Flu Round Two

Yep. I'm sick. I've gotten the flu twice this year now. I used be be immune from flu stuff in the past but lately, it's catching up to me. I was down yesterday but I tried to work through it but cleaning the house, helping the kids and doing a few home projects. I felt much worse today than I did yesterday and I think it was my body's way of telling me that I need to slow down when I get sick. So, I did slow down and by the late afternoon, I was finally on the mend.

Luckily, Alicia mended a few days before I did and was able to let me rest today. I'm just hoping that no one else in this house gets sick.

Emily's Birthday and Christensen Christmas Party

Just like last year, we had our Christmas celebration with my extended family after Christmas. And, just like last year, we had it on the 26th. Much of what I said about last year, I still agree with and it shows all signs of becoming a tradition.

Our double-digit (10) birthday girl was playing with cousins most of the time we were there. In fact, most of the kids were like that. We didn't see Ethan and Jace much after we got there. Ben, however, we saw all the time. He hardly left his mother's side. And speaking of his mother, I think she has the flu. She laid on the couch feeling gross all morning and we were all but out the door when she stood up and with tears said that she wouldn't miss Emily's birthday party. So although, she wasn't feeling well and wasn't very lively, it was awesome that she was there.

We sang a few songs like we've done in the past but this
Ben played a few extra notes.

And speaking of the party, we had soups and breads and some birthday cake that was one third frosting and two thirds cake. We sang happy birthday and Emily got a gift card from her grandparents. Kind of textbook for kid birthdays. She loved it.

At the end of the party, we came home to a very, very messy house and crashed. As the night wore on, it was clear that Alicia was getting sicker and I began to feel something queasy as well. I was planning on going back to work tomorrow but now I'm starting to wonder.

Christmas Service

Kind of an odd Christmas in my perspective. Seems scandalous to say such a thing about Christmas day but that's my experience with it just the same.

The kids, however had a good day. They were thrilled with the gifts and were even flexible with adjusted Santa plans around our 9:00 Church schedule. We had stockings first thing in the morning, then went to Church and returned home to open the presents under the tree. Emily's highlight was the newest Zelda game. It was actually a family gift but she liked the story of the last one so much that she's drawn countless characters from it and copied stories, she's even midway through a project to create a book of Zelda. Ethan's highlight was a few lego sets that he got - an alien spaceship and a star wars ship. Jason was thrilled to recieve the Thomas ship play set he asked from Santa. Claire, being the consummate girly girl that she is loves her princess dress ups and her princess pajamas. And Ben has enjoyed this little ball machine thing that has holes for balls in the top, and a winding path down the height of the toy leading to where the ball comes out at the bottom, ready to be picked up and put in the top again.

Alicia and I had a bit of a limited Christmas this year. We thought that we would only have enough money for the kids but some extra cash showed up so we got a few things for each other too. The limited cash pushed us to be a little more creative with our gifts. Alicia got me an awesome comfy blanket and I got her a pregnancy survival kit of coupons she can use for a night off, a craving run (Alicia insists on calling them "wantings" and not cravings.), a day off from work, etc..

So that was all the great part of the day. The oddness came in when Alicia started to get sick this afternoon and I was responsible to take care of the house myself. So I had added responsibility and an attitude that Christmas should be a relaxing day. So I was pretty self-focused through the day and when kids needed things or the house was dirty, those needs were in direct competition with my desire to have a day off. As a result, I ended the day in bad temper with the kids and a VERY messy house. I felt kind of awful.

So I've learned that there are no days off. Even if I'm on vacation, I'm serving. And that's okay. It's as it should be. Every day that I'm granted life on this earth is a day I'm meant to bless other people's lives. I'm much happier when I'm serving anyway - especially on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve

We had big plans for Chistmas dinner tonight but because Alicia's energy was still gone, I took care of the kids and the house and ran out of time but a big turkey dinner with potatoes, stuffing, etc.. But we still roasted a turkey which turned out to be in the good spot between being rubbery and being dry. That said, I told Alicia that next year I want to go for a higher quality turkey - one that has one of those done timer rocket thingies in it.

