Farewell for Now

It's that time, folks. It's time for me to say goodbye for 18 months. I'm going to serve the Lord by teaching the people in the Philippines Bacolod Mission about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Along the way I should learn Tagalog, probably some other dialects, more about the gospel, more about how to teach, more about myself, more about others, and much more. I'm sure it will include some of the hardest days of my life, but I'm also sure it will include some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I'll leave with you the lyrics to a hymn that has recently meant a lot to me. Read it, and you'll probably get why. It's "Hark all ye Nations," hymn 264 in the LDS Hymnbook.

1. Hark, all ye nations! Hear heaven's voice Thru ev'ry land that all may rejoice!
   Angels of glory shout the refrain: Truth is restored again!
   Oh, how glorious from the throne above Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
   Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray Lights ev'ry land today.
2. Searching in darkness, nations have wept; Watching for dawn, their vigil they've kept.
   All now rejoice; the long night is o'er. Truth is on earth once more!
   Oh, how glorious from the throne above Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
   Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray Lights ev'ry land today.
3. Chosen by God to serve him below, To ev'ry land and people we'll go,
   Standing for truth with fervent accord, Teaching his holy word.
   Oh, how glorious from the throne above Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
   Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray Lights ev'ry land today.
   
   
   
   Best wishes to all while I'm away. You can write me at the addresses listed under my "About Me" tab. :) I'm off to the City of Smiles.
   
   
   
   

Busy

I have pictures from lately, but since I'm visiting these guys, I'm not really gonna mess with them right now. Lately I've also gotten behind on responding to and checking my email because my computer is sickly (so sorry if you feel abused or ignored). Often I schedule "Psych" to be recorded on our TV so I can watch the episodes (that I've already seen) later, but sadly I know I won't be able to watch all of them. Frankly, I've just been running out of time to do all these things! Phew, I've just been busy. Mom has been awesome to run so many stinkin' errands with me (and pay for all the junk I need) so I can get everything I need for the mission. We're talking almost every day here, folks. On top of that, the house had to be cleaned, meals had to be planned, people had to be visited and emailed, fun memories had to be made (to store up for a while), and regular spiritual maintenance is a must. Basically the last couple of weeks have more than made up for how lazy I've been for the last few months (and deservedly so). My list of things to do before I leave seems like it should get shorter, but somehow I always have a ton of things to add to the list at the end of the day. Yuck.

Luckily, I'm currently in Idaho visiting the Blakes and having a blast. Vacations really are relaxing, and I'm glad I'm getting one in the midst of all this craziness! Hopefully I can figure everything out when I have to get back to reality!

Let me muse for a bit: Like for instance... that whole "talk before you leave on a mission" thing... Who really has time to prepare a 15-20 minute talk on a hard topic when you have to worry about fitting all of your belongings for the next 18 months in two suitcases, only 50 pounds each?! And who really wants to think about a musical number -- that isn't called for, mind you, if you believe in the Church Handbook at all -- when you have to worry about said talk and a lunch? {At least ask prior to 1 week before said musical number, people. Seriously.} And I guess it's just a learning experience for me to actually be the one leaving in less than a week. I mean, I never really understood what missionaries go through before leaving, but being so bored you could sit for hours changed to suddenly running around like a chicken with its head cut off is not an easy transition, I tell you. And I suppose the return home is even harder in reverse, now that I think about it. Hmmm. What interesting things life teaches.

Well, that talk isn't going to write itself* ... even if its speaker is on vacation until the end of the week.
*Drats.

Hopefully I'll find time to do a more meaningful farewell post before I am set apart as a missionary on Tuesday night!

More Fun to Quote than a Movie

I tell you, it's true. My mother is almost more fun to quote than a movie.

Yeah, remember that roommate lady of mine I've already blogged about? Well, the more I'm around her, the more silly things I catch her saying/doing. Some of my favorite follow, and a few even have guest authors (hope it's okay I borrowed the descriptions from your emails, guys). Any extra comments I have are bolded.

This one is written by Emily, my sister.

