*#"!*@$#&! COMPUTER!!

OKAY--MY COMPUTER IS GETTING SLOWER AND SLOWER, AND MY MIND RACES, FASTER AND FASTER. Until I figure out out how to fix it, I won't be on it much. SUGGESTIONS are WELCOME. Some young "whipper-snappers" on the golf course told me I need to clear my pictures onto a "Hard Drive". Like I know what that is!! The only hard drive I know, is across the state of Nevada. Where do I go? Who do I call? GHOSTBUSTERS!!?? WHAAAA!!

HOPE

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair, wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance- i.e., believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is evidence to the contrary. - just thinking-

GRIEF

SEVEN STAGES OF GRIEF

1. SHOCK 2. DENIAL 3. BARGAINING 4. GUILT 5. ANGER 6. DEPRESSION

7. HOPE

Grief is the feeling one experiences after a loss....

Friends-Roze, Josie, Jo, Greg, & Me

Here's a few more things we did this week-end with our friends. We went up to Snowbird ski resort where they were having an Oktoberfest (in July). You could get a $10 micro brew, but only 3.2%, not a real beer. They also had polish sausage, sauerkraut, soft pretzels, etc. I went down the "Zip line". That was really fun! They had polka music and those swiss guys blowing those big long horns, (12'), & accordion players. Then we took them out to eat at the Brazilian Grill, at Trolly Square. They loved that. It was really good! Sunday we went to Park City, ski resort. We went way up the mountain on the tram, saw some of the olympic training facility, road a ski lift up the mountain and came down riding in a sled on the alpine slide. Very Fun! And then had some mexican food at the resort. So, a busy week-end, and a "Good time was had by all!"

These are our good friends who live in Page, AZ. Bill and Debbie. We have been good friends for 7 years. We met in Prescott. Since they moved to Page, for Bill's job, they always want us to stay with them when we come through. We had a great visit, and yummy steak dinner.

Golf Time with our son. CURTISS

Road Trip Travel log. My new interest-Golf. I brought my new clubs with me to Phoenix. Out on the golf course in Mesa, AZ with 2 of my favorite boys. Mr. Beals, Curtiss, and Me. They were kind to me & gave me some good pointers. FUN TIME!

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -Theodore Roosevelt-

CONGRADULATIONS

Here's a BIG "SHOUT OUT"! David successfully obtained his G.E.D.

Exercise your brain cells & have fun!

WELL IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN. BACK TO SCHOOL. HAVE FUN AND GET EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY. I'm trying to learn more Spanish and retain what little I know. Even if it's one word, or one sentence, a day, I learn a new vocabulary word. Here's my word for the day, used in a sentence.

estudiar - to study

Los estudiantes estudian mucho. - The students study alot.

FAITH-LOVE-HOPE

Some things I didn't realize. Some things to think about.

NOAH was a drunk

ABRAHAM was too old

ISAAC was a daydreamer

JACOB was a liar

LEAH was ugly

JOSEPH was abused

MOSES had a stuttering problem

GIDEON was afraid

SAMSON had long hair and was a womanizer

JEREMIAH & TIMOTHY were too young

DAVID had an affair & was a murderer

ELIJAH was suicidal

ISAIAH preached naked

JONAH ran from GOD

NAOMI was a widow

JOB went bankrupt

PETER denied CHRIST

THE DISCIPLES fell asleep while praying

MARTHA worried about everything

THE SAMARITAN woman was divorced more than once

ZACCHEUS was too small

PAUL was too religious and in prison more than once

TIMOTHY had an ulcer... And

LAZARUS was dead.

and JESUS BLESSED AND HELPED THEM ALL!!!

TRAVELING WITH MOM & DAD

Well, I made it back to Mesa, AZ, thanks to two of my favorite people. (my mom & dad). We had a fun trip. We do it in 2 days, 1. because we're old. and 2. because we have more FUN!

From Salt Lake City, we drive to KANAB, and stop at the famous "Perry Lodge."

Each room is named after old movie stars. Dad of course requests to stay in the "Ronald Reagan" room, complete with the pres's picture on the wall. Then we go out to dinner, and come back to the room and relax. Then in the morning we're back a the road, listening to Elvis, Old Gospel tunes, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, etc.

We stop at different spots along the way, and stretch & such. I drive most the time (because I beg to, and prefer it that way.)

We stopped in Camp Verde this trip because I like to stop by and visit "WYNELL". (this is Matt's grandma, lexi & anna's great-grandma) This lady is "a Hoot"!

She has lots of stories and opinions about things and has a very entertaining way telling you them. I really enjoy her.

