Journey of an LDS Father

Power 90 progress

2011-02-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to gross you all out with my before and after pics (well, maybe the after), but Matt and I are both doing the Power 90 program. Day 8 today, and down 4 lbs. Glad David K. recommended p90 before p90x. I have a friend that tried p90x and said he couldn't even do the warm up exercises. Hope to be ready for that in 90+ days. Heather does p90x. It is obviously working for her.

Holidays and a New Year

2011-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well the tree is down, and most of the Christmas decorations are put away. The dafodills are shooting through the soil to see when Winter is over. I just noticed that I haven't posted since the end of Summer.

Akamai has kept me really busy through the pre-holiday and holiday season. We had lots of retail customers that needed help this year with distributed denial of service attacks that Akamai is uniquely in a position to help with. This kept us very busy, even beyond the normal seasonal business as eCommerce prepares for black Friday and Cyber-Monday (which this year was like M-F of the week after Thanksgiving). As of the new year, I'll be focusing more with the strategic larger accounts for Akamai in the eCommerce group, Western Region. Akamai has been hiring like crazy trying to keep up with the demand, and it is difficult to find the kind of people that can be successful in the Professional Services: Solutions Architect and Technical Project Manager roles.

Last weekend I drove to Provo to deliver the truck Kristi bought from the Azar's in the 1st ward. She has been looking for a truck for some time, and when Jason said he had a new car and was looking to sell, I jumped on the opportunity and then got the truck ready for her. For a 1991, it is in remarkably good shape and had a great sound system, and was a steal at the price he offered it, even after repairs that nearly equaled the purchase price. This should serve KristiAnne well in snow country, and provide great utility for a college student with lots of stuff to haul around. All in all a very sensible choice, and the delivery gave me an opportunity to visit with her, the Zabrikies, the Mathers, Andy and Eliane's Family, and the Hokansens while in the Utah/SLC valleys.

Mom just broke her leg two days ago, so I may be going back to Utah if needed to help out, as she gets out of the hospital on Monday if all goes well. Scott and Heidi are there now helping Dad out with the logistics and support. Thanks to Holly and Terri for letting everyone know via phone calls. We had a very quick gathering of the extended family to pray for Mom's successful surgery and the Lord blessed her and the surgeons with a successful out-come.

August is half over . . .

2010-08-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a great summer so far as it draws to the end.

We got a good start on the deck refinishing. Matt and I have got all the sanding done and are mostly ready to paint. We had to replace a couple of 12' boards due to dry rot this year. They are $10 a piece. That brings the cost in lumber alone for the deck to over $2000. Knowning that makes me feel a little better about painting these old boards to preserve them a little longer. Last year's got rain before the paint cured and got all pocked up. We are hoping to paint on Labor Day weekend as a family. This year we are adding antislip strips to the high traffic paths that get slick when it rains, and also to keep Koda from scratching them up so much as he runs in and out. Its amazing what dog claws can do to a deck, particularly an old deck that is getting a little soft.

I helped with cub scout camp this year as a volunteer, going up on Friday, and then staying through the picnic at the end. It was very fun to see all the cub activities, like the water bottle rockets. They sure do make it fun for the boys. They also LOVE going to the trading post with a little money in their pockets to exchange for trinkets and junk food. Not much nutitional value there. We had a lunch packed, but Johnie left it on the kitchen counter, where I though it was in his backpack (teach me to double check), so at lunch, John and I abscounded to McDonalds (which I later found out is NOT acceptable without checking your cub scout out at the admin table). John tried to warn me, but I thought they couldn't have a problem with me taking my own kid to lunch . . . WRONG. I also found out that it is not acceptable to take a pocket knife and whittle on your walking stick at a cub camp. Something about blood circles, being a bad example for the boys, not displaying a toting chip, etc. I just put the knife away and smiled. The cubs all loved my wood spirit carved into my walking stick (at least as far as it was done to that point anyway). It is a work in progress I started on a slow fishing trip to Payson Lakes in the Utah Uinta mountains on the Mt. Nebo scenic loop. Fishing was great, catching somewhat less great. Appearently, only the very early or very late day fisherman catch there during the summer cause the shallow lakes get too hot and the fish pout in the deepest coolest holes they can find when the suns out. So, anyway, found this great stick that reminded me of Gandalf's staff in LOTRs Trilogy and just started carving a wood spirit into it, and that is the staff I was carving at cub camp.

Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary at Bear Lake was awesome. Bryan created a very cool slide show that had pics of Mom's family I had never seen. Aunt Helen had shared some of her archives with us. There were also some great family pics of all the siblings as newlyweds (when we were all good looking and much more fit that we are now). Rodney and I got lots of hoot calls (I guess folks don't think we look much like those photos anymore).

I have now lost over 40 lbs. My lipids and thyroid all came back in normal ranges (thank you Dr. Aldanda and "The culprit and the cure"). I continue to loose about 2 lbs a week - more during vacation when we could exercise more (hows that for a switch).

Traci and I have been invited to hunt on the Navaho reservation with Bryan and DeAnza in October. We are SOOOOO looking forward to this. Our hunt will be with telephoto lenses, capturing the hunting action and the wildlife, and enjoying nature. Bryan and Dee did not draw tags this year, so will also be on the sidelines, but will still teach us about the hunt and how to clean and dress the game (we plan to hunt to eat, not for sport, when and if we ever get to hunt on our own).

Matt is going back to public school this fall. He wants to try out for the swimming team, and experience the social scene at Skyview. His education will not be as tailored as it have been at VHC, but, it will be good for him to see how the rest of his peers have been doing it. I am worried about the abrupt change in social environment, but Matt is now nearly my height, and trained in martial arts, so I think he will fair better than before in public school.

Kristi is finishing up her bachloriate from BYUi remotely. She moves to Provo in a couple of weeks and will be living and working there while she decides if BYU is the right place for her Masters.

Hazel Dell ward is starting to shape up. Most positions have now been called. Folks are learning their duty. Home teaching is way down, but will improve as folks get back from summer persuits. We couldn't even get appointments with our families in July. August is looking better already.

