Back to School

Near the end of last year, I was thinking about the future, including my current job, where Leah and I live, and our desire for children. As I was contemplating where I want us to be as a family, I realized that my current job at my current salary would not be enough to meet our goals. Rather than look for a job at a new company, I felt prompted to look into graduate school. After talking with Leah about my plan -- of which she's very supportive -- I started making plans.

First, I spoke with my boss, Magda, about my decision to attend school. She was instantly very supportive and provided some important guidance: I told her that I planned to get an MBA since that's the degree that most managers have, and she recommend that I pursue something more relevant to my career. As she explained, if someone is qualified to be a manager, not having an MBA won't hold them back.

Second, I looked at what nearby universities had to offer in the field of communications. I decided that I wanted to choose a program that was entirely online so that my studies would be more flexible around my schedule, but I still wanted to have the option to walk when I graduated -- I never walked at OSU when I finished my Bachelor’s degree, but with something as significant as a master’s degree, I wanted to still have the option. Plus, I remember when my dad walked when he finished his master’s and I like the idea of doing the same for my future children.

After researching different schools and the degrees they offer, I decided to attend Loyola University Maryland (located in downtown Baltimore) and pursue an MA in Emerging Media. While the program description is somewhat vague, the basic gist is that the degree delves into different forms of so-called "new media" like social media with a strong emphasis in writing. With my career as a technical writer, the writing emphasis is a good fit, and since I'm working in marketing, a better understanding of new forms of media will be very beneficial.

After deciding on the degree program the weekend before Thanksgiving, I had to scramble to complete the necessary requirements for the application by the December 1 deadline. I wrote the essay (with help from academic advisor, my dad, and my coworker Chelsea), collected two letters of recommendation (from the head of PR at Danfoss and a professor I had at OSU who, after my father, is probably the biggest influence on my writing), and filled out multiple forms. A week later, I received an email notifying me that I was accepted into the program.

Class starts a week from today and I'm excited, but also nervous. I haven't attended school while working fulltime before, plus Leah and I are hoping to get pregnant soon, so with my already hectic life, I'm taking on even more. Even so, I'm confident that this is the right choice for me, for Leah, and for the rest of our family when they join us. Wish me luck!

Wedding Party

After being sealed together at the Washington, DC Temple, Leah and I headed back up to Harford County for the wedding reception. When we arrived, preparations were still being made, though the majority had been done on the days leading up. What was left was mostly related to food. We had a relatively simple meal of baked ham, baked potatoes, and green beans, helpfully prepared by people of Debbie's ward.

Leah's younger brother Ryan and his wife Dana preparing food in the kitchen

Look at that spread!

We also had lots and lots of sugar. We had a hot chocolate bar (which used a cocoa mix that I made myself) with oodles of toppings and a chocolate fountain with lots dipping choices. We got lots of compliments on both features, though the biggest compliments were from our young nieces and nephews who, towards the end, were running around with chocolate smeared on their faces, resembling hyperactive Dickensian orphans.

Sherlin provided all of the calligraphy work 

A dream come true

Since we knew we’d be hungry, we scheduled dinner first, which was served buffet style (we already recruited cooks, I can't imagine recruiting servers). After some time to eat and visit, speeches were given by the Matron of Honor, Rachel, and the Best Man, Isaac. Rachel, one of two of Leah's best friends, gave a sweet speech about how she sees how happy I make Leah. Isaac’s speech was about how salt is a seasoning that brings out the best flavors in a dish and how Leah is the salt in my life. Both Leah and I were touched by their heartfelt words.

Raise your mugs in a toast!

Rachel mentioned that I made her a pie for her birthday, which helped win her over

I admit to being a little confused at the beginning of Isaac's speech at first, but he really brought it all together at the end

Next, came our first dance. We had a little trouble picking a song, largely because Leah and I have different musical preferences, but we settled on "All of Me" by John Legend—I liked it because it has a traditional jazz feel and she liked it because the lyrics are sweetly romantic. As we danced, we talked and made each other smile and even laugh, which is kind of perfect for us.

Looks like we caught Leah mid-giggle

After our first dance, the floor was opened for everyone to dance. (I may post our song list later, but one song that’s proven to be Leah’s "get-up-and-go" song, was featured early on.) We didn’t get a chance to do any more dancing because we were pulled away for more pictures.

 We are full of sugar, so we must dance!

Sugar highs lead to sugar crashes

Leah's oldest brother, Rob, had to leave the temple early and wasn't there when we exited, thus he missed the family pictures. Since he was at the reception, we decided to try again and gathered in the Relief Society room. Being in a heated building made pictures much easier than the chilly winds outside the temple, so everyone loosened up and had fun.

The newest member of the Grabowski family 

It's nice to have the support of my wife's family

After pictures and a little crowd work, we cut our wedding cake that Sherlin had very kindly prepared for us. Leah had warned me ahead of time not to smash the cake in my face, which I wasn't planning on anyway: smashing the cake in the bride or groom's face is only funny if it's unexpected, but people have been doing it for a long time, so it's no longer unexpected and thus not funny. The tiers that were sliced up were lemon-raspberry and funfetti with sprinkles of our colors of purple and silver, but the way they melted made the cake look like it was blueberry-flavored. Regardless, it was quite tasty.

The youngest guest, Emma, with the eldest guest, Grandma Bonnie

We even found a way to include Pinto!

Cut…

… and serve

Two flavor options

The time flew by and before we realized, it was time to leave. Instead of throwing rice or blowing bubbles, we had our guests hold up sparklers. (Our photographer told us later that she's seen sparkler send offs before, but ours was the best looking she’d ever seen.)

