yapbfb

My grandfather died this morning

2012-02-01T22:26:00.001-08:00

My grandfather passed away this morning.

He'd had spinal cancer for quite some time.

We were going to go down this weekend, but now that he's passed all of those plans are up in the air.

He is going to be cremated and interred in Fort Rosecrantz National Cemetary. There is a huge military graveyard there with tens of thousands of soldiers from WW II and I think other wars as well. My father is also cremated and interred there as well. I plan to attend the services. That way I can say goodbye to my grandfather and my father both (I did not get to go to my father's funeral when he passed).

I am in a funk. It does not feel real.

Short movie showing Robotz game animation

2011-12-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

http://youtu.be/62PZwZUCtgQ

2011-12-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

Sprite sheet:

Sample Artwork for Robotz Game

2011-12-15T16:50:00.001-08:00

New favorite game

2011-12-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

http://onemorelevel.com/game/blast_master

Wife Extreme Couponing

2011-11-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Wife spent $253 on approximately $994 worth of supplies for the family:

25 random things about me

2011-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

I got tagged to reveal 25 random things about me. I am not sure I can come up with that many, or at least, 25 things that people might find worthy to read, but here we go.

-I love to write. I love the way typing on a keyboard feels.
-I program websites for a living, but my passion in programming is creation.
-If money were no object, I'd spend my days creating computer games.
-I've never pet a tiger.
-One time while hiking, I got stranded for a bit on a ledge. It was the most scared I've been in my life.
-I've watched 3 human beings enter this world for the first time. Human beings that I helped create. Not much compares to fatherhood.
-I often have a difficult time concentrating on the task at hand. I get distracted easily.
-I wish we had spaceships and could travel to other planets with intelligent life.
-I love scaring my kids. I wait at the top the stairs and then jump out when they reach the top. I think that is great fun!
-I love joking around with my kids and having fun.
-I have a very corny sense of humor. Just ask my wife.
-I love martial arts. Bloodsport. Enter the Dragon. You heard me!
-I am fascinated by artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.
-I just stopped and counted...okay...up to 13 now. Better than I thought I'd do!
-I will probably re-count and re-read all of this after I post.
-I am wondering if I should count the last 2 things about me since they are filler.
-That was also filler....so is this!
-My eyes are two different colors. Not like one brown and one blue, but they are slightly different colors.
-One ear on the top part of the ear is open. The other ear is folded down and flat towards the top. It's because as a baby I used to favor sleeping on the one ear.
-I have a few scars. Two above my eyes, one from an appendix operation at 17, one on my knuckle when my hand got nicked on the edge of a mirror. Ouch!
-I played soccer for 8 years.
-I spent two years in Sao Paulo, Brazil sharing my religious beliefs with other people.
-I wish I was a better artist. One day I would like to get some training on drawing people, faces, animals, objects, etc.

Well, even with filler, I'm only at 23. So sue me, it's all you are getting! :)

Wife online radio show

2011-11-22T16:46:00.001-08:00

My wife does an online radio show on Disabilities:

Radio Show on Disabilities

My daughter made these for me!

2011-11-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Our New Home

2011-11-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

We moved into our new home the end of October.

Little Feet

2011-11-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

Passenger

2011-11-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hard to make out but it is a grasshopper.

My Kids

2011-11-19T16:15:00.001-08:00

Orange wedge candy...yum

2011-11-15T11:09:00.001-08:00

Have you ever had these? I remember watching planes land at the airport and my chicken meal would have one of these orange wedges inside!

My youngest daughter laughing

2011-10-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Some pretty locations in Utah

2011-08-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

My wife knows how to tune a guitar!

2010-07-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I found out today that my wife knows how to tune a guitar!!

She grew-up taking voice lessons, and sang in a bunch of chorale groups growing-up. So, I guess that means she can tune a guitar...she can tell if the notes sound right.

A silly thing...but wonderful to me. :)

Airplanes song

2010-07-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Love this song...

Our Trip to Florida

2010-06-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Florida. I began writing this blog entry while I was in Florida and hope to finish it now.

A bit of explanation is in order.

My daughter has Rett Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects mainly girls. My wife is very active in the Rett community. In fact, she organized the very first Rett Syndrome charity event in Utah this year. A company based in Florida heard about her and wanted to film an interview with her. At first they discussed coming to Utah to film, but as it ended-up being cheaper to fly us out to Florida.

