Haha, got that right Jane. Being bored sounds fun to me but... I am always sad if I don't do *something* special on Friday nights! A couple weeks ago I was grocery shopping on a Friday night and felt pretty darn bad for myself, haha. Thanks again jane!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
I'm excited to read the talk Stef, thanks!I knew that by putting that I was "bored" and needed something to fill my friday night would certainly get a comment from you or Kristi. I know I will someday long for an evening free, and I usually don't mind spending time by myself....but it just sounded so lonely this time. It sounds like I did the right thing as B&K needed a little break. :)
On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:01 PM, Stefanie Bassett <stef.m.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Elder Max,Sorry I missed last week. We have been in chaos here for the last couple weeks. Life has been busier than usual with Nick's school/work, and me with dance AND on top of that, we have had company the last two weekends in a row which has been so fun, but it definitely keeps it crazy. My brother Craig and his wife and kids slept over last night, they got in super late (2:30AM) since they were on their way home from Cali. so that was wild having them for church and dinner and all, but very fun. Last weekend my brother Brad and his wife we down here (although not staying over) for a dance competition. It was actually super fun, I went with Dirinda (his wife) to her dance competition on Friday night and Brad stayed here and watched Star Wars with the boys and put them to bed. It felt like heaven to have that kind of help! And of course it was fun to watch dance all night. Nick had been out of town for several days at that point so it was fun to get out. In reading Jane's letter about having a freak out that she had no friday night plans, I was slightly envious. That would be like a little piece of heaven to have a night with no one and nothing to do compared to the crazy norm and overstimulation that comes from three +Nick crazy boys :). But I think Nick would go crazy having nothing to do too.Well I have a cavity. Yuck. I am getting it filled this week. I fear nothing more than bears, sharks and getting cavities filled. Pray for me. ;)I got to go to the Women's session of General Conference that this year was for girls 8 years old and up. It was so touching. They had the little girls all the way up to grandma's in the choir and something about having those little girls there made the Spirit there even more special than usual. In my old age, I have definitely gotten more emotional. Allergies I think :).How's this story for an example of self-fulfilling prophecy? I had to go and get my drivers liscense renewed. I remember right after I got married and was going to get a new license because obviously I had to change my name and as I was taking the eye exam I thought to myself, "next time I take this I am totally going to fail." I know that's negative :) but seriously I struggled to get the letters right. Well it totally happened. I have glasses, I rarely wear them because I feel like I don't really need them ....this is so boring sorry, but at any rate, the Spirit prompted me to bring my glasses and I wore them for the test. That was such a tender mercy bc the lady had me take the test without them to see and I so failed! So I guess I'd better get to the eye doc. and make sure my prescription is still right haha. :)I am including this link to a BYU devotional from last summer. The whole premise is about being paralyzed by perfection and how to use the Atonement to overcome that. I used it in my talk last sunday. I think that especially Janey will like it. I know Dad has read it bc it was on the back of the toto in the basement :) http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2128 enjoy. Its a game changer for sure. We all are imperfect and that's the point of this life, to allow Christ's Atonement to help us become perfect. But we are not capable of perfection all around in this life. That being said, we can be perfect in some things like church attendance, paying tithing, etc. so do the best we can and don't let "the gap" paralyze us. :)
love you all, sorry this is an extremely boring letter. Nothing funny from the kids or anything, just straight up boringness about cavities and drivers licenses. I will try to have something funny this week.We love ya Max, have a great week. You are a great missionary, you are obedient and striving to have the Spirit and you love the people. The Lord can definitely work with that. Great job!-Stef
Re: Grace - Nick
I love this talk Nick. I've always had a hard time understanding Grace, and someone referenced it awhile ago in a YW's lesson and it just clicked. Love it!On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 9:50 PM, bret bassett <bretbassett@gmail.com> wrote:Great letter Nick. You guys are great, and it shows in the kind of lives you're living and sharing with others. I'm really looking forward to listening to the talk by Brad Wilcox. I've heard a lot about it and his book on Grace. And I'm anxious to hear what he has to say, especially if he talks about the Gap... a topic I'm becoming increasingly convinced is at the core of the why we have the gospel.Loves.--On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 9:42 PM, Rosey <roseybassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Wow! What a fun and busy week. You're such an excellent father and husband nick. Seriously. I'm so grateful for amazing examples in my life, and you are certainly one of them. I shall check out that you tube video tonight. I'm excited.Love ya! Keep kicking bum with your school work.Love, Rosey
Sent from my iPhoneDear Max,Life barrels on going faster and faster. Someone pointed out in their last letter to you that you will pretty much blink and this next year will be over. Take in every minute! Here are some of the things that happened this week in our life:Monday for family night we picked up some Pizzas and watched the new Disney movie Frozen that recently came out on DVD. The lesson portion of FHE was the boys teaching us the sign language to "I stand all amazed" which they are learning in primary. Fun night for sure.Tuesday I ran in to work for the first time in a long time and that felt really good. I always feel better when I'm exercising. After work we went out to dinner and then stopped by DI and happened upon a good little bike for Clay. It was only a few dollars and was actually his size so we got it. It ended up needing a fair but of work but after spending an hour early one day before work, and an hour or so on Saturday it's up and running like new. It was cute how excited he was. I love all the boys comments about how fast certain bikes are. In reality all the bikes are about the same but in the boys minds some bikes are definitely faster than others. Fun stuff.Wednesday was good. More homework, mutual Stef at dance, etc.Thursday was crazy busy at work, but good. I've really established a lot of relationships with physicians which is definitely an interesting job. I feel like most my meetings every day are kind of like job interviews and my job is to make a good impression and build some trust. One of my young men got their mission call that day and was called to Bakersfield California - about 6 hours from here. It's probably the equivalent of Boise ID if you live in Salt Lake. He handled it well and is very excited. Stef went and made a bunch if freezer meals at a ward members house which was great. She's been so busy with dance it's been hard to have many meals and I know she is really excited to have them all pre made. We are proud of all the great work she's doing for the upcoming show and are really excited for it both to watch it, and so it won't take up quite as much of her time when it's done. She's had lots of practices and stuff lately along with supporting on the operational side of the company. She is a great sport to just keep going. We feel the same way about me and school...it will be soooo nice to be done and not have my evening hours taken doing that.Friday was the highlight of my week. I always look forward to my date nits with Stef. We love our kids but we especially love just being together. We went to the temple and did sealings, then went and each bought a new pair of dress shoes we have been desparatley needing and then went out to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was a great evening!Saturday's project was laying new sod in my front yard. Last summer our lawns were dramatically under watered and most of the lawn died. The lawn looks much nicer now and hopefully will take well look nice this summer. Bret did really well in s soccer game although still hasn't scored a goal. He was much more aggressive this week than last. He's awesome.Today's been great. Craig and Kristen were on their way back from California and slept over last night. Church was great. Clay got up and bore his testimony. It was really cute. Most of his comments were about knowing all the people that love him. "I know my grandmas and grandpas love me, I know my cousins love me, I know Jesus loves me" etc. it was sweet. He's such a cute little boy. The other highlight was the 3rd hour where we watched a talk from Brad Wilcox about Grace. It's called "His Grace is Sufficient". It's all about "the gap" you've probably heard dad talk a lot about. It is seriously a great talk. You probably can't sit and watch YouTube clips so just put this one down as one to check out sometimeThe rest of you however, here is the link and I HIGHLY recommend watching it for your scripture study sometime this week. It has some powerful things in there about grace.Well this letter has gone on long enough. We sure love you and are proud of all you're doing. Keep up the great work!Love,Nick--
