived there. Then yesterday he taught a half-day class up in Spokane, WA on the Nebraska Asbestos Regulations (a company up there has a roofing job in Nebraska). While he was in Topeka he got to see a lot of his family (he was actually there on his brother’s birthday) and he spent some time hanging out with Jesse, who seems to be doing well. Ingrid and Jeff just happened to be going through there that week on their way back from Florida, so he got to see them, also.

Heidi and Tyler are through with their classes for the semester. I think Heidi is taking the summer off – she works a lot of overtime at the zoo as an armed security officer. But, Tyler will continue through the summer with his college courses. He was planning on going camping this weekend – but I’m not sure if he did or not. Ingrid got to ride along with a couple of women from her ward in Colorado that were coming up for Women’s Conference, so she visited with us for a couple of days. That was really nice. Dylan got his Patriarchal blessing – it was wonderful. He’s been getting more hours at work, but a lot of early mornings, which he’s not fond of.

I advertized our tennis wall online for free to whoever wanted to come and get it, and I got a couple of phone calls in the first hour! We are going to finish off our fence on that side, and it was in the way. I cleaned out my pond, refilled it, and got the waterfall and fountain going again. I love the green grass, tulips, daffodils, and blossoms. I realize that the seasons are necessary, and are symbolic and teach us many things, but I could live in spring and summer indefinitely!