David and Jennilyn

A perfect birthday. That’s the only way I can describe it.

During the Christmas holiday, I reminisced about the highlights and milestones for the year. I thought of what I was thankful for: a beautiful wife who loves me more every year, three wonderful children who I’m privileged as their father, generous friends and family who give us their time to walk beside us in good times and bad, an enriching career that can fully support our family financially, and a hope and faith to guard and lead us through the darkness in the world.

In addition to all those blessings, a few new ones emerged in 2012.

Besides Christmas, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday because it gathers our family together for a length of time longer than a quick meal, baby sitting exchange, errand, and the like. When I was growing up, I hated Thanksgiving because I always seemed to get in trouble during that holiday. In hindsight, I failed to see all the great times shared because all I focused, and even anticipated, on how I got trouble and scolded. But, a few years ago, when Jack started the initiative where he and I hosted the Thanksgiving meal, I’ve replaced the focus of getting in trouble with my parents to being a parent, and getting in trouble making up recipes in the kitchen Thanksgiving day.

This Halloween, Vernier’s marketing department decided to pay tribute to our CEO and co-founder, Dave Vernier, by imitating some of his most famous sayings—davisms.

This week, I had the pleasure of reading a programmer/CEO’s blog, The Naive Optimist. It inspired me to examine how I spend my days—and subsequently—my life. I got a kick-start in re-evaluating how I spend my time.