There's no way we would have been able to afford a week long trip to Florida on our own. I've been unemployed since February, 2010. But even so, we've never really had much savings, so this was still a once in a lifetime trip for our family.

My wife spent hours planning the trip, arranging for our hotel stay and airline tickets. Bless her for that.

We decided to stay in a hotel close to the airport on Friday night (18th of June). The reason for this was we had an early flight Saturday morning. We awoke at 4:30 in the morning and a few hours later we lifted-off from SLC International Airport. My wife and I had flown before, but the kids hadn't, and particularly the 2 oldest had not flown before. Emily thought the take-off was really cool. I love flying. I love looking out the window and seeing how everything looks from so high up. The houses and cars and everything looks like miniature toys!

Our first stop was in Houston, TX. We ended-up getting back on the same exact plane for our connecting flight from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We flew over the Gulf of Mexico for the majority of our flight, which was very pretty. There was a recent oil spill, a big one, which has been in the news. I think we flew over it. We saw patches of water that seemed to have something on top of the water.

Anyway, we landed in Ft. Lauderdale a few hours later. We took a few pictures from our hotel room on the 7th floor. You can make out the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon:

Pictures of me, Emily and the inside of our hotel room: :)

The next day we drove down to the Keys. We ended-up staying at the Cheeca Lodge Resort, which was a really nice 5-star hotel. We felt weird being around all of the rich people, ha ha ha.

The drive down:

The entrance to the Cheeca Lodge Resort, and Hotel pics of the room and exterior:

While we were down in the Keys we got to go to the Dolphin Research Center and my wife and kids were able to swim with the dolphins and make them do tricks:

The next day we checked-out of the Cheeca Lodge and drove up to Tampa, FL. We spent a few days there. Found out my laptop had gotten left behind at the Cheeca Lodge. We were able to get it back...whew!!! We were able to see my wife Syndi's Uncle Gerri ("Gary") and his wife. The next day we were going to go to Sea World, but Isabelle was not feeling very good (neither was my wife) so we just stayed inside and kept cool. The next evening we met with some other families in the Tampa area that have girls with Rett Syndrome. We flew home on Saturday.

I have to admit...while Florida looks nice...it does not feel nice! It is hot and very very VERY humid! The most comfortable times for me were the hotel rooms or in the rental car with the AC blasting away! Going outside was miserable. My wife and kids got mild sun burns; I am surprised they did not burn worse than they did. Even Isabelle came through it okay!

I guess that is it for now. I'll come back and add more later if I want to / need to.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED: tons more pics of the dolphins with my wife and kids

more pics here as well!

About Me (for starters)

2010-06-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

I enjoy writing to pen pals as a sort of hobby. If you are reading this, you are probably someone I am writing to. As you might imagine, I get asked the same questions over and over again about my family and hobbies. To answer those questions, I have decided to create a "Tom" FAQ of sorts. So...begin here and if you still have more questions, write me and ask!

Q:   Tell me about your family?
A:   I've been married for 15 years to my wife Syndi. She and I have 3 children. They are wonderful! They are precious gifts. Each one is unique. The oldest is Emily. She is 14 years old and will be in 9th grade this Fall (2010). She plays the Bassoon, and gets excellent grades in school. She is responsible and compassionate. Next is Tommy, who is 10 years old. He has a high functioning form of Autism. He is very creative and imaginative. He loves to joke around. For more information on Autism, try this link. Our youngest child is Isabelle. She has Rett Syndrome, a genetic disorder. She is 5 years old. She does not walk and she is mute. She is a dolly though! And a real Daddy's Girl, to be sure! More information about her condition and her challenges can be found here.

I also have 2 younger brothers and 2 younger sisters, but we are not very close. I think this is mostly due to the age gap. I am much much older than they are.

Q: How did you and your wife meet?
A: My wife and I met through a friend of hers. So it was kind of an informal matchmaker kind of thing. I was talking to her friend on the internet and during our conversation she talked about someone she knew who she thought I would really enjoy meeting. She gave me her phone number (without her friend's knowledge, I found-out later) and so I called her. At the time I lived in Utah...and my future wife lived in Wisconsin. We talked on the phone for hours at a time. We wrote letters back and forth. We got to meet once. I flew out to Wisconsin for a few days. Eventually she moved-out to Utah and we eloped! Her parents were very upset, but a few months later all was forgiven when my wife got pregnant. LOL.

