I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is True

Yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When I am asked if I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints my answer to your question will be ”Yes.”

I am very proud to belong to our Christian faith knowing that Jesus Christ is the head of our church through his modern-day prophets that he has called in these latter days to be his mouth peace to the world to hear modern-day revelation given through a prophet of God.

I know what you are thinking. How do I know this to be true?” I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be true. I have lived on both sides of the gospel, by this I mean I have had the gospel in my life at a period of my life and then there was a time that I was without the gospel in my life. How my life has been with the gospel and without the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint in my life.

I have to be honest with you right here. Yes, I have been raised in the gospel from birth. But you have to understand, my mother was not active in the church when I was growing up. My biological father did things to my mother that he was not faithful to his vows he took with her. I am not saying that my mother was an angel at the time they were both married to each other. My mother like to live life on the wild side of life. She felt that going out to the bars with her single girlfriends and leaving my siblings and me with family members or a babysitter while she went out and had fun. There was a time in her life that she almost lost the five of us to her lifestyle that she was living.

The only time I made to the church was on Sunday growing up. This is when my two older siblings would make sure I made it to church. The two of my older siblings were responsible for me to make it church, but you know how older siblings are to their younger siblings. There were times that they would skip out on me leaving me crying in the of the middle of the street trying to figure out which way to the church or back home. More times I would make back home than the church. I was raised with the gospel in my life but never really had parents to influence me on whether to attend church on Sunday or was forced to live the gospel principles.

When I got older into high school was when I first start to question whether the gospel was true or not. By this time my mother had remarried and we know had a stepfather in our life. He, like my mother, was not active in the church even though both were members of the gospel they did not attend church. My mother never got really active in the church until I was older and we moved out to Oregon.

This is where I was introduced to a lot of different religion. My dad took us to a church that my Aunt and Uncle attended and they seem to teach about the same principles as our religion did but the thing that they were lacking was the priesthood which all of Christ apostles held when were upon this earth. The same priesthood power that Christ had when he was here on earth. I also attended my friend’s religion which was an eye-opener for me because they would play loud music And stand up and shout out praising God. I also married a lady who was very staunch Catholic and she firmly believed in her faith which I had no quarrels with what she believed in. She knew about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint and what we believed since her foster family was members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint.

So you see I have been exposed to other religions besides my own religion. I have gone through trials of my own being a very active member of the church with my first wife. There came a time that my infidelity was not being faithful to my first wife. As one of our apostle of the church taught to our members in one of General Conference about the warning signs of the evilness of internet can lead to if you allow Satan to tempt you to those places that can lead you down a sinful path.

I bear witness of the truthfulness that of this apostle taught about the dangers of the internet. I found out for myself the places on the internet that can lead married man shouldn’t be and lead into temptation. That those vows I took with the one person I should have been faithful to. I was breaking my marriage vows looking for something that was not in my ballpark to have in this life. I not blaming myself, but blaming my wife who comes to find out could not have children of her own due medical problems. That she had no control over having the doctor going in emergency surgery thinking her appendix had ruptured, but after going in found that she had cysts the size of golf balls inside her that had ruptured and that she also had endometriosis, which is a white cell that attaches itself to women outer organs that begin to grow like cancer in numbers by gluing themselves to their organs making them one big ball. In most cases women who have endometriosi is very unlikely to have children because it is cell that attacks her ovaries preventing them having a chance of reproducing. Some women if caught sooner have a better chance of reproducing children. Just depends on how serious the case may be for each women. For my wife, she had endometriosis probably since she was 18 years old and if the doctors are not familiar with endometriosi what to look for it is hard to diagnose women with endometriosi.

My wife and I wanted to have children together because of one thing that our religion really emphasis on young couples after getting married is to follow one of Christ commandment which is to multiply and replenish the earth. Christ never teaches us that there might be a chance that you are not going to be able to do this commandment.

And for me to blame my wife for this was wrong on my part and I will have to answer to this choice that made at that time. Those things that I was doing on the internet at this time in my life was not satisfying my needs the way I wanted them to do. I began to seek out more physical parts of needs that lead me down the path of infidelity to my first wife. Not only did I destroy two lives, I actually destroyed three people lives in the choices that I made. This lead to me being excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which lead me down the dark path I took in my life at this time.

I gave my soul to Satan and allowed him to lure me into temptation. I knew that this was wrong from what I have been taught in the gospel teaching. I also knew it wasn’t what Christ had taught us from the Bible about cleaving unto your wife. About being faithful unto your spouse. I allowed my pride to lead me to these sites that took me from the ways in which I was taught to honor my spouse in the convents that I made to her when we took our vows inside the temple walls.

I began to go out to the bars trying to drink my problems away. I found out they were with me the next day and the day after that. That drinking was not the answer to resolving my problems I got myself into at this time.

Between four broken marriages and spending time in county lockup from a problem between two of my four wives. I began to take a look at my life again. That when I found wife number five which we lived together for two years before she decided it was time to tie the knot between the both of us. Again we were happy with each other and was able to sit communicate with each other.

But her health started to take a turn for the worse and again I allowed Satan to play with my mind heart for the time in our marriage. That I began to seek out for someone that was not broken like my wife was. She is the one that taught me about unconditional love for those around us. It never failed how sick she was she step up and cared for those around her. She showed me by her example what unconditional love means. This is when I realized that the Lord was telling me to be thankful for her being in my life. The sad part about this story is, I realized this a little too late because Heavenly Father called her home because her health deteriorated so fast after her 36 birthday that I feel she was tired of fighting to live that he finally called her home. I know where she is, is a better place than here. I know if I live true to my covenants with Heavenly Father for rest of my days on this crazy world we live in that I know for sure that I will be with her in the second coming. This is also up to her if she decide to except the work that we did for her. Someone life that you come to love is more precious than seeking to find someone else to replaces them with.

Through all my trials I have been through and dealt with at this point in my life. God was not done with testing my faith because in 2006 I would face a major stroke that no one at my age would want to go through. The first thing I asked when I found what took place at work that was a priesthood blessing from my dad. That is all I wanted at that point in my life at that time. Though I recovered better than the doctor thought I would.

Because my dad who holds the priesthood to act in God name gave me a priesthood blessing. By my faith in that blessing, I recovered the way I did. Through all these trials brought me my beautiful wife Angie that we started our life out the right way. That I was able to get my membership restored to fullest with my priesthood restored and we went through the temple was married.

Having The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints back into my life has given me a reason to live my life as Christ did when he was upon the earth. The principles that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint have us live our lives teaches us how to be more Christ-like to those around us. To live our lives according to the teachings of Christ taught when he was here on earth. As I began to live my life according to Christ teachings this has brought me greater peace into my life. I am not saying that I perfect by no means. The only one that is perfect is Christ himself. I have come to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint is true gospel of Christ upon this earth today.

