Goodbye from Rachel

I now have my own blog. I went from not writing on mom's to starting my own. Check it out at the link over there ----> called "always been a storm"

Christmas

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the gloryof the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And His name was called JESUS.

coming

I don't have time to be sick anymore!!
Christmas is coming!

reread Dec. 10th post

Inner Peace--- anonymous

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES. by a friend of mine
I am passing this on because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.

By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished and before leaving the house this morning - I finished a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how good I feel right now.

Christmas Time is Here

I love Christmas time. I love decorating, baking, shopping for presents, even better making presents. I like the hustle and bustle. I love getting and keeping in contact with family and friends. I especially love the good will and focus on the Savior of the World.
the Mesa Temple does an event similar to SL Temple. There are performances every night and tours and lots of lights with a wonderful Nativity Scene at the center of it all.

$$$

Okay, let's all put our money where our heart is.
Money is scarce this year so think about where you want to put it to use.
(We are trying an old fashioned/ homemade Christmas, can I even remember how to knit?)

Is there a small business that you really love and wish there were more of in the world. How about that place where you are friends with the owners and you feel like family when you are there? or a place where it is the young familys' livelyhood and your money can help them too? or that place that is the only place you can get that thing you want when you need it? or even someplace that will pay tithing on the money again. Maybe I go too far but it counts for something someplaces? Weren't we driven out of Missouri for that? (that's an old Mormon joke).

While I am at it, let's all put a dollar in the Salvation Army's red bell ringer bucket. Teach your kids how fun it is to put coins in there and tell them what good it does.

As Ephraim Levi always said, "Money is like manure, it's only good when you spread it around- encouraging young things to grow".
Whoa, two movie posts in a row.

Rachel

Rachel puts all her good stuff on her facebook. Check there. I wish she would put info here. Then I would find out about her life too. On second thought... She has fractured off to form her own fundamentalist blog! See my links--Always Been A Storm

My desktop background

I save this and bring it out every year to help me feel like Christmas here in the desert.
This is where I really live. I put it in my thoughts and brain every time I go to my computer.
"As a Man Thinketh"!

I'm Sailing On

This is Important to Me. it is what I have come to know.
Like it or not, I am in charge.
We have the ability and the responsibility to choose what we think about. It is a divine power.

You make me angry" is a false statement. No one, nothing "makes" us angry. We choose.
"We are the captains of our soul"( loosely quoted)

Choose not to be angry. Choose to forgive quickly. Choose to not be offended.
Choose Faith.

D&C 58:28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves

Fear of failure?-don't allow yourself to think about it.
(I see this in kids especially, they don't want to do something they are not already good at. It is a sad trap.)
Faith/Fear - Faith/Doubt - Trust/worry -- opposite sides--it is one or the other. You can't really have both at the same time. Whose side are you on?

Don't allow yourself to think about it. Dwelling on some "lie" only gives it more power more of a chance to become a physical part of who you are.

Don't be afraid of criticism from those around you. Don't see it where it isn't.
Do not let fear stop you.
Do try new things and progress.

What are you choosing to dominate your thoughts? Have you considered that as a gift from Heaven?

Your thoughts and memory process are a complicated chemical reaction in your brain. it affects us biologically, spiritually and socially. -- becoming an actual cellular, physical part of who we are.

Proverbs 23:7 As a man thinketh so is he.

Choose what you think about wisely. It becomes part of you and influences what you do and say and become, and it amplifies with age. This is one of my favorite topics. I may speak on it often.



a lighter aside- from out in left field- If you have seen the old movie "9to5" they would never have done any of those things if they hadn't "imagined" them first. (It's been remade into a Broadway musical by the way).

Glen & Doris in Almo

Here is a photo of Glen & Doris standing in their barley field in Almo. Those were the days, weren't they? I, Keith Cutler, have added this post since the blog site has been inaccessible for over a week and I wanted to update it now that it seems to be working again. I'm sure Vickie will add more updates over the weekend.

I always like to call this one" Outstanding in Their Field !" - Vickie

Government and the Church

Here,read pages 292 and 293 of The Doctrine and Covenants. It is an interesting take on todays problems /possibilities perhaps?

