CFP Results Week Nine 2011

1. Michael -17 tie breaker 55
2. Tammy -19 tiebreaker 57
3. Rex -20 tiebreaker 70
4. Mercedes -20 tiebreaker 67
5. Dad -21 tiebreaker 52
6. Derrinda -21 tiebreaker 49
7. Connor -22 tiebreaker 26
8. Lisa -23 tiebreaker 64
9. Mom -26 tiebreaker 65

actual tiebreaker 104 -- that Stanford USC game was just too crazy man.

Relief Society Lesson -- The Spirit of Revelation

The Spirit of Revelation
Elder David A. Bednar
April 2011 General Conference

Revelation is communication from God to His children on the earth.

The spirit of revelation is available to every person …

Sincere desire and worthiness invite the spirit of revelation into our lives.

Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-5

Revelations are conveyed in a variety of ways, including, for example, dreams, visions, conversations with heavenly messengers, and inspiration.

2 Nephi 28:30

We as members of the Church tend to emphasize marvelous and dramatic spiritual manifestations so much that we may fail to appreciate and may even overlook the customary pattern by which the Holy Ghost accomplishes His work.

“It is not by marvelous manifestations unto us that we shall be established in the truth, but it is by humility and faithful obedience to the commandments and laws of God” - Joseph F. Smith

*These are my overheads. I didn't have room to put all of the quotes and Scriptures on the overheads and I'm too lazy to go find it and put it on my blog. So this will have to do.

CFP Week Eight Results 2011

1. Derrinda -14 (52)
2. Michael -16 (55)
3. Tammy -20 tiebreaker 49
4. Rex -21 tiebreaker 49
5. Dad -21 tiebreaker 56
6. Dallas -21 (63)
7. Lisa -22 tiebreaker 57
8. Mom -22 tiebreaker 63
9. Cody -27

Actual tiebreaker 44

My Mom

My mom is the best person in the world. I know that’s a pretty bold statement but it’s true. She is my angel. I wish I was half the person she is. She has recently been diagnosed with an aggressive bone marrow cancer, multiple myeloma. She had a port implanted yesterday, for venous access, and has been very sick. In fact, she’s in the emergency room right now because she has some excessive bleeding at one of the incision sites. She starts aggressive chemotherapy on Monday.

I am devastated by the thought of losing my mom. Everybody needs their mom no matter how old you are. I guess I am just selfish, but there is nothing like the comfort of your mother. Especially in my situation, she is my everything. My mom is the most selfless, giving, caring, loving, and yes even the most patient person I know.

I am so lucky to be able to spend so much time with her. I cherish all the times we’ve had together while she cares for me and all of the nice 2 AM chats we’ve had. It breaks my heart to see her suffer. She is the toughest person I know. She has superhuman strength. If anyone can get through this extremely tough time, I know she can. I LOVE YOU MOM! Now go kick Cancer’s can!

They're at it Again!

As all of you know, who follow my blog, I wrote a post last year entitled, "Boycott Costco". There was a firestorm that occurred afterwards by ignorant, dare I say, stupid people who wrote ridiculous comments on that post.

Anyway, Costco is at it again. They lost last year. So they rewrote their initiative which basically allows hard liquor to be sold in retail outlets and not just state liquor stores. This of course would dramatically increase the sale of hard liquor, including sales to underage minors. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure that out. This of course, would result in more drunks and more fatalities. If you want statistics, go read my previous post from last year.

I heard on the news last night that Costco alone has donated over $22 million to fund their initiative this year. So that they may sell hard liquor in their stores and make lots of money. With no regard for people's lives.

This is why we have been boycotting Costco since last year. And will continue to do so. I would, once again, urge you to do the same.

That's my two cents.

