Grandma and The Thinker

I love this photo of Mom holding her newest grandson, two-month-old Christian Jordan, taken at last week's bimonthly family dinner.

As she serenades him with "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from Oklahoma!, he appears to be listening intently while making the same pose as Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture The Thinker.

The Girl with the Square Eyes

Kylee looked really cute when she borrowed Grandma's glasses and tried them on the other day.

Sometimes, there is really nothing else to say.

Day 302: That's No Moon . . .

Jackson was fiddling around with my camera last night and captured this photo:

As Obi-Wan Kenobi observed in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, it most certainly isn't a moon you're looking at; it's my shiny-white head. As you might have gathered from yesterday's photos, I have shaved my head for Halloween. Why? It's a complicated answer with more than one reason behind it. Mainly, I wanted to give it a try and to see what the results would be. So far, most of the ladies are diggin' it.

Mom, however, was none too happy about it.

Day 224: USA! USA!

Alas, the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, England, are now a thing of the past. I've enjoyed watching several international sporting events over the past 16 days and have found a newfound surge in love for my country - dare I say patriotism? - as the U.S. athletes have performed very well, earning 46 golds and 104 total medals.


Mom reflected that sentiment in these cupcakes, which she brought for us to share at tonight's family dinner.

Day 176: June Birthdays

At today's family dinner, we celebrated the four family June birthdays: Mom's, McKenna's, Dad's, and Adi's.

Jackson posed beside the cake, making a classic Jackson face:

Day 155: Jacob's Baby Blessing

My newest nephew, nearly three-month-old Jacob, was blessed by his father in Dave's and Jessica's Woods Cross ward this morning. Several members of both the Plowman and Woodbury clans showed up for this occasion, and after testimony meeting, we adjourned to their nearby home for brunch.

Mom's family's temple work Friday night + Jacob's baby blessing today + Mom's cherry turnovers and cinnamon rolls at brunch = a great weekend overall for the Plowman clan

Day 153: The Atteys Unite

A long-hoped-for goal of Mom's was achieved earlier tonight when the temple work for her immediate family was completed at the Bountiful temple, with Dad, their children (my siblings and me) and spouses acting as proxy for those who have departed from this life. Mom represented herself in being sealed to her deceased parents, George and Kathleen Attey, and then, one by one, her kids stood in for her siblings, and the same ordinances were performed.

It was a very emotional evening for us as a family, and we are grateful that we were able to help out Mom in this momentous occasion. I'm still trying to fully understand the Savior's Atonement, and yet one thing that is crystal-clear to me and one of my favorite parts of it is that it provides for the linking of generations of families together for eternity.

Afterward, we assembled at the parents' new pad at The Village for cheesecake - another favorite family tradition:

Day 72: Feeding the Birds, Tuppence a Bag

Over the past year or so, Mom and Dad have adopted several of the birds who frequent their neighborhood, and by "adopting," I mean "feeding a couple of times each day."

This shot of a group of these birds hanging on the telephone wires outside is about the best I was able to get, as they tend to fly off if you attempt to get close to them.

That's gratitude for you, I guess.

Mom and Dad's Excellent 40th Anniversary

Forty years ago today, my parents were sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan, Utah, temple of the Church.

To commemorate the big anniversary, their kids (let's be honest - Biz did all of the hard work) organized a surprise luncheon for them at one of our favorite family restaurants: the Joy Luck Chinese restaurant in West Bountiful.

Most of the Plowmans were present, minus grandson Luke, who was home sick with along his mom, Jessica, who was taking care of him. Our cousin Scott and his family also came up from Lehi to join us for the occasion.

My favorite picture of the afternoon was this shot, featuring a hilarious pose from three-year-old Jackson:
Yup, the kid is definitely a Plowman.

Also attending were "adopted" Plowman, Ryan; some of Mom's former college roommates; Elder John K. Carmack, emeritus member of the Seventy and Dad's associate with the Perpetual Education Fund, along with his wife, Shirley; Dad's tennis buddies; and good friends and neighbors from the Bountiful 18th Ward.

Toward the end of dinner, Mike represented the siblings and gave a short speech to honor the folks, using the acronym SLOF (Sacrifice, Love, Obedience, and Faith) to represent the important lessons they've taught us over the years.

When it was over, Ashlyne and Chantel had a little bit too much fun cleaning up, inhaling a little helium from the balloons:

We also gathered for a group shot:


Mom and Dad, you've been excellent to us. Party on, dudes!

Project 52 Begins

As of today, Project 52 begins.

What is Project 52? you ask? (Yes, I can read your thoughts. I have ESPN.)

I suppose it could mean a lot of things, but for me it will refer to a goal I am setting for myself for the year 2010: losing a pound a week for a total of 52 pounds for the year.

Is it unlikely to happen? Maybe. Will it be difficult? Most definitely. But I feel it is something I need to do, and there's no time like the present. My recent trip to the hospital convinced me that I need to make some major changes in the way I take care of myself if I intend to avoid going back there on a frequent - or even permanent - basis.

At different times in my life, I have struggled with my weight - perhaps not to the same degree as Oprah, but nevertheless it has been a challenge for me. I am not one of those people who never sets foot in a gym because I don't need to - and I truly envy those people who never have to think twice about it. Nevertheless, it is what it is, as people are wont to say.

