The Lord doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

*WARNING LONG POST AHEAD*

So we moved into our house May 11, 2013 with lots of help from family, and we had a great time. We still aren't fully settled yet but we're looking forward to summer and weekends to get settled. Our second Sunday here May 19, 2013 we got a call from Tim, the gentleman we bought our home from, asking if he could come over to speak with us. Now I must have a guilty conscience or something because I started wondering what we did or why he would want to come over and talk to us. Mind you he is not in the bishopric, elders quorum, our home teacher, or in the stake that must mean something is wrong. He came over that evening and I was trying to remain calm and act like it's not big deal that he is coming over maybe he just wants to see how we've settled in or something just being a nice neighbor, but he seemed just as nervous as me. He started by saying, "well I am not really sure why I  am here but... I'm in the Pageant Presidency for the Martin Harris Pageant and we have been holding auditions since the beginning of April for the leading roles. We have filled all of them.... except two... we are missing two fairly crucial parts... Joseph and Emma Smith. We have had people audition, just not anyone we thought would be a good fit. We've been praying to find someone that could fill those callings. Today when you gave the opening and closing prayers in sacrament meeting I pointed you out to the director as the couple I kept thinking about. After the meeting she turned around and nodding said 'ask them.' So here I am asking you if you would be willing to be in the Pageant? We don't extend formal callings to be in the pageant but we, as a presidency, have felt impressed to ask you to be part of the production no audition required."

Curtis's face was priceless, he looked pale, like someone had slapped him in the face with a fish! He finally managed to respond, "you mean you are asking my wife right? I've never acted a day in my life. If you want me to help with stage crew stuff you got it, but I am not an actor. I'm black and white, if I am upset you know it if I am happy you know it I'm not good at playing emotions." Tim told him the offer was extended to both of us, "We've seen miracles happen with the pageant and if the Lord wants you to be in the pageant he will bless you." Curtis continued to protest and Tim kept trying to convince him. As Tim was leaving he said pray, fast and think about it I'll get your answer in a week or so. For two weeks I prayed for the Lord to soften Curtis's heart and get him to agree to do the pageant. I also tried to drop hints about being in the pageant. Tim approached us two weeks later at church and ask if we had made a decision. I responded "I say yes", and I looked to Curtis waiting for his answer and praying he'd say yes. "When are practices?" Tim told him "Tuesdays and Thursdays for now but it will change as the pageant gets closer." "I guess it's worth a shot...." Curtis said it as if he were defeated. I wanted to cheer I think Tim did too. He gave us the information about practice and said he was so pleased we would be a part of it.

We practiced from May 21st until the show started, Curtis did have a hard time at first he felt a little overwhelmed with everyone trying to be... "helpful" after they found out he had never acted but instead they just made him more nervous. They kept reminding him he was playing the prophet, he needed this emotion or that emotion, think about it like this. He was getting enough of that from me he didn't need it from everyone else in the cast. He did get it down though opening night, I didn't even think it was him he did so great! I have never been more proud of him in my life. The director told him they have never had a better Joseph than him. We had our picture taken by A LOT of people because Curtis looks so much like the prophet. I have never thought him to look like Joseph but when he was in costumer with his hair and make up done he looked like Joseph. I ended up dying my hair a really dark brown nearly black so I wouldn't have to wear a wig.

One night we had a descendent of Joseph and Emma Smith come to the show. He and his wife were the producers of the movie Emma Smith: My Story, he is one of the first Smiths to rejoin the church. So no pressure he's only a descendent and a movie producer...

He said that we did a great job, he asked where Curtis was when they were looking for a Joseph for the movie. He told me I had a likeness to Catherine the woman that played Emma in the movie I thought that was a great compliment.

Curtis says that it was a lot better experience than he thought it was going to be. We loved the cast we had the privilege to meet and work with so closely and for the testimonies we gained. Everyone says that you get great blessings from being in the pageant we will see if that is true and even if we don't see any other blessings we were blessed to be a part of it and to gain the testimonies we did.