Q:  What do you do for a living?
A:   Recently found work in October of 2010. I do web design and programming for a small company. My career has been in IT (Information Technology). I have worked for large and small companies, doing both Windows and Website development for over 15 years. I recently finished 10 months of training in Graphic Design.

Q:  What movies, books and music do you enjoy?
A:  Here is a list! :)

Q: What about art?
A: Here are some paintings I like. I am also a graphic design student, and my (humble) portfolio is located online.

Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I've been working in the Information Technology industry for over 15 years. I've been doing Software Development. I started out writing Windows applications, and about 5 years ago switched over to the Web model and never looked back. :) I am currently getting my certification in Visual Communications (a.k.a. "Graphic Design") attending online at the University of Phoenix.

Q: Do you maintain any blogs besides this one?
A: Indeed. Here is a link to them. :)

Q: What are your religious beliefs?
A: I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That is quite a mouthful, so most people refer to us as "Mormons" because of a book of scripture we believe in called The Book of Mormon. I don't mind sharing my beliefs with you, but my beliefs are not up for debate. And you won't find me debating about the validity of your beliefs, either! If you are interested in learning more about my beliefs, and wish to do so anonymously with no pressure, here is a fantastic place to start your research. And the official site is here. :)

A joke I heard the other day

2010-05-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

This really struck me funny. Enjoy.

---------------

A father found his son digging a hole in the backyard. "What are you doing, son?" asked the father.

"My bird is dead, Dad. I'm going to bury him."

The father looked at the hole being dug and commented, "Don't you think that hole is a bit large for a parakeet?"

With an air of mild indignation at having to respond to a question with such an obvious answer, the boy replied to his father:

"The cat ate my bird. The hole is for him."

Pictures / Videos of me and my family

2010-05-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

Favorite Books, Movies, Music

2010-05-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Books:
Anything by Piers Anthony (Xanth Series)
Anything by Denver Snuffer (Second Comforter)
Practically anything by Orson Scott Card (Ender Series)
Almost anything by Dean Koontz
Star Wars
Star Trek
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Books on spiritual / philosophical type topics.
Books on computer programming

Movies:
ALIEN Quadrilogy (and all Predator / Alien offshoots)
Star Wars
Star Trek
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Transformers
Wendy & Lucy
Into the Wild
Ghost in the Shell (anime)
Mr. Holland's Opus
Independence Day
2012
Terminator Series
Total Recall

Music:
Bee Gees
Peter Cetera
Celine Dion
Pat Matheny
Usher
Alicia Keys
David Cook
Movie Soundtracks

50 Reasons to Read a Book

2010-04-30T08:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.ananddhillon.com/blog/2008/06/50-reasons-to-read-more/

Grandpa had a stroke

2010-04-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last week my grandfather had 2 strokes back to back. The first one was "minor" (if a stroke can be thought of as minor) but the second one left his left side paralyzed.

He is slowly learning how to move his arm and leg on his left side. I guess it is a process of the brain mapping parts of itself to control the arm and leg. The part of the brain that had the stroke is damaged permanently, so other parts of the brain must take over.

You don't realize how much the brain does and how powerful it is until you witness something go wrong.

I've been very emotional about this. I've been in a strange mental FUNK the past week since I got the news. I went down to St. George to be with my grandma and to see my grandpa for a few days. But now I am back home.

