When it comes to living our lives, Christ doesn't make up the difference. He IS the difference.

The other night the kids and I were gathered around the dinner table when Allison blurted out the question, "If you wish you were dead, raise your hand!" Both she and Jacob raised their hands. "Why do you wish you were dead?" I asked, concerned. "Because," she explained, "if we were dead then we would be with Daddy again." And without hesitation she asked enthusiastically, "Who wishes they were dead, raise your hand?!!!" Immediately Allison and Jacob raised their hands and Caden and I, after a moment of pondering, thought- why not? And we shrugged our shoulders and raised our hands! Here's to wishing we were dead! ( Or really just wishing that we were with daddy again.)

Because the people Dave had wanted to speak at his funeral were unable to come, Dave ended up being the concluding speaker at his own funeral. Several people have asked me for a copy of his talk, so here it is. Thanks to all of the angels who have been sent in the form of service, visits, phone calls, e-mails & letters. You have helped me in so many ways. During the first week of December, a group of guys from Tucson came up to visit. They’re kind of a rough group; strike first, strike hard. You know the type. Through the years I’ve grown to love them like brothers. They would do anything to help me and I them. Any one of them would trade places with me if they could, but at the risk of diminishing their reputation, they were a “tough” group of guys. They visited for a day and went home. I was much lifted by their visit. We had such a good time riding the quads and staying up reminiscing. After they left I started to feel worse. I ended up on a fluid diet for many days an...

The grief we feel at first can be compared to a raging forest fire. Wild and out of control it destroys all life withing its range. We are powerless to stop it as it burns and destroys- nothing will ever be good again. As the fire slowly dies down, we are surrounded by the ugliness of black charred death and destruction. But after a time, the rains come and gently carry away the soot and ashes and slowly we see small green shoots of life spring forth. And so it is with our grief- a time came when we saw signs of green in our lives once again. It may be smiling or laughing aloud. It may be experiencing joy and happiness for a brief time. It may be feeling an hour or day has gone by without being engulfed in our sorrow. We are beginning to recover. As the forest once again grows back into a living habitation, we re-enter life. But the forest has changed. Never again will it look or be completely the same. It must start over with what it has. And we have changed too. Never again will life...

David Johnson Allred was born on May 25, 1976 to Clayton and Vickie Allred in Provo, Ut. After two days of labor, he weighed in at a whopping nine pounds. He lived in Orem for two years, Vernal for a few months, and then the family settled in Meadow Utah until David finished third grade. In 1984 the family moved to Moab where David spent 10 years picking peaches in the orchards, building boxes, forts & bonfires. He loved to bike and climb the slick rock trails, and was active in Cub and Boy Scouts. When he was 15 he earned his Eagle Scout and was active in the Order of the Arrow. He attended Grand county high school from 1990-93 where he was on the basketball team. In 1993, the family moved- this time to Fillmore where Dave took state in the 4x4 relay for Millard high (They still hold the state record). Dave graduated with high honors from Millard High in 1994. He attended Snow College one year prior to his mission to the Philippines. Dave loved his service among the people in the ...

On January 31, some friends of ours- Dan and Robyn Cummings- came down to visit for the day. While they were down, they made arrangements for Dave to take a few runs down the slopes and Brian Head footed the bill. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Dave was euphoric and probably could have gone on forever, but it's a good thing he quit after a few runs. We'll never forget this day. It was glorious!

Caden has turned into quite the skiier. He is excited to resume lessons in a couple of weeks.

See how much fun he's having!