Rolling Water

Thinking about Ellie and Dad today…kind of hard not to.

This song made me weep the first time I really listened to it. It is the conversation in my heart.

The music is the melancholy, deep sadness that one feels only when they have lost someone dear to them. In contrast, the words are the peaceful comfort that comes from knowing our eternal nature and destiny.

May all those who have lost someone find Peace today. I hope this helps.

Do not stand at my grave
and weep
I am not there
I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain

When you wake in the morning hush
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft starlight at night

Do not stand at my grave
and weep
I am not there
I do not sleep

-Mary Frye

I’ve been avoiding this task.

By now you’ve probably guessed that not everything went as we had hoped with the birth of our little one. We named her Elisha Noelle. She was here just two days.

We had no warning, no time to prepare for her passing. We went to the hospital expecting to come home with a little baby girl. We came home with only brief memories. Nowhere near enough. We were planning to fill a nursery. Instead, we planned a funeral.

I’ve spent the last 14 months in silent grief. I had lost my Dad suddenly, only a year previously, and now my baby daughter. It left me lifeless and dull. I’ve wondered since then if I would ever know happiness again.

But time has a way of working things out. Rough edges get worn off.

I’m starting to see light again. I’m glad for the sun this week.

In the past, I had always loved winter. I think I’ve had enough of it for a while.

Last week turned into a nightmare.

I want to tell this story for two reasons. One, because it will provide background for the next post. Two, because a friend once said, “Crisis plus Time equals Humor.” I’m hoping that someday we can read this and laugh about it.

First, some background. Lecil has been measuring a little larger than she should. It didn’t really seem that big a deal to me (no pun intended), but apparently the doctor was a little concerned. The baby was about two weeks or so bigger than she should be, according to the date of expected delivery. Lecil’s doctor referred us to the pre-natal medicine specialists for further analysis.

So, Lecil went to the hospital on Tuesday the 13th for some routine tests and an ultrasound to see if the pre-natal specialists could determine the cause of the extra fluid in the womb and the baby’s size.

We had two ultrasounds back-to-back–one performed by the technician and one by the specialist. The technician showed us a couple of things about the baby–her profile, hands, feet, etc. She also showed us the baby’s lower abdomen, where she pointed out a pocket of fluid in the baby’s intestines.

During the second ultrasound, the specialist saw what appeared to be a blockage between the baby’s stomach and her small intestine (the duodenum). I asked her specifically about the pocket of fluid in the intestines, and how it could appear in spite of the blockage. She said she didn’t know. She told us, as she showed us the image, that this is often seen in babies with Down’s Syndrome. She also said that Down’s Syndrome is the cause in about 30% of cases of extra amniotic fluid.

We began to be more than a little concerned. If the blockage were indeed present, it would mean surgery shortly after birth for our new little one to correct the problem. But the specialist wasn’t through with us yet. She also said that another common and more serious effect of Down’s Syndrome is heart defects. These also need to be corrected after birth to ensure the baby’s survival. We have been listening to the baby’s heart beat for months now and have not heard anything irregular, but the specialist wanted to hear it for herself.

Lecil was sent to another room where they put a fetal heart monitor along with a contraction monitor on her belly. The heart monitor showed nothing unusual, but the contraction monitor showed several contractions during the time. This was, of course, a red flag to the technicians and the specialist.

Lecil was then sent up to Labor and Delivery, where they measured her cervix and determined that she was dilated to 4 cm. At this point everything dissolved into chaos. They immediately put Lecil on an IV, and informed us that they were calling in a LifeFlight helicopter to take Lecil up to University Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Within about 20 minutes, I was standing on a helipad watching my wife fly away, wondering what was going to happen to her, if she would be alright, and worried about the baby.

I have to say thanks to the kind lady that saw I was distressed and came and put her arm around me. It wouldn’t be the last time I would cry in the company of strangers, but it was the first and it really helped. God bless you, whoever you are.

We had an ultrasound done last week and our newest little one is a girl. The doctor says she’s growing perfectly and that everything looks great. I have ultrasound images below. You can already see how cute she is.

So, we would like to have a little naming contest. Use the comment area below to suggest names for our little tie-breaker. She is due around December 23rd, so names associated with Christmas or the holidays will be given special consideration. We may accept any names suggested, or none of the names suggested.* But if we choose your suggested name, you win! The prize for the winner will be determined at a later date. Good luck!

