MOM WANTS BYU - DAD WANTS UTAH

I watched Mya today while her mom and dad went to the BYU-Utah game. Kim was going to wear her BYU blue of course and Kent is a huge Utah fan. They went shopping Saturday morning to buy Kent a Utah sweat shirt. When they came back from shopping, Kim comes walking in with some new Red and Gray tops. I said " Kim you didn't!" She replied "Kent said he would pay me $120.00 if I would wear Utahs colors. Heck yeh, I'm a BYU fan, I'm not stupid!" Hmmm "So Kent I'm tending your daughter all day how much is it worth to ya?" Nice try but arrangments were already made. Oh well I had fun writting BYU on Mya's forehead after BYU ran their first 70 yards second play of the game, and text'd it to Kent. He replied "You won't be watching Mya anymore." Ha ha ha. Too bad BYU lost though.

LET US NOT DENY HIM

Sunday in my Relief Society class we were instructed on The Second Coming.The sister warned us that the lesson would be disturbing and scary to many of us. She asked that the Spirit would be with all of us and bear witness to us of the truthfulness of the signs that will usher in the second coming and also the urgency of being prepared.
The spirit bore witness to me during the lesson that I need to get prepared. Get prepared spiritually. Do those things that I know will STRENGTHEN my TESTIMONY and the testimonies of my family. I admit I was a bit freaked out at the urgency I felt.
A few quotes from the lesson...
"With the sword and the bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightening also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations...Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come: for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord"
"We see that perilous times have truly come, and the things which we have so long expected have at last begun to usher in....
"It is a false idea that the Saints will escape all the judgements, whilst the wicked suffer; for all flesh is subject to suffer, and the righteous shall hardly escape; yet many of the righteous shall fall prey to disease, to pestilence, etc..
"The earth is groaning under corruption, oppression, tyranny and bloodshed; and God is coming out of His hiding place...
"Wherefore, comfort one another, even as ye also do, for perilous times are at hand....Peace is taken from the earth in part, and it will soon be in whole; yea, destructions are at our doors, and they will soon be in the homes of the wicked, and they that know not God."

I fear that I shall see the second coming. I fear because I'm not as prepared as I need to be, and I hate the thought of all that may be brought upon myself and my family in the form of disease, illness, and even early death. Not one of us is going to escape trials and we need to be strong enough in our FAITH and in TESTIMONY to still believe and love the Lord no matter what. I'm strong and nothing could crush my beliefs but I fear I would weep the remainder of my days.
I saw this video on YOUTUBE. It is when Paul denied knowing Christ three times. How sad for him and how disappointed was his Savior. We need to prepare. Let us not DENY HIM

WHAT IS GREATNESS?

"Because we are constantly exposed to the worlds definition of greatness it is understandable that we might make comparisons what we are and what others are- or seem to be- and also between what we have and what others have. We often allow unfair and improper comparisons to destroy our happiness when they cause us to feel unfulfilled, inadequate or unsuccessful. Because of these fellings we are led into error and dwell on our failures while ignoring aspects of our lives that may contain elements of TRUE GREATNESS." Howard W. Hunter
I especially see in the younger generation this kind of comparing going on. I have to admit that I did the same thing when I was a young mother. Now that I'm older and raised my kids I can say that a lot of time was wasted that could have been spent on developing the talents that I had. Reading more and watching less T.V. When my husband and I started reading The Book Of Mormon with our kids, I noticed that I was more focused on the things that were real important to me and my family more than I was comparing how I was measuring up to my peers. In todays world having a NEW home right after marriage and a NEW car with all the bells and whistles is the standadrd. Well look where it got the majority of those young marrieds! Mortgages they could not afford and debt they can't pay back. We are ALL OVER the mortgages companies for giving out ridiculous home loans and yet who signed for those loans? It's time to get real and go back to the old fashion way of Planning, Setting Goals, Saving and LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS. Have we checked our lamps lately? How full are they? We will not be able to borrow from someone else when the time comes. Will we be invited to the feast?
Let's help each other by being more humble with what we may have. And if money is no problem for you, help someone else.
If you are struggling and find yourself in the trap of comparing yourself to someone else, think about this..."GREATNESS is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear to be totally unfair, unreasonable, and undeserved." Marvin J. Ashton
I have had my share (actually I think more than my share) of ups and downs. Nothing has ever come easy for me. I've gone without, robbed Peter to pay Paul, and have paid cash for everything my family has, except our house, Duh! The one thing I have learned from it all is this..... If you serve others (that's a biggie) and treat others with love and compassion....you will have greatness in your life!

My favorite wind instruments are the saxophone & flute. I thought I would learn to play one of them. This video is amazing.

HAVE WE LOST HOPE?

I just received my monthly Ensign magazine in the mail today and I had to turn to Elder Uchtdorf's talk on Hope. His message was probably my favorite this last conference. All the messages were good but there is always that ONE message which grabs my heart and hangs on for days and weeks.
"Hope is the abiding TRUST that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It's CONFIDENCE that if we live according to God's laws and the words of His prophets now, we will recieve desired blessings in the future. It is BELIEVING and EXPECTING our prayers to be answered. It is manifest in CONFIDENCE, OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM, and PATIENT PERSEVERANCE. No matter how black the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may HOPE and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations. "
There is no lack of trust, discouragement, or pesimism in HOPE. The scriptures remind us that "Our eyes hath not seen, no ears heard, neither have entered into our heart the things which God has prepared for us who love Him."
For those of us who have lived through the blackest chapters of our lives , and some of us still living the blackest chapter, know that this message is what gets us up in the morning, which grabs that smile hidden deep down in our soul. It's why we can laugh, serve in our various callings in the church, and be sympathetic,
and understanding. It strengthens us to be slow to anger and avoid contention. It's why we can survive the challenges and trials that could have destroyed us and our families, literally! It's why we can pay our tithing when our fridge is bare or the car insurance is over due. It's why we can sacrifice all our time, talents and riches, no matter how small to the poor and needy.