Elder's Quorum IceCream Social

2010-06-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday we hosted the new Hazel Dell Ward's Elder's Quorum for an Ice Cream social. We've had two weeks of rain, pretty much non-stop. Enough to seriously injure (over watering) many of the veggies growing in our garden. The back yard was a little bit of a quagmire, with even the grass covered spots sinking into mud when stepped on. So, to prepare for the social and generally improve accessibility to the pool and the trampoline, we dug paths clear of the sod and then covered them with pea gravel that drains the waters more quickly (like a french drain).

Friday, the weather cleared and the yard started to dry out, and then Saturday was like we had custom ordered the weather for the party. It hit a peak of 83 degrees just in time for the party, and the pool water warmed up to 70 degrees. Not quite the 79 that makes for comfortable swimming, but tolerable for a short period of time. That didn't stop Anne from swimming most of the day.

We had most of the EQ Presidency from 3 to 5 PM, and some other families dropped in from 5 to 8. The missionaries even stopped by. We enjoyed root beer floats, watermelon, and when the YSA's Lake Merwin boat outing's boat broke, several of the YSA came to the party and brought hot dogs. Misti got some hamburgers and S'mores supplies and we fed all that were here at 7 PM. Then all gathered around the fire pit for stories and S'mores. We even got our new neighbors to come visit over some S'mores in the evening. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

Appologies for porn display

2010-06-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Appearently, someone had uploaded some porn pics mixed in with the nature pics that had not been caught be the Picasa filters in the nature keyword. I have removed the slide show that was based on this keyword, and reported the pictures for abuse of the policy.

Thanks for the comments that let me know about this problem. The Lord of Darkness and his minions strike again.

Keep lighting those candles and drive out the darkness.

We seek after these things . . .

2010-06-04T03:36:00.000-07:00

BriAnne's post tonight on Bri Colorful about graduation plans and going forth to serve inspired me to post this.

Enya's "May it be" - what beautiful music. From the Lord of the Rings sound track

http://www.lyrics007.com/Enya%20Lyrics/May%20It%20Be%20Lyrics.html

These lyrics speak to my heart about the journey each of us is on, first to find the light ourselves, perfect ourselves as much as possible, and along that path, share that light by serving our spiritual siblings until they too have the promise (the new and everlasting covenant) living within them as well.

...

May it be when darkness falls (the light is vailed)
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home (we are all away from our true home on this journey)

...

May it be the shadows call
Will fly away
May it be you journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

Darkness has come
Believe and you will find your way
Darkness has fallen
A promise lives within you now

It becometh every man who has been warned to warn his neighbor.

Once we have been given the light of the Gospel in our lives, what better way to honor the Light of the World than to light as many other candles as possible. Light is not the absense of darkness; darkness is the absense of light. We can best fight the Prince of Darkness by spreading light. The gospel's message is what people need to believe in to find their way through the darkness.

iPad is in the House!

2010-05-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post may be a little on the geeky side. I've done tech for the last 30 years, and am told I no longer know how to not use geek-speak, so bear with me, and Google the TLAs and FLAs for more in depth understanding.

As you already may know, Misti got an iPhone for Christmas, and I've been very impressed with how much it has become part of her every day life. She uses it as much or more than I use my Blackberry Bold. I have been very impressed with the app selection (particularly all the FREE ones) and Apple support (although getting the WiFi to work consistently has been an ongoing problem). 3G connectivity has been working fine, and she has an unlimited plan, so hasn't missed the WiFi much. I got an iPod Nano as my 5 yr commemoration gift with Akamai, so I have also tasted of at least some of the cool iPod content. I really like the Nike+ pedometer app as well.

KK got her new iPad WiFi/3G today. We installed the iTunes update, synced the iPad, and were off and running. We activated the 3G unlimited data access plan with ATT with amazing simplicity. The smoothest device activation on a cellular data plan I have ever seen! Then of course we HAD to do the obligatory speedtest.net visit. Turns out "they have a App for that" I think we may end up saying that quite a bit. With WiFi on, using our Comcast 12 Mbps broadband and a Netgear N router, we clocked 8531 kpbs D/L and 2456 kbps U/L. With ATT 3G, we clocked 1772 kbps D/L, and 355 kbps U/L. That's at least twice as fast as the speeds I got (from same location) with my Sprint 3G USB (Novatel) on the laptop - go ATT! No wonder Misti isn't worried about fixing the intermittent WiFi problem.

Kristi's excitement grew the more she explored. She loaded the iBooks app, and looked at the movies available for rent or purchase on iTunes. Then we decided to try the Netflix site. We have been able to watch Netflix (powered by Akamai now ;-)) on just about every computing device in the house (Wii, laptops, desktops, iPhone, and the Theatre+ HD from Seagate that my brother Bryan helped us get with his employee discount last Christmas), so we went to the site and tried it. Up pops guess what, yep, another App. So we downloaded the Netflix app, and were able to immediately stream an season 4 episode of Bones, and also tested a movie (Julie and Julia). Playback was smooth and flawless, with NO buffering. Website browsing was also lightning fast as we tried gmail, facebook, etc.

All was going just peachy, until she tried Google Docs. The read-only nature of her book on gdocs was a disquieting and tearful event. Apparently, the mobile browser "Safari" that ships with the iPad does not support a key HTML attribute "contentEditable" which Google Docs uses:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Docs/thread?tid=621ad46f8aa70336&hl=en

http://developer.apple.com/safari/library/technotes/tn2010/tn2262/index.html#SAFARI_ON_IPAD_READINESS_CHECKLIST-6__USE_TEXTAREAS_INSTEAD_OF_CONTENTEDITABLE_ELEMENTS

This setback took a lot of wind out of her sails, as one of the key reasons she got the iPad was to be able to use Google Docs on her writing for her upcoming novel "Eye". I did some quick research on the subject (I too was very surprised that this did not work already, and found the limitation noted in the Apple Developer notes, and several blogs. Luckily, I found references to an App in iTunes store called "Office2 Pro" that looks like it may do the trick, but only time will tell. Sounds a little buggy at present.

All in all, the device is very sleek, and will work very well for consuming media in many formats, and may eventually be a laptop killer when the office productivity apps are ready for prime time.

