Ostriches

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

I read this scripture for the Elders Quorum lesson. In the margin next to this verse, I had sometime ago written GRAFITI. Why did I write graffiti? Is it because I think taggers should be harshly punished? That really doesn’t relate to the scripture, unless taggers do it because they have a weakness in an identity crisis or something along those lines. So I thought a little harder and then remembered this:

This is why this scripture is so true. This was some graffiti on a wall along a well-traveled path in Campinas, Brazil. I took a picture of it because it is so ironic how the natural man tends to act like an ostrich when adversity comes. We must not bury our heads when we are embarrassed or when we can’t face our trials. We must look to God, humble ourselves and plead to Him for strength and encouragement. The promise is that in so doing, our weaknesses are reversed to become our strengths. That is awesome!

Directions

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass (the Liahona), which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land. (Alma 37:44)

When we read this scripture in Sunday School today, the words “if you know how to use it and are worthy to use it” popped into my head. One must have the knowledge of how to use the tool to make the tool effective. For example, I often let Maggie play with my tools. I don’t usually think twice about her playing with them because she doesn’t know how to use them. (Megan blogged about this once) However, she astonished us a few months ago when we saw that whenever we gave her our keys she would walk up to doors and try to use a key. We don’t know where she got that from, based on that we use keyless car remotes and go through the garage into the house. When she plays in the car she always asks for my set of keys. She will pick out the right one and then will put it into the car ignition. We are in big trouble when she learns to turn the key.

Back to the scripture: it is stating that the word of Christ (scriptures, gospel, commandments, etc.) and a compass are easy to follow and will equally point us in the right direction. Following directions, especially when compasses are involved, reminded me of a story. All good stories begin with “one time…” so here we go:

One time, the summer before I was a senior in high school, our stake decided to do a stake-wide, all young men’s summer camp. This was the infamous summer camp where we burned the couch. That story has gained immortal legend status in the Woods Cross 2^nd Ward, especially with all the ever changing nuances that Rick Hawley comes up with; it’s best to get the story from him.

Anyway, the stake called on some of the priest age young men who were basically done with their Eagles and merit badges to be merit badge counselors for the Deacons and Teachers that still needed merit badges. I was assigned to teach the Orienteering Merit Badge, which obviously deals with compasses and compass courses for orienteering purposes. As merit badge counselor I was in charge of teaching the boys how to use a compass and then taking them through all the merit badge requirements. This was my first time being a counselor, so I didn’t know what to expect. I just tried to follow the merit badge book the best I could.

I was in relatively good shape back then (actually I was in darn near the best shape of my life), so I thought nothing strange of requiring the boys to record their 100 meter sprint times. To facilitate this requirement, we found the straightest and flattest area we could, which happened to be the main road through camp.

Due to the distracted nature of the video game generation, it’s hard to get 12-year olds to listen and follow directions. Subsequently, if I remember correctly, we spent A LOT of time getting everyone coordinated and passed off, one by one, on the 100 meters. Many leaders watched us and wondered what the heck we were doing. For years now I have received ridicule for making a 100 meter sprint part of the orienteering merit badge. I even convinced myself that I had misinterpreted the merit badge requirement and that we ran all day long for no apparent reason.

Well, it’s time to set the record straight. In preparation of this post, I uncovered this information:

The fifth requirement is as follows: Set up a 100-meter pace course. Determine your walking and running pace for 100 meters. Tell why it is important to pace-count.

So I didn’t screw up after all! What a relief. For nearly 8 years I have had that sad thought looming over my head. I just may be qualified to teach more merit badges!

And that story was related to the aforementioned scripture because you have follow directions. And sometimes people don’t recognize that you are following directions, but you need to anyway, no matter how hard it is or how silly it seems. We have been promised that if we follow directions we will be blessed. We need to follow up on those types of sacred promises. Doing so will strengthen our testimonies and prepare us for whatever challenges lay before us.

