Amy's pregnant belly

Here is a cute pregnant picture of Amy. I think I have babies on the brain b/c last night I dreamt that Melanie was holding a positive pregnancy test, but wouldn't say that she was expecting...weird, I know...

Our Trip

Hi family. Melanie and I went on a cruise last week to celebrate springbreak, christmas, birthdays, anniversary, and a belated honeymoon. I had never been anywhere like the caribbean as Janelle and Michael Huff lived in Hawaii while I was on my mission. When I got back from my mission mom and dad offered to buy me a ticket to Hawaii to visit Janelle and Michael. I foolishly turned it down, believing that such expenditures were too worldly and that I needed to begin working immediately. Amy volunteered to go in my place. I guess I was still adjusting to normal life. In the caribbean, it was nice being able to walk around without shoes and a shirt.



This was our boat. The Carnival Glory. It was spacious and manned by philipene and indonesian workers. I am sure that the cruise line treats them like indentured servants and that their lives are miserable and that their employment arrangement would be illegal in the United States. We boarded in Miami, FL. In this pic, it was docked at our first stop of Thunderball and Casino Royale fame: Nassau, Bahamas.




It was strange for me to step into the water and feel that it was as warm or warmer than the air. I had never been to a beach with such fine and white sand and clear, warm water. Then we stopped at St. John's, Virgin Islands:



The beach pictured above is Trunk Bay on St. John's, Virgin Islands. The island was one of the most beautiful geographic places I've been to in my life. As you can also see, if I had a super power, it would be the ability to blind my foe by tearing of my shirt. We snorkeled in this bay and saw some tropical fish and corral. I discovered that I was terrified of looking around too much because I didn't want to see the immensity and depth of the ocean.

After St. Thomas/St. Johns, Virgin Islands, we stopped at San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was more of an urban stop.



San Juan was an old city. We toured around the "old San Juan" neighborhood, which has architecture dating back to the 1500s. This is a fortress that guarded access to the islands in the caribbean, like Puerto Rico, that have a fresh water supply.




The old town city was also very interesting. I sported my linen pants. I wanted to be like Gob from Arrested Development.




After San Juan, we stopped on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. After he orbited the earth for the first time, John Glenn parachuted into the water in a space pod, 20 miles off the coast of Grand Turk. We took a taxi to a secluded beach and saw a bit of the island. The people there live in extreme poverty. Once we got to the beach, the water and sand were pristine. And the size of the ocean, once again, terrified me but I enjoyed swimming in it anyway.



The locations were a great reminder that the world is beautiful and that God gave us the earth, not only to provide a space to occupy as we go about the plan of salvation, but also a space that inspires faith and happiness.

This was a big production trip for Melanie and I. I hope that we all take time out of our busy lives to pause a little and breath, whether its sitting down to watch a funny tv show, go on a weekend road trip with family, or go on a jog/walk.

A Reminder to Everyone

It has been several months since dad's passing and it is still difficult to cope with. I miss him and think about him everyday. He is examplary to me on how to live an honorable life. My thoughts of him motivate me to live better and to work hard. The sealing that took place in the Oakland temple between mom and dad is eternal and binds all of us together as an eternal family. That sealing will not be broken. Dad will always be our father, and mom will be with him eternally. These truths have been verified to me by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and therefore I have no doubt. I also have no doubt that dad is in a well deserved state of rest. He is experiencing peace. He is preaching the gospel to those in spirit prison. Knowing how effective he was as a missionary in Germany I have no doubt that he is effective in the spirit world. He is unlocking the keys of salvation for many on the other side. I also know that he watches over mom and each of us his children. He possesses an eternal interest in mom and all of us. He is close and continually guides us. These things I know.

Don't ever become discouraged. Don't lose faith. Life is hard sometimes but we are given sufficient strength to overcome our individual challenges and hardships. I remember when Brent had his heartattack and the family held a church service near the hospital. At the service dad quoted a scripture which I believe was one of his favorites, it is in first corinthians 13: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." That beautiful scripture captures dads deep understanding of the plan of salvation and his faith. We need to remember his faith and follow his example.

During my freshman year of college at BYU-I dad came to a concert which my choir was performing at. It was actually at the music and the spoken word. We sang a rather obscure song from the hymn book called "oh what songs of the heart." Dad said it was a beautiful song. Let us take comfort in the words of this song and always retain a hope in our hearts of a reuniting with our loving dad: "Oh, what songs of the heart We shall sing all the day,

When again we assemble at home,

When we meet ne'er to part With the blest o'er the way,

There no more from our loved ones to roam!

When we meet ne'er to part, Oh, what songs of the heart We shall sing in our beautiful home.
Tho our rapture and bliss There's no song can express,

We will shout, we will sing o'er and o'er,

As we greet with a kiss, And with joy we caress All our loved ones that passed on before;

As we greet with a kiss, In our rapture and bliss, All our love ones that passed on before."

Don't forget the faith of our dad and may we be strengthened to follow in his footsteps.

love,

jon