Yesterday we received about 8 inches of show in just a few hours. I had arranged to work this week from home, since commuting to Salt Lake in the snow adds about 2 extra hours to my work day. During lunch Isabel, Jay and I put on our snow clothes and went outside to frolic and play the eskimo way. We walked across the street to the park, where there are some dirt mounds that we used to try out our new sled.
Walking in the deep snow was a chore for the kids. Jay already looked like the kid from "A Christmas Story" who couldn't put down his arms, and walking proved extremely cumbersome. At one point he fell down, face first. He tried to do a push-up to get his face out of the snow. There with his back arched and arms shaking he said, "Dad! Falling and no get up!"
To make it easier for the kids to walk to our destination, I said, "Walk where I walk." I then shuffled my feed along through the snow to clear a path for them. "Walk where I walk, Jay, and you will be less likely to fall." "Walk where I walk, Isabel, and it will be easier for you to get where we are going."
The kids would occasionally wander from my path, and inevitably fall or fall behind, and I'd loop around to pick them up, dust off the snow, give them a hug, and keep walking. "Walk where I walk."
I had lots of reflections of the person I'm trying to follow who says, "Come, follow me."
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Home Depot Color
Recently one of the neighbor girls was over to play with Isabel. Jay, being the admiring little brother, wanted to do everything his big sister was doing. Nancy handed out aprons to the kids before helping them with a particular craft project. As she did, the kids called out dibs on the apron colors.
"I want the pink one" Isabel announced.
"I want the purple one" called out Addy, the neighbor friend.
Jay joined in also as he reached for an orange apron, "I get the Home Depot one!"
I think that's pretty observant for a 2 year old.
"I want the pink one" Isabel announced.
"I want the purple one" called out Addy, the neighbor friend.
Jay joined in also as he reached for an orange apron, "I get the Home Depot one!"
I think that's pretty observant for a 2 year old.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Fall Photos
We had the kids photos taken last week. They were good sports. Even as a highly distractable and squirmy 2 year old, Jay still did great. He liked doing what Isabel was doing. We love our cute kids. 
Friday, October 3, 2008
Children and Scriptures
In the Saturday evening session of stake conference a month ago, a sister an experience about reading the scriptures with her children. During an interview with her bishop, he asked, "Do you read the scriptures as a family?"
"Yes we do. We read the Illustrated Book of Mormon with them. They are only 5 and 2," she replied.
"I think you would be amazed at how much your children would understand if you were to read the regular scriptures with your children, not the illustrated version. Why don't you try that and let me know how it works for you" the bishop counseled.
She related how with faith in what the bishop had counseled that they purchased a triple for each child, and began reading the Doctrine and Covenants together as a family. She said it wasn't long before the children would start saying, "Revelation given to Joseph Smith..." even before they had their books open.
Nancy and I exchanged glances in the meeting. Our children are also 5 and 2, and we were in the habbit of reading from the Illustrated scriptures. In fact, we were just finishing our third time through with Isabel. We made a big deal about finishing the book. The next day we went to the bookstore and bought 4 new hard cover Book of Mormons (or "Books of Mormon" depending on how many times you have seen "Best Two Years"). Mom wrote our names in our books. And off we went reading the real scriptures as a family.
And how has it been?
Slow... but that is a good thing. We read 6 verses every night. Everyone gets to read 2 verses, and that's about all the attention span that the kids have - well, I guess Jay doesn't have even that much of an attention span or we would be reading 8 verses instead of 6. But shortly he will want to join in. The most amazing thing about it is how Isabel has responded. She is quite excited to read every night, and tries her best to sound out the words and remember the difference between "Laman" and "Laban." She astounds us with how well she reads the scriptures. The hardest thing she had read previously were "Bob" books. Other books were "too hard." But she seems anxious to jump in to long words like "Nevertheless" and "Jerusalem." So we can add our testimonies that reading the scriptures with little children is a good thing.
One other benefit from going slow is that it gives us more time to ponder about what we have read. Like last night we read 1 Ne 3:18, which says that if Lehi had stayed in Jerusalem after the Lord had told him to leave he would have been destroyed. I started thinking about conference - and how conference is one of the ways we hear the voice of the Lord - and then if we choose not to follow the prophets counsel we are then left unto ourselves. Safety lies in standing in holy places, and following the prophet. See - I've read right by that scripture so many times and never stopped to think about it, just because it is couched between "not murmurring" "Lord giveth no commandment..." and "tender mercies." If we hadn't been reading in such small intervals, I probably would have ended up missing that great scripture again.