They never play this well so we took
a picture of it.

Anyway, we had hot turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy. Alicia had enough energy for the dinner so she enjoyed the meal and so did I but our kids picked at the food on their plates with great suspicion and in the end, didn't eat much. But they did enjoy the egg nog though. I remember hating that when I was a kid (Even now it's a little too thick for my taste. I prefer to thin it out with a bit of ginger ale.) but all of them had at least one glass.

Everyone was in high spirits after the meal so the kids played together without the typical combatting between Jace and Claire (they even held hands at one point!) while Alicia and I cleaned up. Finally, we went downstairs and opened our Christmas Eve presents of pajamas and a family activity. The kids were oddly excited about getting pajamas this year. Maybe that's because they're sick of the ones they have or they are too small for their growing bodies. Ethan has a set of Spongebob pajamas that used to be pants and look more like shorts now. We'll be throwing those out since he got his flannel army ones tonight.

After our traditional pajamas on the couch picture, we watched a new Christmas special DVD together and then got the kids ready for their sleepover in our room next to our Christmas tree.

Everyone is really happy and excited right now. Even Alicia picked up a bit and her usual 3-4 hours of good energy per day was more like 6. I think we're all looking forward to tomorrow.

New iPad

A picture taken with the new iPad

Yesterday I got a new iPad from work. I've been borrowing one for the last month to see if it was a justified tool for my work. I've started reading books from it, studying from it and using it as my primary mode of mobile computing on the bus and on trips to the other office building location. It's been great so I was really excited to have one permanently assigned to me.

I was looking at it the other day and noticing how thin it is. It seems odd that something so small can do so much. Make's me wonder what's next.

In Need of Strengthening

Unlike any previous pregnancy, this one is really taking Alicia off her feet. Seems like about 90% of the day she doesn't have any energy and feels sick. She isn't sleeping well, she feels overwhelmed, and her spirit is low. The other day she asked for a Priesthood blessing which I was happy to provide and am hopeful that she finds support in her relationship with God.

I'm also trying to supplement in helping as much as I can. Over the weekend I did all I could to let her sleep and take care of the kids and house. The local church congregation is helping as well. The other day, a friend of Alicia's who visits from time to time brought the family dinner to take that off of her shoulders. But above all of this, I believe the greatest source of peace and strength is sent from heaven and I'm praying for this blessing on Alicia's behalf.

Jace's Preschool Program

Jace's preschool (the same one that Emily and Ethan attended) does this little Christmas program every year. And every year it's the same, the kids put on little felt collars and hats that make them look like elves and then they sing 10 minute-long songs and on a stage at the Lehi Legacy Center. Then afterwards they hand out candy canes to the participants and their siblings.

It's simple enough that you would think that it gets old but it is so heart-warming to see these 3 and 4 year olds singing Christmas songs in their little costumes. Today I looked at the audience for a few moments instead of the kids on the stage and I saw the beaming smiles of parents. The brightest of all of them was my own wife.

Jace (on the left) saying his line

Jace got to sing like the rest of the kids but he also had a line this year, which he memorized and would rattle off anytime we asked. "Here comes the electric train!" He had a great time.

Elizabeth

I've been saving up this journal entry for several months now and it's finally safe to write it.

Back in May Alicia was feeling like there might be a baby number six coming to our family. She spent about a week fighting that feeling with logic, justification, or whatever else she could throw at it. And finally Alicia and I ended the week attending the Mount Timpanogus Temple. In this reflective setting, this baby feeling kept bubbling up, and she kept fighting it down. Then finally, right at the end of the session of Temple service, she allowed herself to consider "what if." Immediately, a peace filled her thoughts and she felt like we were indeed going to have another baby. But not only that, she felt like the baby would be a girl and her name would be Elizabeth Rose.