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Bret Bassett - PMP | International Product Manager |
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Re: End of March 2014
I'm excited to read the talk Stef, thanks!I knew that by putting that I was "bored" and needed something to fill my friday night would certainly get a comment from you or Kristi. I know I will someday long for an evening free, and I usually don't mind spending time by myself....but it just sounded so lonely this time. It sounds like I did the right thing as B&K needed a little break. :)
On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:01 PM, Stefanie Bassett <stef.m.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Elder Max,Sorry I missed last week. We have been in chaos here for the last couple weeks. Life has been busier than usual with Nick's school/work, and me with dance AND on top of that, we have had company the last two weekends in a row which has been so fun, but it definitely keeps it crazy. My brother Craig and his wife and kids slept over last night, they got in super late (2:30AM) since they were on their way home from Cali. so that was wild having them for church and dinner and all, but very fun. Last weekend my brother Brad and his wife we down here (although not staying over) for a dance competition. It was actually super fun, I went with Dirinda (his wife) to her dance competition on Friday night and Brad stayed here and watched Star Wars with the boys and put them to bed. It felt like heaven to have that kind of help! And of course it was fun to watch dance all night. Nick had been out of town for several days at that point so it was fun to get out. In reading Jane's letter about having a freak out that she had no friday night plans, I was slightly envious. That would be like a little piece of heaven to have a night with no one and nothing to do compared to the crazy norm and overstimulation that comes from three +Nick crazy boys :). But I think Nick would go crazy having nothing to do too.Well I have a cavity. Yuck. I am getting it filled this week. I fear nothing more than bears, sharks and getting cavities filled. Pray for me. ;)I got to go to the Women's session of General Conference that this year was for girls 8 years old and up. It was so touching. They had the little girls all the way up to grandma's in the choir and something about having those little girls there made the Spirit there even more special than usual. In my old age, I have definitely gotten more emotional. Allergies I think :).How's this story for an example of self-fulfilling prophecy? I had to go and get my drivers liscense renewed. I remember right after I got married and was going to get a new license because obviously I had to change my name and as I was taking the eye exam I thought to myself, "next time I take this I am totally going to fail." I know that's negative :) but seriously I struggled to get the letters right. Well it totally happened. I have glasses, I rarely wear them because I feel like I don't really need them ....this is so boring sorry, but at any rate, the Spirit prompted me to bring my glasses and I wore them for the test. That was such a tender mercy bc the lady had me take the test without them to see and I so failed! So I guess I'd better get to the eye doc. and make sure my prescription is still right haha. :)I am including this link to a BYU devotional from last summer. The whole premise is about being paralyzed by perfection and how to use the Atonement to overcome that. I used it in my talk last sunday. I think that especially Janey will like it. I know Dad has read it bc it was on the back of the toto in the basement :) http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2128 enjoy. Its a game changer for sure. We all are imperfect and that's the point of this life, to allow Christ's Atonement to help us become perfect. But we are not capable of perfection all around in this life. That being said, we can be perfect in some things like church attendance, paying tithing, etc. so do the best we can and don't let "the gap" paralyze us. :)
love you all, sorry this is an extremely boring letter. Nothing funny from the kids or anything, just straight up boringness about cavities and drivers licenses. I will try to have something funny this week.We love ya Max, have a great week. You are a great missionary, you are obedient and striving to have the Spirit and you love the people. The Lord can definitely work with that. Great job!-Stef
Re: Biking Season!
Whoa, I accidentally pushed send before I could say- JUST KIDDING, so glad you got to go to this play and spend time with your friends! Hopefully you take the time to read (or hopefully even watch) the broadcast, it was amazing! I loved your letter. Thanks for sharing the happenings in your life!Love ya.
On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 7:33 PM, Janey Nielsen <janeybassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Rose- I was also feeling moved and uplifted Saturday night at this little thing we like to call.......THE HISTORIC 1ST WOMEN'S MEETING.
On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:07 PM, Rosey Bassett <roseybassett@gmail.com> wrote:Hey LIttle Brother,Another week has come and gone. Isn't time just strange? Sometimes I feel like my whole life is just flying by, other times I feel like it's crawling. Such a strange concept. How was your week? I always enjoy reading your letters, I think about the conference talk that used a mission as a metaphor to life, just a much quicker version. I can sense in your letters that this is true for you. It can be so rewarding, so frustrating, so challenging, so exciting, so disappointing, and the list goes on. I always appreciate your wisdom and knowledge of things learned in your letters. Thank you!I had a great week. I was able to go biking 3 times during the week which is such a blessing. It has not been warm enough until this week (or course today there is snow on the ground...but earlier this week it was beautiful). Anyway, I just love biking. It's very mentally refreshing for me. I am especially grateful for biking right now as my ankle continues to hurt if i try running. I tried to wrap my ankle to play in one of my soccer games this week, but it was just discouraging. I could hardly run and every time I kicked the ball it KILLED. I'm just grateful I can still exercise through biking.Other highlights of my week include:- Amber and I took Brett and Breydan as well as Lexi and Aliesha and Ethan and Gideon (her nephews) to this giant trampoline place in Provo. I had paid for myself to be able to jump on all the tramps and was sorely disappointed that i was older than any other person playing on the tramps by about 10 years. Awkward. I ended up mostly just watching all the different kids enjoying their time. And trying not to have panic attacks due to the stuffy smell of a million people sweating. But all in all it was fun. I sure do love those two boys, it's amazing how when you serve somebody, you love them. It's no wonder our Savior loves and cares for all of us so much. He atoned for our sins! The greatest service of all. After the trampoline place we took them all back to have a sleep over at Ambers house. Wow, what a night. Of course the girls and boys were in completely different rooms but it was stressful (and enjoyable).- On Saturday I had the wonderful privilege of going to see Les Mis at Hale Center Theater with my two therapist friends, Suzette and Karen. We went to dinner at Gossip (it's a Pho place..I;m pretty sure you're the one who told me about it...you get those drinks with the squishy balls inside. Crazy). Anyway, the play was seriously INCREDIBLE. And so moving. I am so amazed at the talents that people have. We certainly all have different talents, and I was not blessed with the talent to sing and act so beautifully. It's wild to think how blessed you are in that field! Anyway, the show just really touched me. I don't know how well you know the show, but I just wanted to share my thoughts from it....Today in Ward Council Steve Schaefermeyer (who had his last Sunday in our ward today because of his age...sad day) gave the spiritual thought. He shared Alma 26:22 which says: "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing - unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentence..." Anyway, as he was sharing his thought on this scripture, I got to thinking about how this scripture applied to Jean Valjean. Les Mis is a story of him repenting and continually exercising faith and bringing forth good works because he had become a changed man after he had been permitted a second chance. At the end of the play, he does get to know the mysteries of God as he dies and finds true happiness and joy.Anyway, I just love the metaphor because the same is true for all of us. We have a Savior who has permitted us a second chance despite mistakes we make in our lives, and as we do our very best to be faithful and serve those around us, we are ultimately setting ourselves up to know the mysteries of God and experience true happiness. What a wonderful blessing.Well, this is plenty long. Life is tough bro, but oh how neat it is too! We get to learn every single day, and grow, and progress. And that is such a blessing. I pray that you can continually have your positive attitude. It's incredible! I miss you, but couldn't be more game for you to be gone :)Love ya,RoseyRe: Biking Season!
