Top Ten Things I'm Most Thankful For

1. My beautiful bride, and the woman I love, Erin.
2. The three most amazing children in the world; Nicholas, Natalie, and Katie.
3. Parents that have raised me and taught me principals of righteousness.
4. The knowledge of a living and loving Savior, Jesus Christ.
5. A great job that provides for my family.
6. A house that is truly our Home.
7. My health, and the overall health of my whole family.
8. Living in a country which allows so much freedom and opportunity
9. Technology
10. Indoor Plumbing (you know you're thankful for it too!!)

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Welcome to Earth...Third Rock From the Sun

Summer, a long awaited season, is finally here! On Tuesday the 2nd of June was the last day of school. That means that I am also finished teaching early morning seminary until the fall.
Upon coming home from seminary on my last day, I am greeted by my four year old son who is playing with his action heros in the living room. He greets me with a overly appropriate, "Hi Daddy! Welcome to Earth!" At the time I just laughed an thought not to much about it. But what my son said to me really was true, and has meant several things to me over the last couple of days.
I love teaching seminary. I spend a couple of hours every day preparing and teaching my lessons. I get to be deeply rooted in the study of the scriptures on a daily basis. This has helped me avoid the "world" on many levels. Since I now don't have to prepare lessons every day, I fall risk to losing that protection. Along with my wife we are working hard to continue our efforts and not become prey to the vices of the world.
We live on such a beautiful Earth and summer is my favorite time to enjoy it. I look forward to spending lots of time with my family during this season.

The Phone Call

As written previously, sometimes my daily schedule can be non-stop from 5:30am to 11:00pm. Something happened the other day that gave me a great reminder that I need to frequently slow down and enjoy life.
I was driving on my way to work and my cell phone rang. This isn't uncommon as my employees will frequently call me when they are going to be late or not coming in for various reasons. This wasn't one of those phone calls. There was a young 3 year old boy on the other end of my phone asking me, "Daddy, why did you go to work?" I could tell he was holding back tears. You see, that morning I had left for work before he was awake, and I wasn't able to tell him goodbye. Again my son spoke and softly asked me one more question, "Will you please come back home?" It nearly ripped my heart out. I made a promise to my son that day that I would come home shortly and have lunch with him that day. I also made a promise to my self that I would take more time to spend with my family.
I am thankful for that morning when my perfect son made the phone call.

Cars of Transformers!

The Perfect (Yet Seemingly Un-Attainable) Balance

How does an individual create the perfect harmony in their life with so many activities demanding a share of their time? Is there a simple way to balance work, family, church, community....exercise?
It used to seem so simple. I was raised by family and faith, "Family First". Now before I go further, each person reading this must understand that I believe that with all my heart. I love my wife and children more than anything is this entire world. The trouble I have is truly defining family. I know who my family is and where I can find them. I understand the activities my kids are involved in and how to participate in each of those. So moving on to the more difficult part...LIFE!
As a father and husband I have the responsibility to provide the necessities of life for my family. I feel I do a respectable job in aspect of my patriachal role. I run and operate a successful business. Herein lies the problem: I spend a great deal away from my family, so that I can take care of my family. So is work family time or work time?
In addition to work, I am deeply involved in my church. Every morning I get up shortly after 5 o'clock to teach high school aged students a religious class (seminary). I absolutlely love teaching this class. I love my students, I love the doctrine, and I love teaching. I believe a family should be raised with a strong religious teaching. I personally am a Christian and strive to raise my family according to Christ's teachings. By being involved in this class every morning I have the opportunity to bring understanding to myself of where I desire my family to be. Again, this is so positive for me, but this too has its drawbacks. More time.
Here is a brief rundown of my day: I leave the house very early in the morning, missing the waking hours of my children. I work all day rarely able to even take a lunch (this I know I could probably be better at). I come home in the evening just in time to eat the amazing meal my wife has prepared for our family. After dinner it is time to get our young children ready for bed. As they are laying in bed trying to sleep, I head straight for my desk and finish preparing my seminary lesson for the next morning. By the time the kids are asleep and lesson finished, I am exhausted and ready for bed.
My Point: During the week I spend much more time away from my family than with them. The time I am with them, we are all sleeping. I feel the time away from my family is spent to benefit my family. I am wondering if I am taking(or making) the time to see and enjoy the benefits this time is providing.
I end with the same question as I began: How does an individual create the perfect harmony in their life with so many activities demanding a share of their time? Is it possible? Or are we living on a contioulsy undulating teeter-totter?

