2010 in a nutshell

Well much has happened since my last post.   Madison and Evan were married in Feb 2010.   Lochlan graduated from High School in May of 2010.  As president of the senior class she made the last speach at the graduation ceremony and got to lead the class in through their hats into the air.  Sloane was called to serve in the SLC Temple Square Mission and entered the MTC in July of 2010.   Lochlan was accepted to attend college at Brigham Young University - Idaho campus and started in September 2010.    This left Heather and I alone in our very quiet home as "Empty Nesters", which we mostly enjoyed immensely.  This year brought some really big changes in the lives of our children which always has consequences on the parents.  This year the consequences were ALL GOOD.

Let me step back and fill in some of the blanks.

Madison and Evan - They met at a party in Provo that Tory Smith (Madison's best friend she met in Singapore) hosted at her uncles cabin up in the canyon.  Tory invited Evan, whom is also a BYU student that Tory became friends with when they both were in DC as part of BYU's summer intern in DC program.   Evan and she dated for 3 months and then he proposed at Sundance Ski resort where they had gone on their first date.   We went to Utah for Thanksgiving and met him for the first time.   Brian took their engagment photos at Sundance that same weekend (he did a fantastic job!) and we all enjoyed doing that together.  We also played Frisbee Golf and when to an indoor rock climbing gym.  
 These are just some shots I took with my Droid.  Brian took some much better ones but these are good enought to recall the event.

 Madison and Evan near Sundance ski resort

The happy couple at the rock climbing gym

Evan graduated in December 2010 at the top of his class in Economics and accepted a job offer to work for Boston Consulting Group in their Washington DC office. Evan and Madison spent Christmas with us then Evan left and Madison stayed and we finished up all the wedding plans. Their wedding was on Feb 6 in the LDS Albuquerque temple and reception was in the Historic Corrales Church.

 Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick as they came out of the temple.

 Madison with Sloane and Lochlan

 I love this gateway photo.

Our last dance.

Sloane - In about March 2010 I got a phone call from Sloane.  She mentioned she was thinking about serving a mission for the church as a result of a professor that explained that if you really want to advance the cause of women in the world then work to promote the teachings of the church since the church is the foremost organization in the world that champions the rights of women.  This was strange coming from Sloane.  She had been talking of going off to Africa in the Peace Corps to teach midwifery or help with some immunization program.  Sloane really learned to love doing service during her time at school at BYU.  This started by the fact that she had a half tuition scholarship and as part of that arrangment she needed to provide a certain number of service hours (1 or 2) each week.  Because of this she got involved with several non-profits.  The one she enjoyed the most was Friday's kids.  She was assigned a 7 or 8 year old boy (Brandon?) to spend 3 or 4 hours with each Friday.  She took him fishing at the park and many other fun activities.   Well about four days after that phone call from Sloane I got a call from her bishop asking me as bishop of her home ward if we would be willing to ensure financial support for her mission in case her parents (me again) could not do so.   I am sure glad she called and gave me the heads up on that one.  She got her mission call about 2 weeks later and was a bit crest fallen to find out that instead of going to Africa or Cambodian or Mongolia that she was going to travel 50 miles north and spend 18 months in Utah in the smallest mission in the church, the SLC temple square mission.  Sloane found a couple of blogs of sisters who were blogging their mission from temple square and this helped her see what an amazing and unique mission this was going to be.  No Elders.  180 sister missionaries.  No knocking on someone's door, instead people coming to you to see temple square and in the process of the tour you get to share your testimony with them and ask if they would like to have missionaries come visit them in their home.  We drove up to Utah and spend 4th of July with family there then went through the SLC temple with her (a good experience) then dropped her off at the MTC and since then have been enjoying (and blogging her mission by posting) each week that we get her letters.  She has grown so much on her mission and helped other to learn about our savior Jesus Christ.

 Sister Phillips from the MTC

 Here she is with her 4th companion Sister Bateman

 Her mission has been fantastic.  This is a photo taken with Baker from Jordan (along with her Brazilian companion).    Truely her mission is all over the world.  She is right now at her half way mark and doing great.