Rose- I was also feeling moved and uplifted Saturday night at this little thing we like to call.......THE HISTORIC 1ST WOMEN'S MEETING.On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:07 PM, Rosey Bassett <roseybassett@gmail.com> wrote:Hey LIttle Brother,Another week has come and gone. Isn't time just strange? Sometimes I feel like my whole life is just flying by, other times I feel like it's crawling. Such a strange concept. How was your week? I always enjoy reading your letters, I think about the conference talk that used a mission as a metaphor to life, just a much quicker version. I can sense in your letters that this is true for you. It can be so rewarding, so frustrating, so challenging, so exciting, so disappointing, and the list goes on. I always appreciate your wisdom and knowledge of things learned in your letters. Thank you!I had a great week. I was able to go biking 3 times during the week which is such a blessing. It has not been warm enough until this week (or course today there is snow on the ground...but earlier this week it was beautiful). Anyway, I just love biking. It's very mentally refreshing for me. I am especially grateful for biking right now as my ankle continues to hurt if i try running. I tried to wrap my ankle to play in one of my soccer games this week, but it was just discouraging. I could hardly run and every time I kicked the ball it KILLED. I'm just grateful I can still exercise through biking.Other highlights of my week include:- Amber and I took Brett and Breydan as well as Lexi and Aliesha and Ethan and Gideon (her nephews) to this giant trampoline place in Provo. I had paid for myself to be able to jump on all the tramps and was sorely disappointed that i was older than any other person playing on the tramps by about 10 years. Awkward. I ended up mostly just watching all the different kids enjoying their time. And trying not to have panic attacks due to the stuffy smell of a million people sweating. But all in all it was fun. I sure do love those two boys, it's amazing how when you serve somebody, you love them. It's no wonder our Savior loves and cares for all of us so much. He atoned for our sins! The greatest service of all. After the trampoline place we took them all back to have a sleep over at Ambers house. Wow, what a night. Of course the girls and boys were in completely different rooms but it was stressful (and enjoyable).- On Saturday I had the wonderful privilege of going to see Les Mis at Hale Center Theater with my two therapist friends, Suzette and Karen. We went to dinner at Gossip (it's a Pho place..I;m pretty sure you're the one who told me about it...you get those drinks with the squishy balls inside. Crazy). Anyway, the play was seriously INCREDIBLE. And so moving. I am so amazed at the talents that people have. We certainly all have different talents, and I was not blessed with the talent to sing and act so beautifully. It's wild to think how blessed you are in that field! Anyway, the show just really touched me. I don't know how well you know the show, but I just wanted to share my thoughts from it....Today in Ward Council Steve Schaefermeyer (who had his last Sunday in our ward today because of his age...sad day) gave the spiritual thought. He shared Alma 26:22 which says: "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing - unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentence..." Anyway, as he was sharing his thought on this scripture, I got to thinking about how this scripture applied to Jean Valjean. Les Mis is a story of him repenting and continually exercising faith and bringing forth good works because he had become a changed man after he had been permitted a second chance. At the end of the play, he does get to know the mysteries of God as he dies and finds true happiness and joy.Anyway, I just love the metaphor because the same is true for all of us. We have a Savior who has permitted us a second chance despite mistakes we make in our lives, and as we do our very best to be faithful and serve those around us, we are ultimately setting ourselves up to know the mysteries of God and experience true happiness. What a wonderful blessing.Well, this is plenty long. Life is tough bro, but oh how neat it is too! We get to learn every single day, and grow, and progress. And that is such a blessing. I pray that you can continually have your positive attitude. It's incredible! I miss you, but couldn't be more game for you to be gone :)Love ya,RoseyRe: Letter from Blaine, March 30, 2014
Go Blaine! I'm exhausted and I kind of feel lazy comparing myself to all you do. You're amazing. Kristi always acts so grateful for all that you do. I need to try to do more to be helpful! Wish I could help you with your studying...but I think you're on your own. Glad I could help out of Friday! Sorry the evening started out a little rough. Kristi told me you had just spilled the nacho cheese before she left. I probably should have come help since I do owe you for cleaning up that syrup I spilled one time. :) Keep on going!Love, Janey
On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 5:42 PM, Rosey <roseybassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Ah man Blaine. That story made me want to cry. Things like that are seriously some of the most trying "in the moment" experiences we have in this life. I really do feel that way. It reminds me of the syrup that dear jane dropped right after you got home. I also just have to say how impressed I am with all that you squeeze into your days. Holy smokes! It seriously blows my mind. You're working out with 2 of your kids at 6:00 AM. WOW.You're a great example! Let's hang out sometime!Love, Rosey
Sent from my iPhoneHi Max,Well, another week gone by. They are flying now. Finals are looming closer and closer, along with about a million other important tests I have to take. I feel like it's all I ever write about because it's about all I ever think about. From now until August all I have to do is cram and cram and cram, take a test, and then start cramming for the next one. The first big test of the series actually came yesterday—the MPRE (which is the ethics portion of the bar exam). I only got about 10-15 hours of study in for this one, which felt like not nearly enough, but I ran out of time and had to take it anyway. I won't find out if I passed for about five weeks. I'm really nervous because I could see it going either way. I know I didn't do too well, but hopefully I did well enough to pass. How embarrassing would it be to fail the ethics bar and have to tell your firm that? "Oh, we better not trust Blaine with client funds. Let's just say he's a bit…uh…ethically challenged…" Humiliating! So we'll hope that I pass. Next up, three finals and two papers in about two weeks, then at least a 100 more hours of studying for the patent bar and I don't know how many hundreds of hours I'll need to study for the real bar but it will keep me busy I'm sure. Anyway, I'll stop talking about all this now, but this letter wouldn't even be honest if I claimed it was from me and I didn't mention how stressed I am about tests! :)Poor Kristi is next to me as I type this and about every two minutes she'll just gasp out in pain. I hope she's not actually in labor as we speak but sometimes I wonder. Apparently the baby has been in a really weird position for the last few days and so when she kicks it just stops Kristi in her tracks. She has had to look down at her tummy a couple times because she swears that there will be a foot that has kicked through. But apparently that's what it feels like and it is not fun. It is really overwhelming to think that we still have two months left and to think how much important stuff I have to do during that time. I am really trying to be there to help Kristi however I can and she is so sweet to act like it makes a difference. She is always very grateful but I really feel like I can't do nearly enough while keeping up with everything else. It's a balancing act for sure and it's not going to get easier any time soon. As difficult as the mission was for me (and I have never forgotten how challenging it was), that is one thing that I miss is not having to really balance unrelated and opposing goals and facets of life. There certainly are many things pulling you in many different directions as a missionary but they all are pretty interrelated and towards the same goal—to just bring yourself and others to Christ. I guess that goal still applies to us all now as well, but it somehow has seemed to be a lot more complicated to figure out how to spend my time since I have been home from my mission and had a family and school and work all pulling me different directions. I want to be here all the time for Kristi. I want to be here for my kids. I am here as much as possible—in addition to 20 hours or so of my own homework this week I have spent at least 2 hours with Gwen on hers, I got to go on a date with Kristi, I took a walk with Ben and Ivy today and have some time with them every morning from about 6-6:30 as we work out together in the basement. But I also want to do well in school, I have to do well on my tests to even proceed with the future as planned (I don't even dare to think about what would happen if I didn't pass the bar!), and that all takes serious time too. Meanwhile, I feel a little distanced from family and friends. I love hearing a bit about what is going on for everybody each week, but on a lot of these busy weeks I don't see or hear anything from family and friends that you don't. So I think I need to find time to connect with people outside my immediate family. I need to call Nick and Stef and see what's up with them. I ought to go a movie with Mom and Dad or Janey and Warner. I ought to go to another one of Rosey's games and try to keep up with her. We only have a few more precious months here and yet even these simple things never really happen and it just kind of weighs on me in the rare and quiet moments that I have to contemplate. All of which is just to say, that life doesn't balance itself. If you want things in life, they don't just fall in your lap. You only can expect to get out of life what you are willing to work for and prioritize and it's crazy how hard it can be to decide how to prioritize when you're blessed enough to be surrounded by lots of loved ones, lots of responsibilities, lots of goals, and lots of opportunities. The beauty is that each day is a new chance to try to strike a good balance. You wake up early, you list the things you want to get done, you say your morning prayer, and you do your best to get to all of it. :)Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to go off on all that. The beauty and the downside of my letters is that you get it raw. :) I rarely can think of more than one or two things I want to say before I sit down, but I just think that I want to write to you. Then we all get to see together what comes out.Two things that I did want to write about though. First, a big shout out to Janey who randomly texted on Friday morning to ask if she could take the kids so Kristi and I could go on a date. We were both so happy we about burst into tears! It's always nice to have a babysitter and a night out to look forward to, but it gets even better when the babysitter is 1) free, 2) someone the kids are actually excited to see rather than dreading (which is the case for the babysitters in the ward we can afford), 3) someone we totally trust with the kids, 4) someone who volunteered so we know that we aren't putting them out and that they actually want