Through my trials that I have gone through God has never left my side. He has always walked by me through the good and the bad times in my life. Even through me getting angry at him when he has taken those that I loved so much and meant the world to me. Even when it took me time to realize this, that God the Father has been by my side all this time with unconditional love for me just waiting for me pull my head out of my ass to realize what was more important in this world than those earthly position that I wanted to obtain.

I know as I type these words that this is the true and living gospel of Jesus Christ. That His gospel was restored by the hand that He chose to come forth in these latter days. To be his instrument in restoring his church upon the face of the earth. Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet of God, that president Nelson is the living prophet today that he does receive revelation from God the Father and Jesus Christ how they want their church run in these latter days. I know this through the trails and faith that I have endured in my lifetime. This is now to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true because I have found it out myself in traveling down the road that I have chosen to travel on this earth. I know that through Jesus Christ that men can be saved. He is the light and life of the world. He came here to fulfill Fathers plan and that He did by his unconditional love for all mankind to take away our sins. That He will forgive us we just have to accept him into our lives whether this be by becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or just finding Christ and accepting him into your lives by baptism in another religion. I feel as long as you except Christ as your savior and what every religion you belong it does not matter as long as you are living the life he has chosen for us to live by. This has to be your choice. This why God gave us the gift of free agency upon this earth. God wanted us to have the chance learn as he did himself by his trials that he went through himself. Christ taught that we would know his people and his gospel, ”by your faith, you shall know my people and my gospel.” By faith is the way, the key to his happiness for us to have. I hope that as you read this you will know that it been by my faith that has to lead me back his presents and how great my joy is to have Him back into my life and guidelines in the Scripture and his religion to put on the right path to living my life by. Amen

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Man Best Friend

Puddles

I can remember the day that our little dog Puddles came into our home. My wife Julie was in the hospital and her little Cocker Spaniel JD had to be put down because he was full of cancer. They allowed her family to bring him up to her room in the hospital so that she could say her goodbyes to her dog.

Her two sisters felt that a new dog would help her cope with losing her JD they found a puppy Chihuahua that they let her know that they got her. She told me she wasn’t ready for another dog yet, but it was too late they already got her and had sent her with her ex-brother-in-law to bring to Idaho Falls, Idaho. We would then go pick her up at his place.

I am not one who likes Chihuahuas in first place partly because of barking all the time and their unfriendly character about them. I never did like them until my wife Julie and I were given our Puddles to us. Her name comes from Julie’s mother suggesting to us to call her Puddles. No it is not because she puddles all over the place. It is what my mother-in-law told her daughter to name the dog. Puddles stuck to her since that day we decide to name her Puddles.

At first she was very shy around us and very quiet little dog. She wasn’t sure what was going on and if we were her new owners. We had to work with her for awhile but she finally came out of her shell and became my wife’s best companion for her. There wasn’t a time that she was going with us wherever we she was right behind us. She loved taking rides and to this day it is her favorite thing to do is ride in the car. It doesn’t matter where we are going she wants to come along with us. She would snuggle in the recliner on the left side of my wife every time she would sit there. Her favorite spot on me was coming up and laying behind my head on my shoulder blades. These were her two favorite spots to lay by you.

For a Chihuahua she was not one that would bark all the time when people would come around. She would go to anyone who paid attention to her. She could warm up to animals once we brought new ones home. It would take her some time to warm up to them. When she would they became best friends forever. Puddles is not an ordinary Chihuahua by no means. I am not sure where she came from but she definitely is not your typical Chihuahua but you have to love her. By the way she is a Toy Chihuahua and she has been the greatest companion that any man could ask for in a dog big or small.

Her heart is as big or bigger than her body in size. We both have been through the same trauma together. She lost her mother Julie that was her side kick from the beginning. Those two you could never separate them if you tried. And me I lost my long life partner that I was looking forward to growing old together in 2010. Ever since that fateful day in August 2010 Puddles and I have been buds ever since we lost our dear companion to health problems before we got together. But this did not stop me in pursuing her as my life long partner. We had great times together and we had our down times like any other couple does. Puddles is the one that helped us make it through all our trials that we’ve been through. That is why I am going to say my farewell to this life long companionship that we have bonded between the two of us. As the days get closer to take her in and relieve her of her burden, it is getting hard to know that this will be the last few days with my little Puddles with a giant heart.

I will tell you why we have decided to put her down. Small dogs like her get what the vets call a collapsing trachea that makes it hard for them to breathe when they are up and active. We thought we had more time with her but this time it is not going away and everything we’ve done in the past is not working this time. So since she is my little dog I have decided that rather than letting her suffer anymore this way that I will let her go and be at peace with her suffering. It is not fair to her to keep her alive just because of the rest of her is healthy and have to go through each and every day hacking like she does every time she gets up to move around. I love my little Puddles too much to allow her to suffer like this. I feel at peace that she can rest from this and not have to go through life feeling miserable like she is right now. I know how she is feeling because to watch her breathe and hack with every breath she takes with her little frame is sad to watch. You know she is in pain all the time.

So come Thursday January 3, 2019 we will be letting Miss Puddles go and Rest In Peace. I miss her warm cuddly times we have together. Those long car rides she so longed to take with us. The walks that she likes to take as well. But I will always carry the memory of the great companionship she has been for me and help get through hard times, rough times, low times, and just every day stuff that I have to deal with in my life. She has been my rock and companion through all these years. I will always love this little dog with a big, big heart that she has had for us all. For those of you who got to meet Puddles you know what I mean about loving everyone she came in contact with. May you Rest In Peace my dear companion Miss Puddles. Thank you for all the wonderful memories you brought into our home.

Patches

We never could ask for a more faithful and loyal companion than our beloved Patches. She came into our home just after my wife (Angie) and I were married in the Redlands Temple in California. The story of how she became part of our family is quite funny if you think about it. Something about my wife, when she sees a dog or cat they just melt her heart when she looks at them.

She started to work as a substitute teacher at one of the elementary schools in Hemet, California. One of the people she worked with brought in Patches to show them the litter of puppies that their dog had. I was at home minding my business when my wife Angie texted me and ask me if I would like another dog. I thought about it and that’s when she text the picture back of Patches. At the time they where calling her Marley from the movie Marley and Me. The dog that become part of the couple’s life and would turn their life upside down. Well our Patches never even came close to being a Marley and you can see why in her picture that I post of her in this Blog.