Lochlan - I drove with her up for conference in April then took some extra days and drove up to BYU Idaho to check out the campus and we both loved it. This is truely a spiritual university. Her graduation went great and she was acknowledged for several of her acheivements including senior year book editor and outstanding senate member (she got a $500 scholarship check for that). She worked during the summer at Old Navy and at a local nursing home. In September I drove her up and we stayed with my cousin Beth while waiting for the time she could check into her apartment. I gave her a hug good-bye (after going to Walmart and buying enough groceries for nearly 4 months) and drove home. She had a really good English teacher so she did enjoy at least one class.   On her 18th birthday (a week before I took her off to school)  I made two slide shows set to music for her one for age 1 to 9 and a second for age 10 to 18.

 Lochlan playing Marilynn Monroe in Europe

 In Florence

At the Great Wall.  I will try and remember to post some more recent photos later.
 
Well that gets us pretty much through 2010

Revelation from my Father

Sometime in about 1975 my mother was very concerned for my brother Milt and I and while thinking about us received this revelation from my father who past away in 1970. I wrote a portion of this up once and bound it as a Christmas gift in 1985 to my siblings. I think those hard copies of long since found there way into a box and put up on a closet shelf. I came across the original and a copy of the book this morning while cleaning my own bedroom (under the bed) and decided I had to type it up in its entirety before I put it back (even though the house awaits Christmas light decorating).

Introduction:

My dearest sons, whom I love with all my heart, who are very special and I know you want to do what is right - your father loves you also and is watching over you. He has a message for you and he is going to give that message to you through me, your mother.

The world is full, I mean full of filth, you can't turn around without seeing it on all sides of you. Satan (our brother) and his followers are at work, they are also our brothers and sisters who would have preferred not to have their free agency. They were afraid they would fail in this second estate here on earth. They wanted to be made to work out their salvation. They, as you know, were cast out. Now my sons, we chose to use our free agency, what a frightening opportunity, but what a blessing. We can make of ourselves what we will, and with the Holy Ghost to help us, we can accomplish great things, your wildest imagination can not comprehend the things your Father in Heaven has in store for us if we are faithful. Rich? You can't imagine how rich you will be. Here, we of course don't have money but we have all the beautiful special things that money on earth can buy. But boys, that is junk; the finest house you have ever seen is nothing compared to what I have seen here, and what we enjoy is beyond your imagination.

Now I understand you boys, it is hard sometimes to to push out the thoughts you shouldn't be thinking out of your minds, it was for me, sometimes awfully hard. My friends at times weren't the best, and we got into conversations that would have been a lot better never mentioned, which only made it worse. Satan has a way of twisting the truth, and what should be beautiful and pure into something disgusting, filthy and lustful. Since this earth is ruled by Satan, he has more power to lead more people his way, then does our Father in Heaven. How many times did our Father cleanse the earth because he couldn't stand the corruption of His children any longer. This is going to happen again in the near future. You will live to see this day, and what a terrible day it will be. Only the few who are pure in heart will remain. I want you boys to be in that group.

Now let me tell you what you must do, and I will help you; I promise you this, this was one of the reasons Father took me because he had given us some very special children and He knew would need extra help. He knew I would give my life for you, if it would mean your eternal salvation. He gave me this privilege, and boys it is a privilege. I am with you always, sometimes I have been saddened by some of the things you have said and done. But being human myself, I have understood and forgiven you.

First boys be careful who you associate with. Be sure they are boys who will lift you up and not tear you down. Sometimes there can be boys who appear on the outside to be good boys, but are not as good as they should be. Never go along with them on conversations that would be against our standards, we have high standards, lift them up, you can be a tremendous help to them.

When we make mistakes they can cost us an awful lot, even out eternal lives. Be sure of what you are doing, never do anything without asking me and I will give you the go ahead signal, you will know in your heart by a good feeling, it it is not right I will give you a feeling where your mind doesn't register exactly, it will be kind of stupid, do you understand what I mean?

Read sections 88, 95:1-13, 76 (especially verse 25) and also 111 from the Doctrine and Covenants.

(Mother speaking - I don't know what is in these sections exactly. I tried to find my glasses so could read them but it seems I have misplaced them, as usual. But I am sure these sections will be a great help to you.)

