Halloween 2007

Official Halloween 2007 Portraits

Aliante Sunsets

Aliante Sunset, 10/29/2007

Even though I have seen thousands of sunsets, I will never get tired of seeing just one more. One bonus of moving to Aliante has been the deck that faces west, which provides for fantastic views of the spectacular Southern Nevada light show as the sun descends behind the Spring Mountains. It comforts me that for all the technology and billions of dollars that have gone into fabricating the man-made neon spectacle that is Las Vegas, mortals still cannot hold a candle to the majesty of God's creations.

Breaks My Heart

I posted this old photo to remind myself of how young Joseph was when he had onset of diabetes. This picture was taken in August 2003, six months after Joseph's onset.

I was reminded of his diabetes because on Saturday night, Joseph's blood glucose dropped dangerously low (33) right at bedtime. He became weak and wobbly. We gave him some Gatorade to drink in an attempt to raise his blood sugar quickly. Joseph said he felt cold, so I sat him on my lap and covered him with a blanket to warm him.

While I was holding Joseph, he turned to me and quietly said, "Daddy, I don't want to have diabetes." Tears immediately formed in my eyes as I blathered some response that provided Joseph a little comfort, but left me feeling empty.

The thing is, I don't want Joseph to have diabetes either. I wish that we didn't have to worry every night whether he is going to have a major problem that could result in hypoglycemic coma or worse. I wish we didn't have to be concerned about him being ostracized or belittled at school due to his differences of constantly checking his blood and wearing an insulin pump. I wish that I didn't have to face what promises to be tumultuous teenage years, particularly with Joseph learning to responsibly manage his diabetes during a time when the last thing that he will want is being seen doing something strange and difficult for other teenagers to understand.

I wish that I could do something to make it go away and be cured -- now. Our family continually prays for a cure, but lately, we have not done much to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Our plate has been so full that I have a hard time adding a helping of JDRF. But if I don't get involved, how can I expect others to care?

Circa June 2006

Trunk or Treat

We went to the Trunk or Treat in the parking lot at the church.
The kids looked cute and got candy. Mom and Dad got tired.

Angel

Status Report

Josh 54.5"
Allyse 48.5"
Joseph 47.75"
Angelina 34.5"

Sunday Morning

As I was getting ready to go to my first High Council speaking assignment this morning,
I walked out of the bathroom and was greeted by this sight.

Saturday in the Park

Due to jealousies caused by my taking Josh to the BYU game, I agreed to spend part of Saturday doing things that Allyse wanted to do. I also wanted to do it just so that I can spend more time with my children, who are simply growing up too fast.

We started with lunch at In-N-Out Burger. From there, Allyse wanted to go to Michael's to buy some craft things for Halloween. She has been trained well by her mother.









Due to obligations that Julene had, we then had to incorporate the other kids into part of our activities. We returned home, picked up the other kids, and went to play in the park. Angelina's hair went crazy with static electricity on the slide.









We finished with a stop at Baskin-Robbins. Later that afternoon, we went to a Halloween party at the house of my friend from work. We carved some fake pumpkins that I bought at Michael's earlier in the day.

Julene's Jubilee

Julene suffered endured celebrated her birthday on Monday. It's hard to have too much fun when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant, so we had to keep it low key this year.

We dropped the kids with Grandma Kathleen and went to dinner at Rosemary's Restaurant. As usual, the dinner and service were fantastic. By coincidence, we were seated next to an older couple that we've known for many years, but whom we didn't know very well. We had a great time talking with them about their family and their experiences.

This couple was celebrating their 38th Wedding Anniversary. It started me thinking about how far Julene and I have come in [nearly] 14 years, and where we will be in 24 years. The thought blows my mind, like a fast forward through some of the most important parts of our lives, i.e., childbirth, teething, first steps, terrible twos, preschool, kindergarten, baptism, scouts, young women, priesthood, braces, crushes, dances, sports, SAT/ACT, college, mission, graduation, marriage, grandchildren. I get exhausted just thinking about it.

