DC snip

We're in DC sight seeing. Just taking a break for some lunch in the sculpture garden. Not sure how this picture looks but thought I'd post something. We just came from the National Archives where we saw the Declaration, Constitution. and Bill of Rights. Up next is the American History museum and the Washington Monument.

Pool Play

We had a great evening in our pool. There are wonderful community centers for our neighborhoods. It was very nice to just relax and enjoy a nice, cool pool. This weekend is suppose to cool down to the 80s, i can hardly wait. A mom is coming out Friday and we'll be walking around DC all Saturday so cooler weather is welcome!

Air Power

Lance has been doing studio photography for the last week. He recently passed his tests with flying colors. The class was rewarded with a fun day to do personal portraits. For clarification, none of pictures featuring Lance were taken by Lance. He washes his hands of any imperfections.

test from my phone

i'm testing how well this new blog works with uploading a post from my phone. i'm pretty excited about this new blog. i'll be able to post from my phone, upload videos, and have my blog turned into a book for my own keepsake. i'm thinking it's a good way to keep a journal. plus it's fun to share what i've been doing with everyone!

Down By The Bay

Yay, we finally made it to Annapolis. It's right on the Chesapeake Bay and very beautiful! Because we were working on our talks for church (see blog entry below) we didn't make it out there until the evening. Even at 7pm it was still around 100 degrees and very humid. I can't imagine trying to walk around during the middle of the day. Since we went in the evening the historic buildings were closed. We did get to walk around a few of them though. The Annapolis Statehouse is the oldest continually used statehouse in the country. It was the capital of the country at the end of the Revolutionary war. George Washington resigned his post at the head of the Army inside the building and the Treaty of Paris ending the war was also signed there. Very cool. Next time we visit I definitely want to go inside. We walked down the main street to the waterfront. They have many unique shops and places to eat. We got a milkshake from Chick and Ruth's Deli. Inside the deli is covered with pictures of all kinds of famous people who have visited the deli. Whenever a new governor takes office in Maryland, they have their first breakfast at Chick and Ruth's Deli. We also visited the Naval Academy. It's right on the water and had a quiet, beautiful area to sit down and watch the boats sail in and out. Both the Statehouse and the Naval Academy offer tours, but we'll have to go back during the day. On the way back to our car we also walked past the house of William Paca. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Again, we'll have to visit during the day to see the inside

The Statehouse





The grounds around the statehouse



The US treasury from the 1700s, next to the statehouse


Shops by the City Dock


At the Naval Academy


View from the Naval Academy


Sailors at the Naval Academy


The William Paca House

Sunday talks

Lance and I both spoke in church today on honesty. Here's my rough draft for my talk. The final draft was given verbally.

I grew up all over CA and ended up in San Diego. Absolutely love that area!! I went to BYU straight out of high school and graduated with a BA in Media Arts. Worked as a film editor for a little while in Utah but I really wanted to go home to CA. When I moved out there, I was offered an editing job in LA, but it didn’t feel right. I ended up home near San Diego, kind of lost and confused as to what to do next. I met Lance within the first week of moving home, so I guess the Lord’s helping me work it out. We’ve been married for a couple of years and I love every minute of it. Lance is here for training so we won’t be here for too long. Before Meade, Lance was in basic and I was only able to talk to him a handful of times so I’m incredibly thankful to be here with him today. It was kind of an ordeal for me to get moved out here, but I’m just so happy to be here I can’t help but love this place and this ward.