Well I couldn’t resist the picture that she sent me and that was that, we purchased Patches in 2012 and she became part of our family. She has been a great joy to have in our home. I couldn’t have asked for such great companion in a dog as she has. She liked riding in the car when she was a puppy but after that she hated riding in the car. She loves to take walks and for some reason she became a mother figure to Puddles. For some reason she felt that she has always had to keep Puddles’ eyes clean. Even though Puddles would lay there and growl at her until she had enough of her licking her eyes she would snap at Patches and that’s when we would have to tell Patches enough.

Even with the mix breed she is, she has always been a delight to have in our home. She has brightened our days every day we wake up. Like all owners of their critters we tend to get attached to them. They become like our own children. They become part of the family and when you can’t have children like my wife and I can’t, our critters become our children that we can’t have. We love and nurture them as we would our own children. They become a big part of our lives. Bigger than we know it at the time until we either lose them from an accident, death, or have to be put them down. Patches and Puddles is the longest I have had any dogs that I have had in my life. My wife doesn’t feel that Patches is going to be able handle having Puddles put down. That she will get depressed having Puddles not here. These two, even though they grew up from different breeds they have become loyal companions to one another. One will protect the other and watch over each other all the time. They are together 24/7 every single day. They sleep together in our bed at the top on their own pillows but they are like two peas in a pod. One can’t be without the other and I know that Patches will be lost without her Puddles next to her side. She will not know what is going on or what to do. How can you explain to a dog that you had to put down their best friend because they were getting really sick? You can’t, you just have to hope that God will allow them to mend their loneliness on their own. Like they have been there for us, we are there for them to get through this grieving process as well.

I really like the the movie Where the Red Fern Grows. This movies portrays how two dogs and a young boy grow up together and become each other’s greatest companion that each one has. When the boy loses the one dog to a tragic accident out hunting he is grateful that he still has Little Ann and yet Little Ann can’t seem to get over the loss of losing her faithful companion she grew up with Little Dan and she goes out where he is buried and dies too. He ends up losing both of his favorite hunting dogs, his loyal companions that he became so close to over those years. God has a reason for the way things work out in our life and sometimes we don’t understand them at all or never do.

Puddles has been the most loyal dog that anyone could ask for. She has been a big trooper throughout her mortal stay on earth to my wife and I. We will miss her as much as anyone misses their own child that you lose. I will wake up at night and wonder where is my Puddles and have to remind myself she is safe and in a heavenly home now and turn over and go back to sleep with weeping eyes because I know I don’t have her to cuddle with anymore. I will remember all those wonderful fond memories we had with Puddles for there is no other dog in this world could match the love, the faith, the locality she had, the comfort that she brought to you when you met her, and most of all the comfort that she brought to you when she lay near you and looked at you with those puppy eyes looking at you reassuring you all is going to be okay, I am here for you master, I won’t let you down. I can tell you for sure, she has never let us down. Oh sure as a puppy she may have got hold of somethings, but I could never stay mad at her for a very long time. It just breaks my heart when I have to get after her for something she would do wrong. Just like our children we brush it off, tell them we’re sorry for yelling at them, makes amends and move on with the rest of the day.

Know that you are not alone in how much you love your critters. Your dog, cat, birds, mice, horses, cows or whatever your critter is you’re not alone. There is someone out there that has lost the same critter you have and it is not easy thing to depart from them. Your heart has an emptiness that you can’t explain out loud. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there in your shoes. Take the time to do your grieving before you look for another critter to replace the one you lost. No matter how much you try to replace the one you love will not be exactly the same as the last critter that you had. Remember that we are all created differently in this world and no critter can replace the ones that you love in the past. You must move forward and love those new critters in a whole new way. This does not mean you have to forget those that built a long lasting friendship, you can hold on to those memories, just build upon those with your newest companion. Love them as you have the last. They deserve a good and loving home. Heavenly Father knew that we would be the ones to bring great joy and love to those who come into our lives. For Puddles, may you go in peace and rest in peace and love. You are free to go now to your Heavenly home. We will see you in the Second Coming. Enjoy your rest from all your labors.

Father and Son Fishing Trip

Dad, there is a story that I would like to tell you about a father and a son who spend his father’s final days upon this earth. The boy had grown up to be a fine young man. He came to his father one day and asked if he would like to spend the day with him going fishing along the river banks like they did when he was a little boy. He starts to tell his dad the day he remembers is the day he stood and watched him reel in that big old rainbow trout right up to the bank of the river. Oh he was a beauty and just as the father got the fish on the bank he came loose and swam away. “Those are the memories that I long for,” told young man to his father. “I traveled home to come and steal you from mom for a few hours. I would like to take you back up on that bank of the river and spend this quiet time one last day we have together fishing with my best partner.”

The dad then smiled at his son. He had returned home for a few days to spend what remainder of time they had together up on the banks of the old river that he and the little boy would fish during the summer months.

His mother looked at him and with a smile to her son was going to tell him that it was nice that he took the time to come and spend it with his father. But before she could speak the words her son smiled back at her and said, “Mom you don’t have to speak a word; I know by your smile that I made dad’s day a little brighter for one last time upon this earth.”

The young man sat talking with his mother while his father prepared to spend the day fishing on the river bank. “I knew the weather was going to be nice and I felt that dad needed to get out for some fresh air for a day. I also didn’t want to wonder, ‘What If?’ What if I hadn’t take the time to come and take dad fishing? Would I regret not taking time out of my busy schedule to come spend this last time I have with him? I didn’t want this on my conscience so I loaded up my stuff, and told everyone that I was going to spend a few days back home with dad while I have the chance to do so. If they needed anything from me they were going to wait until I got back. Because this is more important than my career is. You both have taught me that family is the most important thing in this life and I will hold on to this forever.”

His mother excused herself and went to help her husband get ready for his adventure with their son. They loaded his stuff up in the truck and his dad said to his son, “I didn’t know you owned a truck son.” The son replied back to his dad, “Yes, I have the truck and I have my car. I usually just leave the truck parked in the garage at home unless I go up in the hills and do some fishing by myself.”

“I didn’t know you still went, I thought you were too busy to do anything like this anymore.”

“Well, you have learned something new about your son that you thought I was too busy to get away from work to enjoy the outdoors once in a while.”

“You’re right. I guess I should not have assumed that you were too busy to do something like this.”

“You know dad I owe it to you that I enjoy life outside of my work and learned that life is too short to waste another day and enjoy the life that you have. I know I have not always called and asked you what you were doing in the past and I am sorry, dad. I never stopped to realize that you wanted me home once in a while to spend quality time with you and I regret that I haven’t done this.”

“Well, son, sometimes we get so busy with our lives we sometimes forget those who are more important to us and by the time we realize this it is too late to do anything about it. I’m just glad that you found time to come and spend one last day with your old man.”

