Lillian: Queen of the Mountain!

So Lillian had a requirement in her Faith in God booklet to plan and conduct a parent/child activity. So we started talking about what kind of activities they meant and came to the conclusion that it was more important that the planned activity be a "together" activity than a "reform/overhaul society" activity.

So we decided to go backpacking. Lillian planned our menu. I planned our needed equipment and trails. So we packed our packs and hit the trail... twelve miles later, we were done.

Lillian can fill you in on the details, but here's a couple photos from our little expedition.

Lilly's Violin Concert

Another Recent Family Field Trip - The Queen Mine

So this past Saturday, we decided to go on another family field trip.  THis time, we decided to venture out a bit further.  We went to the Queen Mine in Bisbee.  The kiddos loved it.  And we got to learn about mining copper; which happens to be a pretty important thing here in southern Arizona.

Here's a couple photos from our trip:

The "Not in Huntsville" Times - 2 Mar 2010

So I think the last time I sent out the "Huntsville Times" was back in November.  It's been a whirlwind since then... let's see... we moved back to Tucson, I changed jobs, we found out Little Clark #5 is a girl, we got chickens, Morgan got baptized, I got called into the bishopric of our ward, we survived the sceince projects, Lilly turned 10 and got a rabbit, we sold our house in Huntsville, and my left leg was amputated.  Just kidding about the amputation.

So now that you've read the abstract, here's the details:

We Moved Back to Tucson!  This is such old news by now, but for those of you that aren't in the Old Pueblo or Huntsville, hopefully this isn't the first you've heard of this... I'd feel terrible.  Why'd we move back?  Well for the past year and a half, I was working on a competitive contract at work... one that we didn't win.  We believed our company's team was going to be selected as the winning contractor and that the contract would be awarded to us.  However, there was some chance in it.  So back in September, I had the impression that I needed to have "Plan B" for work. After talking to some friends and researching potential opportunities, I took the impression and my alternatives to Melissa, and then to the Lord in prayer and fasting.  We felt it would be good to move back to Tucson.  This was without knowing whether the promising contract at work would be awarded to my company.  So I pursued a job back in Tucson and thankfully, was offered a great job working with people I know and trust.  I am blessed that people were willing to make efforts on my behalf to get me a job so that my family could be near our extended family again.  Then, on New Year's Eve, I found out that my company did NOT receive the contract, but that it was awarded to the other company.  Though this is NOT good for the company I work for, it is wonderful to see how the Lord guides us as He guided me, back in September.

Baby Clark is a Girl!  So before we left Huntsville, Melissa had her 20 week sonogram.  Dan and I got to tag along to see.  After checking out the overall health of the baby, we asked the sonogram tech if she could tell the gender of the baby and of course, she could.  It was very obvious that the baby is a girl.  The trouble is now coming up with a name that Melissa and I agree on.  We've read through baby name books, and have discussed names at length.  Usually those discussions end up with Melissa telling me, "I'd consider the names you suggest more sincerely if you suggested reasonable names."  I've wondered if we'll end up doing what my parents did for my sister Jo; from what I understand, my parents couldn't agree on a name so they named her Heather Jolene.  My Mom called her Heather, and my Dad called her Jolene.  In all seriousness, I'm sure Melissa and I will be able to come to a consensus on a name, it's just taking a lot more effort than it did with tht other kids.

We got chickens!  We had such a great experience with our birds in Huntsville, that I decided to move the coop to Arizona with us and get chickens here.  What I didn't realize was how difficult it would be to move the coop.  It's a good thing we had a set of oxen for movers, because the coop is solid oak and weighs 1,500 lbs! (at least that's what the movers said).  It was a real struggle to get it on the truck.  It took the two guys that were crazy strong.  They told me that the two of them can move a grand piano by themselves!  Yikes!  But it took four of us to get the coop into the diesel trailer.  Who knows how they got it out and into my back yard in Tucson?!  All I know is that it's here now and filled with 11 chickens.  We have 3 White Leghorns, 2 Buff Orpingtons, and 6 Rhode Island Reds.

Morgan got Baptized!  Yeah... it was pretty much the highlight of the first month here.  She was looking forward to becoming a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ for some time, and finally got to do it on February 6th!  It was great.  So many friends and family came to show their support for Morgan and her decision.  While at the baptism, I asked her to write down a few of her thoughts... this is what wrote, "I felt very warm with both events.  I also felt like I was doing the right thing.  I felt very good."

She was beaming - her smile after being baptized was HUGE.  There were definitely feelings of joy... a fruit of the Spirit.  During the baptismal service, Morgan snuggled up next to me - I knew she was happy.  I also felt impressed with the promptings of the Holy Ghost as we bestowed the Gift of the Holy Ghost to her.  I was impressed to bless her to be able to sucessfully endure the temptations that will come.  I also felt impresse that she would be a light, or an ensign, to her family, friends, and others she meets in the world  - and that they would feel the Spirit's influence through her carryinng the Spirit with her.  The Holy Spirit was definitely with us at the baptism!

We survived science projects!  Lillian and Morgan both completed science projects this past month.  Lillian's dealt with the frictional properties of different materials.  She released a small car down an inclined plane that was covered with different materials.  She discovered that the time is took for the car to make it down the incline plane was different (and the variability of times was different too!) when the plane was covered with the different materials.  She also leared about the "standard deviation" of a set of data as it relates to the mean or average.

