Welcome to the world

Dear world,
You are so lucky. You just gained two brand new citizens who are likely to make a great contribution during their lifetimes.

Meet Jasper.

Meet Russell.

They may look small an insignificant now, but they will be a force to be reckoned with in no time. They come from goodly parents and will be well taught and well cared for. You are lucky to have them in your presence, world. Be good to them.

Sincerely,
A very proud aunt

From the happiest aunt in the world

She's born!

Emma Jeane Gause

Born Monday, March 15, 2010

12:06pm

St. George, UT

6 lbs 14 oz

19 inches

She's showing you that she has the strength to face this world.

Proud Grandma!

Sleeping beautifully!

Emma will be loved and protected by a father who cherishes her.

Together

A Mother's Hands

A dear sister shared the most beautiful tribute to motherhood today at church. I will do my best to record the words she spoke.
Sister Harker said,
A few weeks ago, my youngest daughter had her first baby. My emotions were very close to the surface. I repeated over and over that I couldn't believe my baby was having a baby.
After the baby's birth, the nurse was doing what she's supposed to do: scrubbing and cleaning and pricking. Ellie was doing what a newborn is supposed to do: crying at the top of her lungs. I decided to reach out and touch Ellie's hand in hopes of making her first few minutes of life more comforting. Ellie wrapped her little hand around one of my fingers.
Holding hands is one of the greatest ways we connect with one another.
As I thought about these hands, I reflected on the hands of my mother. She used her hands to hold me and comfort me as a baby. She held my hand as I experienced the new things in life. She used her hands to clap for me at my dance recitals even though I wasn't very good; she thought I was good. She clasped her hands in prayer in my behalf. She held my hand on my wedding day and let it go so that I could take the hand of the man who would be my eternal companion.
I don't know when it happened, but one day the roles reversed. I now held her hand. I held her hand as I guided her through the grocery store. I held her hand as I took her to get her hair done. I held her hand, aged and covered in brown spots and deep blue veins, as she passed from this life. I look at my own hands and see how they are beginning to resemble hers.
I find joy now as I watch my own daughters as they use their hands to comfort, guide, cheer, and pray for their own children.
I see a mother's hands, and I feel love.

Neil Diamond is amazing

My family went to the Neil Diamond concert in Salt Lake on Friday, December 19. By family, I mean all of us: my parents, my brother, my sister and her husband, and my other sister. It was our Christmas present. It seemed like we'd never get there because of all the snow. We made it with just enough time to check in our hotel and get over to the arena.
Neil Diamond delayed the start of the concert because many of his fans were late due to the weather. He's so nice. However, the delay was practically unbearable.
The concert was phenomenal! He is by far the best entertainer I've ever seen. This was my third concert. I wish I had tickets to his show in Las Vegas. I'll have to wait until next tour.
Cameras weren't allowed during the show, but we took some pictures afterward.

Their goal was cheesy. Or maybe they were hamming it up. Either way, you get a great sandwich and a totally lame joke.

Joe enjoyed the concert. A lot. I promise.

Distracted driver

My mom in her

+

+

+
thoughts of

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talking on her

Results in my brother turning me and saying, "Mom just slid off into the median." That's right. On our way to the Neil Diamond concert in Salt Lake, we were slowed down by a snow storm. My mom called my phone. My brother answered since I was driving (a separate vehicle). While on the phone, my mother hit some black ice and slid off the freeway into the median. Needless to say, my brother gave her a hard time the rest of the weekend. Any time he answered his cell phone, he immediately answered with "Are you driving?"

Here she comes...

My parents set up a play date on Saturday. There's a new family in the ward. They have a son who is single. His parents and my mother have talked about setting Casey up with him.
Well, they set up a picnic in Zion on Saturday. The new couple brought their son, and my parents brought their two single daughters. Talk about old-fashioned.
Despite the potential awkwardness of this meeting, Casey and I had a lot of fun in Zion. While we were sitting across from one another at the picnic table, I took a picture of her. I then divulged my secret goal which was to take at least 27 pictures of her that day. I'm calling the album 27 Pictures: Zion National Park. You can see the album on Facebook, and I'll post them on here later.
In the mean time, I will share my favorite picture. Our first stop in the park was at Weeping Rock. On the trail upwards, I stopped at every informative sign and read them out loud until Casey and Adam (the boy) got sick of it and asked me to stop.
On the way back down, one sign caught Casey's eye. It was in front of a tree. Casey hollered up to me, "Doesn't this one sound like an insult?"
'Here she comes...Bigtooth Maple!'
I laughed at that so many times that afternoon. I'm laughing at it right now as I view the picture beside this text.
Casey is so ridiculously funny!
Thanks, Maple, for a delightsome afternoon. You are the bestest little sister a girl like me could ever hope for.

