dad the teacher

as long as i can remember, dad has been a teacher. yeah, he taught
religion @ the jr high, high school, and college level. but beyond that,
he is just a born teacher. and he's an awesome story-teller.

this weekend we had the opportunity to sit as a family and listen to him
teach about the importance of temples and eternal families. i loved being
together as a family. we missed rhonna and her family. but the rest of us
were there. it felt great. i loved looking around at all of my brothers, sisters,
nieces, nephews, and parents. this is what it's all about, and we all felt it.

i don't get to see dad as much as i'd like, but seeing him teach brought back a
flood of memories. like the time(s) i got busted for losing it (laughing) during family home
evening, and the time shelle broke out singing "in a barrel of beans, in a barrel of beans"
as dad was telling us about sacrifices to bring scriptures to us. then there was my ninth
grade year when dad was my seminary teacher. i never realized how good he was, or why
all the kids liked him so much. until that year. you can't not like him.

he got to know each student.
he asked about likes and dislikes.
he attended all the sporting events, and all the concerts of his students, and took a TON of pictures at each event.
he was every student's number one fan.
he went out of his way to teach an awesome valentine's day lesson on marriage.
he showed video clips that went along with his lessons. not the whole movie, but the part that illustrated his point. that got our attention.
and, he gave out candy for reading our scriptures. who doesn't like candy?
he knew what motivated kids. he knew how to speak at our level. he was amazing and we all loved him.
he also did this funny thing with his hands to illustrate and teach us the scripture references to our scripture mastery. that is the only year of scriptures i still know every one of.
i think the top of the list is Genesis 39:9. still makes me laugh whenever i hear it referenced in church.

dad has taught missionaries a lot lately. i bet they love him. he also spoke in conference which was a highlight for us kids! we all got to be there in person and listen to him. it was one of the greatest times. our kids got to watch him on tv as they were home with nana and papa, and they loved seeing grandpa on tv.

we had an amazing weekend with both families! i will fill in next time. i just wanted to get these pictures put up. they are sooo classic dad. i know everyone of these looks, and i love them.