Hurricane Sandy- Mormon Helping Hands

If you have eight minutes, this is an amazing way to spend it. I wholeheartedly adhere to the belief that people are inherently good. When tragedy strikes, it unites us. The best in us can emerge and in doing so, we see the Savior's visage in our countenance. This video shows that. The Mormon Helping Hands is a tremendous brand, because when I see those vests, I see power, honor, and warm hearts.  

Lessons for Daddy

This last week, Elizabeth and Cambria were able to have a well-deserved vacation, joining up with Elizabeth's mother, sisters, and sister-in-law for the biannual Torgesen Girls Weekend. Hopefully Elizabeth will take the time to blog about their adventures (hint, hint; nudge, nudge). I am glad that she had this time, for with four little ones, she needed the chance to recharge her batteries.

In the meantime, while I was able to spend time with our sweet kids those four days, I was privy to some important, meaningful, and amazing lessons.

• No matter how long, difficult, complex, or challenging a day we fathers may have at work, they most often pale in comparison to the days our wives experience.
• Playing in the snow together is rejuvenating. Snowballs, snow angels, frozen digits, and big boots. One of the best parts is the hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course). And snuggling afterward.
• I loved getting to know our adorable children even better. Such personalities!
• For instance, our kids, including Stockton, enjoy Rom Coms. Two of our movie nights were spent watching "Sleepless in Seattle" and "One Fine Day"--both of their choosing!
• Every child is going to have a fit each day. There is no escaping that.
• Every parent is going to have a "moment" each day. There is no escaping that.
• Breakfast for dinner? Yes, please!
• Siblings just have an innate ability to push each other's buttons. Multiple times a day.
• Elizabeth does so much and I'm grateful for every bit of it. From teaching our children vital lessons, listening to them, nurturing them, chauffeuring them, Band-Aiding them, and sitting alone at church with these angels the past 6 1/2 years...you are wonderful!
• Patience is a virtue, and sometimes I'm not as "virtuous" as I'd like to be.
• We are all--children and parents--works in progress. 
• Bedtime can be among the most frustrating times. But more often than not, they can be the most spiritual moments. A sleeping child is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever beheld. So peaceful. 
• Stockton and I loved our alone time while the girls were at school, including basketball at the church. This will undoubtedly be a constant for us over the next several decades :). 
• Children love being given responsibilities. It is so important we teach them how to work.
• The simplest things are the best things.  
• There is no greater feeling than that moment when you are reunited together as a family. Each and every member of the family is irreplaceable and precious. All the more reason to work hard together to have eternity and forever as a family. 
• There are so many helps in life: Church, school teachers, loving neighbors, Primary, etc. But the responsibility of raising our children up in righteousness rests squarely on the shoulders of the parents. We cannot pass this on to anyone else. It is a sacred calling. We have been charged to raise these precious children of our Heavenly Father, to teach them principles, and to love them. 
• Of all the joys I've experienced in life, nothing compares to being a husband and father. I LOVE BEING a DADDY!

Catching Up, Yet Again

Here is our family the day we blessed our baby Cambria, Sunday, September 2, 2012. We love our four sweet children! Nice of our scarecrows to photo bomb our family shot.

We have woefully gotten out of the habit of sharing our updates, so today is the day to do so. Life is going very well for us. Cambria has infused our family with so much joy. She is a sweet, sweet baby who coos, smiles, and melts our hearts constantly.

Two days after she was born, our pediatrician told us he heard a heart murmur. A few hours later, she and I were in a dark room where they administered an echocardiogram. It was determined later that night that she had two small holes in the wall the connected her ventricles. This is called Ventricular Septal Defect or VSD. This caused us lots of worry, but things appear to be under control. We're visiting with a pediatric cardiologist and he is optimistic that, like many cases of VSD, the holes will close up naturally. It is adorable to hear Tayah pray "Please help Cambria's little holes in her heart, that they will get better."

Beyond that, she had some early challenges feeding and gaining weight, but we're thrilled at the progress she is making. Elizabeth is amazing! We cannot go far or be gone long, but this little angel is worth every bit of it.

We blessed her in early September and loved having Elizabeth's parents stay with us for a week, along with some other family. We loved sharing our special day with those closest to us!

The girls with some BYU cheerleaders at the annual
Cougar Kickoff. Go Cougars!

Kadence and Tayah have started school and are loving it! Kadence has adjusted well to 1st grade and going to school all day. She enjoys all her subjects, is reading at a very high level (level K), loves art and music, eating lunch in the cafeteria, and going all day long. Tayah jumped right into Spanish/English immersion and is learning a lot. Both are making good friends, with Kadence being our shy girl and Tayah being, well, Tayah--outgoing and vivacious!

Stockton really enjoys being at home alone with Mommy. We could not ask for a sweeter, more fun boy than our little man. He will snuggle on request and always wants to "keep eye on Cambria!"

I experienced a shock at work. After 10 years in the Annual Giving office, the past four as the Director, I was asked to assume a different role, that of a Donor Engagement Officer. The goal in mind is to help give me experiences in different facets of LDS Philanthropies, so I can be a better asset and leader now and in the future. This position is in charge of our legacy societies for the four Church school, meaning people who leave BYU, BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho, or LDS Business College in their wills, trusts, etc. Furthermore, I'll have the opportunity of working with and stewarding some of our amazing donors. This is a whole new world for me. The move has been absolutely bittersweet. Those who know me know that change is always something that hits me hard. Transfers on the mission were rough, because the love I had for the people. This is similar. I have loved what I've done for so long--essentially my entire professional career--as well as the people with whom I worked. For the first time in 12 years, I will no longer directly involved with the Telefund and the students there. Lots of sadness for those reasons, but excitement and optimism for the potential possibilities ahead. We are transitioning right now and in the next few weeks, everything will be official.