“You’re wiser than I ever thought of being and if somehow I can be the dad you have been to me to my children someday I hope that I can instill in them what you have instilled me what is important in our lives. That is family is the most important in our lives and without your family you’re nothing in this world.”

“Well, son I am glad that I have been able to place this into you and I know you will be a great dad like your old man here has been to you and your mother. I haven’t been up here for years so I am not sure how good the fishing is anymore.”

“That’s okay. We will walk down to the river bank and find a nice shady area that we can just sit and enjoy the day fishing like old times.”

“I remember the first time I took you fishing. You were so excited that I thought we were going to have to cool off at the lake when we got you there. But you watched me and listened very close to what I was teaching you and you seemed to have a natural way with the rod that I was surprised the way you picked up on the casting part of the fishing pole and the whole setup.”

“I’m still trying to master your style of fishing and you are far better than I will ever be. You know that dad but you won’t admit if you were.” They arrived at the old fishing hole. It had change a little since they had been there as a father and son back when he was growing up. The old man said, “It seems like a lot of people have discovered this spot. They have tried to cut a road back into the spot as far as you drive back in. Those who fish it now have no respect for others or for those that are fishing down there. They seem to walk all over top of you and ruin the fishing trip that you’re trying to enjoy.”

“Dad, we will deal with those who try and walk on top of us and just let them go by and continue on with our fishing. It can’t be all that bad. I am sure that we won’t see many, one or two at the most. If I am wrong we’ll just enjoy the time together and hopefully we catch something.”

“How did you get wise in your old age son? You look at life in a whole different way than the boy I knew who left to go to college.”

“A lot has happened over the years, dad, and I have had a lot of time to grow up and look at the world around me. I realized that it’s not all about me, that I need to leave room inside of me for others to love the person I have become. Not the person I was trying to be, but the person that I should have been seeking a long time ago.”

“You sound just like me when your mother and I met. I was going to conquer the world. That’s what I told your grandpa, your mother’s dad, when I went to ask him for your mother’s hand in marriage. I sure learned a lot over those first years of our marriage. Life was not about me but it was about putting others before you and enjoying what you do have and not what you don’t have.”

“You sound like me when I finally realized that the world did not revolve around just me. Like I said, dad, things have changed in my life and I owe it to someone who has shared that joy with me, but I may have been just a little too late in the game to realize this and probably have lost her for good this time.”

“She must have been someone really special to make you take a hard look at yourself, son. And if she really loves you, truly loves you, she’ll come around. Just give her some space and time to think things through. When she sees that you have changed for the better she will give you another chance. Just say your prayers and trust in the man upstairs to do his part in all this. It will work out for you if it is meant to be.”

“Thanks, dad. I knew I could count on you to make some sense out of all this for me. I will take your advice. I am glad that I took the time to come spend the day fishing in the old fishing hole. Let’s quit gabbing and get down and do some fishing.”

The young man walked behind his dad as they worked their way down to the fishing hole. There he enjoyed the last day on this earth with his father on the river bank. They sat there and talked for hours about what was going on in their lives. The young man knew the time had come that he had to leave and he looked at his dad one last time and told him that he loved him with all his heart and because of him he has become the man he is today. “I wanted to come and thank you for all that you have done for me and all your sacrifice. It means the world to me, dad, and I will always remember this day for as long as I shall live upon this earth. I will pass down your great wisdom to my children when I decide to start a family.”

“I know you will, son. And you tell your mom hello for me and that I love and miss her as well.”

“I will do that dad.”

“You take time and don’t you worry about your lady friend. She will come around. You’re are a great catch, my son.”

“Thanks, dad. I will remember that always. It was great fishing with you again. We’ll have to do it another time when you are feeling up to it again.”

“I sure would love that son.”

As the young man went up the hill to his truck, he turned to wave at his father and to tell him goodbye, but he was not there. He then turned and threw his stuff in the back of the truck and drove off towards home.

Goals

Goals

Isn’t it a great feeling when you have accomplished one of your long-range goals that you have set out to accomplish in your life? I have been able to feel that accomplishment again. On December 10, 2018 I unofficially graduated from Colorado State University Global Campus with my Bachelor’s degree in Communication. I have to finish these last two classes that I am taking but I have completed another long-range goal of mine.

This feeling that I have I can get up and do the happy dance for completing this goal. I started this process back in 2000 by going back to school at Idaho State University and due to family issues I had to drop out. I never thought I would return to finish my education. This went on until I met my girlfriend who later became my wife after we lived together for two years. She was the one that got me started back to school. But because I didn’t have enough credits I had to go for another Associate’s degree and then work on getting my Bachelor’s degree. I tried to get my girlfriend to understand that if we had paid off my debt with Idaho State University they would release my transcripts and some of my credits would have transferred over to University of Phoenix. This would have saved me from going for another Associate’s degree. Again I earned my Associate’s degree in Information Technology in 2008. That put me closer to earning my Bachelor’s degree in Communication. I graduated in 2008 from their sister College of University of Phoenix and then transferred over to University Phoenix where I began my Bachelor’s program.

There would be come another set back to me accomplishing my goal. In 2006 I had suffered a stroke and I wondered if I was going to be able to return to school after recovering from the stroke. Well I did and my girlfriend thought I was pushing myself by going back to school so soon. But my physical therapist told her that it would be good to stimulate my brain. This meant it would be good exercise for me. I went on to finishing 2008 and pushed on to my Bachelor’s. It seems there was a reason why I never accomplished my degree at that time. I am still pondering what this would have been.

But we would face another set back at this time in my life. My girlfriend, who by this time had become my wife, was not in very good health. I went into the room she was staying because it got to the point that it was hard for her to go up and down the stairs and so she wanted to be moved downstairs. The person who was her home health care person and the other person who was living with us at the time, moved her into her room in the single hospital bed that we had. I walked into the room, kissed her goodnight, and told her I loved her and turned and went to bed.

That was the last time I would be able to tell her in person that I loved her. She passed away during the night. She finally gave up her fight to live anymore. In this whole time I thought she was getting better because that day she came up to me bright and beautiful to tell me she loved me. She would do this twice before she passed away. I took her death hard; she was my whole life, the one person that my heart truly did love unconditionally and she was now gone. Everything we talked about doing when she got to feeling better went out the window that day along with my heart.

Partly because of my wife passing away and not having enough money to finish school, I once again had to drop out and I figured I wasn’t meant to have a Bachelor’s degree. But I would find out later in my life that the Lord would prepare a way for me to finish my Bachelor’s degree. Now I am setting my education goals to complete my Master’s degree at Arizona State University through their online program. I hope I get accepted into their Master of Sociology program. I will be earning my Master’s degree in this field. I’m excited to have this opportunity to push forward in my education. I was told early in my education that I was not college material. I have gone above and beyond high school and will be going for a Master’s degree.