The election this year has put a strain on all of us. Families are quarrelling amongst each other, racial slurs and offensive jokes about both parties were heard everyday. I have seen it turn the most compassionate people to hate, and ridicule. E-mails and text messages are slamming every ones cell phones and personal e-mails with pathetic black jokes and ridiculous stories.
There is no doubt in my mind that Elder Uchtdofs message was meant for this last conference prior to the election. HAVE WE LOST SITE OF THE HOPE taught in the scriptures and by our prophets that is meant for EVERYONE, black or white!
The biggest question I have is, "What white person knows the trials and struggles of being black?"
Could this Presidential election be a way for the country to put away all the black hatred and white pride ? Stop and think about it for just a minute! Maybe having a black President will bring HOPE to all those impoverished black communities with a message that THEY CAN RISE ABOVE IT, the HOPE that God promises ALL OF HIS CHILDREN!
Let us not be judge and jury to a man that might really do this country some good. Instead, we need to pray for our President everyday, no matter who he is. And get back the HOPE we need so we can believe that our prayers will be answered. So we can have CONFIDENCE, OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM, and PATIENT PERSEVERANCE!
I'm grateful to my daughter Lacey who has really taken flack for her Democratic beliefs. She has always stood her ground no matter what her beliefs are. She knows who she is and where she came from and never would feel threatened to help her fellowmen to over come
hardships and better their lives through tithes and offerings or taxes. Thank you Lacey for your continuing example of Christ like love you exhibit to everyone.

RILEYS HAUNTED YARD

Riley and his 4th annual HAUNTED YARD

Posted in the Davis County Clipper front page 2 years in a row. Good job Riley!

Each year that Riley turns this yard into a haunted fun fest he adds a few more attractions. I was able to help him set up this year which was very hard to say the least. Riley begins setting up a week in advance, setting up props and nailing things together. The wind was so bad this year that while we were covering the porch with black heavy plastic onto a wood frame that he built, half way done a heavy gust of wind blew down half the frame and ripped the plastic off. With a discouraging look and... a few bad words .?!*?!*^!*?@!* he improvised and took a huge piece of black sheet that he had and proceeded to re-hang the frame. This was his new prop this year so it was stressful. When it was all done he hung up black lights through out the porch, a ghost in the corner and spay painted spiders and goblin hands with long fingers on the sheets with glow in the dark paint. All the goblins who came trick or treating had to go through the porch to get their treats. Lance passed out glow bracelets for all who entered, even the adults...of course they loved it. Lisa, the lady of the house and I served a mixture of candy out of a big coldrun, hot chocolate, hot cider, and rice krispie treats. The kids loved it when they walked through the porch and their costumes would glow white with their glowing bracelets. The adults were fun to watch as well. "Honey look my teeth glow", or "Look at your contacts their weird". The large clown hanging in the tree this year was not alone! Riley had a neighbor friend stand on stilts and slide up inside the clown who talked to the kids as they walked by. Frightening? Oh Yeh! Mom comes every year to check it out. This year she came with some lady friends and when they walked passed the clown, it moved so mom stuck out her hand and touched it saying"Is this real?", only to be scared out of her wits when the clown replied,"Hey, watch where you touch!" They laughed hysterically!

Landon, Riley and friends dressed up in costumes that are in Rileys collection and wondered around the yard following the trick or treaters as they would run screeming or laughing all caught up in the fun of the evening. It was an eventful evening and look forward to it again next year.

For those of you who live in the Davis County area, look it up next year, you won't be disappointed. Thank you Riley for your hard work, all the treats, glow sticks and a fun evening. Thank you neighbors and family for donating to the cause. Thank you Lisa for letting Riley use your yard every year, you are awesome! slivers, cracks, broken nails, lots of dirt, is worth it!
sign posted outside of the yard
Lisa the home owner
one of the goblins in the grave yard
grave yard
hanging in the grave yard
who could this be?
setting up the corn stalks and pumpkins
oops! sideways...goblin sticking his head out of an old wood stove
"HELP! I'm caught"
another goblin
screaming head hanging at the entrance
Carl and Nathan a bit intimidating!
Landon, Carl, Nathan and Todd
grave yard at night
head at night
"Hey, cut me loose and I'll get you lots of candy!" Hanging in the porch above the drinks
hanging with the black light
Riley stands up from behind the wall scaring everyone as they walk by

Originals by the Goodman Fam

Pumpkin Carving est. 1994

Our family gets together every year to show off our creativity in pumpkin carving the night before Halloween. We were missing Clints and Landons creativity which is amazing every year. They had other engagements . We also were missing Lacey and Chris who of course live in Oklahoma. We all missed you guys! Happy Halloween.

Lacey, you'll love this one carved by Riley

Special Moments With My Grandchildren