We were able to travel up with Thatcher and had an awesome weekend. We were also able to attend "In The Heights" and it was incredible. Love that musical. Here is the set.
Here is Sydney with the Thatcher kids at All State. This is an excellent group of teenagers! Gila Valley represents well!
Taste did an awesome review of West Side Story. Bel Canto nailed the song "Show Off" from Drowsy Chaperone, complete with acrobatics:) Singers did an amazing version of Michael's "The Way You Make Me Feel" and all three groups performed their pieces that they performed in festival. Both Taste and Bel received Superiors, and Singers an excellent. We had such a great choral year. I'm sure going to miss these seniors that poured their heart and soul into the year. This was one of the strongest senior choral classes I've ever seen! And such leaders!
This was my Senior Vocal student Cheyenne Iske. She gave a phenomenal senior recital in her church building. Some of the songs she sang were the best I ever heard her voice. I'll miss this hard working student! Luckily she's wanting to tap into her piano skills now and is taking summer piano lessons.
Ari did a great job on "hanging in their" as we made it through the roughest time of my year. I know she just holds on for dear life as we get through Spring Break to summer. But once Summer comes- she's got a very home-involved husband. We love summer! We loved going to church right by the temple while we lived in Daley Estates at my parents' house. Here's one of my favorite pics of her and Gemma. This little girl is becoming quite the fashionista.
First time experimenting with pigtails. Now if only she would let them stay in and not RIP them out! :(
Ari mentioned how on Mother's day we had a houseful visiting for Mom and Dad's homecoming talks. Brian bought Jill roses and had them sent to the house while Kaleb bought tulips for Kelly and had them sent to the house. It was a flower conspiracy! We loved having the bouquets!:) We also got beautiful flowers at both the final concerts and the Thoroughly Modern Millie performances. This was definitely the most grateful group of students I've ever had. I LOVE gratitude! It makes a teacher definitely feel validated.
Jaxon and Gemma sure have a special bond. He is one of her favorite people.
We bought our very first piece of "serious furniture". The boy's bunk beds! They LOVE them. And love sharing a room together. They definitely are best friends!
Summer definitely started off with a bang. Moving into the new house and getting mom and dad's stuff out of storage was hard work. That first week was pretty exhausting.
Here we are cooling off at the pool on Memorial day weekend- the first day of the pool.
It was so windy and the boys were FREEZING!
Gemma's daddy's little buddy in priesthood. We are now in the Safford 3rd ward and LOVE it! We are so happy to be in Safford again with such a neat ward. We were just called to be the 11 year old scout leaders- a calling that we had in the Safford 6th Ward- here's to scouting!
Gemma was so funny and fell asleep on the floor and was just cuddling with her blanket.
We love our new living room. This is our studio for lessons- it has a very nice vibe!:)
The boys being CRAZY! They went through a "mud" phase were that's all they wanted to do. Oh well. . ., boys will be boys!
Ari had the genius idea of grouping these pictures together to make a collage on our family room wall. It is awesome- and tells the story of our family!
The dining room! Love the yellow and the french doors. Did we mention- we love the space and how big it is?
Ari's dream palace of a kitchen! Love the cupboards and the granite countertops!
More cute stylings of Baby Gemma!
The master bedroom- or should I say "our fantasy suite" just kidding. Those of you who have seen the bachelor know what I'm talking about. We love having a nice master with great big closets and big bathroom!
Family Room- including toy corner and computer desk corner! This is where we can usually be found!
Gemma's cool new rug!
Gemma's nursery is done!
This is the big reveal. Little girl's trying hard to start walking but does not yet have the leg strength for it.
Jaxon being his hilarious self on the way to the Daley Estate's pool.
Love swimming here with the kids. Jaxon is such a great swimmer! He can do pretty much anything! Kodee is getting there and Gemma was born to be in the water. She can't get enough of it. Here's her cute new suit.
Gemma came down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease last week. It was MISERABLE! It took her a little over seven days to become her self again. She's still not as happy and self content as she was. We hope she gets back to it. Poor thing- her mouth was so sore that she couldn't swallow so getting her to take her medicine was quite a feat. We kind of had to just let her choke it down. Thank heaven's for children's motrin. She had a fever of about 102-104 for many days.
I've been teaching a lot of lessons this summer. This is what I found when I walked in the other day! Everyone asleep. So funny.
She was trying SO hard to get over this, but often times she would just sit and stare out into space.
It rained! The first rain of the summer! Of course we had to go out and play in it! Love our backyard!
Ari made an AWESOME fruit pizza! These are legendary. Apparently her college roommates miss them a ton!