Children, children everywhere

So not long after we moved in (we probably had lived here about 2-3 weeks) the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric came over and we assumed it was to speak in sacrament meeting to introduce ourselves to the ward... it wasn't. We were given our first calling in our new home ward. We were called to be primary teachers for the 9-10 year old children.

We have 6 boys and 3 girls, and oh are they a handful! There is one boy that never comes/moved/we've never met I'm not sure the whole story on that, and two girls that only come every once in a while. They are at the fun age where it's all about cooties! The girls sit on one side of the room the boys sit on the other, and if Sadie(our little girl that is there all the time) is the only girl besides me there she will sit up front by me so she doesn't have to be alone. They are also at the last stage before they separate into their own gender classes.

They certainly keep things interesting, to say the least. A few weeks ago we were talking about the 3 degrees of glory and one of the boys had asked me where hell was. I tried to explain that the Terrestrial and Telestial Kingdoms are kind of like hell because we are not in God's presence. Then I had to explain further because they looked confused, so I drew a big black dot on the whiteboard and told them that was outer darkness that is what would be "hell" that is where Satan is and the 1/3 people that chose to go with him in the war in heaven. We were reading scriptures about what type of people go to which kingdom so they asked who would go to outer darkness. Curtis interjected and said that very few people from Earth go there, I explained that Cain would go there because he walked with and knew God but chose to obey Satan. Since he had a perfect knowledge and he knew what was right and wrong without question then he killed his brother because Satan told him to he will go to outer darkness because he chose to follow Satan. Then the boys(bless their hearts) shouted that Cain is Bigfoot... I started laughing SO HARD! Apparently that is a common rumor among members of the church? I have NEVER heard that before. I was trying really hard to get it under control but they kept stating the facts... 1. He was cursed to roam the earth forever. 2. That would mean he probably didn't speak English very well because they didn't speak English back then. 3. That would make him really hairy because he probably doesn't ever shave because he has to hide from everyone. I had to hurry and put a cap on that because I was going to lose my cool if they kept going so we continued.

Then when we were reading the scriptures about who goes to what kingdom and one of the scriptures Doctrine and Covenants 76:103 says "These are they who are liars and sorcerers and adulterers and whoremongers and whosoever loves and makes a lie". Our kids were amused by some of the words so they as what sorcerers were I said people who believe in and practice magic and spells. They asked what adulterers were... this one was a little harder to explain so I said it is someone who is married and decides to be unfaithful or have an affair, they were satisfied. They then asked me amongst many giggles what a whoremonger was... oh dear how to explain this one without digging a hole or stepping past my boundaries and how the parents wanted to teach their children... after a pause Curt looked at me as if to say "go ahead smarty how are you going to explain this one". I started off kind of slow and hesitant being careful which words I chose. "Well they are people who sell their bodies for money" The boys all seemed satisfied with the answer and kind of nodded (I'm not sure if it was in understanding or if it was because they didn't want to push further) but sweet little Sadie still seemed confused she replied "like for work and stuff?" I put my hand on my face... what now? "No not necessarily Sadie... for bad things". "Okay...? I still don't get it but it's okay go ahead with the lesson". Then one little boy Isaac piped in "LIKE THE BAD PARTS OF YOUR BODY SADIE!" "Oh..." her face went red and I hurried on to the next section.

Having such a big class does have it's tough times though with listening being reverent and the like. I have a really loud whistle the kind where you put your fingers in your mouth and the whole town can hear you. I have had to use this as an attention getter a time or two or at least once a week to get their attention. So for the month of July I made them a deal if I didn't have to whistle all month long they would get a party. It was hard for them but they did it! So we will be having a party sometime in August and now I have to think of another bribe every month till the end of the year so we can keep the peace in class...

And along came Bandit!

So Curt and I had talked about getting a dog but we also wanted to wait until we were settled in a little more... I wanted a dog as soon as we found out we were moving into a house. Curt wanted to wait  years 2 years... we finally agreed on a year and a half. That only lasted a month...

Curt's sister in law's neighbor got a dog for their daughter and didn't think she wanted it so they said she needed one more week of caring for him then if she didn't want him we could have him. He is a Border Collie/Sharpei mix. So we were prepared to get a dog but then they said they needed more time with him so I decided to start looking for another dog just in case they decided to keep him. I found this beauty...