PGA TOUR TOP FIVE LEADERBOARD

Up For Air...........Briefly!

It is a calm, quiet Sunday afternoon. Something I haven't experienced for quite sometime (calm and quiet that is!). I have forgotten how having a baby makes you suddenly very busy. These past weeks have been loaded with joy. I love seeing our two older children interact with their new baby sister. Now that's joy!
This is a short post, but I am going to actually enjoy my quiet moment. As I type this the children are beginning to wake! Let the good times roll!

Farewell to an Icon

Utah Jazz owner, and successful entrepreneur Larry H. Miller passed away this afternoon. As an avid Jazz fan and a client of his car dealerships, I wish my best to his family. He will be greatly missed. "After all, we all know this guy!!"

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

50 years and still Firm!

I would like to give a big shout out to an American Icon. She turns 50 today, and boy does she ever look great!! She has had more life experiences than probably anyone whom ever lived. She's made of plastic. She's fantastic! You guessed it! Barbie!! Barbie, congratulations on hitting the half century mark. In celebration might I suggest that we release yet another Barbie doll?!? Menopause Barbie. It just has a great ring to it. Definitely an epic doll for the history books.

I am not sure where Ken is at this moment. However, I do know that wherever he is, he too is celebrating. Best wishes on your next fifty years. May you look as good then as you now.

Cell Phones - The Modern Six Shooter

In today's world of advancing technology, we hear that technology doubles every 18-24 months. That's quick! Is technology really evolving this quickly? I am definitely not an expert on the evolution of of technology, albeit I can undeniably see this evolution occurring. We see the size and thickness of our televisions change so rapidly, it seems as soon as we purchase ours the bigger and thinner (and more "green" might I add) version is just hitting the shelves. As we buy our new mp3 player it has a new predecessor that is smaller containing more memory. Change, as it would seem, is always a constant.

There is one piece of technology that I wish to focus this thread on today. A piece of technology that is so integrated in our lives, it seems un-natural to be without. In fact, I dare say that without one you will be scorned and ridiculed by your peers. Having one and not knowing how to use it, that is just as serious a sin. What is this technology that has so permeated our lives? Yes, the mighty cell phone.

Evolution of the cell phone. May I present to you the idea that the cell phone is the evolution of another product that had so saturated the lives of those who used it. This primitive "cell-phone" was the staple of everyday life long before the modern cell phone came into play. I wish to show how the modern cell phone is the progeny of the late six shooter of the wild west.

The revolver, such an integral part of life in the old west that an individual would not dare leave home without it. Everyone carried their pistol a little differently. Some carried the smaller models in pockets and boots. The women usually had theirs hidden in the bottom of their purses, so when the time came that they actually need it, they had to fumble through everything in there to try to find it. The men who usually meant business carried them strapped to their hips in a leather holster for all to see. It was a show of power and pride for these folks. They usually knew how to operate their six shooter more efficiently then anyone else, and they liked people to know.

There started out so few models of revolvers that in the beginning nearly everyone was carrying the same make and model. As the revolver gained notoriety more companies began to manufacture more models, constantly changing features to stay ahead of the game. The market became flooded with a copious amount of revolvers. People began to compare their model to their neighbor's. People began to buy more than one revolver when only one was necessary, just to have all the latest features of the new one. "Yeah Bob, I just upgraded to the .44 caliber yesterday. It has bigger bullets with a faster trajectory."

