Feasting during a "Famine"

I've been thinking alot about the economy and the times that we are living in. I truly feel we are living in the last days where "perilous times shall come". Sometimes, our challenges are so overwhelming, that we falter and find our "light" flickering, just a tad. In my personal family and close friends, I have been a part of heartache, catastrophic medical diagnosis, physical challenges, and uncertainty in the future. Our faith is strong, and yet, at times, I find myself asking my Heavenly Father to "strengthen my faith". Thru the experiences that I have had, I know that He is there, just working in His time with His perspective.
I've been reading alot of good talks lately and want to share my favorite so far. It is a talk given to the Young Adults at the last CES fireside by Jeffrey Holland. I love this talk and keep it close by so that I can read it often. It's a small feast of hope in the famine of despair that can easily engulf our lives. I hope it gives some the comfort and strength that I have felt from the thoughts and inspiration of one of our apostles.
http://deseretnews.com/pdf/Holland2008.pdf

LOVE TO ALL!!

"Family" Activity

Our family went to the SYTYCD concert last night. It was at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. But what a fun concert. No pictures....hmm!! Darleen came down and joined us. Yes, even Brad went. Loved, loved the dances!! Getting home at midnight was the only downside, but definitely worth going. It was interesting to see the adults screaming...especially guys! I guess it goes to show you that dancing is somthing all ages, all types can enjoy. Did I say we LOVED the dances?? They did all our favorites!! Which ones were they?

For YOUR enjoyment, we have listed

Our top 3

Hip-Hop/Bleeding Love/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4OtJgNdrY&feature=related

Contemporay/Mercy/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-PaTu-4JCw&feature=related

Contemporary/All By Myself/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIvowYqGEEI&feature=related

ENJOY!!!!

Happy Birthday Aaron

1/4 of a century!! 25 years old!!

We sure hope Aaron had a wonderful day. From what I've heard, his sweet wife pampered him and loved him and made this day great. Here are some fun pictures and reasons why we love this guy so much!!

5 Reasons we LOVE AARON

He has a special bond with little kids. Just ask any of those young guys who has the best collection of walkie-talkies!!

He remembers to check on his sisters when they have tests or are having a bad day. He has always tried to be a good older brother. He also checks on his Mom and Dad each day (since he is away) and ALWAYS tells us he loves us!!!

(yes, this is an older picture...I could only find this one of the 3 of them!)

He loves to cook....He loves to be Mom's guinea pig when she is cooking and always is willing to try anything....once. He likes to make sure the details on special events is just perfect!! He remembers all special days!

He is our go-to computer guy. He will try and fix any problem. He is fairly patient when teaching and re-teaching his Mom on computer programs.

And lastly, (but definitely not the least)... he married Savannah (another amazing daughter-in-law) in the temple to start his own family. We love him dearly!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!!!!

Homecoming, Part 1

Day at the Lake....

Aly and her friends bribed a very nice man in our ward to take them to the lake for the Day-Date Activity. But, it ended up being a bunch of friends and the Bishop was the other Chaperone! They all came home tired, sunburned and sore...but they had a blast!! Here are the girls that went. There were also 4 guys that went.....friends, of course!

Yes....that is Aly getting some serious air!!

Homecoming, Part 2

So, after a morning of having a blast at the lake with her group of friends, and after a good nap, Aly started the "process" of getting ready....makeup.....dress....just gorgeous!!

Her date for Homecoming is Justin Durfee

Aly and Homecoming

So, Highland High School was featured in Good Morning Az this morning on channel 3. Aly had to be there at 4:30 a.m. to help set up and get ready (another student council assignment). Be patient with the video. They will start to sing the Alma Mater. She is on the left side of the group, middle row....curly hair!! Yeah for Aly!!

PS: in another video, you can get a glimpse of Cassie as a cheerleader....my, what a famous family we are!!

http://www.azfamily.com/video/gmaz-index.html?nvid=286800&shu=1

And the Season Begins...