Fortunately, it all comes one year, one month, one week, one day, one hour, one minute, one second at a time. The beauty of it is that I get to spend it with a wonderful wife and some pretty good kids. There is truly no one else with whom I would rather spend it.

I don't want to seem as if I am taking my life for granted, as if it is something owed me; to the contrary, I know that all can change in a heartbeat, which makes each second that much more precious. I am stating that I am so grateful that I have so much, and that I have so much to look forward to with this lovely lady whose birthday we just celebrated.

Rosemary's 2007 Awards & Accolades

"Restauranteur of the Year" awarded to Chefs Michael & Wendy Jordan by the Nevada Resaturant Association.

“Best Gourmet Restaurant." Awarded by the Las Vegas Review-Journal

ZAGAT 2007 - Rosemary’s Restaurant keeps #1 spot in the Top Food, Las Vegas category. 2007 Best of Las Vegas Awards; Eight Years Running!

Sunday with the Family

Cousin Dana coming to town was a good excuse for the family to get together at Grandpa and Grandma's house on Sunday. Leftovers from Julene's baby shower were delicious. Thanks again, Marleen.

I didn't take many pictures, but our little girls always make great models. Way to smile, Nora!

Josh's First Cougar Football Game

Josh and I went to see the Cougs play the Rebs on Saturday. We had an ordeal getting tickets, as we had purchased some on Stubhub, only to have the seller not send us the tickets, a fact we learned only seven hours before kickoff. Getting tickets was complicated by the game being a sellout.

Undaunted, a search of Craigslist yielded tickets on the 50-yard-line. I called, and the seller only wanted less than face value for the tickets. But first, he wanted to make sure that we would support BYU. I confirmed my credentials and he consented to selling the tickets to me.

Josh and I left very early for Sam Boyd Stadium. We arrived and sought out our seller. It turns out that he is also an attorney and he recognized me from knowing a friend of mine. He was actually tailgating with two attorneys who used to be at my firm and one who still works there.

Josh and I tailgated, eating some good food (beef brisket and corn on the cob) at the BYU alumni party, chatting with the cheerleaders (they thought Josh is cute) and listening to an awful band that played murdered songs from the late 70's and early 80's. We then collected some freebies and went into the stadium.

The seats were incredible as we were on the 45-yard-line, about 20 rows up. The only down side: we were smack in the middle of the UNLV season ticket holders. They gave us some dirty looks, but by the end of the game, we had made friends with most of the people around us.

I had a great time taking Josh to the game, as I could see that he was really enjoying the sights and sounds. It was his first live college football game. The next day, he kept walking around the house chanting B-Y-U! I guess this is how we create the next generation of fans.

Inspiration

It seems that a lot of things have been working on me to inspire and motivate me to create this blog. First, in the past few weeks I have been emailing family members regarding Josh's historic run for the presidency of his school. It occurred to me several times that I should just create a blog.

Second, in going through some receipts from 2006, I noticed where and how we had spent money, and it started bringing back memories. Joshua's birthday/Christmas bicycle, dinner with Julene from Nora's Cuisine for Valentine's Day, vacation in Mission Beach, all of which are fond memories. I knew that I had to start keeping a record that is better than just the pictures I take.

Third, we had a church lesson about family histories. In the past few months, I have actually been trying to apply the lessons learned at church to my life, instead of the usual in one ear, out the other. I have reached a point in my life, regarding a number of things, where I feel like "If not now, when?" I watch my 10-year-old write in his journal every night and think, "Why don't I make the time to keep a history of my family." I mean, really, I should be able to do it if my 10-year-old son can develop the discipline to write in his journal daily.

The final straw was seeing the blogs of one of my college roommates and my sister-in-law, Darleen. I realized that it is doable, even though my life can seem to be too busy at times. I know it will be difficult, even though I honestly believe it will be worth it.