In response to a tagging,

My sister Jill tagged me for to apparently reinvent the meaning of the alphabet. Please be so kind as to bear with me as I complete this endeavor:

A = ADVOCATE FOR: I honestly haven't advocated for anything in years. I'm not off to a very good start here.
B = BEST FEATURE: What type of feature? Feature film? I like the epic movies of the 80's, the Indiana Jones and Back to the Future movies. I also like documentaries.
C= COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: Good food. I can already tell this is going to take a while.
D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: A good career, community involvement and well-roundedness in understanding how people and things work in this world.
E = ESSENTIAL ITEM: Toothpaste. My mom says I inherited a bad tartar build-up problem from my dad. The dentist likes to hurt me.
F= FAVORITE PAST TIME: Sports, friends, yard work, manual labor, relaxing.
G= GOOD AT: Apparently propagating Megan's fertility.
H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: Downhill skiing, but I don't think I really want to try it anyway. Sometimes toasties make me angry.
I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I would pay off our mortgage and child birthing debts, and then buy us a couple more-suitable vehicles and build an addition on our house and then put some away for family and future needs.
J = JUNKIE FOR: Engineering documentaries, the Panama Canal, dirt and water.
K = KINDRED SPIRIT(s): What the heck is a kindred spirit? That is like the most un-manly thing I have ever heard of.
L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I only gained 9 pounds from 6th grade (204 lbs) to being a senior in high school (213 lbs).
M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: I agree with Megan that having the twins and all that happened the day they were born was memorable. Maggie's birth was also very memorable. Having kids in general is memorable; it has a way of erasing all prior memories of being married without kids.
N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: I'm with Megan on this one: Get married. I got me a good catch and I intend to keep her (I told her to write that when she did this).
O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Sunday afternoon naps.
P= PERSON I MOST ADMIRE: Those who have been my leaders in family, church, scouts and school.
Q = QUOTE: I don’t pay attention to specific quotes. My inspiration comes from my drive to endure and excel.

R = REASON TO SMILE: I haven’t gone to the dentist in over a year, so I am not so sure I should be smiling all that much.

S = SORRY ABOUT: Hurting the environment because my Honda Accord now only runs on 3 cylinders.
T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: Ryan Charles, David P. Johnson

U = UNINTERESTED IN: Country Music.
V = VERY SCARED OF: Being swarmed by the hornets that I keep trying to kill.
W = WORST HABIT: Being insensitive.
X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: All-Inclusive resort somewhere in Mexico.
Y = YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: Like Megan, I always thought the 70's would be cool.
Z = ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn.

Guess Who?

In a sudden rush of events, we found ourselves with two brand new additions to our family last Tuesday. A lot of people have wondered about their arrival and how it all happened, so allow me to enlighten you all....

The morning of Tuesday July 8, 2008 was nigh unto the typical morning around our house. Though my alarm had been going off for over a half hour, Maggie finally woke us up a few minutes after 7:00. Still feeling the effects of the sicknesses we all contracted during the prior weekend, we were hesitant to get out of bed. Megan had a doctor’s appointment for a non-stress test, so she showered first. Our shower head was acting up and had absolutely zero pressure. I showered next and got it to give me just a little more pressure by playing with it. I quickly dressed and was off to work by 8:10 because I had a site meeting in Draper at 8:30. As I was leaving Megan threw Maggie in the tub.

As I was pulling off the freeway about 6 minutes later I got a phone call from Megan. I have never heard her be so frantic. I couldn't understand a word she was saying and was assuming that something was wrong with Maggie. After a couple of minutes she was calm enough to tell me that the tub faucet wouldn't turn off and that it almost flooded the house. Adding to the hysteria, she couldn't find her cell phone to ask me what to do. She eventually remembered where the house shut-off valve was in the basement. As she ran down the stairs, her increased girth got the best of her, and she lost her center of gravity, falling forward down about 4 stairs. She caught herself but mostly landed on her belly with her knees and feet still on the stairs above her. She was able to turn the water off without flooding the house, but something in all that emotion of hysteria opened additional valves within.

