Memoir Notes

2008-02-05T00:19:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy having six kids. At times it seems like a lot - too much even - but usually it feels just right. Each of them is so unique and, well, awesome in their own way.

Here's a bit about Emily and Bradley:

Emily loves to clean. I asked her if she would help me clean the master bathroom, and she was quite excited, saying, "I love doing that!" She loves school and learning and has really gotten into reading, but she has trouble with her homework. Sitting down and working on something by herself is a struggle. She's more of a social person.

Bradley, on the other hand, as long as it is within his five-year-old attention span, can sit down and knock out his homework. He has more trouble paying attention in class, though. He has trouble not throwing/stepping on/breaking things, but he is the first to give up something he wants if someone else wants it, and he is the one to get up and get something for someone who wants something. He's great at sharing and serving.

Rachel Jennifer Cole

2008-01-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

At about 3:15 am this morning, Melinda woke up with contractions and woke me up. We arrived at the hospital around 4 am, and Rachel Jennifer Cole was born just after 5:45 am. She weighed 7lbs 12oz, and was 20 inches long.

Melinda's mother was watching the other children. I went home around 8 to help get them ready and we all arrived at the hospital around 11. Emily doted on her little sister like a second mother. Jason wasn't sure about what was going on and didn't really want anything to do with the baby until he saw Bradley holding her. Then he thought it might be interesting after all.

I was holding her and knelt down for Jason to see her, and he and the other kids all gathered around. Then Jason leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

I went back after getting the kids ready for bed and spend some more quality time with her and Melinda. Rachael and Pam Parker stopped by to say hello.

No Baby Yet

2008-01-07T21:42:00.001-05:00

Last Monday night, New Year's Eve, Melinda and I spent the night in the hospital as she was in labor, but around 6am, it stopped. Now, a week later, we still have no baby. Tomorrow she's going in for an appointment, and we expect that to trigger her labor again and will be prepared. We certainly don't want to have another event like Jason's birth.

Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-25T00:37:00.001-05:00

We had a great Christmas Eve. We opened all of the presents to each other, and Aunt Renee and Nana and Papa opened their gifts from us. We had many "hits", such as:

Bradley got Infinity in Your Pocket, a book about math.
Emily, Sarah, and Wendy got princess dresses and ribbon sticks.
Bradley got a Hot Wheels racing track.
Aunt Renee got framed photos of her parents as kids and a photo album of her parents and grandparents.
Melinda's parents got a Year in Review book about our kids.

Yesterday, Melinda's brother and his family came down and had a great visit.

We're Having a Girl!

2007-09-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

We're having a girl, a girl, a girl. We're having a girl, a pretty, pretty girl!

Sister Cribb also had her baby today. Braedyn Fox Cribb. Brother Ferguson and I were able to give her a blessing beforehand and her son one today.

Cole Academy

2007-08-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

Started homeschooling Emily today.

Working on Digital Charleston. Tom Powers of United Payment Group is going to refer clients to me. I've reworked Professional Agent code for this.

Also working with Walter Gunter to develop Floundervision.

Firefox Finally

2007-04-26T21:48:00.000-04:00

I've finally totally given up on Microsoft Internet Explorer. I'd been holding out with it because it is still the dominant browser, and I in fact did like it. But IE7 actually crashes on me. I'll be in the middle of doing something and all of my tabs would just disappear. That is just unacceptable so I've officially and completely switched to Firefox.

I'll still be testing my applications and websites in IE, but that's it.

Emily's Birthday, SEO Logs, Risk

2007-04-07T23:02:00.000-04:00

Emily's birthday was last Thursday. I stayed home, and we spent the day running errands (though I did get some work done). She got (sigh) a karaoke machine. Though I cannot stand karaoke, I justify it that it is for family fun and to help the kids develop stage presence. And so far it sure is. Emily and Bradley are jumping around, singing like stars, and Sarah will be soon, I'm sure.

