1/15/17 Not Africa Hot Here

Happy mid-January.

We had such bitter cold here, and then it warmed up to almost 40° for a day or two and melted a bunch before dropping back to -11° on Saturday morning. I went for a walk and discovered that not shaving for a few days creates velcro for your stocking cap if you pull it down over your cheeks. Very warm. File that away for a future day when it’s colder than 98° outside. I was trying to loosen up my back, which is out again. This time, I just went to bed and woke up with a messed up back. Sigh. Like the thorn in Paul’s flesh.

While I was convalescing on the couch Saturday morning, Mom got up and went to the temple. Actually, she was the fortuitous victim of a chain of events, which turned out to be a good opportunity. The Nelson’s got a couple of Jazz Game court-side tickets. They decided to get a few more tickets and take the whole family, so naturally invited Tad to go with them on Friday night (more below). He forgot to turn off his alarm, which went off Saturday morning. Mom could hear an alarm, and got up to shut her’s off. When she got back in bed, it was still going off. She thought maybe Heavenly Father was giving her a sign, so she got up and went to the temple. 

Mom also ran into Shelby Ames at Broulim’s a few days ago. She’s leaving on February 5th to serve a mission in South Korea. Her farewell is on Porter’s Birthday.

This week, Porter received a Presidential Scholarship to Boise State! Yahoo! Now he can afford college :) He’s been working after school at Shelfology, and they just asked him to manage the shop after hours as they introduce an evening shift, which is pretty cool because everybody else they employ is either full-time or a college student. He’s a pretty responsible guy. Grandma Johnson gave him her old iPhone for Christmas, and he just got a data plan this week all on his own.

Last week, I ordained Pace a Priest, and Porter got to stand in. Immediately after the ordination, they went to do Sacrament to the shut-ins, so he got some practice right away. Today, Pace blessed the bread, and Porter blessed the water, which was pretty neat. Pace also wants you to know that he bought 6 ultimate frisbee discs with his Christmas gift card, so reserve a day or two when you get home for a few games.

So more about Tad’s Jazz Game. Nelsons bought more cheap seat tickets for the rest of the family, so most of them ended up sitting on the very last row of the arena, nearly touching the ceiling. When the got near the top, Stratton turned around and got scared that he was going to fall from so high up. There was an 8 foot mini-blimp flying around the arena dropping subway cards. Tad was a little bummed that they didn’t get even a chance at one, because they were sitting higher than the blimp. As a consolation prize, he got all you can eat at JB’s for breakfast the next morning. 

Attached is a low-res, "just before bedtime" family picture. You’ll notice Dad’s warm and fuzzy bathrobe from Christmas. It’s been nice during the cold days to put it on in the evenings, but it’s also been a magnet for Sadie. She likes to use it simultaneously as a pillow and pet cat. I’ve let her wear it a couple of times, but the sleeves hang down to her ankles. 

Davis wants to request a little, wooden good luck charm from Africa when you come home. File that one away. We also got Christmas letters for Davis and Tad this week. Thanks for sending those. Everybody loves reading them. 

Drew and Mom finished reading Trumpet of the Swans this week. On Friday, they cross country skied at Deer Parks to see the swans (picture below). They saw a bunch of geese out in the field and skied over to get a closer look. It turned out they were decoy’s spread around a couple of hunters in white ground blinds. They continued skiing around the perimeter and pretty much scared off all the wildlife for about a mile. Not making hunter friends. 

I was just called as Stake YM President. Interesting. I’m happy for the new assignment. Next week I give my final High Council talk in Menan 1st about the first of the 5 Prophetic Priorities : Strengthening our faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement. This Prophetic Priority seems to have been largely based on a talk given by Elder Bednar in General Conference a few years ago. It highlights 3 principles taken from Joseph Smith’s Lectures on Faith, and an additional insight which you might find interesting to ponder:

Three fundamentals are necessary in order for any rational and intelligent being to exercise faith in the Father and the Son unto life and salvation: 

(1) the idea that They actually exist, 

(2) a correct idea of Their character, perfections, and attributes, and 

(3) an actual knowledge that the course of life that a person is pursuing is according to God’s will.

The sequence of events in the Restoration teaches vital lessons about strengthening faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

I’d like to get to the point that I’m really feeling #3, and the last idea makes me want to see what lessons I can learn in the sequence of the restoration.

We love you. Work hard. Take the right kinds of risks. Enjoy people. 

love Dad