to be with the kids, and 5) a last minute surprise that we weren't expecting at all but were totally needing. Janey was all of these things on Friday and it was just the sweetest surprise for us. I really did not even have the time to be going out and doing anything besides studying for that test (it was first thing Saturday morning), but I didn't even care. We make it a policy to never turn something like this down and if I fail the ethics bar, I'll just take it again next time and still have no regrets! (That's how bad we needed this break!) Anyway, I think the kids had a great time. I hope it wasn't too hard on Jane. Honestly I haven't heard much from either of them about how it went, but I just know that it meant the world to Kristi and I to have a night out. It was a simple date—we just got dinner at Wingers and then went and saw this new Hunger-Games-like movie called Divergent which was really fun. Then I went home to keep studying for a couple more hours while Kristi went to pick up the kids. It was only a few hours away from the grind but it was so incredibly refreshing. Thanks again, Jane!!!Another story I just have to tell you actually happened that same day, right before the date. I had been frantically studying and trying to get steps in all day (I didn't have time for a real run unfortunately but I had been taking practice tests and studying outlines on the elliptical all day). I was trying so hard to get everything done before our date that I didn't even have time to go upstairs for lunch. After a while I realized I had burned about 1000-1500 calories with working out and doing the elliptical and the only thing I had eaten all day was an oat bran muffin that was like 100 calories. I was starving! It was already like 3:00 and so I knew dinner would be soon, but I just suddenly felt like I would die if I didn't eat something. I finished a practice test and found some old nacho cheese dip in the fridge that I thought I could dip carrots in while I reviewed the test for a few minutes. Kristi loves nacho cheese and so a few nights before we had gotten this whole thing of Velveeta and cooked it, but we hadn't eaten very much. Later I had mixed more beans into it and stuff but it kind of just kept growing, rather than shrinking as we picked away at it. I tell you this because it is important that you know that there was a whole huge tupperware thing full of this nacho cheese dip. Anyway, I run upstairs and microwave it for a few minutes (I knew I wouldn't eat the whole thing, but it was easier to just heat the whole thing up and then eat what I wanted) while I am still walking in place and looking over my practice test. I figure I'll have just enough time to get through what I needed to get through before it is time for our date. When the cheese is finally hot, I strap the sides on (it is kind of hard to explain this part, but just know that this is really solid glass tupperware and I have done this a million times before) and start carrying a bunch of stuff downstairs to my desk. When I am halfway down the stairs (running), the sides fall off and the whole huge thing of cheese falls on the stairs and has enough momentum and volume to literally splatter all the way down the rest of the stairs and all over both walls, down to the landing, all over the basement door (which was open) and even down onto the cement floor and onto some of the stuff that was in the basement. I can't even describe how much of a mess it made. You could not get the cheese that evenly coated if you could squirt it out of a hose. It was SOOOOO sad and SOOOOOO gross. I was already so overwhelmed, I just wanted to cry. And the saddest part was, above everything else, I was still just so hungry that I thought I would die. So I just sat down on the stairs in the middle of the mess, scooped a little cheese that hadn't really touched the wall or the floor back into the bowl and dipped like 5-10 carrots into it until Kristi came and found me. Then she went to drop off the kids and for the next 40 minutes, I cleaned the stairwell rather than studied. I did it in four different phases, the last of which included a huge plastic bowl full of water mixed with Oxy-Clean. When I was finally done and my arm was about to fall off from all the scrubbing, I was going to go dump out the bowl and study for at least a few minutes until I had to leave to meet Kristi for our date. So I was carrying the big bowl full of a gallon of nacho cheese/Oxy clean water with one hand and all the filthy rags in the other and as I walked across the kitchen, you guessed it, the cheap plastic bowl just gave out. I guess the water was too heavy and my thumb literally broke through the side of the bowl and the nacho cheese water rushed forth out of the bowl all over onto the kitchen floor and front room carpet. I really couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I will end the story there as you get the picture well enough I'm sure, but it was one of those kinds of days. And again, thank you to Janey for providing the bright ray of hope after one of the most miserable experiences ever. The nacho cheese incident made me have to study again later that night and wake up at 5:00 the next morning to continue studying before the test, but it was worth it and I'm glad to be done.All right, I have thought of a few other things to tell you but I guess I better sign off now for everyone's sake. Good luck on your week. We love your letters. I could really relate to your last one and how humbling it must have been to be criticized for something you didn't even know was a problem. I once went to a speech therapist in Junior High and they measured my hearing because they said I didn't say my 's's quite right, but I have never ever considered that I have a "lisp" (and I still don't, so if you think I have one you can keep it to yourself! :) But anyway, I hadn't even thought about that for years and then somehow on my mission I heard that that was how some people knew me—that when transfers came around and someone was getting transferred to be comps with Elder Bassett and was trying to figure out who I was, people had said, "you know, he's the guy with the lisp." That was really hard to take. No one meant offense by it, but it really made me rethink about myself. Is this how people see me? You reduce all my looks and my brains and my spirituality and my fun personality down to one trait, and this is the one thing that people know me by? It was sad. It took me awhile to get over. And, as I type and realize that there is very little I remember about the mission but I remember this perfectly, I realize maybe I never did totally get over it. So what is the lesson to learn from this? I really don't know. I still worry that people see me as "the guy with the lisp." I can't un-hear that totally candid comment or convince myself that it reflected anything other than truth, even if it was just one person's perception of truth. But I guess the lesson that I got from that and from so many other experiences since then is exactly what it sounds like you've already learned about being humble and dealing with weaknesses. I love that scripture from Ether. I love the hymn (and the scripture that goes along with it) "Be Thou Humble." Obviously I can't relate to any of the stuff that guy said about you—I think you're great and fun and I would have LOVED to be companions with you or taught by you. Anyone should be so lucky. But if that was one person's perception of truth, just use it to humble you, make you realize that you're not perfect, that there are areas you can improve, and the the Lord will help you improve them. In the meantime though, know that those weaknesses do not define you to us or to the Lord or to most people in your life. People love you and think you're great and I think you know that deep down.Anyway, have another great week. 50 and counting—make em good ones!BlaineRe: Letter from Blaine, March 30, 2014
Ah man Blaine. That story made me want to cry. Things like that are seriously some of the most trying "in the moment" experiences we have in this life. I really do feel that way. It reminds me of the syrup that dear jane dropped right after you got home. I also just have to say how impressed I am with all that you squeeze into your days. Holy smokes! It seriously blows my mind. You're working out with 2 of your kids at 6:00 AM. WOW.You're a great example! Let's hang out sometime!Love, Rosey
Sent from my iPhoneHi Max,Well, another week gone by. They are flying now. Finals are looming closer and closer, along with about a million other important tests I have to take. I feel like it's all I ever write about because it's about all I ever think about. From now until August all I have to do is cram and cram and cram, take a test, and then start cramming for the next one. The first big test of the series actually came yesterday—the MPRE (which is the ethics portion of the bar exam). I only got about 10-15 hours of study in for this one, which felt like not nearly enough, but I ran out of time and had to take it anyway. I won't find out if I passed for about five weeks. I'm really nervous because I could see it going either way. I know I didn't do too well, but hopefully I did well enough to pass. How embarrassing would it be to fail the ethics bar and have to tell your firm that? "Oh, we better not trust Blaine with client funds. Let's just say he's a bit…uh…ethically challenged…" Humiliating! So we'll hope that I pass. Next up, three finals and two papers in about two weeks, then at least a 100 more hours of studying for the patent bar and I don't know how many hundreds of hours I'll need to study for the real bar but it will keep me busy I'm sure. Anyway, I'll stop talking about all this now, but this letter wouldn't even be honest if I claimed it was from me and I didn't mention how stressed I am about tests! :)Poor Kristi is next to me as I type this and about every two minutes she'll just gasp out in pain. I hope she's not actually in labor as we speak but sometimes I wonder. Apparently the baby has been in a really weird position for the last few days and so when she kicks it just stops Kristi in her tracks. She has had to look down at her tummy a couple times because she swears that there will be a foot that has kicked through. But apparently that's what it feels like and it is not fun. It is really overwhelming to think that we still have two months left and to think how much important stuff I have to do during that time. I am really trying to be there to help Kristi however I can and she is so sweet to act like it makes a difference. She is always very grateful but I really feel like I can't do nearly enough while keeping up with everything else. It's a balancing act for sure and it's not going to get easier any time soon. As difficult as the mission was for me (and I have never forgotten how challenging it was), that is one thing that I miss is not having to really balance unrelated and opposing goals and facets of life. There certainly are many things pulling you in many different directions as a missionary but they all are pretty interrelated and towards the same goal—to just bring yourself and others to Christ. I guess that goal still applies to us all now as well, but it somehow has seemed to be a lot more complicated to figure out how to spend my time since I have been home from my mission and had a family and school and work all pulling me different directions. I want to be here all the time for Kristi. I want to be here for my kids. I am here as much as possible—in addition to 20 