Andrew, Heidi, and Hyrum

2011-11-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

Blog Sale!

If you are interested please call us at home 208.496.9255 -- No Text; Or E-Mail us at potter.andrewb@gmail.com. We live in Rexburg very close to BYU-Idaho.

Eddie Bauer Goose Down Parka $60 (L-XL)

Grey Eddie Bauer Goose Down Parka $40 (M-L)

GE Turntable Microwave Oven (700 Watt) $20 -- SOLD

Family Sized Indoor Grill $20

Complete Scrapbooking Set

Includes: 12x12 Blue Corduroy Covered Book, 24 Patterned Pages, Stickers, Brads, Flowers, Ribbon, Gems. Retails for $50. Selling for $20.

Assorted DVDs $3 Each or 4 for $10.

*Stand and Deliver, *A-Team, Man of La Mancha, *A Beautiful Mind, 13 Going on 30, Phenomenon, *Cinderella Man, The Shootist, Joan of Arc, A Walk to Remember, The Magnificent 7, Million Dollar Baby, and Harry Potter 1, 2, and 5.

*Not Available

Apple Bluetooth (Wireless) Mighty Mouse.

Still in original box only used a handful of times. Listed new around $80 - $100 with shipping. Multi button functions and a scroll ball. $35

Blog Sale

2011-11-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

Eddie Bauer Goose Down Parka $60 (L-XL)

Grey Eddie Bauer Goose Down Parka $40 (M-L)

GE Turntable Microwave Oven (700 Watt) $20

March Madness

2011-04-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

March has been a great month for us! Heidi and I have been able to get out quite a bit and as the semester draws to a close there are many activities going on, on- campus. At the beginning of the month, we participated in an "I-mazing Race," which is a BYU-I version of the Amazing Race. For those unfamiliar with the Amazing race it is a TV show where pairs of contestants are given clues as they race around the world completing tasks. So, Heidi and I raced around campus finding hidden eggs, getting a strike at the bowling alley, putting together a puzzle, taking a picture with Thor, Latin dancing, etc. There were about nine of these tasks that we had to complete as fast as we could to get the next clue. The next clue would direct us to our next challenge. We had tons of fun and plan on participating again next semester. After this experience, Heidi and I decided that we wanted to be a little more active in our dates and family activities.

On Mondays, for the after school program,I have been taking the kids bouldering, which is a form of rock climbing where you don’t use a harness. I found out I could get a deal if I bought a punch card and we have gone twice this month. It has been a very challenging activity for both of us physically and emotionally. The place where we go is an outdoor store on Main Street where they have 15' - 20’ routes to climb around, and mats to place underneath you in case you fall.

We've continued having couples from our ward over for FHE. It has been a great way to get to know all of the people in our ward and stay connected to them. Since we go to a student ward, and BYU-I has a trimester track system, we have a whole batch of move-ins three times a year at the start of a new semester. We find that it is easier to do the things we know we should when there are other people to do them with. I think this is true of most things throughout our life – and that is why our families are of great importance.

I had a staff-training meeting for scout camp down in Idaho Falls later in the month so afterwards we got together with some of our married friends and went to Bodies: The Exhibition at the Museum of Idaho.This exhibit is amazing. They have preserved several full human bodies and stripped them of their skin to show bones, muscles, nerves,veins, etc. They have one whole room dedicated to the development of fetuses and another to the circulatory system. They also had several display cases of specific body parts that had been preserved. They have done a good job of tactfully presenting the human body and all of its complexities. And to imagine that we get to make these someday! We had a really good time and afterward went out to dinner with several of our friends. If this presentation is ever available to you I would recommend going. As a general rule I wouldn’t take children, though. I am sure there is a ton of information online for those interested in the content of the exhibition.

Last week I participated in a concert version of The Savior of the World. It is a musical play where the first act is everything leading up to Christ's birth and the second act is everything after his death. A whole group of people participated in a 400 person choir, a full orchestra, and a 40 person cast to present the music and the message of this play to a 12,000+ audience in the new BYUI Center. It was a great privilege to be able to participate. I was a member of the ensemble choir. We had dress rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday and then just one performance on Friday night. I had an opportunity to watch it on stage two years ago, here at BYU-Idaho and thought that production was better overall, but the feeling of the music was still powerfully presented without costumes or scenery.

Just this last weekend, the morning after the performance, we drove all the way up to Coeur d'Alene to spend some time with the Luke Family who were staying at a little resort near the lake through their time-share. They paid for our gas which made such a short trip more enticing. We carpooled with Emily, Heidi’s sister, and Preston, her soon to be fiancé. They went up so he could ask permission to marry Emily. We spent most of the time playing kids games, talking, and planning their family reunion. I also slept quite a bit because I was the primary driver for our 14 hour round trip weekend. We had a great time and saw some more of this beautiful earth god has created for us. That is an interstate Heidi and I had never driven but there this some great scenery!