Now then, what does all this have to do with the theme of this blog? Well, there's an App for that! Actually, several. My favorite is the "LDS Music" app, which allow you to have the hymns and primary children song book (words and music and graphics) with you on the iPad. Having the free www.lds.org internet version of the scriptures is pretty awesome too. Imaging being able to fully prepare a lesson for sunday school, priesthood, or primary from any location or at any time, including the online reference to all Ensign, New Era, Friend, and other gospel library resourses. Imaging being able to show the latest lds.org videos at church from your iPad hooked to a library TV. Any where access to www.mormonsmadesimple.com is pretty good for missionary work as well, to explain the LDS church in a non-threatening third party perspective with simple illustrations/animations in a video format. radio.lds.org is also highly recommended!

Podcasts on a variety of interesting LDS subjects are available as well. My favorite so far is the History of the Hymns.

I'll be trading up from my Blackberry to an iPhone very soon now. We will save $15 a month on the difference on the data access plans from ATT (as if that were the only incentive). Blackberry's App Store is growing, but will have a long way to go to equal what I have seen on the Apple App store.

To my mother, and the mother of my children - Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day, and I want to take the opportunity to thank my mother and my wife and the mother of my children for all they have done, are now doing, and will do to help me and the children live a better life. Its amazing to me the influence a mother has over her family. This year, my wife Misti has gotten serious about improving her health, and by extension, the whole family has benefited tremendously. I have had some pretty crazy diet ideas in the past (Dr. Atkins, South Beach, etc. that I never really felt were following the Word-of-Wisdom counsel to eat meat sparingly. But, as my last post explains, the Culprit and the Cure, Food, Inc. (the DVD), and most recently, a book specifically about the Word of Wisdom have helped me realize my mistakes and set a new course (much less meat and dairy and fat, much more whole grains, fruit and vegetables). Weight loss is naturally following, and I have lost 27 pounds so far. Misti has lost even more with less to loose. She is rigid about counting her daily calories and is much better at it that I think I ever was when doing the LA Weight Loss program. I am very thankful for her good example and support in fixing low calorie low fat meals for the family. I think we are eating now very similar to what I remember my mom doing when I was a kid. Lots of home made whole wheat bread, granola, skim or soy mild, etc. We haven't quite gotten to making our own sprouts, or downing shots of wheat grass juice, but we are making progress. Happy Mother's Day to both of the mothers in my life.

This also happens to be the first day we or any one else has attended the newly reorganized Hazel Dell ward. Last Sunday at Stake Conference, the Stake Presidency announced that the ward boundary lines in most of the wards in the stake were being redrawn to more evenly distribute the membership and help the stake grow. During that meeting, we found out that our home address was now on the boundary line, with our house falling within the Hazel Dell ward, instead of the 1st Ward. Several other families from the old first ward were also impacted, including a major portion of the choir members, so now Hazel Dell ward will have a strong choir member base (when it gets re-organized). Because of the change, the primary had not yet had a chance to practice together for a Mother's Day number, so for the first time I can remember, the primary did not sing to their mothers. Misti was a little sad about this. Brother Miles had prepared a treat for the mother's and gave them all (including all females 18 and older) a package with candy bars in it (diet sabotage - don't know if Misti is going to eat hers or not). She said she would have rather had flowers or a plant this year.

The Hazel Dell Ward Bishopric was also reorganized, with the old bishopric members release, and the new ones sustains and set apart following Stake Conference. All previous ward callings were released, so there is much reorganization going on currently. Today, a new financial clerk was sustained for the new bishopric, and I was sustained and set apart as the Elders Quorum Secretary in the new Elders Quorum Presidency, with President Mark Brogan, Corey Johnson 1st Counselor, and 2nd Counselor still to be named.

Our corn is all planted at the Stake Center Garden, and we have some of the backyard planting, but still have a fair bit to till. Elms just got their tiller back from the shop, so we need to arrange with Trent before the elementary school plant order comes in.

We found out today that Johnny's cub scout camp in the Hazel Dell ward is right in the middle of our planned family vacation. We are checking into if he can still attend with 1st ward.

Kristi and Traci will now be attending the Clark Ward (YSA). Looks like a good plan for them, there are very few YSA in Hazel Dell ward.

I've tried to call my mother several times today, but each time, the phone is busy. Guess they don't have call waiting. I'll keep trying.

Changing lifestyle for the better

2010-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize how bad my personal lifestyle (diet and exercise) had gotten until I recently read a book that my sister Heather recommended on nutrition called "The Culprit and the Cure." I was addicted to the "western diet" without a clue as to what the "prudent" diet was or how to pick foods to achieve it. All I really knew before was that whole grains, and fruits and vegetables, were good for you cause mom and the scriptures said so, but now I feel armed with the why and the how, and a sense of relative importance of these foods over previous bad choices (Krispy Kremes and Cinabons were literally killing me early - "the whiter the bread, the sooner your dead").

This book, written by a BYU professor while on sabbatical, is the "tour de force" in current scientific research on nutrition and disease prevention. Amazingly, modern science again confirms the revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith as recorded in The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89, commonly referred to as the "Word of Wisdom." This time however, the emphasis is on the positive admonitions, rather than the restrictions that are much better known and followed within the membership of the church. If you have not yet read this book, I highly recommend it. The Holy Ghost and my personal life experience bore testimony of it as I read it, and I have now implemented its recommendations for lifestyle in my own life. By following its simple advice on nutrition and exercise, I am already feeling much more energetic, healthier, and have shed 15 lbs over the past month. I have a dietary and exercise direction now that I feel like I can truly exercise faith in, as it has motivated me to action. Johnny keeps telling me he wants his "sugar daddy" back, but I think having me around for a few more decades is a good tradeof to a few sacrificed donuts, cinamon rolls, and Big Macs in the short run. At least I won't be eating these things in the place of proper nutritional food. Sugar and white bread are the occasional treat now, instead of the staple at the bottom of the pyramid.

This book can do more to improve well-being, now and for years to come, than the best available medicines."

