Perhaps some of you have heard already, but the Mother’s Cookies (famous for the wonderful cookies pictured above) had an abrupt closing of their doors a few days ago and will no longer make cookies. Yes, that means no more circus animal cookies. (My awesome wife went and bought out the bags at Target for hoarding.)

I can’t tell you how bummed I am about this news. I love these cookies. They were such a treat growing up. Also, the factory was based in Oakland and when I was living in San Francisco I ate them all the time. They were fresh and scrumptious after arriving from the other side of the bay.

If you want to read more of the history of the nearly 100 year old company, this article is good.

Now, why can’t we get congress to bailout a company like this?

The archives are available here. If you use the “English” link at the top, you’ll see the very nice new media player. The video is crystal clear.

• To celebrate our second little boy, Candace and I went out to Boston to watch a Red Sox playoff game. We had great seats behind home plate and prior to the game had a nice little private tour of Fenway Park. It was great.

• When we were in the airport security line on the way to Boston, we were in line behind Ray Teller of Penn and Teller. I’ve long since boycotted their act, but it was strange to see him there. If you know their act, Teller NEVER talks during the show. It was strange to see him talk to the security.
• Speaking of security at McCarron Airport, it is much nicer now. They opened 12 new security lines that go right from the ticket counter to the gates. The majority of the crowd goes that way so those of us who go straight from parking to the terminal see hardly any line at all. Nice.
• If you want to be a good spouse, find something that your husband/wife has been doing well and compliment them on it. It’s nice to get recognition, especially from the person you love the most. Martin Luther shared, “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.” (As an added bonus, it may come back to you. I complimented Candace this morning on some great changes she’s made because I like to see her do well. Then, I came home from my data center today and the house smelled like the two warm loaves of banana bread. It’s a win-win.)
• Whenever we go on a trip, I can’t help but let my history bug bite me. Luckily, Candace also enjoys it as I teach her about the spot then we go see it together. (Note: My kids are going to hate me on trips.) Anyhow, while in Boston, we climbed the hill of Dorchester Heights. One of my favorite moments of history happened there on that hill and I very much enjoyed visiting.

• The Office is still a great show, but last night’s episode was jumping all over the place. I sort of wish the writers would go back to the first couple seasons and refresh themselves with the shows ingenuity. (I was reminded of it when Michael was introducing Rica-a-Roonie, the new receptionist. That was classic Michael.)
• If there is one place in the world that I would not want to make a “snow angel” it would be in a dugout after 9 inning of major league baseball. The only bad part about sports in HD is you see every detail of the dugout ground and it is pretty gross.
• Speaking of baseball, Candace and I are going to head out to Boston next week to catch a Red Sox playoff game at Fenway Park. We’ve been there before, but it was the offseason so we couldn’t go in and watch a game. We’re very excited.
• Did anyone else see that Athlon Sports has UNLV as a pre-season top 25 team? All of us Rebel fans are in for a great season.
• Cole loves animals and balls. I brought him to FAO Schwartz a couple weeks ago and let him roam thru the stuffed animal section. He thought he was in heaven.

So it’s now official that we’re having another little boy. Or in other words, just 7 more to go:

In the later chapters of Alma, Moroni is preparing for the attacks of the Lamanites. He is preparing the different cities by building walls, towers and digging ditches. Then in the description of steps, we read that “in their weakest fortifications, [Moroni] did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land…”

Moroni found their collective “soft spot” and faced it head on with the most power that he could. This seems like such an obvious principle, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a hard thing for people to do. In this case, the setting was a physical war, but this of course applies to so many aspects of life. Whatever the setting, it’s never easy to determine and admit the gaps in your life.

In my case, I’ve had two great fears in running my company. If either were to happen, it would have handicapped and possibly shut down my company. It was easy for me to ignore these fears because I didn’t understand one, and I had no control over the other. (Or so I thought.)

But, after reading the way that Moroni prepared, I was determined to face these weak spots and place the most attention there. I wrote them down, made lists on ways I could prepare and avoid them, educated myself and worked through the problems. Two weeks later, one has been eliminated and the other has been planned for and would not be anywhere near as catastrophic if it occurred. It’s an incredible relief.

Indeed, looking at my weak spots now would put one much in the place of the Lamanites when they tried to attack the formerly weak cities:

But behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become strong, yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah. - Alma 49:14

It’s wonderful the way that the Book of Mormon can inspire in so many aspects of life.

Where are the weak spots in your life? They can be moral, financial, personal or physical. Instead of stressing about them, take some time to write them down and eliminate the weakness in your life.

I’m sure she’ll share many of them, but there are a couple I wanted to post here because I think they are great.

This is Cole and his buddy Mason.

Here are all the Stucki Cousins together.
L to R: Maddie, Tyler, Lucy, Hailey, Mason, Cole, Emma

I’m so pleased to have a prophet who is personable and powerful. After telling this story, he reiterated advice given by Brigham Young so many years ago. I wrote down the counsel right there in the meeting and refer to it often. He stated, “”We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate.”

So now, I guess I have to teach Cole how to wiggle his ears.

As I was sitting there, someone on the other side of the parking lot started honking their horn. And honking. And honking. And honking.

After one minute of honks, my thought was, “Man, I wish that annoying goober would pipe down.”

Then after 3 minutes of honking, I realized that the person might be in trouble. I pulled myself away from my Chicago Dog and Ranch fries (so good) and walked across the parking lot.

I wish I had something really awesome to report, but of course the honking stopped right as I neared the location. I looked at the different cars to see if someone was inside of one unresponsive, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I returned to my dog and fries.

When I got back, there were four old folks enjoying their food. I saw them watching me and reported, “You know, after a while you just have to go check. But I didn’t see anything.”

One of the older ladies said, “I was real impressed that you went and did that. We were just sitting here mad at the person for ruining our lunch not thinking that someone may need help.”

I told them that you always hear about those stories where a kid was kidnapped amidst a group of people because no one stepped up to ask what was going on and I didn’t want that happening on my watch.

She was impressed enough to offer to buy my lunch. When I told her I eat there free, she offered a nice grandma hug instead.

I bring this up only to remind everyone how good it feels to watch out for others. Though there wasn’t anything to be found, it’s a satisfactory feeling to even try. And, as the elderly folks showed, failure to watch out for others brings a tinge of guilt.

There is a phrase from a Elder Holland talk that has always stuck with me. It is in reference to when God asks Cain where his brother Abel can be found. Cain answers, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Maybe the answer to that question is….”No, Cain, you are not expected to be your brother’s keeper. But you are expected to be your brother’s brother.”