We had a killer storm this last week. Like, Wyoming-snow-blowing-sideways storm. It SUCKED. Royally. In any case, Nikki and I had a bunch of stuff to do, so we were out braving the elements until later into the evening. We made it in one piece, and were just heading up to our house, which happens to be up the mountain a little ways. We were cruising along, going kind of slow to not slide, and we noticed a couple cars on our hill stuck. The road's were just too slick and they couldn't make it to the top. "Too bad," I thought as I drove past them. Well... needless to say, we didn't make it much farther than them before our tires started spinning. Our little two-wheel drive machine just wasn't feeling it anymore. No matter how hard we tried, we weren't going to make it up that hill. Cars behind us got into the same situation, and pretty soon we had a pretty good assortment of cars, vans, even small trucks and SUVs all in various positions along the road. Me and some other guys got out and started trying to push cars, but it was pretty much impossible on the slick roads.
That's about when the calvary showed up. One guy who was going to the store with his family in a big old Expedition stopped and was helping where he could. Then two big old Dodge Rams came around the corner. It was two of our neighbors, who both said they knew the roads were bad so they decided to come out and help where they could. Both had chains, which they used to hook to the stuck cars. They then proceed to pull the cars up the hill. When they finished with one, they'd go back and hook up to another. They ended up pulling us right up to our front driveway. It was an incredible act of service. It was freezing outside, I'm sure these guys wanted to be home with their families, but they put all that on hold to go and help out their neighbors. They must have been there all night, towing people up that mountain. It's just comforting to know there's some goodness in the world, that with all the crap going on there's still honestly decent people who care about others. Those men from our ward were truly an inspiration to me. They taught me a lot about the example of Christ, they taught me that I'm never too busy, too tired, or too "whatever" to stop and help someone. Thanks to all of them.
And Merry Christmas to you!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Morning Light
OK, I cannot hold it within me any longer. My heart bubbleth over. My ears scream in sweet sweet accolade. My mind has officially been blown. Yes, of course I'm talking about everytime I hear Nikki laugh, but I also speak of perhaps the best thing to come out of the emo scene in forever: The Morning Light (Cue Holy Grail music).
The youngsters from Pittsburgh were found by Nikki and I as we attended the Rocket Summer concert in Salt Lake last summer with my bro. Josh and his (ahem) lady friend Brianna. At first I was like, "oh great, another emo act. You can't hide behind those tight jeans and flannel shirts forever!" But it only took maybe another song for the aforementioned blowing of the mind to take place. Harisson Wargo, who wins Name of the Year, and Bobby Garver trade off vocals and complement each other perfectly. The music changes from outright rock to soulful ballads oftentimes in the middle of the song, without ever losing it's focus on an infectuos, intelligent pop rock that comes off as very refreshing with all the wierd disco rock Fall Out Boys currently in the top 40. Plus, they have maybe one of the best young bass players on the market. At the concert, this guy sat in for the next two bands to play after his own. It's like listening to Copeland, but... better. Like listening to Fall Out Boy, but... better. Like eating pizza, drinking a Dewskie, and watching the Avs with Nikki, but... ok, let's not go that far.
But seriously folks, these guys rock. If you haven't checked them out yet, you are severely depriving yourselves of life as you never knew it. The have 2 cds out, "The Love EP" which, although it has only six tracks, has completely stolen my musical heart. The second is their self-titled full-album debut just released this year. Both are must haves. One day, Dwight Shrute may just approach you and ask, "Do you listen to the Morning Light?" When you answer "no", the reply will be short and stinging: "Then you are an idiot."
Awwww... what precious little angels
I'm usually not a big myspace fan, but they've actually got a pretty cool page.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Playing Catch-Up
When you're Thacktastic, life can get a little crazy. So it is with Nikki and I. So, true to form, here is a quick catch-up of what we've been up to the last couple months.
One weekend we got to hang out with Layton and Haylie, our niece and nephew. And the fun times did roll. This was us at the BYU hockey game. It was one of my proudest moments, as Layton TOTALLY got into the game. He couldn't peel his eyes away from the ice the whole time... My real tear-jerker moment was when he turned and looked at me and said, "Uncle Matt, I LOVE this game." My eyes are getting misty just thinking about it. Not a visit to his house goes by that he doesn't want to play hockey on the hardwood floors... him being BYU and me being the "black" team (BYU's opponent that night).
Later it was off to Thacker manor... which I guess can get kind of cold at night since the kids insisted on toasting their butts by our space heater. I think Layton wanted privacy or something because he's looking at us like we're part of the paparazzi.
Their favorite place in our entire house is the TV Room where they get to sleep on the blowup bed and have a "theatre" (a term they made up meaning they turn all the lights off and watch a movie with drinks and popcorn). We take all requests for movies, but it usually boils down to Alvin and the Chipmunks, Over the Hedge, and Garfield's Holiday. And yes, this is my National Geographic shot of Layton eating popcorn. He is not spewing it out, come on people!