hours or so of my own homework this week I have spent at least 2 hours with Gwen on hers, I got to go on a date with Kristi, I took a walk with Ben and Ivy today and have some time with them every morning from about 6-6:30 as we work out together in the basement. But I also want to do well in school, I have to do well on my tests to even proceed with the future as planned (I don't even dare to think about what would happen if I didn't pass the bar!), and that all takes serious time too. Meanwhile, I feel a little distanced from family and friends. I love hearing a bit about what is going on for everybody each week, but on a lot of these busy weeks I don't see or hear anything from family and friends that you don't. So I think I need to find time to connect with people outside my immediate family. I need to call Nick and Stef and see what's up with them. I ought to go a movie with Mom and Dad or Janey and Warner. I ought to go to another one of Rosey's games and try to keep up with her. We only have a few more precious months here and yet even these simple things never really happen and it just kind of weighs on me in the rare and quiet moments that I have to contemplate. All of which is just to say, that life doesn't balance itself. If you want things in life, they don't just fall in your lap. You only can expect to get out of life what you are willing to work for and prioritize and it's crazy how hard it can be to decide how to prioritize when you're blessed enough to be surrounded by lots of loved ones, lots of responsibilities, lots of goals, and lots of opportunities. The beauty is that each day is a new chance to try to strike a good balance. You wake up early, you list the things you want to get done, you say your morning prayer, and you do your best to get to all of it. :)Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to go off on all that. The beauty and the downside of my letters is that you get it raw. :) I rarely can think of more than one or two things I want to say before I sit down, but I just think that I want to write to you. Then we all get to see together what comes out.Two things that I did want to write about though. First, a big shout out to Janey who randomly texted on Friday morning to ask if she could take the kids so Kristi and I could go on a date. We were both so happy we about burst into tears! It's always nice to have a babysitter and a night out to look forward to, but it gets even better when the babysitter is 1) free, 2) someone the kids are actually excited to see rather than dreading (which is the case for the babysitters in the ward we can afford), 3) someone we totally trust with the kids, 4) someone who volunteered so we know that we aren't putting them out and that they actually want to be with the kids, and 5) a last minute surprise that we weren't expecting at all but were totally needing. Janey was all of these things on Friday and it was just the sweetest surprise for us. I really did not even have the time to be going out and doing anything besides studying for that test (it was first thing Saturday morning), but I didn't even care. We make it a policy to never turn something like this down and if I fail the ethics bar, I'll just take it again next time and still have no regrets! (That's how bad we needed this break!) Anyway, I think the kids had a great time. I hope it wasn't too hard on Jane. Honestly I haven't heard much from either of them about how it went, but I just know that it meant the world to Kristi and I to have a night out. It was a simple date—we just got dinner at Wingers and then went and saw this new Hunger-Games-like movie called Divergent which was really fun. Then I went home to keep studying for a couple more hours while Kristi went to pick up the kids. It was only a few hours away from the grind but it was so incredibly refreshing. Thanks again, Jane!!!Another story I just have to tell you actually happened that same day, right before the date. I had been frantically studying and trying to get steps in all day (I didn't have time for a real run unfortunately but I had been taking practice tests and studying outlines on the elliptical all day). I was trying so hard to get everything done before our date that I didn't even have time to go upstairs for lunch. After a while I realized I had burned about 1000-1500 calories with working out and doing the elliptical and the only thing I had eaten all day was an oat bran muffin that was like 100 calories. I was starving! It was already like 3:00 and so I knew dinner would be soon, but I just suddenly felt like I would die if I didn't eat something. I finished a practice test and found some old nacho cheese dip in the fridge that I thought I could dip carrots in while I reviewed the test for a few minutes. Kristi loves nacho cheese and so a few nights before we had gotten this whole thing of Velveeta and cooked it, but we hadn't eaten very much. Later I had mixed more beans into it and stuff but it kind of just kept growing, rather than shrinking as we picked away at it. I tell you this because it is important that you know that there was a whole huge tupperware thing full of this nacho cheese dip. Anyway, I run upstairs and microwave it for a few minutes (I knew I wouldn't eat the whole thing, but it was easier to just heat the whole thing up and then eat what I wanted) while I am still walking in place and looking over my practice test. I figure I'll have just enough time to get through what I needed to get through before it is time for our date. When the cheese is finally hot, I strap the sides on (it is kind of hard to explain this part, but just know that this is really solid glass tupperware and I have done this a million times before) and start carrying a bunch of stuff downstairs to my desk. When I am halfway down the stairs (running), the sides fall off and the whole huge thing of cheese falls on the stairs and has enough momentum and volume to literally splatter all the way down the rest of the stairs and all over both walls, down to the landing, all over the basement door (which was open) and even down onto the cement floor and onto some of the stuff that was in the basement. I can't even describe how much of a mess it made. You could not get the cheese that evenly coated if you could squirt it out of a hose. It was SOOOOO sad and SOOOOOO gross. I was already so overwhelmed, I just wanted to cry. And the saddest part was, above everything else, I was still just so hungry that I thought I would die. So I just sat down on the stairs in the middle of the mess, scooped a little cheese that hadn't really touched the wall or the floor back into the bowl and dipped like 5-10 carrots into it until Kristi came and found me. Then she went to drop off the kids and for the next 40 minutes, I cleaned the stairwell rather than studied. I did it in four different phases, the last of which included a huge plastic bowl full of water mixed with Oxy-Clean. When I was finally done and my arm was about to fall off from all the scrubbing, I was going to go dump out the bowl and study for at least a few minutes until I had to leave to meet Kristi for our date. So I was carrying the big bowl full of a gallon of nacho cheese/Oxy clean water with one hand and all the filthy rags in the other and as I walked across the kitchen, you guessed it, the cheap plastic bowl just gave out. I guess the water was too heavy and my thumb literally broke through the side of the bowl and the nacho cheese water rushed forth out of the bowl all over onto the kitchen floor and front room carpet. I really couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I will end the story there as you get the picture well enough I'm sure, but it was one of those kinds of days. And again, thank you to Janey for providing the bright ray of hope after one of the most miserable experiences ever. The nacho cheese incident made me have to study again later that night and wake up at 5:00 the next morning to continue studying before the test, but it was worth it and I'm glad to be done.All right, I have thought of a few other things to tell you but I guess I better sign off now for everyone's sake. Good luck on your week. We love your letters. I could really relate to your last one and how humbling it must have been to be criticized for something you didn't even know was a problem. I once went to a speech therapist in Junior High and they measured my hearing because they said I didn't say my 's's quite right, but I have never ever considered that I have a "lisp" (and I still don't, so if you think I have one you can keep it to yourself! :) But anyway, I hadn't even thought about that for years and then somehow on my mission I heard that that was how some people knew me—that when transfers came around and someone was getting transferred to be comps with Elder Bassett and was trying to figure out who I was, people had said, "you know, he's the guy with the lisp." That was really hard to take. No one meant offense by it, but it really made me rethink about myself. Is this how people see me? You reduce all my looks and my brains and my spirituality and my fun personality down to one trait, and this is the one thing that people know me by? It was sad. It took me awhile to get over. And, as I type and realize that there is very little I remember about the mission but I remember this perfectly, I realize maybe I never did totally get over it. So what is the lesson to learn from this? I really don't know. I still worry that people see me as "the guy with the lisp." I can't un-hear that totally candid comment or convince myself that it reflected anything other than truth, even if it was just one person's perception of truth. But I guess the lesson that I got from that and from so many other experiences since then is exactly what it sounds like you've already learned about being humble and dealing with weaknesses. I love that scripture from Ether. I love the hymn (and the scripture that goes along with it) "Be Thou Humble." Obviously I can't relate to any of the stuff that guy said about you—I think you're great and fun and I would have LOVED to be companions with you or taught by you. Anyone should be so lucky. But if that was one person's perception of truth, just use it to humble you, make you realize that you're not perfect, that there are areas you can improve, and the the Lord will help you improve them. In the meantime though, know that those weaknesses do not define you to us or to the Lord or to most people in your life. People love you and think you're great and I think you know that deep down.Anyway, have another great week. 50 and counting—make em good ones!BlaineRe: Letter from Blaine, March 30, 2014
Thanks for writing Blaine! I can't believe how hard working you are. Even one of those three big tests would probably kill me but you do all your studying and school work and somehow have enough strength to pick up my slack when I am not feeling well. I really think you're about the most efficient and productive person in the world- I'm lucky to have you! Now if we could somehow get our children (ahem, ivy) to have the same productive drive you have! Mom, was Blaine this hardworking as a kid or did he grow into it?? Man ivy is lazy.I'm glad too that you have the nacho cheese incident recorded for posterity. That was so sad and funny at the same time! Well it's not funny yet but in a few years when we look back it will be :) man, that cheese defied the very laws of physics in the way that it splattered! It was insane!!Thanks for writing, especially during this busy time!!