This goal will also be difficult to reach knowing what I know now, which is that I have had a condition called hypothyroidism for the past five or so years. In other words, my thyroid, which regulates metabolism among its many chores, is essentially shot to h-e-double hockey sticks, and I have to take medication daily to supplement it. Additionally, my current problems were compounded when I had to take a series of steroids and cortisone supplements for health reasons a few years ago. For those who are not familiar with these things, they boost your weight quite a bit in a very short time.


This is a topic that is tough for me to talk about, but I feel that if I get it out there in the open, to some degree, and enlist the aid and moral support of family and friends in accomplishing this somewhat ambitious task, then I will have tools to assist me throughout the process: gym buddies, encouragement, Jiminy Cricket-like consciences when I'm surrounded by junk food at parties, and what-have-you.

Project 52 began today, as I previously stated, with a 24-hour juice cleanse under the direction of my good and nutritionally informed mother. The idea of this juice-a-thon is to wash out impurities and other yucky things in my insides, which admittedly have been through a lot over the years, including two years' worth of South American food and having also once digested a sampling of poi.

This juice cleanse began with downing essentially a half-liter's worth of prune juice - that thing that you always thought people 50 years older than me habitually consume, and you would be right - to start this morning. If you guessed that it tasted quite awful - almost as bad as Diet Coke (I said almost, Jill) - then you would, likewise, be correct.

It's a good thing I work mostly from home. If I had been at the office today, I would have assuredly been sent home - if you catch my drift. That one glass of prune juice, I feel, satisfied my prune juice needs for, well, forever.

Fortunately, the worst was over after that. I have gone on to spend the rest of the day alternating between glasses of water and pure apple juice (freshly squeezed and brewed) every half-hour until I write these very words.

I will periodically be undergoing similar juice and distilled water cleanses in the process of trying to reach my Project 52 goal. Here's a toast of l'chaim to life.

A Word about Mothers . . .

Since today is Mothers' Day, and well-deserved tributes to mothers all across the country are being given, what can I possibly say about my own mother that will do any kind of justice to her?

In a word, she is amazing.

I think Abraham Lincoln said it best:

All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother. I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

She has taught me more about selflessness and sacrifice - in addition to dozens of other virtues - than anyone else.

When I was in the sixth grade, none of the fathers of the boys on my soccer team volunteered to coach. So, Mom stepped up and volunteered. How many boys can say that about their moms?


At the time, being an 11-year-old kid, I initially allowed myself to be embarrassed by this. But when I look back on her courage, I have the deepest respect and love for her efforts.

By the way, she led us to a second-place finish in our division.

One Year Ago Today

Mom's been in a car accident. It's pretty bad. She doesn't have much time left. You had better get to the hospital as soon as you can.

I'm paraphrasing, but those were essentially the words I heard on my voice mail a year ago today. It was one of the most frightening moments of my life. You had better believe that I got myself to that emergency room as soon as was humanly possible.

Fortunately, once I arrived, I learned that the situation was not as critical as I had been led to believe. Mom had been in an accident, and her blood pressure had initially fallen to a dangerous level when she was brought into the E.R. But it was soon stabilized. When I walked in, she was awake and could talk. I breathed a sigh of relief. I also felt somewhat helpless, looking at her in that hospital bed, with all of those tubes and machines on and around her. All I could do was hold her hand and wait for my other siblings to arrive.

Mom had suffered a sprained wrist and a few broken ribs. Thankfully, her seatbelt had helped to lessen the blow of the crash. The worst part of her injuries was all of the bruising and the hematomas she had from the impact. They were all over her body, from head to toe, especially on both of her legs. The main thing that kept her in the hospital was the excruciating pain of getting up and trying to walk.

For the next week, Mom was in Lakeview Hospital. She spent the week after that in South Davis Community Hospital, going through hours and hours of painful physical therapy. But she remained tough all through the ordeal. In fact, the kind of recovery that Mom made was nothing short of miraculous. I have no doubt that the priesthood blessings she received played a large part in that.

In addition, the response and support from extended family members, friends, neighbors, and ward members was nothing short of overwhelming. I can't count the number of people who fasted for her, asked me about her condition on a daily basis, visited her in the hospital, brought flowers - what have you. A few of the nurses who cared for her and one of her physical therapists were members of my own ward.

One thing about tragic circumstances is that they never fail to offer us an opportunity to develop our own compassion toward the plights of others. They also, I think, teach us a great deal about gratitude.

I am grateful that things turned out the way they did when they initially appeared so bleak. I still have so much to learn from Mom. I'm glad she is still with us.


At the same time, I think of friends and acquaintances who have had family members end up in the hospital, whose prayers were not answered as they had hoped. Truth is, I don't know why some people walk out of hospitals; others are wheeled out, never to walk again; and still others never return at all.

I find comfort in these words:

I know that (Heavenly Father) loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
-1 Nephi 11:17; parenthesis added

In other words, He loves us, and we can trust in that. Trusting in that may mean having the faith to wait to find out the answers to all of our Why? questions in time, or perhaps even in the life to come. But they will come.