EXCERPTS FROM THREE ADDRESSES BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF REGARDING THE MANIFESTO

The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty. (Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.)
It matters not who lives or who dies, or who is called to lead this Church, they have got to lead it by the inspiration of Almighty God. If they do not do it that way, they cannot do it at all. . . .
I have had some revelations of late, and very important ones to me, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me. Let me bring your minds to what is termed the manifesto. . . .
The Lord has told me to ask the Latter-day Saints a question, and He also told me that if they would listen to what I said to them and answer the question put to them, by the Spirit and power of God, they would all answer alike, and they would all believe alike with regard to this matter.
The question is this: Which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty millions of people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the heads of families in the Church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice); or, after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?
The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, you would have had no use for . . . any of the men in this temple at Logan; for all ordinances would be stopped throughout the land of Zion. Confusion would reign throughout Israel, and many men would be made prisoners. This trouble would have come upon the whole Church, and we should have been compelled to stop the practice. Now, the question is, whether it should be stopped in this manner, or in the way the Lord has manifested to us, and leave our Prophets and Apostles and fathers free men, and the temples in the hands of the people, so that the dead may be redeemed. A large number has already been delivered from the prison house in the spirit world by this people, and shall the work go on or stop? This is the question I lay before the Latter-day Saints. You have to judge for yourselves. I want you to answer it for yourselves. I shall not answer it; but I say to you that that is exactly the condition we as a people would have been in had we not taken the course we have.
. . . I saw exactly what would come to pass if there was not something done. I have had this spirit upon me for a long time. But I want to say this: I should have let all the temples go out of our hands; I should have gone to prison myself, and let every other man go there, had not the God of heaven commanded me to do what I did do; and when the hour came that I was commanded to do that, it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write. . . .
I leave this with you, for you to contemplate and consider. The Lord is at work with us. (Cache Stake Conference, Logan, Utah, Sunday, November 1, 1891. Reported in Deseret Weekly, November 14, 1891.)
Now I will tell you what was manifested to me and what the Son of God performed in this thing. . . . All these things would have come to pass, as God Almighty lives, had not that Manifesto been given. Therefore, the Son of God felt disposed to have that thing presented to the Church and to the world for purposes in his own mind. The Lord had decreed the establishment of Zion. He had decreed the finishing of this temple. He had decreed that the salvation of the living and the dead should be given in these valleys of the mountains. And Almighty God decreed that the Devil should not thwart it. If you can understand that, that is a key to it. (From a discourse at the sixth session of the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, April 1893. Typescript of Dedicatory Services, Archives, Church Historical Department, Salt Lake City, Utah.)

A Letter from Elder Dan

From: Daniel Cutler [mailto:daniel.keith@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 2:31 PM
To: keith.cutler@cox.net
Subject: Re: Happy Thanksgiving!

woooooaah! that michael story is crazy! i need his current address. i've got a couple of letters i want to send him. also if you can get camaron's current address and also alex's that would be awesome. and if there is anyway at all you could think of to get kacie woody's address, i'd love that. thanks for the pictures. send more of the fam please! i'm hearing some crazy stories about prop 8 protests and stuff, what's going on with that?
the washington temple was vandalized? how so? that's stuuupid. i mean, that is no way to dispute a law at all. that's a bummer.
thanksgiving here was good, the meal not so much (the food here is not too awesome. nasty cafeteria food, but i eat a lot and smile. your dinner sounds amazing) but we were fed spiritually very well and also emotionally. last week elder holland came and spoke, that was wayyy amazing. and on thanksgiving we did some service with the head of the lds humanitarian effort dept. that was also awesome.
the password for itunes should be 'bossman' so try that. or 'april1989', i'm pretty sure it's the former though.
i wish i coulda seen the rain! i love arizona monsoons so much. it's weird when i think about that i won't be there for another 23 months, but all is well, i love it here. well as much as one can love the mtc, but i try to take full advantage of everything. we go to a referrral center once or twice a week, where we make and recieve calls, either to inquire about receiving a dvd of bible or bom or something, or confirming reception of said item, and it's awesome to talk to real people instead of missionaries pretending to be investigators.
i've sent a bunch of missionaries out to people to give them the book of morm and we can testify and share scriptures with them and stuff. that's funn. also, my favorite of all: FUTBOL! i've been playing soccer as often as i can and its been so fun. 3 days ago we had 12 on 12 and it was awesome.
it's been really fun to play and kick the ball around, run around outside.
on other gym days (when we have it in the morning and can't go out to the
field) i ride a stationary bike at a window into the sunrise. and that is also the highlight of my life. so awesome.
as far as e-mails, it might be best if you could print them out and mail them due to the limited time i have on here. and about this one, please feel free to share it with whomever. i love you, i miss you, i'm doing great. it's crazzzy here, i can't waaaaaaaait to get out into the field (not for soccer, vina del mar,
;) ) and start speaking spanish for real! speaking of which, it's going well. i love you i gotta go. love, daniel keith elder cutler

