Tired

This is what it looks like on the weekends when I have to get both of my older boys to school by 6:00 am for their various activities, and therefore have to dump the little ones in the car to go with us.

I don't think she was even aware that she ever left the house.

New Job

I'm starting to get used to and settle into my new job. There is a lot of things to learn, and a ton of reading to do. The insurance industry is new to me, so I need to pick up on the lingo and learn as much as I can as quickly as I can.

The project itself does not sound like it is going to be too bad. However, there will of course be a few obstacles to overcome. Everyone within the organization is willing to make whatever changes are needed in order to make the system work. The problem is going to come down to how much will there be that the new system can not do, and therefore, either new manual effort needs to be made, or additional customizations that could effect the timeline and budget.

These are the things that I need to figure out in the next couple of weeks in order to ensure that the scope of the project is nailed down. Without that, there would be no way for me to be able to say at the end that I accomplished what was set out for me to do.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick update as to the new job. So far, it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun and yet quite challenging at the same time. I will try to keep this updated and get back to posting more regularly.

A Great Visit with Family

It was a long drive, but everyone slept most of the way both directions, so it was a good trip. We all had a lot of fun and got to catch up on things a little.


Carter got a helicopter for Christmas and the other boys all got airplanes, so we had to go outside for a bit and have some fun playing with those. Good thing it is considerably warmer down there. Hopefully, some of that warm weather came back with us and we can actually get outside once in awhile here too.


My mom and dad were both very happy to finally be able to get everyone together. It has been awhile since all of our schedules matched up and we could all get together.


My sister brought her puppy, which of course made Emmy very happy.


Although, I think latched onto Nicholas even more than she did the puppy. She would lead him around the house and kept him at her side as much as possible.

One of the first things my sister wanted to do was to do Em's hair for her. Em being the only girl, she was pretty much the center of attention. Of course, she did not have any problems with that.

Anyway, I just wanted to post some pictures from the weekend. Everyone had a blast, and we all agreed that we need to do it again soon.

Back to Work

Well, I guess the vacation is almost over. One more week of "vacation" time left, and then it's back to work. I'm looking forward to my new job. However, I am a little nervous at the same time. It is the first contract position that I have taken, and with that, I am not sure of what all to expect. Over all, I think it will be the same as other positions, and can't be any worse than the last organization I was working for. The contract term is for 18 months, so at least it will be awhile before I have to start thinking about looking for another position again.



Anyway, I wanted to give everyone a quick update. Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts.

Snow Bunny

I just thought I would share some pictures of our friendly family bunny that lives out front. He has pretty much successfully eaten the remaining leaves off of our bushes out front.


He just stays there when we go in and out. We even bought some carrots on our last trip to the store just to make sure he had enough to eat.

A Good Christmas

I think this had to be the biggest hit out of everything. She loved her princess dresses and is still playing with them all the time.


She is such a little princess. She loves to pose and smile for pictures all the time.


Em had to do a little convincing to get Carter to join in the fun and put on the crown.

... but as you can see once he got started, he had a blast too (even with coordinating his shoes). He even asked if he should take his pants off because they didn't look good showing under his dress!

Those two are pretty much inseperable. They were heading back to the castle to play some more at the end of the day.

All in all, they both had a great time, and the older ones and I all had a blast watching them. It was a great Christmas and I am hopeful that it is a sign of what is going to be a great 2010.

Long Time No Post

It's been a long time, and a lot has happened since my last post. I guess the item at the top of the list is the fact that I finally had my hearing and have visitation back to normal with the kids. Actually, it is a little better than normal. Before I had to put up with Michelle and deal with her everytime I went back to visit them. However, now whenever I go back (which is set at every other weekend just as before), Michelle has to leave the house and can't come back until my visitation is over. The judge took the times I requested verbatim and gave me pretty much everything I was asking. I have no idea where she will go on my weekends, and although it might not be the nicest thing in the world to say... I really don't care where she goes or what she does. I finally get to enjoy quiet time with them without her interuptions or anything else. I had the first of those visits this past weekend, and it was wonderful. I will share some of that in a later post, but wanted to use this as more to catch up with things.

The second major item that has changed since my last post is my dad. Things did not look good for awhile, but he had another PET scan done and things are looking up. They don't think the spots on either of his lungs are cancer at this point. It's been a little bit of a roller coaster, and I know he is getting tired of it (we all are), but we are all happy that for the moment we are on a positive note and plan to enjoy that over the holidays.

Lastly, the other item that has changed since my last post is work. I don't really want to share all the ins and outs regarding that item. However, let's just say that I am thankful the job market is starting to turn around, and there seems to be a few good opportunities out there.

I'll try to get some more posts up soon and include some pictures of the little ones from the holidays. They are always so much fun, and can always bring a smile to your face.