Walter C. Willett, M.D.
Chair of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health

See also www.theculpritandthecure.com

and www.fastfoodbook.com

Thoughts on time . . .

2010-03-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so”
– Douglas Adams – Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

Faster and slower time spans exist in my reality. By the clock or timer, such spans should be equal, however, I’ve noticed that great expectations and rapt anticipation create slow spans, sometimes painfully slow; and correspondingly, any time your having so much fun that you forget to look at a clock, the hours slip by at hyper-speed. Slow time events in my memory: waiting for spaghetti or eggs to boil, The last five minutes of school before the release bell for recess, or going home time (and if there is a father & sons outing after school, the slow time span is magnified exponentially). Fast spans include family walks in nature, fishing, camping, golfing, video gaming, programming a computer, singing in a choir, the span of time in my children’s lives between birth and baptism, and baptism and college, and college and marriage, and dates with my wife — all these events go by way too fast! When we get to rewatch the great video recording of our lives (except for the parts edited out by repentance), I will have my finger on the rewind button for these fast spans of time, and expect to have proof that playback time for these is much faster than for the slow time spans.

What makes time fly for you, and what makes it feel as if the clock hands are moving through thick molasses?

To Busy to blog?

2010-01-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

Guess I really got out of the habit, since I had a half year lag between posts. Anyway, time to do a little repentance.

Today I trained two members of the duties of the Ward Web Admin and showed them the ropes on lds.org's admin interface. It is amazing sometimes how obvious the generation gap is between the old and the young. The younger admins take the technology for granted and it seems second nature to them per their experience, whereas the grandparent generation have a much harder time, and rely much more on precedural documentation.

We have some new neighbors we helped move in yesterday. They are moving down from Battleground, and their previous place was 6 acres. A city plot should be a little easier for them to handle. One of the boys looks to be about Matt's age, so that might be fun for Matt to have another friend so close.

We got a day of sun after nearly two months of rain and overcast skies. We took advantage of it and dug the holes for two peach trees, northern variety. We are going to see if we can't get some peaches to can, in addition to the apples, plums and two cherries we already have growing. I love fruit trees. They are somewhat easier to maintain than gardens, and keep giving year after year.

Kristi, my second oldest, in living at home now and working full time preparing to either go on a mission or perhaps go back to school. I think she is done with BYU Idaho, and might try BYU now that Grant and BriAnne are living there. Jobs are more plentiful and cost of living is lower than Idaho, according to Bri, so well see . . .

Somethin Fishy going on here

2010-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a new flash game Matt turned me on to. So simple in concept, so difficult in execution. I have a new appreciation for wart, when he turned into a fish. It's not easy to survive level 5, and Matt has made level 7.

Play Fishy

Summer Vacation 2009

2009-09-07T01:12:00.000-07:00

This summer, we took a trip to Utah. We started out in Cedar City, and while there did some fishing up at Navaho lake with Grandpa Gary. We also took a trip down to St. George to visit the Merrill's and see their now completed new house on the golf course.

After that, we went up to the Mormon Miracle Pagent with the Mathers and Zabriskies. We camped that evening at the Manti public park. There were a pair of baby hawkes in a tree next to our camping site. The mother hawk was swooping down and dive bombing us, and we finally figured out why. Kristi was a bit tramatized as you will see in the pictures on Picasa.

Next, we went to Provo, camping at the Provo KOA, and visiting with Grant and Bri. There was a nesting Malard Duck there that the kids quite enjoyed taking pics of, and got several close ups of the duck and eggs. We spent a day at the Seven Peaks water resort, then went to SLC and saw Temple Square, the new conference center, and ate lunch at the Lion House Pantry. We toured the Beehive House, Church Office Building, and the new Art Museum.

Then, it was on to Bear Lake and the July 4th family reunion there.

We returned home to find yellowing lawns, a flooded basement room, and several stolen DVDs from our collection. Some cash was also missing from Kristi's tithing bank.

Pictures are available at

Summer 2009

and

2009 07 - Family Summer Trip

No, no, don't let the rain come down

2009-09-06T20:10:00.001-07:00

Summer is not yet over right? I mean, the kids go back to school next Wednesday, Seminary starts on Thursday, but we should have a few more days of nice sunny weather right?

I hope so, as the deck is partially sanded and prepped for painting, but our plan was to complete this on Labor day weekend. Well, here we are on Labor Day Weekend, and so far it is raining torrentially. The deck is soaked. It would take three days of dry sunshine to make the wood paintable again.

In fact, it rained so hard today that we discovered the rain gutters are plogged. You may not be familiar with the word plogged, so I'll define it here: plugged AND clogged, such as what happens to a rain gutter in the PNW when it gets a large damming chunk of pine needles, moss, and leaves stuck over the drain. This is such a great word -- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=plogged. The plogs are by the master bedroom and again at the other end above the garage door. We had such a deluge today that in these two spots, it literally looked like someone was standing on the roof with a large bucket and dumping it over the roof. This would all be OK normally, and run off away from the house, except for the dumb bad luck of the plog (plug/clog/) occuring directly over the window well to Traci And AnnElise's room.

Did a light bulb just go on for you?

Well if you already know the story of the flood we faced in this room on our return from our summer vacation to Bear Lake, then it probably would have. We had thought prior to our discovery today, that the flood was due to over watering, as our neighbors had complained about our summer help watering the lawns too long while we were gone. Turns out, we had a couple of major rainstorms while we were out of town, and are now pretty sure we know where the flood water came from. Previously, there was a "perfect storm" set of circumstances of having both the rain gutter clogged AND the down spout drain in the window well clogged. While cleaning up from the flood on our return however, I had put a lot of time into cleaning debree out of that drain and making it functional again. In fact, the main plogging object was a hard croquet ball, which fit so tightly into the drain that I had to drill a hole into it and pull it out with the drill.

Thankfully, this maintenance paid off today, when the deludge hit again. The drain was able to keep up with the water being dumped off the roof, and water did not again rise over the level of the window, come down the inside walls, and cover the floor. We were REALLY glad it didn't too, for we had just completed the re-flooring of that bedroom with a nice hardwood laminate floor, and are still in the process of putting up the trim.