Sparks were really flying that night

Once we got to my car, we discovered that it had been "decorated." At some point during the reception, Margot came and got my keys from me, not saying why she needed them, so I assumed that the car was being prepared for our departure, though I wasn't prepared for what was actually done. The car had been plastic-wrapped to a nearby light pole, though that was easy enough to remove. What was particularly annoying was that the car was filled from floor to ceiling with balloons. I pulled out enough balloons from the passenger side so that Leah could get in, but when I started doing the same on the driver's side, someone took pity on me and passed me an unlit sparkler, of which I was able to use the handle to pop the remaining balloons. With the balloons gone, I got into the car and drove home with my new bride.

 That's not too bad

Leah thought it was funnier than I did

A man unamused

I'm really happy with how the wedding reception turned out. A lot of work was done by not a lot of people in a short period of time and I'm so happy with the result. The reception was a way for us to celebrate our new marriage with our friends and family, which I think we accomplished in spades.

Mere symbols of our covenants, but ones that match

The Road to the Temple

We all know that Leah and I got married, but because I'd taken a break from blogging, I don't have an entry on it. Let's fix that.

After I proposed to Leah on December 25, 2016, I called to make an appointment for our sealing at the Washington, DC Temple. As the sister working in scheduling collected my information, she noticed that I had been previously sealed and asked if I had an approval letter to be sealed a second time. I told her that I did not and, in fact, didn't know that I needed one. She explained that she would not be able to book our sealing until after I received the approval letter and that I would need to contact my Bishop, who would start the process. I thanked her for her help and hung up.

The process for getting approved to be sealed a second time was not easy. I had to listed in as much detail as possible any sins I had committed since my previous sealing, even those resolved with priesthood leaders. That alone was emotionally grueling, but then I had to do it again for the Stake President. I met with my Bishop and Stake President multiple times, the latter of whom suggested that we consider a civil marriage with a sealing to follow a year later. Leah and I both prayed about that option and felt that despite the difficulties we were facing, we wanted to "do it right" and get married in the Temple.

After meeting with the Bishop and Stake President several more times, our paperwork was submitted to the First Presidency for review. A little over a month later, Leah and I were called in to meet with the Stake President, who informed us that he had heard from Salt Lake: we needed to resubmit in four months. That was frustrating, but we obeyed and on December 26, 2017, I finally received my approval letter, signed by President Monson.

Starting from when I had first proposed a year before, Leah had been planning our wedding and reception. By the time I got my approval letter, she had her dress, all of the decorations, and had hired a photographer. Unfortunately, the Washington, DC Temple was scheduled to close for two years for renovation on March 4, so we were running out time if we wanted to be married there. During her preparations, Leah had even got us significantly discounted cruise tickets that we hoped to use as our honeymoon, but that meant that we would need to be married before the cruise left on February 9. So, we picked February 3 as our wedding date, which gave us a nice numerical pneumonic: 2/3.

In what seemed like a mad rush, we scheduled time at the Temple for Leah's endowment and our sealing; booked the Cultural Hall at the chapel of the ward we'd be in as a married couple; designed, ordered, and mailed out our wedding invitations; and planned the menu and conscripted people to help with food. It was a flurry of work—most of which Leah is responsible for—but we got it all ready.

I'm really pleased with how the invitations turned out, especially since I wrote the text

Thus, on February 3, 2018 Leah and I were sealed for all eternity at the Washington, DC Temple, surrounded by our endowed friends and family (we had enough people in attendance that we were moved to one of the larger sealing rooms). While it was a lovely ceremony, what was truly wonderful was that we had made important covenants that will last beyond our mortal lives.

It took a while, but I'm glad we did it right

A kiss worth waiting for!

Afterwards, we went outside and took pictures with the rest of our family. It was chilly that day, though still surprisingly warm for early February. In between pictures, Leah and several of the women grabbed a coat to keep warm. We took all of the family pictures first so that our families could be excused. Once Leah, the photographer and I felt we had enough pictures outside the Temple, we drove back up to Harford, County to prepare for the reception.

Notice all of the coats and jackets

The memories made that day may fade and the pictures taken may be lost, but the covenants Leah and I made that day will last longer than man can comprehend. For that, I am truly grateful.

The Weekend of Food

This weekend, Leah's older brother, Rob, visited from Washington State and brought his eleven-year-old daughter, Becca. Also visiting was Leah's youngest sister, Allie, from Maryland State University. Knowing this, I volunteered to cook two meals: breakfast on Saturday morning and dinner on Sunday evening.

For Saturday's breakfast, I arrived a little after eight AM and started making blueberry compote. While that cooked on the stove, I mixed up some pancake batter and heated up a griddle. I made about thirty blueberry pancakes, stacking them up as I went. Becca helped out by microwaving plate after plate of bacon (we made a total of three pounds). As we got close to finishing up, I started cracking egg into a mixing bowl. I added salt and pepper to the fourteen or fifteen eggs and starting beating them. That's when I found out that Leah's other younger sister, Megan, doesn't like blueberries, so I had Leah mix up another small batch of pancake batter. I reheated the griddle and poured the eggs into a hot skillet. With the eggs scrambled and Megan's seven or eight pancakes done, we all sat down to eat. Everyone ate as much as they wanted and there were still a few pancakes leftover, though the bacon, eggs, and compote were all finished off.

For Sunday, I made pumpkin cookies the night before and put them out for people to munch on throughout the day. And munch on them they did. Since it was Fast Sunday, I waited until dinner to eat anything, and there only eight or nine cookies left from the original three-and-a-half dozen. For dinner itself, I roasted two whole chickens, boiled and mashed nearly an entire ten pound bag of potatoes, and sautéed a few pounds of zucchini and onions, or at least I tried to. The pan I used to sauté was smaller than I needed it to be, so I put the lid on in an attempt to have it cook more evenly, which it did, but it also ended getting steamed instead of sautéed. Regardless, there was plenty of food and Allie even took leftovers before she headed back to college.