I've joined Badi Jones as a blogger on SEO Logs. So far, I've only made one post, and I'm not sure how much time I'll put into it, but it should be fun. I haven't even made a dollar off it so far, though, so I'm not expecting it to be lucrative so it's not a priority.

Played Risk with Emily and Bradley today. Bradley gave out after an hour, but Emily and I played until the end. She was really into it and picked up some strategy quickly. Yea!

Cole Bros. Circus, Pictures, Emily Riding Her Bike

2007-03-31T22:14:00.001-04:00

We went to the Cole Brothers Circus last night. That was the first time I've ever been to a circus. Parts of it were fun, especially the acrobatics.

This morning we finally got pictures of the kids taken (at J.C. Penny). Melinda committed to doing so every month for a kid's first year, at 18 months, and every year from two on. Then Wal-mart's portrait studio closed down and Wendy, Jason, and somewhat Sarah missed out. Wendy and Sarah's turned out ok, but Emily, Bradley, and Jason will have to be done again.

General Conference was today, but we missed out on most of it. Saturday is a busy family day.

Emily learned to ride her bicycle without training wheels today. She's not quite confident yet, but another day and she will be.

Emily's Testimony

2007-03-28T21:26:00.000-04:00

Emily bore her testimony last Sunday - all by herself. She went up right away. She was uncertain about how to go about it, having never gone up all by herself before, but she later said that she wasn't nervous.

She said, "I would like to bear my testimony. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith was a Prophet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I love my family. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

She spent the last month learning about testimonies and praying for her own (ever since I challenged her last testimony meeting when I bore mine). There was one lesson in a Relief Society manual that hit home with her. It stated how and why we gain testimonies and that those three things should be included in all testimonies.

At first she said that she didn't have her own testimony of any of those things, though she wanted one. I was careful to remind her to pray about it, but not to force the issue. She's only five and these things are a personal matter and don't necessarily come early, though I pray that my children will be well acquainted with their Savior in their youth and gain firm testimonies of their own while young.

Before going up to the podium, she told me that she did in fact have testimonies of these things through the Holy Ghost. It's been a great influence on Bradley, as well, as he wants to bear his testimony in November (near his birthday).

Speaking of which, today is my dad's birthday. He's 61. Emily called him, but he was busy at work. People should have their birthday's off. Like a holiday. And their kids' birthdays, as well.

Bradley also wanted to wish him a happy birthday, but he didn't call back.

Primary Activity, The Library

2007-03-17T21:51:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to a Primary Activity this morning. It was about "Following in the Footsteps of Jesus" and very well-done.

Then we went to Chick-fil-a, and then to the library downtown. Bradley and Sarah like the fiction and Emily only cares about the non-fiction "because it's real". Good point.

It was a good day.

Mama Fu's Fortunes, Happy Birthday to Me!, Date Night

2007-03-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

We went to Mama Fu's again on Wednesday for Kids Eat Free night. I got two fortune cookies:

"A chance meeting opens new doors to success and friendship."

"A big fortune will descend upon you this year."

Right on.

The family threw a birthday party for me yesterday (I turned 36!). I came in and there was a Happy Birthday banner and all the kids had matching "My Dad Is the Man!" t-shirts. Awesome.

And we finally got an American flag for our house. It's nice to see it waving from the second floor porch.

Melinda's parents got me a 1971 silver dollar and a 1971 proof set. You know, that was so thoughtful - something I'll really enjoy and cherish. And the kids got me the Peter Pan DVD.

We also had cake with 36 candles. That many candles really is quite hot. Melinda and I both burned ourselves.

My family rocks.

Melinda and I went out to see Premonition with Sandra Bullock. It was interesting, but I'm not sure I really liked it. Then we went to Barnes and Nobel (as usual) and Melinda got a few Newberry Medal books.

Savannah Ferguson is our babysitter lately. We miss Rachel, but Savannah is great. Her dad is my new Home Teaching companion. I really look forward to serving with him and getting to know him better.

Who's the Man?

