One More Week

In just one more week I will see my sweetheart for the first timie in almost 7 weeks. I'm so excited because I'm not just stopping in for a visit, but I'll be picking my special little lady up to bring her to our new home in North Dakota.

You never know where life is going to take us. You have to be open, willing, and prompted by the Spirit, to always know what you need to be doing in this life. We decided a long time to go to always invite our Father in Heaven io be a vital part of our relationship. We know that when we subject oursleves to His will, we will be fine, no matter where that path takes us. This is the reason why Sue moved to Utah, wiht no family and moving away from her family. It is the reason why we moved to Idaho, to be humbled and instructed.

Sue nor I would ever make any decision to draw us away from our families, who we love so much. But when you think about the larger picture, we know that we will find a way to see our families one way or another, and that we will be happy as long as we are together and put each other first in each other's lives.

This is just another adventure for us and we're certainly going to hang on for the ride. I have been here for 6 weeks already and I can already see some of the reasosn that Sue and I are supposed to be here, I think that we are both goiing to help inject some life into the company, the community, and our LDS Branch.

As Sue reminds me, you never really know exactly what the future is going to bring, but if we stay close to the Spirit we can always safely navigate life's rough waters.

Peace, love, and happiness to all of our family and friends....

Rugby North Dakota...AKA...Small Town USA

I thought that I would introduce everyone to our new home. Rugby while small and out of the way is a true American gem. Rugby is the geographical center of North America. It sits in the North Central portion of North Dakota, about 50 miles south of the Canadian border. It is a real nice, well kept city full of Midwestern pride. The peop;le are friendly and reserved for the most part. The whole town is full of true "Mom & Pop" shops. My employer, TBEI-Rugby division is a major employer in the area and is a national player in the Dump Truck bed and hoist manufacturing business. Check us out at www.tbei.com

I thought everyone might enjoy seeing a few of the sights of our new adopted home town. Enjoy the sights. Rugby is served by Minot International Airport which is only an hour a way. We have daily flights to Minneapolis, Denver, and Las Vegas. Hopefully you will get a chance to visit us every now and then. We'll keep the front porch light on for you...

Once Upon a Dream... A Real Life Fairy Tale!
      
        


Happy Anniversary Tina and Felipe -
The "coincidences" in your story are amazing to me as I sit and piece it all together...

I taught a class to the Young Women in church yesterday. I had asked my sons-in-law to send advice to pass along to the Young Women in my class about supporting and upholding the Priesthood of God that many of their fathers, brothers and/or friends in their life hold. As I prepared to share the advice that Felipe's had forwarded to me I attempted to pull up a picture of him with my daughter, Tina and their little girls. The laptop was running slow so I took the pause in the lesson to share a little known fact about Tina and Felipe's "Once Upon A Dream " real life fairy tale.

The girls in my class swooned over the story and since it is their 8th anniversary today I thought I would post Tina and Felipe's story on our blog for anyone else who happens by to enjoy:

Once upon a time there was a beautiful baby girl born into the world. When she first saw her newborn baby girl her mother thought she looked like her Great Aunt Dora (which I just realized sounds a lot like "Aurora"). The little girl was named Tina (Christina) Rose by her father.

As she grew Tina Rose loved to walk in the woods and fields and gather wildflowers in baskets around her country home in Clarence Center, New York. It made her happy arranging the flowers into vases and placing them in the home for her family to enjoy. Her father especially loved the flowers and complimented her on the arrangements she created.

Another of Tina Rose's favorite past times was watching the Disney Movie "Sleeping Beauty". It was her favorite story. She watched it over and over, and over, .... She also had the Disney "Sleeping Beauty" hardcover picture book and read it over and over, and over ... until the binding was broken and the pages were worn and torn and the repair tape was yellow.

Tina Rose loved the story of Briar Rose (Aurora... sounds like Dora) and her true love... Prince Phillip. After all, isn't that what every little girl wants... for the handsome prince of her dreams to come save her and carry her off to his castle to live happily ever after?

Like Briar Rose in the story, Tina Rose was a happy girl. She was so happy that she was silly! She loved to make everyone laugh, especially her father. She adored her father. He was like a prince to her. She loved to cuddle with him and felt safe in his strong arms. What a happy wonderful life she had with her 4 sisters and her mother and father!

In the story of Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose (Aurora) had been given gifts at birth. The gift of music, the gift of beauty and a special gift to protect her from the forces of evil that would surely come into her life.