The six shooter had so many uses. It was carried along on travel for protection. If a wagon broke down they could protect themselves. They could even place a call for help by firing a couple shots up in the air. To pass the time, and as a form of competition, many people played games with their revolver.

The six shooter was a vital piece of western communication. One would never forget to take it with them, especially on a visit to the early form of social networking sites, aka: bars. When asking someone a question and that individual feels inclined not to respond to your request, you pull out your six shooter, point it around a bit, and all of the sudden the line of communication has improved drastically. Information seems to flow toward you from all directions. The revolver gets great "reception". If by chance that friend still decides not to respond, you have the ability to delete that person from your friend list immediately. Incredible piece of technology!

I know it seems like quite a stretch to claim that cell phones are the evolved, modern six shooter, but I feel I make my point quite clear. But then again, I am just shooting from the hip.

Timing is Everything

It has been nearly 48 hours since the birth of our precious Katie Mae. I feel the need to put on paper (figuratively of course) a portion of her story about her journey to this world.

The journey began 'round 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. I had just returned home from work and my wife begins to go into labor. As a trained husband does, I keep expert time of each ensuing contraction. As 6:30 in the evening rolls around we decide to go the hospital as the contractions have been between three and a half to five and a half minutes apart, with each contraction increasing in strength. It must be time!

At the hospital Erin, my wife, is hooked up to several monitors. I have come to realize that these machines are designed for the entertaining of the husbands, and to keep us from annoying the woman in labor. I intently watch the lines and numbers on the screens, giving an infallible analysis of what is happening each second with my wife and our baby. In the meantime my wife is on the bed fighting triumphantly through each contraction. Soon after arriving in the hospital, after being in labor for over 2 hours, labor suddenly seems to stop. The excitement of having our baby that night turned to sadness at the thought of yet even more waiting. After some more monitoring the determination was made by the doctors to send us home. Yep, I guess we were just going to have wait. Although I knew we would have this baby when the time was right.

Well, I help my wife into our vehicle ready for the drive home. Apparently our little girl likes to play some funny jokes on us because as soon as we started home Erin started immediately again into labor. The contractions we hard and quick, BUT since we were just sent away from the hospital we decided to stick with the doctors orders and go home. It was here that Erin went through most of her labor. Maybe, just maybe we might have this baby tonight after all.

At 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night, after being home for just two hours, Erin decides it is time to get back to the hospital and deliver our baby. And thank goodness she made that decision when she did.

Since my wife is in such pain with her contractions, I drop her off at the emergency room entry so someone can wheel her up to delivery. As I join up with her from parking the car they are getting just getting her situated in her delivery room. I take a quick glance at my watch, 11:56 p.m., not much of a chance of having our baby tonight. The nurse who sent us home is still there and checks our status with disbelief. My wife is dialated to a 9! This baby is ready to be delivered, right now! She hurriedly gets the doctor on the phone to get there immediately. As the doctor walks in the door I take another quick glance at my watch, 12:09 a.m. She takes a couple of minutes getting her gear on and then says it is okay to push. It didn't take long! Within minutes the doctor was asking me to inform my wife if we had given birth to a boy or a girl. With tears of joy and with great amounts of pride I shouted, "It's a GIRL!" I took one last look at my watch, 12:16 a.m. Perfect timing!

Katie Mae Photos

Here are a few more photos of our beautiful baby. Nicholas and Natalie absolutely adore her. They are so excited to have a new baby in the house. As we all are!
We want to thank all of our family and friends who have shared their love and help.

Midnight Miracle

Our little midnight miracle, Katie Mae Corbridge, was born 12:16 am on February 12th, 2009. She weighed 6lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. She is absolutely perfect! Both mom and baby are doing extremely well.

Electricity Unplugged

I love technology. I love new technology. I enjoy being one of the first people with a new piece of technology to show off. There is an annual convention in Las Vegas that introduces and shows off all the newest and hottest technologies.