We also stopped by the St. Francis Xavier Church in Missoula, Mt. It is listed as a state historical site even though the Catholic Church still currently uses it. The main building is a mini version of what I imagine European cathedrals to look like. The main hall is lined with two rows of pillars holding up a spacious three story domed roof. All of the windows in the main room were stained glass and everywhere else on the ceilings and walls there were murals representational of bible stories. In the back of the room on the 2^nd story was a functioning old pipe organ. If there was any other empty space on the pillars or walls it was filled up with golden painted filigree. However magnificent this building looked it felt terribly empty. I am so grateful to be a part of the true church and that God has allowed so many temples to dot the earth. May we forever cherish the covenants we have made there.We appreciate having family so close around here but wish that we could see the rest of you more often.

P.S. Heidi and I used our tax return to pay off more than $3,000 of debt this last month. Part of that was one of Heidi's student loans.

Valentine's Weekend

2011-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day hasn't even gotten here yet, but it's been an enchanting weekend! It has been, overall, a great way to end the last week!

FRIDAY:
Julie came up to Rexburg to hang out, and so we went to WalMart to finish buying the stuff for our Dorm party on Saturday, then we went out to eat at good ol' Micky-dees...been a little while and the greasy fries are my favorite! :)
Last Wednesday I started getting the cold that Hyrum had picked up from who-knows, but Friday I woke up with it in full-swing. However...thanks to Afrin, I was surviving the day. Then...Andrew comes home with THE MOST GORGEOUS arrangement of flowers!

Then, Hyrum took an extra nap to help me out. Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby? Me thinks not!

Then, one of my girls came over to curl my hair for the BIG dance that night..the Valentine's Formal--a night in Paris.
We decided to go to the formal with another couple that is in our ward...and they are a blast! We had dinner at their house a few weeks ago, so it we had them to our house for a dinner before the dance. The Butterfields brought a very delicious salad, and then we had corn chowder and breadsticks...from scratch (remember...Betty Crocker). HAHA! Okay, so yes, the food was from scratch, but I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, and it wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Andrew...

We were smokin' that night!

SATURDAY: So I have a goal to run a 5K (3.1 miles) by July 4th...go from fat and waddling around to running a 5K in 1 year! :) But anyways, there was a Valentine's "Fun Run" that was a 5k! Andrew and I, plus Jena & Joey Hagen (some other head residents and my walking buddy) decided to do it. It was kinda crazy (especially when you consider that Andrew and I were both sick by this point) but totally fun! Andrew's goal was to finish in under 36 minutes. He finished in 35:26--barely there, but definitely there! My goal was to run at least a mile, and to finish in 45 minutes. I finished in exactly 42 minutes, and ran just over a mile! It was a wonderful feeling to finish something that I started! Next 5K I want to finish in 37 minutes...and for the 4th of July 5k, I want to finish in 30 minutes or less. We took Hyrum, and pushed him around the track. I really really really wish that we had thought to take our camera...but alas, we did not. Most people that were there (including the Hagen's and Andrew) had a "lap counter," someone who stood on the side of the track and would count your laps, so that you didn't have to keep track. But...I slipped through the cracks (yeah, I'm just that skinny! haha) and so I didn't have one. When you passed them, they would cheer you on and tell you how many laps you had done or how many you had left. I kept hearing "Yay! Go Jena" and "Andrew, you're my man!" etc...but what happened when I ran past them? "Go team stroller!" I guess that's what happens when you become a mom...you're defined by just that. You can imagine how exposed I felt (and nameless) when Andrew took Hyrum and let me run on my own...I then got a "yay!" from the sidelines. Oh well...I still finished, and it was still a great experience! Here's to more 5ks!!!

I woke up today with no voice, and some intense intestinal issues. Gross, I know. So we have now finished off the weekend by staying home from church and having an extremely relaxing day. But it was exactly what the doctor ordered because I'm feeling much better now--ready to start a new week, and to see what Valentine's day has to offer us tomorrow! One more picture...just for good measure--geez he's a good looking kid!!!

Hyrum's New Tricks

2011-02-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hyrum first started crawling about two or three weeks ago, and since then he's been a little mobile fiend! However, since then he's learned a few more things. 1) crawling really fast to get to something that he knows he can't have (shoes and paper are the current favorites) 2) standing--started out as just in his crib, but now it is anything that he can grab a hold of & 3) he now says "mama" which is, of course, one of my favorites!

It has been so amazing, yet sad to see my little baby growing into a little boy! I bet it will only be a couple more months before he's running around, getting into everything! But, alas, I will just be extremely grateful that I get to stay at home with him and cherish every moment! Okay, so maybe that is a little harder than it sounds, since time FLIES by...but I will try!

