Calling for MORE POSTS!!

Hello Family!

I was reading the scriptures this week (I know, right?) and in 3 Nephi 23:11, I read something important. It goes along nicely with Mom's post of their Saturday adventure. In this part of 3 Nephi, Jesus reminds the Nephites of a prophecy by Samuel the Lamanite. He prophesied that many of the saints would rise from the dead and minister to many when Jesus was resurrected. Jesus asks why they hadn't written this down yet. Nephi remembers that "this thing was not written."

So I got to thinking. "Why was it so important that this be written?" "What doctrine does this teach?"

I think that ONE important thing we can learn is to recognize the blessings of the Lord in our lives. The tender mercies that are fulfillment of prophecies. The way I see this in my life is in the opportunity to write in my journal the blessings that I have seen that day. It creates a grateful heart and a humble and diligent person. Someone who is willing to look every day for blessings from the Lord is humble and will rely on Him. They are also dedicated and diligent to be able to look every day.

As I was talking with one of the guys we home teach, He mentioned that President Eyring did that with his journal. Then (and this was the part that I didn't know) he said that President Eyring and his family continue to do this every day. They have a family email that they send around to everyone each day with a blessing that they have received. I feel like we do that with the emails and the blog as we share our spiritual experiences. We can continue to do that. We could even go every day! But how about we start every week? It doesn't have to be super long, just a paragraph is good. Would everyone post/email once a week and include one tender mercy that they have seen as a family that week?



Well??
 We heard a good one from Mom and now Esther. I will tell you all a little secret. If you write a paragraph a week then you won't feel obligated to write a book every 2 months.

Anyway.

This week I did Pilates with Courtney Shill. It was pretty fun. I liked how it focuses a lot on the core. We made smoothies afterwards compliments of a nice, new (for me) blender I got from Rory Bluth. She is my old roommate's wife and coworker.

Last night I went country dancing with Alex Williams and her roommates and friends. These are the same people that I went to the concert with last week. That was pretty fun. I was learning a lot of moves and remembering some others. I feel like I need to go visit Omaha. Joseph should list country dance lessons as one of the things that Omaha offers.

We, Dad and the Erickson boys (minus Jared), put in for elk and deer tags, so we hope we get drawn.

Yesterday my roommate Nate got married in the Payson temple! We went to the reception. His wife's family is from mexico, so they had mexican dances performed, and he is from Hawaii. He isn't hawaiian, but they had some family and friends do hawaiian dances! It was the coolest reception ever! I think I am going to have everyone perform at my reception, so start getting some acts together. :)
https://youtu.be/rIhsPTu1vDU
https://youtu.be/BibG29zT92s
https://youtu.be/WIIZQsqVks4
https://youtu.be/OX3H-dmVYGk

Her grandma danced one of the dances. I should have taken a video of the boys dancing one of the Hawaiian dances. It was really, really cool. Made me want to learn to dance! The girls who danced hawaiian were being copied by a lot of little girls from the audience. It was the cutest thing ever!

I went frisbee golfing with McKenzi Davis on Thursday. As we were throwing, she hit the power line (hole #4 bicentennial park, for Joseph). We tried to throw it over a clump of trees to get to the hole, and her frisbee went right into the trees. We spent about 30 min looking before it got too dark. Then we came back the next morning. We just had 20 min to find the frisbee because she had class and I had work. So we looked and looked. A couple of times we went back to the pad and tried to remember how the frisbee flew into the trees. Then I decided that we had to find it fast otherwise we wouldn't find it that morning. I told her how, when I was younger, we would always pray as a family to find things we had lost like pacifiers. :) So we said a prayer and then she started to look. I stayed still for a few minutes and I thought about how McKenzi said that she thought it hadn't ever hit the ground... I looked over in the trees and There it WAS!! I said it so "nonchalantly" that Mckenzi didn't believe that I was serious. At first she thought I was joking and then she thought that I knew where it was the whole time... haha. She finally believed me in the end.
I also went on a frisbee golf date with Bobbe Graham, from the ward, on Friday evening. It was fun.  And on hole #4.... We both tried to go around the trees (I had taken the elementary student (Jonathan) that I mentor through 4H to that park earlier that day, and we both lost our frisbees. We spent about 10 minutes looking before we found them). So I told Bobbe we should go around, but we both messed up (thinking too much about what not to do I guess) and we ended up in the trees. We found mine pretty quickly. It was starting to get dark and I knew that we had to find the other one soon or we would be in for a repeat of the last one. I suggested we pray. Haha. Seriously. After we prayed I quickly found a white frisbee that was new. I thought, "I have a replacement now, I guess that is a pretty straightforward answer." But then I was thinking of Jonathan's family and they have 5 people. I thought it would be nice to have another frisbee to take them all to the park one day. Jonathan really super enjoyed frisbee golf. When we finished, he looks over at me and says, "Again?" He really liked it. So I told him we could play with his whole family, but he had counted my discs and said, "There are five in my family." I told him we could easily share.
Anyhow, Bobbe and I were looking and we were just about to leave. At this point we were using my cell phone to light up the area and search for it. As we were leaving, I held the phone up behind us towards the trees and low and behold the frisbee was way up in the tree! I pointed it out to Bobbe (it was a, "let me show you how big of a fish I caught" situation) Then I climbed the tree and shook it down. Bobbe and I finished up the night with some custard and ice at Rita's - a really good place with tasty ice and custard.

