Leaving the Winter Blues

I'd have to admit that I do love the winter time....but this winter has been bitterly cold and wet. On the Rez the mud is not like anything you have ever encountered. The mud is slicker than snot and it's more dangerous to drive through the mud than the ice and snow. 4x4 Trucks get stuck daily in the mud and with the temperatures creeping upwards into the thirties the melting of the snow brings more MUD! There's a song by Garth Brooks with the chorus "his neck was red as Alabama clay". For some reason I began to ponder on that last weekend during our 1.5 hour trip into Walmart. I turned to Jesse and said, "you know what? Alabama's clay isn't as red as the clay mud out here and they don't have to worry about driving through it!" So, if you want to experience true 4x4 Mudding take a trip out here and you'll never again see it as a "sport". The worst part of the mud is that it dries hard and is impossible to remove. The vehicle becomes a permanent "clay pot" vehicle. Regardless, the scenery is beautiful and I'm looking forward to the Spring time. Canyon De Chelly is flowing with water and I'm looking forward to green.

Since I mentioned Alabama in the past paragraph it brings to mind something exciting: my sister Kimberly, who currently lives in Tennessee, was accepted into Law School at Samford Law School in Birmingham, Alabama, and University of Tennessee. I am so proud of her and she has worked extremely hard to get to this place in her life! CONGRATULATIONS KIM!!

I wanted to leave a picture of Newman (the blue eyed-brown eyed dog) and Midge (the other one). We took them ice climbing two weeks ago and poor Newman hurt his leg. It's a good thing that dogs have 4 legs so that they can always hobble on three.

Jesse's next on the postings......Until next time I'll leave you a verse from Luke 12:22-24:

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!!

Happy belated New Year!

Happy New Year, even though we are already 1/12 done with it. I (Jesse) was able to spend the holidays back home in Indiana. I arrived in Hoosierland on Christmas Eve and spent a nice evening out a Old Clifty for a candlelight service with my family and sister-in-law's family. It always feels like you're in the 1800's when you step into that rustic cabin church. It is always plenty warm there too! The timing was such that I saw a lot of family in the Veedersburg area due to both of my grandmas being in the hospital They are doing better now. Hospitals aren't usually a fun place to spend family time, but the fact that both of my grandpas are real characters made it memorable in good ways nonetheless. I was also able to spend quality time with quality friends. These guys are the type that you can go years without seeing them then see them and its like we don't miss a beat. From Nick's to poker at Zach's the good times were rolling. Things that I really appreciate:
The concern of both my grandpas for their ailing wives; listening to Matt, John, and Jarrod talk about the adventure of being fathers; getting to see Brian and Brooke's new addition, Ashland; Bryan Myers' stories and laughter; Aaron's smile and exuberance; Zack Bent's insights; Kevin Moron's personality (is there a nicer guy in the world?); Adam saying, "Take care, buddy."; talking to Zach and Julia late into the night about the future and baby names; seeing Jason Radar settled in Bloofield; seeing the light in Big Kenny's eyes as he enthusiastically showed me around the new Tulip Church building; hiking with my dad back behind Pedro's Lake; my mom's cooking; having great talks with both of my parents; the list goes on and on because of all the great people in my life. Of course the most important person in my life, Tracy, was not able to make the trip. She was on-call that week at the Chinle hospital.
I flew back on New Year's Eve to find Albuquerque under 14 inches of snow. I made it to Tsaile to participate in the New Year's Eve game night and celebration at Tsaile Community Church. It was definitely a different scene than a year before when Tracy and I were ushering in the new year at Times Square. Since then it has been busy, snowy, and cold. We just received 12 inces of snow in Tsaile yesterday. We are taking advantage of the cold and snow by going snowshoeing in the mountains and ice climbing in the canyons. Winter is a fun and exciting time here on the Rez, but I do yearn for spring and a new baseball season. The Lukachuakai Junior High Eagles' baseball team will be going for their fifth straight championship season this year! We hope that you are all having great new year full of purpose and satisfaction. We'll try to be more consistent with the blogs---a resolution.