Monday, March 30, 2009
Wow
Wow, it has been a while. There is a lot going on right now, so I haven't taken a lot of time to post to my blog. I am coaching Lydia's soccer team, Jed and Sye are starting baseball, Jacob is playing Rugby, I am starting a new business, it just goes on and on. Right now it is way past my bedtime and my K-9 program is going to kick me off of the Internet so this is going to be short. All I can say is that we are very busy at the Frei home right now.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Interesting
I have had two interesting things happen in the last week. Both of a spiritual nature, as I was driving to Price today I thought about them and thought I should write them down.
The first happened last week. I have been trying to sell a Jetco trencher for a guy for over a year now. I have finally reached a point where I left a message at the first of February that he needed to move it from my yard. Shortly after that I got an opportunity to sell it, in the mean time, he made arrangements to sell it to a friend for scrap to get it out of my yard. His friend and the guy that I was trying to sell the trencher to were to come look at it on the same day, his friend arriving first and having the chance to override my deal. When they got there, they looked at the machine and then came and talked to me. They did not know that I had a deal as well, and at first didn't seem to care because they were going to get the machine very cheap. They left for a little while and came and talked to me again telling me that they told the owner to sell the machine to me and that they would take it if my deal fell through. After they told me this one of them asked me if I was LDS. I said that I was, curious to know why he asked. He said that he had seen the Book of Mormon that I keep on my desk and felt that if I was LDS that I was being honest with them and not just feeding them a line. Come to find out, when they first got there they were not happy with me because the owner of the machine had raised the price on them because I had told him that I had a deal on the machine. The Book of Mormon on my desk had caused them to decide to give me the opportunity to make my sell instead of taking it from me.
The other experience happened this morning, and is related to prayer. I was working on dad's swather trying to fix it so that I could finish cutting hay before I left for Price. After checking the part that I had made, I found that I needed to make a hole bigger so that it would work. I had driven home and got a carbide de-burring tool from my tool box at home and was using it in my cordless drill when the de-burring tool fell out under the machine. I could not find the tool and was frantic because I was running out of time and didn't have time to go find something else that would work. After searching the area several times I stopped while hunched under the machine and prayed that I would be able to find the tool. After my prayer I again began to search frantically but soon felt that I should stop and sit still for a moment. After sitting still for less than a minute I got the impression to go to the cut hay that I had scooped out of the area where the tool fell and search it carefully. As I did this, sure enough, the tool had been scooped away with the cut hay. It was wrapped into the material in such a way that I did not feel it, or even though it is a shinny tool, see it. Even as I found the tool I realized that had I not stopped for a few seconds and calmed down even a little bit, I doubt that I would have found the tool when I did.
Then Lord answers prayers, even when they are seemingly insignificant to the eternal scheme of things.
The first happened last week. I have been trying to sell a Jetco trencher for a guy for over a year now. I have finally reached a point where I left a message at the first of February that he needed to move it from my yard. Shortly after that I got an opportunity to sell it, in the mean time, he made arrangements to sell it to a friend for scrap to get it out of my yard. His friend and the guy that I was trying to sell the trencher to were to come look at it on the same day, his friend arriving first and having the chance to override my deal. When they got there, they looked at the machine and then came and talked to me. They did not know that I had a deal as well, and at first didn't seem to care because they were going to get the machine very cheap. They left for a little while and came and talked to me again telling me that they told the owner to sell the machine to me and that they would take it if my deal fell through. After they told me this one of them asked me if I was LDS. I said that I was, curious to know why he asked. He said that he had seen the Book of Mormon that I keep on my desk and felt that if I was LDS that I was being honest with them and not just feeding them a line. Come to find out, when they first got there they were not happy with me because the owner of the machine had raised the price on them because I had told him that I had a deal on the machine. The Book of Mormon on my desk had caused them to decide to give me the opportunity to make my sell instead of taking it from me.
The other experience happened this morning, and is related to prayer. I was working on dad's swather trying to fix it so that I could finish cutting hay before I left for Price. After checking the part that I had made, I found that I needed to make a hole bigger so that it would work. I had driven home and got a carbide de-burring tool from my tool box at home and was using it in my cordless drill when the de-burring tool fell out under the machine. I could not find the tool and was frantic because I was running out of time and didn't have time to go find something else that would work. After searching the area several times I stopped while hunched under the machine and prayed that I would be able to find the tool. After my prayer I again began to search frantically but soon felt that I should stop and sit still for a moment. After sitting still for less than a minute I got the impression to go to the cut hay that I had scooped out of the area where the tool fell and search it carefully. As I did this, sure enough, the tool had been scooped away with the cut hay. It was wrapped into the material in such a way that I did not feel it, or even though it is a shinny tool, see it. Even as I found the tool I realized that had I not stopped for a few seconds and calmed down even a little bit, I doubt that I would have found the tool when I did.