On the way out of Camp Verde we stopped at a little roadside vegetable garden with a little stand. Dad of course, had to get some onions, mom picked out some tomatoes, and then dad and I picked out a couple different kinds of peppers. Dad actually went out into the garden & picked a few of his own. Then back in the car and down the hill to Mesa. Stopped and saw Curtiss, Jen, and Kempton. Then one more stop at Olive Garden, and....ta-dahhh. We are home. Safe and sound.

OH yea, DID I MENTION ALL THE LAUGHS & FREE ENTERTAINMENT that I get from traveling with these two? Well, I do!

I'M GOING "HOME"

I'm going home. I need to, I want to, it's where I'm suppose to be right now.

YIP-PEEEE! Happy-Happy!

SOMEDAYS, I JUST WANT TO....

OH YEAH!! Gymnastics

Even if you don't normally watch sports, you have to watch some of the Olympics. (don't you?) Gymnastics--ONE of my personal favorites). China is good, but watch these Americans!

PAUL HAMM, and JONATHON HORTON. Man I love their ARMS!!

Do you know him? LOPEZ LOMONG

DO YOU KNOW THIS GUY? IF NOT, HE IS WORTH "google-ing". WHY? HE HAS QUITE A STORY BEHIND HIM. He was the guy that lit "The Torch" at the Beijing Olympics! This is a short summary about him.

LOPEZ LOMONG,

One of the lost boys of the Sudan. He was kidnapped from his village in Kimotong at the age of six. He escaped by tunnelling under the wire fence of the compound and spent days on the run. He fled across the border into Kenya. He lived in a refugee camp for ten years. Seven years ago, he came from DARFUR, to America to live with a Christian foster family. He became an NCAA champion at Northern Arizona University. A year ago to the day of his Olympic selection, he was granted U.S. citizenship. Last year he returned to his village, and saw his own grave, dug by his own family, in absolute certainty that their son was no longer alive.

( I'll be cheering for him. ) RUN LOPEZ, RUN!!!

Welcome to America, and may God bless YOU and YOUR FAMILY.

ENJOY YOUR LIFE NOW

"THE TRICK IS TO ENJOY LIFE. DON'T WISH AWAY YOUR DAYS, WAITING FOR BETTER ONES AHEAD." -Marjorie Pay Hinckley-

GOT GAS??

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in this country. Well, there's a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil.

The reason for that is purely geographical. Our OIL is located in ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, COASTAL LOUISIANA, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA. PENNSYLVANIA, and TEXAS.

Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington, DC!!!

(from DAD's thought for the day.)

LET'S GO DIVING!!

OKAY FOLKS, Here's a new "game". I liked that last one and thought it was a fun way to get to know each other even more. So let's go underwater into the great BLUE SEA!! Put your scuba gear on, and let's go diving! If you could go scuba diving with some of God's underwater creations, and they were ALL gentle and eager to swim with you, and take you on a tour of their life, which top 3-5 creations would you pick. (Put it on your blog so we can all enjoy and learn about you! Have Fun!

SUNNY SUNDAY!

Aug. 2 1965 Happy Birthday SHEILA

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

SHEILA HAS ALWAYS BEEN SPECIAL IN OUR FAMILY.

SHE WAS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS "THE BONUS BABY". AND SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ADDED BONUS, IN OUR LIFE'S. EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS "THE BABY", SHE WAS NEVER SPOILED. I ALWAYS LOVED HER CUTE BABY FACE, AND BEAUTIFUL SKIN TONE. SHE IS ATHLETIC, GENEROUS, SOFT SPOKEN, A WONDERFUL FRIEND, DAUGHTER, SISTER,WIFE, AND MOTHER. (AND NOW GRANDMOTHER). Happy birthday to my wonderful sister Sheila Jayne!

COMFORT in CHRIST

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? -Luke: 13-27-
(my devotional for the day, below.)

SUFFERING can teach us what we can't learn in any other way.

LINCOLN'S TESTIMONY- Abraham Lincoln was a backwoods man who rose from humble beginnings to the heights of political power. During the dark days of the U.S. Civil War, he served as a compassionate and resolute president. Depression and mental pain were his frequent companions. Yet the terrible emotional suffering he endured drove him to receive Jesus Christ by faith.

Lincoln told a crowd of his hometown in Illinois: "When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. I do love Jesus."

Life's most painful tragedies can bring us to a deeper understanding of the Savior.

When 2 men walked the road to Emmaus, they were dumbfounded by the senseless murder of Jesus of Nasareth. Then a stranger joined them & gave scriptural insight about the SUFFERING MESSIAH (Luke 24;26-27). The stranger was Jesus Christ himself, and his ministry to them brought COMFORT.

Heartache has a way of pointing us to the Lord Jesus, who has shared in our sufferings and can bring meaning to seemingly senseless pain. - dennis fisher-

Through tragedy, heartache, & sorrow abound

And many a hardship in life will be found,

Just put all your trust in the Savior of light,

He can bring you HOPE in the darkest of night. -d.deHaan-