And, what would Uncle Matt and Aunt Nikki's house be without some jumping around and other activities they can't do at home? That's us, undermining parental authority, one kid at a time.
The next night we hit up the Utah Grizzlies game with everybody. And I mean EVERYBODY. Family members, best friends, first dates (for Katie), everything. Here's me, Nikki, Penguins jersey, and Derek. Yeah, he's the one with the huge head.
One weekend we got to hang out with Layton and Haylie, our niece and nephew. And the fun times did roll. This was us at the BYU hockey game. It was one of my proudest moments, as Layton TOTALLY got into the game. He couldn't peel his eyes away from the ice the whole time... My real tear-jerker moment was when he turned and looked at me and said, "Uncle Matt, I LOVE this game." My eyes are getting misty just thinking about it. Not a visit to his house goes by that he doesn't want to play hockey on the hardwood floors... him being BYU and me being the "black" team (BYU's opponent that night).
Later it was off to Thacker manor... which I guess can get kind of cold at night since the kids insisted on toasting their butts by our space heater. I think Layton wanted privacy or something because he's looking at us like we're part of the paparazzi.
Their favorite place in our entire house is the TV Room where they get to sleep on the blowup bed and have a "theatre" (a term they made up meaning they turn all the lights off and watch a movie with drinks and popcorn). We take all requests for movies, but it usually boils down to Alvin and the Chipmunks, Over the Hedge, and Garfield's Holiday. And yes, this is my National Geographic shot of Layton eating popcorn. He is not spewing it out, come on people!
And, what would Uncle Matt and Aunt Nikki's house be without some jumping around and other activities they can't do at home? That's us, undermining parental authority, one kid at a time.
The next night we hit up the Utah Grizzlies game with everybody. And I mean EVERYBODY. Family members, best friends, first dates (for Katie), everything. Here's me, Nikki, Penguins jersey, and Derek. Yeah, he's the one with the huge head.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Some Thoughts On Family, Marriage, and Empathy
Recently, the LDS Church (which Nikki and I are members of) has come under a certain amount of criticism for its public support of Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition that sought to amend California's constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. I've stayed mostly quiet about the subject, mostly because I feel I cannot speak for the Church. I also cannot speak for opponents of Prop 8, many of whom feel discriminated against because of the very idea of limiting who they can legally marry.
But I can speak for my family. Nikki and I are far from perfect (well, Nikki's doing pretty good, it's me that needs some work), but we have always tried to follow the example of Joshua, who declared, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 1:8). For us, we feel it is our imperative duty to, like Joseph Smith taught, find out the will of the Lord, and then do our best to live our lives in accordance with that will. I believe in the Prophets, past and present. I believe they are the mouthpieces of the Lord on the earth, whether Isaiah, or Nephi, or Brigham Young, or Thomas S. Monson. They are the channel by which the will of the Lord is revealed to us. This conviction has been confirmed to me through diligent study and prayer, by the Spirit of that very same Lord.
That being said, I believe the Lord has revealed His plan by which all of us can progress beyond this life, becoming like Him and finding eternal happiness. This eternal progression is made possible through families. A man and a woman, sealed together by the power of the priesthood and by their love, can have children and build a familial posterity that can extend into the eternities. The Lord has said that his work and his glory is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). In other words, WE are the work and glory of God. I believe our posterity will be like that to us. And I believe, with all my heart, that the family is the single most important unit in the marvelous plan of our Heavenly Father. It is through families that we can eternally progress, living forever in happiness.
So, for my family, I will labor every single day to instill upon my children the value of preparing to build an eternal family. I will work tirelessly to help prepare my daughters to find worthy, good husbands. And I will work equally hard to teach my sons how to respect women, especially the precious souls they will one day beg to marry. I know they will find eternal happiness in their marriages and their families as they seek to follow the plan of our Heavenly Father. I support the principle of marriage between a man and a woman for that very reason.
That being said, I feel a great empathy for those who do not believe the same way I do. I hope that my firm belief in the sanctity of the family is not construed as prejudice against any in the homosexual community. For it is not. I have many friends, acquaintances, and even family members who believe differently than I do, and I find the grand majority of them to be kind, loving, and good people. I respect their beliefs and their decisions, and I hope they will equally respect the decisions of myself and my family. We choose to follow the Lord through what He has revealed to the men we know as His servants. That being said, we will not discriminate, demean, or judge unrighteously. We will strive every day to love and accept anyone, while at the same time staying true to our beliefs and the things we as a family know to be true.
Peace.