While I did get lots of compliments on the food I made, I didn't do it for the praise. I like cooking and I like serving people, so when I can combine the two together, it makes for a happy (if tired) Jordan.

General Conference, October 2017

My General Conference experience was quite lovely this year. I watched the Saturday sessions at home with Leah and her mom, Debbie (and her younger sister Megan for a couple of talks during the first session). After our 5K (which, again, we did not train for), Leah and I were hungry, so I made waffles and bacon for us and our guests. In between sessions, Leah and I took a much-needed nap while Debbie clean the recently vacated upstairs apartment. For the Priesthood session, I listened from the kitchen while I baked pumpkin cookies and Leah balanced her checkbook. On Sunday, we watched with the Larsens, which was nice. The kids were very excited to see us and even the dog Sauerkraut clearly missed us because he sat at our feet during the entirety of the first session. After the final session, we stayed for dinner -- which was a very tasty white chili that Sherlin made -- and shared the pumpkin cookies I made the night before.

As for the Conference itself, I liked how much the message of "life is full of trials, but we can still be happy" was repeated. Also frequently repeated was President Monson's challenge to study the Book of Mormon from April's Conference: Leah and I had been slacking on our companion studies, but we've been reading every day since Sunday.

Another topic that kept popping up was the importance of families. I particularly enjoyed Elder Oak's talk about the creation of The Family: A Proclamation to the World (and felt more than a little old when he mentioned that the document is more than twenty-two-years-old). I often enjoy hearing stories about the creative process of other writers and this time was no different.

I also really appreciated the final talk by Elder Anderson: the way he quoted from several other talks throughout the Conference was a really nice way to tie everything together. But more than that, I liked his mini tribute to President Nelson. With President Monson's health failing, is this a glimpse of things to come? Perhaps, but even if it isn't, it was wonderful to learn more about President Nelson's life and apostolic ministry.

General Conference is a time of year that I look forward to. I admit to falling asleep for part of the final session, but every talk that I heard offered insight and inspiration that I needed. And now we get to look forward to reviewing this Conference's talks for the next six months!

Independence Day, 2017

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, which I mostly spent with Leah.

We began the day by attending a pancake breakfast hosted by the family ward that we live in and will be a part of once we're married. This is Leah's mom Debbie's ward and I've met a few people there before, but this gave me the chance to meet a few more.

After breakfast, we went to the grocery store for some last minute items we would need for our little barbecue we were planning later on. After we dropped the food off at Leah's parents' place, we went to the movie theater. Our movie of choice? Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman was a fun movie, though I predicted the ending. Still, there were little touches that I really appreciated. For example, Wonder Woman is played by Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress. That means that she speaks with a bit of an accent. Rather than ignore it (as was done for most of Arnold Schwarzenegger's movies), the rest of the Amazons have a similar accent. That detail helped make the world the movie was creating more believable for me.

After the movie, we went back to Leah's parents' place to grill up some hamburgers. Leah's dad, Ulf, was on his own and was enjoying his time mowing the lawn when we arrived. He had offered me the use of his propane grill, but had lost track of time while mowing and hadn't had a chance to clean it. Since Leah had to be to work in about an hour, I opted to simply use a pan on the stove. I formed the patties by hand, something I'd never done before. We also boiled some corn on the cob and ate the burgers on toasted buns. After cleaning up, Leah went to work and I went home.

After a nap, I did some work to alleviate some problems I've been having with the septic tank. (Since I completely skipped blogging in June, I should mention that last month I moved into Leah's place and she moved in with her parents. Since Leah's family owns the property I'm staying in, we'll be saving a lot on rent, which I've already started using to pay off debts.) While outside, I was bit three times by mosquitoes; fortunately, I still have some steroidal cream from when I had eczema last summer, so the itching soon stopped.

I may not have watched any fireworks, but I spent a good portion of the day with woman I love, which sounds like a great way to spend any holiday.

Mother's Day 2017

For Mother’s Day this year, I spent a good portion of the day with Leah’s mom, Debbie. The day began with Leah and me attending Debbie’s ward, which also meant that Debbie showed me off like I was a prized Pomeranian at the Westminster Dog Show. Plenty of people were quite friendly, saying “hi” to me and asking a few questions to get to know me; oddly, nobody introduced themselves, so when Debbie asked if I met anyone, all I could say was, “Yes, but no one told me their name.”

After church, we went back to the Grabowski family home for me to make dinner. As our Mother’s Day gift to Debbie, Leah had offered my skills in the kitchen. A couple of weeks earlier, we had discussed different dinner options and Debbie requested garlic shrimp pasta. Leah was my sous-chef and handled cooking the pasta and providing me with ingredients and dishes, while I cooked the shrimp and made the butter sauce. We doubled the recipe, which meant that I encountered some surprises when I tried to fit everything into a skillet that wasn’t big enough, but I was able to figure out a workaround.

When dinner was served, there wasn’t a lot of talk, just a lot of eating. Debbie liked dinner so much that she made herself a lunch box while there were still leftovers. Good thing, too, because everyone went back for a second helping.

I may not have been able to spend time with my own mother for Mother’s Day, but I still honored an important mother in my life.

Easter 2017

Easter was busy for Leah and me. We had decided to host Easter dinner and had invited her family and mine, though not everyone was available. In the end, we had Ian, Sherlin, Leah's dad Ulf, and her younger sisters, Megan and Allison, over. (From now on, when I mention Allison, assume I'm referring to Leah's youngest sister.)