I might be taking Lance’s introduction, but he served a mission in the Ukraine and speaks Russian. I took a break from BYU and spent a semester teaching English in Moscow, Russia. I don’t speak hardly any Russian but it’s fun to be able to relate to Lance a little about the people and the cultures as they are very similar. While I was in Moscow, I belonged to a group of about 9 of us college girls and 1 guy. Lucky guy. He had served his mission in Russia so he spoke the language and was always watching out for us girls. We had all kinds of instruction on safety and to always travel in groups and avoid going out in the dark, very common sense for women everywhere. Moscow is quite a big city and like any large city there is crime. Plus Russians just seem kind of scary at first anyways so we were all very cautious. Well, after awhile of living there we began to feel a little more comfortable and we probably blended in a little better too. We all lived with host families within a few blocks of each other and within walking distance to a metro stop. The only exception was our head teacher Alyssa, and our fellow teacher Chelsea. They had there own apartment where we could meet and work on our lesson plans or have some fun playing games and watching movies. Most everyone in our group picked up some Russian through our host families, but Alyssa and Chelsea did not. In fact, Alyssa acted out an entire chicken flapping dance in the middle of the store just so she could get an egg carton.

One night, Alyssa and Chelsea got to the metro a little late and by the time they got to the end of the line to our stop it had been dark outside for quite some time. Not many people were out as the weather was starting to get cold. The were walking across a long, enclosed pedestrian bridge when they noticed a man who seemed to be following them. They quickened their pace and the man quickened their pace. They started to get really worried as no one was home to notice them missing if anything happened to them. The man kept getting closer and they were about to run just as the man pulled something out of his jacket and began yelling at them. They just froze out of fear until Alyssa realized the man was holding here wallet. She had dropped it getting off of the metro and the man had been trying to catch up to her in the cold for several blocks to return her lost wallet. The man couldn’t figure out what was wrong with these two girls and why they looked so shocked until he realized they could literally not understand what he was saying. As he handed back the wallet Alyssa tried to best Russian thank you she could muster and then the man left to get out of the cold and home to his family. The next day when I heard what had happened I was blown away that a stranger in this huge foreign city would not only return a lost wallet, but go out of his way on a cold night to do so. This man knew that the act of returning the wallet and preserving his honesty would far out weight any money or valuables found in the wallet.

In thinking about what honesty meant to me, I first thought about lying and stealing from others. Those acts can be avoided through simply not participating As I skimmed through several talks and articles, I realized there is much more to honesty than that. Just as this man in Russia had to go out of his way to return the wallet, honesty requires more than passive avoidance. We can actively work on our honesty to bring us closer to Heavenly Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Howard W. Hunter wrote and article on honesty,. He gave 5 examples of dishonesty which I’d like to read for you. “Be Honest with Yourself,” New Era, Jul 2003, 36

Examples of Dishonesty

Some of the more common examples of dishonesty are these:

1. Stealing. I seldom read a newspaper without finding a number of reports of burglary, robbery, purse-snatching, shoplifting, car theft, and a thousand other things. Even in our chapels there are reports of petty theft.

2. Cheating. Newspapers carry similar accounts of fraudulent transactions in security dealings, in business transactions, cheating in investments, and other things that are called to public attention. There are some who would cheat their way through school and some who would cheat in examinations.

3. Violations of Word of Wisdom standards. These are Church standards. They are not violations of the standards of the world. But you have been given the word of the Lord on this subject.

4. Violation of traffic ordinances. One cannot be basically honest and violate laws formulated by society and government for the welfare of other persons.

5. Not making the best use of time. The more I think about this, the more impressed I become with this concept of dishonesty.

I’m a little bit of a researcher. I always did very well in school and I like learning about all kinds of things. There’s nothing wrong with that, we are encouraged to get as much education and learning as possible. And the internet can be a great tool for learning. Google is one of my all time favorite things. I don’t know how people were able to live for thousands of years without it. I don’t have internet on my cell phone, but did you know you can actually use Google through your text messages? It’s amazing; I use it all the time. So I’ll be out on a walk with Lance and see an animal that I’m sure is a beaver. Lance thinks it’s just a big ground hog. Well the animal scurries away and jumps into the water. “See Lance, it’s a Beaver.” And he’ll look back at me, how do you know? Maybe ground hogs swim.” You’re on Lance, I will google it the minute we get home. Come to find out groundhogs can swim. I still think it was a beaver. But I don’t stop there with looking things up. Oh, no. I also love using the tabs on my browser. I’ll search for a term and open the top 4 or 5 pages that catch my interest in different tabs. Then I’ll look through each page that I’ve tabbed. And each page leads me to another search and more tabs. Pretty soon I’ve got 30 tabs open that range from groundhogs to organic tortilla chips to Civil War History.