My Many Blogs

2010-03-23T08:39:00.001-07:00

http://knowltongdp.blogspot.com/ (my art portfolio)
http://yapbfb.blogspot.com/ (random stuff that appeals to me or thoughts that I want to share)
http://connectionbook.blogspot.com/ (a sci-fi book I am writing, where I don't just share chapters, but my brainstorming as well)
http://knowltontechblog.blogspot.com/ (a blog on technology and related interests)
http://dumbvillage.blogspot.com/ (a nonsensical drawing I began doing online, where I would add to the drawing a tiny bit each day)
http://knowltonjobhunt.blogspot.com/ (a blog where I used to track which employers I had sent resumes to. Blog is not actively used much right now, but I keep it around as a resource)
http://notleftcomfortless.blogspot.com/ (a personal blog I don't share too much, except with people I know better. It is my thoughts about Jesus Christ)
http://knowltonscripturalcommentary.blogspot.com/ (a personal scriptural commentary for my own use I began and never got very far)
http://scienceofsanctification.blogspot.com/ (a book on "Sanctification" I began. I got 3 chapters finished. Waiting for more understanding to evolve within myself before I continue writing)
http://managebrinkstercapturing.blogspot.com/ (used for a scripture study technique called "capturing" where you write down the parts of a scripture passage that are meaningful to you. This probably ought to be combined with the "knowltonscripturalcommentary" blog!)

More Humor - You Tube

2010-02-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

Evil Eye

Monks with Bells

Starling Noise!

Photo Booth with Attitude

Steven Seagal Emotion Chart

2010-02-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

I actually respect the heck out of Steven Seagal, and I enjoy his movies. But I could not resist this bit of fun at his expense (found this on the internet somewhere):

Rett Syndrome Podcast

2010-02-05T12:32:00.001-08:00

Recently my wife was able to share a little bit about Rett Syndrome in a Podcast:

Podcast

Still feeling scared...

2010-01-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

I wonder about the **mind** of the individual who came up with this:

I'm scared...

2010-01-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

What the **** is a "ceiling cat"?

(Taken from cafepress.com.)

Maria Montessori

2010-01-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

A friend told me about Maria Montessori today.

An Italian Physician, apparently she brought-about some ground-breaking work in the field of education, particularly, children with special needs. Her methods are still in use today. She died in 1952. More on her contributions:

Maria Montessori Wiki

Funny Videos

2009-12-22T16:19:00.001-08:00

Cat In Coat Sleeve

Funny Jokes

2009-09-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

You're a Jerk!

An Engineer's Perspective of Christmas

Inexperienced Chilli Judge named Frank

Our Trip to the Museum

2009-09-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Some pictures we took:

SpatzGear is Born

2009-08-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Due to my lengthy period of unemployment, my wife and I have started our own home business. The business is called "Spatz Gear" and what it does is provide home-made customized clothing for special needs children and adults. Find us on the web at spatzgear.com

Poetry I Wrote

2009-06-26T17:01:00.001-07:00

Some poems I wrote years ago.

Vision

A warm and happy summer's day,
A little laughing girl at play,
Wet cool grass
Between bare toes,
Soft flower tickling
A curious nose.

========================

Tower of Babel

Men working, muscles straining,
Sweat wiped away
From foreheads caked with dust.
Forming a huge tower,
Boldly declaring to God that they
Will force entrance into His glory,
And exalt themselves to the heavens.

Their tower failed, of course.
But each of us may
Build our own "Tower"
To reach our heavenly goal.

Not with hewn stones
Rising in carnal majesty,
But with fervent prayer
Born of spiritual necessity.

Not a tower
That boldly declares,
But a broken heart
That humbly petitions.

Not an edifice
That exalts itself to the heavens,
But a contrite spirit
That hopes to be exalted.

Not a forced entry,
But a gentle knock.

The tower built by men
Took years,
And offered nothing.

The tower built through
Precious moments
Of honest prayer
Offers us the true
And only way to God.

========================

Timpanogo's Blanket

I was walking to my home one day
And noticed that she'd changed
A blanket of white upon the gray
The heavens had arranged.

I really couldn't blame her
The weather was quite cold
But wondered if her mother
Knew her blanket was snow...

========================

Outstretched Hands

I see you quietly sitting there
With dirty hands and uncombed hair.
With outstretched hands you beckon me,
Then softly whisper, "Please feed me."

What have I to give to you
To fill the void
to comfort you?
Will food alone suffice today,
To send you happily on your way?
No, not today.

Your trembling hands
So cold and stiff,
My proferred soup
You gratefully sip.
The hunger leaves, but still remains
In lonely eyes
That betray your pain...

My friend
There are other hands that beckon, too.
Reaching to those
Who hunger like you, saying,
"Come follow me
And be spiritually fed.
If you'll only just listen
There's much happiness ahead."