2007-03-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

http://www.melindabeth.com/blog/2007/03/happy-36th-birthday-david-turned-36.html

Charleston Ballet Theatre - The Nutcracker

2006-12-09T23:21:00.000-05:00

Emily and I went to see the Nutcracker today. It was nice, and Emily really enjoyed it. Her favorite was the dances of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

I really enjoyed it as well but was disappointed that there was no orchestra (they used canned music).

My Strut, The Primary Sacrament Meeting

2006-11-17T15:43:00.000-05:00

Emily and I were walking to her bathroom this morning to review the mess Bradley made with some water, and I noticed she was walking differently - kind of confidently with a strut. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Walking like you, Daddy." Cool.

Last Sunday the Primary ran the Sacrament Meeting. Melinda and I were smiling ear to ear bawling the whole time. In a few years when we have several kids in Primary, they'll have to restrain us. We later found out that there were quite a few parents in the same boat.

The Sunbeams, which includes Bradley, each had the same line, "Heavenly Father loves me." It was so moving to have each of them repeat that one after the other. The other kids said it softly or normally, but Bradley belted it out. That's my boy!

Emily (a CTR5) said, "I will be blessed as I learn and live the Beatitudes." I was so glad for her to have that line as I often ponder Christ's Sermon on the Mount and try to pattern my life after its teachings. (I remember learning that we should "Let our light so shine" in the Chapel at Camp McCall when I was 11 or 12. Most of my most memorial early spiritual experiences were there at that camp...)

New Carpet and a Garage Sale

2006-11-13T16:23:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning, Melinda went to Sister McDaniel's to participate in one of her garage sales. I took the four oldest kids to Barnes and Nobel where Emily and Sarah listened to a story related to Charlotte's Web, and we got that book for her, the first Junie B. Jones book, and a five-in-one Biscuit (the dog) book for Bradley. They're reading so well.

Then we went to ABC (Atlanta Bread Company) for lunch. I had a scare when Emily went to the restroom. We were getting ready to leave, and she couldn't hold it, so I told her to go on by herself. Then I gathered the other kids outside the restroom and waited. After awhile I began to be worried that she needed help so knocked on the women's restroom door, peeked in to find her, but there wasn't anyone in there. I rushed to the main area of the restaurant and there she was, scared and looking for us. Whew!

We also finally got a new area rug for our family room and playroom. The old one was disgusting. Melinda put up yellow caution tape to remind the kids not to bring food or drink in the family room.

Mike Is Married!!!

2006-11-11T21:39:00.000-05:00

My good friend Mike Turok got married on Friday!!! Yea!!! He married Lindsey Hall, the daughter of some friends of our from church. The got married in one of the Temples in Flordia (I forget which one) and their reception will be at the Rivertowne Country Club next Saturday.

Yea, Mike!!!

Over Two Weeks

2006-11-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

Emily got her first loose tooth last Sunday, but it still hasn't fallen out.

Bradley's birthday was today. We went to Blackbeard's Cove. They had a blast playing games and jumping on the jump castle. He got a big Go Dog Go book and read it cover to cover. He also got a new bike but got frustrated because he couldn't figure out how to make it go forward. All in good time, Bradley.

Walter Gunter, Daniel Powell, and I are going into business, but we're just building the foundation for it now.

Badi Jones has great ideas for making money. Right now we're focusing on building a Web site that offers money for completing tasks, CPA (Cost Per Action) through CPA Empire and probably other sources. I also hope to get Low Stays off the ground soon.

Chris Thomas and I are working on a new product called, for now at least, eListings.us. Google Maps and AJAX is quite cool, but I'm still working on how to make it snappy and clean as well as show quite a few properties at once. We're also more thoroughly developing a marketing plan for the Professional Agent real estate Web sites product. That's coming along well, but time is short.

RPWB rocks.

We're blessing and naming Jason tomorrow at church.

What else? It's been too long. Over two weeks.