_{*Any suggestions for names will be accepted, but all submissions become the property of TrentonHansen.com, to be used at my discretion and no guarantees of use, either direct or implied, are made, blah blah blah, etc, etc…}

Well, the jig is up. The folks at Omniture found out that I have spoken French at certain points in the past. So, on Wednesday or Thursday of next week, I will be presenting the SiteCatalyst Implementation strategies to a client from France…in French. When they approached me with this opportunity (and I say opportunity because they didn’t force it on me–they are very good about making you feel comfortable here), I had a fleeting glimpse of possibilities for the near future.

There are few French speakers here, and the need is growing. I might be a guinea pig for this program–I don’t know. I have been assigned to the Media vertical in the Implementation department, but this client is a Retail client. What that means is that (if this goes well) I may be called upon to handle Francophone clients in all verticals. Will that make me more valuable to Omniture? I hope so. I really want this experience to be one of the great successes of my life.

You know, I had a very strange experience during the second week of training here. I dreamed I was at a family reunion in Idaho. One of my cousins approached me with a young boy, whom he introduced. The boy spoke nothing but French. From the point of my introduction to the boy, the entire dream was in French.

Now, here are the funny parts.

1. Working at Omniture is like a family reunion. There are three co-workers from 10x Marketing here, my two brothers work here, and two of the IC’s in this department remember working with me on the 10x account.
2. My boss is the spitting image of my cousin David. They seriously could be twins. David was the one who introduced me to the young boy in the dream.
3. This client is new to Omniture; young, if you will.
4. It has been nearly 20 years since I had a dream in French. In fact, I had the dream in August, 20 years to the month since I left the MTC for the mission field in Montreal, Canada.

Did I see what was coming three weeks ago? I can’t really say for certain, but the similarities are striking.

I got my final Omniture certification test results back yesterday. I am not one of the anomalies. I passed, and can now put Omniture Certified Professional:Implementation on my biz cards and in my email sig.

The news gave my confidence a huge boost. And I needed that–I’m giving my first presentation today.

Yeah. For those who have seen the blog previous to today, you may be wondering at the change. For those visiting the blog for the first time today and afterwards, the name has changed from Rushing Waters to Rolling Waters. See this post for more details.

So, why the change? Well, a few reasons. I have not really been satisfied with the idea conveyed with the word “rushing.” It felt too…rushed, too forceful, and a little bit dangerous. That isn’t what I wanted to convey about myself.

I wanted something more poetic and natural sounding. I ran across exactly what I was looking for in the D&C, section 121 verse 33. The phrase comes from a question posed, “How long can rolling waters remain impure?” which has profound and personal meaning for me.

“Rolling Waters” is much more poetic, much more natural and softer sounding, feels less dangerous and more like the image in the blog header. I would much rather be connected with thoughts of life-giving, nourishing streams than with potentially destructive floods.

Well, I got an 80% score on the second half of the Omniture Implementation Test, which means I passed. I will know how I did on the first half in a couple of weeks. According to Omniture, only two people have passed the second half, but failed the first half. I hope I’m not the third.

A passing grade on both halves means I would be certified. A failing score mean I would have to take the test over again at some point if I wanted the certification.

This week I am in “Omniture University,” which is another name for SiteCatalyst User Training. More of review than actual new knowledge, but still informative and good to fill in the gaps caused by my undirected self-study.

Whether or not I stay at Omniture for a long time, and there’s no reason not to, I will have some very marketable skills to take with me.

Today is the big Omniture Implementation Test. I’ve had the SiteCatalyst code crammed into my head over the last three days, and now it’s time to see if I remember any of it.

It has been nice to get the missing pieces filled in, to finally understand how SiteCatalyst works. Now, if only I can put it all together and make it work. I have to pass by at least 80% to be certified. That would be a nice addition to my resume: Certified Omniture Implementation Consultant.

Wish me luck.

Hey, everything’s cool. My concerns were unfounded. I have long held fears of working for a large corporation, due to the political atmosphere that usually evolves inside large companies.

While Omniture is large and has it’s rules, it doesn’t feel like a big company.

I may stay for a long time.