At some point along the way focus on learning was lost and turned into pointless meandering. That time wasted can never be returned. In effect the time spent on fruitless activities is time we have stolen from ourselves, our families or our employers. Like Howard W. Hunter example of dishonesty by wasting time I agree that “The more I think about this, the more impressed I become with this concept of dishonesty.”

There are so many different ways to make use of our precious time. My older brother is a law student who has developed a logical approach to how to best use his time. He sees each minute of the day as an investment and he wants to make sure he has favorable gains for each minute spent. While he is a very hard worker and devotes much time to studying or working, he also plans time for activities he enjoys such as teaching himself the violin and exploring the areas he lives in. He lived in Boston for a few years and I had the opportunity to visit him for a week. Before arriving, my brother had planned out everyday with an itinerary. He used all the available time to show me as much of the history and culture of Boston as humanly possible in one week. We did everything from walking the Freedom Trail, to seeing museums, visiting Plymouth, we even watched a hockey game to see how crazy Boston fans can be. My brother has been a great example to me of how to use time wisely for learning, working, recreation and growing spiritually. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Waste is unjustified, and especially waste of time—limited as that commodity is in our days of probation” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, p. 92). Using our time wisely is being honest with ourselves and those relying on us. It’s not passive or “thou shalt not”, but an active way we can be honest.

Trusting the lord:

As I was thinking about all the different ways to be honest, I skimmed through several talks on the LDS website, all in different tabs of course. There was an underlying theme in a few talks that I had never completely considered on the topic of honesty, though I hear the concept every week at church. The scripture in Proverbs 3:5 reads “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” The more I thought about this verse. I realized how often I questioned Heavenly Father’s honesty. Through scriptures, the temple, patriartical blessings and other sources I have been promised to receive certain blessings. But often times these blessings don’t come when I think they would be convienient for me, so I start to question the validity of these promises. Will this blessing ever come my way? Why do I have to wait for this, I want it now? Reading through some of talks made me realize there’s no need to spend any more energy questioning Heavenly Father’s honesty. He truly cannot lie. The brother of Jared declared “… Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.” (Ether 3:9–12; italics added.) Enos Also states “And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.” (Enos 1:5, 6; italics added.). The Lord tells “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). We all have the opportunity to have a relationship with Heavenly Father, a loving, powerful being who will always be 100% honest with us. What a wonderful blessing. And our Heavenly Father has trusted us to be honest in our dealings with ourselves and fellow men.

President Gordon B Hinkley wrote: “We cannot be less than honest, we cannot be less than true, we cannot be less than virtuous if we are to keep sacred the trust given us. Once it was said among our people that a man’s word was as good as his bond. Shall any of us be less reliable, less honest than our forebears?

Those who are living the principle of honesty know that the Lord does bless them. Theirs is the precious right to hold their heads in the sunlight of truth, unashamed before any man. On the other hand, if there be need for reformation in any member of this Church, let it begin where we now stand.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord requires his people to be honest. May we desire with all our hearts to be honest in all our relationships and in all the things that we do. God will help us if we seek the strength that comes from him. Sweet then will be our peace of mind and our lives. Blessed will be those with whom we live and associate. And God will bless and guide us with his loving care. “

Lance's Talk

Good Morning, For those of you who don’t know me or haven’t seen me on base in random places, with a camera attached to my eye. My name is Lance Hartung, I’m studying to be a combat camera specialist for the army. Up until about a year and a half ago, I would not have dreamed about being in the military. I remember the day I told my wife I was thinking about looking into the military. I told her not to say anything until she had thought about. She didn’t say anything but there was this strange look she gave me. After a lot of fasting and prayer, here we are. I grew up all in California. I served a mission in Ukraine.