CFP Results Week Seven 2011

1. Michael -16 tiebreaker 79
2. Lisa -17 tiebreaker 56
3. Tammy -17 tiebreaker 59
4. Dad -17 tiebreaker 62
5. Derrinda -19 tiebreaker 61
6. Rex -21 and tiebreaker 45
7. Mercedes -21 and tiebreaker 37
8. Richie -22 tiebreaker 56
9. Mom -25 tiebreaker 52

actual tiebreaker 52

Worried Sick

In light of recent events, I have literally worried myself sick. Yesterday I started having a sore throat which progressively got worse and then came fever, chills, generalized malaise, and lots of dysreflexia. I don’t get sick very often but when I do, it’s really bad. Mom and I did not sleep a wink last night. I’m still feeling pretty sick. But I’m not writing this to complain. But to share with you a tender mercy that I received.

As I was trying to fall asleep last night I was having difficulty breathing. Elephants were sitting on my stomach and my head was congested so I had to breathe through my mouth. My breathing was quite labored and my throat was hurting pretty bad breathing through my mouth. Amongst all the other constitutional symptoms I had making me pretty miserable.

So, I asked Heavenly Father for a tender mercy. Incredibly, my throat pain decreased dramatically. Of course, I still had all of the other problems but, I was extremely grateful for the small tender mercy I received.

I have had strep throat many times in my life and the sore throat never goes away that quickly. It usually lasts for several days not just three or four hours. So I know Heavenly Father answered my prayer and is watching over us. Thanks to everyone who offered up a prayer in my behalf. I really appreciate it.

CFP Results Week Six 2011

Here are this weeks college football picks results. But who cares?

1. Derrinda -8 (tiebreaker 73)
2. Dad -9 tie breaker 54
3. Mercedes -11 tie breaker 52
4. Tammy -12 tie breaker 57
5. Rex -17 tie breaker 45
6. Michael -18 (tiebreaker 55)
7. Lisa -19 tie breaker 48
8. Richie -26 tie breaker 41
9. Mom -27 tie breaker 48
10. Dallas -28 (tiebreaker 39)

Actual tie breaker 64.

CFP Results Week Five 2011

1. Rex -20 tie breaker 48
2. Tammy -21 tie breaker 43 (8)
3. Dad -21 tie breaker 62 (11)
4. Parker -21 tie breaker 66 (15)
5. Mom -22 tie breaker 44
6. Lisa -24 tie breaker 57
7. Klancy -25 tie breaker 59
8. Michael -26 (57)
9. Derrinda -26 (43)
10. Sterling -30 tie breaker 60
11. Dallas -31 (43)
12. Richie -34 tie breaker 57

actual tiebreaker 51

Everybody did horrible this week, including my Aggies :-(. We actually played much better than BYU. We always seem to find a way to lose. We should be 4-0 instead of 1-3. But I'm not bitter.

CFP Week 4 Results

1. Dad -11 tie breaker 42
2. Mike -15 tie breaker 63
3. Derrinda -15 tie breaker 52
4. Rex -16 tie breaker 64
5. Tammy -16 tie breaker 53
6. Richie -17 tie breaker 52
7. Lisa -22 tie breaker 52
8. Mom -23 tie breaker 49
9. Dallas -23 tie breaker 45
10. Klancy -25 tie breaker 75
11. Parker -27 tie breaker 56
12. Sterling -29 tie breaker 60
13. Mercedes -29 tie breaker 45
14. Obid -31 tie breaker 80

Actual tie breaker score- 69

CFP Week 3 Results 2011

1. Tammy -15 tie breaker 50
2. Rex -15 tie breaker 44
3. Michael -15 (tiebreaker 39)
4. Dad -16 tie breaker 45
5. Dallas -18 (tiebreaker 36)
6. Lisa -19 tie breaker 37
7. Derrinda -22 (tiebreaker 41)
8. Mercedes -23 tie breaker 41
9. Mom -27 tie breaker 35

actual tiebreaker 64

All I can say is I'm glad the Utes scored a lot of points to put me in first place! Looks like I would have beat anybody in the tiebreaker this week. I was sad to see BYU get creamed but it helped put me in first place this week :-).
Good luck in week 4 everybody.