I really hope the rains go away for long enough to dry out and paint the deck. The weather here in Vancouver rarely cooperates with the best laid plans of mice and men however. Wish us luck!

Sunday Afternoon Musings

2009-09-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Just got through Skyping with my daughter Bri and her husband Grant. They live in Provo and have just gone back to school and completed the first week of the semester. Bri got a job on campus, so they are both working now, and both going to school full time, taking some of their classes together. Misti and I did this as well, taking classes together whenever possible. Saves on books, and gives a couple additional bonding time in a shared intellectual pursuit. I highly recommend it. They have already gotten their "summary of Summer" blog posted and this reminded me that it has been way to long since I posted anything.

In Priesthood meeting, at the end of the opening exercises where announcements are made and reports are given by each of the quorums, before all separate into their own groups for class instruction, we all repeat out loud the verses in D&C 84 that list the oath and covenant of the priesthood, which essentially promises the blessings of Eternal Life, or the kind of life God the father and Jesus Christ live, to faithful priesthood holders that magnify their callings. I remember when I was first being interviewed for the Aaronic Priesthood, as a 12 year old. The bishop asked if I knew the oath and covenant? I really didn't have a clue at that age what he was referring to. I am sure we had read these verses in Sunday School or Primary, but I really did not have any idea of their significance to the rest of my life as a holder of the priesthood. I think this ward's repeating of these verses on a weekly basis is a good thing.

Many men receive the priesthood, continuing on the path to Eternal Life they started with baptism, but do not magnify their callings over time. How well a man seeks out knowledge of his calling and current duties, and how he portrays that calling to others speaks volumes to his chances of eventual celestial glory. When seeking for a husband, my wife learned that how a return missionary spoke of his mission was a good indicator of their faithfullness to the gospel. Fortunately, I passed that test on our first date, speaking highly of my missionary experiences in England. Some callings may not seem important in the grand scheme of things, but I have learned over time, that there are no unimportant callings in God's kingdom. As Paul said, every member of the body is important. In the Missionary Training Center, there is a large monument with a placard which reads "what ere thou are, act well thy part". I know the Lord expects every priesthood holder to accept callings, and learn all they can from each one, performing each to the very best of their ability, and then moving on to new callings. I've never had a calling I didn't learn something from, or that I considered drudgery. There have certainly been callings that took a lot more time and effort than others, such as being an Elder's Quorum President in a young adult ward, where there was a literal "moving target" for hometeaching from month to month. Just going through the list of Elders and Perspective Elders and verifying that they still lived within the ward boundaries was a very daunting task that took the better part of a month for visits, phone calls, mail, etc. The do-not-contact list also needed to be verified, and also took quite a bit of time. However, I still remember both of these activities as some of the best times in my entire priesthood service. Through these efforts, we were literally seeking out the lost lambs, inviting many back to the fold, and considerably increased the attendance at our Young Single Adult ward in Henderson Nevada. I think I impacted more lives for good in the few months I was able to serve there, than on my mission to England.

Teach a man to fish . . .

2009-06-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

and you'll feed him for a lifetime! Yes, him, and maybe his neighbors, hometeaching companion, local missionaries, hometeaching families, and any one else he can get to accept a few more fresh trout.

We have had much success in the local lakes on trout, and are now starting to focus on the more elusive steelhead (salmon fishing is restricted in our two local rivers due to low counts). I'm even thinking of trolling for some kokanee salmon in the lakes at the foothills of Mt. St. Helen's soon, but our next adventure will be float tubing with Rick and Jason at Kress Lake in Kalama, trolling flatfish lures and seeing if we can interest any of the HUGE steelhead that keep jumping while we've been catching limits of the smaller rainbow trout with the kids. Since we started fishing at Kress a couple of weeks ago we have caught 65 trout, limiting each time we go. They really have a lot of fish in that lake, but they are all pan size trout. We have smoked quite a few, and shared them till folks say they've had enough.

I also discovered Gorilla Tape (a much improved version of the gray duct tape we knew and loved as kids) on the last trip to BattleGround Lake, and it made a great repair on the broken motor mount pole (broken [I think] when Johnny tried to navigate the Sevylor raft OVER a large log submerged in Battleground lake). That was quite an adventure. Two kids on another raft had to come help us tip the motor up and get off the log that had lodged between the motor shaft and the back of the raft. I found that Sevylor is now owned by Coleman, and they are sending me out a new part to replace the broken one. Until then, Gorilla Tape, like Gorilla Glue, is holding things together. The old (and well ingrained) pioneer motto still applies: "Fix it up and wear it out, do with it or do without" Just like Dad, I have stock piles of "raw materials" to McGyver things with in the garage. To the untrained eye, they may look like piles of junk, but they just keep turning out to be useful here and there.

A Great Day - and a Tribute to My Mother

2009-05-10T22:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday (May 9) I had a really great day. Here's the story of what happened.

A week or so ago, my home teaching companion and good friend Jason called me up to let me know the Moose Lodge in Woodland was sponsoring a kids fishing event at Horseshoe lake. We try to attend as many of these kind of events as possible, so Johnny can experience the thrill of fishing while its easy (it helps him to focus more on the fishing when it is not as easy). When we got there, we found that the Jason's family were not there yet and called them. Turns out they had some car problems and needed to fix a few things before heading out.

At the event, they had rented a Johnny-jumper, one of those huge kids jumping inflatables, so Johnny spent the first 30 minutes or so getting lots of good exercise jumping with lots of other kids in that while we waited for Jason's family.

We also took a walk around the grounds to see what else they had there. There was a big moose sign (a background for pictures with your fish). There was a big pile of hay on a tarp in the middle of a field, and there were lots of brand new shiny bikes as prizes for the biggest fish in various age groups. Johnny sat on his favorite one.

We went to registration, and paid our two dollars for Johnny's fishing, and spent two dollars on tickets to the prize lottery drawing. Then we went for a walk on the beach by the non-event fishers, and found that they were doing pretty good as well.