After my meeting I rushed home and was able to comfort her for a minute while inspecting the busted valve. It was toast and there was no other shutoff than the main house valve. She had placed band-aids on her rug burned knees and arms, poor thing. I resolved to call our home warranty and get the valve replaced immediately. I jokingly told her that she jinxed us the night before when we told our friends Dave and Kristin that we were the fourth family to live in our semi-new house and Megan said it wasn't even possessed as far as she could tell.

I went back to work and called the home warranty people who said they would have a crew there in less than 8 hours to fix the dang valve. Megan called and said she was on her way to LDS hospital for her appointment and that she was feeling some contractions. Her mom had come to watch Maggie and had told Megan that she looked lower, like the babies had slid into delivery position. That wasn't quite what we wanted to hear because we weren't in the least bit ready. Megan was 35 weeks and 2 days along and our bags weren't packed, nor was our nursery ready.

While in the hospital Megan called and said that due to her spill that morning she needed to stay and be monitored longer. She was worried because she parked in 2-hour parking on the street. Eventually the nurses and doctors declared that she was in labor. They gave her a shot of something to see if it would stop, and it wouldn't. They told her to go move her car because she was going to be there a while.

So 35 weeks prego with twins and in labor, the nurses made her go out and move the car. How ironic is it that as she approached the car, there was the city parking enforcer writing her a ticket? He said, "This car has been here longer than 2 hours". And she was like, "I know! I've been here for like 5!! I'm in labor and need to park it somewhere else." To which he said, "Well, I’ll take this ticket back but I’m really not supposed to". What a dork. Megan got in the car and started sobbing. What an emotional day, and this was only at about 1:30 pm.

She then called me and told me that she was admitted for delivery and that she was being given pitocin. The only problem was that I was racing home to meet the plumbers to fix the faucet. I met them and frantically grabbed a bag of stuff. They were there for like 5 minutes and then said that they needed to go back to Salt Lake for a part. So Megan's dad came to house sit and wait for the plumber as I raced up to the hospital. I called my dad and brother to come to the hospital so we could give Megan a blessing. We all met there at 3:00 and gave her a blessing. Megan was getting her epidural as I got there. Looking for a doctor, I said "are you just the anesthesiologist?" I think he got mad and offended by that. Whoops. Sorry, it had been a crazy day.

The nurse told me that at 2:40 they had given her penicillin which needed 4 hours before delivery to fully kick in. So we waited, expecting to deliver around 6:40. Soon my dad and brother left us and a little while later Megan's parents and brothers came up. We joked around a bunch, which made Megan’s monitors go funny from all the belly laughter that she was doing.

At about 7:00 they told us that her doctor was out on a date for her anniversary and that we would wait for her. Finally, a few minutes after 8:00, the doctor showed and assessed Megan and told her to wait some more while she changed. At about 8:45 the doctor came in and broke Megan’s water. Almost instantly Megan’s contractions heightened and became very painful. Worried that the epidural was wearing off, Megan requested more. A few minutes later we were rushed to the operating room for delivery in case anything went awry and a c-section was needed. Megan’s mom and I were able to accompany her in the operating room, but we had to wear these sweet suits.

It took about 3 contractions to get Coleman out. He was born at 9:18 and weighed 5 lbs even and was 19 inches long. We didn’t get to really see him as he was rushed to a warmer bed and was given oxygen. Nine minutes later William slid down and was born after 1 contraction. He was 4 lbs and 13 ozs. He was also whisked away so we never heard how long he was. The boys were rushed to the special care nursery without us getting to touch them. Megan returned to her room having delivered nearly 10 lbs of baby, but saddened by not being able to see them.

