Family (Sept 2012)

Charlie and some sort of open water

Here is Charlies inaugural visit to the pool. I guess the stiff as a board reaction is his response to being in open water for the first time. None the less, he took it well.

Bouncing Charlie

I will continue to post photos/tidbits of Charlie until Jodi creates his own blog.  In the meantime, we got a kick, pun sort of intended, at Charlies ability to kick and get his bouncing chair a rocking.  I think we're ready to sign him up for AYSO.

The Continuing Adventures of Chainmail Charles and his Lofty Ideals

I introduce to you the main protagonist in a series of forthcoming children's books...

Introducing Chainmail Charles and his lofty ideals

To say that Parenthood changes one is quite the understatement.  Countless books, poems, and other demonstrations of love have been expressed over the years by those who have responded to the magic of holding your own child.

I'm no different.  I can't' wait for Charlie to grow and for the chance to take him on his first camping trip, help him explore his world, and to discover his calling.  I want to teach him solid values and give him a good foundation.  To that end I am going to enlist the help of Haugen's Army.

What is Haugen's Army?  Essentially it was an exercise in creativity and a way for me and my friends to battle classroom boredom during high school and college.  It would work like this.  We would have five minutes to sketch out whatever motley character we could dream up.  We did this for a number of years and the efforts yielded such timeless classics as "Showcase Showdown", "Mustard's Last Stand", "Superlative Givens"and "Willie the Little Headed Archer".  One of those characters was named "Chain-mail Charles and his Lofty Ideals."

I am going to see if I can convert him into a character that serve as a basis for a short story.  The story will allow me to teach Charles the timeless qualities of imagination, exploration, and determination.  We'll see if I can harness those virtues in seeing this project to the end.

Lil Charlie gets the professional treatment

We love going to Utah because that means family. We love family because that means that we can take advantage of them...in a good way. My sister, Heather, literally threw this together in 10 minutes in her bedroom. Check out all of her work here.

Lil' Charlie's Feedin' Legs

You notice the littlest things as parents. Not surprisingly these little discoveries are the most worthwhile. For me I love watching his legs as he takes in his bottle.

Why we named you Charles

Good morning Lil' Charlie. You've only been with us for a couple of days but it seems like I can't conceive of a time when you weren't part of our family.  I wanted to spend a moment to tell you why we gave you the name we did.  You see we didn't need to consult a magazine to pick the most recent name du jour; we have had your name picked out for a long time.

Your name has great significance in your father's family.  It was the name of a great man who passed away many years ago but whose legacy is still fresh in the hearts and minds of all he touched.  It was the name of your great grandpa Charles Otterstrom.  He was also known as 'Chic'. 

The world sometimes measures men by a different scale then we do.  Sometimes it values wealth, power, and notoriety over things like character, selflessness, and love.  You see Chic wasn't noted for those former qualities but he had the latter ones in spades.  His character will last far longer than when all the gold of the wealthy man has been spent.

I never met my Grandpa Chic.  He died before I was born.  In fact he passed from this life on the same day that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the famous first moon landing. My knowledge of him has been passed to me by those whose lives were touched by him.  Here are a few things they mentioned.

• He was a humble man who always put the needs of others over his own.  He was never a wealthy man but that never stopped him from sharing what little he had with others.
• He was a creative man.  He worked for the great Walt Disney and helped animate some of your soon to be favorite movies like "Cinderella", "Snow White", and "Pinocchio".  Some say he never got the credit he deserved for his work because he was so humble and he never sought to put himself over others.  
• While he never had the opportunity to serve a mission he was always sharing the Gospel with others.  Most of his best missionary work was done through his Christ-like example.
•  He was a man who never succumbed to anger.  He never needed to.  He was able to educate and communicate without having to raise his voice.
• He was also a great photographer.  He was so good that the Government used him on top secret missions to photograph the tests that took place in the remote desert to capture the tests surrounding the feared and powerful atomic bomb.  This work ultimately led to the cancer that took his life.  In spite of this he never complained.  Actually he still remained more concerned about the needs of others. 

We will continue to gather stories of this great man so that you can follow his example.  This shouldn't be hard because there are still so many people who have so many wonderful stories to share.

Soon enough we will tell you about the person behind your middle name, Don.   He is also a  great man and he has also created a wonderful legacy for you.

Hello Charles, ready for your close up?

A more magical moment I cannot imagine.  The first glimpse of your kid.  Parenthood leaves the realm of the abstract and becomes something very tangible with that first picture. Plus, it looks like he'll be a boxer.  A scrawny little, wonderful pugilist.  We haven't even had him yet and he's already making us proud.