Then Lord answers prayers, even when they are seemingly insignificant to the eternal scheme of things.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Rainy day
It has been a rainy day today. I woke up with a head cold feeling like I would have to get better to die. Once I got up and started moving around some I felt well enough to go to work. I had some catch up to do from last week at the office, so, I figured I wouldn't contaminate too many people with my cold. It has been raining / snowing on and off all day. We need the moister, but it didn't make it much of a bright cheery day.
Bard and I finished the duplex remodel, now Barb is starting on my mom's house. She is doing some painting, the carpet guy is going to take care of most of the floor coverings, but once again, it makes for a busy time @ the Frei homestead. It is amazing how busy things get, I don't know if it is because our kids are getting bigger or what, but the days just fly by. It is a good thing that I like to be busy.
Speaking of busy, I need to run, I have to pick Lydia up and take her to soccer practise, it cleared up earlier, but now it is looking nasty again, maybe we won't have practise today.
Bard and I finished the duplex remodel, now Barb is starting on my mom's house. She is doing some painting, the carpet guy is going to take care of most of the floor coverings, but once again, it makes for a busy time @ the Frei homestead. It is amazing how busy things get, I don't know if it is because our kids are getting bigger or what, but the days just fly by. It is a good thing that I like to be busy.
Speaking of busy, I need to run, I have to pick Lydia up and take her to soccer practise, it cleared up earlier, but now it is looking nasty again, maybe we won't have practise today.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Busy, busy, busy
It has been a busy month for the Frei family. Barb and I have been remodeling another one of my mom's rentals. We have been spending a lot of time there, in fact, last Saturday is the first one since we started that we have been able to take a break from it. It is almost finished, I just finished repairing a bi-fold door a few minutes ago. There are a couple of doors to hang, some touch up, a little more cleaning and a big pile of weeds to haul off and I think we are done. It sounds like the next big adventure is mom's house, she wants to redo, repaint, refurniture and who knows what else. I should keep us busy for a while, well, if mom and dad can ever agree on what exactly they are going to do so we can start.
My new calling has been a busy one. Meetings, actives during the week, a lesson yesterday, I have a busy calling again and I am loving it. Yeah it is stressful, yeah it takes me away from home more, but, I seem to thrive on being busy like that. I am still Cub master for now, so that makes things even more interesting. I have been enjoying being around the young men, this is new territory for me, I have never had a calling with the youth before. In fact, I really wasn't involved with the youth when I was one. I wasn't very active when I was a teen, and I didn't go to any of the mutual activities, at least not any that I can remember. I also never served in any of the quorum presidencies either, so all of this is really new to me. I have been trying to get a handle on where everyone is in the Duty to God program, and was finally able to figure out the computer program that we are using to keep track of it. This month has been a blur, but I am starting to settle into a routine which makes it a little easier.
Work is still slow, but seems to be picking up a little at a time. Unlike a couple of months ago my phone is ringing, and it has been customers instead of telemarketers. The fact that people are calling to get quotes is encouraging, at least it means that there are people out there who are thinking about doing jobs.
The last little while I have been very proud of my family. Jacob is working on getting into a program that will allow him to get his associate degree when he graduates from high school. Jacob and Rachel both had 4.0 report cards last semester. Lydia is in advanced math, pre-algebra, Jed is doing really well this year and not having all of the trauma with his teacher that he has had in the past, and little Sye is at the top of his class in reading. I couldn't ask for better kids, and have my sweet wife to thank. It has been her hard work that has got them where they are. She is the best!
Although there are a lot of worrisome things going on right now, mostly related to the economy and my income, things are really good. We are healthy, happy, and doing well. The Lord has truly blessed us, and He continues to bless us. We live at a great time in a great neighborhood/ward. I hope I can adequately express my gratitude to the Lord for all that he has blessed me with.
My new calling has been a busy one. Meetings, actives during the week, a lesson yesterday, I have a busy calling again and I am loving it. Yeah it is stressful, yeah it takes me away from home more, but, I seem to thrive on being busy like that. I am still Cub master for now, so that makes things even more interesting. I have been enjoying being around the young men, this is new territory for me, I have never had a calling with the youth before. In fact, I really wasn't involved with the youth when I was one. I wasn't very active when I was a teen, and I didn't go to any of the mutual activities, at least not any that I can remember. I also never served in any of the quorum presidencies either, so all of this is really new to me. I have been trying to get a handle on where everyone is in the Duty to God program, and was finally able to figure out the computer program that we are using to keep track of it. This month has been a blur, but I am starting to settle into a routine which makes it a little easier.
Work is still slow, but seems to be picking up a little at a time. Unlike a couple of months ago my phone is ringing, and it has been customers instead of telemarketers. The fact that people are calling to get quotes is encouraging, at least it means that there are people out there who are thinking about doing jobs.