Thanksgiving

Today, I remember this saying on one of the plates hanging on my Grandma Minnie's kitchen wall.

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We're eating very well.

We almost always spent Thanksgiving at Grandma Minnie's house with all my Redington cousins- my moms two sister's families, and Aunt Cecil and Uncle Joe Watts-Grandma's only brother who had no children or other family, and Roy and Nettie Meek from across the street. I think He was grandpa's best friend and partner.

We would draw names and have a five dollar limit Christmas gift exchange. I remember my Dad would get good leather work gloves sometimes. His old ones always seemed to have a hole or two in them. One year Aunt Cecil made me a small doll bed out of a cigar box(Uncle Joe smoked a pipe and sometimes cigars) the bed had old fashioned clothes pins on the corners and it was all painted white with ruffled pink checked bedding and a small baby doll inside. I loved it!

Grandpa Sam had a big green vinyl recliner chair that he always sat in. I would climb in his lap and he would curl his tongue at me.

They had a small toy drawer in the hall behind his chair. I remember the coffee can part way full of marbles and the button jar(a favorite). There was also a squeaky horse and a green rag doll of some kind, and a terrific wooden Chinese Checkers gameboard.
We would also play in the basement, sometimes jumping on the old hideabed down there. She had an old wringer washer down there too and lots of jars of fruit.

I loved sleeping on the pullout furniture in the living room 'cause I could fall asleep to the comforting sound of the old kitchen shelf clock.(My sister Connie and I both have simlar clocks we have found over the years.) Brent slept on the chair and Connie and I would share the couch.

In the morning Grandma would make baking powder biscuits for us and especially for Connie and then we would have cold ones to take on the road home with us too.
There was usually lots of cold, snow, and ice and Daddy would drive carefully on the road home.
When we came over the hill the first one to see our house would start singing, "I can see our house" over and over again.

More Fun

I just thought I would put some more stuff about current persecution. This is the LDS news site.
CLiC and read.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/measured-voices-provide-reason-support-amidst-proposition-8-reaction

Be educated. Seek for knowledge continually.

Ain't We Got Fun

Here is a national review article I found very interesting.
Why the Mormons? I guess we all know the answer to that huh?


http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTU5MjZmMDIyMDU3NjRiMjBlNjcxYTlmOGQ2ODA5NjA=

"It ain't over 'till its over."


Here's an aside,"Where is the hope and change we were promised?" It's just an old Clinton cabinet. The economy hasn't perked up one bit in hope with the change -patience?
I will try to refrain from saying more on that in a spirit of support. No guarantees on that though.

I have been unable to access my blogspot for three days! I didn't realize how much I liked going there for a break.

My Lone Cute Boy

Akin to the lone Ranger, David Harrison, rides fearlessly through the desert fighting evil single handedly.

this is one good kid. It makes me happy and no I am not bragging. He is him.

His birthday is any minute now.!

How can I miss you if you don't go away?

Keith and I have always joked about this. Off and on during his career he has had to travel a lot. He has made choices to stay at home more, especially during the last 10 years. I really appreciate that about him. His family is more important to him than climbing that worldly ladder.

He has been gone all week to meetings in Las Vegas, a place the business world must think is fun. Has anyone read Stephen King's book "The Stand"? But I digress.

I walked into the garage today to get a blade to clean my glass stove top.
I opened the lid to his tool box and immediatly started to miss my husband.

He is a rather organized car guy, don't you think?