Everyday Betty Crocker

2011-02-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

So, do you remember when you were little and you found out that Betty Crocker wasn't a real person? So, maybe I was just a little on the strange side...I also remember grieving for days when I was told that Karen Carpenter was not alive anymore (I was 7). But I digressed, I am writing this post to let everyone know that she is ALIVE and well...in me that is. That may sound a little proud (it is), but just wait until you know why. I baked a pie. Yes, a yummy yummy pie from scratch. Well, the filling was canned, but it was filling that Julie and I made from scratch and then canned...so it still counts.

Just behold the beauty:

'Nuff said.

January Recap

2011-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

This has been an awesome month. Heidi and I have reworked our budget and
we are trying to run a cash budget this whole year. We had a good month last month
and we are so grateful that tax season has arrived. We are hoping to put most of our
return towards Heidi’s student loans and a few other amenities for our home.
The first week of the month Andrew helped run the sound system in the
Drama theatre for a touring group doing a show called “Forever Plaid” He got to
hear a lot of great barbershop music with piano and bass. He also learned bunches
about programming sound on a digital soundboard. He will also be helping out
backstage with two children’s shows later this semester.

Heidi has been attending her cake decorating class and although she was
anxious about it at first. She has already had 2 projects where she learned shells,
shell borders, writing tips, stars, twisting stars, trees, and use of piping gel. Both of
her cakes looked and tasted great! She has another project due this next week and is
excited to learn some more. Roses are her latest challenge.

We had a really great family dinner here at our house a few weeks ago. Ben
and Bob both came over with their families and after dinner we took a little tour
around campus in the newly dedicated buildings. We just loved watching Hyrum
and Caleb play together they were both quite content to sit on the floor and play
together for almost an hour with very little supervision. On that note Hyrum is
crawling around really well now. He crawls in short sections and stops to play or
observe, he isn’t quite up to full-fledged fleeing.

This last weekend while Jenn was at her gaming conference Andrew went
and played in a Magic: The Gathering Prerelease tournament he placed 4th out of
about 36 and was rewarded 6 pack additional to the ones he opened for the
tournament.

Heidi is really busy with work this month. We have had two difficult girls in
particular that have needed some personal attention. We have also met with the
Bishop and the dean of students to decide what needs to be done. Although both
situations seem to be improving – if they don’t improve faster we may be sending
one of the girls home. Overall that has been a challenging yet growing experience for
Heidi.

We started inviting over couples in our ward for FHE to get to know them better and to help us hold FHE. We have done really well this month and it has made a difference to how we interact in the ward. One of our ward friends invited Heidi to come walking during the week in the new BYUI Center and so three times a week she is walking with her friend Tara who has a little boy 2 days younger than Hyrum. She is very excited to have some time out of the house and is preparing to run in a 5K on the Fourth of July: One year from giving birth to Hyrum. Andrew will be running with her although he won’t be training much until school gets out in April.

Hyrum is getting so big! He is eating solid foods really well, crawling, starting to pull himself up to standing, and saying "baba" and "mama" and we're working on getting him to say dada. Below is a video of one of the first times he crawled...so that was his beginning stages--he's much quicker now!

December Recap

2011-01-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

December brings my favorite holiday (Christmas, of course) but other than that--not a fan of December.

Because of our job as Head Residents, it adds a lot of responsibility to that month. There is 1) the end of semester mandatory meeting 2)Pre-white glove cleaning 3)check-outs 4)apartment cleaning & 5)check-in set up. I was so incredibly grateful for my 4 wonderful employees for those last couple weeks--they made white glove and check-outs so much easier for me! I also loved the new system that we came up with this semester for our cleaning!

For Christmas, we had decided to drive to Washington to spend through Christmas morning with Andrew's family, and then Christmas afternoon on with my family. Check-outs were on Sat. December 18th, and then we had planned to leave either the next Monday night or early Tuesday morning. Come Monday afternoon it was really looking like I wasn't even going to have a cleaning crew until Tuesday morning...but alas at 2:30 my cleaning crew pulled through!! I had started going through the apartments and cleaning them, but then I got a crew of 5 people and we zoomed through the rest. (Many thanks to Lauren for watching Hyrum the entire time!!)

We had the car packed by Monday night, and we ended up pulling out of Rexburg a little before 6 am. Hyrum was an awesome traveler! He woke up the two times we stopped for gas/bathroom breaks, I fed him, and he went back to sleep! We made the drive in just under 10 hours, and he only fussed the last 30 minutes--everyone has their breaking point. :)

We had a ton of fun while staying with Andrew's family. Funny story time! A few days before Christmas, we went to WalMart to finish our shopping, with Andrew's Mom. We each grabbed a separate carts, and did our shopping. At one point, Andrew and his mom spotted eachother, and then started on a "crash course" towards each other. After they slammed carts, his mom loudly stated "Sir, you just rammed my cart!" I guess that many people were quite shocked at what had just occurred...until Andrew said something like "Okay, Mom, let's go." I just laughed and laughed about it--I love the Potters!!