Anywho. It was a fun time. I realized afterward that I hadn't said thank you, so I made sure to say a thank you prayer.

Love you all,

PS This week I am going to Grandpa and Grandma's to help them move the cattle on the forest (tuesday) and then I am going to run Ragnar with a girl from the ward, Hannah Cahoon, and her siblings and friends. Normally I am pretty confident in my running abilities, but I haven't exercised at all and the last leg that I am supposed to run is 10.5 miles which is farther than I have ever ran.

Also I was talking to a client this week and he told me that he was getting married and was going to be out of town for the honeymoon. I sent him a link for the Family Proclamation, and told him that this was something that has really benefited our family. (Right?) He said thanks, but I don't think he has read it yet....so we will see what happens. :)

Outvoted...

Alright alright.. sooo i guess the "ayes" did have it after all..  Heres ma next post:

Lets see... Whats new in the life of Esther Erickson??  Well right now i have a lady bug sitting next to me on the couch, and i have no idea how he got there, soo Im just letting him chill! At least its not a spider. Hes pretty cool though.

Meet ma new fran!!! He named "Sir"

School ended! Finally... i was definitely on my last push. Completely lost all my motivation but its fine. Its over!! Finals went well for the most part. A couple were a little rough. I had the normal of freaking out for certain ones and rocking those and not freaking out for others and bombing them. Or in History's case, freaking out and still bombing it, but i managed. Of course, you all probably know that "bombing" in Esther's vocab is not the normal definition of bombing but thats a minor detail.

My report card and GPA

Lets see what else.. just the norm of stuggling to keep the boys off! haha kidding.. the only struggle is from their side ;) HAHA! also kiddding.

The forestry competition happened in May. I wasn't super confident about it because i never really made the time to practice. But i did teach a lot to Myrisa and ended up proving her to Hardy a couple days before and brought her along! so that was pretty great! My team lost to the first place team by 4 points.. thats like a slight rounding error! Not even a full problem!!! Ahhh a little frustrating.. but our highest individual was Tanner and he got third. So definitely something to work harder for next year!

Also in May was my first blind date! First though, a little background: I have a friend named Cassie Torgerson who moved here from Rigby the end of Sophomore year. She has a guy friend down there named Tate. He was homeschooled and was a senior this year. There was a homeschooled kids prom up here called IDVA Prom and he really wanted to go and take Cassie. Tate was bringing a buddy of his (who also worked for Tate's gpa on his ranch) to travel with him. Cassie then asked me if id be willing to double with this kid both she and i knew nothing about, she knowing id be cool with something like this and not awkward with someone new and potentially shy (shed heard). She also knew i liked country and cowboys anndd thats how I met Brandon! It was a really fun day! We went on a hike on Tubbs hill during the day. He was kinda shy, but it wasnt too hard to get him to open up and start talking. Tate drove this white chevy pickup that was total redneck. No muffler, no key needed to start, big radio,... haha im not sure what else but hopefully you get the jist.

This was hiking at Tubbs. Excuse the fact im not looking at the camera. I wasnt ready haha

 After the hike we went to their hotel and went swimming for a little bit. Except Cassie and i mostly just sat in the hot tub because we didnt want to get our hair wet so we could curl it later.  Then they dropped Cassie and I off at Cassie's house to get ready and then went back to their hotel to keep swimming. Cassie curled my hair for me and then did her own while i did my make up. Then i helped her into her honkin dress. It was soo poofy! She could barely fit in the bathroom stall later..  Anyways,  the boys came back to pick us up and we took some pics. Then we went home and took some pics there too. Then it was off to the dance! At first it was like "uhhhhh......... maybe not?" because it looked like there was not very many people there and most of them were girls. I think our group was the only ones that didnt look like what people generally think of homeschoolers as. Us 4 were definitely the hottest ones there ;) haha! Anyways we just decided to go with it and it ended up still being really fun! Tate and Cassie were kinda tearing it up as they both had taken ballroom dance classes. But Brandon and i werent doing too bad either because he actually could dance too. We did some lifts, waltzed, and Brandon and Tate did a backflip. We took some pics there too. Then we went to Applebees to eat. Then it was off home! And that was it!