As Tina Rose came into her teen aged years she began to wonder if she had been passed over when gifts were passed out at birth. She recognized gifts of knowledge, music, art and beauty in her sisters but was frustrated as she felt she had been given no gifts at all.

Her mother cried when Tina Rose expressed these concerns to her for she knew what a special gift Tina Rose had. "Oh no, Tina! You have been given the best gift of all. Don't you know that you have the gift of Christlike love - the ability to love everyone as Christ loves them!"
(Tina still remembers this conversation clearly)

Becaue of the love Tina Rose had for others, they also loved her. Everyone loved her! She had many friends. She was happy again and knew that it truly was a wonderful life.

But when Tina Rose was 17 years old a great tragedy came into her life. Her beloved father died suddenly! She looked at the pictures and videos of her father and longed for that loving, safe, secure feeling she once had but had now lost. She was grief stricken!

Her mother reminded Tina Rose that along with the gift of Christ-like love she also had a gift of protection from the evil forces that would try to make her depressed and feel sorry for herself. So, as hard as it was to leave her loved ones behind, Tina Rose went off into the wide world to seek her fortune. She learned the art of floral design. How wonderful it was to be able to take a talent she had developed in childhood and turn it into a career! (Note the May 2012 Readers Digest article featuring Tina!)

While she was busy learning floral design at college Tina Rose gradually came to realize that one friend in particular, Felipe, was a very special friend... more special than all the others. He made her feel so happy... happy like she was a child with her father.

In the story of Sleeping Beauty, the righteous Prince Phillip was given gifts of protection against evil; a Shield of Virtue and a Sword of Truth. He used these gifts to break down the walls of branches and thorns and to destroy the evil fire breathing dragon that separated him from his dreams of happily-ever-after with his true love.
 

Likewise, when the opportunity had been presented to Felipe as a young man he made the wonderful choice to dedicate his life to God and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With his Oath of the Priesthood Felipe was given (similar to Prince Phillip) special gifts of protection which are stated in holy scripture as follows:

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principallities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having lon the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shiled of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication."" (Ephesians 6:11-18)


Felipe used the whole armour of God to battle the dragon of the evil world that surrounded him as a teen and tempted him to a choose a life of ease and pleasure. He pushed himself to seek for a better life than what the evil world offered him. He left home and family to prepare himself for a future righteous life dedicated to God. When he met Tina Rose he recognized a sweet loving girl that needed the love and protection of a righteous man.

He offered Tina the embrace of his strong arms. Once again she felt what she had longed for since losing her father... that feeling of love, security and protection.

When they were married in the Washington, D.C. Temple of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tina Rose and Felipe entered into God's "castle". He promised them that as long as they keep their promises of righteousness that they made in his house they will be able to live ...


Happily Ever After!    AMEN ! - TRUE STORY!


The End


What's in a name?

 The name Felipe in English is Phillip! -
             Briar Rose+Prince Philip    Tina Rose+Prince Felipe   
                            Coincidences or Tender Mercies ?
    

My posts to Tina's blog about this date

Add to the drama of the tale:

FRIDAY THE 13TH of August 2004... Memories... Getting stuck between floors in the elevator of the Washington D.C. temple... Uncle Tom - had spent part of the night before in the enclosed room in his garage outside of Orlando with his family - including a baby - terrified as they listened to Hurricane Charley pass over their home.  If I remember correctly, they lost power and air conditioning for over a week with the temperatures in the 90's.  A tree had fallen and put a hole in their roof...  As we entered the temple that day for Tina & Felipe's sealing, the sky was black and ominous as the hurricane (downgraded to a tropical storm) approached the D.C. area... One more memory for the girls who were in my car... going the wrong way, circling D.C. (seemed like forever) on the highway (the beltway) looking for the restaurant.

FRIDAY THE 13th of August 2004... Memories... Feeling the Spirit so strongly as I witnessed my daughter sealed forever to a righteous and honorable young man who had become as a son to me... Meeting the sweetest most humble people in the Moreno family and feeling an immediate bond to them... Seeing my daughter glowing with joy and happiness as the clouds miraculously cleared and she posed for pictures outside of the temple - the House of the Lord - on the most important day of her life... I love you guys...  Mom 

Compare:

Prince Phillip's Castle        to                Prince Felipe's Castle:

One more for those romantics who love this as much as I do:

Once Upon a Dream - Sleeping Beauty (1959)

 A tender mercy to have this childhood memory: 

I was only 7 years old when this was first released.