Yes, I am those caring, outstretched hands
Of a Savior who truly loves and understands.
Open your spiritual eyes and see
The person He wants you to be.

Lift up your head, you're not alone.
And the journey's much easier with a light of your own.
Lean on Him, He'll not let you down.
The blessing for enduring is
Eternal Life's Crown.

========================

Nineteen

Nineteen again

That's right--
this isn't the first time
Oh, I've been nineteen
so many times during
my life,
with all of its privilege
and position.

Why didn't I see the pain?

The candles on my cake
burn a little softer,
and the icing isn't quite as sweet
as I realize that
this time
it's for real
and privilege and position
are not really
what I feel.

A tear escapes one eye
as does a little laugh.
"Nineteen again,"
I say to myself.

Why didn't I see the pain?

========================

Our Heritage

Sea-weary pioneers
Upon a dreary ocean
Guided by the hand of God
Blessed for their devotion.

As they first set foot upon
This fertile land of promise
Other men begin the work of death
Held by powers of darkness.

One man leads the believing few
Fleeing from dissenting brothers
Another leads the wicked many
Daughters shedding blood of mothers.

Many years pass and many die
One nation stands healing its wounds
One man stands, the last of his people
To live with the Mulekites nine moons.

Inheritors of this land have
A promise from the Lord
If we obey, we'll prosper
Salvation our reward.

========================

Reverie's Watch

We were two ships
passing in the night,
But the wake of your passing
still laps upon the hull
of my ship's reverie,
Leading me even now
to distant shores,
Calling out your name,
hoping that I might once again
gaze into those beautiful brown eyes.

Many nights do I
scan a lonely horizon,
Knowing that another restless night
will not bring the sunrise of
your smiling face,
But the searching rays
of a melancholy sun,
which, even in its eternal warmth,
fails to console the
whimpering of my soul or
the aching of my broken heart.

Where have you gone?
The remembrance of the
whisper of the wind in your sails
still racks my spirit with pain,
Because I know that
my eyes will never again see
the delicious upturn of your lips,
as you steer your vessel
through the currents
of the sea of life.

What lonely harbor
have you now called your home
along the desolate shore of my past?
Will you ever lay anchor
in the tranquil depths of love?

I promise that I'll keep eternal watch
for my graceful captain.

========================

Our Savior

Such love our Savior
had for us
while in Gethsemane.
To suffer that we
might live with Him
throughout eternity.

A loving Father heard
His Son: "Not my will
but Thine be done."
And straightway was
our Savior led, His
innocent blood so
freely shed.

Upon the cross at
Calvary, was heard
our dear Lord's
plea: "Why my Father,
in my final hour,
has Thou forsaken
me?"

Now taken down
to quietly lie
within a sepulcher.
His suffering past
to rise at last!
His glory is assured.

While of the
emblems we
partake, each sacred
Sabbath day,
May we remember
our Savior dear...
...and emulate His ways.

========================

Goodbye

Our first anniversary
I will never forget;
You, with your hand clasped
weakly in mine, telling me
over and over again,
in a voice
as soft and tender
as a child's,
that the years
which won't be spent together,
I should never spend
in regret.

And then,
that long, unwavering line
was all that I could see
as I numbly felt the warmth
fleeing from your
gentle fingertips,
and that final
perfect breath
pass between your lips...

And as I knelt in anguish and cried,
feeling so hopelessly alone...
your beautiful spirit
toward heaven
had flown.

Yes, on our first anniversary
I said goodbye to you,
and now there is a little one to raise
with loving care and lullaby songs
where a mother's soothing touch belongs.

His mother's memory through me he'll know
as he begins to learn
and grow,
As I begin to slowly heal
but never feel
completely whole.

========================

Brazil

Water
drip-drops,
pitter-patters,
spitter-spatters,
as it soaks
the lazy brown earth
and lazy people,
emerging from shipping crate mansions.

The sun shines on poverty,
burning away
the early morning rain
and the twilight that once held
this decaying slum
in tranquil sleep.

Walking past open doorways,
I see the silhouettes of curious children
in the claws of hunger,
and mire of spiritual starvation.
I feel their eyes on my back
the delinquents of tomorrow...

The local bar
already full of broken hearts
and broken wills
I watch the yellowish liquid
brought thirstilly to parched lips.