I went with Mom and Heidi to their stake center for the RS broadcast, right? Well, we were there, sitting in a dark chapel, waiting for the show to start. Heidi texted Becca, who got to go to the conference center, to ask her what color she was wearing, so we could look for her. Heidi, between me and Mom, said, "Look for a grey Boog (obviously, Becca's nickname)." (We've called Rebecca "Boog" for years. Not sure why, but it's such a great nickname. Mom, with her aging ears, heard "grey boob!" We chuckled for a while.

The best part, though? Right before Sister Beck came on screen, I leaned over and said, jokingly, "Remember, look for grey boobs!" And what color was Sister Beck wearing - GREY! So, funny, we were doing the chuckle real hardly, but trying not to make noises, so we cried and our bodies hurt!

Yeah, so we still get a kick when we see people wearing grey. :)

This one is written by the dear Mom herself.

The satellite kept skipping or doing weird things, so I called the service number and tried to follow what the person was telling me to do to fix it, but I had the hardest time understanding her. At the end of the conversation, I hung up, threw the phone of the carpet and said to the others, "She was so black I could hardly understand anything she said." I promise my mom is not racist. She was just frustrated with our broken TV. Just then we heard a voice coming from my phone, "um ma'am." I hung up the phone (which I thought I had already done), and four jaws dropped with hands over our mouths. After the moment of horror on our faces, then came the moment of humor. We laughed at that for a long time. (Still are at times.)

This one is super fun to tease her about, because we can do it when we see anything black. Sometimes we even tease her about inanimate black objects! haha

These next ones I'll just tell you myself.

So Mom recently got new glasses. She really needed them, 'cause she was pretty blind without them. She even came to find out that she should not have been driving with how bad her eyes were. As a side note, because of her poor vision, I literally was driving her everywhere she needed to go for a couple of weeks. She finally got her glasses and can now drive. By golly, I let her. I didn't realize how much I liked being the passenger for so many random errands that we do. Last night we decided to hurry to the store to turn in a Redbox movie we had rented. We were right before 9pm when the movie is due, so we left the house even though it was starting to rain. On the way to the store, it got to be a real downpour. We even got little pieces of hail hitting our car. Obviously, Mom was driving slowly to take care on the wet road. However, it was pretty funny when she said, "Man, it's hard to see!" She meant that it was hard to see with how hard the rain was coming down, and I inwardly agreed. Like I said, it was a downpour. What made it funny, though, was that a couple seconds later she said, "Oh, I know why. I forgot to grab my glasses!" hahaha. Maybe you had to be there, but it sure was funny that she thought the road signs were blurry because of the rain. I keep saying, "Man, it's hard to see!" to her today, and we've literally laughed hard every time.

Okay, here's the latest story. At our very late dinner tonight (oops... getting to be a habit of ours), I was finishing up my meal, and we were actually discussing some of the aforementioned funny stories. I told Mom that she was almost more fun to quote than a movie, and in my laughter about it, I said, "Shooooot." I was clearly quoting Cars. Mom pipes up with a, "What, Tater?" I immediately died laughing and it took her a few seconds before she realized her mistake and said, "Oh... I mean, Mater." bahaha. I can just picture Mom talking to a potato like that. She was trying to be cute and show that she recognized my movie quote, but she somehow still got it wrong. :)

All these funny mistakes also remind me of the blunders Dad would make. One time he was trying to quote his favorite movie, Leave It To Beaver. The real line in the movie is "Gee, Larry. Take a breath!" It's in the part when the fat kid is devouring some cupcakes. Boy, Dad thought he was clever one time when he "quoted" the movie. Dad's version of the line was, "Come up for air, Wally!" Hahaha... I love how he didn't even get the character's name right.

Maybe these were all geography jokes -- you know, the kind you have to be there for in order for them to be funny. But I sure get a kick out of them!!

It's that time of year again..

Yes, it's Fall. That means it's probably my favorite season. The leaves change colors, the air is crisp, and we put up crafty pumpkins and turkeys all over the house. The amount of sunlight in a day is just about perfect, and "it's not too hot, and it's not too cold -- all you need is a light jacket." Beautiful sights like this one are to be found:

The world is just happier, and that new-school-year-level-of-commitment-to-be-better hasn't quite worn off yet.

