"The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed"

The day has finally arrived, or nearly arrived! Saturday morning at 9 AM I will be sitting in Payson taking my Concealed Carrier's Permit Class! I can't tell you how exciting this is! Yes, I am a member of the NRA. I joined a couple of years ago. I called Redge at work, and said, "Congratulations! You are now a card carrying member of the NRA!" Although Redge supports our 2nd amendment he was a bit shocked at the news. Besides BB Guns and Air Soft Guns we don't own any firearms. In the words of Wayne, "I don't own a gun, let alone many which would necissitate an entire gun rack." However, we are looking into purchasing firearms. I want a pistol of some sort. I intend to buy a shoulder holster. But, there is something, oh I don't know, intriguing and attracting about purchasing a hip holster, and wearing my gun Marshall Dillon style. What do you think? Let me know of your votes regarding how I should wear my soon to be purchased, 2nd amendment supporting, Mariska Hargitay looking personal weapon!

Sleep

Sometimes I can't sleep. I just can't. I lay in bed trying to sleep, but it doesn't happen. I go through a couple of weeks of this, and then I'm okay for about a month. I'm in one of the non-sleeping periods right now. Friday Night I fell asleep at 2:30. Saturday Night I was awake until 5AM. Last night I finally slept at 2:00. However, at 5:15 I heard a quiet, little cry, and then Redge ask, "Are you scared?" I then heard Arthur answer something. I couldn't quite get what he said, but Redge did, and he repeated what he believed our boy to have said, "You were scared by a bear?" Relieved he was being understood he replied, "Yes." Then, with as much strength and volume he could find in his tiny, frightened body at 5AM, he said unmistakingly clear, "I got aten by a bear, and Daddy didn't even care!" Redge reached down to help Arthur climb into our bed, all the while assuring our boy of his love and concern for our youngest child. Arthur snuggled in with us, and whimpered as I whispered to him of his importance in our family. Arthur listened intently, and occassionally asked questions like, "Do bears live in this state?" "Can bears really come in our house?" "Mama, do bears know how to get to our house?" We created a bear attack plan which is: If a bear comes to our house and tries to get in we will lock the doors, and run to a bathroom with a cell phone to call the following people to come to our home and shoot the bear; 911, Brad Sneed, Tony Hansen, Brother Metcalf, Brother Dedrickson, Brother Judkins, Brother De Grey, Bishop Farrer, Brother Beratto, Brother Lee ("He has a bear gun AND a sword! Remember, Mama, he bringed it at pack meeting?), Grandpa Bird, Uncle Jeff, Uncle George, and Uncle Heath ("Because he has sharp machetes. Right, Mama?")

I was so grateful to learn that despite the fact that Arthur was afraid because of dream he had in which his Daddy could have saved him from pain, Arthur still knew to come to his Daddy for comfort. It made me think about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I; like everyone who has walked, will walk, and is now walking on this earth; have experienced pain, anguish, fear, etc. Every single time I experience adversity I find myself on my knees begging my Heavenly Father to spare me the pain. Sometimes He does, sometimes He doesn't. During the times He allows me to feel the pain I get to make the same decision Arthur did. "Do I lay here in my own bed being scared, or do I go to my Father (who could have prevented this pain in the first place) for comfort?

It's really humbing to learn such a cool lesson from my 5 year old. Especially when it's my job to teach him to go to our Savior. I love the scripture,

2 Nephi 25:26 "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

Everytime I fear I know I need to look to my Savior. I know I shouldn't fear. I know all is well. I know when I fear I need to look to the Lord, repent, and lean on my faith, testimony, and knowledge of the atonement because I have been promised,

Doctrine and Covenants 122:7, "7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

It's nice to know my kids are around to teach me.

Family History

Redge finally entered a post on his blog! I haven't read it, but I'm sure it's interesting, so I suggest you all take a look.

We got a new High Priest Group Leadership in our ward. Our neighbor, Brad, is the Top Dog. He's a great guy. His wife, Kristen, is my friend and visiting teaching companion. They have a great family! Their son, Caleb, is Seth's very good buddy. At any rate, Brother Baker is following the directives given by the First Presidency by encouraging us all to continue with family history and genealogy. Yes, Redge, there is a difference. Luckily for me, our Edwards Family Lines have the work of Little Granny (may she rest in peace~ but the fact of the matter is, she's not resting~ she doesn't know how), as well as the work of my uncles, and my amazing 2nd cousin, Jill! However, on Redge's side, "There is work enough to do!" Gratefully, Uncle Pag is hard at work trying to get McGuire stuff completed.