I have always liked to help people whenever I could. When I was in high school I made my own program it was called random acts of kindness. If there was a need that I could fill I did, usually without knowing the people I was helping. Hence the Random part. As I appeared with the intent of helping, most people immediately trusted me. They were often surprised that a stranger would stop and take time to help out. My parents and my teachers in the Church taught me from a young age to practice the principle of honesty an to uphold my integrity through helping others.

President Gordon B Hinkley wrote “Some may regard the quality of character known as honesty to be a most ordinary subject. But I believe it to be the very essence of the gospel. Without honesty, our lives and the fabric of our society will disintegrate into ugliness and chaos.” (“We Believe in Being Honest,” Ensign, Oct 1990, 2)

How horrible would it be to live in a world with little or no honesty. But on the other hand, what would happen if everyone in the world was honest? War probably wouldn’t be thought of. Why would you need to steal? No need for locks on the door or pepper spray. Much lower divorce rate. Families would be happier. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfectly honest world.

President james E Faust wrote:

We all should be concerned about the society in which we live, a society which is like a moral Armageddon. I am concerned about its effect upon us as the holders of the priesthood of God. There are so many in the world who do not seem to know or care about right or wrong…. We all need to know what it means to be honest. Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving. “

This moral armageddon that we live in is nothing new. It’s been here since the first inhabitants of the world. It was here yesterday, it will probably be here tomorrow.

“The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9.)

Theirs was an extreme case. Cain was speaking directly to Heavenly Father and blatantly lying to him. It’s one of those moments where you think God is sitting up there, shaking his head at Cain. Just like a 3 year old who punches his sibling in front of you. When you ask what happened they completely deny any knowledge of their act. While young children are covered under the atonement as we get older and gain experiences honesty becomes increasingly important.

We cannot escape this moral Armegeddon that we live in, but we can do our best to stay above it. Even though we may be in difficult circumstances, like the story my wife told of the Russian man who returned the wallet.

In Ukraine and Russia, if there had been, lets say $20 in the wallet, $20 is enough to feed a family for a month. And who knows, maybe Alyssa had her passport, id’s or credit cards in her wallet. Had that man taken the wallet and sold it’s contents on the black market, he could have fed his family for a year or more. But his honesty was worth more than hawking stolen goods.

A short article in a Detroit newspaper from a few years ago tells another story.

Homeless Man Rewarded $4,000 For Honesty

Man Found Savings Bonds In Dumpster

Posted: 9:05 am CDT July 25, 2006Updated: 9:13 am CDT July 25, 2006

DETROIT -- A homeless man from Detroit is finding out that it pays to be honest.

The Detroit News reported Tuesday that Charles Moore, 59, has received rewards worth $4,000 since finding and turning in nearly $21,000 worth of U.S. savings bonds.

For his good deed, the bond owner's son gave Moore $100.

"I was thankful for it," Moore told the Detroit News.

But some people think he deserves more and the donations have been rolling in.

One man sent him eight trash bags full of returnable bottles and a bowl of coins.

Two businessmen, Dick Wolski and Ken Zorn, donated $1,200, a shopping spree at a men's clothing store and a lead on a job.

"Here's a man who by all rights should be worried and thinking about himself but takes the time to think about others," Wolski told the Detroit News. "What a lesson. Isn't that what we're all supposed to be doing?"

Moore said he plans to use the money to find an apartment.

He was searching for returnable bottles in a Detroit Dumpster when he made the discovery last week.

Moore took the bonds to a homeless shelter where a staff member made calls in an effort to track down the owner.

The newspaper reported that Moore, who had lost a roofing job, was homeless for the first time.