========================

Cold Feet

I roll over sleepily in bed
the day after you're gone,
Habitually searching for the
warmth of your shoulder,
And perhaps,
after a lingering kiss,
the promise of eggs over easy
as the sun breaks forth.

What my trusting fingertips encounter, instead,
are the cold feet
of our little boy,
who appeared some time last night
as a small silhouette in our doorway,
Awakened by the growling and cursing
of a summer storm.

I remember his gleeful giggle as I
motioned to the place of safety
beside me in bed,
Running playfully, still full of
mysterious childhood energy,
Then hurriedly diving for the covers
as a rumble shattered the night.

How could I have guessed that
the time spent with this bundle of energy
Would be a little bit of heaven on earth?

I see myself lifting the cup awkwardly in small hands.
Or futilely swinging at an elusive curve
thrown by dad, the master of treacherous,
hard-for-little-boys-to-reach pitches.

I see myself in our little boy
and live again those years long past.

Although your loving arms
will soon encircle him again,
I'm grateful for this time I've had
with our little boy...

and his cold feet.

embed video

2009-05-21T15:03:00.001-07:00

Miracle Bed

2009-05-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

My wife has been trying to get our insurance to get us a pediatric (hospital grade) crib / bed for Isabelle for the last 2 years, without success. The cost of the bed is prohibitive, $6,000+.

She was surfing the web late at night and found an advertisement for a pediatric crib on craigslist.org. The owners of the crib were moving and just wanted to get rid of it. Free to whomever would come get it!

My wife replied immediately. When they gave her the address, she recognized the address as being close to her brother in law, Shawn Ridenour. She asked the couple giving-away the bed if they knew the Ridenours. They did. They were in the same ward!

Another oddity was that this child also had a deletion on chromosome 1, just like our youngest daughter Isabelle.

Here is a picture of the bed (all 4 sides can move up and down for easy access):

We feel deeply grateful to the Lord for this miracle.

Emily Sleep Study

2009-05-13T22:23:00.001-07:00

Our oldest daughter Emily has been having real trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. We did an overnight sleep study. As it turns-out, she has restless legs.

Here are some pictures:

All wired-up!

What a mess

After the study; bad hair day

Angels Hands get together

2009-05-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

We attended an Angel's Hands get together. It was nice to meet everyone, and they even fed us pizza and soda. The kids loved playing on the various blow-up slides, ball pit, and other attractions.

I Love These Paintings By Bouguereau!

2009-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

"Before the Bath"

"The Broken Pitcher"

Update on Rett Syndrome

2009-02-22T17:23:00.001-08:00

Cutting edge research on Rett Syndrome (my youngest daughter, Isabelle, has Rett Syndrome)

Latest News on Rett

Anniversary

2009-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Syndi and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Saturday night. We went to dinner at "La Vigna" - a yummy Italian restaurant near our house. We had the Chicken Cannelloni (sp?) and the Manicotti. We did "halfies" - where we split dinner and we each eat half of the other person's dinner (for some variety). Then we had choclate cheese cake and some apple thing neither one of us were fans of.

After dinner we went to see a movie. "Marley & Me" - with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. What a tear-jerker. We both cried. The movie was about this family and how they adopt this little puppy. He is full of life and constantly getting in trouble. At the end the dog dies. It was so sad. Syndi and I kept thinking of Isabelle during the movie.

Any who - it was a nice evening. Time well spent. I love you honey-bun!

World's Thinnest TV (so far)

2009-01-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

The world's thinnest TV:

Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Christmas Concert

2008-12-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

My wife and I, and Whitney and Jeff, all went to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert on Saturday night. We first ate dinner at Goodwood (a bar-b-que restaurant).

The concert was fun. Some parts were downright cheesy.

We got a dog - "Paco"

2008-12-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

He is a Chihuahua / Pomeranian mix.

Cute?

My fascination with the power found in small things

2008-12-01T10:11:00.001-08:00

Have you noticed all of the "power" in the universe comes from small things?

A few examples to illustrate what I mean:

-The atomic bomb. Found in the name is the source of it's power; the atom. Splitting the atom unleashes great power.

-Erosion. Water and wind formed the Grand Canyon over thousands of years! Bit by bit. At the atomic level.