Christmas eve we got together with all of the "Washington Potters" and ate chili, cookies, snacks, and watched some Christmas movies. It was a really fun new tradition for me! :) We gave Hyrum his Christmas jammies--and he loved them (or at least I did)!

Christmas morning came bright and early, with even more new experiences! We spent it with Andrew's parents and one of his brother's family. They were "Secret Santa-ed" and so it was really fun to watch their kids open their gifts and be super excited for all the new toys! Hyrum spent more time eating the wrapping paper than he did unwrapping the gifts, but it was still fun. We also had pie for breakfast! There was a super delicious apple cranberry pie that Grammy made--oh, just thinking about it makes me salivate! :)
We were able to spend Christmas afternoon with my family, and it was quite fun to watch Hyrum interact with his two cousins on that side (ages 2 and 1). The day after Christmas, my youngest brother, Kyle, was baptized--and I was extremely excited to be able to witness him make such a great decision!

THE DRIVE HOME
The drive home was much more eventful than the drive to Washington. We had my sister, Emily, on the drive down with us, which helped to keep Hyrum happy (thanks again, Em!).

We didn't leave Selah until about 11ish, which put us leaving Prosser after noon...which was a little bit later than the ideal. Because we only needed to go to Caldwell (about 6 hours from Selah) so we thought it would be okay leaving late...but oh were we wrong!! About 20 miles north of Pendleton, Oregon we passed a sign that said "Road closed 78 miles ahead" uuhh...blue skies, no clouds, no snow...so why would it be closed? After making a few calls to family members back home to check news reports we found out that a train had derailed next to the freeway. Because there was some concern that there was hazardous materials aboard they closed the freeway to assess/clean it. They had JUST closed it...so basically it could be closed for hours...through the night even. So, what did we do? We did what anyone else would do...we waited in Pendleton...hanging out a the local WalMart! :)

After pulling up in Pendleton, we were driving around trying to find something to do when we came upon this place: "Rodeo Lanes" Not sure of why we though it was so funny, but I pronounced it "Ro-day-o Lanes" and we just had to stop to get a picture...but anyways. Hyrum was such an angel for this entire experience, he was a trooper!!

After spending about four or five hours of killing time we finally got the call telling us that the freeway had opened back up...so then the decision: did we go on and get to Caldwell super super later, or do we take the more expensive (but much more fun) option of getting a hotel, RedBox, pizza, and ring in the new year crazy-style?? We decided to drive on through, arriving in Caldwell around 11ish, and promptly falling asleep! For the second year in a row, Andrew and I have not made it to midnight! :)

Once we made it to Rexburg we started full swing for check-ins! Now that they are done we are just resting and relaxing...just as it should be...

November Recap

2010-12-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving in Island Park, Idaho with Andrew's entire family. We started the Thanksgiving week off by attending the baby blessing of the newest member of the Potter family. All of Andrew's siblings and their families were also able to be there. It was very special to be able to take part in that event, especially with so many family surrounding us all! Congrats little Johnathon Potter!

Due to a massive snow storm that hit us Friday night, we all made the decision to leave for Island Park Saturday afternoon (so that we could avoid getting snowed out). Island Park is only about an hour away from Rexburg but it took us twice that to get there. (We would have made it in better time if I hadn't kept making Andrew slow waaaaay down---come on 20 mph was feeling a little fast for me...but that was just a little bit of paranoia).

Once there we had a blast interacting with the family: cooking, eating, playing games, taking classes, sledding, playing in the snow, etc. I particularly liked getting to know the members of Andrew's family that I either hadn't met, or didn't know very well.

It was a big bummer that we forgot our camera in our rush to get out...so alas I have no pictures to post from it--but it was definitely awesome to completely lose our car in the 4ish feet of snow that we got.

I'm pretty sure that those were the highlights from November! :)

Random Pictures

2010-11-04T21:14:00.001-07:00

This one is actually from awhile ago, but I thought it was super cute!
He is starting to sit up, when supported, and this was his first time wearing jeans--which made him look even more like a little boy as opposed to a baby!

Sucking his thumb, a newly acquired talent of his...he won't take the binky!!

Our little pumpkin!

October Update

2010-11-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

We are doing great this month. This week we had the first morning this year where we woke up to snow and we are oh so excited for the family reunion next month here in our “backyard.” It’s looking like we will have our ‘winter wonderland’ for Thanksgiving. Not too much has changed for us this month. We are going to school head on and getting as many hours of work as we can. At the beginning of November, Hyrum will be 4 months and get his second round of shots. He seems to be growing well but we are doubtful he will be able to hold his own in a grandbaby-wrestling match. There are two other GRAND babies he’s up against.