I was a bit ambitious with the meal that I planned, though thankfully it all worked out. We made a spinach salad with strawberries, feta cheese, and sliced almonds; a spiral-cut, honey-glazed ham; sauteed green beans with garlic and cranberries; deep fried sweet potato french fries; and a trifle with blueberries, strawberries, and pound cake for dessert. Leah was a champ on the deep fryer and did a lot of prep work by slicing all of the strawberries and about half of the sweet potatoes. The trifle gave me problems as I didn't have enough pound cake and had to quickly bake another, though I probably ran out because Leah and I kept munching on it before I assembled the cake.

Dinner was great, if a bit crowded in my tiny apartment. I don't usually get to entertain in my home (and this was certainly the biggest group that I've fed here), so it was nice to be able to plan out the meal and execute it -- having Leah as my assistant made it even nicer. After most of the guests left (Megan hung out for a while afterwards), I collapsed on the couch, exhausted but happy.

The Proposal

Yesterday, on Christmas, I asked for Leah's eternal hand in marriage. She said "Yes!"

The story of our proposal begins last Thursday.  I had recently prayed if Leah was the woman I was supposed to marry, but the answer I received was "Go to the temple and ask there."  So, on Thursday night I went to the Washington, DC Temple and participated in an endowment session.  Once in the Celestial Room, I prayed again, this time receiving a resounding "Yes."  I knew that I wanted to propose, but I didn't know how or when.

Leah works part-time at Victoria's Secret and I visited her on Christmas Eve so we could hang out during her break.  She took the opportunity to show me off to her coworkers, one of whom even said "He's cute" while I was standing right there.  We enjoy the thirty minutes we had together before she had to return to work.

With Leah safely inside the boutique de brasserie, I walked down to one of the jewelry stores in the mall.  Soon after meeting me, Leah had picked out a few engagement rings and put them in the store's "Wish Book."  When we started talking about the possibility of marriage while we were dating, she told me about the store and told me to choose one of the options there—in order to ensure that she liked the ring I picked out.  With this in mind, I went to the jewelry store to see what the options were, intending to not buy anything that day.  When I saw what the options were—and heard that the entire store's inventory was half off until Christmas—I picked the one I liked and bought it on the spot.  I planned to wait until the holidays were over, in order to really surprise Leah.

With the ring hidden on my person, I went to Leah's parents' home to bake cookies.  Leah's mom, Debbie, is very warm and invited me to come and bake cookies with her some time before Christmas and Christmas Eve just happened to be the best time for me to visit.  Also there were Leah's younger brother, Ryan, and his wife Dana, her younger sisters, Megan and Allison, and Leah's niece, Rebecca, the daughter of Leah's older brother, Rob, who's currently stationed in the Philippines.  At one point, everyone went outside to fire model rockets (a Grabowski Christmas tradition), so I went in to talk to Leah's father, Ulf.  I told him that I loved his daughter and intended to ask her to marry me, though not until the holidays were over.  He told me that he was a good judge of character and that he liked me and would be happy to give me his blessing on the proposal.  Having gained his permission (and his promise to keep our conversation a secret), I went back outside to join with the rocket launches before my absence was noticed.  After a few hours, Leah joined us and I continued to bake cookies (only four kinds surprisingly, but we did have rockets to launch).  Before it got too late, I excused myself for the night, with the promise to return on Christmas day.

On Christmas morning, I went to church at the YSA ward, though only Sacrament meeting was held (which I think was the standard throughout the Church).  After church, Leah met me at my apartment where we opened our gifts.  I got her some leggings (which required me to join a Facebook group in order to buy them), a charm for her charm bracelet, and a pair of crocheted slipper socks.  She got a nice pea coat, a deep fryer (which she admitted was partially for her so I can deep fry her food more easily), a ceramic coated skillet, a spoon rest for the stove, a butter dish (which I've mentioned that I needed), and a Superman-themed apron.  (I also got a set of silicon baking mats from my parents—have you noticed a theme?)  Having exchanging gifts (and hugs and kisses), we prepared to leave for her parents' for an early dinner.

Even though I planned to wait until after the holidays were over, I was too excited to wait any longer: I had decided the night before to propose on Christmas Day.  I said I needed go to the bedroom to grab my wallet and keys, so Leah went with me to help me along.  I made a comment about how there were other things I needed and she gave me a weird look and went back to the living room.  I put the ring box in my back pocket and joined Leah.  I grabbed her in a hug and said (not verbatim), "Leah, I love you.  I'm so happy that I met you.  My life has gotten so much better since I met you."  I got down on one knee.  "You've made me a better man and I know that as long as you're a part of my life, my life will only get better."  I pulled the box out of my pocket and opened it.  "Leah, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, now and for all eternity?"  She enthusiastically said, "Yes!"  I slipped the ring on her finger (and had a mini freakout when I thought it didn't fit, though it was the perfect size) and we embraced and kissed.

On our way to Leah's parents', we called and told a few members of my family (not everyone was available, what with the time differences).  Once at the Grabowski's, Leah didn't say anything, she just took off her jacket and gave her mom a hug.  During their hug, Debbie felt the ring, pulled Leah's hand into view, and screamed with joy.  With the cat out of the bag, she showed off the ring to her family and we both got hugs from everyone present.

I am so happy to be getting married to Leah.  She's such a kind, caring person who works to make others feel better about themselves.  We've only been together for four months, but we make a great team: I love her, she loves me, and we build each other up.  I can't wait to be sealed to her for time and all eternity.

#IanandSherlin2016

This past weekend, my brother Ian married his fiancé Sherlin.  Not everything was perfect, but it all came together when it mattered.