When we finished our service, we went out to the car and Alicia proceeded to tell me all of this. Of course I was shocked but I was so impressed with her peace on the topic - which was plainly evident in her countenance that I knew it was right.

For the following six months, Alicia and I have been preparing physically, mentally and financially for this new baby. Our mental and financial resources are already stretched supporting a household and family of 7. This decision is no small thing and each of us have experienced fear and anxiousness at different times. A few weeks ago when the pregnancy test showed positive I went through a good two weeks of worry and doubt until I finally decided to trust that God knew what he was doing.

And now, Alicia is on week six of her pregnancy. She's drained of energy and gets nauseous at nearly anything (too hot, too cold, food smells, sneezes, bending over, tilting her head, blinking too many times in succession, etc.). We've got a good road ahead of us but in the end, we both know that Elizabeth is coming and God wants her with our family. And when God commands, he qualifies. 

So here we go!

Emily's First Visit to the Conference Center

Alicia and Emily attended the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this evening. It was Emily's first time going to an event in the Conference Center. From the looks of the pictures, they had a good time together. Emily said, "I really liked it. It was good."

Festival of Crabbiness

Ethan in a full-body bubble thing at the
Festival of Trees

I think we've had our last family outing to the Festival of Trees ... ever. They rent out this huge convention hall and fill it with trees that have been donated by the community and then sell the trees to individuals and businesses. All proceeds go to benefit a local children's hospital so it's a nice thing for everyone. But all that warm nice stuff doesn't really keep my kids attention as we force our way through thick crowds of people through isle after isle of trees.

Attention has been waning for years but this year was particularly bad. We got through three isles before Alicia and the kids were done then we went to the kids corner to let the kids make some Christmas crafts and play. That lasted for about 30 minutes and the kids started to melt down. I tried to appease them with candy and treats but that didn't work either.

Finally we left the place with Ben screaming, Ethan crying, Emily complaining and my nerves shot. We got everyone in the car as quickly as possible and then drove away.

I have good memories of going to the Festival of Trees with my family. I've been trying to give my family similar memories but it appears that it just isn't the same for them. So, I'll let that one go.

Ben Walking

Ben has finally started walking. But he's doing it on his terms which means that if it doesn't involve either food or his mother there's less than a 15% change he'll do it. Still it's exciting to see him progressing.

Preparing for a Good Flight

It feels like I'm being pulled in two different directions. Ever since I've taken this position as a lead of a portfolio of people doing media work I have often felt under qualified to do the job well. That has forced me to my knees to ask God for help. As a result, I have grown in my relationship with him. That's the pull up that I feel.

But I also feel a pull to developing talents that gather more dust the more years I focus on doing managerial work. It feels like I'm growing tremendously in my relationship to heaven but not so much in my talents and skills in the service of others. That's the pull over. Similar to a plane that needs forward momentum in order to have the lift needed to fly to new altitudes. I feel like I'm on a steep incline in the skies as I try to depend on the Lord but I'm not growing in my talents and skills and sooner or later, I'll stall.

So I've been thinking about talents lately and what I can do to sharpen them. I made a little list of some talents that I'm interested in developing:

• Charity
• Loving kids
• Storytelling
• Encouraging
• Organizing
• Planning
• Making peace
• Baking
• Presentation
• Design
• Animating
• Drawing
• Listening
• Compassion
• Presentation
• Exercising faith
• Creating happiness
• Giving clear feedback
• Courage to do what's right, whatever the cost
• Instructional design for children
• Effective communication
• Writing
• Design management

That's the forward momentum. If I develop these in the service of others and couple that with a strengthening relationship with God. I can really get somewhere.

Worth Every Penny

Alicia has a very strong kid magnet built inside of her.

I'm so glad that we were able to take this trip this year. Money has been a bit tight lately so there was some question as to whether we would be able to do it but we cashed in some credit card rewards and a bit of cash to supplement and were able to make it happen.

