A Few Musings

Sitting here watching the Lakers beat up on the Jazz so I thought I'd record a few thoughts:

- I haven't played basketball or soccer for a couple of weeks now. I've either sprained or aggravated a previous sprain on my left ankle three times in the last two months or so--twice playing hoops and once playing soccer. It's really annoying, but I guess it's just another sign that I'm getting older. I never used to have problems with my ankles, but now it seems like it's just a routine occurrence--go play ball and hurt the ankle. So, I decided to take a few weeks off to give the ankle time to heal completely. It's not there yet, but it is feeling far better than it did the last two times I went back to play after injuring it. I'm hoping that with another week it will feel completely normal. We shall see. It takes some of the fun out of the game when in the back of your head you're always concerned about little injuries.

- I have really enjoyed the NBA playoffs this year. My favorite part has been watching Chris Paul of the Hornets. I hadn't really seen him play before this, and I am thoroughly impressed with how complete his game is. And, he comes with the added bonus of playing with a playground abandon. I have loved watching him clown the Spurs on his drives to the hoop. It's easy to see how playing with a guy like that would just be a blast!

- Sobering happenings in Myanmar and China. Thinking of the tsunami a few years ago and Katrina closer to home as well as wars and everything else makes me feel incredibly insulated and spoiled here at home. I mean, look at my two previous items--moaning about minor ankle injuries and commenting on a frivolous game. I guess that's the luxury we have, but it doesn't make the events in other parts of the world any less real for those who are impacted by them. On that note, a shout out to Brenna's cousin, Josh Brazier, and his kaiizen.org efforts. Amazing and inspirational guy. Also a shout out to BYU's Center for Economic Self Reliance (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/selfreliance/). I have to get more involved in that.

- This weekend our stake is doing Play in a Day for the youth. Brenna and I took turns spending time at the church tonight helping out with getting the youth organized. We had more than 30 youth there--amazing! I feel very fortunate to be able to continue to work with the youth. I can't think of anything I would rather do in the church. I spent time with the YM who are working on the set, and it's just fun to interact with them and be reminded of the things that are important to teenagers. What a great time of life! Brenna loved being able to spend time with them as well. It's a breath of fresh air to parents with grade school age children!

- Tomorrow is our 11th anniversary. We're so romantic that we will spend it helping with the Play in a Day and watching the performances in the evening. We figure we did it right last year with our trip to England and Belgium, so a low key anniversary this year is acceptable.

I guess that's enough for now. Nice just to sit down and let my thoughts flow out of my head and onto the screen.

Big Weekend

This is one of those weekends we will always remember at our house. On Saturday Savannah was baptized and Eliza was blessed. What a great day! Little Eliza has come so far so fast that it all is just a bit incredible to think that we're doing regular baby things with her now. And Savannah was so pleased to be able to share her amazing day with her little sister.

The three girls looking good!

This picture of Eliza reminds me a lot of Madison when she was getting blessed. It's fun to be able to look back and have those memories. After having seen Savannah and Madison develop their personalities I am very eager to see what Eliza will be like. My guess is she will have a fighting spirit but be very insightful as to others emotions and needs. Time will tell. I just love being a dad and seeing these wonderful people become who they are.

The oldest and the youngest. It's very enjoyable to see how much the older children love holding Eliza and how cautious they are with her. She does lend a certain air of calm at times!

The whole gang! What a beautiful day, and what fun we had! Thanks to our family who traveled to be with us, and thanks to our wonderful friends who participated. I really felt the strength of the great men with whom I stood in those two circles. I can't think of another feeling to compare it with, but I won't forget it.

How to combat unhappy feelings

Madison has really charmed us with this song she learned in Cherub Choir. She goes once a week to a large Christian church in the area with loads of other children her age and they have a great time singing songs about Jesus, playing games and the like. One day she came home singing this song, and she now frequently reminds us to apply its message (generally as a result of something she has done, and often forgetting to apply its message herself). Anyway, it's a great song, and this was the best version we could get from her with the camera rolling.

If somebody makes me mad,
Or somebody makes me sad,
I stop and pray and Jesus makes me glad!

FHE

This video was taken a couple of weeks before Eliza came home, and I've just remembered to post it. There is actually another video about five minutes long that started at the beginning of the lesson. It was hilarious, but it's too big to post here, and I'm too lazy to figure out how to parse it. I wish it were easier to share though, because it is a microcosm for all FHE lessons. Very good times! So, if you know what FHE stands for and you've battled through it with small children, watch, enjoy and take heart. They don't just ignore their parents, they also ignore each other!

Eliza at Home

OK, I'm finally getting around to putting up some pics of Eliza in her new habitat. Give the old guy a break--it's tough being a parent to a newborn. Brenna and I have are experiencing the strange rollercoaster emotions of euphoria over having our baby home and exhaustion because our baby is home. Overall she's doing great, but we're remembering that newborns don't sleep through the night. And this particular newborn has reflux and routinely spits up with the added bonus that it often gets stuck in her throat making it very difficult for her to breathe. As you might expect Brenna has had some exceedingly stressful moments watching our little girl turn very red as she struggles to get oxygen into her system. No wonder she was having bradies in the hospital! So, we're finding it a challenge, but a challenge we embrace. She is absolutely lovely and we love holding her and watching her. So, that's the big update. Let me now get to the pictures:

Here we are leaving the hospital. Woohoo! We spent a couple of hours there making sure everything was in order, and then the nurse walked us out the door and down to our van (she had to make sure we knew how to buckle in her car seat)!



The big moment! I had gone back to church while Bren and Eliza stayed at home. When I brought the kids back Eliza was snoozing in her bassinett. So we took them up to our room and here are their expressions!

Such well-behaved children--sitting so peacefully while mommy feeds Eliza. You can guess how long that lasted!

The star of the show posing for all of her adoring fans.

Big sister looking the part.