Leah met me at my apartment on Friday morning (both of us took the day off) and we took my car to Ian’s place.  We weren’t there long before we caravanned to Ian’s ward building to prepare for the reception.  After setting up the tables and about a dozen chairs, I noticed that the floor of the cultural hall was in need of vacuuming, so I volunteered myself for the task.  While I vacuumed, Ian, Sherlin, Isaac, Falisha, and Leah worked on more intricate preparations like setting up the microphone and putting tablecloths on the tables.  A lot of the decorations were customized by Sherlin and her friends, like the table banner with handwritten letters or the custom, machine-cut candle holders, making everything feel all the more unique.

Preparations

In the evening, when we were supposed to be practicing at the chapel at Fort Meade, we stood around in the brisk air just outside.  Due to a lack of communication and a severe case of absent-mindedness, the caretaker of the chapel key had failed to unlock the building for us.  There was a lot of discussion over how long we should wait, but eventually it was decided that we would practice in the hall of the nearby commissary.  We got plenty of odd looks as we lined up and practiced our entrances, but it helped us work out a few kinks, so I think it was worth it.  After a few times through, we were done.  Ian invited us back to his place for pizza, which I took him up on.

Since tradition dictates that the groom should not see his bride before she walks down the aisle, Ian stayed at my apartment, along with Isaac and Henry.  I was very tired after all of the setting up we did, so I asked Ian to drive for me.  Isaac rode shotgun, which put Leah and me in the backseat.  It was a bit strange sitting in the back of my car for the first time, but it was nice to relax.

The following morning, after all of the Larsen men were dressed in our wedding finery, we drove back down to Ian’s ward building for a final bit of preparation.  After the fiasco of not being able to get into the chapel on base, Ian planned ahead and got permission from his bishop to have the wedding ceremony there, just in case.  He made sure that very few people even knew about the backup plan, but those who did were sworn to secrecy—he didn’t want to stress out Sherlin who had plenty of things on her plate already.  Thankfully, the building was unlocked and we were able to proceed as planned.

Time to start!

The ceremony itself was lovely.  While the words of the chaplain were nice, I really liked the individual vows that Ian and Sherlin wrote: they both included each other’s kids in their vows, promising their love to them as well.  I looked over at the bridesmaids from my spot at the front of the line of groomsmen a few times and saw that all of them were tearing up.  Needless to say, it was beautiful to see these two people dedicate themselves to each other.

Since I was in the bridal party, I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony,

so here's one of the chaplain signing the marriage certificate.

After the wedding, the reception began.  Most of the food had been prepared by Sherlin and it was delicious, as always.  The cake was great too, despite the center tier (which I made) not being as structurally sound as hoped—still, it held up long enough to be cut, which is what really matters.

So much good food!

Iris gave her maid of honor speech, which was beautifully prepared.  Then the groomsmen got up to deliver ours.  Ian had decided that he wanted to have us play an improv game for our speech and had given us our instructions a few weeks prior: we would all stand in a line and say a single word each in succession, until we had each said six words (for a total of thirty-six words).  When he gave us our assignment (via email), I immediately responded that he was being ridiculous.  I had decided that I would just be as silly as possible and say “dinosaur” or “laser” at some point, but one of the more practical groomsmen just wrote a speech for us to use.  Even though it defied Ian’s instructions to be spontaneous with our speech, I was happy to have something prepared.  Another groomsman suggested that we just write our words on our hands and blatantly read them when we delivered the speech, which we did.  Even so, we had to practice it a few times before the reception started, but it all worked out and I think that Ian appreciated the effort we made, even if didn’t follow all of his instructions.

A lovely speech by a lovely lady.

Margot and Bryan sang a song that Sherlin had specifically chosen for the day.  They did a wonderful job and sang the song beautifully.  Then Sherlin and Ian shared their first dance.

After I posted this picture to Facebook, Ian adopted it as his new profile picture. I guess that means he liked it!

Leah got involved, too.  On the way to the ward building, she picked up washable markers to write on  the windows of Ian's truck.  She got Iris, Falisha, Margot, and Jen (Sherlin’s best friend) to help her with the decorating and I think it was a nice bonding experience for them all.  I then worked to keep Ian away from his truck until they left for the evening.  I’m sure Ian thought I was being very nice running out to his truck for things a few times, but I was mostly just keeping him inside.  As for how the surprise went over, I can’t say.  When it was time for the big reveal, I was busy wrangling my several nieces and nephews.  Still, I suspect that they enjoyed it.

Sometimes wrangling kids is adorable.

One important activity that happens at every wedding is the bouquet toss.  Sherlin was very inclusive and invited all the women in the room to participate, regardless of marital status.  Even with the big crowd, Leah caught the bouquet.  Does that mean anything?  We’ll have to wait and see.

She shoots!

And it's good!

I’m so happy for my brother and new sister-in-law.  Marriage is tough and with them each coming from a failed one, it would be easy to swear off marriage entirely.  But they knew what they wanted in a spouse and found it in each other.  I wish them the best and look forward to many happy times with them and their children.

Congratulations, Ian and Sherlin!

Laborious Weekend

My weekends of late have been full of activities, especially involving family.  This weekend was no exception, though the family was not always my own.

On Saturday, I went with Leah to her mom’s place where I met Leah’s older sister Briana and her four kids.  After a bite to eat (including cookies I brought), we all went to a boardwalk at Havre de Grace.  It was a beautiful day and it was great being so close to the water.  After our walk, we spent some time at the local park and the kids had a good time running around and playing (as did Leah’s mom, Debbie).