CFP Week Two Results

1. Rex -11
2. Michael -15
3. Derrinda -16 tiebreaker 35
4. Tammy -16 tiebreaker 43
5. Lisa -17
6. Dad -19
7. Mom -22
8. Juliet -26
9. Andrea -27

actual tiebreaker 33

Eventful Day

Yesterday was a very eventful day for our family.

First of all, Juliet took Andrea to her ultrasound appointment early in the morning. We are all super excited that she is expecting a girl! Especially since rumors were flying about it being a boy. The baby looks healthy and is expected to arrive January 5, 2012. Mercedes and Chanelle are especially excited to have a baby girl cousin.

Lisa had an interview for a job working with Native American children in the school systems I think. Anyway, it would be using her degree she just obtained. She had to sit before a panel of about eight people. I'm sure she did a wonderful job and will hopefully get a second interview.

At the same time, Mom, Dad, and I headed over to Michael's house to pick him up along with Elijah and Brandon to head up to Bellevue to watch Michael perform with his band,IDOL EYEZ.

Lisa headed up right after her interview. Juliet, Andrea and Kingston also met us there. Juliet brought the ultrasound pictures to show us which was pretty neat.

Michael is a talented performer. He is really good at imitating others. He sounds just like, and sometimes better than, the original artist. It was really fun to see him perform in his new band. Well, he's been with them for a year but this is the first time we have seen them perform. They play mostly the stuff you would hear on current radio. Lady gaga, Katie Perry, Usher, and they even did a rendition of friends in low places. That was my favorite. Billie Jean is always a big hit. Michael was better than JT doing bringing sexy back.

It was a fun outing.

CFP Week One Results

Once again another football season is upon us. Here are this week's results.

1. Rex -12, tie breaker 56
2. Lisa -12, tie breaker 57
3. Dad -13 tiebreaker 54
4. Michael -16 tiebreaker 49
5. Tammy -17 tiebreaker 54
6. Mom -18 tiebreaker 55
7. Juliet -18, tie breaker 56
8. Mercedes -30, tie breaker 51
9. Derrinda -32 tiebreaker 52
10. Richie -34, tie breaker 32

actual tiebreaker 27

Relief Society Lesson -- The Eternal Blessings of Marriage

The Eternal Blessings of Marriage
Elder Richard G. Scott
April 2011 General Conference

Two of the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are marriage and the family.

…Satan’s relentless efforts to splinter the family and to undermine the significance of temple ordinances…

Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good.

Righteous love is the foundation of a successful marriage.
It is the primary cause of contented, well-developed children.

Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered.

I think one of the reasons that we are counseled to get married early in life is to avoid developing inappropriate character traits that are hard to change.

Quotes by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball

Ordained of God
Marriage, honorable marriage, is ordained of God. He decreed that the basic unit of society should be the home and the family, and we must be warned that the false culture of the day is turning away from this God-ordained plan. …

There seems to be a growing trend against marriage from degenerate areas of the world and a very strong trend toward marriage without children. Naturally the next question is, “Why marry?” And the “antimarriage revolution” comes into focus. Arguments are given that children are a burden, a tie, a responsibility. Many have convinced themselves that education, freedom from restraint and responsibility—that is the life. And unfortunately this benighted and destructive idea is taking hold of some of our own people. -Ensign May1979

To offset and neutralize the evil teachings in the media and on the cameras and in the show and on the street, we must teach marriage, proper marriage, eternal marriage.1973

A basic reason for eternal marriage is that life is eternal; and marriage, to be in harmony with eternal purposes, must be consistent with life in duration. Marriage by civil officers, or by Church officers outside of the temples, is made for time only, “till death do you part” or “so long as you both shall live.” It terminates with death. … Eternal marriage is performed by the prophet of the Lord or by one of the very few to whom he has delegated the authority. It is performed in holy temples erected and dedicated for that purpose. Only such marriage transcends the grave and perpetuates the husband-wife and parent-child relationships into and through eternity.-The miracle of forgiveness, 1969 (243)

Careful preparation
Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but also with eternal joys. It affects not only the two people involved, but also their families and particularly their children and their children’s children down through the many generations.