Miracles

..."To cite another far-reaching miracle, there is no rational way to explain why young men and women give a year and a half to two years of their lives in the middle of their education and marriage eligibility to suffer the hardships incident to an inconvenient and highly disciplined pattern of missionary service to their fellowmen. Other miracles occur in funding missions by missionaries or families too poor to do so but who do so anyway.
Still another miracle is the way missionaries are protected during their labors. Of course we have fatalities among our young missionaries—about three to six per year over the last decade—all of them tragic. But the official death rates for comparable-age young men and women in the United States are eight times higher than the death rates of our missionaries. In other words, our young men and women are eight times safer in the mission field than the general population of their peers at home. In view of the hazards of missionary labor, this mortality record is nothing less than a miracle."
Dallin H. Oaks

Me & my kitty

Dear Mom,
Here is your supposed daughter finally ditching facebook to post something new and exciting on our blog. I might post my respect video if I am feeling brave enough (I am sorry I just don't think it sounds very good!!! Especially in the beginning. erk.) and once I upload it to my computer. I am currently out of disc space and need to take over Danny's laptop instead.

This is my new (old) cat. I have had her for maybe 2 months? David and I were out walking the dogs and heard a sad meow from under a bush and promptly adopted her. Her name is Zoe. The vetrinarians all adore her cause she is so easy going and well-behaved. She is darling. A good mix of spunk and snuggly. When she isn't nearly tripping Grandma running around under foot, she is snuggling with her in the chair. Here is a video of her playing...if I was tricky, I would put music to it but it is effort enough to post a video so don't expect pyrotechnics. And meanwhile don't strain yourself to listen to the video cause I am just on the phone in the background...

Praise for Mormons

I received this in a forwarded email- I have found the original posts so I could verify. See links below.
It is nice to hear.


What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been
Posted by: John Schroeder at 07:09 am, November 6th, 2008 http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=1156271

Proposition 8 is now a part of the
California constitution!

That is probably the best news from an
otherwise difficult election for conservatives and
Republicans. In very large part, we Evangelicals must
thank our Mormon cousins for that fact. They, along with our
Catholic brethren, were better organized than us and that provided a
base from which we could ALL work together to get this job done.
What more, as we have chronicled here, Mormons took the brunt of the
abuse, derision, and even threats of physical
harm that came with this effort.
And like us, they have given thanks to the
Almighty that is ultimately in control, even if their understanding of
that Almighty is a bit diffrent than ours.
I cannot help but wonder how much more thankful we ALL might be today if
we had been more willing to embrace these religious cousins a few
months ago - but alas, politics is always about governing today and
looking forward to the next election.
Said
John Mark Reynolds:
http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2008/11/05/california-and-thank-a-mormon-day/
In the battle for the family, however,
traditional Christians have no better friends than the Mormon
faithful. It would be wrong if that support were taken for granted. We
are intolerant of the false attacks on Mormon faith and family. We
stand with our Mormon friends in their right to express their views on
the public square. We celebrate the areas, such as family values,
where we agree.
A heart felt thank you may not win points from
other friends who demand one hundred percent agreement from their
allies, but it is the decent and proper thing to
do.
Thank you to our Mormon friends and
allies!
Hard to do better than that. The
“Ruth Youth” ministry proclaimed yesterday “International Mormon
Appreciation Day.” Very appropriate, yet still
inadequate.
In addition to our thanks, Mormons deserve our
protection. They have been oppressed in ways during the
Prop 8 campaign that this nation has not seen since the 1960’s and the
civil rights movement. The rhetoric has been deplorable,
but moreover. we have seen instances of vandalism, property
destruction, and some leaders in the fight currently find themselves
with armed protection because of the threats made against them and
their families.
Our nation will not and cannot tolerate this
sort of behavior - it is incumbent on all of us to stand against it,
and the best way to do that is to stand between the Mormons and the
forces that would perpetrate such evil.
Now I am sure the Mormons can, and probably
want, to take care of themselves, but as a Christian, it is my duty to
protect the innocent and free the oppressed. To turn a
blind eye in this circumstance is not only ungracious, it is simply
unChristian.
Make all the theological distinctions you
want, but in the political arena we are yoked with the Mormons (he
said borrowing some religious imagery) and it is darn well time we
started acting like it.
Absolutely, positively thank the Mormons - but
don’t stop there. Stand up and be counted against the evil that
has been perpetrated towards them in this campaign.
As Christians we can do no
less.