Since Leah worked in the evening at her part-time job, we parted ways and I headed home.  After running a few errands, I went to Ian’s place to visit with him, Sherlin, and their kids.  They had just gotten back from the Philadelphia Temple open house and the kids were getting their wiggles out.  I worked in the kitchen with Sherlin, helping her bake a cake for the next day—we ended up having a problem with getting the first layer out, but I knew of a technique to help with that, so the next three layers came out without any problem.  I hung around until much later than I planned, but it worked out because I got to see Margot, Bryan, and their kids as soon as they arrived (which was later than they planned).

The next day, after church, Leah came with me to the big birthday bash at Ian’s, which had as guests Margot’s clan and a friend of Sherlin who brought her children as well.  It was actually Ian’s birthday, but we also celebrated Aeva’s and Phoebe’s birthdays.  In fact, the cake that I helped with the day before was designed to be for all three of them: the flavor was Black Forest (for Ian) and the decorations were a combination of princess (for Phoebe) and superheroes (for Avea) themes.  As crazy as that sounds, the craziest part was the fact that we crammed eight adults and a dozen kids into the kitchen for dinner, though it took three tables of various sizes.  Sherlin made dinner, which was fantastic, as always.

My presents to both Aeva and Phoebe were action figures of girl superheroes: Batgirl for Aeva and Supergirl for Phoebe (which went well with Clara’s Wonder Woman figure that I bought her previously).  For Ian, I gave him the unthinkable, at least for him: a book.  I got him The Last Girlfriend on Earth: And Other Love Stories by Simon Rich.  It’s a collection of farcical short stories that I think he’ll enjoy, if he ever actually reads it.

All of this fun over two short days wore me out and I ended up just staying for Labor Day.  I’m happy that I have people in my life for whom I’m willing to exhaust myself.

The Weekend Where Everything Happened

My weekend was long and full of adventure:

• I reduced my medication and was full of energy again starting Saturday.
• I met Ian, Sherlin, and the kids for lunch and playing.  The younger kids still make sure that I take turns flipping them around and fulfill my duties as the Fun Uncle.
• We went to a barbecue hosted by Jimmy, the guy who plays lead guitar in our not-a-band.
• We had a jam session in front of everyone (the only people who were really invested were the ones we brought).  We were missing our drummer, Joe, and his absence was really felt, but it still felt so good to play with a group again.  And I don't know if the others could tell, but my lessons are really paying off.
• I got home late because I stopped for groceries on the way home and my neighbor asked for some help moving a dresser into his upstairs apartment.  After the dresser was in its new home, he offered me money as reward, but I refused (as I did to his offer of beer); I did, however, accept a box of high-quality chicken breast -- the man works as a delivery man for a meat company and was allowed to use some product for his own purposes, so he used one box to pay me. I may have to help him again.
• I attended a Linger Longer after church on Sunday and stayed the whole time and talked and met new people -- it's amazing what happens when you're not depressed and have energy to do something about it.
• I cleaned up my dining room that had been messy for months due to my depression.
• I baked a loaf of whole wheat fig bread, a strawberry cake, and a double batch of cream cheese cookies.  I took them with me for my visit with my good friends the Simciks.  It was so good seeing them again.  In fact, when I got there, my arms full of goodies, I went right in their open door so I could put the food down before turning to see Mark and suddenly I was giddy with excitement.  Based on how he and Lori reacted, they were too.  It was just like seeing family that you haven't seen in a while.  It was so wonderful talking with them and sharing a meal (the loaf of bread was intended for Samuel, my old roommate, which they promised to pass on).  When it came time for them to leave for a dinner engagement, Lori started debating if they should flake out to stay and continue visiting, but I made their decision easy for them by making my way to the door.  Hugs were exchanged and we agreed that we needed to meet again sooner and not go so long between visits.
• On my way home, I stopped by a clothing store to return some pants that I decided did not fit as well as I had thought in the store.  When I was parking, I noticed a set of missionary Elders walking around.  I made sure to say hi them and ask how they were doing.  I told them what ward I attend and they named some of the Elders serving there, though I had trouble confirming all of them (we have four companionship in my ward).  It was about 5:30, so I asked them if they had a dinner appointment that evening.  They admitted that they did not, so I told them to wait while I handled the return and then I'd take them to dinner.  I had them pick the restaurant because I didn't know the area very well (I knew the store I had gone to and not much else), so we went to a Chinese buffet.  We talked about where they're from and what they're plans are for careers and education, but they mostly asked about me.  After they were sufficiently fed (I had a few pieces of sushi, but I was mostly full from my visit with the Simciks), I paid the bill and I drove the Elders back to their car in the parking lot where I had seen them earlier.  As they got out of the car, they asked for my name because they want to talk me up to the Elders in my ward when they see them at the next Zone meeting.
• I came home and made banana bread to take to work tomorrow.

Like I said, my weekend was busy.  Busy, but great.

Easter Break

I did something different for Easter this year: I went to visit my sister, Margot, and her family.  I was only there for a couple of days, but I had a great time.  I helped make dinner on Saturday, I baked goodies, and I played with my nieces and nephews.

While I was there, one of my nephews, Cooper, was baptized!  His dad, Bryan, performed the baptism and I got to join in for the confirmation.

It was a fun trip, but a tiring one.  So instead of detailing everything that happened, I'll share some pictures.

Making blue cookies for Cooper's baptism.

Phoebe was my helper when I made brownies.

The funny thing about this one is that I'm the only one with a bow in my hair.

Cooper and his parents before his baptism.

Cooper and some of his extended family (we took a bunch of pictures and I guess Cooper is a bit over it in this on).

General Conference, April 2016

With another Conference came another opportunity to listen to the apostles and other General Authorities.  Here are my thoughts:

The main theme that I saw was the broad topic of "eternal families."  This included family life, genealogy, temple work, resurrection, eternal marriage, proper parenting, and more.  Nearly every speaker touched on this theme, even if only briefly.