My father's day present! The kids put their hand prints on the shirt. I love it! Ari also gave me the movie "Courageous" which is the best father's day movie ever. If you haven't seen it- I urge you to! It sure hits home on what it takes to be a great father. It was ironic because we spoke in church on Sunday and we were to speak on Fathers (since it was father's day). I spoke about that movie. See our talks at the end of this post. Ari's talk was great! She told her father's conversion story into the church and what he did to prepare to be an excellent father and husband. It touched many people in the audience. One man even asked her for a copy to send to each of his children! Go Ari!
We got the boys matching bed spreads! They love it and are learning to make their beds and take pride in their room.
The other day the boys found a little turtle in the yard. We decided to keep it and named it "Tuck." We hope this will teach the boys responsibility! The only thing we are worried about is salmonella poisoning. A friend of ours had a turtle and their kids got really sick, so we're being very careful to not let them handle the turtle or the stuff he touches. Luckily a friend of mind had a tank they wanted to get rid of so we were able to get a free home for him! He's a cool little turtle!
As I mentioned before we spoke in church last Sunday. Here are our talks! Enjoy!
Ari's Talk:
Welcome-it’s great to be here. I’ll let Jordan introduce our
family because the last time we spoke in church I took up most of the time and
didn’t give Jordan a chance to give his full talk. But with that, I make no
promises I won’t do it again.
Happy
Father’s Day to all you fathers. This whole week I’ve been thinking about
fathers and what I would say. I wasn’t going to talk about my dad, but when I
thought about where he’s come from in his life I felt impressed to share his
story about his life before becoming a father. I had my dad email me about his
conversion story and after reading the email I had this thought pop up in my
mind that fathers are like pioneers. The definition of pioneer is someone who
is the first to enter or settle a religion or one who is first or among the
earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress. Think about it, when
a dad first holds his baby, he really doesn’t have a clue of how to take care
him/her. They are the first in their family to begin the journey of raising the
child and teaching him about the gospel. This is a huge leap of faith.
Here
is my dad’s pioneer story. (your
conversion story) I read most of it.
It
was amazing my dad found my mom because after his mission to northern MN he
went back to BYU and graduated in communications, and my mom lived in Las
Vegas. He found a job there and obviously they got married in 1974. My dad said
when they went to the hospital to have my sister they were finally going to
realize the greatest of their hopes and dreams. It was a very difficult birth
and they ended up kicking my dad out of the delivery room until after the
birth. She had a collapsed lung and she just layed there motionless in the
incubator-it was hard for him to believe she was his daughter. Shortly after,
things became right when he saw her face and got to hold her She became real. A
wondrous miracle in a long list of miracles from our Heavenly Father.,
especially because of our children
I
am humbled and
grateful to be Kim's father, and no less so for Kevin, you, and Clay. There are
times I don't deserve you all, but I press ahead with faith and hope that we
can all be together throughout the eternities.
This just really strikes me
because I can see that he has always been looking to the bigger picture.
President Ezra Taft Benson said, "...Fatherhood
is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence, and
determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that
prize is lost, nothing else really matters" ("Great Things Required of Their Fathers," Ensign, May 1981, 36)
If my dad had not joined the church and married my mom he
would not have known about his greatest role in seeing that his family be
together eternally. And I wouldn’t have been led to or found Jordan.
He is a pioneer as well. When I first met him he was in a
band. They were a serious band under the record label Sony in LA. About the
time we decided to seriously date there was talk of them moving to LA
permanently. Soon after we were close to becoming engaged. He mentioned that after we married we
could live down there together. Deep down he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
It was either me and our future family or the band and fame. From what I’d
heard of his family they were huge and he had been an uncle from the age of 6.
I knew he would be great with children-he had been around them almost his whole
life. I knew he wanted children as well. He had a big decision. In The Family:
A proclamation to the World it says, “Happiness in family life is most likely
to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” One
of Jordan’s brothers told him it would have been impossible to be in that band
and still follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Proclamation also states,
”Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles
of faith, etc. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in
love and righteousness…” Jordan took that leap of faith and decided upon a
successful family founded upon the principles of the gospel therefore claiming
him to be a pioneer. I’m glad he chose us and now we have the opportunity to
teach our kids about Jesus Christ and the gospel
I’m so grateful for my dad and all the good men I’ve had in
my life that could help lead me to find Jordan. I’m grateful he saw the bigger
picture and was willing to leap with faith into the gospel.
Share my testimony and close.
Jordan's Talk:
In the June 1977 issue of the Ensign President N. Eldon Tanner said “It
is a joyous privilege and blessing, and a heavy responsibility, to be the
father and the patriarchal head of a family, with the challenge to teach
and prepare its members to go back into the presence of their Heavenly
Father, where the family can continue to enjoy eternal life together. “
In my life I have had the privilege of having many wonderful father
figures in my life. Aside from my own Father, I have been blessed with
incredible teachers, church leaders and young men leaders.