Don’t feel that setting goals is crazy and lazy to set them. Setting goals gives you a sense of direction in your life, something to focus on. So don’t feel like goals are not worth setting because it’s really up to the individual person if you will accomplish them.

Get out there in this new year and set some goals that you can accomplish by the end of 2019. Or set goals that you can accomplish in a short time. Just work on one or to start out and build upon them this way. Good luck in your new year and setting goals. They are possible to accomplish them all if you put your mind to them and have a positive attitude about accomplishing them. Rely upon family and friends to help you achieve them, but it will be on you most of the way to accomplish them.

The Way My Life Is

Do you feel like your life seems to be the same daily routine every day you wake up. This is how I feel every day I wake up to new day. That my life is stuck in the same routine every day I wake up. I feel like there is never going to be a change in the way I do things in my life, because if I get out sink in how do things everyday. I tend to forget to do the one task that is after the first task and so on. This is how I feel every day I wake up, that I am stuck in a rut and I am just in a repeating mode each new day. Don’t you feel this way at times in your own life.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like not to have to get up in the morning and prepare yourself to go to work? I often wondered my self what it would be like not have to face the workforce ever again in my life. My wish came true in 2006, I found myself being put on disability do to neurological disorders that effect ability to keep employment no longer than six months at time. My work record is twice as think as medical records. I feel like I could come home and enjoy life without having to work for a living? I have tell you the truth it is not what you think it is. Especially when you can’t afford to go do thing enjoy doing and can’t afford to do work on your hobbies you like do.

I found myself in this situation after having a major stroke in 2006 at the age of 42 years old. I didn’t know that I was even having a stroke at that time. Like any other day, I got up and prepared myself to head into work and as I got to work it seemed like any other day. I was going through my boss’s list of things he had for me to do that day.

He had me go out to his residency and had me doing some work out there that he needed done. It came time to head back to the shop; as I was driving back to the shop I went to make a left turn from first street on Woodruff Street and there for a split second my vision went fuzzy on me. I thought it was just the sun hitting my eyes. But as I got back to the shop and went to hand the gas slip to our secretary I couldn’t get my left arm to move for me. I had to use my right hand to give her the gas receipt.

Then I needed to use the restroom and proceeded to walk into the restroom to use the bathroom. This is when I realized that I was in trouble and there was something go on, but I wasn’t sure what was happening. I knew something was right when I couldn’t get my left arm to work with my right arm to do up my pants something was not right. My mind was telling it to move but it wouldn’t cooperate with my thought process. This is when I had to call my wife to inform her that I was stuck in the restroom at work and that I couldn’t get my pants done back up. After talking with my wife, somehow, I managed to get my pants done back up but told her that she needed to come to get me from work. I was not feeling like I could drive home. She headed to come to get me from my work and take me home. After I was finished with the restroom the secretary let me know that our boss left me a list of things he wanted me to do before I left for the day.

I proceeded to the back of the warehouse part of the shop, where my boss left a list of things for me to do. Then I remembered I needed to call my older brother to let him know that I was not going to be able to swing by his work after I got off work. I proceeded to explain to him how I was feeling. When we ended our conversation he was headed to the hospital because he knew what was happening with me. My older knew what was taken place he told after I was taken to hospital from clasping at work. He beat the paramedics there.

I still was not aware of what was going on. By the time I got off the phone with my brother my legs became weak. I was trying to do the cleaning that my boss left on the list that needed to be done. I leaned on the edge of the counter to hold myself up because my legs were becoming like rubber underneath me. That was the last thing I remember. My wife had to fill me in on what took place after this. She said she showed up at my work and she and the secretary came to the back of the warehouse. They opened the door to the warehouse where they found me having a seizure on the floor, and that they called for help.

I would finally wake up in a hospital room having my wife explain to me that I had a major stroke at work and was brought into the hospital by ambulance to the emergency room. The paramedics had to shoot me up with a heavy dose of Benadryl to get me to stop seizing. She said the doctor would come and talk to us about the type of stroke that I had. The doctor came in and began to talk with my wife and I about the stroke. The doctor at the time could never figure out why I had the stroke. He just talked about what had taken place with me and the seriousness of the stroke that I had.

You talk about being scared of what was taking place, that last part of my day at work. I do not want to ever go through that again. Unfortunately, I am subject to having another stroke. I would later find out why I actually had the stroke in the first place. This is another story for another time.

I found out returning to work would be harder than I thought. I also found out that I have what we call the “Parmer Curse” in my mother’s side of the family. I found out that I have narcolepsy: this is where a person can be doing something like driving a long distance and out of blue you fall asleep. So I had been put on medication and a c-pap machine to help me breathe at night to get a normal sleep at night to rest for the next day.

Due to this, I had applied for disability for the neurological disorders that I been diagnosed with. These prevent me from being able to keep employment for long periods of time. I do fine if I can work alone but if I have someone over me I have a hard time dealing with this. I have come to understand more about the neurological disorders and that I am able to handle working again and I am looking forward to going back to work if I can find an employer that will have me at the ripe old age of 53 years old.

But I fought to get on disability and the state of Idaho doctor that was in the hearing said, “This young man should never have been working.” Sitting in that meeting and hearing that doctor speak these words out loud was not what I wanted to hear.

I have not worked since 2006, since they put me on disability. I got a chance to become a substitute teacher here in our little community of Saint Anthony. Having the chance to get out of the house once in a while has been a God send and it has given me a chance to get motivated to go back to school to finish my Bachelor’s Degree that I began back in 2002. I will be going for my Master’s in Sociology if I get accepted into Arizona State University’s program. I will finish my Bachelor’s Degree in January of 2019. This has been a long road but well worth the accomplishment on my part. It has given me something else to do besides being bored sitting in the house twiddling my thumbs, trying to find something to keep me busy throughout the day.

Being home all the time is not my idea of fun. I would much rather be out in the public working if I could. My typical day consists of me getting up in the morning and taking a shower and then going in the bedroom and getting dressed to start the day. I then go out to the kitchen having breakfast with my wife if we are up at the same time. That is if she’s still here when I get up. If not I have breakfast then take my morning medication. From there depends if I am in school. If I am in school I then go into class to spend my morning doing my school work and getting that out of the way. Once I get done with my school work and I have time left I will try to go work in my wood shop and work on one of the projects that I have going on out there. If not I will sit and draw, paint and/or write in my journal before my wife comes home. This is my life, day in and day out and believe me, you get looking at four walls long enough you really start to get cabin fever that you want out. But I am the opposite, the more I get to stay inside the more isolated I want to become from the world. This is not fair to my wife in no means and there are times I have to force myself to get out of the house. Do not get me wrong I love the outdoors and love being outdoors. Staying home all the time I have come to feel safer in my home than being out in the public. With all the crazy things happening in our world today, I feel that staying home inside I am less likely to get accused of sexual assault just by bumping into someone. That’s how crazy I feel that our world has become.