Photo shoot at the dance.. It took us a bit to get posed haha

Our Group- Brandon, Me, Cassie, and Tate

Cassie's stalker pic when we were at Applebee's. Put in for your entertainment

This was at Cassie's house. Myrisa pointed out that we were Saving room for Jesus. Especially in the other pics where that pic separates the boys and girls :)

Oh and for Myrisa's birthday, we kidnapped her. It was pretty great:) i coordinated it with her older sister and we met them and riverstone. When her sister and her turned a corner we ran out with pillowcases and jumped her. She ended up seeing Hailey but she still ran. And then struggled the whole way to mineral ridge.. Yellling police right as a cop drove by, kicked the driver (Alexis) multiple times.. it was a struggle but it was fun for her to figure out who we were. Then we hiked mineral ridge.  That was the saturday after her bday. The day of we skipped the last few periods of school and went and took pictures in our spot and then went to a few thrift stores. Dressed up in a few things there.. it was fun :)

This is when we kidnapped her

At the end of the hike

The way back down. Taken from my new phone

One of the pics i took when we took pics. She is difficult to pose... so everything is just her normal facial expressions and it turned out pretty great :)

Right now, im just looking for a job. Ive given Resumes to about 18 different places so far soo we'll see if anything happens. I havent applied to food places yet though.. I think im a little too prideful or something, but i probably will if nothing else comes up soon. Its just not my first choice haha.

Summer conditioning for XC is also starting up. I want to be running a lot because weve been super close to state the past 2 years and we lost one of our coaches so thats motivation to push harder this year.

Thats all i can think of! No trees falling, or girls getting lost sooo not quite the fun and fancy free novel thats been in the past, but hey- every big author gets a break right?

Random pic of our triple piggy back

Also, rumor has it that i have a phone. Actually not a rumor because mom had it in the family email... But for any thats interested my number is (208) 717-1420 haha jk its 867-5 three ohh nieeeeiiiinnnneee ("Call me!!!")

Thats bout it! Peace out  (insert peace sign here) or maybe ill add a pic

PEACE OUT

Saturday's Adventure

Saturday our work project was planned to be tiling the upstairs bathroom floor.  Then Dad mentioned on Friday that he might want to take the time to replace the water pump on the Suburban.  So we had our work cut out for us.

At our family prayer Saturday morning, we prayed to have happy and cheerful feelings as we worked together.  We also prayed that whatever car repairs we did that they would go smoothly, without specifically mentioning the Suburban.

Because the Coeur d' Alene Lowes didn't have enough of the tile we wanted, we planned to go to a Spokane Valley store where there were 1000 tiles in the color we wanted.  Dad had also found a tile saw on craigslist for $60 and knowing that it is at least $40 to rent one for a day, thought the purchase option might be preferable.  The seller from Cheney agreed to meet us at Lowes at 8 a.m. Saturday.

As a prelude experience to our work project we decided to all go, reading our scriptures on the way and eating some cantaloupe and bagels.

Just after coming off the exit and getting close to the street to turn to Lowes, Dad heard a strange sound from the car.  At the next light, he had no power steering.  He muscled the car into the parking lot.  While Esther and I went in to look at tile, Dad and James looked at the car.

 It was a belt that was so fried that it wouldn't straighten in order to be placed back on.  So we all walked to the nearest Napa about a mile and a half's distance playing shadow tag along the way.  It was a lovely sunny day but not very hot.  At Napa we got the belt and a wrench, since there were no tools in the car, and also watched a video there of how to replace the belt.  Esther was Dad's mechanical assistant then.

Something still wasn't right because the car made a funny noise, and after trying again, the battery had died.  We knew previously that the battery's life was short, we just hadn't replaced it yet.  At this point we decided to call Triple A.  James reminded us that we had that membership, courtesy of Brother Small.

There was a Wal-Mart nearby.  We got a snack.  We comfortably waited in a shady patio area of the garden center of Lowes until a Tow Truck came.  I think they sent a larger one than needed so there was room for 4 passengers.