Other events: Brigham City Temple Dedication; Stake Conference; a few BYU Football games.

Kidisms:

Tayah:  "Daddy, you need to go to work to make lots of money really fast!"
Kadence: "Mommy, everything is made in China!"
Tayah: "Don't worry, Daddy...I'm not going to grow up for a few days."
Kadence: "What is Feed-ex?" (Fed-Ex)
Tayah: "When I get married, you can come visit me."
Stockton: "Daddy, we are boys, so we're on the same team. We are best friends!"
Stockton: "We are the go-getters!"

We truly feel blessed for all the experiences we are having, but grand and challenging. We are learning a lot of valuable lessons. Above all, nothing is better than being together as a family. That makes everything just marvelous!

BYU Choose to Give Week!

Today kicks off our annual Choose to Give student giving campaign at BYU! Here is an outstanding video that talks about the campaign. We are grateful for each person who gives, be they students, employees, students, or friends. Even though our students may sometimes not have much, it is a blessing to give of oneself to help another. Last year, students helped provide 16 scholarships for other students. Love it! Please share the word with any current BYU students you know!

The Will of God

Given some recent developments in our lives (more details forthcoming on this blog), this inspired message from Elder D. Todd Christofferson was the message I needed to hear this morning. Hindsight is 20/20, while foresight is not. We all need to trust in Heavenly Father's will and where He wants to take us. It has been an up-and-down week for us due to some changes at work and I am trying to have faith in Him, so that I will let Him guide us down the paths He wishes us to go. Sometimes easier said than done.

Music Video: Have I Done Any Good? featuring Alex Boye and Carmen Rasmus...

A pretty fun version of a song with a tremendous message (skip halfway to get to the music video). Sometimes we just need to "forget ourselves and go to work," as President Hinckley taught us so well. I need to shed my selfishness and place others' needs ahead of my own. Every day we can do great things for others.

August Adventures with four kids!

August was a wonderful month, especially as we fell even more in love with Cambria. She has brought such a remarkable spirit to our home. She is the epitome of sweetness. We took her in to the pediatric cardiologist to look at her heart condition. He said she looks good and that he feels the two holes in the ventricle walls will close off on their own. In her first three weeks, she had to have an echocardiogram, an echogram, a chest X-ray, and about six visits to the doctor’s office. Our faith has been strengthened through these experiences, knowing there are others who have much more serious situations. We will know more in September. Cambria struggled a bit early on with her feeding and gaining weight, but thanks to Elizabeth’s patience, determination, and love, she is starting to gain weight. She sleeps well—almost too well. We often have had to wake her up to eat!

Stockton has adjusted well and loves to help where he can. The big change for him was being sans his sisters while they are at school. I personally think he loves the one-on-one time with Elizabeth. He continues to pick up new tricks, phrases, and abilities. Unfortunately, potty training is not one of those yet.

Tayah is simply loving kindergarten. Like Kadence, she is in an English/Spanish dual-immersion class. She is enjoying it. Her teacher is Mrs. Rodriguez, who is a wonderful teacher. Tayah is making good friends, is superb with her reading, is practicing her writing skills, and makes the most of recess. She still manages to fit in a tantrum or two each day, just to keep her parents on their toes. She adores Cambria, too.

Kadence made a seamless transition to all-day school. Her teachers are Mrs. Diaz and Mrs. Westover. She alternates starting with Spanish and with English each week. Kadence is such a sweetie and sometimes can be very shy and quiet. I think she is gradually improving with this. She enjoys math, Spanish, reading, art, music, and PE. She also feels very grown up eating lunch at school now.

Someone tell our kids to stop growing up…please!

Elizabeth continues to amaze me. She is a masterful mother and not only takes care of all the necessary needs, but still finds time to help the girls with homework, do little activities and crafts with the kids, watch neighbors’ kids, and has resumed her Primary teaching.

David manages to keep busy with work, church, and family. I attended a conference at Utah State University Central campus (Price, UT), as well as BYU’s annual University Conference. I was in charge of our stake’s yearly Heber Valley Girls Camp service assignment. I took a few days off as I was in jeopardy of losing them.

 Other highlights:

·         We took in the annual Cougar Kickoff where the kids ran with the cross country team, kicked goals past the women’s soccer players, high fived some football giants, and took photos with the cheerleaders. Go Cougars!

·         We enjoyed a few dinners out, with Winger’s being Cambria’s first experience.

·         David successfully made it through Education Week again. It is a vastly different experience for those who “live” on campus than for those who visit.

·         President Monson’s birthday celebration was a perfect tribute to our dear prophet.

·         We had a family dinner at Darrell and Tanya’s church.

·         Pear picking at Grandpa and Grandma’s is always a treat.

·         We loved having Elizabeth’s parents at our place the last week of August (leading up to Cambria’s blessing). They were a tremendous help with the children and just having fun with us. We also had Elizabeth’s brother and his wife bring our niece to BYU, so they stayed with us for a few days.

Life is such a blessing. We are grateful for everything we have!