We helped a young man dehook a fish he had just caught, and Johnny took pictures of a large dog on the beach by a fisherman (after asking permission). [By the way, if you look at the detailed view of this picture where I'm holding the fish, you can see my finger that's healing up from the fingernail removal surgery I had last week, that was a follow-up to the ingrown fingernail that resulted from cutting the right side of that finger off with the chainsaw (see "Neighbors and Chainsaws" story below for details of that event).]

At registration, they gave out tickets for a free kids meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory (Johnny charmed his way into an extra ticket!)

Jason's family finally showed up, and then the waiting began. There was a line to get a spot on the beach where the fish were penned up in a net about 15 feet from shore. Hardly even room to cast.

In fact, there was a full time boatman with a trolling motor helping free lines of kids that had cast OVER the net and buoy system. He was kept VERY busy.

The fish were not all that hungry (full moon the previous night), but Johnnie caught two within the first hour, then helped his friends catch theirs. Toward the last hour, they consolidated the fish by shortening the 150-foot beach to about 75 feet long. We caught the last of the 12 fish then. Switching to PowerBait instead of the supplied worms also help speed up the catch toward the end.

One of the fish Johnny caught was large by the day's standard, being about 8.5 inches long, rather than the 5 to 6 inches of most of the other fish caught. We got it measured and cleaned, as with the rest of the fish.

The hay pile turned out to be a coin hunt. For various age groups, the sponsors dumped $50 in loose change into the hay, then set the kids to searching for it. The kids had a blast digging through the hay to find each penny. It reminded me of a carp boil (when you toss bread into a school of carp and watch them fall all over themselves trying to get a piece).

Finally, they held the lottery drawing and we didn't win anything with our tickets. Jason had purchased 7 tickets, and won a razor scooter on one of them.

Its was about 2:30 PM and Johnnie and I were starving. We did an emergency run to McDonald's, then headed home.

The next event of the day was a trip to the Portland Temple with two of my daughters, Traci and Kristi,
to act as proxies for the dead in baptism ceremonies (1 Cor. 15:29). As a Priesthood holder in the office of an Elder, I was able to perform the baptisms, and Kristi and Traci acted as the proxy in behalf of the persons who have died without the chance for baptism by this authority while living. What a great and marvelous plan our Heavenly Father has to provide ALL of his children a chance to accept the saving ordinances of the Gospel and return to live with him. We did names from a family genealogical file of a member of our ward, and collectively offer the baptism ordinance to 1500 spirits on the other side of the veil, some of whom we hope will accept this vicarious work done for them, and be able then to progress to the next stage in their journey back home.

On the drive to the temple, I got a surprise call from the Moose lodge volunteer. It turns out that Johnny's big fish was a prize winner in his age class. Johnnie had won a bike! So, after returning home, I drove back to Woodland to the Moose lodge with Johnny and Koda, and Johnny got to pick a bike. Turns out he got the one he had picked earlier from all the available bikes when we had toured the grounds earlier in the day. He is very thrilled with the bike!

Johnny and I then drove to The Old Spaghetti Factory and enjoyed some Mizethra ala Homer (spaghetti with Mezethra cheese and brown butter). This is one of Johnny's favorites. While we were there, someone had a birthday celebration. Johnny said, "hey, I just had a birthday (two weeks ago on 12 APR)" So, he called over our waitress and told her that he had missed coming in on his birthday and could they come and sing to him as well. Well, with that Johnny charm, of course they couldn't resist, so they rounded up all the wait staff and brought him a second helping of Spumoni ice cream with a candle in it and sang Happy Birthday to him. We brought at least half our food home for leftovers. Koda guarded the car well, and we gave him a puppy treat and water.

We stopped by Super Walmart on the way home and got mom some mother's day roses. We also found out that Johnny's bike was one of the best of the 20" bikes available, but that none of the ones they carried had gears. You have to go up to 24" before they start with the gears.

One the way home, I got to thinking about what a great day it had been and how much I owed a day like this to my mom. Mom is the one who always allowed Dad and I time to get away and fish, thus contributing to my love of fishing. She taught me to be a great dad, and of the joys of parenting. Mom helped teach me the gospel and has continually helped keep me on the straight and narrow path (and I wouldn't be a Priesthood holder or have been in the House of the Lord today if it were not for her). I probably would not have been a home teacher, and had a friend like Jason, so I probably wouldn't have even learned of the event. For that matter, I probably would not have 6 children, and thus Johnny (the sixth) to share this great day with. For all these things and sooooooo much more, thanks Mom. Happy Mother's day!

Good luck Ashley

2009-03-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last fall, my daughter KristiAnne asked if we could help out Ashley, a friend of hers (she had met in the Church's Young Single Adult program) who would soon be homeless, due to the circumstances of the family she was living with previously as a nanny.

Ashley came to live with us until she could find another more permanent place to live, hopefully by getting a job and supporting herself. Given our wonderful economy, this did not happen, despite Ashley's fairly consistent attempts to become employed.

Given that Kristi is coming home from BYU Idaho in a few weeks, and would need the room Ashley was using, Ashley arranged to move in with her father in Tacoma WA. Her father brought a trailer down yesterday, and we spent a few hours loading her storage unit and the belongings she had at our home.

I was touched by Ashley's parting comments. She (and her father) sincerely thanked us for taking her in and caring for her. Ashley said the thing she would miss most about not living with us was the 7:20 AM family prayer.

As when Chelsa moved out, I feel like I'm sending off another daughter (so that makes four now). It hasn't been all roses, but she is already missed. It felt strange going to church today without her in the Suburban. Johnny was the first to voice his feelings, after our morning prayer, dedicating our fast to a father in need, saying "I miss Ashley"

She has truely blessed our lives during her stay at the Atkinson home. Since Ash was a fairly new member of the church, the Elder's were still doing follow up visits with her, teaching her more of the gospel on Tuesday night visits. The Elders also came over and helped with the move. We even had three Elder's quorum members show up at the appointed time to help out. Our kids have attended some of these discussions, and learned even more of the gospel. Its amazing the questions new members have that don't occur to life-long members to ask.

Good luck Ashley - we look forward to your weekend visits when you need to see your doctors here, or visit with James. Remember Amtrack has a low fare from Tacoma to Vancouver.

