No Greater Joy!!!

It's six o'clock in the morning and I feel a little persons hand touching mine. I quickly jump to see what is the matter and it is my daughter waking me up. I ask her what is wrong and she tells me "It's time for fishing dad." I tell her to go put on some warm clothes and get her fishing gear ready while I stagger out of bed and start getting ready. In no time flat she is back down in my room with her clothes on and fishing gear in hand. Then I hear the two boys wrestling around and I know its time for a wild and crazy day. We get up and have donuts for breakfast. I load the gas guzzling truck and prepare it since we will be taking some friends with us. It's just me and the kids and I am just starting to know why my wife is so tired at night when I arrive home. It is only seven o-clock in the morning and I am running around the house like a chicken with it's head cut off gathering items, mediating fights, and trying to get myself put together. Ten minutes to eight rolls around and we are in the truck and ready to go. Little did I know that this was going to be a very eventful and crazy day.

Picture a clear day, with the water so still you can see a reflection of the beautiful scenery around you. You can smell barbeque grills going and a bunch of fish jumping and waiting for that right worm to float their way. You hear children laughing, playing, and enjoying their time at the lake. Well that must have been the dream I was dreaming before getting woken up. Because our day was so much more eventful....

We arrive at North Crow Reservoir to enjoy the free fishing day that the Game and Fish has set aside for people to partake in. We find the rest of our party and start scouting things out. We first start off on the south side of the lake and it seems a little windy and not a lot of people catching fish. We load up the kids and decide to go to the north end to see what its like over there. We arrive at the north end and find out that the wind is blowing right in our direction. Every time we cast out into the water it blew right back in our faces and we never seemed to get out more than five to seven feet. This obviously is a problem and its turning out to be an unsuccessful morning. As we are deciding what we can do for the rest of the day I decide to start setting up the fishing poles for my wonderful young fishermen. I got the first pole set up and ready to go with a worm and bobber. Pretty easy I thought. Then, while I am setting up the second fishing pole I realize that my daughter is attempting to fish on her own. One part of me thinks great she can do it on her own. Maybe I can focus on the younger two kids. The other side of me thinks, man that line is going to get tangled any second I better get this second pole finished or I am going to have some un-happy campers. Just as I am thinking that I look up and Spunky is pulling handfuls of line out of her pole because she got a snag. I ask her to wait and she tells me "no dad I've got this." I allowed her to try and figure things out and it just got worse and worse.

I managed to get the second pole fixed and ready to go. J-Bird states that he is going to go fish but that he would like me to cast for him and he can take care of the rest. So I walk over and show him how to cast the pole. That worm sailed the the air and landed right in front of my feet. I reel it in a little and I try my second attempt. This time it lands in front of J-Bird who happens to be right behind me. This wind is really whipping and it is starting to drive me crazy. Finally I get the worm out in the water and I turn the reigns over to J-Bird. Meanwhile my lovely Spunky is still get more and more tangled. I turn to help her out and I realize that it isn't to bad and that she actually has made some progress in fixing her line. As I am fixing her line I hear "Chad do you want me to put sunscreen on your kids." I think to myself how could I have been so into fishing that I forgot to put sunscreen on my kids. I quickly answer yes and all my little monkeys go over to receive their first bath in sunscreen. I finally get Spunky's pole fixed and I turn around to see what J-Bird did with his pole. There I find my little hobbit wrapped up and tangled in my pole which happens to be next to J-Birds. G-Baby is just walking around with his pole whacking things and he is getting more and more wrapped up in this line then he would like to be. I quickly grab him and realize that I have caught a whopper. My fishing lure has embedded itself in G-Baby's pants and I have to have someone with pliers yank the hook out. This is getting better and better. I think to myself what have I gotten myself into. We quickly get him unstuck and he goes on his marry way drinking juice and eating donuts. Then I get back to Spunky and J-Birds poles. Both seem to be running ok and I have a brief second to throw my line out a couple times. That's when I hear G-Baby smacking things with his Spider-man pole. I look back and it appears that my child has turned into a knight in shining armor and he is defending his territory with his fishing pole. I put down my things and I decide to go help him. I can tell he has been in the donuts cause there is a white ring around his mouth full of powder and he is portraying a lot more energy than we started. As I approach him I see a fishing line wrapped around his legs and around a trash can that seem to be the arch enemy in question. I also see his pole is somewhat wrapped to his person. I start to silently scream in my head " how many poles am I going to have to fix before we start catching something." With the help of others we are able to release the evil trash can and my little hobbit from the treacherous fishing line and I make an executive decision with the help of others to move locations.