SCOTT GILES
One leader in particular was named Scott Giles. Some of you may
remember him as the EAC football coach a little over 10 years ago. With
his help our young men’s group planned a week long hiking trip over
to the Mugillion Rim in New Mexico. I was excited to go as I had never
been a hiking trip where we packed everything we needed on our back
and hiked in. The switchbacks were more than I ever expected it to
be. I soon found myself falling further and further behind the group. I
seemed to be in a quorum with abnormally athletic and quick hiking
boys. Brother Giles never left my side as I completed what I thought was
an impossible task.
While we were there a friend and I went to look for fish. . . . I got stuck
in a water hole and couldn’t pull myself out. Brother Giles heeded the
promptings of the spirit and were lead to us and helped pull me out of
the water hole.
In an article entitle “Boys Need Heroes Close By” Spencer W. Kimball
tells us:
The Lord has given to all of us, as holders of the priesthood,
certain of his authority, but we can only tap the powers of heaven
on the basis of our personal righteousness. Thus, for the power of
the priesthood to truly be felt in a family requires the righteousness
of the men and young men therein. We call to the attention of
all our priesthood bearers that our relationship with our wives,
mothers, and sisters is one in which we kneel together, whether at
the altars of the temple or in our own homes; we serve together,
side by side, a beautiful partnership.
We are rearing a royal generation— We need to provide them
with special experiences in studying scriptures, in serving their
neighbors, and in being contributing and loving members of their
families. All of this requires, of course, time for planning and time
to implement—anything but the casualness we sometimes see on
the part of some fathers and adult leaders.
Develop spiritual strength in yourself, and there will be felicity in
the family. Righteousness proceeds outward from the individual to
the group. We will find that if we are converted (through studying,
searching, and praying), our immediate desire is to want to help
others.
He quotes Walter MacPeek as saying “Boys need lots of heroes
like Lincoln and Washington. But they also need to have some
heroes close by. They need to know some man of towering
strength and basic integrity, personally. They need to meet them
on the street, to hike and camp with them, to see them in close-
to-home, everyday, down-to-earth situations; to feel close enough
to them to ask questions and to talk things over man-to-man with
them.”
BROTHER ROGERS
When I was young I had a home teacher “Brother Rogers.” He
was very old. Hard for me to relate to, but I loved hearing him tell
stories about WWII. And how he was able to escape the Nazis
under a false board in a wagon covered in coal. One thing that
meant a lot to me was how he took me fishing. He loved to fish
and one day he asked my mom and dad if he could take me with
him out to Cluff Ponds. We went and he taught me everything I
needed to know about fishing. To this day I am so grateful for a
home teacher who went above and beyond his calling.
Recently I watched a movie about 4 police men who made a pact with
each other to be the best fathers they could be. Each of them reflected
on the mistakes or hardships they’d seen their father go through and
decided to they would change and not let that happen to them.
One of the fathers was stuck in a rut in his life. Work was taking over
and he let fears stop him from being the father he wanted to be. His
daughter wanted to dance with him when her favorite song came on and
he wouldn’t do it because he was afraid he would look dumb. Not long
after that his daughter passed away from being in a car accident. All he
could think of after that was “Why didn’t I dance with her?”
To help cope with this situation in his life he decided he needed to buck
up as a dad. His son always wanted to go running, but he couldn’t bring
himself to run with him. He decided that was a way he could build a
relationship with him, so even though he didn’t want to run- he ran.
He said he didn’t want to be a “good enough father.” He had a
responsibility to mold a life and he decided he wanted to create a
resolution that would outline the “standards” of what was expected to
be a great father. He wanted his friends to be there as he signed this
resolution so his friends could hold him accountable to what he was
promising to do. In the end- most of them wanted to sign the resolution
too.
As each of the men took this challenge on- their lives became better,
more spiritual. People they interacted with in society were changed
for the better for knowing them. Each of them became happier in their
personal lives.
The resolution went like this:
I, Jordan Keith, do solemnly resolve before God to take full
responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children. I will love them,
protect them, and serve them and teach them the statutes of God as
the Spiritual leader of my home. I will be faithful to my wife to love and
honor her and be willing to lay down my life for her as Christ did for me.
I will teach my son to love god with all of his heart all of his mind and all
of his strength. I will train him to honor authority and live responsibly. I
will confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy. I will treat others with
kindness respect and compassion. I will work diligently to provide for
the needs of my family. I will forgive those who have wronged me and
reconcile with those who I have wronged. I will walk in integrity as a
man answerable to God. I will seek to honor God obey his word and do
his will. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
He said you can’t fall asleep at the wheel as a father.