Pie Maker

David decided to make pie.

Alone.

For the first time.

I did tell him not to knead the dough as I did the first time I made pies.

David made some great pies! He even cleaned up when he was done!

Pour on a little Half and Half to eat it Jones style. Yum.

Accio! Alohomora! Lumos!

These are all the Harry Potter spells that I thought best meant "okay Mom, you wanted a post, you shall recieve a post!" (summoning, unlocking, and lighting up). Ha ha anyway. Ian and I were Harry and Hermione for a friend's Halloween party, so that's the latest that I have to blog about. (I realize I'm way past the time for Halloween posts, but we've already established my tardiness in posting at all, haven't we?) So here you have it. Oh yeah and I'm also including us at our ward Fall Festival. My YW and us were gypsies, so that made Ian Quasimodo. You know, Esmarelda and the Hunchback of Notre Dame? Or our version of such at least:). Good times. Love you all!

Clothing for those who need it.

"All the clothing we need for the poor is in the closets of the Saints". I am sure they will give If we can just get the message to them. (the last part isn't exact)

This quote is why I normally don't do garage sales, and have saved my major clothes sorting for the end of this month instead of for the garage sale. I think we all have too many clothes. something about shopping for them is a balm. (I have some kind of clothing issue I guess I can hardly stand to hang up my clean laundry.)
I guess I will start mentally preparing now for the sort. Connie, where are you when I need you! Ha ha.

Don't forget to give to Deseret Industries. Don't just let things sit in there til they are out of style. Give ,em out now to someone who can really use and appreciate them.
Every one piece in - means two out.

Neighborhood Garage Sale

I am so tired. Do I start all my blogs that way?

7am Garage sale at the Cutlers!
We did pretty good and cleaned out the Garage at the same time, plus we made a little money for Christmas. (This getting a missionary ready stuff, can be very costly.)
I am glad we "sold it all" so I don't have to do it again tomorrow. We had planned for two days if necessary. The community did the publicity.

It stayed in the 70's too, so the weather was cooperative.

Of course now I have volunteered to help my friend do hers tomorrow. I did say I was not showing up 'till 8:00 though.

Maybe I will have to check out all my neighbors junk. I have some room in my garage.

Elections are over.

Whew!
The three states in which I was watching the proposition results were able to pass them in favor of protecting the family!
Hurray!
Florida had to pass theirs with at least 60% of the voters.

Allison? Rachel? Contributors?

Are there really other authors on this blog?
Yes, but I guess they both have a busy life. (sigh)

The first day at "Labor and Delivery" for soon to be Nurse Allison?
How did it go?
I don't know. (hint)

Rachel, I hear you did a truly great rendition of R-E-S-P-E-C-T with the Beus Band at the Halloween party.
True? (hint)
I also hear there is a video?

Come on you.
My blog is bored.

Elder Cutler

5:30 this morning...

He left a message for his little brother on the mirror in their bathroom. -set me to crying, again.

Words fail me.

He is now on a plane to the MTC in Provo, Utah.

Now is the time to prepare

Today is the day.

Today is the last day of preparation for Daniel's Mission.

He gets set apart tonight. The Stake President is coming here to our house.

His flight leaves around 7:00 am tomorrow morning.

To find out about the Mormons and what Dan will be telling click on;

http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/

My Brother Doug

I did not forget your birthday Doug.
You are my big brother and I love you. Happy belated October Birthday!

vote

"Vote your conscience",as the Brethren say, and do it today!!

VOTE!

No Jack-o-lanterns

I am a little sad. This is the first year in, I don't know how long, that we haven't carved pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns.

If you look at my kids, I guess it follows true to form.

It is the end of and era.

Impossible Things are Happening Every Day.

Stake conference, an open house, and the flu. What do all these things have in common? Yesterday, for me!
Danny's missionary open house was the most worrisome. When "the Mom" has the flu for three days, the house becomes a total wreck, and nothing gets baked or cooked. All the more reason to hide in my room when the Ward comes to visit on the spur of the moment, huh?
Keith, Rachel and Mary, pulled it all off while I lay in my bedroom sick.
Good. It was good.

He's here!