Soon Megan’s family left and we were left alone. It seemed like it was about midnight before they moved Megan to her postpartum room. At that time we passed the nursery and were able to touch our boys. They were so small and were being monitored for heart rate, breathing rate and blood oxygen levels. They had IV’s in their hands and were on a CPAP machine that was similar to a sleep apnea machine. We just wanted to touch them, but the nurse said that being 5 weeks early, their skin is underdeveloped and that they don’t like rubs, but just solid contact. Did I mention yet that I don’t really like that nurse?

Anyway, it was about 2:00 pm the next day before we were told that we could hold our babies. Megan was able to do Kangaroo time with the boys, which made her feel a lot better. We had a lot of visitors that second day and lots of people saw the boys through the windows, but only Megan and I have held them. They are way fun to hold and they love to just cuddle up on my chest in little balls. The like my red shirts more than my blue shirts.

Since then they have been off and on and back off of the warmer beds, and are now getting decreased amounts of forced oxygen and air through a nose tube just like the football players. These guys are just days old and are already super manly!! We get to go and hold them and help change their diapers and feed them every 3 hours as much as we want. Megan nurses them and they are really good eaters! That’s what we expected. We want to see the chubby sagging baby cheeks that I had when I was little.

They were under bilirubin lights for a day and 2 nights, but are better now. Maggie's been playing with cousins. We owe a lot of thanks to our families who are doing a ton to help us out.

On Sunday we were able to sneak Maggie into their room. Maggie gave them loves, helped with binks and kissed their heads. It was fun to have our family all together finally. She wanted to be the big sister and hold William, but he’s too small and there’s too many wires and tubes hooked up to him. I can’t wait to see them all wrestling on the ground in a few months.

Sunday morning we talked with the pediatrician who said that they will be done taking antibiotics on Wednesday and then after that, if they keep gaining weight and are off the oxygen for 2 days, they can come home. So we need everyone to pray for them and specifically for their little lungs and respiratory systems, so that they will be sustained on their own breathing by receiving the proper oxygen amounts that they need. The pediatrician estimated that they will be in the nursery till they are a week and a half to two weeks old. We can’t wait to bring them home. They are adorable!

Looks Like I'm in Good Shape

I keep telling Megan that I want to get a gun. I guess according to this test, as long as I have my lucky machete, I should be in good shape. I learned a lot of these survivor skills on my mission. It was like 2 years of scout camp (good old Campinas - that always makes Megan laugh). One time I got attacked by a big hairy German Shepard and I kicked it real hard as it bit me. It was awesome! It bit me on my belt so I didn't even feel it. Missionaries really are protected. After that, I teased a few dogs (small ones only) and got bit like 3 more times, and then I stopped because I could already say that I got bit by a dog. Don't get me wrong, I didn't provoke the German Shepard, it hastily came at me, which always made us laugh because my companion was just as tall as me but about 80 pounds lighter. The dog had an appetite for fleshy meat.

The funny thing about this survival test is that it asks questions about physical prowess, fitness and abilities, but it never asks about intelligence, or quick-thinking except for your reaction time. I think when it comes down to it, size really does matter, but you also need to know how to use your size. I have seen real animal attack books in places, I'm thinking of one with a yellow cover... I can't find it. There are different tricks to fighting different animals and you have to think quick without panic to know what to do to beat them.

Last year at scout camp I chased a badger out of our campsite. I wanted to fight it, but it ran away without giving me a chance. We also saw some moose. I don't think I would ever want to pick a fight with a moose.

When I was 18 I went on a road trip to Yellowstone with a few friends. One of them brought along a book that documented all the known deaths at Yellowstone since its inception as a National Park. That was a cool book.

Anyway, I should be working on my thesis. Good luck to the rest of you.

Shelving

Back in the day I worked for a supplier/dealer/installer of commercial kitchen equipment called CKS (Commercial Kitchen Supply- that was redundant). One of the owners was my young mens leader throughout the years named Layne Walker, and the other owner was his brother in law, Keith Eubank (yes son and brother of the infamous weather guys, although Keith is like twice the size of squeaky).