We decide to go down below the dam where there are some beaver ponds. These ponds seem pretty promising and I am just praying we can catch something before the kids start feeling like they want to go home. This time I decide to pull out two poles. We walk to the west end of the ponds and we start casting out into the pond. I notice that Spunky is doing really well so I take the boys and we start fishing nearby. First couple of casts and we are fighting fish left and right. G-baby brings in the first one. Little Grayling only a couple inches long. Then we cast out again and J-Bird catches another Grayling approximately the same size as the first. My friend Avery casts out and lands a small Brook Trout. It's then that I think things are starting to turn around. I guess I thought wrong. We decided to move back to the original pond where we parked and we set up shop and started fishing. As I was setting up another pole I see a child run right by me and I already know whats about to happen. As I am slipping this worm on the hook in about .5 seconds the hook, worm, and line are ripped out of my hands and dangling around Spunky's foot. By now I am like a tea kettle ready to explode. I try very well to keep my composure and I start setting up the pole AGAIN. As my water was starting to boil I remembered that the kids haven't had anymore sunscreen so they go to Darcey for their second bath. I finally get the poles set up and start fishing. Soon I hear "dad, dad, I caught some fish." I think to myself how is this possible since I am the one with the pole and no children are around me. I turn around and all three of my kids are running around the wilderness with Swedish Fish in their hands. I immediately start laughing and I realize that I am putting a wrong spin on this whole day.

I quickly grab my kids and give them a big hug. We walk over to the pond and we start catching fish left and right. It was that moment that I was reminded of a very valuable lesson. We must teach our kids in their youth. I was there to catch fish and only catch fish. I was too wrapped up in the poles and fishing that I didn't take time to realize that no matter what, my kids were having fun and enjoying their youth. I didn't take the time to teach them how to set up their own poles and I certainly didn't have the patience necessary to help them succeed as fishermen. It didn't matter to them how poles got broken or damaged they were there to have a good time and catching fish was a bonus. They did what kids do best and they enjoyed their time and didn't worry about other things. To see a child's eyes when they catch a fish is purely amazing. They are so excited and engaged in the task at hand. They were enjoying the nature and freedoms of this country. After I realized that my kids had reminded me of a valuable lesson my attitude changed and the rest of the day went by great. Even though we had some friends lock their keys in their vehicle while it was running and another had locked himself out of his house we didn't let the things of this world bother us. We came together and fixed the problems as a group and made the most of the day. The food was great, the fishing was great, and there is No Greater Joy then to see my kids enjoying their time in the outdoors regardless of the conditions.

Simply Amazing!!!

When you look up the definition of amaze it says "to overwhelm with surprise or sudden wonder; astonish greatly." Words like amazing only scratch the surface of my wife really displays. My wife can do it all. When I think of words to describe her I think of works like Amazing, Wonderful, Hard Working, Selfless, and a Teacher. I couldn't write down all the words to describe her because I would be here forever.This among other words describes a wonderful person in my life.She can do everything and I appreciate everything she does for me and my family. She has a glow about her that expresses purity and love. She has qualities that describe the heavens.

Writing my words down in a blog helps me really describe how I feel for my wife and who she is as a person. There are several times I don't praise the one I love or show as much appreciation as I should. But I wanted everyone to know how much my wife really means to mean. She is everything and she is an astonishing woman. She may not know how much I fully appreciate her hard work and love for our family but I hope someday to show her. Often I don't say enough thank you's and I definitely don't help out around the house as much as I could but that doesn't stop her special spirit from giving everything she has to make sure our family succeeds.

Sarah has taken the calling of motherhood above and beyond the call of duty. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't put in one hundred and ten percent love and affection into everything she does for her children. Between working at home and being a stay at home mother she definitely has her work cut out for her but she loves every minute of it. She is an example to me and everyone she encounters. She is always helping others and listening to others. She defines the word Listener. She is absolutely great at listening to people and caring for them. Take for instance my son G-baby. He just got out of the hospital for a possible rare disease called Kawasaki disease. That little boy needed his mother and she stepped up to the plate. She was amazing and she never left his side. Although it was difficult to see him get poked several times she was able to stay strong and be by his side at all times. This is a woman of love and strength.

Sarah is also my eternal companion. There is nothing in this world that I would want to do without her by my side. She strengthens me and gives me direction. She is a great support system to me and she loves me unconditionally. She is by my side when I am sick and laughing right next to me in times of laughter. I couldn't ask for a better companion to spend time with for all eternity. There simply is nothing she can not do. So when I say she describes the words above I am making a huge understatement. Shes more than that and beyond. She is my wife and a mother to our children and I couldn't ask for anything more in life. I hope you enjoy the next part because you mean the world to me.

Life is about Choices

There are many times in life where you have to choose a path. You can choose between a great idea and an idea that isn't necessarily a bad choice but not as great as the first. Fortunately sometimes we learn very valuable lessons from the not so great choices and we appreciate the better choice even more. If I had to give any advice it would be to follow your promptings and always chose the best path because in the long run it is so much more worth it. I am especially grateful for my standards and for what they teach me. Decisions are always going to have to be made. Let's just hope that we take the better choices and limit the amount of not so good choices. Some of the best advice I was given was recited by an instructor at the Academy "Life is about choices".