On our way to the bakery

Today's use of those funds included swimming at the hotel pool, a big breakfast provided by the hotel, spongebob marathons (It seems like every time we go to a hotel there's a spongebob marathon going on. Do they do that all the time?), treating the kids to oozy yumminess from a local bakery, a pay per view version of Cars 2 while the little kids had a nap, and an evening in downtown salt lake looking at lights, a new Christmas display machine thing at Deseret Book, a scating rink, and dinner at a mall food court.

We were joined for the last part of the evening by Tam, Mark and Whitley. The kids lit up when they came along. Before that, Emily was dragging her feet but the night brightened up as soon as they saw Markie. It's nice that our kids love those guys so much. It makes for good family time together.

Vacations can be expensive but every time we go (except that one Disneyland trip when Em was a baby) the expanded bank of happy memories of family togetherness has been worth the expense. That is certainly true of this little get-away too.

Thanksgiving

 Dad was able to transport from the assisted living place to Jen's house for Thanksgiving. We transported him from Susan's car, into his wheelchair and then down the grassy slope on the side of Jen's house and into the back entrance. He sat at a table in the family room and became the center of attention during the meal. That alone is worth some thanks.

We were also able to have everyone there. With the exception of Jennifer and Richie and their kids (they never come anymore) all family was there. All 17 grandkids and a few extras including Brianna and Brent. That's becoming more and more rare with all these kids growing up, having busy jobs and even getting married in some cases.

The food was yummy. Sometimes I think Thanksgiving is more about eating than thanking. Celebrating Christ's birth is too sacred in Christian hearts to get glossed over by its more secular veneer of gifts but it seems that the luminescence of thankfulness isn't bright enough to overcome it's more temporal outer layers. I wonder what Thanksgiving would be without food and family gatherings. Probably just a few words on a calendar space that people small talk about at work.

But the thankful highlights of the day were present. Dad gave the thanksgiving prayer and blessing on the food. It was great to hear him express gratitude with similar sentiment as he has in the past. His mind is still functioning at very near the capacity he had in the past. It was also notable how much of his prayer was focused on gratitude even though he's been through this stroke and difficult moments.

Keeping with tradition, we left directly from dinner and took the family to a hotel. Despite our learning that two bedroom hotel rooms are much better for our family, budget constraints wedged us into a smaller room. But at least tonight it wasn't so bad. The trick seems to be to spend as little time as possible in the hotel room. We did that tonight by going swimming within the hour of arrival and then settling down quickly for sleep.

Decorating With Love Part 2

Alicia finished decorating the girl's bedroom today to match the festivity of the boys bedroom decorations done a few weeks ago. The theme on this room was christmas trees. She made a tree shaped decoration out of curled pieces of green construction paper and the decorated the bed frame with lights and ornaments. The girls were, of course, thrilled with her work.

Now we'll have a contest in a few weeks for which bedrooms look the most festive. Either way, Alicia will get top prize. She did a great job with both of them.

The Thrill of Christmas Lights and Snow

We heard that a snow storm was coming tonight so I got off work a bit early to go home and put up the lights on the house. I made it just in time too. I worked on it until after dark then we left to go see a play that Ada was in (Thoroughly Modern Millie) and by the time we came back a nice blanket of snow was over the shrubs, trees, lawn and rooftop.

I don't know where this positive association happened with snow and Christmas lights but it's pretty strong. Now that it's okay (mostly) to be excited about Christmas, I'm checking the weather almost every day to see when the next storm will hit (nothing next week by the way). But until then at least I have pictures like these to give me buzzes of happiness.

Another Halloween

I remember when I was in high school we did little goofy things like having one week of the school year set aside for wearing one color, theming our attire to a comic book, or wearing pajamas. We called it spirit week although I'm not sure if it really built that much school spirit. Mostly it was just a novelty to see people in different attire. It was an excuse to have a bit of fun at school.

I was surprised to learn recently that Emily's and Ethan's charter school has a spirit week too. They've don the crazy sock day, the pajama day and now the book character day. So Emily dressed up as Hermione from Harry Potter and Ethan dressed up as Splat the Cat from one of his favorite books. They had a great time and looked rather cute.