But I can speak for my family. Nikki and I are far from perfect (well, Nikki's doing pretty good, it's me that needs some work), but we have always tried to follow the example of Joshua, who declared, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 1:8). For us, we feel it is our imperative duty to, like Joseph Smith taught, find out the will of the Lord, and then do our best to live our lives in accordance with that will. I believe in the Prophets, past and present. I believe they are the mouthpieces of the Lord on the earth, whether Isaiah, or Nephi, or Brigham Young, or Thomas S. Monson. They are the channel by which the will of the Lord is revealed to us. This conviction has been confirmed to me through diligent study and prayer, by the Spirit of that very same Lord.
That being said, I believe the Lord has revealed His plan by which all of us can progress beyond this life, becoming like Him and finding eternal happiness. This eternal progression is made possible through families. A man and a woman, sealed together by the power of the priesthood and by their love, can have children and build a familial posterity that can extend into the eternities. The Lord has said that his work and his glory is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). In other words, WE are the work and glory of God. I believe our posterity will be like that to us. And I believe, with all my heart, that the family is the single most important unit in the marvelous plan of our Heavenly Father. It is through families that we can eternally progress, living forever in happiness.
So, for my family, I will labor every single day to instill upon my children the value of preparing to build an eternal family. I will work tirelessly to help prepare my daughters to find worthy, good husbands. And I will work equally hard to teach my sons how to respect women, especially the precious souls they will one day beg to marry. I know they will find eternal happiness in their marriages and their families as they seek to follow the plan of our Heavenly Father. I support the principle of marriage between a man and a woman for that very reason.
That being said, I feel a great empathy for those who do not believe the same way I do. I hope that my firm belief in the sanctity of the family is not construed as prejudice against any in the homosexual community. For it is not. I have many friends, acquaintances, and even family members who believe differently than I do, and I find the grand majority of them to be kind, loving, and good people. I respect their beliefs and their decisions, and I hope they will equally respect the decisions of myself and my family. We choose to follow the Lord through what He has revealed to the men we know as His servants. That being said, we will not discriminate, demean, or judge unrighteously. We will strive every day to love and accept anyone, while at the same time staying true to our beliefs and the things we as a family know to be true.
Peace.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Eternal Bliss
Nikki and I were married Jan. 12, 2007 in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a perfect day. It's amazing how you can spend so much time planning something and stress so much about it, but then on the actual day (crunch time) everything goes down without a hitch. I can't even say how thankful I am to wonderful family and friends for making it such a wonderful day.
Nikki and I met at the Riviera in Provo during the summer of 2006. After dating for not TOO long, we got engaged in November and set the date for January. We weren't overly excited about a winter wedding, but when you know something's right there comes a point where you can only wait so long. Was our wedding day cold? YES. Butt cold. It was also the most beautiful and perfect day of our lives (so far).
We were sealed at 1
1 a.m. that day by the son of Vaughn J. Featherstone, a general authority of the Church. When we were sealed by the power of God's priesthood, we made a covenant with Heavenly Father that we would live our lives in accordance with His commandments, that we would do everything we could to live worthy to return to His presence. His end of the deal was the promise that Nikki, me, and our (future) children would be together for all eternity. We work hard every day to live up to that covenant and have found ourselves growing more and more in love every day as we strive to keep those sacred promises we made that day.
1 a.m. that day by the son of Vaughn J. Featherstone, a general authority of the Church. When we were sealed by the power of God's priesthood, we made a covenant with Heavenly Father that we would live our lives in accordance with His commandments, that we would do everything we could to live worthy to return to His presence. His end of the deal was the promise that Nikki, me, and our (future) children would be together for all eternity. We work hard every day to live up to that covenant and have found ourselves growing more and more in love every day as we strive to keep those sacred promises we made that day.After a VERY cold picture taking party outside the temple, it was just an all-out party. My mom and dad and many other diligent worker bees were tireless in putting together a killer reception for us that included food (which we didn't eat but I heard was awesome) and some sweet dancin'. Then we were whisked away to sunny Park City where we enjoyed the sights and the outlet stores. Finally, a beautiful reception in Nikki's hometown of Burley, ID topped off the wedding experience. Not too bad. Not too bad at all!
Our wedding day... Freaking awesome. I think, however, it's something we'll only do once.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Welcome!
Get ready for some thacktastic times! (This is just a test for me to make sure I'm doing everything right)...
In this wonderful age of electronic things, this is without a doubt the best way to keep people posted on how we're doing. We'll try to post as many pictures and groundbreaking news as we can. Of course, I can get kind of bored at work so who knows when the random hockey or music post will appear. I apologize in advance.
Peace.
Matt and Nikki
In this wonderful age of electronic things, this is without a doubt the best way to keep people posted on how we're doing. We'll try to post as many pictures and groundbreaking news as we can. Of course, I can get kind of bored at work so who knows when the random hockey or music post will appear. I apologize in advance.
Peace.
Matt and Nikki
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