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An Explanation Can Go a Long Ways

So this is my first blog. Not sure how great I will be at it but I am going to give it a try. For my first post I want to give an explanation of what The Sedgewick Five really is and how much it means to me.

Do you ever go to a place that just takes your breath away? Do you ever sit on a mountain top and wonder if it could get any better than that moment? Well I know of a place. It is surrounded by mountains, peaks, and several acres of forest all centered into one extremely large meadow. It's a lovely feeling to come walking out of the thick bounteous forest into a large golden meadow with the sound of fresh water streaming through the middle of it. This meadow is a hub of great trails to hike and it contains a stream full of fish just waiting for a dad and young son or daughter to catch. It truly is one of many of our Heavenly Father's greatest accomplishments. Out in the middle of the meadow is a tree with large rocks to sit on. It's those kinds of rocks that no matter where you sit on them it provides a perfect chair under the shade. It's this place that one can have a picnic while setting up their fishing poles and enjoying God's creations. It's not only a place where a dad can teach his children about this great country and it's freedoms but also a place to teach valuable lessons. Its a place of peace! It a family place! It's a little taste of the eternities. It's called Sedgewick Meadows and those of you from western Wyoming its not pronounced "Old Swidwick.....".






The second part is in reference to four of the most beautiful people on earth. My amazing wife and eternal companion, my beautiful daughter Magpie, and my two wonderful sons J-Bird and G-Baby. Then there's me. We won't go there. However, these other people I have mentioned are people that light up my world. They teach me in ways unimaginable. Take for instance my eternal companion. A hard working, stay at home mother, that works part-time for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and The Wyoming Woman magazine website. Talk about a work load. But on top of all that she also takes on the task of raising three beautiful children. She cooks,cleans, mediates, and loves those children unconditionally. The list goes on forever. She is an amazing woman with an unwavering testimony. Oh, and lets not forget that she is my best friend.


Then you take my wonderful daughter Magpie. She is extremely intelligent and is always laughing and smiling (unless she is getting her hair done.) She is excelling leaps and bounds over me when I was that age. She is an amazing reader and she is very good in school. She has taught me very valuable lessons in life and she continues to teach me everyday. She is a wonderful big sister and she teaches those boys who's in charge when they try and gang up on her. She is the type of girl to get in the mix of things with her cousins and she is the type that can put on the charm and dazzle you with her make-up and dresses. She is my All-American kid and I just want her to know how much I love my Magpie.



Then there is J-Bird. If I could sum up in four words what describes my middle child its "baseball and Star Wars". J-Bird is a very sweet tender hearten child. Much like his daddy. He can put on the charm when he wants something and he can get his sweet tender feelers crushed in a moments notice. However, don't underestimate him because he can wield a light-saber like nobody's business. He is an amazing inspiration to G-Baby and if G-Baby could form complete sentences right now he would say "I want to be just like J-Bird". J-Bird is doing great in Pre-school and his teachers tells us everyday the amounts of progress he is making each day in the classroom. J-Bird is an inspiration to me and I hope I can give him the tools to succeed in these latter days. J-Bird, I love you and I know you were brought here for great and marvelous things.

Last but certainly not least is G-Baby. Oh how I love my G-Baby. He is learning new words and phrases everyday. He loves to recite scriptures during scripture study and he loves to play Star Wars with his brother. G-Baby hardly ever lacks in the smiling department. That child has a smile on his face 24/7. G-Baby loves to play and he loves to give his mother a hard time. He will be two in just a few more days and I can't believe how time can fly by so fast. G-Baby is my little helper and he loves to be with his daddy. He reminds me of myself in that I always want to be doing something. That usually means going on some sort of trip outside of the house. Even if it is a trip to Walmart or to pick up his siblings from school, G-Baby is the first in his car seat eager to go and explore. He is very adventurous and always wanting to play with the bigger kids. He is my small fry and I love him with all my heart and soul. Much like your brother and sister I know you will achieve many great things in your lifetime.

So there you have it. An explanation can go a long ways. These are the things that make my life meaningful. Its people like my family that completes me and makes me want to be a better person. Not only do you have a beautiful place like Sedgewick Meadows but you have five beautiful people that all have past and present memories generated from that one spot. What's better than Sedgewick Meadows and the five mentioned above you ask? I would have to say its the four most important things in my life (plus me to make five) enjoying time, sharing memories. and learning lessons IN Sedgewick Meadows. It's us five exploring the wonderful Wyoming terrain and becoming a family unit.It is us experiencing life and forming a bond that will last for eternity.It's us creating our everlasting family and knowing that nothing in this world will ever tear us apart. We are The Sedgewick Five!!!