Over General Conference weekend Bob and I put up insulation and sheetrock in his garage. We had a great time of it, even though it took us longer than we thought it would. I have recently picked up a few extra hours each week watching some Latino kids whose parents are taking an English class offered in the evening at the middle school. It was arranged through my supervisor, so really it is just an extension of my job. Heidi feels relatively comfortable with our position as managers of the dorms and we have been planning a big Halloween party for our girls.

Heidi and I both had bunches of fun in October. I went hiking over by Driggs with the Elders quorum while she and Julie canned apple pie filling. She later made apple butter in our crock-pot from some applesauce she and Julie had made earlier. Later that day we took Hyrum out to the school’s livestock property and took a wagon ride followed by Dutch oven dinner. The next week we went to a free cello concert given by one of the faculty members here. Two years ago we went and heard JS Bach’s 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd solo pieces and this time we heard his 4^th, and 5^th. It was nice to here such beautiful music. Just last week we were able to help out Bob and Julie when they went to the hospital to have their baby. Then Mom and Dad came through just in time so we got to see them too.

Thursday, we had tickets to Arsenic and Old Lace, put on by the school. We dropped Hyrum off with one of our 30 possible baby-sitting apartments. Neither of us had seen the show and thought that it was a very appropriate and humorous Halloween week show. The old sisters were the most fantastic actresses. They are older community members with some more experience. The rest of the cast was great, but the sisters stole the show.

Friday we had a ward party a few miles out of town at our bishop’s old furniture shop. I reused my costume from last year and went as a pirate, Heidi made some renovations to her witch outfit and painted her face green and wore long black gloves, and Hyrum was the most adorable pumpkin ever. We took some pictures, ate some pumpkin deserts, and carved pumpkins. All around we had a great time before we came home to play games with some friends of ours.

Saturday, Heidi and I used some of our dorm budget to arrange a dorm party where we provided lunch with chili and rolls. There was also a costume contest, a candy corn relay, The Thriller dance, sugar cookie decorating, and a movie. This weekend was so much fun that we didn’t get much productive done.

As you may have read in the feature article, I have applied to go with the school on an educational tour next year. If I am accepted, which I will find out next week, I will be taking about 6 credits next April, which is spring semester. We will study intensively for 2-3 weeks with the accompanying professors and then we will go on tour for a month. We fly from SLC to Mexico City and tour through southern Mexico staying at LDS high schools and with LDS families. Our itinerary takes us to several pyramid ruins and volcanoes. We end up taking a bus into Guatemala and a boat up the river to Belize. Through out the trip the professors will continue, to an extent, their classes – teaching culture, biology, language, religion, and English. We will keep you updated on what is going on.

Update for August

2010-09-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Dearest Family,

What a month! We have had some great and terrible experiences this month but everything has worked itself out. August was a month of summer vacation for us. We started out the month with lazy summer days and ended it with a rushed car-buying trip to SLC.

We love our new ward. With our move into the girls dorms (as managers) we moved into new ward boundaries and have decided to go to the married student ward instead of the family ward that we were previously attending. We have been going to the ward for just over a month now and we have done a special musical number, spoke in church, and Heidi taught a lesson. I think they are waiting to extend callings until the fall semester starts, so we don't have any jobs yet besides HT and VT. We are blessing Hyrum this Sunday and are so excited to see many of you. Also, the bishop has an acre of land outside of Sugar City where he has been growing a garden for the ward members. Each week he has a box or several boxes of vegetables in the back of the RS room. So far we have grabbed zucchini, squash, and red potatoes. His wife also made some cherry syrup for the ward members. He said that we would have corn, cucumbers, and pumpkins soon. We are so grateful for the members of our ward.

Earlier this month Heidi and I took a short trip up to Mesa Falls. Heidi had never been up there and we wanted to take some pictures...and just get out. We had a great time and we are also so excited to drive back up to that area for the family reunion. It was a great afternoon. Since then we have been planning activities and getting ready for the 120 girls that will be moving back into the apartments starting next week. Heidi is responsible for planning activities and incentives for the girls each semester. She is given a budget of about $750 dollars for things like refreshments for move-ins, white gloves, activities, and meetings. We are also doing birthday bags and weekly movie nights. It has taken a lot of our time because we have never done this before but we both feel like we are doing it well. We will let you know how it goes.