One talk in particular that I liked was Elder Hales' talk on the Holy Ghost.  It was simple and straight forward, but it really stuck with me, perhaps because I found it so relatable.

Outside of Conference, it was great to spend time with Ian and the kids.  I made breakfast both days -- French toast and bacon on Saturday and biscuits and scrambled eggs on Sunday; the Clara and Henry helped both times.  The kids had trouble paying attention, but they both got excited when President Monson got up to speak.  (Side story: I asked Henry what we would call someone who was a high ranking military officer with the last name Conference.  Because of his lack of knowledge of military ranks -- and his slight speak impediment -- he said "Sir Cumference!"  The kid beat me at my own game ...)

That's what I got out of Conference.  How about you?

The Best Gift

On Saturday, I visited with the Larsens to celebrate Clara's seventh birthday (it wasn't her actual birthday, but it was when we could all get together).  Last year, my birthday present to Clara (and later, Henry) was to make her whatever birthday cake she wanted -- which was chocolate with mint frosting last year.  This year, I was ready to offer the same gift, but Clara requested one before I could ask.  I was touched: apparently she now associates custom baked goods with her Uncle Jordan.

Clara asked for a strawberry shortcake, but I suggested something that I thought would be a fun twist on that idea: a trifle.  As soon as she saw a picture of one she quickly agreed to the change.  I made the pound cake and custard the night before so that I would only need to assemble everything the day of.  After buying fresh bananas, strawberries, and blue berries, I washed the berries, hulled and sliced the strawberries, cubed the cake and layered everything in a trifle bowl (cake, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, custard, repeat).

When I arrived, everyone said how yummy the dessert looked.

(Ian and I shared this exchange:
Ian: Wow, that's impressive.
Me: 'Tis but a trifle.)

We did a few activities before digging in, though I added fresh whipped cream to the top of each serving.  I don't think it's unreasonable to estimate that if you were to buy a similar dish from a bakery, with everything made from scratch and the out-of-season fruit included, it would cost about 60-70 dollars.  Everyone agreed that it was lovely birthday treat.

I'm happy to be able to provide a gourmet dessert experience to my family and I'm glad that Clara wanted me to be a part of her birthday celebration.

Christmas 2015

Christmas was a bit weird this year.  My past Christmases in Maryland have been spent with Ian and his family, but because of the way holidays are scheduled with him and his estranged wife, he didn't have his kids.  Since it was just the two of us, we kept things extremely low-key: I made dinner and we watched a couple of movies.

Thankfully, we also made a trip to visit the kids at their mom's house.  Oddly, Amanda's parents were extremely pleasant and I think they were genuine in their friendliness.  I don't have the highest opinion of Amanda these days, but her parents are fine.  I'm also happy that they were so nice because it made things less awkward for me -- Ian visiting his kids makes perfect sense; him bringing his little brother with him might have been seen as pushing it.  Thankfully, they welcomed us both with warm smiles.  We visited with them for about an hour before we headed home for dinner.  It was cute to see Henry continue to ask us to wait because he wanted to show us more toys that he had gotten.

On Boxing Day, Ian and I went and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens (come back tomorrow for my review) and had the kids visit to open presents from me and their dad.  It was really nice to see for Ian because, despite all of the toys they opened the day before, the kids' favorite gift came from their dad.

Christmas this year was mostly a stag party, but it was still fun and I'm glad that it worked out how it did.

Can't Stop Baking

For the Thanksgiving celebration at my sister's, we had fifteen pies.  Even with us cheating by buying a few pies from the store, that's still a lot of pies to make.  My sister, Margot, made three pies and her nine-year-old son, Peter, made one too.  That left me to make six pies myself.  What flavor of pies did we have?  Nearly all of them.

• 3 sugar-free, crustless pumpkin pies (Margot)
• 2 double-sweet pumpkin pies (me)
• 2 chocolate angel pies (me)
• 1 sugar-free apple pie (Peter)
• 1 pecan pie (me)
• 1 eggnog pie (me)
• 1 razzleberry pie (store)
• 1 coconut creme pie (store)
• 1 mince pie (store)
• 1 sugary cherry pie (store)
• 1 sugar-free cherry pie (store bought, but we had to put it together)

The week after I came back, I barely cooked for myself and I ate out way too much since I was worn out from all the time I spent in the kitchen.  Well, I guess I'm over it because I brought muffins to share with my coworkers on Monday, I brought some weird pseudo-brownies in today, and I have plans for more stuff for Friday and Saturday.  I guess after a long day at work, nothing relaxes me like making sugary treats.

A rare bearded baker at work in his natural habitat.

Of Pies and Panic Attacks

You may be wondering why today’s post is so late.  I normally like to have my post written the night before so they can go live automatically the next morning.  However, last night didn’t go according to plan.

I had decided that I wanted to make some miniature pumpkin pies to take into the office, so I made some pie crust and put it in the fridge to chill.  A little later, I mixed together the pie filling and preheated the oven just in time for me to take the chilled crust out and cut it into the right shape.  When I tried to work with it, it completely fell apart.  Then, after being out of the fridge for just a few minutes, it became a gross, gooey mess.

I had forgotten that pie crust is something that has to be felt out.  You mix together the ingredients, but you also need to handle the dough to make sure it has the right texture.  Since I skipped that step, the dough was unusable, but I was able to save it by kneading in some flour and letting it chill again.  With the dough properly prepared this time, I was able to complete the pies.