Sent from my iPhoneHi Max,Well, another week gone by. They are flying now. Finals are looming closer and closer, along with about a million other important tests I have to take. I feel like it's all I ever write about because it's about all I ever think about. From now until August all I have to do is cram and cram and cram, take a test, and then start cramming for the next one. The first big test of the series actually came yesterday—the MPRE (which is the ethics portion of the bar exam). I only got about 10-15 hours of study in for this one, which felt like not nearly enough, but I ran out of time and had to take it anyway. I won't find out if I passed for about five weeks. I'm really nervous because I could see it going either way. I know I didn't do too well, but hopefully I did well enough to pass. How embarrassing would it be to fail the ethics bar and have to tell your firm that? "Oh, we better not trust Blaine with client funds. Let's just say he's a bit…uh…ethically challenged…" Humiliating! So we'll hope that I pass. Next up, three finals and two papers in about two weeks, then at least a 100 more hours of studying for the patent bar and I don't know how many hundreds of hours I'll need to study for the real bar but it will keep me busy I'm sure. Anyway, I'll stop talking about all this now, but this letter wouldn't even be honest if I claimed it was from me and I didn't mention how stressed I am about tests! :)Poor Kristi is next to me as I type this and about every two minutes she'll just gasp out in pain. I hope she's not actually in labor as we speak but sometimes I wonder. Apparently the baby has been in a really weird position for the last few days and so when she kicks it just stops Kristi in her tracks. She has had to look down at her tummy a couple times because she swears that there will be a foot that has kicked through. But apparently that's what it feels like and it is not fun. It is really overwhelming to think that we still have two months left and to think how much important stuff I have to do during that time. I am really trying to be there to help Kristi however I can and she is so sweet to act like it makes a difference. She is always very grateful but I really feel like I can't do nearly enough while keeping up with everything else. It's a balancing act for sure and it's not going to get easier any time soon. As difficult as the mission was for me (and I have never forgotten how challenging it was), that is one thing that I miss is not having to really balance unrelated and opposing goals and facets of life. There certainly are many things pulling you in many different directions as a missionary but they all are pretty interrelated and towards the same goal—to just bring yourself and others to Christ. I guess that goal still applies to us all now as well, but it somehow has seemed to be a lot more complicated to figure out how to spend my time since I have been home from my mission and had a family and school and work all pulling me different directions. I want to be here all the time for Kristi. I want to be here for my kids. I am here as much as possible—in addition to 20 hours or so of my own homework this week I have spent at least 2 hours with Gwen on hers, I got to go on a date with Kristi, I took a walk with Ben and Ivy today and have some time with them every morning from about 6-6:30 as we work out together in the basement. But I also want to do well in school, I have to do well on my tests to even proceed with the future as planned (I don't even dare to think about what would happen if I didn't pass the bar!), and that all takes serious time too. Meanwhile, I feel a little distanced from family and friends. I love hearing a bit about what is going on for everybody each week, but on a lot of these busy weeks I don't see or hear anything from family and friends that you don't. So I think I need to find time to connect with people outside my immediate family. I need to call Nick and Stef and see what's up with them. I ought to go a movie with Mom and Dad or Janey and Warner. I ought to go to another one of Rosey's games and try to keep up with her. We only have a few more precious months here and yet even these simple things never really happen and it just kind of weighs on me in the rare and quiet moments that I have to contemplate. All of which is just to say, that life doesn't balance itself. If you want things in life, they don't just fall in your lap. You only can expect to get out of life what you are willing to work for and prioritize and it's crazy how hard it can be to decide how to prioritize when you're blessed enough to be surrounded by lots of loved ones, lots of responsibilities, lots of goals, and lots of opportunities. The beauty is that each day is a new chance to try to strike a good balance. You wake up early, you list the things you want to get done, you say your morning prayer, and you do your best to get to all of it. :)Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to go off on all that. The beauty and the downside of my letters is that you get it raw. :) I rarely can think of more than one or two things I want to say before I sit down, but I just think that I want to write to you. Then we all get to see together what comes out.Two things that I did want to write about though. First, a big shout out to Janey who randomly texted on Friday morning to ask if she could take the kids so Kristi and I could go on a date. We were both so happy we about burst into tears! It's always nice to have a babysitter and a night out to look forward to, but it gets even better when the babysitter is 1) free, 2) someone the kids are actually excited to see rather than dreading (which is the case for the babysitters in the ward we can afford), 3) someone we totally trust with the kids, 4) someone who volunteered so we know that we aren't putting them out and that they actually want to be with the kids, and 5) a last minute surprise that we weren't expecting at all but were totally needing. Janey was all of these things on Friday and it was just the sweetest surprise for us. I really did not even have the time to be going out and doing anything besides studying for that test (it was first thing Saturday morning), but I didn't even care. We make it a policy to never turn something like this down and if I fail the ethics bar, I'll just take it again next time and still have no regrets! (That's how bad we needed this break!) Anyway, I think the kids had a great time. I hope it wasn't too hard on Jane. Honestly I haven't heard much from either of them about how it went, but I just know that it meant the world to Kristi and I to have a night out. It was a simple date—we just got dinner at Wingers and then went and saw this new Hunger-Games-like movie called Divergent which was really fun. Then I went home to keep studying for a couple more hours while Kristi went to pick up the kids. It was only a few hours away from the grind but it was so incredibly refreshing. Thanks again, Jane!!!Another story I just have to tell you actually happened that same day, right before the date. I had been frantically studying and trying to get steps in all day (I didn't have time for a real run unfortunately but I had been taking practice tests and studying outlines on the elliptical all day). I was trying so hard to get everything done before our date that I didn't even have time to go upstairs for lunch. After a while I realized I had burned about 1000-1500 calories with working out and doing the elliptical and the only thing I had eaten all day was an oat bran muffin that was like 100 calories. I was starving! It was already like 3:00 and so I knew dinner would be soon, but I just suddenly felt like I would die if I didn't eat something. I finished a practice test and found some old nacho cheese dip in the fridge that I thought I could dip carrots in while I reviewed the test for a few minutes. Kristi loves nacho cheese and so a few nights before we had gotten this whole thing of Velveeta and cooked it, but we hadn't eaten very much. Later I had mixed more beans into it and stuff but it kind of just kept growing, rather than shrinking as we picked away at it. I tell you this because it is important that you know that there was a whole huge tupperware thing full of this nacho cheese dip. Anyway, I run upstairs and microwave it for a few minutes (I knew I wouldn't eat the whole thing, but it was easier to just heat the whole thing up and then eat what I wanted) while I am still walking in place and looking over my practice test. I figure I'll have just enough time to get through what I needed to get through before it is time for our date. When the cheese is finally hot, I strap the sides on (it is kind of hard to explain this part, but just know that this is really solid glass tupperware and I have done this a million times before) and start carrying a bunch of stuff downstairs to my desk. When I am halfway down the stairs (running), the sides fall off and the whole huge thing of cheese falls on the stairs and has enough momentum and volume to literally splatter all the way down the rest of the stairs and all over both walls, down to the landing, all over the basement door (which was open) and even down onto the cement floor and onto some of the stuff that was in the basement. I can't even describe how much of a mess it made. You could not get the cheese that evenly coated if you could squirt it out of a hose. It was SOOOOO sad and SOOOOOO gross. I was already so overwhelmed, I just wanted to cry. And the saddest part was, above everything else, I was still just so hungry that I thought I would die. So I just sat down on the stairs in the middle of the mess, scooped a little cheese that hadn't really touched the wall or the floor back into the bowl and dipped like 5-10 carrots into it until Kristi came and found me. Then she went to drop off the kids and for the next 40 minutes, I cleaned the stairwell rather than studied. I did it in four different phases, the last of which included a huge plastic bowl full of water mixed with Oxy-Clean. When I was finally done and my arm was about to fall off from all the scrubbing, I was going to go dump out the bowl and study for at least a few minutes until I had to leave to meet Kristi for our date. So I was carrying the big bowl full of a gallon of nacho cheese/Oxy clean water with one hand and all the filthy rags in the other and as I walked across the kitchen, you guessed it, the cheap plastic bowl just gave out. I guess the water was too heavy and my thumb literally broke through the side of the bowl and the nacho cheese water rushed forth out of the bowl all over onto the kitchen floor and front room carpet. I really couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I will end the story there as you get the picture well enough I'm sure, but it was one of those kinds of days. And again, thank you to Janey for providing the bright ray of hope after one of the most miserable experiences ever. The nacho cheese incident made me have to study again later that night and wake up at 5:00 the next morning to continue studying before the test, but it was worth it and I'm glad to be done.All right, I have thought of a few other things to tell you but I guess I better sign off now for everyone's sake. Good luck on your week. We love your letters. I could really relate to your last one and how humbling it must have been to be criticized for something you didn't even know was a problem. I once went to a speech therapist in Junior High and they measured my hearing because they said I didn't say my 's's quite right, but I have never ever considered that I have a "lisp" (and I still don't, so if you think I have one you can keep it to yourself! :) But anyway, I hadn't even thought about that for years and then somehow on my mission I heard that that was how some people knew me—that when transfers came around and someone was getting transferred to be comps with Elder Bassett and was trying to figure out who I was, people had said, "you know, he's the guy with the lisp." That was really hard to take. No one meant offense by it, but it really made me rethink about myself. Is this how people see me? You reduce all my looks and my brains and my spirituality and my fun personality down to one trait, and this is the one thing that people know me by? It was sad. It took me awhile to get over. And, as I type and realize that there is very little I remember about the mission but I remember this perfectly, I realize maybe I never did totally get over it. So what is the lesson to learn from this? I really don't know. I still worry that people see me as "the guy with the lisp." I can't un-hear that totally candid comment or convince myself that it reflected anything other than truth, even if it was just one person's perception of truth. But I guess the lesson that I got from that and from so many other experiences since then is exactly what it sounds like you've already learned about being humble and dealing with weaknesses. I love that scripture from Ether. I love the hymn (and the scripture that goes along with it) "Be Thou Humble." Obviously I can't relate to any of the stuff that guy said about you—I think you're great and fun and I would have LOVED to be companions with you or taught by you. Anyone should be so lucky. But if that was one person's perception of truth, just use it to humble you, make you realize that you're not perfect, that there are areas you can improve, and the the Lord will help you improve them. In the meantime though, know that those weaknesses do not define you to us or to the Lord or to most people in your life. People love you and think you're great and I think you know that deep down.Anyway, have another great week. 50 and counting—make em good ones!BlaineRe: Happy April Fools
I would have loved to take everyone out either before or after. But while I am Relief Society president it looks like I will be in charge of some kind of dinner or refreshments for the group before or after. But maybe someday! I actually was invited to sit on the stand and they had monitors for us up front. I couldn't even sit by Janey who was so nice to come.