Morgan's project dealt with the relationship of crystal growth and ambient temperature.  She grew some "seed crystals" and then exposed those seed crystals to different ambient temperatures to see which would grow the most rapidly.  She discovered that crystals grew the most rapidly in colder temperatures!

Lillian got a rabbit!  So we have a family rule that in order to get a pet, you have to:

1. Be no less than 10 years old

2. Complete a written report that details the plan for care and maintenance of the given pet.

3. Present the written report and an accompanying oral report to the family regarding the care and maintenance of the proposed pet.

The report has to cover a set of requirements that I drafted some time ago.  Some of the included topics include: time required to care for the animal, proposed schedule for care & feeding, initial and recurring costs of ownership, facilities or housing required, veterenary care, etc.  It was a lengthy set of requirements, but I wanted to make sure she knew what to expect when taking care of a living creature.  Last weekend, we built a hutch for her rabbit to live in.  I had to redesign it once, and even after that, I realized I didn't design it with thoughts of how to assemble it in mind.  It was a bear to put together, but it turned out okay.  Lilly helped construct it, so it was fun to work together on it.

Well, that's about it for now... oh yeah, we sold our house in Huntsville!  Woohoo!  Only one mortgage payment now!  Why am I excited about that???

Recent Family Field Trip - A Hike in Saguaro National Park

We like field trips!  Who doesn't?  The mark of a "good teacher" in school was always who took their class on the most and best field trips.  Well, our family is no different, only we get to pick our own field trips.  Recently, we went hiking in Saguaro National Park.  Granted, we didn't get very far before hearing, "Dad, I'm tired... I wanna go back."  Regardless, we took the whole clan, and it was fun.  Here's a few photos of our trip:

We've Known for Weeks Now

I had my 20 week songram back in early January and we found out that we are having another . . . GIRL. Poor Dan. All I can say is that it is good that he has boy cousins his age and a father who has a healthy portion of redneck in his background and personality. Unfortunately for my bank account most of my girl baby stuff was not fit for use after three girls so I got rid of it--all my boy stuff looks great! Any takers? Now we just have to agree on a name . . . Charlotte or Esmerelda? What do you think?

Counting Our Blessings

I love the words of the hymn, "Count Your Blessings".  The lines which state, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done..." ring true in my ears and heart tonight for so many reasons.

The first is that today was the Sabbath for us, and that means going to Church.  I love going to Church, though I haven't always.  Going to Church is a blessing because it helps me keep the right perspective on life. 

The second blessing I am thankful for tonight is the wonderful family I have.  I recall thinking as a selfish, arrogant, and confused teenager that I didn't really want a family.  Instead, I yearned for a huge 4x4 truck.  Over the years since then, my views have changed (see previous paragraph for possible reason why my views have changed), and I wouldn't trade my family for any 4x4 (not even "Bigfoot").   I have a wonderful wife that loves and takes care of me.  I have three intelligent, beautiful, healthy, and mostly obedient daughters.  True, there's a bit of drama in our home, and I joke about living in the shed, but truthfully, I the drama is far less 'negative' than the vast 'positives' that the girls bring to our home and family.  I have a little boy that loves me and likes to be around me.  Hopefully I won't destroy that blessing though stupid father behavior.  I love my little guy tremendously even though he drives me bonkers sometimes.  I have a baby in the making right now, which is a blessing in an of itself.  I know so many couples who aren't able to have children, and then there's us; if I look at Melissa, she gets pregnant.  That is a real blessing.  I'm exited to meet the new little Clark next May.

The third blessing I am thankful for is the Priesthood.  It really is God's power, delegated to man.  I have recently witnessed the power of the Priesthood in blessing family members plagued with sickness, pain, or other troubles.  I have seen the healing blessings realized.  God really does live and He really has given some of His power to man to bless the lives of His children.

The fourth blessing I am thankful for tonight is revelation.  For the past 15 months, I've been working on a competitive contract at work.  It had the promise of $400-500 million over the next five years, with upwards of $1 billion in production over the next 10+ years.  It looked promising.  We believed our company's team was going to be selected as the winning contractor and that the contract would be awarded to us.  However, there was some chance in it.  Several months ago, I had the impression that I needed to have a contingency plan for work. So I talked to some friends, contacts, and started researching potential opportunities.  Then after discussion with Melissa and our children, I took the impression and my alternatives to the Lord in prayer and fasting.  We felt it would be good to move back to Tucson.  This was without knowing whether the promising contract at work would be awarded to my company.  So I pursued a job back in Tucson and thankfully, was offered a great job working with people I know and trust.  I am blessed that people were willing to make efforts on my behalf to get me a job so that my family could be near our extended family again. 
Then tonight, I found out that my company did NOT receive the contract, but that it was awarded to the other company.  Though this is NOT good for the company I work for, I am overwhelmed at how the Lord steered me to pursue a new job before anyone knew for certain that I would even need it.  Had I not heeded that impression to create a contingency plan, I would be full of fear, uncertainty, and who knows, maybe even unemployed with a wife, 4.5 children, and the debts of two homes.  Instead, I have gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father, current and future employment, and yes, still the debt of two homes, though with one for sale and the means to pay off the other one in time.

I have many other blessings, though you will tire quickly from reading about them all and will likely close your web browser, so stop here.  Suffice it to say, I have been blessed.  Only a fool would call it the reward of my hard work, or coincidence.