Meet Tootsie! Lab, Border Collie, Boxer Mix

She is the sweetest dog! I found her for free on KSL my co-worker and I fell in love with her she is gorgeous! She was in Weston Idaho and my co-worker grew up there so we left after work and went a picked her up so I could bring her home :) Curt didn't like that idea so much. He didn't get to help pick her out and she is so mellow which is a good thing but she had no interest in playing fetch or in playing at all plus she wanted to fight my neighbors dogs... So my co-worker that helped me pick her up said she wanted her for a playmate for her other dog. She has her now and I am sad without a dog but I know that she is happier with Copper and Holli than here with us.

So we had Tootsie Thursday night, Friday day and night and Saturday gave her to Holli and picked up Bandit. Curt showed me some cute puppies in Cove, Utah that were German Short hair(Pointers) and Blue Heeler mix. We decided those would make good dogs so we tried to call the guy but he never answered. Another set of puppies(same breed) came on in Bear River, Utah so we called him and scheduled a time to see them. On June 30th we picked up our first puppy!

Meet Bandit! She has one brown eye and one blue eye!

She is too cute! I love her so much and she has the funniest personality! It is kind of weird to have a dog other than Jackie who I have had since I was 9 years old. It's funny how different, different breeds are. We have had her 5 weeks now she is 17 weeks old, she has grown so much it kind of makes me sad I want her to be a puppy forever! She is the floppiest dog you'll ever meet. Playing tug of war isn't even really a game if she wants to lie down and growl in the middle she will and you can drag her all over the floor until she decides she is ready to stand up again. She loves to grunt, sigh, and whine when she is upset about a situation or wants you to know she doesn't approve. She is kind of a chicken dog she is very shy and timid when faced with a new situation until she decides she is comfortable with it. If something is her idea she is all for it but if not she gives you this look like "Really, you want me to do what now? I don't think so." She has recently, about a week or two ago, realized that she is part cow dog and has started to herd to goats when we go check on them it is darling. Just yesterday she realized she is part bird dog too and stood in perfect point Curt looked down and back up and she was darting after a sparrow she saw. Now the big training begins so she can know what is okay to chase and herd and what is not. She loves to jump on people and be chased.

Look at that face! Can't stay mad at this cutie for long.

She is a silly sleeper, this is her favorite sleeping position.

She uses the scale for her pillow a lot. I think she needs a real pillow.

I no longer get to sleep in because she is used to being up early during the work week to go out to relieve herself in the morning, but I can't imagine not having her! She makes everyday an adventure and she is always giving me great stories to tell. I love my little Bandita!

Our New Life!

So as we learned in the last post! We love our life! Our new house, our land, town, our ward, and our neighbors! We live in one of the prettiest places on earth! Curtis always tell people when they come to visit welcome to heaven!

So since moving in the first item of business for us was to get animals :) that's right that was the first thing we wanted to do. Like I said we live on 5/8 of an acre, most of which is animal/horse property. Curtis was mowing the yard the first time and he mowed one strip of the entire length of the property he came inside and said we need goats or sheep or something to eat down the animal property so he could just mow the part with would be considered the "yard". So that night we started looking on KSL for some goats, we found cute little goats in a town about 10 minutes away but the lady never got back to us on them. So we found others in another town about 20 minutes away and went and picked them up! Two little doelings, Jolly and Josephine.

Josephine is in the back with the darker markings and Jolly is up front with the mostly white legs

So Jolly got her name from the Hunchback of Norte Dame because that is Esmeralda's goat. Josephine got her name from her Uncle Michael(first name Joseph) he makes a goat face that looks like a goat our Uncle and Aunt have so to pay him homage we named one of our goat girls after Michael. I wanted to name both of them after him (Josephine and Michaelina) but Curt said no... :(

So these are our sweetie goats we love them and they have done a fabulous job keeping the weeds down. They brought much enjoyment the first few weeks we had them. Curt told me that they had taken over our lives because they were all I could think about when we weren't home and then when we were I wanted to be down with them. They have the funniest personalities and I was never aware how much attitude and personality a goat can have!