It was almost like an amusement ride to travel in the huge tow truck.  We were seated quite high.  The driver had a cooler of water bottles, which were quite refreshing.  After getting on the freeway there were about 300 or more motorcycles rumbling past us.  The tow driver couldn't get over to move into the lane that was not an exit lane because of all the motorcyles.  So he did exit and got on at the next on ramp.

We made it home about 1:00.   The water pump on the Buick was bad, frozen up.  Dad replaced that and the battery.  We're so thankful for his automotive skills.  

Our prayers were answered in bountifully.  We all were cheerful.  I was quite impressed with what good sports Esther and James were.  We did have safety.  We didn't break down until a protective parking lot. We had a way to get us and the car home quite effortlessly on our part.  The weather was very cooperative too, not very hot at all that day which was pleasant for Dad to work on the car outside where it had been deposited in the street by the curb.  Dad was able to pinpoint the problem fairly easily and the repairs went smoothly.  Even though it was not the day we had planned, we felt so blessed in many ways.

What I love most about my Dad?

My Dad took the time to listen to me.  I remember many times as we would do chores, I would ask him questions, all kinds of questions.  He would always thoughtfully answer them.  I still remember some of the answers.  I remember one time in particular when he told me how important his health was to him, after I had asked what was important to him.  I also remember another time in answer to what he would do later in life, he said.  “Well, I do not want to be farming in my later years.”  Ha Ha, but because of their love for us and keeping the farm together, they have hung on to bless others.  I know of no one that has worked harder unselfishly, that my parents, in behalf of their posterity.  They are incredible. 

One other thing, I love about my Father, is that he always was straight forward and direct.  You knew what he expected and did not have to guess.  You might not have liked it, but you knew what he required of you. 

My Dad also knew how to balance a busy farm life with a good fishing trip.  I think he learned this as he went along.  I have seen times when the work load was overwhelming and machinery was broken, hay to get in and he would say. “Let’s go fishing today”.   He does that now at times with his grandchildren.  What a great example of putting first things first.  That is something I still am working on.  

Well, that is a couple of things that I love about my Dad!

Two Questions out of 30 Answered

Joseph invited Dad and I to answer some family history questions.  He got the idea from the New Era for May and June.  I chose two questions.  Here are the answers.

Family History Questions for Sheri, Mom

What was I like as a child?

I was happy and carefree as a young girl.  Many of us are that way.   In fact I would say all of us, all of my children and my husband anyway.  My paternal grandparents called me “princess”.  This is before the word had a negative, spoiled brat connotation.  They called me princess because I liked to sing and dance around their yard and garden and put flowers in my hair.  I like to hold on to that image of me, a lighthearted, self-assured girl who was content with the world.

I remember reading a Christmas letter my parents were sending out.  I think I was 7 or 8 years old.  I asked my mom “what does extrovert mean?” when I saw that word used to describe me.  I have always been very sociable.  When I was in first grade, my teacher was quite displeased with my talking in class to my neighbors.

I am the fourth child, the third daughter.  I have read some analysis of that child’s place in a family and some of what I’ve learned applies to me.  The fourth child generally wants everyone to get along.  The fourth child is a peacemaker.  Looking back I see some peacemaking tendencies that I had.  I was grateful for two older sisters and an older brother.  I don’t remember feeling anything but thankful for my younger siblings.  I don’t think I felt displaced when they were born.  Of course there were times that I fought with my siblings, but I was generally glad for their companionship and influence.

The birth order went Linda, born 1953, Scott, 1955, Brenda 1957, Me, 1959, Chris, 1961, Kathy 1967 and Brent 1969.

Tell about my worst date ever.
 

It’s a toss-up between two. 

When I was a freshman at Ricks College in 1977-78 I was asked to a Neil Sedaka concert.  He was a fairly famous singer in the late fifties and early sixties.  Then later, in the late 70’s, early 80’s, he was making a comeback.  He was a mild enough singer for Ricks College, but hip enough that you didn’t feel like such a square to like him.  Anyway, a fellow freshman young man named Nylin Quinn asked me to the concert.  It was such an unusual name, I still remember.  It was for a Saturday night. It was the fall semester.  As I said, I was a social bug.  Friday night I had a date, stayed up after getting home visiting with roommates probably until after 1:00.  Then Saturday morning I had another date, early.  It was a double.  We went to Jackson and hiked around.  The guy I was with was into photography and he was trying to capture some beautiful fall colors and scenes.  We got back late afternoon.  I got ready for the concert.  We were up in the high seats of the Hart Gym.  It was warm.  Probably half way through the concert I fell asleep.  I remember waking up and Nylin looking at me quite disgusted.  It was quite out of character for me to fall asleep like that.  I never fell asleep during class or anything like that.  I must have been completely exhausted.  I felt bad, but I didn’t really apologize.  He took me home right after the concert ended and never asked me out again.