-Vaccines. The things that make us sick, as well as the things that fight them, are all teeny tiny.

Thanksgiving Holiday

2008-12-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. Went down to St. George with my wife and 3 kids Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, my Aunt Anita made a nice Thanksgiving meal with Turkey and all the trimmings. Threw the football around with my Uncle Bob, cousin Chris, and even Tommy and Emily joined-in. Chris has a rocket for an arm.

We went back on Saturday afternoon.

Mustache November

2008-11-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

This month my company decided to raise money for "Prostate Cancer Awareness". They called it "Mo'vember". We all started-out having pictures taken of us clean-shaven, then mid-month, then at the end of the month.

I don't look good with a mustache. :(

Here is everyone else who participated:

Everyone who grew a 'stache in November

God and how things work

2008-10-22T11:21:00.001-07:00

mortal man + mortal woman = mortal physical body

immortal man + immortal woman = immortal spirit body

Abr. 3: 22
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

What are our spirit bodies then? They are comprised of intelligences that have been organized. When Exalted Being reproduce, their offspring are organized intelligences! Which means that before they must have been UNorganized intelligences.

What are the miracles? God speaking! Speaking to WHAT? Speaking to the intelligences.

Intelligences are THE building blocks of the universe. We think atoms are tiny. They are. But ultimately atoms are comprised of intelligences. And those intelligences honor and obey God's command. Water into Wine? No problem? Part the Red Sea? No problem. Restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf? No problem. Raise the dead? No problem. Ressurrection? No problem.

God honors our agency. He honors it because He must. He can make us just as He is...but not against our will. Our obedience and dilligence are the "signal" that we are willingly using our agency to obey His counsel. Then He can perform the miracle within us WITHOUT imposing upon our agency. Our agency is left intact because we are willingly obeying Him.

Neck Surgery

2008-10-22T11:20:00.001-07:00

Syndi went in for neck surgery this morning.

2008-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Working on a bug in Link Copy Creation process.

Finishing-up Paused / On Hold list control.

Office Fun

2008-10-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a bit of fun humor that is going around at my company. We have this robot that people are hiding. If you find the robot, you get to keep it at your desk for a week. At the end of that week you hide the robot for someone else to find. If they find it, they get to keep it, and the cycle repeats itself.

Well, one person found it and decided to torture the poor little creature. I love the humor.

2008-10-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Syndi is going to see a surgeon today for her neck. She has a pinched nerve at C3 or C4 or something. Only surgery can correct it. Say a prayer for her if you read this.

Done Moving

2008-09-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

Well, we're into our new home now. 4 bedrooms and a much bigger home. Moving is always a pain.

Just finished a project at work for auto-submitting to website directories. That was an intense 2 weeks!

2008-09-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

What does cancer teach us about Satan's plan?

What does an Ovum teach us about the Celestial Kingdom?

Moving!

2008-09-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we found a 4 bedroom home to rent, just a mile from our current home. Should provide nicely for our needs!

Looks like we'll be spending most of today packing-up our stuff and getting ready to move on the 20th of September!

My children

2008-09-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Precious gifts:

Moving...uh...wait...Not Moving :(

2008-09-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Our lease for the place we are renting ends the beginning of October.

The house next door became available. It has more bedrooms and would have worked-out well for us. And talk about an easy move!!

Well, just days before we were to move in, our almost-Landlords changed their minds.

So now we have a month to scramble and find a place to live!

Uuuuugh!

My Life at Present

2008-08-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

I'm 38. Married, with a wonferful wife and 3 beautiful children. My wife keeps a blog about our family. Please visit her (our other) blog and compliment her on the wonderful job she's doing.

I work as a web developer for an online marketing company. I work in ASP .NET. I like using C# as the code-behind.

Tonight

2008-08-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wrote my "Welcome" post. Now what?

Tonight we're watching a movie as a family; "Smart People".

Kind of a cute movie. I've always enjoyed the movies Dennis Quaid has been in.

Welcome!

2008-08-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome weary internet traveller.

This blog is going to be a mix of different topics that interest me!

I don't really know what I'll be writing about. I have no particular agenda...just the hope that something I write will entertain you. By reading this blog you will get to know me, and I hope I'll have the pleasure of returning the favor.

Feel free to comment on anything I post and I'll reply.