Bring Him Home

Well, it's been an eventful week to say the least. We had fun celebrating Christmas with both the Hutchings and Croslands. I am still overwhelmed with the kindness and graciousness of those I am surrounded by. We received so many great presents. By far, the best Christmas ever.

Wednesday, we went to Les Miserables. We watched the stage version in August at the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City and it was awesome. I love the story of mercy, change, and faith in men. Watching it on the big screen brought another aspect to the story. For me, the locations where the movie was filmed brought some new thoughts and realizations of humanity from the story. I found it beautiful.

Thursday was the big day. Michelle and I visited the OBGYN for her 39 week appointment. Her blood pressure was elevated so they sent us to the hospital. She was induced at about 11:00 a.m. Her body responded well, although her contractions never were consistent, and she started pushing at about 7:30 p.m. The contractions weakened for a while, then about 9:30, she started her final push. Samuel Asa arrived about an hour-and-a-half later. Greatest gift ever! I'm absolutely overwhelmed!

We were able to check out yesterday from the hospital, healthy and strong. Last night was an adventure for us though. First night caring for a child and there wasn't much sleep to go around. I feel completely out of place as a father, but I absolutely love this opportunity to learn and grow. I can honestly say that I feel so much more complete now! It is an absolutely amazing feeling!

Just to add to the awesomeness of the week, we were able to close on our first home while staying in the hospital on Friday. We are super excited about that development as well. It allows for another opportunity to learn, grow, and deepen our roots.

Overall, quite possibly the greatest week of my young life. I am absolutely blessed by those around me! My wife is amazing and she was able to handle the pregnancy and delivery so well! I'm not surprised; she's absolutely great!

Zoe says, "What is this?"

A good looking kid

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

One of the most memorable talks I've heard in a sacrament meeting was given by a high school friend in our singles ward. He talked about some experiences on his mission and a saying engraved on a coin in the country he served in. The saying went something like "You can see farther when standing on the shoulders of giants." That's not verbatim so don't quote me. It's a thought that I've pondered many times since then. After a chat with my older brother Nate today, I reflected on the idea that I am in my situation because of so many who have gone before me in this life. I truly stand on the shoulders of giants. The list is long, but I want to recognize a few of them.

My Ancestors - I stand on the shoulders of the giants who are my ancestors. Truly I would not be where I am today without them. The decisions that they made throughout their lives have influenced me in ways that I can not comprehend in this life. I am so grateful to those ancestors of mine who first embraced the gospel and made decisions to live it throughout their lives. I am so grateful for my ancestors who came after the initial baptisms and stayed true to the faith. I stand on their shoulders. I am grateful for where they all decided to live for I feel that each of those locations played a part in who I am.

My Parents - I stand on the giant shoulders of my parents. They have loved me so much and made so many wonderful and great decisions that I have been blessed by, I could never thank them enough. I am so grateful for their great examples. I am grateful for all that they taught me. I am grateful for the vision that they had for me and my siblings in raising us. I am grateful that they are active members of the Church. I stand on their shoulders and reach ever higher.

My Siblings - Even though we might be considered competitive, I rejoice in the success of my siblings. They continually teach me new things and push me to strive for my full potential. They care about me and have always supported me. They laid a lot of groundwork in who I have become. I have learned so much from each of them that I am honored to be a brother to each of them and their spouses. They are giants in my eyes who I try to emulate and reach the next heights with.

My Wife - I can not truly state the love and appreciation that I have for my dear wife. I stand on her shoulders everyday as she continually makes life better and better. I can not praise her enough for all that she has done for me. This past year of marriage (in nine days) has been the greatest year of my life hands down. I have grown so much because of what Michelle has taught me. Her love, kindness, thoughtfulness, selflessness, and desire to be a righteous wife and mother are truly inspiring. I would not be the man I am today without her. That speaks back to our days in elementary school. She pushed me all the time. I stand on her shoulders and look forward to the years ahead where her shoulders push me ever higher as she continues to grow as well. I'll be able to ride to the greatest heights on her shoulders.

In the end, I have left out specific mention of so many. It's too hard to list out everyone, but I recognize and realize that I stand a little bit on everyone's shoulders. That's the way it is supposed to be. I am so excited to become a dad and help my children to rise to greater heights than I could ever dream for myself in this life. It's all a great big cycle and I am so grateful to be a part of it.

This Trip

It seems that ever since I asked Michelle to marry me, the thoughts of time, eternity, and space have all been dancing around in my head, clamoring for attention. As I've pondered upon them, new thoughts and ideas have come to me. The idea that's been floating in my head most recently is about time and the use of time and what seems to be an innate desire among humans to have time go fast.

I pose the question to everyone, why do we all want time to go fast? I understand that sometimes, we have desires to reach a certain point. I totally get that. Michelle and I are anticipating the arrival of our first-born. We are super excited and in some ways we desire time to move quickly so that we get to meet our little guy. It scares me to think that by focusing only on the arrival of the child and anticipating it, we are going to miss so much! The importance of time is enjoying it.

I look back at my time as a single adult. I was so focused on what life would be like married that I missed opportunities to improve myself in other ways. At times I sat around, just letting precious time go by, waiting and wanting time to go by so much more quickly so I could start on the next phase of my life. I missed opportunities to enjoy life.

I can point to so many times in my life where this same attitude has possibly caused me to miss the fullness of life. Joy comes through the fullness of life. Fullness of life comes through living every moment to its fullest. Don't let the desire for time to go quickly overcome a desire to live life to the fullest. I guess that's my goal. Here's to the joy to come!

While on the topic of time, here's an awesome slide show of some of the Hubble Telescope's best pictures.