I absolutely love it.

But you know what time of the year I really want to talk about in this post?

General Conference.

Every six months, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather to hear living prophets and apostles declare inspiring words of revelation. We literally get to receive our own living scripture to incorporate into our lives and live by.

A great part? There's always something for everyone.

So what are you doing this weekend?

I invite you to join in and participate in my real favorite time of the year.

Check out lds.org or mormon.org for more information on General Conference.

Your life will be blessed because of the words spoken this weekend.

I promise.

Spencer and Whitney -- Media Blitz!!

Now isn't this couple just beautiful?

Would you like to be an instrument in helping them out?

Some of you may know that my brother and sister-in-law, Spencer and Whitney, are hoping to adopt. They were approved to adopt on Friday, and I am so happy for them! But, approval is just one step in their journey. Now, the word needs to get out about it! Your help could really change their lives for eternity.

Here's the big bro and me doing what we love to do--supporting the BYU Football team!

Whitney's sister Shari had this brilliant idea to do a media blitz today in order to get out the word. She describes it really well here. Basically, the goal is to use social media for what it's good for -- sharing information with friends and family! :) Would you please help out? You can learn more about Spencer and Whitney and their journey to adopt by either clicking on the button in the sidebar of my blog, or by going directly to their blog here.

Not convinced it's worth it? Watch this video and you can see for yourself how genuine, loving, spiritual, funny, in love, responsible, and cute they really are.

Now think about it. Would it really be that hard to post about them on your facebook status, add their button to your blog (even if just for a while), email a friend, tweet their url, or comment on their blog post? I'd really love it if you can help, because I really love them!

Still not convinced? "What's in it for me," you ask?

Well, another fact is that Whitney is super talented. She has made many quilts, scrapbooks, sculptures, paintings, etc. And, she's good at all of them!

Luckily for everyone, she's doing a giveaway of some of her cute stuff! Just check it out!

Here is the link to Spencer and Whitney's adoption profile:

https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/26506714/ourMessage.jsf

And here is the link to their adoption blog again:

http://spencerandwhitneyadoption.blogspot.com/

Seriously, these people are some of the best people I know, and I'm not just saying that because they're related to me. Please do what you can!

Just Around the Riverbend

Officially less than one month until I enter the MTC! That's counting both by the date (19th) and by the day of the week (Wednesday), folks! I'm so official, my day is even listed on the MTC webpage. Rock on.

Oh, and lately I've been planning lunch get-togethers with friends, I got a sliver in my thumb from weeding, and I often watch at least one movie a day. Yup, yup. That's what I'm up to.

Best. Night. Ever.

I just met Jimmer Fredette!!

JIMMER FREDETTE!!

A mutual friend introduced us, and we chatted it up.

Seriously.

While we were talking a fan came up and asked for his autograph. I played it cool the whole time, and he kept talking to me.

Strangely enough, we even joked about colonoscopies.

Jimmer Fredette, my friends.

Then I woke up.

Rules of Play

Name of the game: Christmas Switch Game
Object of the game: To have the most creative and/or longest-lasting switch before someone notices and returns item to regular position.

Description: My family plays this game most often at Mom's house, and it's hilarious. Usually it involves all the kids ganging up against Mom; we do the switches so she has to recognize them and change them back. Examples from the past include taking one picture off the wall and switching it with another, flipping pictures upside down, switching a cello with a guitar, swapping an exercise bike with a real bike, taking the towels from the bathroom and interchanging them with towels from the kitchen, and lots lots more.

Genesis: The game began one year when we helped Mom take down Christmas decorations from around the house and put up the usual furnishings. It started with innocent/purposeful crooked picture hangings--just to drive Mom a little nuts--and quickly evolved into the full-fledged switching game of today.