So, I am trying to motivate my kids to at least journal. So, if any of you have any great tips for getting kids to want to write in their journals~ or great tips regarding husbands' journals, please pass them this way. Or, if you run into any Hudson names, and you think it might be a family in Redge's line, please send that information TO REDGE!!!

Brynn

I have this great friend, Brynn. She's in our ward. She moved here about a year ago with her parents, brother, and sister. She is deaf, but I didn't know for months! I saw her hearing aid, but she communicates so I well I thought for sure she was just "hard of hearing." Nope, she's deaf. Without her hearing aid she hears nothing. She tries (and succeeds) reading lips, and she speaks really well. I sign for her during Sunday School and Relief Society because it is still difficult for her to hear, and it's hard for her to read lips from a distance. At any rate, my signing has gotten so much better because I get to sign for her on Sundays. I think she helps me a lot more than I help her. She is amazing. She spoke in Sacrament Meeting today, and my kids were absolutely mesmerized! She closed with signing, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," and I got from her that she does~ she really, truly does know that our Redeemer lives!

Fridays

I love Fridays! I can go to sleep without the same nightly thoughts running through my mind, "Did I set out Taite's clothes? Does Arthur have a clean uniform? Am I supposed to be at school tomorrow? Did I sign Seth's reading?" You know, the regular mom stuff. I love Saturday mornings. Aaaaahhhhhh... especially tomorrow morning. We don't have a soccer practice or game, no major school projects are due Monday, all 3 bathrooms are clean, as well as the kids bedrooms & lofts, and I am actually on top of the laundry! However, Redge is on an overnighter with Reece tonight so I'll probably end up reading until 2AM. I love Fridays~ except for when Redge is out of town.

The Temple

Redge's mom is here visiting us. She and Redge are on their way to the temple to do some of her family names, and I will meet them later to assist with the sealings. What a great thing! I am so grateful for the knowlege I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love knowing I will (if I choose to make wise decisions) meet my progenitors, learn from them, and continue realtionships with them for eternity!

Easter

I love Easter. It was a great day. Redge and I read from the New Testament with the kids, and Taite shared her Activity Days lesson with us. It was so great discussing with them the events of Gethsemane, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. There aren't words to describe what an amazing thing it is that Jesus Christ lives! It is impossible to comprehend what a gift this is. My heart explodes with gratitude, humility, anticipation, and happiness when I try to understand all that this fact means to me and my life! I pray everyday that I can be worthy of the sacrifice of my Savior and Redeemer so that I can qualify for the infinite blessings that come with my knowledge that He Lives!

Joshua Mark Cordner

I love my nephew Josh. I really love him! He was born April 30, 1990, just at the end of my senior year in high school. He is the first of my parents' 24, soon to be 25, grandchildren. We were all absolutely crazy about him! The Cordner side was equally crazy about Josh! Mark, my brother-in-law, had only one married sibling, Corinne, when he and Naomi got married. Corinne's family lives in Georgia. She already had kids, but since they have always lived so far away Josh was like the only grandchild on his dad's side of the family. He loved the attention he got, and he made all of us so happy! Sadly, Mark and Naomi were both attending BYU when Josh was born so none of us got to see him as much as we would have liked. I was lucky to be able to see Josh at least once a month until Redge and I got married in 1994, and moved back to Las Vegas. When we moved to Vegas Redge and I lived in Naomi's ward, and I still never felt like I got enough of my J-Man.

The one thing I can say I don't love about Josh, well, it's pretty okay now, but I really didn't like the name Joshua. I mean I really didn't like it. I begged Naomi not to name him that, but she did it anyway. But, I couldn't bring myself to call him that, so I took to calling him, "J-Man." I got the nickname from the movie, "Say Anything." Lloyd Dobler called his nephew, Jason, J-Man. I liked it, I stole it, and I still use it.

Josh is incredible. I really like him. He really is a fantastic human. I rather fancy being his aunt. He, on the other hand, most probably would prefer to do without me. Too bad for him, I'm not going anywhere. Josh has so many great qualities, but I'll just share my 3 faves.

1~ He is quite possibly the most patient person on this Earth! You should see him with his brother, sister, and cousins. He was the only grandchild in our family until he was 3 1/2. I know that sounds young, but after reading my second reason for being Josh's number one fan you'll understand that 3 1/2 years to Josh was more like 7 years to the average kid. At any rate, some might think Josh would have been jealous of all the babies that started coming around, but he couldn't love them any more had his life depended on it. He is so kind, patient, caring, and truly loving toward all the little kids. Each of them think they are the absolute favorite of the much adored Josh.