Neighbors and chain saws

2009-03-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Now, that's a gripping title, don't ya think.

That others may learn from my mistakes . . .

It all started as an effort to deal with complaints from John, our backfence neighbor, who thought our trees needed a little trimming. After a major facelift to the NE corner of our yard, we had a whole driveway filled with tree branches, blackberry vines, and greenwaste. I decided to use the chainsaw to make short work of the pile, get a little firewood for campouts and backyard firepit cookouts, etc.

Now, I'm recovering from yet another dumb injury. I'm feeling a lot like Tim Taylor lately. I trimmed the fingernail (and a bit of the finger), using my chainsaw. Turns out chainsaws slice through pine like a hot knife through butter, but bite into and pull birch like a vaacum beater brush too close to a powercord. Picture holding the homelite chainsaw in the right hand, holding the tree branch to be cut into firewood in the left. The branch was pulled under the chainsaw (with my hand attached, pulled in from more that a couple of feet to the left) within a split second.

The doctor I visited (at Misti's insistence) the following Monday said I was dang lucky to only have lost as much flesh and nail as I had, and that this would be painful for a while. They took x-rays to make sure I hadn't knicked the bone (yeah, the cuts were that deep). They did a cleansing soak and gave me a fancy bandaid and homecare instructions, oh, and a tentanus booster. Its a little painful even now, two weeks later, typing this blog entry. It's still bandaided, but mostly just to keep the nail fragments from snagging on things until they grow out.

I have a whole new respect for chainsaw safety now, and will no longer "hold" anything I am cutting with such a saw; probably common sense for most of you, but for a big macho dude, who sometimes gets a Superman complex, thinking the ordinary laws of physics don't really apply to me, well . . ., you get the point.

Plumbing woes

2009-02-19T16:59:00.001-08:00

During the last really cold snap in Vancouver, our kitchen drain became plugged, and then, while I was working on snaking it out, Misti noticed a leak in the garage under the kitchen.

We eventually got a handyman in our ward to look at it with me to get an opinion if we should cut into the ceiling and where, and turns out he has a son that is a plumber in Portland. He said plumbing calls have dried up and they have very little work currently, so we were able to get him and his son to come help with the drain at a seriously discounted rate.

Turns out that a drain pipe had become disconnected at a 90 degree joint, then the leaking water was above and leaked into the heating ducts, which made it very difficult to pin-point the leak. We had to demolish several parts of the garage ceiling and wall board, and a large chuck of the same in the basement hallway.

The traps and pipes under the kitchen sink and island (which we have had trouble with since moving in) had been installed with sub-code (in fact illegal) piping, which we completely replaced with new stuff in code. It no longer leaks and is a lot sturdier. In additional to the break, there was also still a plug in the drain, which required renting a 50' snake from home depot (another 20' beyond the one I bought for the job). This did the trick, and we also installed a cleanout access point in the basement pipe to make snaking out the drain easier in the future. I learned lots about heating vents, plumbing, and even water heaters (who knew they had two heating elements and two thermostats the have to be kept in sync to heat water efficiently). I have previously adjusted up only one of these on each of the water heaters. Now we have increased the temp to 140 degrees on both, and seem to have enough hot water now to last several showers (an important feature on Sunday morning when all want to shower near the same time).

The blessing of hearing

2009-02-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

You really don't appreciate what you have until its gone, at least thats how I feel about hearing. Having only 20% hearing in the right ear does some really stange things to you, like not being able to tell where the cell phone is that you have set down and clearly hear ringing in your other ear. Directional hearing requires two working ears. Try completely plugging only one ear for a day to see what I am talking about.

Anyway, the doc says another month to my hearing test to see how well we did on the ear drum repair. The graft has sealed in all but a very small spot, which the doc pricked on my last visit to make it bleed and seal all the way over. The inner gel pack is still disolving as well, though the doc removed the outer one a few weeks ago. With any luck, I should be hearing again soon.

The nose is doing great and I can breath much more freely now through the left side.

Thanks to all for your prays and good wishes on my behalf.

Bone broth's been working

2009-01-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

My knee is nearly healed, and I have resumed neighborhood walks and elliptical training at 24 HR Fitness. I'm sure the bone broth has helped get my body the nutrients it needs to cushion my joints against further injury. The right knee is doing better as well.

The Holidays have come and gone. We didn't even get a Christmas poem and card written this year. It has just been too busy.

I volunteered as the chairperson for the Scouting fund raising drive this year, which consists of one event, which is the Christmas tree recycling project. It consumed the better part of three Saturdays to distribute flyers, organize the volunteers, and finally to pick up the trees and gather and account for the donations (which are still trickling in in the second week of January). We also got the big snow storms on both of our flyer days, and still had much snow and ice on the pickup day on January 3rd. The scouts were amazing however, and despite the occasional complaint of "are we done yet?" did an fantastic job. We had mostly parent volunteers, but this year, even had an Elder volunteer that only has your children. He drove his pickup truck and towed the big trailer lent to us by a member of the Salmon Creek ward who has a small farm and a lot of such equipment. Our collections were less than half that of last year, however, for the scouts the participated, they made a little over $6 per hour of time invested. That's still a pretty good return for a volunteer service.

Christmas was a cozy event at our home. No extended relatives visiting this year, but we did get some time with my oldest daughter Bri and my new son-in-law Grant, who were officially staying at his parents (about 20 minutes away). We also had my second oldest daughter Kristi come home from college at BYU Idaho for the holidays. Finally, our house-guest Ashley and her boyfriend James spent much of the Holidays with us as well. The other four kids still live at home, and enjoyed the family traditions of the Christmas countdown (a scrapbook with a scripture, song, and story for each of the 25 days till Christmas in December). Story time is ended with a candy from the countdown chains, which hava a special chocolate Santa on Christmas Eve. This year, we also visited the Vancouver Festival of the Nativities. Traci, Misti, and I split time on the camera to capture pictures of most of the nativites and artwork there. I put this to a selection of some of my favorite nativity music for a stunning slide show (which is great for family, but since it contains much that I'm sure is secured by artists copyright, cannot and should not be distributed beyond our immediate family per acceptable use).