Well my bus ride is almost done. Nice chatting with you.
"Yes we do. We read the Illustrated Book of Mormon with them. They are only 5 and 2," she replied.
"I think you would be amazed at how much your children would understand if you were to read the regular scriptures with your children, not the illustrated version. Why don't you try that and let me know how it works for you" the bishop counseled.
She related how with faith in what the bishop had counseled that they purchased a triple for each child, and began reading the Doctrine and Covenants together as a family. She said it wasn't long before the children would start saying, "Revelation given to Joseph Smith..." even before they had their books open.
Nancy and I exchanged glances in the meeting. Our children are also 5 and 2, and we were in the habbit of reading from the Illustrated scriptures. In fact, we were just finishing our third time through with Isabel. We made a big deal about finishing the book. The next day we went to the bookstore and bought 4 new hard cover Book of Mormons (or "Books of Mormon" depending on how many times you have seen "Best Two Years"). Mom wrote our names in our books. And off we went reading the real scriptures as a family.
And how has it been?
Slow... but that is a good thing. We read 6 verses every night. Everyone gets to read 2 verses, and that's about all the attention span that the kids have - well, I guess Jay doesn't have even that much of an attention span or we would be reading 8 verses instead of 6. But shortly he will want to join in. The most amazing thing about it is how Isabel has responded. She is quite excited to read every night, and tries her best to sound out the words and remember the difference between "Laman" and "Laban." She astounds us with how well she reads the scriptures. The hardest thing she had read previously were "Bob" books. Other books were "too hard." But she seems anxious to jump in to long words like "Nevertheless" and "Jerusalem." So we can add our testimonies that reading the scriptures with little children is a good thing.
One other benefit from going slow is that it gives us more time to ponder about what we have read. Like last night we read 1 Ne 3:18, which says that if Lehi had stayed in Jerusalem after the Lord had told him to leave he would have been destroyed. I started thinking about conference - and how conference is one of the ways we hear the voice of the Lord - and then if we choose not to follow the prophets counsel we are then left unto ourselves. Safety lies in standing in holy places, and following the prophet. See - I've read right by that scripture so many times and never stopped to think about it, just because it is couched between "not murmurring" "Lord giveth no commandment..." and "tender mercies." If we hadn't been reading in such small intervals, I probably would have ended up missing that great scripture again.
Well my bus ride is almost done. Nice chatting with you.
Monday, September 29, 2008
First Fishing Excursion
Earlier this month we had our first fishing excursion. I was a bit nervous because I want Jay and Isabel to have great experiences fishing - and want to go fishing lots with me. So I wanted their first exposure to be memorable in a happy way.
We started by stopping at Wal-mart to buy the kids fishing poles. Jay chose a spider man pole, and Isabel chose a princessy looking one that came with a few lures. The kids were excited.
We went fishing in my favorite spot - where I used to go every day during lunch. It is under the bridge in the Provo Riverwoods, right next to the Utah Community Credit Union building. The river is wider there, and not too deep. I also know that there are fish there, so we had a good chance of catching something.
First I tied a plastic practice fish on the end of Jays line - which is just to help him learn how to cast. He was interested for about 5 seconds, and then thought throwing rocks and his fishing pole in the river was much more fun. Nancy helped keep him from falling in the river.
Isabel really got in to it. I tied a colorful jig on her line. I doubted she would catch anything on it, but I knew she should be able to see it and it was less likely to snag on something. She did quite well as she learned to cast across the river and then pull it back. A few times she almost threw it to the other side.
After Isabel got quite adept at casting, her line finally got snagged. Daddy "unfortunately" had to get into the river to free her line. I asked Isabel if it was OK if, since I was in the river already, to fish for a few minutes. I started throwing a fly further up the river in a hole where I knew there would be fish - and far enough up that they probably weren't disturbed by Jay's activities. I got three quick bites and then was able to hook a fish. I waded back to where Isabel was and let her reel in the fish. Then we let the fish go and promised to come back and visit it again. That's a great kid fishing trip - fast and fun, and we caught a fish.