Oh, we went to a few parties. The Ward had a Halloween Trunk-or-Treat party. We back our cars up to the sidewalk around the church, decorate them (ours was lame this year) and the kids go around and get candy. There was also another Ward party last Saturday, a shrimp dinner. Yum!!! Work also had a Halloween party for the kids.

At the Trunk-or-Treat, poor Sarah fell out of the van (we have a 12-passenger) right onto her face. She was dressed as Cinderella, so everyone thought she was a zombie Cinderella. She was fine, though, except for some scrapes and bruises which are gone now. And at the shrimp dinner, Wendy tripped and fell on her face and had a similar scrape. So she and Sarah had matching wounds.

Walter Gunter and Family and a Day with the Kids

2006-10-14T09:27:00.000-04:00

Jason and Melinda are back at home and settling in. Jason is finally opening his eyes a little to look around. I'm trying to keep the kids away from Melinda in the morning.

Walter Gunter and his family - Amber, Winifred, and Walter III (Trey) - came to visit yesterday. It was so nice to see them again and catch up. He's one of those friends that you lose track of but always consider a good friend anyway. He's in the Air Force now but is going to get out in June and plans to go back to school for Mechanical Engineering.

We talked about doing business together and I'm looking forward to working that out. I should get with Daniel Powell to discuss.

Yesterday afternoon and evening I went out with Emily, Bradley, and Sarah. We went to the Charleston County Friends of the Library Bookfest and got a few kids books. I wish I'd gotten more, but it's hard to really check out the books and keep a good eye on the kids.

Then we went to the main library, hung out in the children's section then checked out the South Carolina History room.

Then we got ice cream at Carvel. While putting a bib on Emily (she requested it because I told them we weren't going to go to Barnes and Noble next if they get ice cream on their shirts), I knocked her cone over onto her shirt and onto the floor. We rushed to the bathroom to rinse it off, though, so her shirt was clean. And they gave us another cone, so all was well.

Then we went to Barnes and Noble, listened to music, played with the train, and read a few books. I got a couple workbooks for learning time, as well. Normally we try to stay away from workbooks, but since Melinda's focus will be on Jason for the next little while, we'll be using them.

Sister Goltra brought by dinner last night. Jayne Thomas brought it by the night before.

Jason Matthew Cole

2006-10-12T01:08:00.000-04:00

Ok, our new son's name is now to be Jason Matthew Cole. There's a formula to why we chose that name, but I'll go into that later.

Barely Making It to the Hospital - Evan Is Here!

2006-10-10T23:51:00.000-04:00

Evan Scott Cole (probably going to be the name) was born at about 12:45 PM today... IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM HALLWAY! Less than an hour and a half of labor.

Melinda called me at work around 11:20 saying maybe I should get done what I have to at work and then head on home, so I was planning on doing so, to leave around 12:30 or 1. Then she called again around 12 and only said, "Come home now." I immediately closed my computer, packed up, and rushed past Eric on my way out. "Where are you going?" "To have a baby."

I rushed like crazy home. It's about a half and hour to get home and another 15 minutes to get to the hospital. Melinda was waiting in the van, and we rushed like crazy (but still being safe) to the hospital. On the way, I called the doctor and told them to meet us in the emergency room. They said to come by the office first. I said, "No way."

Melinda was fervently praying in the car, "Please, please let the contractions go away until we get to the hospital... Oh, thank you, thank you... Oh, no! Please, let them go away... ok, ok, thank you, thank you... Oh, no! Not again! Please, please... etc."

When we finally got to the emergency room, I ran inside yelling, "My wife is having a baby in the car. This is our fifth kid [to emphasize that I wasn't just a first time dad freaking out], and they come fast!" Then I ran back outside. Melinda was screaming. Her water just broke, and the baby was on his way out.

The nurses were, in my opinion, not coming out to the car fast enough. I was yelling at them to hurry up. They told Melinda to get on the stretcher, but she was afraid she'd sit on the baby's head, as it was starting to come out. That was 12:43.