The revelation then continued with some some advise to Milton, who at the time had a girl friend who was not a member of the church. After Milt left on his mission she joined the church and married and raised a family, she remained a close family friend)

Milton your sweet little girl friend is very nice, and needs a lot of help, Don't ever disillusion her by suggesting anything that would be contradictory to our standards. She looks to you more than you realize. Teach her the gospel, there are many things she does not fully understand. She looks to you and honors the priesthood you hold. Don't hesitate to pray with her each time you see her it at all possible. She will love you for it. Never, never be guilty of telling her things you have heard that would make her feel disappointed in you. She will love you for it. Her ears should only hear wonderful words that will make her realize what a very special person you are. I like her very much. I am grateful you used wisdom in choosing such a fine girl to associate with. If the opportunity arises and it would be fitting you could tell her this and she will understand and be glad.

Merritt you are a very special person also. I am happy your received your Patriarchal Blessing. It was a good blessing. I know what your life is going to be, what you will become, who your wife will be and your children. I have the opportunity to see them often and it makes my heart sweet with joy. This pertains to all your children. You have so many wonderful experiences ahead of you. I wish you could see as I can and you would be anxious for every tomorrow and making the very best of today. Work hard in school, don't try to just get by, because when you get here you will be sorry. Oh so sorry you didn't learn more as I have gone through this myself and know what I am saying.

Mother speaking - At this point the phone rang. I answered it and after the conversation I went back to write some more but it was gone from me. I re-read what I had written and it was as though I was reading it for the first time which was a testimony to me that this is really a message from your father. When I wrote this I never once hesitated, it would roll off my pen in a steady flow of words. I know now how it feels to receive revelation. If we would always be in tune we could receive revelation everyday concerning our every day life. Just think what a help that would be to us. Each one of us, me included need to repent. We all have a need of repentance. Let's not procrastinate. The time is too short and there is a lot we are missing by not being prepared for it.

That is the end of the revelation and comments from my mother. I am so grateful for parents who provided me with such care and love, who sacrificed their youth and time to provide me with such a wonderful family. My father passed away when I was ten years old but I have always felt close to him. I know he has been given the ability to look over me and protect me from danger. I have felt his presence in the temple and know that he is aware of single thing I do and am about. I know that his life is a test for me to see if I can be worthy to be his son and return and live with him and my mother again and to bring with me all of my family.

This is a very personal post and I plan to take it down after Christmas but any who would like to make a copy of it are welcome to.

Merritt

Tennis court photo

I was looking through some old photos and came upon this photo of my tennis court. I took this at around Thanksgiving since that is the time I put up Christmas lights on the house. Once on the ladder I saw this great view of the court and took this picture. This was about three years ago. Since then I have up the color coat on the gray stucco areas and resurfaced the court to replace the green hitting area with a tan color (out of bounds remainded red)

Emma was always game!

This past month has been an emotional one. Heather's mom Emma passed away. She was doing fine then started to have nose bleeds, which she thought was just a nuisance. She went to see the doctor about them and a procedure was done to check them but it did not work. The next week she started to have pain in her back. Within a few days the pain got so bad she went to the doctor and they admitted her. That was on a Saturday. On Tuesday they diagnosed her with an aggressive form of leukemia. After deciding she wanted to spend her last days at home instead of at a hospital she came home on Friday. Heather was already in the area when this was happening and was with her on Tuesday when they gave her the diagnosis. I drove out with the Lochlan (we swung by Provo and picked up Madison and Sloane) and arrived on Friday evening. We were able to see her and say our goodbyes before leaving on Sunday afternoon. That sure was hard to leave her knowing we would not see her again. She passed away 3 days later, only a week after her initial diagnosis. We drove back out again for the funeral service. It was a beautiful service with so many of her friends coming. She was a great lady, a clever lady, a loving lady, a fine example to all of us how to care for others. When ever she did anything, she did it well. I love her and the family she created.

She was game for a challenge. When ever she and Ted came to visit we always had to have an adventure of some type. Here she is with Ted and Heather and I rafting down the Rio Grand between Santa Fe and Taos. She had a great time that day. She was a gamer!

