Graduations Galore

So, we flew into Utah on Wednesday. We went to dinner with Matt, Lecia, Jim, Becky and Kennedy. On Thursday, we went to dinner with Rock, Carol, Mike, Tara, and some of Tara's Family. On Friday, we got up early to attend Matt's Graduation. It was in the Ballroom. We saved seats for Jim, Becky, and Lecia. Grandpa held Kennedy most of the time.
Then we went to the Marriott Center for Michael's Graduation. We met up with Mike and Tara before hand. Mike borrowed Matt's blue Cap and Gown so that he would not be out of place.

Friday evening we had a birthday party for Ben. He turned two on April 26th, but he was going to be out of town that day, so we held the party on Friday.

Kennedy was there, being cuter than a girl has a right to.On Saturday we had the baby blessing for Kennedy. Matt and Lecia graciously arranged to have it on Saturday afternoon, since Ben and his dad, Tim could not be there on Sunday.

On Sunday, Tim and Tiffany met their two boys at the Airport, where they boarded a Boing 767 for Hawaii. it was cold and rainy on Sunday, and it snowed on Saturday afternoon. The plane ride was long. Kayleen was sick with the ucky stomach thing. Both Peter and Ben traveled very well. Ben took a few laps around the plane when the seat belt light was off. Peter colored, slept and did stickers. We landed at about 2:30 Hawaii time. By the time we rented the car and got to KoOlina, it was 4:00 PM and Kayleen was still quite sick, but was feeling a little better. We checked into room 705 and 707. This is a view from the balcony on Sunday evening.

The boys have been an absolute delight. More pictures to follow.

Is it the Stalker ?

I went to the Orthopedic place early today. I was supposed to have an RFA (Radio Frequency Ablation) on my left side. There was a delay because the nurse had to take my blood pressure about 7 times, in an effort to find a reading they could live with. The Doctor came in and we talked. He verified that the pain in my hip is back pain, and that it stems from the lower lumbar region. However, my blood pressure was too high to turn on the microwave. Dr. Gorman gave me some stuff to ease the pain and to relax me, but my blood pressure then went even higher.
At that point he told me that it was not safe to continue, and they sent me to the recovery room.

So why is my blood pressure too high?

• Is it my weight?
• Is it my personal genetic code? (Wally joked that we should sue Mom for the bad set of genes she gave us :) )
• Is the pressure from work or church getting to me ?
• Do I need to exercise more?
• Is it all the other stuff I have been taking for back pain?

These are all good questions. We have no answers yet, but I have an appointment with my PC Doctor, in which we will begin to explore these areas.
In the mean time, my wife tells me to "Don't stroke out."

Good advice, if you ask me.

Teachings for our time

One of the responsibilities that I have, is to choose 5 of the conference talks to be used in the Teachings for our Time. I also get to assign topics for Sacrament Meetings. I have a list, but would welcome any thoughts you may have.

I like to view Conference as a time to hear what is on the minds of the Prophet and the Apostles. That gives us a very good idea of what kinds of things we should be focusing on. Of general note, there were several talks that covered the protection that comes when living gospel covenants. We heard about the blessings of temples in our lives. We heard about service and the blessings that come from adversity.

I have not yet discussed these with the Ward Council, but here are my preliminary picks:
Teaching for our Times (4th Sunday Priesthood / Relief Society Lessons):
Dieter Uchdorf - "I am Doing a Great Work, and Cannot Come Down."
Dallin Oaks - Unselfish Service
Jose' Texieria - Freedom to Choose
Richard G. Scott / D Todd Christofferson - Faith and Protection from Temple Covenants
M Russell Ballard - Learing Lessons from the Past

Sacrament Meeting Topics:

David Bednar / Gary Stevenson - The Blessings from the Temple
Jeffrey Holland - Standing by the Savior, (or, You'll never have to walk alone.)
Henry B. Erying - The Blessings of Adversity
Robert D. Hales - Resisting Debt and Addiction
Dieter Uchtdorf - The Pathway to Discipleship

So - I welcome your thoughts, your comments, your suggestions.

Gerald Likes to .....

Tiffany did this to me. I had to look. Because of her blog, I put it my name in google, followed by "likes to " and punched the "search" button. I wasn't feelin too lucky (google joke)

Top 10 (usable) results .......

Gerald likes to rock out and dance!