Our growing experience for the month has been happening over the last week. Saturday the 28th we were driving down main street taking a friend home from the library when a car pulled in front of us. They didn't see us coming and turned in front of us to pull into the grocery store parking lot. Heidi was driving and tried to brake but there wasn't enough time. We hit their back right wheel well while impacting on our right front passenger side. The windshield cracked all over the place and the airbags deployed. Heidi's arm hit the windshield she had some glass in her hand and bruises all over. We are all OK though, and that is what is important. Hyrum woke up for a few minutes but (gratefully) fell back to sleep. Although the other car wasn't insured and we only had liability coverage we have a no fault/ non insured policy that will cover the value of our vehicle. Although we wish we just had our car still we are grateful for anything that will help. We started looking for cars on Monday in Idaho Falls but decided that we would have a better chance at finding what we were looking for in SLC. We drove down on Tuesday foundwhat we wanter and drove back yesterday. Since we hadn't been saving for a car we now have a car payment but we have already set some goals to pay off our loan quickly. We ended up buying an '03 Subaru Legacy sedan that has 85,000 miles on it and is in great condition. We feel satisfied with our choice.

I start work at the Middle School again next week and both of us start school next Thursday. We love you all and are super grateful for all the support and help from Bob, Julie, and Heidi. Thanks for all of your prayers. You can follow us some more at www.potterandrewb@blogspot.com

100 lbs Challenge.

2010-08-09T06:44:00.001-07:00

Oh Man, my lifestyle has been out of control the last 6 months. I have felt sick most of the time, stressed out, eating to much and not exercising enough. The other day I stepped on a scale and decided that I needed to change my life. Heidi says she still finds me attractive but my weight affects my quality of life not just how I look. When I graduated from high school I was in good shape at 225 now I am almost 270 and out of shape BIG time. Two years ago when I was living with Jenn I got down to 200. A few days I even saw a 198 or a 195. I think I am at the point that I could lose 100 lbs. I think many of us in my family could do the same. Heidi has challenged us to lose 40lbs by the family reunion. I am going to get on board with Heidi and lose those 40 pounds. That would put be back at an ok weight. I am also going to issue the 'hundred pound challenge. From right now I am going to try and lose 100 lbs by Christmas 2011. We are planning a vacation then and I would like to be looking and feeling good.

Rexburg Rehabilitation Center

2010-08-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Let me paint you a picture of an experience I had this weekend.

As you enter the silent room you notice a name placard off to the right: Dale Duffin it reads. The tall, broad shouldered, heavyset man must be Dale. His physical state and the memoirs surrounding him tell a colorful and elaborate story. His withered and wrinkled face and white hair doesn’t surprise you. Neither do the magazines, bulletin board pictures, food wrappers, and scattered paperwork. As you round the bed however you notice a VFW hat that says Vietnam across the front. You are also surprised by the tattoo just above his left bicep. Dale coughs loudly, rattling his overweight yet weary body.

The attendant asks him if he would like to partake of the sacrament and he acknowledges with a nod. Since you hold the tray with small plastic cups of water, and that comes second, he reaches slowly and deliberately towards the rectangular metal tray your companion holds. As his large weathered hands over shadow the small stale piece of wheat bread you see long yellow fingernails. Following the now pinched broken bread to his mouth you see a dull glow of peace in his eyes. “This man is a follower of Jesus,” you think, “His partaking of the sacrament today is simply a brief moment in many years filled with faithfully living.” As he slowly chews you ponder the lightness and possible disrespect with which you often partake the sacrament. You can comfortably and easily reach out your hand and quickly chew this sacred emblem. You can even do it at a proper sacrament service surrounded by many other saints, not here in this small private room, prone on your back, accompanied only by pictures of the ones you love. Dale continues to chew.

Moments later he reaches out again, this time towards you. His hand shakes as his fingers surround the clear plastic. His hand begins to slowly return to his parched lips – moving ever so slowly so he wouldn’t spill. His lips pucker out reaching, almost longingly as it seems, for the “living water” just outside of reach. The difficulty with which the cup finally reaches his lips is agonizing and yet inspiring. You wonder if you put forth as much spiritual effort as he does physical. As you respectfully excuse yourself from the room you wish Dale a “Good Sabbath.” Although his body is riddle with pain and weariness, the emblems of Christ’s sacrifice consume Dale’s spirit bringing him peace for another day.

July Update

2010-07-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

This month has been an exciting one for us. As all of you know already Andrew Hyrum Potter, lovingly called Hyrum, was born on the morning of Sunday the 4^th. He was our little fireworks show. We will tell a little more about his birth later on. As a sum up he was 6lbs 12oz and 20in long. We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and came home on Tuesday with Mom Luke. She was so helpful to have around for the first week. We were also so fortunate and grateful that Robert, Julie, and Heidi have helped us out so much. We are borrowing so many things from them right now. At his two week check-up Hyrum was doing great.