Before we got inside the emergency room, his head was out. I tore off her pants, and the staff was shocked to see that what she was screaming about was true. She was only partially in a room when the nurse, Jeff Hunter, pulled the rest of the baby out.

This was obviously not a common occurrence, as the staff didn't seem to really know what to do. Thank goodness they were there to help, though, as I certainly did not want to deliver him myself.

But we made it, and all are well. 7lbs. 6oz. 20". And lots of excited siblings.

Longhorn and Barnes and Noble

2006-10-06T22:07:00.000-04:00

Went to Longhorn tonight. Mm, mm, mm. Then we went to Barnes and Noble. Emily, Bradley and I listened to music there. There's this album I heard on NPR. Letters from Argentina by Lalo Schifrin. They didn't have it in stock, though, so I'll have to get it online.

Still no baby.

Uno Attack, Still Waiting on Evan

2006-10-05T20:29:00.000-04:00

Yes, we're still waiting on Evan. We were hoping he would be born today as it is Melinda's grandfather's birthday (he went by Arshie). She had a touching vision of him last year on this date, so she feels especially close to him. But alas, Evan isn't cooperating.

Played Uno Attack with the kids and Melinda and her mom. I didn't expect it to be much fun, but it was. The kids had a blast when the cards would shoot out. And they didn't shoot out crazily like the box implies, thank goodness.

Lost was great last night. The Others are so brutal. They seem to be some sort of left over scientific cult that have no regard for individual rights.

This morning I was reading in Alma 5. It's one of my favorite chapters in that it really promotes introspection. "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

Evan, Lost, and Work, Work, Work

2006-10-04T20:24:00.000-04:00

Waiting for Evan to be born. Any day now. Season three of Lost starts tonight. Ian may be coming over. Played baseball with the kids and Uno Attack and High-Ho Cherry-O with Emily and Bradley. Disappointed www.davidcole.net is now PageRank 4 (down from 5). Working on marketing firm's sites again. Waiting for Evan so I can take a break. Meeting with Badi tomorrow about Low Stays - hosting and LLC formation top priorities. Don't know what's going on with Chris Thomas concerning Professional Agent. PYK is underway. ~$40 so far. Also tonight are Jericho and The Nine.

First Post

2006-04-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

I work out at Wellspring Fitness with Jeff Johnson in exchange for their Web site (www.wellspringfitness.net).

Emily just turned five and got a princess bicycle. Bradley is three and is in the process of potty training. Sarah is two and still loves her bottle (bah-guhn). Wendy is nine months and trying hard to take her first step. And the "new baby" has finished his/her first trimester.

Melinda is right now getting the prizes ready for Easter. We spent much of the day working on her new Web site (http://www.melindabeth.com/). We also drew with chalk on the sidewalk, watched "Here Comes Peter Cotton-tail" (the old one), and went to the Primary Easter egg hunt (this morning). I protested the fact that many of the eggs were hidden close to Highway 17 (a busy road) and helped to gather them and rehide them behind the church.

Chris Thomas and I are working to get Professional Agent off the ground. No sales yet, but that should change since Ryan Scapellato (our awesome, awesome sales guy) started this month.

I'm second counselor in the Mount Pleasant Ward Elder's Quorum. Jason Halverson, a good friend, is moving to Utah in a couple months, though, so that will change. He will be so greatly missed. Chris Thomas is first counselor, and Ryan Jones is secretary. David Morrow is bishop with David Goltra and Jeff Jenson as counselors. Emily is in the CTR 5 (Sister Royer is her teacher), Bradley is a Sunbeam (Sister Goltra is his teacher), and Sarah's in nursery (Sister Yeates and Powell are the nursery leaders). Brother Daniel Powell is in Kuwait.

Gordon B. Hinckley is the prophet with Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust as counselors.

George W. Bush is the President of the United States. We are at war with "terror" since the attacks on the World Trade Center 11 September 2001. We currently have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.