Soccer....our family's favorite sport of all sports. Another season is here and Aly is on another U-19 Co-Ed team. Her first game was yesterday (Saturday) and this season's team is....well....not quite a winning team. So, it will be another year of "having fun" for the sake of playing soccer. Of course, it would not be a soccer season without the usual bruises, bumps, rolls, "contusions", yellow cards and all out rough playing. So, for starters, here is Aly's first bruise of the season. This one is unique! It actually left an imprint of the soccer ball on her leg. This picture was taken today...24 hours later..... Amazing!!

Senior Pictures

This is a plug for Still Life Studios. Did I tell you they are my most favorite photographer? They did some fun things with Jacque's senior pictures and gave permission for me to share.
http://www.stillifestudios.com/ClientWork/jacqueweechalbum/upload/

Wouldn't this be fun for a baby shoot? Or a senior shoot? They do a great job and have the patience to work with about anybody.....after all.... we have worked together on a few projects and still like each other! Check out their website:
http://www.stilllifestudios.com/

Nice work Dani!

Birthday Celebrations...Rogers' Style!

So, this past Sunday, we had a few birthdays to celebrate. Our tradition is to pick out our favorite meal, Grampy and Grammy spend the day cooking and preparing in between meetings and afterwards, we celebrate with song, laughter (usually about how we sing), a few presents from family members and crazy, crazy pictures. We did a triple this past week:

Faye - growing up fast and furious. Beautiful and obvious sportin' her own style!

Cassie - in high school! Officially old enough to go to the dances! Gorgeous!!

And our wonderful Grammy....looking quite spiffy with her new purse and all her grandkids around her!

Of course, a few pictures of our wonderful, crazy family!!

Tagged....indirectly by Yvette

4 things I like about my husband:
He always notices my new haircuts/styles
One of the best fix-it-man lawyers I know
He tells me every, every day that he loves me
He sings Christmas Carols all year long

4 movies I can watch more than once:
Remember the Titans
It's a Wonderful Life
7 Brides for 7 Brothers
Mulan

4 TV Shows I watch:
So you Think You Can Dance
What Not to Wear
.........not much else!

4 Places I've been:
Korea
Hawaii
Bahamas
Alaska

4 Places I've been today:
Allergist Office for Aly
Walgreens - perscriptions
Safeway- juice and such
Subway

4 People who e-mail me regularly:
Grampy/Dad
Pam
Aaron/Savannah
Airfare Watchdog

4 Favorite Foods:
Grilled Pineapple
Anything Mexican
Anything with chicken
Homemade wheat bread (see my problem????)

4 Places I would like to Visit:
England
Islands of Hawaii
Church History Sites
Book of Mormon Sites

4 things I am looking forward to this coming year:
Getting in shape
Going back to school
Starting my personal history
Going to Vermont

I tag: Pam, Donelle & Candi

New House!

Tyler and Jenny own their own home! Now their work begins. This past Saturday, they painted the inside of their home. Didn't get quite done, but the colors are wonderful!

They have a "green", "blue" and "cream" room with majority of the walls a light tan/brownish color. We had so much fun painting and climbing the ladders and "cutting" in at the windows and the ceilings. Lots of walls!!!!

Tyler and Jenny had family and friends who helped thruout the day and much was accomplished. Their counter tells the story! Lots of food and phones for communication. It was a great day!

Do you believe in Miracles??

