The Power of a Name

In remembering Elder Wirthlin this week, I can't help but think back about a very fortunate experience I had with him personally. Almost 10 years ago, when I started working for the church, I had the opportunity as my work assignment, to support a computer program that is used by the Apostles every week. Like all computer programs, it was never without it's bugs. I would occasionally get calls to come fix problems with this program.

This was quite nerve wracking for a 'wet behind the ears' programmer like me. Talk about a refiner's fire. To try to fix the problem while a member of the Quorum of the Twelve was sitting there waiting for it to be fixed, was, I dare say, the most stressful experience of my life.

I was very humbled to have this assignment, but, what a blessing to be able to mingle with these wonderful men.

Whenever I had to fix the computer that they were using, they would, of course, be anxious to have it fixed, being under such a tight schedule as it is. And it was always a huge relief to fix it so that they could continue their work.

Which brings me to Elder Wirthlin.

Whenever I had to fix Elder Wirthlin's computer, though, it was different. As I would be working feverishly to try to fix the problem, he would calmly sit back, waiting ever-so-patiently. What touched me the most, though, was the fact that he was the only Apostle that always called me by name. That touched me in ways that I never anticipated. To have the Lord's Anointed know my name was something very special to me.

I will always remember that about Elder Wirthlin. He may not have known me on a personal level, but he knew my name. That was powerful. The power of a name.

He may have been short in stature, but he was a giant among men, and someone that I always looked up to. I will miss him deeply.

Preserving Marriage

The church just came out with a new website on the Divine Institution of Marriage.

There are several nice features of this site that you can embed in your own blog.

Some videos:



A Widget:



A Badge:



You can even bookmark it on Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon and more. Help spread the word!

Twitter and The Summer Relief Trip

Here it is, mid August. Where is this summer going? I have no idea. One thing I do know is that I am SO ready for a vacation. In 4 days and less than 16 hours we will be on our way to California for a week. This will be our first road trip with both the kids. A few years back we took Petunia to Yellowstone, and we had a blast. But this will be Chunk's first excursion. I know it will be a challenge keeping them occupied while we drive, but the change of scenery will a welcome sight. Plus, going with The Peaches will also be a blast! I'm tying really hard to keep focused at work, but it's tough when I see that it is 77 degrees along the California Coast, and that gas prices are some 20 cents cheaper there! I CAN'T WAIT!

As you are well aware, my blog postings have been minimal at most. Besides Facebook, I have discovered this thing called 'Twitter' which is kind of a mini-version of a blog. You type in these 'tweets'-- a sentence or two of 'What you are doing right now'--and lately that has been much more my style. Quick and to the point. Facebook has the same kind of things, too. You can find me there at http://twitter.com/ensigndj. Come join me! I think you'll like it.

During the course of the road trip, I will try to post tweets of what it is we are doing, where we are, and anything interesting that we see. I might even update Facebook with a picture or two if we have the time.

California, here we come!

New website to clarify Mormons and Polygamy

The church just launched a new website to help clarify polygamy confusion:



Simple and to the point. Love it.

What's been happening....

Well, it is time for my once-every-few-months blog post! It seems my wife has been better at blogging than me lately. Oh, well. Hopefully I can bring you up to speed on our goings on.

We have reason to celebrate lately, because now we have a yard! We have a full-fledged sprinkler system, sod, trees, and curbing. And no, we didn't do it ourselves. That what our tax return was for this year, and it was well worth it. I did spend the evening fertilizing the grass, and boy, did it feel good to putter around the yard!

We did plant 4 trees by ourselves. Three in the front (flowering fruitless pear) and one in the back (Blazing maple). I hope they grow well. The kids love to help water them, even though more water seems to get on them than in the ground. They love to have a place to play outside now. Our flower and vegetable gardens can wait until next year.

Another exciting development this week is the launch of FrontRunner, the new commuter rail. We took the kids for a ride on Saturday and they loved it. And so did I. When we came back to our station and the train went on its way, the kids waved goodbye to it while exclaiming, "Bye Bye, Daddy's Toot-Toot!" I am thrilled to be able to ride it. It goes pretty fast (we passed up a ton of traffic this morning, and I couldn't help but smile), and the ride is so smooth and quiet. Even though it may take me the same amount of time to get to work, the station is right up the street. Yet another advantage to moving into this house. It is much closer than the bus stop. We can even see the trains from our backyard, which is fun.

I got called to be the Ward clerk recently. It is much more involved than being the Finance clerk, but I love it. Every week, I learn new things.

Well, that about does it for now. Thanks for checking in!

Playing Mr. Mom

Whew. What a busy time this has been. For a while now, The Wife has had some health issues that pretty much knock her down and out for days at a time. Well, last week she had an ultrasound (not what you think!). It was discovered that she was the proud mother of gall stones. She met with the surgeon and determined that the best course of action was to have her gall bladder removed. For whatever reason, the gall bladder is one of those organs that really isn't necessary, like the appendix. Who knew? So, on Thursday, she went under the knife and now no longer has her gall bladder.

The surgery went well, and she is resting comfortably for the most part, but the pain comes and goes. She is doing much better today than yesterday, but we think in the long run this will solve these ongoing health issues.

It has been interesting for me to play Mr. Mom. I don't think that can ever measure up to what The Wife does for the kids. I was able to get Petunia ready for school yesterday, even though she cried getting on the bus. After that, I took Chunk to the Library and Post Office so she could get some rest while Petunia was as school. It's sad, but I count the hours until nap time and bedtime (less than a half hour now). Right now they are watching 'Calliou'. Soon it will be time for bedtime stories and prayers. Oh, how I look forward to that. I have had to break up many an argument between Petunia and Chunk, clean up spilled food storage macaroni in the basement, change a few batteries in some electronic toys, wiped some messy faces, but all-in-all, not too bad.

Once things calm down, in my quiet moments while the family sleeps, I have been really into Railroad Tycoon III. In the past it has been games like Flight Simulator and The Sims. They are good little escape games that help me to relax. Lately, I have needed it. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids to death, but sometimes things get really insane, and to keep my sanity, there is nothing like building a railroad empire until 1:00 in the morning to get my mind off the hectic schedule of playing Mr. Mom.