Next week (Tuesday), I will undergo a couple of surgeries to restore my hearing, and widen my nasal passage. This should be the last of the surgeries for the foreseeable future (yeah). I have so much pain killer left from the last two, I won't even need to fill my new Rx this time around. I appreciate your thoughts and prays.

Let's not be too hasty to discount bone broth

2008-11-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/380797_bastyr29.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_259-260/ai_n10299306/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

This is just traditional chicken or beef broth or stock, like the pioneers used to make. And they had healthier joints than we do. I think we all need to eat more bone broth. Buying the watered down stock from a store does not work for the health benefits, neither does MSG ladden jell-o. Read the articles. What a revelation!

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More about me (1200 characters is NOT enough)

2008-11-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

I served a mission to England London and London South, after which I was educated at BYU. I married following my softmore year and had two kids before graduation (its true what they say about the water at Wymount Terrace married housing).

After 8 years in Southern CA, we escaped to Denver CO, stayed a couple of years, then escaped again to Vancouver WA and decided this was more our idea of home. Lets face it, it rains a lot, but the trees make up for it, and the fishings not to shabby. The doctors here and in Portland are second to none, and that is also very important for Johnny, our youngest, who was born with hydrocephalus, polydactally, and a coarctation of the aorta. He is doing great now, and was baptised this year.

Our dog is Koda, and as near as we can tell, he is a cross between a bernese mountain dog and a labrador, or a labernese. He is a very loving dog, but a little too fond of chewing on things he should not.

Recovery

2008-11-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got my knee surgery done last Tuesday. It went well, but I think I don't remember much from Tuesday through Thursday. Its amazing what a little rest and Vikadin will do to your memory.

I go in for post op on Nov 17 to find out how the Dr. thinks its going to go from here.

Margie (mom) says I ought to do some bone broth to build up the knee fluid for long range protection. The recipe for this is from an alternative medicine Dr. in the "Library of Medical Lies" This Dr. has some interesting ideas. Google it if you want to know more.

I can already put weight on the knee and did some good exercise today in the yard.

Thanks all for your fasting and prayers.

Sunday Calls & difficult Church scenario

2008-10-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'm actually surprised the last post works. The computer crashed just as I was about to proof read and spell check, so please forgive the spelling mistakes. I'm glad the entry saved anyway. I haven't figured out how to edit an entry that is already published yet.

This evening we managed to have a video conference call with my new son-in-law and daughter. They are attending BYU in Provo currently, having just married in August. We used Skype and it worked quite well. The kids still at home went nuts, performing all kinds of visual antics and being very involved in the conversation, much more so than they have been in speaker phone conversations of the past. This is a great way to communicate. We took a live video tour of their apartment, and then had a fun chat after sending the little ones to bed. Email me if you want our family Skype address.

We had a very interesting lesson in Elder Quorum today. The instructor organized us into several groups and gave each a difficult scenario to deal with, from his real-life experiences. They were very thought provoking, and people got very involved in the discussion. The one our group had was about a couple who had recently joined the Church and the husband had talked to a Sunday school instructor about a sensitive personal problem (the kind that probably should have only been discussed with a Bishop). It was a bad habit that was not overcome and fully repented of during the conversion and baptism process, but a habit serious enough to be a concern while preparing to go to the temple to have their marriage sealed for sealed for the eternities. It became obvious that this instructor had not kept this in confidence and dealt with it in an appropriate mature manner. The following week in church, the husband felt shunned by the instructor and ignored in class. The wife's visiting teachers gave her a lesson on being a supportive wife to a husband with this particular problem ( a problem they should not have known about). All this offended this new couple to such a degree that they no longer attended their temple preparation course or even church.

The discussion points were about what should be done now to help this couple.

Its never easy to overcome relationship mistakes like this. Having people in your church knowing your "dirty laundry" from a misplaced confidence can really make one feel uncomfortable. The first thought our group had was just to fellowship this couple and be a true friend. Listen, rather than trying to "solve" a problem, and encourage the husband to seek counseling with the Bishop, rather than others less competent to deal with problems of this nature. Getting the Bishop or Sunday School President involved in counseling the instructor that had violated the confidence may also be a good step, perhaps making it know to him how he had offended this couple while perhaps meaning well, may prompt some repentance and healing between the two.

Your thoughts on this subject are welcome, please comment.

First Steps

2008-10-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called LDS church or Mormon church), members are encouraged to share their experiences and beliefs with others, bearing witness of Jesus Christ and his works whenever possible. It is to this end that this blog exists.

I am a computer and internet consultant by profession, with over 25 year in the field. I find that the internet is one of the best communication tools in the world, for both good and evil. Today, the majority of internet traffic is pornagraphic in nature; however, good can also be found, and with much effort, the bad ignored or filtered. I encourage all to share the good that they find and promote positive uses of the internet.

It is hard to even do an internet search on a search engine these days without encountering content that, if it were rated by even the Motion Picture Industry standards, would be considered R, NC-17, or X rated. Pornography and loose standards of dress and behavior are portrayed all around us in popular advertising on all forms of media, but particularly rampant on the internet. But, the internet is also one of the best tools for sharing the word of God, and for organizing good and worthwhile pursuits. The information at our fingertips today and the ease of access boggles the mind.

I lived through the advent of the personal computer in the early 80's. I was at BYU as a student when the internet was rounding the corner from an academic research and email tool between universities and government to the commercial business to business and business to consumer tool that it is today. Before the internet's popularity, there were electronic bullitin board systems that people with computers and modems could dial into and participate in discussion groups, and file sharing. I was a systems operator (SysOp) one of these sites at BYU. It was here that I got my first taste of the true power of the coming internet. The discussion groups were powerful tools of free expression. Even at BYU however, there was already a problem of people unloading content not in keeping with the standards of that University. We did regular purges of the file upload area to remove offensive content.

An an LDS father (six children), I constantly strive to teach my family and their friends about the dangers of the internet, how to protect themselves, and how to find the good. Please share with me on this blog ideas you may have about this, and any links to good and wholesome content.

Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=snAjZ8mfoYw