We started by stopping at Wal-mart to buy the kids fishing poles. Jay chose a spider man pole, and Isabel chose a princessy looking one that came with a few lures. The kids were excited.
We went fishing in my favorite spot - where I used to go every day during lunch. It is under the bridge in the Provo Riverwoods, right next to the Utah Community Credit Union building. The river is wider there, and not too deep. I also know that there are fish there, so we had a good chance of catching something.
First I tied a plastic practice fish on the end of Jays line - which is just to help him learn how to cast. He was interested for about 5 seconds, and then thought throwing rocks and his fishing pole in the river was much more fun. Nancy helped keep him from falling in the river.
Isabel really got in to it. I tied a colorful jig on her line. I doubted she would catch anything on it, but I knew she should be able to see it and it was less likely to snag on something. She did quite well as she learned to cast across the river and then pull it back. A few times she almost threw it to the other side.
After Isabel got quite adept at casting, her line finally got snagged. Daddy "unfortunately" had to get into the river to free her line. I asked Isabel if it was OK if, since I was in the river already, to fish for a few minutes. I started throwing a fly further up the river in a hole where I knew there would be fish - and far enough up that they probably weren't disturbed by Jay's activities. I got three quick bites and then was able to hook a fish. I waded back to where Isabel was and let her reel in the fish. Then we let the fish go and promised to come back and visit it again. That's a great kid fishing trip - fast and fun, and we caught a fish.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Dr. Brent James Keynote Address
Last week the company I work for, Intermountain Healthcare, hosted the Healthcare Data Warehouse Association’s annual conference. The purpose of the conference is for different organizations to share their insight as to what works and what doesn’t work in terms of products, implementations, and integration.
The highlight of the conference, for me, was the key-note address given by Dr. Brent James. Dr. James is known world wide because of his work with analytics, and the impact he has had on the medical community. He has been the major force behind adapting “best practices” for physicians. When I explain to people what I do, I explain that my team pulls data from all of the hospitals so analysts can then compare outcomes for various clinical processes. For instance, which hospitals and doctors have the best recovery rate after open heart surgery? Then figure out what the best doctors are doing that those with the worst outcomes aren’t doing (or vise versa). Then try to have everyone adopt the best practice for the best outcomes. Dr. James has been the instrumental force behind that process.
Dr. James spoke to our group about how to change physician behavior based on the “truth” we find in the data warehouse. To me, his talk transcended medicine and data warehouses. To me it was a religious talk. Knowing truth, how do we help anyone change behavior – how do I help me change my own behavior.
Dr. James presented four methods that had been used to change physician behavior, and then had us rank which one we thought was most effective. The charts were referring to diabetes care. The first chart showed a doctor a list of all of his patients, and how all of them were doing over time. This allowed the Dr. to get more of a chronic picture of each patient, rather than just providing “episodal care.” So rather than treating the symptoms they see right now at this minute, they are able to see the current symptoms in light of the progress over time.
The second method was kind of a worksheet. It would prompt the doctor to look for other problems based on the current symptoms. So rather than just looking at blood sugar, the worksheet may prompt for some respiratory or other types of related problems. So this worksheet prompts the doctor to look at the body system as a whole instead of just one part of the body system.
The third method was to publish a list ranking each doctor by outcomes. The method here is that those doctors with worse outcomes will immediately know who to talk to for suggestions on how to do better. There is also a little bit of competition to be on the top of the list.
The last method was to give financial incentives for doctors obtaining an particular level.
So, as you read this, which method do you think would be most effective way to help doctors adopt a best practice? Personally I thought it was the comparison charts. It turns out that he presented them in their order of effectiveness.
He went on to say that in an integrated delivery system (HMO like Intermountain) there are various levels of service starting with the patient to the doctor’s office to the company to the nation to the global community. He mentioned that change has to be initiated between the patient and the doctor’s office level. Nothing can be pushed down effectively from the top down – real change comes from the bottom up. All that the upper levels can do is to identify “truth” (best practices). Any attempt to force the best practices on the physicians ultimately ends up hurting the providers.
Isn’t that fascinating!!