Game Records: Though I could have erroneous information, the longest lasting switch was one that occurred in Midland and lasted for months before Mom noticed it. One year during the Christmas break, a clever someone (I'm thinking Spencer??) swapped the order of kid pictures such that we were no longer in age order. I saw it, laughed for about a week every time I walked down the hall, but then quickly forgot about it. Probably in February or March Mom finally recognized the change. Thinking it was recent, she accused me -- naturally, the only other house resident at the time. After denying all associations with said crime, I recalled the switcharoo Spencer pulled months previously and mentally applauded the big bro.

Strategies commonly employed: Subtlety is the name of the game, folks. Okay, really I just named it the Christmas Switch Game, but you get the idea. Using all of your creative juices and all of your available rooms and props is key. Items with similar characteristics are often the best swapped. Don't overdo it in one room because though it is still funny, the changes will all be noticed right away. More humor results when you tastefully spread out your attack and the new features are noticed over time. Especially good switches are met with laughter, confusion, or embarrassment (in the case of switch-recognition during or following the presence of guests in the home).

Most recent attack: Yesterday. Mom and I were out of the house all day, and the siblings (for anonymity purposes, we'll code-name them Jennifer, Emily, and Jon) came over to celebrate a birthday with our food and to use the HDTV to watch a CES fireside. I returned home late at night to discover that quite a few things had swapped places in my absence. Luckily for the culprits, I laughed so much I'm even leaving the items swapped so that Mom can likewise discover them when she returns home in the next 24 hours.

Future game plans: The aforementioned leftovers for Mom. But as for creative/new attacks . . . well that's for you to decide, isn't it?

Oven Lovin'

Right now, a delicious smelling peach cobbler is sitting on our oven, cooling and waiting to be devoured. The peaches were grown on Grandpa Blake's trees, even! It looks a little interesting, but that'd be the cinnamon.

Call it a Welcome to September treat....?

Ice cream has been purchased, bowls have been set.

The anticipation is killing me.

Only One Mom

Mom. Mother. LaRae. Marm. Moth Hair. LaRamie. Marmaduke. Mommie. Momathon. Momstaphat. Sister Blake. Mommio. Lady. Mammogram. Malm. LaMom. RaLae. LaRoo. Mama. Woman. MeeMaw. Mamalamadingdong. Momathan. Mudder. Madre.

Whatever you call her, she's pretty cool. (And yes, oddly enough, these are all real, fairly commonly used nicknames for her.)

Even when I complain about how her house is boring and I miss people my own age, she cheerfully continues to let me stay here.

Even when I keep her up past her bedtime, she listens and giggles with me.

Even when I irreverently laugh during prayers, she forgives me (and sometimes joins in).

Even when I tease her, she's good-natured about it.

Even when I hide so I can jump out and scare her, she doesn't get mad.

No matter how annoying I probably am, she still loves me.

Sometimes we practically wrestle when we try to knock each other over in a game.

Sometimes we can't leave each other's side (after all, we have to check the garden and the mail together -- heaven forbid one of us misses the chance to step outside!).

Sometimes we invent ways to entertain each other.
Sometimes we have different tasks and have to plan how the car will be used.

Sometimes we laugh until we cry.

Sometimes we just cry and get frustrated.

She always keeps me in mind and in her prayers, and she is so kind.

We cook and eat (and eat some more) together.

We make "To Do" lists together.

We read The Book of Mormon together.

We have Family Home Evening together.

We go to the library together.

We watch movies together.

We run errands together.

We attend church together.

(This is from one of those aforementioned odd entertainment things we do. On a slow day, we pulled out this old toy/game called Magic Mosaic and made pretty patterns together. Mom's turned out great!)

Thanks for being my pre-mission companion, Mom! :)

I sure love that mother of mine lots and lots! Thanks, Mom, for being so wonderful! I love that you are you, that I can be me, and that we can have a great time together. I really do cherish these few months I have of living with you.

She's gonna make it even harder to leave this country, ya know? (But boy, I'm still stoked!)

"Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends - but only one mother in the whole world." ~Kate Douglas Wiggin

My Favorite

My favorite things to do lately are so exciting. Golly, you might just be blown away when I tell you about them.

Sometimes I unpack and go crazy 'cause I don't know where I want things. What needs to be kept out for the next couple of months, for the mission, used again after the mission? I sometimes really don't know.