So here’s a man. Who seems completely down on his luck. For the first time in his life he’s homeless and has to look through dumpsters just to get by. As he’s going through a dumpster he finds $21,000 of bonds. He obviously really needed some financial help, but instead of using the bonds for selfish reasons he returned the bonds to the rightful owner. In addition, This man’s honest act encouraged others to not only be honest but to be charitable and practice service.

President Gordon B Hinkley wrote “Where there is honesty, other virtues will follow. Honesty is a basic tenet”

When we commit honest acts like returning lost goods, people will notice. We probably won’t get in the newspaper, but our own conscience will let us know we’ve done right. Often times our honest deeds set a good example for others.

President James E Faust relates the story of a friend’s husband working to get a medical degree. “Getting into medical school is pretty competitive, and the desire to do well and be successful puts a great deal of pressure on the new incoming freshmen. My husband had worked hard on his studies and went to attend his first examination. The honor system was expected behavior at the medical school. The professor passed out the examination and left the room. Within a short time, students started to pull little cheat papers out from under their papers or from their pockets. My husband recalled his heart beginning to pound as he realized it is pretty hard to compete against cheaters. About that time a tall, lanky student stood up in the back of the room and stated: ‘I left my hometown and put my wife and three little babies in an upstairs apartment and worked very hard to get into medical school. And I’ll turn in the first one of you who cheats, and you better believe it!’ They believed it. There were many sheepish expressions, and those cheat papers started to disappear as fast as they had appeared. He set a standard for the class which eventually graduated the largest group in the school’s history.”

This man did not merely avoid cheating, he actively encourage honesty for the entire class. He literally stood up and declared his moral standards and expected his peers to do the same. First of all, who wants a cheater in medical school? “Yes nurse, can you please hand me those metal pointy thingsy, with that knife looking object over there, so I can poke into this patient.” That is not why they call it a practice. That’s another lesson, for another time. By the students being honest, they are liberated because they know that they’re the ones who have done well. And they have achieved their own grade. Also, by being honest we can be assured that these doctor we are relying on to mend our broken bodies have the skills and knowledge to help us. Not all of us went to medical school, but we each have someone relying on us to be honest.

In The Family: A Proclamation to the world it states:

Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

We all have a responsibility to our families and each other to observe the commandments of God and to be law abiding citizens. We cannot fulfill these responsibilities without honesty. Even though we do not have children yet, we’re primary teachers and also interact with children in our extended families and other social settings. We need to be good examples of honesty to all those we come in contact with, the best form of teaching is by example. The Lord trust us to have high expectations in our morality.

In reference to George Washington and the story of the Cherry Tree, Mark Twain once said “I am different from Washington; I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won't.

Mark Twain gave himself as he said, higher standard of principle. Brothers and Sisters, we are all held up to a higher standard. Just because we may be capable of lying or being dishonest does not mean we should.

Elder Child stated:

We have been taught in the Church that:

When we say we will do something, we do it.

When we make a commitment, we honor it.

When we are given a calling, we fulfill it.

When we borrow something, we return it.

When we have a financial obligation, we pay it.

When we enter into an agreement, we keep it.

David B Height said: From the beginning to the end of His ministry, Jesus asked His followers to adopt new, higher standards in contrast to their former ways. As believers, they were to live by a spiritual and moral code that would separate them not only from the rest of the world but also even from some of their traditions. He asks nothing less of those who follow Him today.

testimony

Can we turn off the humidity please?