This semester has been a stressful one, which is not too unusual. Heidi was taking 12 credits, working part-time, and we moved and had a baby. I was also going to school full-time working for Bob when I could. Now that school is over we are going to be able to work on his basement more often. We have also helped in planting and weeding a garden at Bob’s house. Although we are both so grateful to be at this University learning and growing we are also grateful for the break that we will have till September.

Besides all the hustle, bustle, and change we have also had our share of fun. On the 2^nd we went on a double date with Bob and Julie to go see the A-Team. The next morning we got back together to see the Rexburg Parade. In the afternoon we went target shooting just outside of town before Heidi and I decided it was time to go to the Hospital. Heidi shot very well considering the contractions. As part of my finals I participated in a dance competition. I danced Waltz, Cha-Cha, Tango, Night-Club Two Step, and Triple Swing. In each dance I was competing against 15-18 couples. The way they do it is that you compete against everyone in the same class level as you. So I dances against everyone in Dance 280 and 281, which are, intermediate I and II. Besides having a fantastic time. I placed in the top three 4 out of my 5 dances! My teacher has recommended that I come back to be her TA next semester for dance 280. I am excited about the promotion because so far I have been TA in several beginning classes. Now you can understand my excitement and desire to share dance with the family.

Heidi and I are planning on taking the next few weeks to really get settled in and to have some fun. We are going to go see a few places locally as well as taking a road trip for our anniversary. We feel extremely blessed. Loves from,

A.H.H Potter

2010-07-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Stork has delivered 10 days early! He even used overnight shipping to get him here so fast. Hyrum was born 2 nights ago on the 4th of July! More to come.

First Summer Sale!

2009-04-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on Saturday I got my first sale of the summer. I am very excited about it because it helped me feel like I was doing something right. Everything I said just seemed to be right, I didn't have any issues with the paperwork, and the installation was easy. It was a difficult week because it seemed that I wasn't doing anything right. I had done more than any other first year to get myself ready and then they seemed to be doing something right where I wasn't and I just didn't know what it was. Sometime in the afternoon after 5 I just decided that I was going to do anything it took to save time and work hard so I started being jogging between doors and gave a more concise and clear pitch to the people that I met. It seemed to be working because I was getting better responses. Around 7:30 I knocked on my sale and from step one I knew I had them. The husband was a huge guy who played as a lineman in an area football league and worked as a security guard. He thought was I was doing sounded good but let his wife take care of the arrangements. I walked around their home and walked through the steps of prospecting, qualifying, presenting, resolving objections, and closing. I collected all the fees in full and only went over by 1.5 points. I was feeling good. Tomorrow I will be getting a new area because I have knocked through all of my area this week. Most people have already moved to new areas but I toughed it out where I was because I didn't want to be the one wimp-ping out on my assigned area. It has made my being here seem like a good idea. I was started to get concerned but I guess that shows a lack of faith on my part. I am grateful for my many blessings

Licensing

2009-04-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hmm... yesterday was a disappointment and a relief. When we were done with all of our meetings and were driving out to our area they called us all back to the office because we needed to take care of some licensing for the city and county to be legal "foot peddlers." This ended up taking all afternoon because we had to wait for everyone to get back, take all out pictures, drive to a Kinkos for some reason I don't know, and then we needed to drive to Winston-Salem to get them notarized at the court house. Seeing how all of the other things took to long the court house closed and we couldn't sell the rest of the day. I had been anxious but nervous to get back out into my area but when we couldn't it felt like a need stress reliever. Afterward we came back to the office and used our time to wisely fill out all of the licensing forms we will be using during the summer. In the evening we went to a park and played ultimate frisbee to do some team building and to keep us all together. We are hoping to get the licensing done today to be able to knock this afternoon and this saturday.

I am really enjoying this blog thing because it is like an open journal. Oh... if you want to take a look at my apartments you can go see them here: www.thegardensatanthonyhouse.com

In the Beginning

2009-04-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting week for me. First of all as most of you know I am working for a security company as a summer sales rep. Last Friday I left Rexburg about noon. John, a friend of mine, and I drove straight to North Carolina arriving very early Sunday morning. I slept for a long time and had a very restful Easter, although it didn't feel like Easter.

When I started working on Monday I realized this work is going to be harder on me than I thought but I am trying to have faith and I can do hard things. Satan wants to discourage me because then I won't be as effective. I realized today that I actually did use as much money coming out here as I thought I did and It wasn't a good feeling. It's expensive to travel cross country. I should be getting my travel money soon though and I get paid for sure on the 20th so until then I just focus on what is important. This line of work is going to necessitate much faith on my part.

So although it rained my first day on the job I just kept working through it. Apparently though the mostly black retired community doesn't appreciate me walking arounf their neighborhood late at night because they called the police on me. The officer seemed to think that I wasn't a real bother to the community because after a brief conversation he let me go my own way and continue that I was doing. The next day a member of the community watch warned me that I shouldn't knock any door after 7 or 8 because they would call the police again. Instead of calling anyone two good sized black guys called on me later that evening when they realized that it was 8:30 and I was still around. They called me over and spoke to me about leaving their neighbor hood. I stood my ground well and am going to talk to my managers about getting a new area. If I can't though I will be back there tonight because I have work to do.