I remember how amazed I was to see the colors in this movie.

All we had at that time was black and white television.

I specifically remember the scene of  the fairies arguing

at the end of the movie

...changing Aurora's dress

from blue to pink and back again.

Blue!  Pink!  Blue! 

Such billiant color!

Amazing! 

 It was like magic to me!

MaMa (Sister) Sue Celeste  - like celestial   :)

8-8-08..A Day to Remember for Good

Four years ago today I married my sweet wife. We have had a very full, enjoyable, and adventurous life together. We have experienced so many things together, so much change, so much fun. We have chosen to be actively engaged with life...to express our love for each other, our family, and most importantly, our savior. We have tried to serve others and our Lord to the best of our ability. We have experienced so much change, some uncomfortable, but always confirmed by the Spirit.

Sue wanted us to get married on this special day because of all of the heartache it has brought to her and her family over the years...so much sorrow and pain...she wanted this day to bring a ray of happiness and sunshine to this special day.

This day has always brought me great joy as it helps me stay focused on what is so important and special in my life...my sweet wife and the life that we live and share with each other. Our marriage has been centered around each other and has been based upon love, mutual respect and understanding, and open and honest communication. We have an undying love for each other because we truly put the interests of each other ahead of our own.

We love our families so much. Some of the changes that we have gone through has taken us away from some of our children and grandchildren, but it has also helped us focus even more on each other and our extended family.

The future looks very bright...mostly because we choose to look at it that way, we are not victims and choose to life life tot he fullest. We are now entering another new stage in our life that will give us so many opportunities to grow together as well as individually, and help us gain knowledge, that will hopefully make us even better people.

Our earthly future is  unknown, but we know what our ultimate goal is, and rest assured that we will continue on that path together.

I wish to express my sincere and deepest love to my special "little lady"...she is a true "Gem". Here's to 4 wonderful years sweetheart, may have so many more happy years together...let's enjoy the ride.

Prairie Village Museum Rugby, North dakota

I decided to check out the Prairie Village Museum right next to my hotel. It doesn't look like much, but it really is awesome. It took me 2 hours to go through it all...worth every penny of the $7 entry fee. It depicts life on the prairie from about the late 1800s to the early 1950's.

As you come into the area you are greeted by the Northern Lights Monument...why you might ask...well we are so far North that you can see these in the winter months.

The village really is just that. It has several buildings full of knick knacks, cars, and farm implements from this period of time...which is pretty cool all by themselves. But there really is an entire prairie village set up that you can enter and even touch most of the stuff inside. All of it period specific. These buildings were moved to this site I believe some time in the 1960s.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and leisurely strolled though the village...no one to rush or bother me...I literally had the place to myself for a couple of hours.

I talked to the museum director for quite a while and she told me that the place was popular with the tourists but the locals don't come very often that's too bad because this place is a real gem.

I put a lot of time in, in my hotel room and don't do anything after work. So the time I spend on the weekends is important to me and helps keep my sanity. These little excursions really help me survive the loneliness I feel from time to time being away from the woman that I love so dearly...not to mention all of our wonderful children and grandchildren.

While we certainly plan on visiting our family on a pretty regular basis, I hope that you have an opportunity to come and visit us in Rugby too, It is a quaint little area that takes you back to a much simpler time. I think that we will not only survive the next 7-10 years here but probably thrive as well.

Here's to Rugby...our new little Prairie Paradise

Northen Lights Monument...yes we're "that" far North :)

Check out all of these old stove

The original "keyboards" If you don't know your Pica from your Elite...you don't know diddly

The original Kenmore top loader

I love this thing...too funny

This whole place really was a "Prairie Village"

Cool old John Deere Tractors from the 30's and 40's

Old farm implements

Interior of the dining car

Little Lutheran church

Creamery

Those were the days

Just a pinch between your cheek and gum...

Inside of full size Lutheran church

I bet these were a tad drafty in the winter

I heard about this guy when I was a kid...In the Guiness Book of World Records

Who would have thought he was from around here. Those are 12' ceilings

This one is for Will

Can you even imagine!

Wow!!!!!!

Old Pharmacy

General Store

Bank

Lawyer's office

Barber shop

Saloon...the most important building in the village

Old gas station