One of the most moving- motivating modern day examples of a father is
a story about the Hoyts:
Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen
deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was
diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and
Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no
chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal"
life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for
Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the
workplace.
Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn't walk or speak;
he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the
room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system,
pushing administrators to see beyond Rick's physical limitations.
Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even
taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child. After
providing concrete evidence of Rick's intellect and ability to learn
like everyone else, Dick and Judy needed to find a way to help Rick
communicate for himself.
With $5,000 in 1972 and a skilled group of engineers at Tufts
University, an interactive computer was built for Rick. This
computer consisted of a cursor being used to highlight every letter
of the alphabet. Once the letter Rick wanted was highlighted, he
was able to select it by just a simple tap with his head against
a head piece attached to his wheelchair. When the computer
was originally first brought home, Rick surprised everyone with
his first words. Instead of saying, "Hi, Mom," or "Hi, Dad," Rick's
first "spoken" words were: "Go, Bruins!" The Boston Bruins were in
the Stanley Cup finals that season. It was clear from that moment
on, that Rick loved sports and followed the game just like anyone
else.
In 1975, at the age of 13, Rick was finally admitted into public
school. After high school, Rick attended Boston University, and he
graduated with a degree in Special Education in 1993. Dick retired
in 1995 as a Lt. Colonel from the Air National Guard, after serving
his country for 37 years.
In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to
participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had
been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance
runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they
finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his
father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."
That sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving
Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such shape that
he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
“No way,” Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren’t quite
a single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor.
For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran
anyway, then they found a way to get inot the race officially: In
1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying
time for Boson the following year.
The somebody sad, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?”
How’s a guy who never learned to swim and hadn’t ridden a
bike since he was six going to haul his 110- pound kid through a
triathlon? Still, Dick tired.
Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour
Ironmans in Hawaii.
Some have asked him why he doesn’t see how he could do on his
own. His response is “No way.” He does it purely for the “awesome
feeling” he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run,
swim, and ride together.
“No question about it,” Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the
Century.”
Dick also got something out of this. A few years ago he had a mild
heart attack uring a race. The doctors found that one of his arteries
was 95% clogged. “IF you hadn’t been in such great shape,” one
doctor told him, “you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.”
So in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life.
Rick types “the thing I’d most like, is that my dad would sit in the
chair and I would push him just once.”
This realization was just the beginning of what would become
over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and
triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to
their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the
U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.
In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord
attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat
the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special
two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made
running chair (for the running stage).
Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what
would it be? Rick responded, "The thing I'd most like is for my dad
to sit in the chair and I would push him for once."
The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt's 1000th race.
RON KEITH
Growing up, I had the remarkable experience of being Dr. Ron
Keith’s son. My friends would always laugh because he was a doctor
but “in music.” And they’d ask me, what does he “operate on
notes?” I didn’t really know what it meant either.
He instilled a passion for music in me. His direction led me to wear
I am today. I was able to see his amazing talents as a band teacher
and administrator, and it helped me to know what I wanted to do in
life.
My dad set an example for me of going on a mission. I loved hearing
the stories he would share about his time in Mexico. Granted, I
loved hearing mostly about the shocking moments of his crazy
companions, cock-roach and scorpion ridden apartments, and
stories his companion thrown in jail by an immigration officer in a
border town by Laredo Texas. But I knew he had a testimony and
that those two years of his life sharing the gospel were some of his
most important years of his life.
My dad was my Bishop as I was growing up and I was so humbled to
have a father who was essentially a father to the ward and so many
looked up to him. In my world, my dad was a VERY important man
and it was just normal to have hundreds of people look to him for
direction and guidance.
Even recently as he finished his mission with my mother in Scotland
I was reminded what an incredible father and loving man he is.
Their main job in Aberdeen Scotland while on the mission was to
oversee and care for the Young Single Adults in the college town
of Aberdeen. Many wayward Scottish youth were brought back into
activity in the church because of the love my parents poured out to
them. They visited their homes and let them know that there was
someone there to love them and care about them. I know there are
many youth in Scotland who miss Elder and Sister Keith incredibly
right now. But mostly because some of them found a father they’d
never thought they’d have- in my dad. I hope to be able to be that
for my students and future youth I come into contact with. That
when they don’t have a man in their life to look up to, I can be that
man just as my dad was for me and so many.
I’m truly blessed to get to have a father like him in my life.
Testimony
Needless to say- Ari and I do not know how to give short talks. The boys both spoke- Kodee gave a scripture and Jaxon gave his testimony.
Ari spoke over 20 minutes, so the rest hymn was nixed. I spoke a little past 10 after so the closing hymn was shortened to one verse. Oops. . .sorry. What can I say- we had a lot to talk about:)
Till next time. . . . we'll be soaking up the summer sunshine!
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