… “Soul mates” are fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.

I know this may be a disappointment for some of you, but I don’t believe there is only one right person for you. I think I fell in love with my wife, Harriet, from the first moment I saw her. Nevertheless, had she decided to marry someone else, I believe I would have met and fallen in love with someone else. I am eternally grateful that this didn’t happen, but I don’t believe she was my one chance at happiness in this life, nor was I hers.
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf November 2009 CES fireside, The Reflection in the Water

Formula for successful marriage
The formula is simple; the ingredients are few, though there are many amplifications of each.

First, there must be the proper approach toward marriage, which contemplates the selection of a spouse who reaches as nearly as possible the pinnacle of perfection in all the matters which are of importance to the individuals. And then those two parties must come to the altar in the temple realizing that they must work hard toward this successful joint living.

Second, there must be a great unselfishness, forgetting self and directing all of the family life and all pertaining thereunto to the good of the family, subjugating self.

Third, there must be continued courting and expressions of affection, kindness, and consideration to keep love alive and growing.

Fourth, there must be a complete living of the commandments of the Lord as defined in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

With these ingredients properly mixed and continually kept functioning, it is quite impossible for unhappiness to come, misunderstandings to continue, or breaks to occur. Divorce attorneys would need to transfer to other fields and divorce courts would be padlocked. ensign March 1977

Unselfishness

Love is like a flower, and, like the body, it needs constant feeding. The mortal body would soon be emaciated and die if there were not frequent feedings. The tender flower would wither and die without food and water. And so love, also, cannot be expected to last forever unless it is continually fed with portions of love, the manifestation of esteem and admiration, the expressions of gratitude, and the consideration of unselfishness.

Total unselfishness is sure to accomplish another factor in successful marriage. If one is forever seeking the interests, comforts, and happiness of the other, the love found in courtship and cemented in marriage will grow into mighty proportions. Many couples permit their marriages to become stale and their love to grow cold like old bread or worn-out jokes or cold gravy. Certainly the foods most vital for love are consideration, kindness, thoughtfulness, concern, expressions of affection, embraces of appreciation, admiration, pride, companionship, confidence, faith, partnership, equality, and interdependence.

To be really happy in marriage, one must have a continued faithful observance of the commandments of the Lord. No one, single or married, was ever sublimely happy unless he was righteous. There are temporary satisfactions and camouflaged situations for the moment, but permanent, total happiness can come only through cleanliness and worthiness. …

… If two people love the Lord more than their own lives and then love each other more than their own lives, working together in total harmony with the gospel program as their basic structure, they are sure to have this great happiness. When a husband and wife go together frequently to the holy temple, kneel in prayer together in their home with their family, go hand in hand to their religious meetings, keep their lives wholly chaste—mentally and physically—so that their whole thoughts and desires and loves are all centered in the one being, their companion, and both work together for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, then happiness is at its pinnacle. ensign March 1977

Fidelity

There are those married people who permit their eyes to wander and their hearts to become vagrant, who think it is not improper to flirt a little, to share their hearts and have desire for someone other than the wife or the husband. The Lord says in no uncertain terms: “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.” (D&C 42:22.)

And, when the Lord says all thy heart, it allows for no sharing nor dividing nor depriving. And, to the woman it is paraphrased: “Thou shalt love thy husband with all thy heart and shalt cleave unto him and none else.”

The words none else eliminate everyone and everything. The spouse then becomes preeminent in the life of the husband or wife, and neither social life nor occupational life nor political life nor any other interest nor person nor thing shall ever take precedence over the companion spouse. We sometimes find women who absorb and hover over the children at the expense of the husband, sometimes even estranging them from him.

The Lord says to them: “Thou shalt cleave unto him and none else.”
Spencer W. Kimball, Faith precedes the miracle ,1972 (142-143)