What I have yet to mention is that when the dough was wrong, I started having a panic attack.  Not a major one, but I was really out of sorts for a bit.  Thankfully, my older sister, Margot, called and her chat helped me calm down.\

So, my apologies about the lateness in my post, I just had too much to deal with last night.

No Leads

Genealogy is now easier than it's ever been, according to everyone who speaks in church about it.  Why then, is it still so dang hard?

I admit, I'm new to the whole family history thing, so I have no memories of writing letters to archive offices for information and receiving a microfiche card that has to be taken to a library to use a machine to read a blurry image of a handwritten document that ultimately provides no useful information, but it's still proving trickier than just following hyperlinks.

Of particular trouble is my great-great-great grandfather, John Howard Byrd.  I can trace back to him without issue, but it's unclear who his parents are.  I have two reasonable candidates, but no documents to prove parentage.  I've prayed about it and I feel that I need to pursue the more obscure choice, which leaves me feeling even more lost than I already was.

I guess my point is this: if anyone has any experience doing genealogical research and has any tips for me, I could definitely use them.

Laborious Weekend

I hope all of my readers have had an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend.  Mine was pretty much packed to the brim with activities.

Saturday
Ian and the kids came up to visit and we all went swimming at my apartment complex's pool.  Clara was happy to jump right in, but Henry took some time to warm up to the idea of getting in the water.  I've gone swimming with Ian and the kids before (Ian likes to have a 1:1 ratio of kids to adults when swimming) and Henry has a strong fear of water.  I'm not sure what caused it, but the last time we went to a pool, Henry was freaking out the whole time, even while wearing a life vest.  One big difference between the last time and this time was that this pool's shallow end was three feet deep rather than four.  That meant that once Henry worked up the nerve to get in the water, he could stand up with his feet flat on the floor and keep his head above water.  Simply doing that was a big improvement for him.  So while Clara started practicing basic swimming components like kicking and floating on her back, Henry being able to walk from one side of the shallow end of the pool to the other was still a big victory for him.

After the pool, we went to one of the dozens of Italian restaurants in my area and had pizza, which was really good.  The kids were a bit impatient while we waited for food to arrive, but I have yet to meet a kid that pizza won't improve their mood significantly.

After swimming and pizza, we went back to my apartment to relax a bit.  I got some pillows for the kids to lay on and Ian set up Up to play on his iPad.  As the kids watched the movie in the living room, Ian and I hung out in the dining room, about a dozen feet away.  Once the movie finished, I served some birthday cake that I had made (chocolate fudge cake with candied strawberries and whipped cream), in celebration of Ian's birthday -- which was the day before, but with a Saturday literally the next day, it made sense to wait to celebrate.

With all of the fun activities finished, Ian and the kids piled into their car went back home.

Sunday
After Church, I came home and did some laundry before packing an overnight bag (and the leftover cake) and driving down to the Larsen's.  Ian had had some trouble with a cat marking her territory in the living room, so he needed to replace the carpet.  I came to handle the kids the next day while he was busing with the installation crew.

When I got there, it was scripture-reading time.  It was great to see how excited Clara got for her time to read.  Henry's reading skills aren't to the same level as Clara's, but he still was happy to get to a chance to stumble through a few verses.

Monday
After a quick breakfast of eggs and frozen waffles (fun fact: I eat three raw eggs every morning and, yes, it grosses out everyone who hears about it), I took the kids in my car to a local shopping center.  I had a plan and a schedule to follow, but I had decided to keep the big activity a surprise, in case the installers finished early and we needed to go home sooner than expected.

Our first stop was at the local pet store to look at the animals on sale.  I wasn't sure about this as an activity, but Ian was the one that suggested it, so I decided just roll with it.  After the kids got bored with the animals, we walked down to a dollar store (really a five dollar store, so, you know, a fancy dollar store) because I knew the kids like temporary tattoos and figured that would be an easy win.  The girl running the register sent me to the opposite side of the store when I asked where I could find them, but based on her age I'm pretty sure this is her first job, so I probably shouldn't have expected much.  With the temporary tats in hand (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Henry and Disney Princesses and their pets for Clara), we walked to the first big activity, frozen yogurt, only to find that the place still hadn't opened for the day.  We were due for a bathroom break, so we walked down to the Target.  After everyone had gone, we walked over to the in-store cafe to see if an ice cream-like treat could be obtained.  While no ice cream was to be had, I did get each kid a slushy.  They were both excited because this was an even rarer treat than frozen yogurt.  With the frozen treats consumed, we walked down to the main event: watching a movie in the theater.

Ian had looked up the theater's showtimes the night before and found that there were only two PG-rated movies playing and only one that the kids hadn't seen.  We decided that I should take the kids to see Inside Out, the latest offering from Pixar.  With a large popcorn and custom drink (half-fruit punch, half-Sprite) for the kids to share, we all enjoyed the movie.  About an hour into the movie, I got a text that later turned out to be Ian telling us that the carpet installation was complete.  After the movie finished, we went home.

And while that could have been it, the kids asked that I stay a little longer.  Ian said that they needed to go grocery shopping, but Clara asked that I stay and play with her and Henry while their dad when to the store by himself.  We both thought that was fine, so Clara, Henry, and I headed outside to play Hide-and-Seek.  After a few rounds, it was decided it was a bit too hot and the kids asked if we could play a board game instead.  Since I was getting attacked by mosquitoes again, I was happy to change activities.  The kids chose Monopoly Junior, which Clara won.

Once the game was put away, Clara and Henry were sent off for some quiet time while Ian and I talked about some detail regarding a video for Danfoss.  With that completed, I said my goodbyes and came home.

It was nice to not only get to celebrate Ian's birthday with him and his kids but to also help him out and spend some time with just my niece and nephew -- and it was great to hear that they enjoyed it just as much.