Call me paranoid or however you see me for what I feel about leaving my house but I would rather stay home where I know I am safe from the outside world than taking a chance of being accused of something. I am having a hard time wanting to go back to work but I want to get out of this house more so I can get over this fear that I have. It’s not really fair to my wife when she wants me to go with her to the store to spend quality time with her. This is how my life has become since I was put on disability and not able to work anymore. Not as fun as I thought it would be. Welcome to my every day routine.

What is a Best Friend

Friendship

What does it mean to have a friendship? What does this word mean to you? We often make friends in this life, but sometimes those friends turn into becoming a best friend that you can turn to for any means of support. Even when your best friend needs your support and often times they do not realize it at that time, you reach out to them to try and comfort them in ways you have done in the past. It is unfortunate then, when they take it the wrong way and your best friend you’re trying to comfort takes offense to what you felt was trying to comfort them in a way to show them what they truly have been blessed with in their life.

Then this best friend uses this against you to backstab you in words that she writes that is directed towards you and you know actually what they are talking about. What is your reaction going to be towards this best friend? This is one example of what a best friend can do to you.

Another example of a best friend hurting you and leaving you in question of what you did that she or he wrote a letter and tells you never to contact them again. You are left wondering “what did I say or do to make this person write this letter?” You’re left wondering “where did I go wrong in our friendship that caused this to come about?”

Let me take a step back and explain what it means to be a friend in the first place then I will build upon at least 8 traits that a best friend should have, why it is important to have these qualities in a best friend and why it is important in our life that we often make them best friends. What is a friend to you?

Best Friends

In the Merriam Webster Dictionary it describes a friend as, “One attached to another by affection or esteem – She’s my best friend” (Merriam Webster, 2018). What does this mean? That as human beings we attach ourselves to certain people that we have a closeness to. Someone that we can relate our darkest secrets to that we know that they will keep them to themselves and never reveal them to anyone else. A friend is not like your spouse that you live and breathe with on a daily basis. A friend is one that you have closeness to like a brother or sister but deeper than those siblings’ ties.

I often wonder what we think of the Savior Jesus Christ as being to us. Do we look at him as a friend that we can trust our secrets to that he will guide us out of darkness when we have fallen into the pit of no return? My answer to this is Yes, I do see him as a friend that we can turn to. I hope that is with you as well. We should be able to count on our best friend always being there in times that we need them the most. They pull us out of the dark despair and bring us into the light of Christ that we as their best friend will not take offense when reaching out to us by saying what is on their mind. We need to listen with an open heart to what they are saying to us. They are our best friend that we have always been able to turn to in time of needs.

Often times we are blind to our own self worth. In these times we need to learn to lean on our best friends to help us pull through these troubled times. We should never feel like they coming at us with a two edge sword. Your best friend always feels your pain you are going through. They have been there in the past in your darkest days as you endured trials as a teen going through adolescence. They may be going through the same things you are going through, but they are dealing with their own demons and yet, they seem to always reach out when they feel we need it most. This is truly what a best friend is. One that is always there, one that will in time find forgiveness in their hearts for all the wrongs they caused you, ones that no matter how much you have hurt them, by putting a knife in their back with hurtful words, they deep down forgive you because their love for friendship means more to them than anything in this world. There are two stories that I want to share with you. One is personally tied to me and the other one is one I read on Facebook that three high school girls became best friends and two had become hateful towards the other girl. They had a fall out but the one girl thought they had worked through their differences but she found out the hard way how the two deceived her and took her life.

My Life Time Best Friend From Middle School

I am going back to my middle school days. At the time my parents moved our family out to Oregon where I would begin my last year of grade school and enter my first year of middle school. Moving to a new town you have to start all over to rebuild a friendship with the kids that you go to school with. I was not one who could make friends very easily. I was very quiet and mostly kept to myself. We lived out of town in the country where our parents rented a bean shack. It was not much of a home to speak of but to me it was home. This is where I would make contact with the person that would later in my life become best friends. We would write to each other on a weekly basis and when she came out to college we spent time together going to Yellowstone National Park and doing what best friends do best: spending time together. Even after we went our separate ways we stayed in contact with each other, sharing our life with one another. Before I go on I need to tell how we met the first time and then where our friendship really took off.

It was an early morning and I was getting ready to catch the bus to go school. This person I will call Samantha, lived three houses down from us on the same road in the country. She was a little older than I was but I can remember this day like it was yesterday. I got on the bus first and as the bus move closer to her house the bus started to get full. As we approached her house and she got on the bus, she tried to find a seat but nobody would let her sit with them. I scooted over and offered my seat to her. That was my first encounter with Samantha. We only spoke briefly that day, but my older sister would babysit her cousin a couple of times. We moved from the country road out on Compton Lane in a trailer house that my parents purchased and that was where we started to plant our roots.

My dad was injured due to my stubbornness of not going out to help unload his tool chest. He was laid up from work because he broke his arm. He finally got another job and we moved again which would not be our final move. Again adjusting to a new school was hard on me but I did what I could to make it work out. It would be at this time while attending a young adult dance that was put on by one of our wards in the local area at the time I decided to attend.

I traveled to the dance and I knew several people there by face recognition but that is all I could tell you. To my surprise I looked across the dance floor and I recognized one face in particular that I knew for sure. I didn’t know that she had joined the church. I worked my way over to where she was standing and introduced myself to her. We stood and talked and she let me know who was there and that she and her cousin had joined the church. Well from that point on began our long friendship that we built over years of communicating by letters sharing everything that was going on. Like I said we even spent time doing things together when she came out to college.

We stayed in touch with each other over the years. Even after I went on a mission and she went on a mission for our church. Even after I got married we stayed in touch with each other. That is how much our friendship meant to each other. She was there when I was going through the roughest time in my marriage and ended up going through a divorce with my first wife.

You know how they say not to express your true feelings to your best friend? Well I finally realized that through all our writing and time we spent together I wanted to move our friendship to the next level. I wrote Samantha a letter expressing my deepest feelings for her. What I got in return was not what I was expecting and the letter she sent back in response left me to wonder what I said to have her cut all ties to our friendship. I was a good friend, I listened to her words and never made any attempt to contact her for years. When Facebook was started up you could contact anyone and everyone on there. I decided to try and look up Samantha for the first time and when I found her and tried to make small talk with her she disappeared off of Facebook. I knew then that it wasn’t the time to try and mend what friendship we had, that I had broken it from a simple letter expressing my true feeling towards her. It wasn’t until 2014 when my wife and I had moved to Nampa, Idaho that I decided to look up Samantha again. To my surprise she made me friends and we began to speak to each other again. I still to this day walk on ice with what I say to her posts and I talk with her. Her friendship means the world to me and I have forgiven her for the past. It was me who was in the wrong in the first place. I never should have expressed my true feelings to her. Samantha explained why she sent the letter to me: she listened to her older sister who told her to cut all ties to me.