The last little while I have been very proud of my family. Jacob is working on getting into a program that will allow him to get his associate degree when he graduates from high school. Jacob and Rachel both had 4.0 report cards last semester. Lydia is in advanced math, pre-algebra, Jed is doing really well this year and not having all of the trauma with his teacher that he has had in the past, and little Sye is at the top of his class in reading. I couldn't ask for better kids, and have my sweet wife to thank. It has been her hard work that has got them where they are. She is the best!
Although there are a lot of worrisome things going on right now, mostly related to the economy and my income, things are really good. We are healthy, happy, and doing well. The Lord has truly blessed us, and He continues to bless us. We live at a great time in a great neighborhood/ward. I hope I can adequately express my gratitude to the Lord for all that he has blessed me with.
Monday, January 12, 2009
It was a little crazy at the Frei home stead over the holiday. My kids thought that since they didn't have school they should stay up late every night. They didn't seem to care that I had to work even if they weren't in school! It was a blast, got to see family that lives far away on both sides, my sister and Barb's brother and their families. Spent a lot of family time, sleding in the snow, playing on the 4 wheelers, visiting with family, and of course eating a lot of really good stuff that I shouldn't have! It has been nice to have things settle back down and get back to normal. Well, sort of normal, this has been a busy week, I was called as the young men secratary in our ward, new territory for me, I have never served in any calling with the youth (12 to 18) before. This was my fist week of meetings, going to mutual etc. I am still Cub Master and had pack meeting this week as well. At least I don't have an elders quorum lesson to prepare this month, that is one calling that has come back to me over and over again over the past 16 years. Studying a lessons for the young men that I didn't have to teach was a nice change. Well, sorry don't mean to ramble on. It is past my bed time.
This is the text from an email that I sent to a freind. I thought that it captured the events of the past week quite well so I have included it on my blog.
This is the text from an email that I sent to a freind. I thought that it captured the events of the past week quite well so I have included it on my blog.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Holy Cow!
Ok, I cannot believe that 2008 is over! Where did it go? The holidays were really good this year. The kids figured that since they were on vacation they should stay up late and have "hoopla" every night for two weeks! We stayed up late, ate too much junk, and played a lot through the holidays. It has been nice to have school start back up, I can't stay up late every night and still go to work day after day like I could when I was younger.
I hope that 2009 is better to my work than 2008 was. The economic down-turn has been really hard on the equipment rental business. So far this year has not been so good, I hope it picks up soon or I might be flipping burgers @ "Dirty Ron's" before I know it. I didn't pick one of those professions that doesn't have any down turns like doctor, lawyer, or mortician. I had to get into something that I like doing instead, something that is susceptible to the whims of the economy. Go figure.
All we can do is trust that the Lord will keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. In reality, that is all we can really ask for, anything else is just frosting on the cake. So far we have been blessed and have been able to make both ends meet. That is a blessing in itself.
I have set a goal to drop a pant size this year. I guess that means that I need to cut back on the junk food that I like so much. I was supposed to set a "fun" goal as well, I can't think of anything. How pathetic is that? I will have to work on the other one for now, until something fun comes to mind that I decide that I want to do.
I hope that 2009 is better to my work than 2008 was. The economic down-turn has been really hard on the equipment rental business. So far this year has not been so good, I hope it picks up soon or I might be flipping burgers @ "Dirty Ron's" before I know it. I didn't pick one of those professions that doesn't have any down turns like doctor, lawyer, or mortician. I had to get into something that I like doing instead, something that is susceptible to the whims of the economy. Go figure.
All we can do is trust that the Lord will keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. In reality, that is all we can really ask for, anything else is just frosting on the cake. So far we have been blessed and have been able to make both ends meet. That is a blessing in itself.
I have set a goal to drop a pant size this year. I guess that means that I need to cut back on the junk food that I like so much. I was supposed to set a "fun" goal as well, I can't think of anything. How pathetic is that? I will have to work on the other one for now, until something fun comes to mind that I decide that I want to do.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Pictures
New family pictures are coming. We just returned from having our pictures done. The last time was in Providence almost 3 years ago! We should have a good family picture that we can post since the photographer will sell us a disc (including the copy rights) of all the pictures that she took. She got some really cute ones of the kids. Hopefully I didn't blink in all of them! Things have settled down in my life, it has been a rough road for the last little while, but we are through it. All of the bumps and bruises that we have gone through, mostly between my sweet wife and I, have all been worth the result. Our relationship is better now than it has ever been. Barb and I have learned a lot about ourselves and each other the last little while. All of this learning has not been easy, but it has brought us closer together than we have ever been. I especially have learned some things about myself that were not pleasant, that I did not really want to admit. Barbie has had some of the same experiences. Even though it was hard, it has all been worth it. We have had the guidance of the Lord, and His helping hand through it all.
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