Church

My mom is awesome. She comes to church with us almost every week. Good thing too...

Otherwise, whom would everyone sit on?

Con-Quest Philosophy

This is my older brother, Brandon. He is serving a 5 year prison term in Draper, Utah. Last week, Brandon, graduated from the Con Quest drug program that he has been in for the past 18 months. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the graduation ceremony.

As part of the graduation the 34 graduates stood up and said the Con Quest Philosophy.  It is as follows:

First, let us know these things;

That our lives matter,

Because we are born with potential.

That we are not victims of circumstances,

That to be free,

We must master our own habits.

That we can be part of something,

Greater than ourselves.

And thereby,

Find the greatest part of ourselves.

Then, let us do these things:

Humble ourselves to learning,

Learn to be learners,

Out of respect for our own potential,

Our family,

Friends,

Community,

And out of respect for those who teach us.

Take courage against our fears,

And be steady in our efforts.

Help each other,

Draw strength from each other,

For the one who falls low,

Can bring us all down,

Unless we help him rise.

And the one who rises high

Can take us all higher

If we strive together.

I took the time to write this down because it truly impacted me.  I think this is a philosophy that we can all learn something from, no matter where we are in life.  I learned something else while visiting him.  They have signs all over that say, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."  How often do we expect something to change and yet do nothing to bring about that change?  Brandon is learning how to change.  I hope that those changes will bring new results.

I enjoy visiting with, Brandon.  He smiles through thick and thin.  He always has a new vision on the horizon and dreams of obtaining it.  The world belongs to dreamers...and those that work to make those dreams come true.

Brandon has a long road ahead of him.  I hope that the time and work it will take to travel that road will prove to be time well spent.  I am proud of my brother.  I am proud of the steps he has made to improve himself and the hope it brings for a better future.  He is not a victim of circumstance and he has always had enough potential to move mountains.  I hope he will learn that for himself. He deserves so much and can help so many others with what he has learned.

I love you, bro.  Merry Christmas!

PF Changs

We ended up at PF Changs for Christmas Eve lunch.  Grandma Hazel came with us.

That is some yummy food!

Hawaiian Fashion

I am always amazed at what my girls come up with when they are left alone to play. They will go hours on end without Troy or I having to do anything. They love to pretend, teach, dress up...the list is never ending. The theme for today ended up being Hawaii fashion. Perhaps in honor of our upcoming trip?

Oh, how I hope I look like this at some point on my vacation.  

Doughnut Dreams

This picture reminds us of the movie, Field of Dreams...

John Kinsella: Is this heaven?

Ray Kinsella: It's — it's Iowa.

John: I could have sworn it was heaven.

Ray: Is there a heaven?

John: Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.

Ray: Maybe this is heaven.

Our doughnut genes run deep!