I don’t care why she did what she did. I am grateful to have her friendship back into my life. She has brought great joy and peace into my life. To see and hear what she is doing makes me feel good inside. She has her dark days that she has had to overcome in her life since we parted ways.

But she has come out on top because of the gospel of Jesus Christ in her life and testimony that she has gained in her own trials she has gone through. We share our daily post on our feeds what we are doing. We do not text as we did when we first became friends and this is okay with me. Like I said it’s good to have Samantha back in my life as we begin to mend a broken friendship that I never wanted to break in the first place.

This is what true friendship is, forgiving one another for wrongs you have done in the past. Not to hold a grudge against the other for something so small. Friends like this only come once in a lifetime. Especially one like ours was and is. Not as close as I hoped that our friendship would be, but I’m ok with this because I am grateful to have her in my life again and on speaking terms. The second story I’d like to share with you, before I share what 8 qualities a best friend should have, ended in tragedy for these three friends.

Three Girlfriends Who Were Best Friends

This second story is found here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Skylar_Neese. I hope that our friendship does not end up like this girl’s did, with her two best friends that she trusted her life with, who would go above and beyond for her two friends no matter what the cost may be. Are we willing to follow our best friend to plot and kill the other best friend over some small disagreement that you all have had? Just think about these two stories and how much your friendship means to you. May we find other ways to forgive our friends than this way of doing it. I found that one person defines 8 characteristics of best friends and another article explains 12 qualities that a best friend should have. I will only share 8 out the 20 that I found online that a friend should have to be qualified as a best friend.

8 Qualities or Characteristics a Best Friend Should Have

1. Telepathy

This is where your friend has the uncanny ability to read your mind before the words pop out of your mouth. Just by glancing at each other, you can know what each other is thinking.

2. Honesty

Whether you’re about to jump off Mount Everest and leap into the adventure of a life time, your friend is there to give you their real opinion. While we might think that what they say may be a bit harsh or may be in the danger zone or may even disagree with us at times, your best friend won’t hide their views, especially if they think it is for your best interest. It’s like I tell my friends that I will not sugar coat it for you, I will speak my mind and you take or leave it, it is your choice to do with whatever advice that I speak to you.

3. Genuine

According to Argintar (2014), “She’a true-blue friend; the kind that won’t talk behind your back when there’s an issue between the two of you, but she can come to you about it, instead.

You will commiserate over the silliest things together that you both find humorous, even though the two of you love being around each other’s company.”

It has never been a chore to have her over, you’ll never feel like neither of you have to entertain one another when you are over at each other’s place. You are always looking for plans how to do things together. This is how you both know the other is the real deal.

4. Acceptance

We need to feel like we are accepted into this world by someone close to us. This is why we accept best friends as one of these people into our life. Around this person you can be abnormal without trying to explain yourself to them. You can be your weird, goofy self around your best friend. You won’t feel like running in the other direction.

Argintar (2014) says, ”She’s got her own bizarre set of hobbies, too, and that’s why you both work so well together” (p. 1).

5. Trust

The secrets, fears, and deep thoughts are some of those that a best friend will only share with you. They have their trust in you that whatever they tell you stays with you always. You know whatever you tell your best friend will always stay in the vault. This information will never be used against you or ever try to hurt you in any way.

6. Encouragement

Who better to lift you up when you are at your lowest in your life? Your bestie is who thinks that you’re awesome and is there to lift your spirit up when you are down. Your best friend is your personal cheerleader, they are there to remind you of the great things you have to offer the world around you, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your self worth to yourself. We need to focus on the positive attributes that make you shine. Like my older sister tells me all the time to think on the positive things that you have accomplished in your life and not all the negative. The negative is what weighs us down on life’s highway. A friend is always there to remind us of the positive, the good things we have in our life we can offer others around us.

7. Steadfastness

A true best friend will always have your back! No matter what is said they will always be there to help you carry the load. This is why we have the Savior Jesus Christ as our best friend. He has always been there carrying the load for us, ever since he carried his own cross to be crucified. When he went into the Garden of Gethsemane, He took upon himself the sins of the world. He has had our back ever since that time. Our Creator has had our our back from the time we were born into this world until we pass on to the next life. All we have to do is knock and it shall be opened unto us. Our burdens will be lifted from us, all we have do is ask for their help as we do to our best friend upon this earth. We have the choice to accept what they have to say or pass the message on like it was never spoken. It is up to us how we handle the situation placed before us. Just as our creator and Christ has given us freedom to make our choices upon this earth. Friedam (2015) said, “You know that when you need your friend to be there for you, they are present without fail” (p. 2). As James Taylor and Carol King sing:

You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am

I’ll come running to see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I’ll be there

Yes I will

You’ve got a friend

8. Respect

Argintar (2014) says, “She won’t always agree with you (Who does?), but she’ll always welcome your cares and will see to it that you get back up.”

You always do or say anything and she will not behave any differently towards you, like when you find out something that your best friend did in high school and response to this is “That kind of genius, though.” We all have mistakes we make or do something stupid, or may say things we do not mean to, in the times that we are hurting the most. We often read into things that are not there, we don’t understand our best friend’s true feelings or try to understand them, or we do understand them and try to express our feelings about the subject that our best friend is dealing with at the time and they misread what we are trying share with them and blow it out of proportion. Then they go off and backstab them and make the situation even worse than what really could or should have been if we had only taken time to think about what has been said. It is having respect for the other person’s feelings and stepping back and looking at the whole picture to what your best friend is trying to do in the situation you are in.

Conclusion

These are just 8 of the 20 qualities or characteristics that should be found in a best friend. A best friend is that person who will stick with you through thick and thin situations. They may speak their peace or mind but it’s up to us how we receive their words of encouragement that will break the camel’s back on our best friends friendship. Like I personally tell my friends, when they ask for advice I will give my advice to them. “I am going to give my two cents into your situation, take or leave it. It is up to you what you do with what I have to say on this matter.” I will be up front and speak my mind on the matter and they live with what I have to say or they can take and leave on the side of road and move on but those are my final words.