Now for the application – suppose that some “truth” has been determined by mom and dad, by coach, or some good book. How is the parent, the coach, or that good book, going to change the individuals to align themselves with the truth established? According to Dr. James, the least effective method would be to legislate the truth – in essence to force the change on the individuals. When truth is forced, the person will likely interpret their own meaning, or feign compliance. Other ineffective methods include bribing and comparing. “Why can’t you be more like so-and-so.” “Do it because I said so.” “Do it or else.”
More effective would be to look at the particular behavior in time rather than dealing with an individual moment. Is the trend as a whole becoming better? Then treat the trend, not the moment in time.
Also effective would be to treat the individual as a whole and not just the particular behavior. Could there be other factors in the person’s life that are contributing to the present bad behavior?
Then at a personal level – how do I change myself. By reading scriptures and attending the temple, I become aware of parts of my life that are out of alignment with divine truth. Most effective change come from measuring behavior over time rather than at one particular instant. So suppose I decided I want to be more honest. I will evaluate my progress over time then just at some future point. Also, I will examine every aspect of my life with regard to being honest. Am I honest on my taxes, in my tithing, in my fasts, in my relationships, with my employer, etc. Less effective agents of change would be to compare myself to others – “I’m not yet as honest as (Abe).” External rewards probably aren’t effective either. And we know that being honest cannot be enforced. No one can force us to be honest.
Others can’t cause me to change. They can only help me see the value and consequences of truth. Likewise, I can’t force anyone else to change. I can only, with patience and love unfeigned, work with individuals to help them see the benefits and consequences of following the truth.
I think Section 121 could illuminate each one of those points nicely.
Brian
The highlight of the conference, for me, was the key-note address given by Dr. Brent James. Dr. James is known world wide because of his work with analytics, and the impact he has had on the medical community. He has been the major force behind adapting “best practices” for physicians. When I explain to people what I do, I explain that my team pulls data from all of the hospitals so analysts can then compare outcomes for various clinical processes. For instance, which hospitals and doctors have the best recovery rate after open heart surgery? Then figure out what the best doctors are doing that those with the worst outcomes aren’t doing (or vise versa). Then try to have everyone adopt the best practice for the best outcomes. Dr. James has been the instrumental force behind that process.
Dr. James spoke to our group about how to change physician behavior based on the “truth” we find in the data warehouse. To me, his talk transcended medicine and data warehouses. To me it was a religious talk. Knowing truth, how do we help anyone change behavior – how do I help me change my own behavior.
Dr. James presented four methods that had been used to change physician behavior, and then had us rank which one we thought was most effective. The charts were referring to diabetes care. The first chart showed a doctor a list of all of his patients, and how all of them were doing over time. This allowed the Dr. to get more of a chronic picture of each patient, rather than just providing “episodal care.” So rather than treating the symptoms they see right now at this minute, they are able to see the current symptoms in light of the progress over time.
The second method was kind of a worksheet. It would prompt the doctor to look for other problems based on the current symptoms. So rather than just looking at blood sugar, the worksheet may prompt for some respiratory or other types of related problems. So this worksheet prompts the doctor to look at the body system as a whole instead of just one part of the body system.
The third method was to publish a list ranking each doctor by outcomes. The method here is that those doctors with worse outcomes will immediately know who to talk to for suggestions on how to do better. There is also a little bit of competition to be on the top of the list.
The last method was to give financial incentives for doctors obtaining an particular level.
So, as you read this, which method do you think would be most effective way to help doctors adopt a best practice? Personally I thought it was the comparison charts. It turns out that he presented them in their order of effectiveness.
He went on to say that in an integrated delivery system (HMO like Intermountain) there are various levels of service starting with the patient to the doctor’s office to the company to the nation to the global community. He mentioned that change has to be initiated between the patient and the doctor’s office level. Nothing can be pushed down effectively from the top down – real change comes from the bottom up. All that the upper levels can do is to identify “truth” (best practices). Any attempt to force the best practices on the physicians ultimately ends up hurting the providers.
Isn’t that fascinating!!
