Thank you Glenn

On March 12, 2009 I posted an entry about a trial I was involved in, and a comment my client made to me. We were waiting for the jury to come back with their verdict. Now this is a time that most of my client's freak out and get incredibly nervous waiting to hear how 8 strangers are going to decide my client's fate. We put on the best case we can, then its up to 8 regular joes off the street to do whatever they want in awarding my client what they need, or telling them they get nothing. Yet in this stressful situation, instead of being nervous or anxious at all, this client was as cool as the other side of the pillow. He told me "Don't worry David, you did a great job, if we don't win it's not your fault. I got the Lord on my side, and whatever happens is what He wants to happen, and I will be fine."

That client's name was Glenn Marchand. I have to update the entry from March 09 because on July 9, 2010 Glenn passed away. I attended his funeral service yesterday and told the story about how Glenn was calm and assured when the jury was about to come back, even though he had no idea what they would do, because he knew that whatever happened the Lord was on his side and Glenn would be fine. I told Glenn's young daughter that I know when the Lord called Glenn home, Glenn knew he had the Lord on his side, that whatever would happen is what the Lord wanted to happen, and that Glen, and all those who would love and miss him, would be fine. I told Glenn's daughter that I knew that was true for him, and for me, and for her. I also told her how grateful I was for Glenn's example to me of how putting faith in Christ really can bring peace, even in very stressful times.

I don't know how many times in my life I will reach a crossroad where events over which I have little control, but which will have a significant impact on my life (like a jury coming back after deliberating), will take place. I hope to live my life so that when I reach such a crossroad I will be able to say, as Glenn said, "Don't worry . . . I got the Lord on my side, and whatever happens is what He wants to happen, and I will be fine."

Thank you Glenn Marchand.

Great evening

My wife is out of town on a Girls' Camp pre-thingy and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. That left me in charge of my four daughters. I decided to take them to The Melting Pot. They had a great time and realy enjoyed themselves and their meal (especially dessert!!).

I probably wouldn't have made a blog entry about this evening except for two things: #1 its been soooooooooooo long since my last entry and #2: the following conversation that took place on the ride home. (because I don't like to use my daughters' names on the web I will refer to them from oldest (1) to youngest (4)

Daughter #3: I don't want to take the medicine the doctor gave me (Zyrtec).
Daughter #1: Why not?
Daughter #3: Because it tastes bad.
Daughter #1: How do you know? You've never even tried it.
Daughter #3: The doctor said it taste's bad.
Daughter #1: So, doctors don't know anything, and they lie. Like when they say "this won't hurt" and then IT HURTS!!!"
Daughter #2: That's the denitist!!

Nuff said. I'm off to bed.

Tis the Season

I was leaving Wal Mart a day or two ago when a homeless man asked me for money. I told him I don't carry cash (which is true). When I got to my car I thought about the season, checked my glove box, found $3.00, and drove to the front of the store to find him. I did not see him at the front of the Wal Mart, but I saw him walking across the parking lot to another store. I drove up beside him and as I rolled down my window I said "Hey I found $3.00 in my glove box, here." As he turned towards me I realized IT WAS SOME OTHER GUY!!! Some other dude in a black jacket and jeans who thought I was out of my mind!!

St. George Marathon

Quite some time ago my good friend Chris Jolley told me about the Utah Runner's Series. You sign up and then commit to run at least two runs in Utah over the course of a year, and if you complete the runs you are automatically entered into the St. George Marathon. Chris and I signed up and completed the Ivan's 10K and the Hurricane Half Marathon earlier this year.

Yesterday was the St. George Marathon. We left Friday at 4:00 p.m. and drove to Utah. Once we got there I checked in and our family enjoyed a spaghetti dinner sponsored by a local restaurant for the runners. We checked into our hotel and I asked for a wake-up call for 3:15 a.m (which is 2:15 a.m. Vegas time). We then all tucked in at 8:30 p.m. Utah time. My daughters fell asleep pretty well, but Tiff wanted to stay up and watch the BYU football game.

The wake up call came and I got dressed and met Chris and his friend Jason to drive to the race. The race had buses shuttle the runners to the starting line. The race starts near Pine Valley and the runners run from there into St. George. At the starting line, which I got to at at 4:30 a.m., there was a DJ playing tunes (Eye of the Tiger and such) to get the runners amped up. There was water, coffee, hot chocolate, and bon fires to keep the runners comfortable in the 39 degree weather before the sun came up.

Once the gun fired Chris and I stayed together for about 7 miles. When we started the climb up the hill after Veyo Chris pulled away from me. I spent the next few miles trying to catch him but I could not see him. As I hit the climb just past "The Ledges" (around mile 15) Chris caught me. Turned out he stopped off the side of the road for a pit stop and I went passed him without knowing. We ran together for a little bit but as the hill continued Chris passed me again.

After "The Ledges" it was mostly downhill into St. George. I hit the city limits with about 4-5 miles left. It was nice because the streets were lined on both sides with spectators cheering everyone on. Lots of kids wanting high 5's, lots of signs cheering the runners on, and everyone yelling words of congratulations and encouragement.