Decorating with Love

The boy's bedroom door.

Sunday afternoons have been quiet times at our house. It has at times been a nap day for Alicia and me and I think that because of that we mentally start to slow down after Church is hopeful longing for some down time. Today Alicia was very tired too so I was expecting some naps. But today wasn't like that and I was impressed with why.

The kids got the idea that they were going to decorate their rooms for Christmas and then have a contest to figure out who won. It sounded like several Sunday afternoon game and craft ideas that they invent to keep themselves occupied while Mom and Dad sleep so I didn't think much of it. I also didn't think much of their invitation for our help. We usually leave them on their own during this time and they do just fine. But this time, Alicia agreed to help them. And she didn't simply help them, she dazzled them with her decorating. And she spent hours doing it adding fun and interest to their day and idea.

This room is glowing with motherly love.

There are many times when the more noble thing would be to put aside our wants and preferences (even needs sometimes) to labor for others. Even more noble than that is to invest in labor for others and go the extra mile to help them. Alicia did that today and was an example to me of the happiness that comes from such whole-hearted service and love. 

Christmas Lights Are My Business!

I've realized that my purpose in life is to serve people. That's what God wants of me and when I'm doing that well, I'm truly happy. I remember good days on my mission when I had that perspective and it was amazing. I felt so energized. Recently I've been reflecting on the most valuable thing to do while I'm in this life. And it has a lot to do with relationships and helping people. "Mankind was my business!" from the Christmas Carol has been ringing in my ears all week.

So today I was thankful for the opportunity to help Susan with some Christmas lights and various other things around her house. I was double-thankful for Emily's willingness to come and serve also. She took lights out of packages and I put them up. I'm anxious to see how our work for Susan looks at night.

One Sock Boy

I have no idea where our kids get some of their quirks. Some of them I can trace back to Alicia or me (usually the latter) but sometimes they come up with weird ones. Jace is a great example. When at home he prefers to wear only one sock. Giving him the option to either add the other or take away the one doesn't do anything. He prefers to just wear one sock. And he'll do this going to bed as well.

He's never seen anyone do this, it's not even an understandable habit (like taking shoes and socks off when you get home because you prefer being barefoot at home). It's 100% Jason and he's proud of it.

Christmas Too Early?

It seems like more people are getting into Christmas up early. I spoke to someone at work who admitted openly that she and her husband put up Christmas decorations on Halloween night. "We're not the only ones!" I thought. My own father thinks it's a sin to put Christmas up before Thanksgiving. Funny thing is, I'll be at his house on Saturday putting up Christmas lights while he's out recovering from his stroke.

I don't get what the big deal is. Are people worried that we're not being grateful by not decorating for Thanksgiving? Are they sick of the same 40 Christmas songs being regurgitated by various artists on the radio? Are they just procrastinating the effort of decorating for Christmas? Do they not like the holiday?

Well whatever. Our house is decorated and I have a Christmas tree in my office.

Lamb Christmas Day

Christmas is such a fun time. We're lucky to have two this year. The kids slept in our room under our Christmas tree and although we didn't sleep very well at all (especially Alicia who had Jace hogging her side of the bed) I know the kids enjoyed it. They woke at 6 am like usual but were wired for being able to go downstairs and see what Nana and Papa had done for Christmas morning. After tiding them over with several Chipmunk cartoons, we finally went downstairs to discover our stockings filled and presents under our trees. We spend the next few hours together opening, assembling and playing with presents. Ben was thrilled to get a little talking bear, Claire got her own little bike (she's been "borrowing" bikes from Jace or other neighborhood kids), Ethan got this awesome remote control 4-wheeling guy, and Emily got a digital camera. Alicia and I also received a few gifts including clothes and we gave Nana and Papa a few gifts as well including a photo book and a DVD of movies made from pictures of the kids.