Who would we be without our friends by our side? From an early age, friends teach us the ropes, gives us the building blocks to learn how to give, love, and face life’s up and downs. Fagan (2012) said, “We often take for granted how precious a thing it is to be best friend, how many people can’t freely use that term, how many have never experienced that very particular kind of love” (p. 1). Jesus Christ taught us by his personal example how we can have love for a friend. He showed us time and time again through his disciples and those whom he came in contact with what a true friend was. How many of us get the chance to have a bond of best friend with love that is untouchable, that nothing will ever separate what we have built over a life time together? Are we willing to allow a simple disagreement come between this friendship that we worked so hard to build over a lifetime of blood sweat and tears? Is it worth that much to throw away a friendship that you have taken so long build upon a trust for each other?

So many wait for a cue from their most beloved friend to be able to tack on the profound, terrifying modifier of “best.” who wants to be the person who prematurely proclaims the other their one-and-only-best-friend, when they were not ready to take that leap themselves? It’s the “I love you” platonic relationships, and to be able to declare that with someone is privilege not bestowed upon everyone. (Fagan, 2012, p. 1)

I am grateful that I was able to mend my friendship with Samantha because this means the world to me. I have lost too many best friends without getting to share my true self with them. The person that Christ taught me to be when I first came this earth. That my mother bestowed upon me as a child of God. As true Christian upon this earth how grateful I am for those friends I have had and have today in my life, that I’m able to let myself shine through the dark clouds above to share with them who I am. That I’m free to feel safe with those friends I have I can share my secrets with them and know they are safe with them. To have this honor to have this chance in this life to find a best friend like this is a true honor to be able to put “best” in front of friends. I challenge each of you that read this blog that you take time and mend the wound between your best friends today, that you have peace in your hearts and joy that you can mend the wounds between you. You cannot ask for someone better than having a best friend to turn to.

Reference

Argintar, L. (2014). 12 qualities the person you call your best friend should be. Retrieved from https://www.elitedaily.com/women/12-qualities-the-person-you-call-your-bestie-should-have

Fagon, C. (2012). What it means to be best friend. Retrieve from https://thoughtcatalog.com/chelsea-fagan/2012/08/what-it-means-to-be-a-best-friend/

Friedman, S. (2015). The 8 defining characteristic of a best friend. Retrieved from https://www.goodnet.org/articles/8-defining-characteristics-best-friend

Walt Disney Trip

This was my wife and I’s first real vacation since we have been married for almost 7 years. This will be one vacation I will cherish in time as it was my first time visiting Disneyland in California. You heard me right, my first time being to Disneyland since I have been born. My parents were not wealthy when my siblings and I were growing up and our vacations were spent coming out to Idaho to visit our grandparents every summer.

When I became an adult I was never financially able to afford to go to Disneyland. As a family we grew up watching Disney every Sunday on television. I had the chance while in Primary Children’s Hospital to be able to see most of the old Disney movies as kid. My favorite character out of all of his characters is Mickey Mouse

I told my wife when I got to see Mickey Mouse for the first time I was going to tell him that I have waited my whole life to meet you, but I was too excited to finally see him in person that I forgot what I was going to do.

My time at Disneyland in California was amazing. It is amazing to see how they have brought what Walt Disney himself brought to life from the big screens to an amusement park that the whole family can come and enjoy. We spent three days there and then we went on down south to Hemet, California to visit my mother-in-law and surprised her for a belated Mother’s Day gift.

My wife planned the whole vacation for us. She was bound and determined to get me to see Disneyland so I could experience the thrill to be there. Our first day at Disneyland, she walked us (when I talk about us, I am talking about our four legged pets) and my wife and I went over to Downtown Disney and walked through it for our first day. This helped us decide how our pets would be able to handle to walk this much and we decided that they would be better off staying in the motel in their dog kennel where it was cool.

I was very impressed by the size of the area that Walt Disney has down there. I have seen it on television, but never been there in person. I did not think I was going to be able to walk the whole thing the first day either. With having blown both knees out playing sports in high school, it’s hard for me to find comfortable enough shoes that I can walk all day and not have my knees start to bother me.

Walking from our motel over to Disneyland was a very long trek. Especially since there are no buses that run over there other than the tram that goes to the parking lot, which you can only get out of it if you have a car. So we walked all three days over and back to our motel. We walked through the different shops that they had downtown.

Back up for a minute here. My wife decided to drive all the way through to California. We were going to stop in a truck stop and sleep in our car because she budgeted just for the one motel and to get into Disneyland and gas to get us over there and back home. When we finally got to Anaheim, California my wife proceeded to drive around to find a place to sleep because our check-in time was not until mid afternoon the next day. I finally talked her into seeing if we could get in at that time. I knew she only budgeted for three days in the motel but we did not use all the money that she thought we would driving over to California for gas. So we finally got into our room and we crashed. We would get up to go down to have their complimentary breakfast which consisted of pastry and cold or hot cereal. This is what we would have for the next couple of days.

Our second day at Disneyland my wife booked us breakfast with Disney Characters and that was well worth our money. We got pictures with Minnie Mouse, Fairy Godmother, Max, Captain Hook, Eeyore, Tigger, Pooh, Chip and Dale, Rafiki, all while we had breakfast in Disneyland.

My wife took me around to different places in Disneyland. This was not her first nor second time being here. So she knew her way around the park. Our first autograph when we first entered the park was Mickey Mouse. I actually got to go inside Mickey Mouse’s house and sit and play his piano and see where he actually lives! We had white t-shirts on and were hoping to have the characters sign them but we found out that they could not be on us, they had to be off our bodies for the characters to sign the t-shirt. We got a journal to have the characters sign in. We went on the It’s a Small World ride. We went on the Star Tours ride, then she took me on Splash Mountain which we came off the ride soaking wet. We went through the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, The Jungle Cruise, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Monorail Tram and the Train around the park. I had such a wonderful time that I was very impressed in what I got to see and do. We watched Mickey Mouse show of lights called Fantasmic on the water front and that was awesome. I need to figure out how to take pictures at night with my digital camera so I can get good clear pictures of what I do at night. I tried my luck at the rifle shot and didn’t do bad on shooting. Since I haven’t been able to shoot a real gun for along time. I was very impressed with Disneyland and if you have never been there I recommend that you save up your pennies and make a date to go and visit before you get too old and cannot enjoy it as much as when you’re young. I am 53 years old and it has taken me this long to be able to see it for the first time. What an experience it is to be among all those people and feel the excitement in the air. I finally got to meet my favorite characters of all time. I am a big fan of Walt Disney and look up to him for the amazing man he was in his time and what he had accomplished when he was alive. If he could only see his accomplishments and what he and a Mouse named Mickey Mouse has built into a Million dollar corporation in animation movies and family films i am forever grateful that God brought him into this world at the time he did. He his an amazing man that if he was able to lose everything and come back and be successful i know that we all can do the same thing. We just have to believe in ourselves that we can become this great of a person.