Gerald likes PMA training

Gerald likes to give presentations to youth groups, and has many talents relating to the tribal history of music and dance, as well as arts and crafts.

Gerald likes to lie to me

Gerald likes football and fishing, but lives in a house full of girls

people just like to tickle Gerald

Gerald likes large colourful fish of good quality, but keeps them mostly for decoration and as pets, without getting too fanatical about their exact markings or Japanese names.

Gerald likes to welcome you and show you in

Gerald likes to ... play baseball

Did you know... Gerald likes ice cream?

Catch up

We have been traveling a lot this year already.

In January we traveled to Utah for Emma's birth and funeral.

In February, Kayleen went to be with Lecia when Kennedy was born.

I was going through the annual ordeal of hosting the outside accountants, so I stayed at home. The review went very somoothly by the way. In March, we traveled to Utah for Mike and Tara's wedding.

We did get to take some excellant pictures of our whole family

At the end of this month, we have Mike and Matt's graduation. We also have a special birthday trip with Ben and his family. I am having to work extra to get 1) my review of March and the 1st Qtr completed before I leave on the 22nd, 2) have my church appointments and duties caught up before I leave. I will also be having the nerves in my back fried again on the 16th, so that is another day not working. But I am very much looking forward to spending almost 2 full weeks with family.

The only bad part of the trip, is that after we get back, I will have to stay in Tucson for a few months, and make a pretense of earning my salary.

Great Family weekend

We had our whole family together for Michael and Tara's wedding last weekend. Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

First, I got to meet Kennedy for the first time. She is the cutest baby girl EVER!!

We went to a park on Thursday. The weather was great, so we spent time out of doors.

Ben was "hiding"--

We went to an aquarium on Friday. Here are the boys in an octopus cave

We took family pictures Friday afternoon. Kristen (Tiffany's sister) did a FABULOUS job

Phillip and Kelly's family--
Tim and Tiffany's Family--
Matt and Lecia's Family--
Mike and Tara beginning life together--

Our four children and their spouses--

On Saturday we went to the Salt Lake Temple, where Mike and Tara were sealed for all eternity--
They were respectful when they fed each other wedding cake. No Cake in the Face from either one--

March's Marching Order

For some time, I have wanted to again enumerate some of the blessings in my life. This month seems to be a very good example of why I feel so grateful for the life Father has given me. So, here goes, although not in any particular order. It is also NOT an exhaustive list !!











Uno ==> My oldest son Phillip was born on March 2, 1980. Because of the long labor, he went into fetal distress every time Kayleen had a contraction. The miracles of modern medicene not only allowed both Kayleen and Phillip to survive, but also for Kayleen to have three additional children. I remember coming home and having Phillip running down the hallway to meet me. He would grab my keys and try to fit them into the doors, luggage, or other keyholes. I will always remember that excitement for life.


B ==> My second son Tim was born on March 9. I remember him hunkered down next to the strawberry patch in Idaho looking over the "just picked strawberry plants." A few minutes later he would be toddling back to the house with his fists clutching ripe strawberries that we had missed. The creations of the Lord continue to amaze me and even when I think I have seen the wonders of the creations, I will see something new.


Next ==> My third son, Mike was born in July, but is getting married on March 21. His optimisim is a contstant inspiration to me. His wife-to-be was born March 11 {Edited}. I have two additional daughters-in law and one son=in-law. I love and admire each of them. The more I get to know them, the more grateful I am for excellant spouses for my children.

4 ==> My second grandson Gabriel was born March 30. I now have four grandsons and two grand daughters.
















E ==> My wife Kayleen were originally going to be married March 17. But all the churches were booked for the Relief Society birthday dinners. We moved the wedding to February 23rd. Each day with Kayleen is another adventure. I am grateful for those additional 3 weeks.
'Nuff said.



6 ==> I am grateful for Sunday evenings.
Finally ==> This month is Easter. I am reminded daily of the goodness of our Savior in so many aspects of our lives. This earth was created through His matchless power and word. My family is sealed together throughout eternity through His priesthood. My hope of Resurrection and eternal life comes through His sacrifice, his suffering and his empty tomb. All that is important to me, comes through His various gifts to me. I can only thank Him by trying to be obedient, by trying to be as good as I can be, and by trying to serve Him and His children to the best of my ability.