Tying for a close second would be a date I recently recalled with Joshua because a girl he home teaches is from Valley Center and has the last name Armstrong.  I went out with a Mike Armstrong the summer after my freshman year, 1978, when I was home in Valley Center.  I was already pretty in love with Alan (Dad), so I wasn’t really looking for any new relationship.  Mike acted like he really liked me, but I was not interested at all.  I’m not sure why I even accepted the date.  I guess because Dad and I had agreed to date other people throughout the summer.  But I was kind of rude.  Mike’s family ran a very successful chicken farm.  He first showed me the family business.  I think he was probably trying to impress me, but also get my reaction for a possible future wife.  He showed up in an old classic car.  It was pink.  The original color.  I don’t remember the model, but it was probably from the 50’s.  He had had it restored to mint condition.  So we toured the chicken farm, (awful smell!) and then went to some sort of fun park where we drove go-carts around a track.  It was a Saturday night and the next day was Fast Sunday.  After the go-cart he offered to get me a milkshake or something and I said I had already started my fast.  I was not a good conversationalist, which is also out of character for me.  I showed no interest in him or his business or car or anything.  He was very polite and cheerful.  The best conversation I had with him was a few months later when he was engaged to a very sweet girl and sharing his good news with me.  I was genuinely happy for him and wished him the very best. 

3 Reasons Blog Posts Increase Family Unity

Everyone thinks of a blog as a kind of personal project. Some people use blogs for business to increase their success. Blogs can provide more search engine hits and be a source of content that interests potential clients. Blogs can be a way of spreading ideas: fashion, recipes, and even politics all have their own blogs. In our case, I think that the blog serves as a mechanism to increase family unity.

1. Blog posts provide a way to share information.
It is hard to be close to someone you don't know.
It is similar to email, but at the same time it can feel a little more interactive than a simple email.

2. The comments section can become a center for conversation.
More than just sharing info, a blog can become a center for conversation. In my experience the tête–à–tête, or two-way and personal communication, provides the connection and experiences to create lasting relationships.

3.The time and effort effort 
When a person devotes time and energy to post and comment, they are essentially investing time in the family. According to Elder Uchtdorf T-I-M-E spells love. As we devote more time to each other, we love each other more. Why do you think Mothers and Fathers have such great love for their children? Who else besides mothers and fathers have devoted all their time and effort to their children? The children are completely dependent on their parents.

 Here is the recipe part of the blog. We made this last night on a date. One of the girls on my frisbee team, Megan Cather, set me up with a friend of hers, Courtney Shill. It was fun and I was grateful for the opportunity to meet a new person. I didn't even have to put in all the effort of introduction and
conversation because Megan set it up.



 Here is a picture of the Provo Rooftop Concert that I went to on Friday night. We rode our bikes there. From right to left it is me, Alex Williams, Chris Running, and Tara Simmons (Alex's roommate). I met Alex and her other roommate Mckenzie at a stake activity a couple of weeks ago.

Here is our cycle gang. Chris rode a unicycle, so we couldn't be a 'bi'ke gang... haha

This is a picture of an apple tree that I saw. It is only about 3 feet tall and it is pruned so that it is more like an apple hedge. I don't know how it does with apple production, but it would certainly be easy to harvest!

 Last Saturday after the reunion, I went to a rodeo in Spanish Fork with some people from the stake. I rode with Josh Yates and Amy Filmore. Then I also talked to these girls. Bethany, Sara Olsen, and Rachel (I think) Bethany and Sara served in the Spokane WA mission with President Palmer. Sara is Bryce Anderson's wife's sister... Twice removed. So I actually have gone out to lunch with her once before this. But I felt like such a misfit at the Rodeo. I didn't wear plaid, cowboy boots, wranglers... Nuthin'. Next time I will have to dress up.

Hey   Family!!!!

 I sure have been thinking of Sister Berezay and her family this week.  I am working to send my note and memory off to her tomorrow.   If any or all of you could write some memories and email them to me that would be fantastic.  I will put them in plastic sleeves and in a small binder and send them to her.   Your welcome to include  pictures!!  I can send them off
 Joseph your memory of the mashed potatoes was a great one I think she would love to read again. Any or all memories are welcome!!