Afternoon drive

My mother applied for a job that would place her in a regional position that would require she communicate with the hospitals in Southwestern Utah. She has been to Valley View in Cedar but hadn't been to the hospital in Garfield County. She asked me to go with her to Panguitch to check it out. I had never been to Panguitch, but I told her I'd only go if we could take the scenic route.
We went through Zion National Park, up 89 through Orderville, Glendale, and Hatch to Panguitch. We toured the bite-size hospital and then stopped by her coworkers home in Panguitch. On the way home we took 143 passed Panguitch Lake to Cedar Breaks. We saw quite a bit of deer and were even stopped by hundreds of sheep crossing the road. There was a sheep dog and a shepherd with them.
We admired Cedar Breaks at 10,460 feet. We continued down Cedar Mountain into Cedar City. It got dark just as we entered Cedar City so we took I-15 back to St. George.
I enjoyed the drive so much, that I repeated it with a couple friends a few days later. The only difference was that we stopped at Panguitch Lake for some fishing.
Speaking of fishing, I've been on several fishing trips in the last few weeks. My friend complained, because he didn't catch anything no matter where we went. I didn't either, because I didn't fish. I'm about to change that. My sister's friend, Jared, the one who can lift cheerleaders over his head, is going to teach me how to fish. I'm excited. I anticipate spending most every weekend out fishing. Hopefully, I'll catch a fish or two.

This is Zion National Park. I actually took this picture in December when my aunt and cousins were here from Florida.

Kane County takes patrolling seriously in Orderville. I noticed this Sheriff's vehicle on the first trip with my mother. I looked a little closer when I was driving my friends. My friend insisted the deputy was asleep. I said it was too thin to be a person. We turned around to discover a mannequin in the front seat.
Keep Orderville safe by slowing down, but don't worry about getting pulled over by this particular deputy.
She's hard to see, but she was very pretty.

Panguitch Lake was slow blue. It glimmered in the Southern Utah sunlight. Upon closer inspection, there were a few areas that were green with growth. I suspect those parts were the only parts of the lake that were a decent temperature.

The sheep were busy crossing the street. We had to wait a few minutes for a break in the sheep to drive through.

Cedar Breaks is always a surprise. I never remember how majestic it is until I get there.

This was my view as I peed on the side of the road.

These were some of the Cedar trees that broke so as to reveal the desert painted rock.

This shot is from a recent fishing trip to Kolob Reservoir.

Happy Mother's Day

In my ward today, we opened the meeting by singing "Joy to the World". Yes, you are thinking of the right hymn. As the music chairperson, I was meeting with my Bishop a month ago. I wondered out loud why we don't sing certain songs all year long. During that meeting, he decided for Mother's Day he would assign talks about Mary, mother of Jesus, Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet Joseph's mother, and about modern day mothers. He suggested we sing "Joy to the World" for the opening hymn and "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" as the Sacrament hymn to remind us that Jesus was born and was raised as was every child.
During the talk about Lucy Mack, I was pondering the hymn that I knew was coming up, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". Joseph's parents, particularly his mother, raised him to be God-fearing, to read his scriptures, and to pray. Had he not been taught these principles growing up, he may have never read and pondered the scripture passage in James. Had his mother not been such a great example of faith and seeking truth, he may have never been desirous to seek out his Father in prayer.
As we sang the hymn, I imagined Mary and Lucy. I became very excited to be a mother in Zion. I want to teach my children the gospel principles so that they may also bring about great works and be a contributor to the Kingdom of God. It is a great responsibility, but as I pondered this I felt peace in my heart that I could do it. Even now as I type, I am not overwhelmed but rather joyful at the opportunities to come.
I look forward with patience and faith for the opportunity to be a mother. I look forward to the extension of trust from my Father in Heaven to care for His children. I will teach them the principles of the gospel, namely faith, repentance, and baptism. I will teach them diligently in love.
For things my mother taught me, read "As long as you know what you're doing is right" and "Education for Real Life" on my other blog.