Messing around in Grooveshark to make a widget

3 EFY songs I like

Half Century Mark

Well I turned 50 on Friday. Odd, I don't feel any different. Turns out 50 is just a number and the old saying, "Your as old as you feel" must have some validity. I did hear a funny comment about old age the other day. I goes like this, "The only problem with old age is that it doesn't last!"

Here is a shot of me on our tennis court getting ready to hit a wicked forehand. I was playing with Lochlan so it must not have been too wicked! (thanks Sloane for taking the pic)

They reorganized our stake presidency today and I am glad to report I am still the Bishop of the best ward in the church (Cibola Ward). I greatly respect our new stake presidency and know they are the men the Lord would have lead our stake at this time. That was impressed upon me quite deeply when their names were presented.

Tonight I had the opportunity to participate in conferring the Melchezidek priesthood on two of the young men in our priest quorum. Great to see them both take this next step prior to them going off to college next week.

I have been reading several blogs by missionary couples and find them quite interesting. The couples I have been following are serving in Peru, Ecuador and Korea. They are all quite inspiring. Makes me itch to get ready and go.

I sure love my daughter Lochlan. She is the epitome of kind (so long as you can scratch her back for the complete 2 hours of stake conference).

Just an August update

Figured I would just make an update/laundry list of what I have been up to lately.

1) Borrowed Kieth's chainsaw and trimmed several large branches from the Willow and Cottonwood trees. This should help keep the trees from tumbling down in high winds plus keep those drooping down branches from hanging too close to the ground.

2) Playing alot of tennis. On of my Korean tennis playing pals brought a friend (J.S. Kim) who is now taking English lessons from Heather.

3) Helping Lochlan with going back to school activities. Okay, my help basically consists of telling her I like her new shoes/skirt/top/hair cut etcetra. We did make the milestone of saying "This will be the last time before you go off to college of.....starting seminary, having a birthday, etc" By this time next year we hope she is working on going off to college at which point we will become official empty nesters. Lochlan has taken care of arranging her school schedule and helped register students. She is really doing well.

4) Watching Murder She Wrote espisodes with Lochlan. I dose off during the middle of the show often but wake up in time to catch the last 10 minutes which is 10 minutes more of that show than is necessary to figure out the plot. Lochlan figured out that she has about 210 (7 years at 30 episodes a year) friends who somehow have gotten mixed up in Murder!

5) Still plugging away at work. Very slow going there.

6) Listening to more books on CD. Just finished one on Mark Twain (Samuel Longhorn Clemens). Guy was brilliant but also a horrible father. To full of himself. Spent his family into ruin a couple of times forcing them to have to move to Europe since they could not afford the upkeep on their mansion in the US.

7) Enjoyed a couple of visits from my cousin Annette's daughter April and her family as they drove thru Albuquerque twice on way to Utah and back from Lubbock.

8) Looking at finally buying a GPS unit - mainly so Lochlan can take it in the car and not get lost (seems like once a week she is going somewhere then calls me up and says, "Dad, I am by a Wendy's on Montano, how do I get to 4526 Sherwood?" When I try and ask where on Montano she is all she can say is "I don't know!". I am looking for a unit that will also double as a hiking GPS. Nuvi 500 seems like it fills the bill.

9) Spent $1000 on the Infinity - new brakes, bearing, axels etc. Cars are just a money pit! Now we have to drive that car another two years at least to get our moneys worth back out of it. Actually we bought that car for $6000 when the Blue Book was $13000 because it is a salvaged title car. The engine has a rattle in it and the transmission slips sometimes (which had me concerned) but it has run fine for 4 years now. If we can get it to last until June 2011 it will still be a great deal. I know some folks with $450 per month car payments, which seems crazy to me since those same people are paying $900 for their home rental payment.

10) Thinking about doing some hiking up in the Pecos Wilderness Area this fall, but that will cut into my tennis time.

11) Turning 50 this week (on Friday). Sloane called and asked me directions to the SLC airport, she had gotten onto I15 North from downtown SLC and I told her to turn around and take I80 West. She was taking a friend to the airport and her friend was a bit doubtful that my directions (having not lived in SLC area since like 1987) could still be trusted. After she successfully dropped her friend off Sloane called to compliment me on not being over the hill, yet!