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is held every year in early January. At CES 2009 there was introduced some exciting new technology that will be hitting the market as early as mid 2009. There is one technology that was introduced that is of particular interest to me. Since I was young I have thought a lot about the feasibility of powering electronic equipment without cords or batteries. Of course I only used the tools of my mind to create such technology and left the actual work to all the real minds of our world.

At CES there were several companies who introduced their own version of wireless electricity. One company even dubbed their technology "WiTricity". I won't go into the differences of these individual technologies, but I have included a link to follow to allow you to read into depth of each of these. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/132/brilliant.html

Electricity without wires...think of the great benefits this technology will afford as it becomes mainstream. I will have to opportunity to place a lamp anywhere I desire without regard to electrical plugs on the wall. There will be no wondering if an extension cord is long enough on other electrical appliances. My counter tops will live free of cords from the chargers for all my electronic devices; camera, phone, cell phone & blue-tooth headset. I can just put them in my drawer and know that when I pull them out they will be fully charged and ready to use. No more losing chargers or having 30 different charges because each device uses a different style and size. By blender, toaster, and griddle can all be used anywhere, with out worry of my children grabbing the cords and pulling them off counters. Examples of benefits could on forever.

In the next 12-18 months I will be in the process of finishing the basement in my home. I look forward to ways that I will be able to implement this technology. I will keep you plugged into my success.

In your patience possess ye your souls.

My wife and I are expecting our third child. The due date for this baby to arrive in our family is February 20th. That date is nearly two weeks away and yet I cannot wait any longer for this baby to arrive. To understand why, I must first give some background of our previous experiences of having children.

When we discovered my wife was pregnant with our first child, naturally we were thrilled. That excitement grew into anticipation of knowing if we were going to have a little boy or little girl come to our home. Twenty weeks (halfway) into the pregnancy seemed to take a lifetime. We were finally to the stage where we could have an ultrasound and determine the sex of our unborn child. I so badly wanted to have that ultrasound and see that black and white blur of which only the doctor can really interpret. My wife on the other hand wanted to wait until the birth to know. Many discussions were had on this subject, and finally my wife gave into my desires. The ultrasound followed and we knew we were going to be having a son. Our new son came to our family ten days earlier than his due date. A fun surprise!
Child two: The same events happened with this child in the same order as the first, all the way down to the same blurry black and white picture. This time, the doctor said we would be having a daughter to bring home. Our baby girl came to us 13 days early. Wonderful surprise! One boy and one girl! Perfect! Perfect is what I thought at the time. Little did I know that having one of each would haunt me on child number three.

For Father's Day 2008 my wife surprised me with the fact that we would be having number three. Excitement of course ensued. Since the first two pregnancies had gone my way with minimal objections from my wife, I just figured number three would be the same way. This time 20 weeks arrives rather quickly, and we had our usual ultrasound conversation. A little different this time is the resolve my wife had to hold her ground to not find out the sex of our child. I plead my case that knowing at 20 weeks is just as much a surprise and just as exciting as finding out at the birth. Civil discussions seemed to have no effect, so I began to BEG! No change. There would be no blurred mono-chrome image for us know which color we should decorate the baby's room in.

So here I sit 38 weeks into the gestation of our third child. Knowing our first two children were early, I am pacing the floor and anxiously awaiting the signal it is time to get to the hospital. I guess my wife was right...(I hope she doesn't read this entry), waiting for the baby to be born to find out the sex has made this part of the pregnancy so much more exciting. I intently wait to be standing next to my wife in the delivery room coaching her through each contraction. To see for the first time our baby. Boy or Girl? I don't know. For Now!

Beginning a Blog

I am diving into a new arena where I have never been before. Blogging. Putting my thoughts and ideas onto the world wide web for anyone to view and critique has its diametrical consequences. It is exciting to know that I can open my mind to everyone and possibly have some influence for good. On the other hand, knowing that people can and will disagree with some, possibly all, that I have to say makes me slightly uneasy.
The purpose of this site is to give me an outlet to compile thoughts, and open my mind. I hope all who find me here will enjoy the offerings of my mind.