"Phantom" has been a favorite since I took the older kids to the play when they were young. Danny thinks he saw it for the first time in London.
We used to dust furniture to the soundtrack.
Romantic huh?

http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/music_player/index.php

Hey,Hey,--heyhey--hey!

Hey, I have added links on the prior blog posts. Especially check the one for the print shop. Or shop at FAO Schwarz! V


We are learning to sign! Connie, that means you too,okay!? Here is our lesson for this week, minus the numbers. We learn about 5/day.


Kaelynn's bunch is well on their way. They are beyond us. So let's go y'all!
(Thanks to them for the DVD). If My Mom can, we can!

Keith

Happy Birthday to my dear Husband Keith!

Allen Keith Cutler is a car guy. He has had 93 or some such high number of cars so far in his life. You can click on this link, or on the picture of the 4 of us at the Grand canyon labeled "just us in the desert" at the bottom of my blogspot, to see them. Then click on "wheels". He would like that a lot if you did. http://cutler4ever.com/

Politics and Temples?

This is a friends Sister-in-law writing.


Dear family and friends,

I had a very disturbing experience yesterday that I would like to
share with those of you that live outside of California (or outside of the
San Francisco Bay Area).

This weekend we have stake conference. Our stake conference always begins with a stake temple session on Friday or Thursday night. Early
Friday morning I received a call from the second counselor in our bishopric
to let me know that there would be numerous protesters outside the
temple,and to remind everyone to stay calm and to drive carefully.

The beautiful Oakland Temple is located right across the bay from San Francisco ,
very close to the city of Berkeley.

Apparently the opposition to proposition 8, the amendment that seeks to make marriage in CA. between a man and a woman again, has realized the deep involvement of the church and begun to protest right outside of the temple and harass temple patrons.
The fastest way to get to the temple from our house is to take the 680
freeway, but the exit is a bit tricky. The off ramp is extremely
short and straight uphill. You then make an almost blind left turn, an
immediate right and another left into the parking lot.
As we approached the off ramp, I realized there would be trouble.
There was a backup onto the freeway from cars stalled on the off ramp. As we
moved forward inches at a time, we realized this was due to a large group
of loud protesters who were standing on both sides of the street,yelling,
screaming and waving signs. When we got to the top of the offramp,
ready to make our turn, one protester jumped out right in front of our car.
It took my husband all his self control to carefully maneuver around him to
the left and proceed to the temple.
I tried not to listen to all they were shouting at us, but I was shaking as I got to the temple front door.
Several of the sisters, especially the ones driving on their own,
were crying (which made me snap out of it and go into RS President mode
to comfort them).

Later, as I was sitting in the perfect quiet of the
chapel, I couldn't help but think of Lehi's dream, and the people who
mocked the Saints from the big spacious building but,"we heeded them not."
It was a truly surreal experience.

I'd never thought that I would have to go through an angry crowd to get
to the temple.
As we left late at night, the protesters had dispersed, temple security (who all looked very large and Tongan) stood by the gates.

I never saw a single police man.

Please pray for those of us in California fighting for prop 8--it's
getting kind of scary out here!

Susanne

Caved

How is this for a different form of Architecture? This is one of my family's favorite places in NYC not necessarily mine.

This is the infamous Apple Store http://www.apple.com/retail/fifthavenue/ in Midtown, just in front of FAO Schwarz, http://www.fao.com/custsvc/custsvc.jsp?sectionId=560 the famous Toy store, which is one of my favorite stores to visit. We tend to split up. (Please go here instead of the Toys-R-us at Times square.)

We helped a little lost girl find her Mom. It turned out she only spoke Yiddish. I thought that was interesting. No wonder she didn't respond well to English. I would never have guessed. I guess I need to get out more or something to open my mind to those possibilities.

And yes, I caved in to pressure, (weeks and weeks of intensity from ALL sides, including Keith) I am sorry to say, and thus David purchased his own iphone. I told him he was buying his own

Christmas present I guess. I reserve the right to revoke privileges and to complain if so warranted.

Avast ye skalliwags!

Ahoy Mates and Landlubbers!
(okay, no more.)

We clammered around on the deck and below the hatches of a couple of old sailing ships at the old South Street Seaport. One ship had 4 masts and it was called the "Peking".

We visited an old print shop there and I fell in love with the place. They still do their printing by old handsets and ink

http://www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org/index1.aspx?BD=9147

New York City again!

