signing off

Not that anyone is paying attention anymore, but pay attention!

I am ceasing and desisting my blog.  Due to unpopular demand I have decided that maybe it would be best to infiltrate my wife's good name, her creativity, her incredibly perfect blog and bring it down a few notches.  

So I said to her the other night, "Sweetheart, maybe we should COMBINE our blogs...."

In the computer world it would be like the old Netscape saying to GOOGLE, "Hey, want to team up?"

In football it would be like a retired bunch of old has-beens busting in on the locker room of the Utes.

So we have an accord.  We are going to combine our blogs.  

When I say combine, please read that Jodi's blog will continue to inspire, motivate, move, touch and bring all the world that she sees to our desktops and laptops.  I will occasionally throw in a word or two - mindful to not detract too much.

Thanks for watching.

A Father Every Day

Happy Father's Day.  I had an incredibly wonderful day.  

Notes..

..Cards....Hamburgers on the grill.....trail mix.......a new DVD to watch with the kids.....a kiss from my bride.

I am perfectly content with my day.  I am spoiled.  My family is so good to me.  Thank you children.  Thank you sweetheart.

A funny thing happened to me today.  As I sat in church the most bizarre quote kept coming into my head.  A quote I heard many days ago, and it hit me.  And for some reason it came to me again today.  

Here it is.

"I'm hoping that he will float up, and when he does, I brought his favorite blanket, and I'm going to wrap him in it, and I'm going to hold him. I'm just going to hold him."

This quote is from a mother who's son had disappeared while trying to cross a canal here in Salt Lake.

I am so sorry.  I can't imagine why this popped into my head.  But the image will stay with me forever.

I tried to come to grips with the reasons that this might have come to me on today, of all days....What sheer agony this woman's sole was in and all she could do is long to hold her child.  It brought such raw emotions to me.  Being a parent, being a father, it creates this amazing love inside of you to be near your children, be near your family.  It brought a new sense of gratitude to my heart for the blessing of being able to hold my child, to have them sit on my lap, to have them whisper in my ear, to have them cry out in joyful pain as I tickle them.  What a blessing it is to be a father, to have that kind of love in my heart.  It helps me to understand my father more.  What an eternal love we all are blessed to have to create a life, nurture them, watch them grow, watch them triumph, watch them fail.  I am grateful to be a father, everyday.

Is this thing still on?

i had almost forgot to turn it off.  i am having more fun reading Jodi's blog.

i will come up with something good, though.  i've been pining for a while, now that i have enough material something is bound to come out.

Downsizing

"Allie, let's say prayers."

"Okay.  Heavenly Father please bless everything.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

"Allie, wait a minute....."

"Papa, it works if you package everything in together.  Then it gets the food, the people, and everything."

"........"

Apparently in this economic downturn, prayers are being cut as well.

Taking a breather

It's no surprise my wife had to PLOG.  (That's Pause-Blog)

It's because she's good at it.  And like anything in her life, when she is good at something she wants to take it to the next level.  Near perfection is where she likes it.  Not that she is a perfectionist -  remember she married me, so her standards aren't that high.  But she is INCREDIBLE at sharing her thoughts, putting it to writing, adding media to strengthen the message or feeling.  AMAZINGLY GOOD for a person who is convinced she never knows what to say.

And this is why I love her:  She demands the same about her motherhood.  Near perfection in her feelings about being a mother.  Funny thing is, to me, she is already there.  Just the fact that she realizes and sets herself straight is message enough to the kind of woman/mother she is.  She's in tune.  She gets it.  I sit in awe of her loving nature and love to nurture.  In simplest terms she is to me what defines a woman.  I glad you all got to see that for a while.

But hey, she's not going anywhere.  She's on sabbatical.  I think she will come back refreshed, with a more "healthy" relationship with her new medium.  I can't wait.  It gives the world a chance to see why I love her.  

A singular moment in sports time...

I have no idea what horse racing is all about.  

To me, it's about as foreign as Cher's wardrobe.

Yet,  I think I know a classic when I see one.

One of the many stories about the race and background of the horse.

Able Baker Charlie

I have no idea why I was so excited to bake this cake.  

But I was.

I saw it and got totally enamored with the idea of creating something that was signaled summer to me.  Fresh limes, blueberries; goodness me it looked like it should have been a June wedding dress.

I dunno, maybe I am showing my vulnerabilities.  My softer underbelly.

Or it could be that making pastries like this are contributing to that softer underbelly.

I gotta get a new hobby.

By the way, it's no secret that I have at one time stored old Cooking Light magazines in my home.  Like something you expect to see when clearing out an old widows home wondering why she kept all those Good Housekeeping and Women's Day magazines stacked next to her couch.

Recently, however, I streamlined my sickness.

I cut out the one's I thought looked the easiest, the most likely that our children would eat.

So now all the single pages are up in our cook book cupboard.

Just so that you don't have to sift through it all, HERE is the recipe.