Sent from my iPadFun letter mom, thanks for the update. Too bad you guys weren't able to get together for dinner or something after the conference like the men always do. I think Stef's second comment after she got home was about that. First she told me how powerful it was listening to all the women sing the congregational hymn (israel israel god is calling?) and the second thing was how she felt like she got gypped because she didn't go out for dinner or ice cream or anything - lol. Maybe that'll be a tradition you can start now that they've brought young women and not so young women together.Keep up the great work dad!NickOn Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 11:01 PM, Kristi <kristi.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Dad that is so awesome! I don't know if mom told you but I seriously too my hat to anyone trying to eat low carb. I was borderline diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So I've made a noble attempt to live the diet and it is SO hard for me! I'm okay giving up sweets but even toast! Oatmeal! Fruit for crying out loud. Anyway, I'm behind ya on this diet, way to go for making healthy changes. Those are changes that you'll never regret. If you find any good low carb stuff let me know!
Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 30, 2014, at 10:24 PM, Wendy Bassett <wendy.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Max,
>
> Just so you know, I know April Fools day is coming this week so don't try to be tricking me or anything. And I won't trick you! Actually I'm kind of nervous for work on Tuesday because I think my boss, Wade, is into stuff like that.
>
> I appreciated your "humbling" letter last week. It generated several comments from extended family that I will print out and send by snail mail. Life surely has it's ups and downs and I think we learn more from the downs. Just like Rosey used to say when she played sports at Granger, she learned a lot more when they lost. She really learned A LOT through high school!
>
> So the Yorgs are on a cruise this week. I took them to the airport on Friday. Grandma Winder went with them, along with Christinne Rapplely. Gwen and Robbie were the only ones who didn't go. For Mark, Tori, Karen and Gordy (basically all the in-laws) this is a first cruise. It's a 5 day and leaves out of Fort Lauderdale where they first got to go to the Fort Lauderdale Temple open house. They only have two ports of call - Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Sounds fun - but too short!
>
> So they can be happy they weren't here since we got a ton of snow today. Seriously I came out of church and had to scrape a couple inches of snow off the car! We are tending Tico the cat who is out meowing in the garage. I tried to make her a little bed in the garage but every time we take something out to the garage she tries to come in the warm house and I feel guilty again. Oh Tico!
>
> Last night was the General Women's Meeting. Were you aware of that? Hopefully they broadcast it in Grenada. Every female age 8 and older had been invited to attend. We had a broadcast for the YSA at the SLCC Institute (which is our stake center). We didn't get a huge group but hopefully they went with their moms and sisters or went downtown. It was such a great broadcast with beautiful music and videos. Two thoughts kept going over and over in my head as I watched it. 1) The Lord is hastening his work (thus inviting the younger girls who need to begin preparing now) and 2) how incredible our world wide sisterhood is. They did a video where the song "I Am A Child of God" was sung by groups of different girls/women all over the world in various languages. It was really touching to think of the world-wide church we belong to and that we are a part of something so big! It was one of those moments where it sunk deep into my heart.
>
> Dad and I had a tender experience tonight. A sister in the YSA Polynesian ward was killed in a tragic accident this past week. Her sister had been serving as relief society president of their ward so we wanted to go to the "viewing" tonight. The hours were 6-10 pm and it was at a meetinghouse. We got there shortly after 6 and the parking lot was full with people parking on the street. We walked in and the foyer was crowded. There was a book to sign and you could hear singing coming from the chapel. We peeked in and the chapel and overflow were packed as tight as could be and hymns were being sung (as only Polynesians can sing). I'm assuming that the casket was up front because there were all these white backdrops. The foyer and hallways were crowded with people. I had written a card and was just going to leave it. When we poked our head in the former 1st counselor saw me and came out and told me not to leave. Then she went to the front and got Rosemary who came out into the hall so I could give her a hug and offer love and condolences. It was such a tender moment. They acted like it was not a problem that we could not stay so we left. I guess the thing that really strikes me is how much respect the culture has for others in authority. When I have visited their ward they always ask if I would like to give a closing message. This isn't about me, it's about their respect for leadership. It was really sweet and humbling.
>
> Since dad isn't going to tell you, I think I will. That is the fact that dad, for the past couple of weeks, has been doing really well on a low carb diet. His sugar numbers have dropped. He takes nuts and veggies and cheese to work. He doesn't have chocolate milk and popcorn snacks while he watches movies. We only go through maybe 1 gallon of milk a week. We have these delicious sweet rolls sitting on the counter that Rosey made this morning for her ward council and dad has only had maybe a half of one. I have one word - AMAZING. What will power! What self discipline! I'm so proud of him!
>
> I got to go see Les Mis this week at Hale Theater with grandma, Karen and Nancy. It was a wonderful performance and I have been humming those songs all week.
>
> I got a fun email this week from elder Rasmussen's mom. We had not been able to open the video you sent in Dropbox (we would have needed your password) but she sent us three video clips that I just loved! Two of you guys eating foo foo. Crazy. And then my favorite was the four of you sledding (with no sled). I loved it!! I didn't even know you got snow in Granada! I loved hearing you laugh and jabber in Spanish. I watched it over and over and it just did my heart good to see you so happy. Not that I don't think you are happy, but it was great to see it.
>
> Time to sign off. I will close with a quote from President Benson "we must be careful that as we seek to become more and more Christlike that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. . . But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. Though we may see that we have far to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope."
>
> Sure love you. Keep that happy smile and laugh. And don't eat too much foo foo!
>
> Love,
> Mom
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> --
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bwbassetts+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
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Re: Happy April Fools
Fun letter mom, thanks for the update. Too bad you guys weren't able to get together for dinner or something after the conference like the men always do. I think Stef's second comment after she got home was about that. First she told me how powerful it was listening to all the women sing the congregational hymn (israel israel god is calling?) and the second thing was how she felt like she got gypped because she didn't go out for dinner or ice cream or anything - lol. Maybe that'll be a tradition you can start now that they've brought young women and not so young women together.Keep up the great work dad!NickOn Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 11:01 PM, Kristi <kristi.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
Dad that is so awesome! I don't know if mom told you but I seriously too my hat to anyone trying to eat low carb. I was borderline diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So I've made a noble attempt to live the diet and it is SO hard for me! I'm okay giving up sweets but even toast! Oatmeal! Fruit for crying out loud. Anyway, I'm behind ya on this diet, way to go for making healthy changes. Those are changes that you'll never regret. If you find any good low carb stuff let me know!
Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 30, 2014, at 10:24 PM, Wendy Bassett <wendy.bassett@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Max,
>
> Just so you know, I know April Fools day is coming this week so don't try to be tricking me or anything. And I won't trick you! Actually I'm kind of nervous for work on Tuesday because I think my boss, Wade, is into stuff like that.
>
> I appreciated your "humbling" letter last week. It generated several comments from extended family that I will print out and send by snail mail. Life surely has it's ups and downs and I think we learn more from the downs. Just like Rosey used to say when she played sports at Granger, she learned a lot more when they lost. She really learned A LOT through high school!
>
> So the Yorgs are on a cruise this week. I took them to the airport on Friday. Grandma Winder went with them, along with Christinne Rapplely. Gwen and Robbie were the only ones who didn't go. For Mark, Tori, Karen and Gordy (basically all the in-laws) this is a first cruise. It's a 5 day and leaves out of Fort Lauderdale where they first got to go to the Fort Lauderdale Temple open house. They only have two ports of call - Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Sounds fun - but too short!
>
> So they can be happy they weren't here since we got a ton of snow today. Seriously I came out of church and had to scrape a couple inches of snow off the car! We are tending Tico the cat who is out meowing in the garage. I tried to make her a little bed in the garage but every time we take something out to the garage she tries to come in the warm house and I feel guilty again. Oh Tico!
>
> Last night was the General Women's Meeting. Were you aware of that? Hopefully they broadcast it in Grenada. Every female age 8 and older had been invited to attend. We had a broadcast for the YSA at the SLCC Institute (which is our stake center). We didn't get a huge group but hopefully they went with their moms and sisters or went downtown. It was such a great broadcast with beautiful music and videos. Two thoughts kept going over and over in my head as I watched it. 1) The Lord is hastening his work (thus inviting the younger girls who need to begin preparing now) and 2) how incredible our world wide sisterhood is. They did a video where the song "I Am A Child of God" was sung by groups of different girls/women all over the world in various languages. It was really touching to think of the world-wide church we belong to and that we are a part of something so big! It was one of those moments where it sunk deep into my heart.
>
> Dad and I had a tender experience tonight. A sister in the YSA Polynesian ward was killed in a tragic accident this past week. Her sister had been serving as relief society president of their ward so we wanted to go to the "viewing" tonight. The hours were 6-10 pm and it was at a meetinghouse. We got there shortly after 6 and the parking lot was full with people parking on the street. We walked in and the foyer was crowded. There was a book to sign and you could hear singing coming from the chapel. We peeked in and the chapel and overflow were packed as tight as could be and hymns were being sung (as only Polynesians can sing). I'm assuming that the casket was up front because there were all these white backdrops. The foyer and hallways were crowded with people. I had written a card and was just going to leave it. When we poked our head in the former 1st counselor saw me and came out and told me not to leave. Then she went to the front and got Rosemary who came out into the hall so I could give her a hug and offer love and condolences. It was such a tender moment. They acted like it was not a problem that we could not stay so we left. I guess the thing that really strikes me is how much respect the culture has for others in authority. When I have visited their ward they always ask if I would like to give a closing message. This isn't about me, it's about their respect for leadership. It was really sweet and humbling.
>
> Since dad isn't going to tell you, I think I will. That is the fact that dad, for the past couple of weeks, has been doing really well on a low carb diet. His sugar numbers have dropped. He takes nuts and veggies and cheese to work. He doesn't have chocolate milk and popcorn snacks while he watches movies. We only go through maybe 1 gallon of milk a week. We have these delicious sweet rolls sitting on the counter that Rosey made this morning for her ward council and dad has only had maybe a half of one. I have one word - AMAZING. What will power! What self discipline! I'm so proud of him!
>
> I got to go see Les Mis this week at Hale Theater with grandma, Karen and Nancy. It was a wonderful performance and I have been humming those songs all week.
>
> I got a fun email this week from elder Rasmussen's mom. We had not been able to open the video you sent in Dropbox (we would have needed your password) but she sent us three video clips that I just loved! Two of you guys eating foo foo. Crazy. And then my favorite was the four of you sledding (with no sled). I loved it!! I didn't even know you got snow in Granada! I loved hearing you laugh and jabber in Spanish. I watched it over and over and it just did my heart good to see you so happy. Not that I don't think you are happy, but it was great to see it.
>
> Time to sign off. I will close with a quote from President Benson "we must be careful that as we seek to become more and more Christlike that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. . . But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. Though we may see that we have far to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope."
>
> Sure love you. Keep that happy smile and laugh. And don't eat too much foo foo!
>
> Love,
> Mom
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BWBassetts" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bwbassetts+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
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Week 54 - Elder Max - Transfer Week
Week 54 - Max - Transfer Week
Monday, March 31, 2014
7:10 AM
Hola a todos! How is everyone!? I hope it has been another great week!
I really dont have much time, so I will make this letter short! I just wanted to write about the big TRANSFER WEEK!!!!
-drum roll................................
I AM STAYING IN GRANADA!!!!!!!! haha I know it is crazy. I have been here for 3 transfers and Elder Peña has been here only 2, but President Deere has felt that it is best that I stay in Granada for another transfer. I am excited and a little nervous. My new comp is Elder Rojas. ANOTHER NATIVE!!! :) :) Hes from Mexico. I think I am the missionary with the most native comps in the mission Malaga España! What an awesome experience it has been. I love my natives!
Elder Peña is headed to Elche. Elder Rodriguez is off to Cuidad Real. Elder Sykes to Caceres. Hna. Parrilla to Malaga. So every companionship is changing! Crazy! I heard that this is the biggest transfer the mission has ever had! Pretty nuts!
I am super pumped for this transfer.
I just wanted to write a quick cool thought that I have about the success of a missionary. All through my mission, I have asked myself, "Where is the success as a missionary? What makes a "Good" missionary?"
Elder Peña and I had a little chat about it and we came up with different things that people think is success. I apply these to the mission, but I think they could easily be applied to life.
Here are ways that missionaries THINK they´re successful.
- Baptisms. Number one thing. Baptisms, baptisms, and more baptisms. Which is great!!! Baptism is a critical step to entering the Kingdom, but is that all? Is a missionary with lots of baptisms a successful missionary? Hmmm....
- Numbers. "As long as I hit the standards of the week, I'm a good missionary."
- Lots of investigators
- Lots of fun. Tons of memories with everyone.
- Lots of friends. Being popular. I didn't realize this until I came out, but many missionaries are out to make friends. Who can be the coolest in the ward? Who will get the most people to sign their journal when they leave? Being best friends with the members, the investigators, the JAS (snakes), companion, etc. etc. It is great to be friends with all! That is how we show the light and love of Christ, but at what level? Being best friends with a member often means that we must live in a different way than the missionary way. It says many times in the missionary manual that "the best way to gain respect from the members is by being OBEDIENT."
- And many, many other ways that really is PART of the success. But where IS the success? How do we get this success. The answer isn't easy, but its simple:
- Obedience and diligence
Preach my gospel says that a successful missionary is one that is DEDICATED to the work. Dedicated to your purpose. To find, teach baptize, and confirm. Dedication and diligence is what keep our faith animated.
Obedience is the 1st law in the heavens. An obedient missionary is one that is connected with the heavens. One that can receive revelation easier. One that loves the Lord. One that loves the work. One that has the respect of the members. An obedient missionary IS a successful missionary.
So there's the best answer I can find. Obedience and Diligence (D&C 130: 19-20)
In this chat with Elder Peña, he told me that he has learned with me more than any other comp the importance of obedience and of repentance and change.
From him, I've learned that to be a good leader, you can't keep your mouth closed. If you feel something, say it. You got to say the things! If something has to be said, the Lord will set up the right place and time for you to say it, we just have to look for those opportunities.
I don't mean for this letter to be a sacrament talk, but it is something that has really been on my mind these past couple of weeks. Obedience is the key to success.
I love being a missionary! Never have I learned so much in my life about who I am, and who others are.
Thank you all for your love and your prayers. They are felt EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!
Carry on!
Love you all!
Love, Elder Bassett
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