But the nicest part of the day was simply spending time together. The toys are sometimes just a convenient excuse for gathering everyone up and enjoying each other's personalities, interests, and happiness. It was a great morning that was followed by (surprise) food at breakfast and a fancy ham dinner.

What a great pretend holiday!

Faux Christmas Eve

Since Alicia's parents won't be around for Christmas and we haven't had a Christmas with them since Emily was a baby, we are celebrating two Christmases this year, one with them this week and the usual one with our family next week. As part of this celebration, Alicia's parents are trying to pack in as many Lamb Christmas traditions into this time as possible. I'm glad for this because Alicia has been longing for many of these traditions for years.

One of these is a traditions is loads of food. In these last few weeks Alicia and I have eaten more food than in the whole previous month combined. There have been dessert trays, cheese balls, canada dry, egg nog (we've gone through 8 or so cartons), turkey and ham dinners with all kinds of sides. So after a big dinner, we had a big desert of Black Forest Cake (and egg nog) and then watched a little cartoon with the kids and had a second desert of a christmas goodie tray (compare the picture this year to last year). Egg nog too. After we put the kids to bed we were all so groggy and full that we didn't want to think about food or even be in the same room with food.

One thing's for sure, with all this food we're eating we'll be well insulated for winter.

Candy, Kids and Sleepy Smiles

Somehow the danger of taking candy from a stranger melts away on Halloween evening. I for one couldn't be happier about that. I had the opportunity to see over a hundred children tonight who came to our door asking for candy. I saw all kinds of costumes and excitement in the faces of the children and all kinds of parents smiling with pride at the cuteness of their kids. Halloween around here doesn't seem to be about scares or the macabre - it's more of a parade of cuteness and candy. No wonder I love this holiday.

With Nana and Papa in tow, Alicia and the kids (all five) went on their own parade of cuteness this evening. Ben was a bumble bee, Claire was a clown, Jason was Thomas the tank engine (he had a last minute change of plans from being a caterpillar to Thomas), Ethan was a skeleton, and Emily was Princess Peach from the Mario Bros. game. 

The evening was unseasonably warm for this time of year - about 50 degrees after the sun dipped out of sight. So the cold didn't affect the kids' fun and they all stayed out for nearly an hour. Ben enjoyed the comfort of his stroller and a few bags of M&Ms and Claire filled her little plastic pumpkin halfway with candy and was the recipient of many cuteness compliments. Then the two of them came home with Nana and Papa and helped me pass out candy for the remainder of the evening.

Meanwhile Alicia had the older kids out for another hour. At almost every house, Jace would say "Trick or Treat" with the others and then excitedly dash back to the sidewalk exclaiming, "Mom, I said it!" When it was all done, Ethan and Jace had filled their plastic pumpkins to the top. They dumped their candy out on the living room floor and compared their loot with each other.

After having a sensible amount of candy, the kids were readied for bed and tucked in with smiles on their faces. It's likely that many other kids in the neighborhood had similar sleepy smiles tonight. So who cares about this holiday's shady past, it's presently a wonderful night.

Searching for the Antidote to Zombie Discipleship

Alicia and I had a good talk about being more engaged at home. I have been going through the motions at home and it's caused some problems lately. Alicia has asked me how I can be so engaged at work and then come home and go into maintenance mode - tidying up the house and helping get things done but not really engaging to help my kids grow and become or lift and encourage my wife.

As we talked this over today, it was clear that we both get caught in similar traps - zombie discipleship. We're doing good things but we're not really engaged in it. We may go to Church, we may try to help people, we try to raise our kids well but sometimes - perhaps a lot of the times - we're going through the motions without the true fuel that it takes to really lift souls, build unity and prepare for eternity.

So how do we snap out of it? Something has to motivate our caring and love. Something has to clear our vision to enable us to have eternal perspective. Something has to give us principles that will help us be more unified. We left the conversation today looking for this and are hopeful that Heavenly Father will help us find it as we search and pray for it.

Kids or Cookies?

