Happy B-Day from Keri

We All Love You

Happy Birthday Nicole. We all love you and hope you have an extra special day. You are a Great Wife and Mom. Hope you make a birthday wish and it comes true. You deserve it.

Love all of us.

Happy Birthday from Garrett

Happy Birthday from Madison

Happy Birthday from MJ

Happy Birthday from Darren

Garrett Catches 5 Fish

Pioneer Humor

I just wanted to post this weeks cartoon from Madison's Avenue. I thought the pioneers might have gone through some of the same parenting problems that we still face today.



Remember you can catch the weekly cartoon at www.madisoncartoon.com

Can We Watch a Video

Ok, there are times when as an adult you look back at the times when you were a kid and have one of those moments when you have become your parents. That happened to me last week while we spent a few days in God's Country at Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone National Forest. We had decided that on our way home we would stay the night in West Yellowstone. While we were there we ran into what we all thought was a fun street, It was called Madison Avenue. If you don't know why it's special to us you should read our cartoon. www.madisoncartoon.com So naturally my daughter who is named accordingly, decides she needs here picture taken with the sign.



It just so happens that Lewis and Clark on there way through the park had named loads of things after their then secretary of state James Madison. Well I knew of the Madison River, but there was also a Madison campground, a Junction in the park named Madison, a Madison Hotel, a gift shop and numerous others. My son who seeing his sister taking all the glory asks, " Dad what famous things was I named after?" Not wanting my son to feel left out, but not really being up to date on his namesake other than we liked the name. I knew of one person whose last name had my son's first. I blurted out, "Well there was a famous sheriff who shot Billy the Kid and his name was Pat Garret." Well from then on if was 20 questions and we found a photo of Billy the Kid, Pat Garret, and the gun that Pat carried along with the reward poster and other items on interest on a picture plaque in one of the gift shops. He was pacified.

After finding a hotel and making sure it had the one essential thing that every hotel must have, a heated pool, we were off to the park, we were about 5 minutes into my park lecture and what a great experience that this was going to be when my son pulls out the pin that deflates my (sharing an experience of beauty and recognition for one of our countries greatest treasures) balloon.

"Can we watch a movie?" he shouted from the seat just behind mine. This was my moment, I became my Dad and I politely told him and his siblings. "No!"

My dad had taken me through the part 28 years prior and I would have never dreamed of asking to see a movie, of course it didn't exist at the time, but my Dad had recongized the beauty of the park and wanted to pass it along to me as I wanted to do the same for my kids. I guess somtimes appreciation comes after the fact. They will look back a the experience years later with a longing to see the park again, it only took me 28 years to get back lets see how long it will take them.

Farnzy and Coley

IMG_0111
Originally uploaded by f4rnzy

This is my wife who I love so much !!!!!! We were jammin' it for Jeannie.

Relay for Life

This last weekend we had the opportunity to participate in the Relay for Life. http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/ It was a great experience. To anyone who has lost a loved one to cancer you will know what a helpless feeling that you have knowing the pain and suffering that your loved one is going threw. My wife (Nicole) lost her mother to cancer almost 4 years ago. This disease has taken many of the people that we knew in our community. The Relay for Life is one way that we can give back to those that lost everything. The Organizers of the Relay for Life in Soda Springs Idaho had a goal of raising $25,000 by the end of the event more than $52,000 was raise in the fight against cancer. My Sister-in-law organized our team and did a great job in planning and following through on the event. We began walking at 6pm on Friday night and continued walking until 6am the next morning. One person had to be on the track for the full duration of the event. The sun went down and we all froze, but we were united in cause. Just one way to show that a few people can make a difference.

To view some photos from the event please follow this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/farnzy/sets/72157605937128888/

A Basket of Cash

I thought I would just share some feeling that I had over the last week at church. I teach a Primary class and in the process they like us teachers to be knowledgable about the subject; and by "they" I am referring to the original "THEY" the Ultimate "THEY" the Omnipresent and Omnipotent "THEY." The pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit, and cast them into the fire "THEY". Like a good servant I broke out the scriptures on Saturday night and started to read in I Nephi Chapter 17. Nephi is commanded by the Lord to build a ship and his brothers are mocking him. Calling him all sorts of crazy and wishing he would take a long walk off a short pier. Nephi scolds them for being "Them" and then continues to tell them about the Children of Israel being led out of bondage by Moses and relates all the miracles that Moses performed through the power of God.

Nephi then tells them in 1 Nephi 17 verse 50 "And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done." Then in verse 51 he drives it home for his brothers. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

This scripture answered my question of why didn't God just provide the ship for them like he did the Liahona for he surely could have. TOO EASY.... And in my infant mind I started to think... If I had enough faith why couldn't I command that basket of fruit on the table to be thou a basket of cash to pay off my debt, you know that stuff that the prophets have warned us not to fall prey to, well for one reason God didn't command me to and there are about a hundred other reasons but I will not discuss those at this time. Nevertheless the light went on in my head. God is not going to give us the easy way out, but if we go to him, as a faithful servant, he will instruct us on how we can build our own ship. I'd like to end in the words of the strong and faithful servant Nephi..

"And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done."

Amen