The last three miles were extremely difficult, but I was able to gut it out and finish in 4:13:58 officially. After the run there was a misting shower for those who just finished, then I got my finisher's medal, which is made of what looks like shellacked sandstone.

All in all it was a great experience. Despite the pain in my legs I can't wait to get up tomorrow morning and register for the Runner's Series for 2010.

Making out!

This week in seminary we covered 1 Nephi 16, which includes the story of Nephi breaking his bow. So we get to 1 Nephi 23 and one of my students reads "And is came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow". The smartalec stops and says "Oh, Nephi made out!!" I responded that he needed to go back several verses to verse 7 and read what it said. So smarty pants reads verse 7 and says, "Nephi got married." I said "YES! First he got married, and THEN he made out!!" I told them "There's a lesson to be learned there. Don't get those mixed up!!"

So at this point one of my other students asks "Brother Sampson, do you make out?" I responded "All the time dude." The kid FREAKED. He said "Oh no, no way." I then asked, "haven't you SEEN Sister Sampson?" All my students then erupted with sounds of utter disgust. One of them said "Ah MAN, come on, I didn't think old people made out." I told him I did not think I was old. One of the other students said "he's not old, he's middle aged." I told them I didn't think I was middle aged either. As the groans continued I told them "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to."

When they did not quiet down I told them "No, Sister Sampson and I stay up late every night studying the Book of Mormon, and THAT's how we got four kids!" They all lost it. I had kids covering their ears and yelling "la la la la, I can't hear you". Others put their heads on the desk and covered their heads with their arms and started groaning. One kid had a blanket with him (it's cold in our classroom) that he put over his head and then put his hands on the outside of the blanket to cover his ears.

I did finally manage to settle things down and get the lesson concluded. After everyone left Brother Bunker came by my room (he walks the halls and makes sure the students get to class) and asked me how the lesson was. When I told him it was great he responded "it sounded like some of them were in pain there for a while."

So far seminary has been a joy. My students for the most part are learning quite a bit and having fun in the process. We start Isaiah and Second Nephi this week which I have not been looking forward to. Stay tuned!

Seminary

Just a quick note. On Tuesday I was called to be a seminary teacher for Bonanza High School. In Las Vegas the kids go to early morning seminary from 5:50 to 6:40 a.m. each day, and a teacher is called for each class. I have been thinking about how this calling will impact my life, my law practice, my St. George marathon training schedule, and most importantly, my family. After praying and pondering for the last two days I have come to a realization:

Life is a buffet of blessings. Like any other buffet, if you want to get the most out of it you can't be afraid to put a lot on your plate!

Scary moments can teach the most valuable of lessons.

Last Thursday my wife asked me take our new puppy to the groomer for her first trim. The groomer is right next to my office so it makes it easy for me to take the dog in when I go to work in the morning, and Tiff can pick her up in the late morning or early afternoon.

As I was getting ready to go to work Thursday my daughters were telling our dog how much fun it is at dad's work. My daughters often ask to accompany me to work and as long as I don't have a hearing or depostion I love to have them come with me. As my daughters were telling our dog how much fun she was going to have one of my girls got the idea that it would be even more fun if they came along as well. Unfortunately my older two girls had swim practice so they could not come. My younger two however were able to accompany me. The plan was to drop the dog at the groomers then take the girls to my office, and have Tiff come get my girls and the dog at around 11:00.

The morning was fun. My daughters drew on the dry erase board in my office, and played "lawyer" on the telephone. They also enjoy scavenging the office for paper clips, and making braclets out of what they found.

At about 10:45 I went over to my legal assistant's desk to review a document with her. I could not have been gone more than a few minutes. As I came back into my office my youngest was standing in the doorway crying softly. I thought she had pinched her finger in a door the way she was acting, but as I took her into my office my second youngest pointed to the wall and this is what I saw:



Turns out my youngest had stuck a paper clip in the wall socket. At our home we have covers over all the plugs, and apparently or discussions about the dangers of the wall sockets had not sunk in with my four year old. Through nothing short of the grace of our Lord my youngest had only singed the tip of the index finger on her left hand, and the tip of her right thumb. After getting her hands in cold water I took a look at the socket and saw that the paper clip was sticking out of the socket and that a portion of the paper clip had welded to the screw that was holding the plate cover to the wall. Clearly the damage could have been much more severe.

The experience reminded me of times in my life where those close to me have had experiences that could have caused them to suffer death or a very serious injury. It also reminded me that incidences like this are only the circumstances I know about, and that the Lord's hand protects us from such harm far more often than we will ever know. It also reminded me that every day I have with the ones I love is a gift from God. An experience with my second oldest several years ago helped me to understand that every day with her was a bonus as she could have been taken from me at that time if it had been the Lord's will. My experience Thursday helped me to again realize how temporary our lives really are. Every morning we wake up, every meal we enjoy, every second spent with our children, are gifts from a loving Creator. How anyone could ever waste an opportunity to enjoy their gifts is beyond me.

I clearly have many other lessons to learn from my expereicence (be more careful when you are supposed to be watching your children is a BIG one) and I hope the wisdom to be gained from this experience does not escape me, but for now I will make it a top priority to make sure I never squander any of the precious, and LIMITED, opportunities I have to spend time with the ones I love.