Sometimes I read. I just finished reading Jane Eyre. Now I want to see the movie and see if it's any good like I've heard. I need to get a hold of some other books that I have on my list to read, or else they'll never get read and I'll move on to some less enticing books that are already in the house.

Sometimes I play the piano. Mom has a lot more piano books than I do, and I've been enjoying playing lots of them. I even have a few pieces selected that I want to learn better than just sight-reading. Maybe I'll even learn a piece by memory and get that accomplishment marked off my life list.

Sometimes I go look in the fridge or pantry for some food to occupy my time. Don't judge. You know you do it too.

Sometimes I clean the house. It's such a free feeling cleaning just because you want to and it needs it and not because a cleaning check is coming up.

Sounds like I have a lot of fun favorites, eh?

..............

NO. Don't lie to me. It's bad enough bein' the one who really just sits around and does these things because I don't know what stinkin' else to do.

Ah, such is life. I'll get over it.

But your playing with me or inviting me to play with you could really go a long way. Think about it. Obviously, I'm desperate. Who else blogs about how bored they are?

p.s. Today I went to Provo and had to knock on Center 2's door. Sad. 'Member when I used to live there... for like, forever? Plus also, Provo has it's charms an' all, but sometimes it's just as boring there as it is in PG. Hmm... who woulda thunk? As a good pal would say, my how the turn tables.

Black Name Tag

I found this poem in my stuff as I was cleaning out my room in preparation to move. I got it in my mission prep class that I took from Randy Bott a few semesters ago. Maybe this is the case for some guy out there thinking about me....?

Black Name Tag
Black name tag upon our chest
We are men, the Church's best.
Some may boast and some may brag
But only a few wear the black name tag.
Twenty-four months without a date --
But we are tough, we can wait.
Our girls sit home -- they'll never brag --
Their brave young men wear the black name tag.
On returning home, we resume life --
Start a search to find a wife.
But finds are few and efforts sag --
Such a life for the black name tag.
You find a fox; she has a man.
You find a chick; she has a plan.
You find the one; but what a drag --
'cause now she's wearing
THE BLACK NAME TAG!

Hahaha. If you're that guy thinkin' about me, let me know. After all, a lot can happen in two months!

Better yet, I'll send you my address; we can fall in love through letters. :)

p.s. Friday officially marks two months until I enter the MTC!

Officially on Break

Today I received the following:

Dear Heidi:

We have received your request to defer your admission to BYU to Spring 2013. We will keep your deferment form on file and will process it when we begin admitting students for your selected entry date. You will be readmitted contingent upon successfully completing the stipulations outlined on the deferment form.

Best wishes as you fulfill your full-time mission.

Warmest regards,

_____________

Woah, this is real.

Yesterday I took two finals. Today I finished work at the good ole TC. I sold back textbooks. I'm currently packing. I'm about to have to say goodbye to some of my favorite roommates ever.

Woah, this is real.

Hand Holdage

Today I think I witnessed a couple holding hands for the first time. It was slightly awkward because A) he was pushing a bike along with the other hand, B) the grip looked pretty uncomfortable and their hands were probably sweaty from being outside in the heat, and C) after I passed them, I discretely looked back probably 5 seconds later only to see him riding his bike slowly along next to her (NEVER a good thing.... please don't do it next to me) and their hands not touching each other at all.

However, something about the way they momentarily stopped their conversation and grinned at each other was pretty touching. Their nervous yet bright eyes told the tale of what could come. The awkwardness of the moment was quite endearing.

I giggled quietly to myself for the next few minutes, pleased that I had participated as a bystander in such a happy moment.

Life is good--even if I wasn't the one doing the hand holdage--and haven't been for a while. :) Moments like this make regular days turn into great days.

Summer Storytime

Friends' weddings. Road trips to AZ and WA. Nephew's baptism. Family Reunion in AZ. Mission call. Temple. First official Ben Blake family reunion. 5K season. Parade season. Independence Day BBQ. School. Otter Pop time. Boating activities. Harry Potter 7 pt 2 premiere. Dinner Group. Summer reading program. Hikes.

All great things. All part of my summer.