Miracles...tender mercies....are not quite the same as "chance". I don't believe in things that "just happen". I truly believe that every experience we have is for a reason. Our family witnessed and was a part of a series of little miracles this past weekend as we traveled home from our Labor Day Vacation at Mt. Graham.
After the hikers got home - (with Brad and Grandma making the hour long trip - each way -to pick them up) everyone was very tired.....except me. I had stayed behind at Grandma's house to help with Mark & Yvette's kids and to sneak a little nap.
We are traveling home and as we get about 5-10 miles out of Globe, I notice that the battery light in Brad's truck is on. I casually mention it to Brad and he looks and says..."we better keep an eye on it". As I'm driving, I notice that the steering has become a little "stiff", I mention it to Brad, but since I'm going 60-ish down the freeway and it's a straight road, there isn't much difference. A few miles down the road, we notice that the air conditioner is not blowing cool air and as we are pulling into Globe, the dashboard lights become dim. We decide to pull over and switch drivers. We start to pull over into the right side of the road in front of the DQ, but then we needed a bathroom break and Brad asks me to quickly pull over to the left hand side, make a quick turn into the McDonalds. By now, I realize the truck is NOT going to make a quick turn, and I miss the turn into McDonalds and turn onto the next street which promptly heads up a steep hill. There is no place to stop or turn around! As we near the top, Brad says we need to pull over and he takes the steering wheel. This is where he realizes that the power steering is completely gone and barely turns the truck around at the top of the hill....in the middle of nowhere with very little traffic and a few houses.
HMMMMM
So, we get out and Brad flags down the first person to come up the hill. Our "good Samaritan". His name is Gary and he becomes one of the blessings to our family. He is from British Columbia and took the same street hoping to find a short cut back to his trailer where he is staying on business. He has some mechanic background and is very willing to help. Brad and Gary go into Globe, call a tow truck and end up at the only store open on this holiday until 8:00 p.m.
Turns out the 'universal' belt has been torn to shreds....literally.
Now think about this:
* We have just come off Mt. Graham...that speaks for itself. With switchbacks and steep roads, if this had happened then, we could have had a serious accident
* We happen to miss the turn into McDonalds and turn onto the same street that Gary is on, hoping to return to his home away from home
* Gary stops, helps us and happens to have mechanic experience
* We find a store that is open and a tow truck that is working late on the holiday
* The truck had mechanic difficulties on the straight part of the road, in town (we had just come off the reservation) and were headed into the mountains between Globe and Superior.
* Within 2 hours, the truck was fixed and we returned safely.

These were NOT just circumstances that just happened. Our family feels we were watched over and blessed in numerous ways. We have been reminded that there are VERY good people out in the world.
Gary.....was and is a blessing in our lives. He was kind, took his time to help a stranded family and asked for nothing in return...except that we do a kind deed for someone, someday. He ended up dirty and a little burned on his arms from working on the truck, but never complained. What a great example of service he is to us and both of our daughters. We will not forget his kindness and consider him our friend.

We were blessed this weekend in many ways!!

Another Adventure on Mt. Graham

So, this year, Daryl tells the "hikers"....it is going to be an easy 4-hour hike. There is a trail and all is well. So, there are 8 hikers.....very brave hikers.....ready for an easy 4-hour hike down Mt. Graham on the Shingle Mill Trail. Daryl,Darleen & Nathan, Mark & Yvette, Jacque & Aly and Bro. Madsen.

So, they are off...having a wonderful time as they tramp thru stinging nettle (which by the way is alot like poison ivy..... )

Manuvering around the rocks and creek.....

Taking a few breaks and enjoying the beautiful view.....

But alas....the 4-hour hike became a LITTLE bit longer as someone led the fearless group down a wrong trail (that was only a small detour!)

And then....Bro. Madsen just gave out. You see, these hikes are NOT for the faint of heart, the wanna-be young at heart OR those who are OUT OF SHAPE!! About 3/4 of the way, Bro. Madsen had had enough and couldn't go another step. NOT a good thing! So, the hikers straggled in about 4:30 p.m......again, without much food, a very bumpy ride back home and a little too much sunshine. So, the 4-hour hike became a 7 1/2 hour hike.

But all ended well and after a brief stop at Grandma's...we were headed home....so we thought! To be continued.....

Happy Birthday Tyler

We celebrated Tyler's birthday early at Grammys with his favorite dinner and giftcards to Home Depot.

On his REAL birthday, which was Thursday, August 28th. I was able to take Tyler and Jenny out to lunch and then Jacque, Aly, Brad and myself headed up to Mt. Graham.

Here are 5 reasons we love Tyler:

He always has a way to make us laugh

He LOVES the little ones!

He has a smile that lights up any room

He married Beautiful Jenny in the Temple and made his own eternal family

AND

He always, always tells us that he loves us...on the phone, before he leaves. He is not afraid to tell his family of his love.

We love you Tyler!!