I typed up this whole huge thing a week ago, and saved it as a draft. Well, that didn't happen. I can't find it anywhere. Guess I'll start over again. Lance has been sick the last couple of weeks. Last week, before Lance was deathly ill, he used his birthday money to buy a little flying airplane. He's been wanting one since before we were dating. Actually he used to have one a long, long time ago and has never gotten over it. So he bought this little airplane and of course we had to test it right away. By the time we got home it was getting towards night time so he charged the battery and we took it out for a test flight. It took a little while to get the controls right, but Lance had it flying around doing loops and barrel rolls. He had so much fun that after the battery died we waited about 20 minutes in the park for it to recharge. While we waited we listened to some music on Lance's phone. It made me want to dance so I forced Lance into dancing with me in the middle of the park. He thought I was out of my mind, but really when was the last time we had a chance to dance? And besides, no one was watching.

Last week we also watched Gods and Generals and then Gettysburg. Both excellent movies about the first part of the Civil War. I had wanted to go to Mannassas to see the First and Second Battle of Bull Run, but Lance was too sick to go this weekend. Looks like it might have to wait until next month. Lance also had a huge test last week. He did well on it, yay! Yesterday he finally started feeling a little better so we enjoyed an evening out in our yard. Okay, so we really like our cat and are afraid of losing her. There's a lot of crazy dogs in our neighborhood and we don't want to just let her outside. But I also feel bad that she's cooped up all day inside. A few days ago I started taking her out with a harness and leash to let her play in the grass. Well Lance decided to take it a step further and made a cat run using a laundry line. Our neighbors think we're nuts. They've never seen a cat on a leash before and think it's the weirdest thing they've ever seen. I don't care what they think as long as I don't lose my cat. We've invested a lot of money and time into that little ball of fur.

Goldfish

I asked Lance how he wanted his cake decorated and he simply said goldfish. So, I made Lance a goldfish cake. His brother Allan and their family came to visit for the day so we did cake and ice cream with them in the evening. Kind of a long day but I did have some good finds at the Disney Store for a cute little Gwen and Cora. Today we're having Lance's birthday dinner. I'm cooking some steak, snow crab, mashed potatoes and maybe a few veggies for me. There's still some left over cake too.

Independence weekend

First off, Lance is finally living with me. YAY!!!

Friday we had a fun birthday dinner for me; Lance and Robertson (our adopted soldier) cooked dinner AND did the dishes! Nice. Also, a random neighbor helped Lance get his motorcycle started. Might have been the best day in Lance's life. Another neighbor saw the bike and invited Lance to go on a Saturday morning ride. So, Saturday started with Lance on a motorcycle ride and the rest of us relaxing around the house. In the afternoon we went to Gettysburg, PA. We went to the museum at the visitors center but only had about an hour before they closed. Not enough time to take in the whole museum, but we got a small overview of the 3 day battle. We then took an auto audio tour that Ben had sent our way. It drove us around the 25 sq mile battle field and was quite entertaining. At first Lance and Robertson didn't want to go on the audio tour. They thought it would be long and boring. But after a few stops everyone really enjoyed it and we were able to complete the tour just as the sun was setting.

Sunday was also a fun day. We had invited the missionaries over for dinner. Both Lance and Robertson had decided a few days ago that a 4th of July BBQ was a must. Randomly, Lance found a huge, old BBQ on the curb in our neighborhood and brought it to our back patio. They had some homework to take pictures of some of the festivities for the holiday weekend so they decorated the back patio with flags and streamers. Very festive indeed. We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon and cookies. We had a wonderful time BBQing and sitting in the shade in the back yard. The guys played bocce ball on our sloped hill, very interesting game. Later in the evening we were able to enjoy the local fireworks display a couple of blocks from our house, thanks to a tip from a neighbor. It was a great fireworks presentation and wrapped up a wonderful day.

Monday we had planned on another excursion but had less time. We finally decided to visit the small historic town Lance had seen on his motorcycle ride. It reminds me a lot of Julian or Park City, just a little smaller. The only problem with the trip was we went in the middle of the afternoon in 100 degree weather with really high humidity. It was a very pretty town and Lance found a wonderful chocolate shop. mmmmm, chocolate

The first two pictures are from Friday. Next three are from Saturday and the last three are from Monday.