NYC as viewed from atop The Empire State Building.
It's getting to be kind of like Disneyland, stand in line and do the rides. (they channel you through and give waiting times etc. even.)

Photos from the top of "the ride".

I love the Flatiron Building. If any one remembers or knows what a flatiron looks like you can't miss it, for others, it is the triangular one in the center. It is said to be only fifteen feet across in the front. It is was one of New York's first skyscrapers.

We Love getting a Burger at the Shake Shack in the park near there(lower left) and sit and view the Flatiron and people watch. There is always a line for this good food.


I like the Chrysler Building too. (It is the Art Deco one, of course.) I can't be sure but it looks like the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. (my favorite!) If I squint. The location seems more like the Manhatton Bridge.?? Which is it Alli?

I like the Woolworth building too, but you can't see it here ,unfortunately. It too is one of the early skyscrappers. built with Nickels and Dimes from the Dime Store Moguls fortune.

See Central Park in the distance? and The George Washington Bridge? It connects the Bronx to New Jersey.

Architecture is one of my favorite things! It is one reason I love to travel.

My streak is intact! The celebrity I saw this time was Collin Farrel. We Were once again grabbing A burger (they have some great burger places in New York) At the Burger Joint. It is a very small place about eight tables , we offered to let him sit withus but no... Ian actually spotted him first but it still counts on my run.. I actually saw another actor too but I don't know his name- perhaps later.

Philadelphia PA

Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly love, brought these brothers and sisters together again.

This is my favorite photo that day. (note the line in the background to see the Liberty Bell.)
Here are my children from left to right.
David "Harry" Harrison, Allison Cutler Kelly, Rachel "Liberty Bell", and Daniel, aka Elder Cutler!

Among other things, Danny, while skateboarding into a bank somehow managed to bend my new Ipod almost in half! (remember I got it for a present, hadn't used it yet, so he borrowed it) How you bend a little solid thing like that I don't understand. It was in his back pocket if that explains anything?(a hard bottom?) His luck holds true.

We walked where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin did (He fascinates me). We visited Federal hall, where the nation was conceived, Betsy Ross' house, a Quaker church, and, as touted, a "real Quaker".

Maybe we as Mormons ought to try that approach, "Visit a Mormon church with a real Mormon inside!" The sign could also boast something about 1st Amendment rights used right here!

The very first thing my children did was find an old abandoned building near our Hotel. Danny found it with David in tow and came to get the girls. Immediately after Breakfast they went to explore it. (Some things never change!) Allison, true to long time tradition, while trapsing around upstairs broke through a floor board with one leg. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt badly, so no trip to the hospital this time. (I have lost track of the times with that child.) Ian, downstairs, was certainly startled, when a leg came crashing through the ceiling right by his head.

Oh, and in the Best Cheesesteak battle--we vote-- uhmm-- Pat's!

ohhh oh no!!

The BYU game was painful.

Missionary Farewell!

Danny gave an awesome talk, on the Attributes of Jesus Christ.

We are so proud of him. He has really worked hard and faced some stiff opposition to get here. I know he can do this.

I do Love this boy.

Chile, here he comes!

Rowing in Central Park

For 12 dollars an hour you can rent a rowboat on one of the lakes in Central Park. After three days of trying to get there, the Cutler Family finally "gave it a go".

Rachel is a natural born rower/wave maker, surprisingly strong, yet with a tendency to veer a little off kilter.

Many years of cardboard boat racing on Tempe Town Lake, trying to lead his troop to a win and not sink too soon, has made David an expert rower!

.

Allison and Ian were very very busy somewhere far off
in the Bronx.

Daniel didn't show up, we guessed he was too busy with his
friends.

.

Keith somehow had a knack for "rocking the boat".

I seemed to do best when just hanging on trying not to get
capsized into the murky water.

Does any of this sound familiar? metaphorically speaking
perhaps?

After a while, Keith and I convinced them to let us out onto a nearby rock. We then enjoyed watching them go it alone, and try to row at the same time, thus seeing them paddle in circles!

That is them in the top photo, in the blue and purple clothes, as seen from our distant viewpoint. They didn't paddle in circles. They actually did very well, maybe even better, without us in the boat.

It was just about perfect

in New York
City.