I have decided that since I am away from a more active social life that I would blog some on my experiences so others would know what was going on in my life. I don't have much extra time to talk besides talking with Heidi, Mom, and Dad. But I love you all. Take care!

Someones Agreed to Marry Me!

2009-04-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Fantastic Besides going to SLC and staying with some great friends I was able to sing in General Conference. I am trying to post MP3's of our music for those that might want to hear it again. Heidi Luke and I got engaged on Thursday night after we had talked to her parents. We had actually talked about getting married the week before so it wasn't a big surprise for her to hear those pleading words of, "Will you marry me." It occured without fanfare and without a ring. Sometime during the summer I will be finding the opportunity to ask again with a ring. I plan to make that a little more memorable. Heidi and I have been dating for about 4 months and I will be gone to North Carolina this summer working while she will be living with her par ents in Washi ngton working and planning. We are both very excited!

The Great Dalmuti

2009-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Aren't they so cute? I know that she is blond and fair skinned but I swear she is as latin as it gets. This is Heidi Luke, my fair maiden. The kind that Don Quixote calls his Dulcinea - except much more virtuous than in the story. This was on the 28th of February, just before Lily's baby blessing. After a great BBQ with Bob and Julie's new grill we decided to play the Great Dalmuti with the family. These pictures show was taken towards the end of the game and show Heidi L. as the peasant, Bob as an Arab merchant, and Heidi as the lesser dalmuti. All in all we had a great weekend.

APX Meeting in SLC

2009-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was another full-fledged adventure. Christian, my roommate and APX team member, and I were going to SLC for a business meeting and to split the gas cost more efficiently we took some girls so they could see some family in West Jordan; namely Heidi, her cousin, and her friend. We arrived just in time for dinner at Chile’s with the group. After an overly filling meal of fajita quesadillas we went to check in to our rooms at Embassy Suites. Their was a pool party planned when we got there but I wasn’t feeling so great so I went and rested, took a long walk, and then took a short dip in the pool. I went to bed around midnight but was the first asleep in my room.

After delicious omelets from the hotel we had a 4-hour meeting when we talked about goals, licensing, team values, and methods. It was very informative for me because it helped me fill better about my capabilities to succeed. I also meet some team members that I hadn’t known before. We changed, checked out, and headed south. I was dropped off in WeJo where Heidi, Candice (her cousin), and I all went to the Open House for the Draper Temple. It was a great experience. In view that I have lacked in scheduling time to attend the temple lately it was refreshing to walk through the whole building and be reminded of the wonderful blessings we can receive there. Afterward we went to dinner at Geckos, a Mexican restaurant, where Candice’s boyfriend works. It finish the evening we watched the edited version of “Catch me if you can.” I really enjoyed it, especially since I didn’t have to here or see anything inappropriate.

Sunday we started out at the singles branch sacrament meeting but instead of following that with Sunday school we went to the hospital to participate in a second sacrament service. Candice was volunteering and so we decided to go with her. There were about 16 in attendance and it was insightful as to the simplicity and grandeur of the gospel. We spent a good afternoon with Heidi’s aunt and uncle, where I was staying, and then came on home!

February 13-16

2009-02-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well, as we all know this was Valentine’s Day weekend. Both Heidi’s and I went to Bob and Julie’s house on Friday afternoon where his friend Israel took us out to the shooting range and let us target shoot with some various handguns and 22 rifles. This is officially the second experience that Heidi has ever had using a gun and she rather enjoyed herself while showing off her Annie Oakley side.

That evening she and I went to Chesbro music and II let her pick some out as a gift. She loves to play the piano and I have been encouraging her to practice more. Upon returning with izzas, movie, and WII games we filled up the night with fun until all of us fell soundly asleep in the middle of Speed Racer. Julie wonderfully picked up the pieces by waking up those that needed to move to another room to sleep.

On Saturday we came back to Rexburg for several hours of dancing and movie watching; overall it a most relaxing day. I received a wonderful watch as a present from H and she received a pair of Paradot earrings from me. We were both delighted. Sunday was fantastic and we the 3-day weekend ended with much homework doing on President’s day.

Christmas Break

2009-01-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

This picture I took during Christmas break out at Flaming Gorge. I would just like to point out a few things. The reservoir is behind me, as is the swimming hole. I think my goatee matches my new DI jacket rather nicely and although you cant see it I am standing on a guard rail. Jenn and I had a great Christmas as well as having a great summer with Heidi. The Gorge holds lots of happy memories for me!