My job has a party coming up on Monday with a competition for costumes and treats so I wanted to make some sugar cookies for the food competition. I ended up taking most of the day today to do that with the kids.

But in taking most of my attention throughout the day, I was diverted from helping out more around the house and as the day drew to a close and I saw how many cookies were yet to be decorated and also saw how close it was to bedtime so I enlisted the kids to help (maybe forced is a better word) and then hurded them off to bed. The cookies were done and the kitchen was cleaned up but I was left with a disappointment because I was focused a bit too much on what I wanted to do and wasn't considering serving those around me. Luckily, I recognized my error in enough time to apologize to the kids before they fell asleep. I went into Em's room where Emily, Ethan and Jace were sleeping and brought them all the last-minute drink of water I denied them minutes earlier and then I went upstairs to Claire and gave her a hug.

Cornbelly's

The kids have been getting stickers on the fridge for doing nice things for each other and as a reward, we took them to a nearby fall amusement park called Cornbelly's. We got faces painted, played on wooden structures, saw pumpkin princesses, watched a pig race, rode on a cow train, and walked through a corn maze.

The sun set and the temperature dropped quickly so we had to leave but if that hadn't happened we might have stayed another few hours. The kids loved playing there. Ethan exclaimed as we left that it was the best day ever.

I love amusement parks. I want one. Maybe someday I'll get to make one.

Leadership Training Library Celebration

Alicia and I attended a dinner celebration this evening for a project we recently finished. It's a project in which many members of the team have participated called Leadership Training Library. Like any impactful work, it has taken great amounts of dedication and has been met with plenty of resistance. It has challenged relationships, required sacrifice and built faith and testimony of those who participated. This mix of positive and negative is not uncommon for projects of this magnitude. My work last year with LDS.org was similar and I had the same mix of positive and negative emotion about it at the similar celebration last year.

Tonight I was impressed with some comments made by one of the speakers. Elder Christensen, a ecclesiastical leader for the Church mentioned that this project was notable and should be instructive for further work for three reasons:

• It was visual - Many members in the Church cannot access materials and really understand them by reading. This product provides training in a visual format.
• It was authentic - This product captured real experiences of members who were called to lead. In many cases these members felt the inspiration of the Spirit while the camera was rolling. That lead to a real feeling in the product that could not be staged.
• It was transforming - This project required a greater level of commitment and because of that, it motivated its participants to be prayerful and trust in God for his help to accomplish difficult or impossible tasks. As a result of that, the team was transformed into a more faithful group. This is a mark of a good project in the Church.

I have been blessed to have an involvement and a close position of observation and learning in this project.

Simple Pleasures

It's so easy to lose sight of the value of spending simple time with the family. Tonight I wasn't in a particularly distracted or selfish mood, just conscious of time. I was quietly nudging the family along towards getting pumpkins and then preparing kids for bed and I almost missed the fact that we were spending time together at a pumpkin patch, the kids were exploring the corn stalks, we had a hay bail ride, the kids were discovering different kinds of plants, we were enjoying ice cream together and the kids were having a great time.

This didn't really occur to me until Ethan, who usually provides a luke-warm response when asked about his enjoyment level of family events, gushed excitedly about how awesome it was to go pick pumpkins together. What a great example of stopping to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Mountain Man

My view from the trunk

It's so nice to be close to the mountains. I'm not a rugged hiker or a manly hunter guy. I don't even consider myself to be a tree-hugging nature lover. But it's always refreshing to go on a drive to the mountains and step out of the car to breathe the crisp mountain air. This is especially true when you've travelled to the mountains in the trunk of a minivan as a result of constrained seating availability in the van. We drove up little cottonwood canyon this evening loaded with capri suns, sandwiches and chips then ate it amongst huge granite boulders and a setting sun at the mouth of canyon.

I remember missing the mountains when I went away to Texas for two years. I imagine that if we ever leave, I'll miss these beautiful piles or rocks that I visit every four months or so. Maybe someday we'll build a cabin in the mountains and then I can become one with nature.