Now for the application – suppose that some “truth” has been determined by mom and dad, by coach, or some good book. How is the parent, the coach, or that good book, going to change the individuals to align themselves with the truth established? According to Dr. James, the least effective method would be to legislate the truth – in essence to force the change on the individuals. When truth is forced, the person will likely interpret their own meaning, or feign compliance. Other ineffective methods include bribing and comparing. “Why can’t you be more like so-and-so.” “Do it because I said so.” “Do it or else.”
More effective would be to look at the particular behavior in time rather than dealing with an individual moment. Is the trend as a whole becoming better? Then treat the trend, not the moment in time.
Also effective would be to treat the individual as a whole and not just the particular behavior. Could there be other factors in the person’s life that are contributing to the present bad behavior?
Then at a personal level – how do I change myself. By reading scriptures and attending the temple, I become aware of parts of my life that are out of alignment with divine truth. Most effective change come from measuring behavior over time rather than at one particular instant. So suppose I decided I want to be more honest. I will evaluate my progress over time then just at some future point. Also, I will examine every aspect of my life with regard to being honest. Am I honest on my taxes, in my tithing, in my fasts, in my relationships, with my employer, etc. Less effective agents of change would be to compare myself to others – “I’m not yet as honest as (Abe).” External rewards probably aren’t effective either. And we know that being honest cannot be enforced. No one can force us to be honest.
Others can’t cause me to change. They can only help me see the value and consequences of truth. Likewise, I can’t force anyone else to change. I can only, with patience and love unfeigned, work with individuals to help them see the benefits and consequences of following the truth.
I think Section 121 could illuminate each one of those points nicely.
Brian
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Mission President's Talk
This evening Nancy and I went to a High Priest social. A recently returned mission president and his wife were invited to speak to us. In June they finished their service in the Houston Texas mission. If the former president were to have a title for his talk, he said it would be something like, "How not to sabotage your kids mission" or perhaps "Qualities of a good missionary." Here are some of the things he said -
- Ability to fail - Many parents keep their kids from experiencing failure. They are afraid to try because they are afraid to fail - or their parents try to protect them from the effects of failure. Them kids get on their missions, fail at something, and some don't know how to recover from the failure.
- Workers - He liked dairy boys from southern Idaho. They knew how to work. The first statistic he would read when getting a report on a new missionary was how they were paying for their mission. He liked to see missionaries who were paying for a significant portion of their own mission. More vested.
- Planners - He liked to see missionaries who knew how to use a planner before getting to the mission - able to set and track goals before arriving on a mission.
- Self Directed - Didn't have to be told what to do. Could function on their own. When their companion asks "How you do suggest we find someone to teach today?" They won't respond with "I don't know" or "I don't care."
- Able to Delay Self Gratification - Can live without a cell phone, video games, txting, all of the things that are entertaining. Too many missionaries say, "This isn't any fun. I want to go home."
- Willing to try - Can try something new. Can put themselves in uncomfortable situations. Can push their way through the apprehension and uncomfortable nature of being missionaries.
- The mission president's wife mentioned the ability to describe gospel principles in their own words.
Great talk. Nancy and I came away from the evening talking about how we can instill these qualities in Jay and Isabel, and do better ourselves. I am also evaluating each of my priests. It is food for thought and discussion, which is why it is posted here.
Brian (and Nancy)
Welcome
Welcome to our blog. Normally at Christmas-time we have sent out an unsolicited letter detailing some of the events of the previous year. We figure this way we are eliminating at least some of the unsolicitation factor. We wanted some place that we could share some events from our lives, as well as thoughts and lessons we have learned. It is as if we want to photo-copy a page from our journals every once in a while.
Our primary purpose with this blog is for our own benefit, and that of our children. Secondary is that of our extended family and friends. Thus the private nature of the blog.
Oh - you may wonder about the name of our blog - "More Especially Useful." Actually, if you are wondering, you haven't been around me very much. It is a reference to my favorite scripture - Ether 9:19 - and my quest to always become more "especially useful."
Brian (and Nancy)
Our primary purpose with this blog is for our own benefit, and that of our children. Secondary is that of our extended family and friends. Thus the private nature of the blog.
Oh - you may wonder about the name of our blog - "More Especially Useful." Actually, if you are wondering, you haven't been around me very much. It is a reference to my favorite scripture - Ether 9:19 - and my quest to always become more "especially useful."
Brian (and Nancy)
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