The Coat

The following video is a recreation of an event in the life of Heber J. Grant.  Heber’s own family was quite poor.  His father died when he was nine days old and he was raised primarily by his widowed mother.  Heber’s mother worked hard to sustain her family but they did not have an abundance.  Heber often went to bed early during cold months because fuel was scarce to warm their home, but his bed was warm.

Heber’s mother sewed for income and made the coat from scraps of leftover fabric.  The video is a reminder that one of Jesus’ main messages was to think of others.

Bovinian Delight

Freesia and Jordan were in town for Thanksgiving so we got together and went for a pretty adventurous ride in the Chino Hills State Park.  We rode a 10 mile loop that includes a trail called “Bovinian Delight.”

Bovinian Delight is a 1 mile “single track” that is not too much wider than a foot  and narrowly winds through several valleys up to a trail along a ridge that ends the loop.  Bovinian Delight is not steep but it takes some skill to navigate it and some courage to not let the steep grade below you psyche you out.

We even saw some grazing cows near their namesake trail.  The hills have already shed their brown, dusty, summer appearance for a beautiful shade of green.

Everyone made the trip successfully.  We had a near vomit and an actual vomit and now I think we all know that sushi and a long bike ride are NOT a match made in heaven.

Here are some pictures from the ride.  I have been noticing that my little Canon pocket camera was not focusing correctly and today’s pictures confirmed that the camera is not operating correctly.  Sorry about the blur.

I am also trying out WordPress’s new “gallery” feature.  You should be able to click on any of the pictures below and they should come up fullscreen.

Here is some edited video from the day (w/ soundtrack )

Earth from Intl Space Station

A photography website I read had this video (It was taken by a Nikon) and I found it quite impressive.  It was made from from pictures taken by NASA personnel on the International Space Station from August to October of this year.  The station was orbiting about 220 miles above the earth.

Emily’s favorite part are the scenes of the aurora borealis.

For the best effect I recommend pressing the HD button on the Vimeo video player, it will redirect you to the actual Vimeo website and then you can watch it full screen in all its high resolved glory.

Grandma Millie Passes

On my way to work last Thursday my distraught mother called to tell me the news of my Grandma Millie’s passing earlier that morning.  Grandma had been having some health difficulties that had put her in the hospital.  We had heard news that she wasn’t improving but her death came as a surprise, especially to my mother.

Grandma passed about a year after Grandpa Jack passed, at the age of 87.

Today we held her funeral in Bountiful, Utah, where Grandma had grown up and returned to when she moved from Whittier around 1990.  Both Flint and I flew in for her funeral, arriving late Tuesday evening and then returning to our homes this evening, one day later.

It was a good experience to be with family and reflect on the impacts both direct and indirect that Grandma Millie had on our lives.  Today was a reminder that the roles of mother and father really wrinkle through generations of time and matter so very much.

I conducted Grandma’s funeral.  Mom and Aunt Susie spoke and Grandma’s granddaughters sang a song that she had special meaning for her.

Here are some pictures from the day:

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