2~ The kid is brilliant! I'm so totally not kidding. I love talking with him, hearing his views, and discussing literature with him. He has an incredible sense of humor, and is extremely humble regarding his many talents. He earned the highest ACT score of anyone I know, and he never took a single, "How to Ace Your College Entrance Exams," course, nor did he spend any extra time studying. He also received several scholarships to various colleges. The kid makes me feel like a 3rd grader.

3~ He is so talented! Not many people know this, but he can do anything! He earned his black belt in karate, he snowboards, he plays the drums, he builds and designs all kinds of stuff (he has saws and all kinds of power tools,) and he is a very talented photographer. I love his work! I'm hoping that he will soon add some of his work to this post. I emailed him, and begged him to add some of my faves. It is really hard to choose just a few. If you haven't seen his website you really should check it out!

At any rate, I love Josh.

Why I love Susan Webb Hansen

If you don't know Susan, you should! Susan Webb Hansen is the best!!! Everybody wants to be Susan's friend, and for some reason~ unknown to me, she chose me! I made the cut! Susan has been my friend for 18 years. I just realized that I have know her half my life! Wow! I like to tell my kids that I have had Susan longer than I have had Redge. That really amazes them! Susan is great for many reasons, and I was going to try to give you the top 3, but I'll have to go with the top five.

1~ She is so crazy in love with her husband, Danny. I don't know if any of you have experienced watching your friends go through divorces~ I have. It's very depressing! Susan and Danny are just as crazy about each other now as they were when they met 16 years ago. I was so grateful to see how well Danny treated Susan, and still treats her. I love seeing successful marriages. When I see marriages like Susan's I lose some of the depression I get when I hear about another divorce. Susan's marriage strengthens me, my marriage, my family, and my testimony of our Savior. I have tried to figure out what it is that really makes Susan's marriage special, and I have come up with the following:
~they put one another before themselves, they are a total team
~they respect one another's families
~they compromise (Dan hates color, but has let Susan paint the walls. Susan isn't all that into hunting, but has let Danny hang a quail in their front room, and an owl downstairs in the family room. Not to mention the scalps of a few other animals strewn about the house.)
~they love their kids
~they love the Good Lord Jesus
2~Susan is an amazing mother! She plays with her kids, reads to her kids, discusses things with her kids, knows her kids, and really likes her kids. Of course she loves her kids, but she really likes them as people. She chooses them as her friends.
3~Susan is a sister. There are a lot of kids in Susan's family, and only two of them are brothers. I love all of Susan's sisters: Linda Sue, Eileen, Kathleen, Sherri, Karen, Michele, and Bedge. Their are truly some of the kindest people I know, and they completely accept me for who am I, and trust me~ they have seen me at my worst (at breakfast, and right outside the MGM.)
4~Susan is loyal! You'd better never hurt someone Susan loves, because if you do, you will never be able to make it right! She'll forgive you, but the pain you cause people in her life is a pain she lives with forever! She feels everything that others feel, and it hurts her just as deeply.
5~Just because I'm listing this one as #5 doesn't mean it is in last place. Susan's cookies! Ahhhhhh... Susan makes the best cookies EVER! Sugar cookies that never go hard, and she always adds extra frosting to mine. In the words of Ralphie May, "Icing is quite possibly the most underrated invention of mankind!" I love Susan's cookies, and the best part of it is they are not the easiest things to make, nor are they Susan's favorite thing to make, but she does it. She makes them for me whenever I need a little pick-me-up, and it works every time! I know when she shows up with cookies she's telling me, "I love you, and I made these cookies for you! I didn't love doing it, but you're worth it." Just last Sunday I was sitting on the floor in my family room sorting through my piles of books~ feeling a bit uncomfortable because Redge was having a YM/YW meeting in the other room, and Susan showed up at my door with her adorable kids, and a GIANT plate of Sue~Sue cookies. (My kids all call her Aunt Sue~Sue, even Reece.) Nothing in the world makes me feel so at peace than laying in my bed reading a good book, Redge laying next to me watching the Sci-fi channel while we share a great big plate of Sue~Sue cookies!
Man, I love Susan! Oh~ did I mention she's a twin! I'm crazy about twins, and the fact that she is a twin makes her even better!

Rockwell Update

Rockwell is moving right along, and we are getting more and more excited every single day! This picture was taken last week! We are 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule, and with the passing of SB36 we are can hardly wait for the new school year!