And it's not even over . . .

Class with the Sister

Rebecca and I have taken a few classes together throughout our time here at BYU--Physical Science, SFL 210 (Human Dev), and most recently TELL 400.

Sidenote:

Hollah that we completely finished TELL this past Wednesday night!

We sometimes get silly when we are in class together. One or the other of us sometimes falls asleep. Sometimes we compare grades and don't like the results. Sometimes we do our homework at the same time. Point of the story is, overall it's pretty fun to have an automatic goofy partner in your class.

Well once upon a time in our TELL class we were talking about the culture of poverty and the ways that people in poverty live. We need to be aware of these things as future teachers, afterall. Well, I got tired of writing "people in poverty" over and over again in my notes, but for the life of me I couldn't think of the adjective form of the word to shorten things. (Which I later recalled being "impoverished.") I leaned over and wrote on our customary message paper (a guaranteed way of getting through class silently entertained), only to get a silly response from the sis.

Rill helpful.

She further helped me along by drawing a picture to illustrate the concept:

Hilarious.

But she can't spell. Intentional though her misspelling was, I tried to create my own drawing of her explanation. She apparently thought I couldn't draw and added more misspelled criticism and another, skinnier picture:

Those poor, starving Peeps. What is this world coming to?

p.s. They don't even have arms! Maybe they had "sever confusion" in the Peep factory.

Mission Call Video

To watch me opening my mission call, check out the video HERE. This happened on June 1st. Kay, just thought you might like to see it! :D

p.s. Too bad I didn't say the name of the mission correctly, huh? Haha. At least I said the language fairly decently.

Back in Black...

...or any other color.

Hi again. Things have happened since I last updated. As in, I...

• opened my mission call on June 1. I'm headed to the Philippines Bacolod Mission, entering the Provo MTC on October 19 and learning Tagalog! Yup, I'm nervous, but thrilled. Any advice for this time that I have to prepare?
• went to a family reunion for Mom's side of the family in Arizona. I learned lots about my grandpa's childhood and even more about my awesome ancestor Jesse N. Smith. Anyone out there related to him? Wouldn't surprise me...he has lots of descendants. (Check out that link -- he's even on Wikipedia!)
• saw every last one of my siblings, sibling-in-laws, and nieces and nephews. And all at once, too! We had a Ben Blake family reunion, and I was overjoyed to be able to spend time with my mom, 7 siblings, and their families. We even took pictures to prove that we all still like each other.
• got endowed at the Mount Timpanogos Temple. An added bonus was that all of my siblings and some of my in-laws were there with me. Oh, and my mom and dad were there, too. How amazing!
• started school again. Summer Term is upon me, and so is the homework. I'm taking TELL (Teaching English Language Learners) 400, ELang (English Language, sillies) 223, and Health 320 -- Advanced First Aid and Safety. I love that last one. I'll remain coment-less on the others for now.

Okay, well just thought I'd let everyone know what's up. No pictures with this post (lame, I know), but maybe I'll add some later. Kbye!

A New Adventure

Roses are red,

Weeds get in the way.

When did I finish my mission papers?

Today, I say. TODAY!

Where do you think I'll go to serve as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 months? A few short long weeks and a big white envelope in the mail will be enough for the answer to be revealed. I'll have to create a guessing page on Facebook or something, but go ahead and comment here with your guess! I suppose you can guess one foreign place and one United States place....

"Oh hey, President Monson!"

"Call me... on a mission, that is!"

Do I look like a missionary?

HOORAY!

Shot Selection

I got shot today. Basically, I got shot all over. I'm so cool, I didn't even have to ask for cool Band-aids; the nurses just stuck 'em on. Which is your favorite?

Blood draw:
Tuberculosis (TB) test:

Tetanus (Tdap) booster:

p.s. Isn't technology cool? And isn't the human body amazing for being able to handle all these intrusions with style? I'll probably only recognize the small bruise, a few tiny hole-marks, and a slightly stiff arm from all this, but my body will be protected and laboratory workers will ensure that I'm healthy in a couple days. Awesome. Oh, and the free sucker is pretty fun, too.