I started doing odd things off and on for CKS when I was still in high school. Later I worked for them for a few months before my mission and then started up again with them 4 days after I got home from my mission. That was kind of awkward because I spoke really bad English with a HEAVY Brazilian accent. Sometimes I would talk to other people and accidentally drop a few Portuguese words mid sentence. I never understood why they looked at me weird. It was especially hard to talk to girls. I'm better now, I think. Anyway Seester (Nacho), I then worked for them up to my marriage except for a 5-month intern stint over to the Layton City Engineering Department. I had to quit CKS because I had to leave home to cleave to Megan in Provo. They wanted me to stay, but couldn't offer me the health insurance and stuff that I felt was necessary for my new family. Keith sent me off with his 1989 Magnavox TV (you may have seen this before) and then the CKS crew gave us our barbeque grill for our wedding present. If you haven't seen that yet, then we owe you a bbq. The grill cooks like a champ.

I went back to their office this week looking to buy some heavy duty shelving from them to use in our storage room of the new house. Keith greeted me with a big smile and was glad I had swung by to visit. He said that since I was such a great employee that I could just have some of their surplus shelving. I was overjoyed, what a blessing. The free shelving was not the exact size of what I had come up with in my original request; I actually ended up with more bigger and better shelving than I had anticipated. I just ran the numbers through a website that sells similar stuff and I actually ended up with over $1,100 of free shelving!

One thing that I always did when I worked for CKS was compare the price of the equipment to my car back then, the blessed Toyota Tercel Blue Dart station wagon. That only worked because my parents don't know what a real blue dart is. Nobody better blow that, ya hear?!?!! So, for example, the shelving that I got was the price of 1 Blue Dart (after installation and setup)!! We used to work with some ovens and stuff that cost 25 Blue Darts. We had to be real careful with that stuff.Those pictures aren't my Blue Dart, my mom kind of stole it from me and then sold it for $500. Best $500 car that somebody could have ever bought. I hope to get another one someday and then restore it and really make it ultimate.

I am grateful for having had the experiences to work and for the things I have learned therein. I have been blessed with developing talents that have enabled me to do a lot of different things and I feel grateful for those who have been patient with me and taught me so much. I remember that while I was on my mission CKS had their first million dollar year (grossed business). I have learned that this year they will do around $13M in business. I am happy for them. Keith and Layne are some of the best, most honest and smartest guys I have ever worked for. If I hadn't been so infatuated with dirt, maybe I could have stuck around and had a piece of the $13M pie. I guess I should visit more often, we could really use a new toaster.

Belated Spring Cleaning

As we were packing boxes to move to Lehi, father of Nephi, we realized that we have a lot of really cool stuff!!! In fact so much cool stuff that we need to dispose of some of it. So like any other resourceful techno-savvy nice guy, I stayed up late last night after the kid was in bed, and I posted it all for super cheap on KSL. Dr. Lawton always said that Ziploc baggies were the best invention for geotechnical engineering, and I say that KSL classifieds is the best invention for us Utahns.

Anyway, here are some links to cool stuff that we are selling. Let me know if you want this stuff. If you are our family or friends we will totally just give it to you because what the heck are we going to do with it?

Vintage 1989 20-inch Color Magnavox TV with Remote!!

6-ft Decorative Hanging Shelf with Pegs! ~50+ ft of 4-ft Chain Link Fencing + Extras! Dog Run Vintage New in Box Fill-A-Bowl

Webwave Pacific Wireless Rootenna + Extras!!


guess which one of these listings has had the most hits! Who'd a known it's the chain link fence?

What in the world makes chain link fence so popular? Next most popular was the wooden shelf (probably because I used the word "pegs" in the title, LUCKY!). The funny thing is, is that both those things were things that we inherited when we left the land bountiful and came to Lehi's Deseret.

Totally just let us know if you want some of this stuff. We all know how super sweet it is.