In Need of Some Prayers

In Need of Some Prayers

My Two Girls

Beautiful. Simply Beautiful.

My Life

No, this isn’t an entry about Billy Joel.. It’s been quite a while since I have actually blogged about something meaningful, so I figured tonight would be a great night to write.

Where to begin..

Monica is now out of the first trimester and into the second. All is going well, and we’re looking forward to the big sonogram in six weeks. Just as we did (or didn’t) with Katie Lynn, we’re not going to find out the baby’s sex. So few things in life are truly a surprise, so we are just going to let the baby’s sex be a surprise. To keep up-to-date with baby news and goings-on, feel free to use subscribe to the RSS feed or just follow our updates over at tomandmonica.com.

Katie Lynn continues to amaze me. She’s growing up so quickly; it’s hard to believe she’s already sixteen months old. She’s enjoying her day care, her friends there, and her teachers. I love the social interaction and skills she is developing at this young age.

Wrigley is doing so much better. For those that don’t know, she had ear surgery a couple years back to resolve a condition affecting her ears. The surgeries went well but, in the end, did not seem to stop the condition. The vet in Lubbock said this was normal, so we took the “professional’s” word. When we moved to McKinney, we naturally had to find a new vet. Our new vet took a look and in five minutes knew there was a problem and how to treat it. The vet also diagnosed Wrigley with hypothyroidism, so she simply has to take one pill with her food.

Work is going great. Site5 was recently bought out by a couple of industry veterans. I had known that was the plan for quite a while, so naturally there was this sense of uncertainty. I’ve got to say though.. I could not be happier how things have turned out. Ben and Joel are exactly what the company needed, and I’m excited to be a part of the “new” Site5. I do miss working with the old owners and CEO, but luckily I still get to chat with them on a frequent basis as they’re all great friends.

I turned thirty last week. My wonderful wife planned a great surprise party for me. I had a great time, and are thankful for my family and friends that attended.

I’m still loving the MacBook that I bought back in October. I recently purchased an Acer LCD monitor to use while working. I used one back when I worked at DC, and I had forgotten how much I loved having one.

I’ve somehow gotten addicted to Twitter.. it’s even linked to Facebook. Who would have thought that I would be so into this whole social networking scene after being anti-MySpace for so long.

Instead of writing some corny summation paragraph (oops, too late), I’ll just end with some great pictures.

Father x2

For simplicity’s sake, I’ll just link..

Blessed Are We

I’ve Been Tagged!

My lovely wife tagged me in a recent blog entry, so I figured I’d better follow through or face the wrath.

The object of the picture tag is to:

1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

This is a picture of Monica and our niece Madison from January 2006. Kim and Madison were visiting us in Lubbock, and this picture was taken during that weekend.

So now I get to tag four people to do this same thing: Kim, mjp, Ben, Amanda. Tag! You’re it.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving.

Its meaning varies from person to person. For me, Thanksgiving forever changed in my eyes last year. It’s about family and friends. It’s about being thankful for the things in life so many take for granted.

But back to family. Thanksgiving is about celebrating family. It’s about taking the best traditions of two families and merging them together while adding new ideas to the mix.

I’m so damn lucky. I have an absolutely beautiful wife — inside and out. I have a precious miracle daughter whose resilience amazes me on a daily basis. I have a wonderful sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces that I am so glad are in my life and live close by. I’ve got a loving, supportive mother and father that have been there for me every step of the way. I have a caring and encouraging mother-in-law and father-in-law. I have an energetic and kind-hearted sister-in-law. Then there’s my uncle, aunt, cousins, etc.

Yep. I’m thankful.

And one of the things Katie Lynn’s ordeal taught me is that Thanksgiving is one day out of the year to reflect, but it’s most important to live it every day.

Birthday Tears

Today is my daughter’s first birthday.. and this morning I cried.

Wait.. aren’t birthdays supposed to be fun?

Absolutely!

And what a fun day we had today. Monica and I decided to take the day off to celebrate Katie Lynn’s birthday. We started out the day taking one year pictures and family pictures. After lunch and picking up the photos, we drove over to the Fort Worth Zoo and spent two and half hours there. Tonight, we had our family over for dinner and cake to help celebrate the day.

So why the tears?

For those that don’t know, Katie Lynn had a rough start to her life. To be where she is today is nothing short of a miracle. Last night I experienced a plethora of flashback dreams: Katie Lynn’s birth, all three surgeries, changing ostomy bags, TPN bags, etc.

This morning we were getting ready for the day. I picked up Katie Lynn, hugged her, and just started crying happy tears.  My little girl has been through so much.

So yes, I cried. And I am not ashamed to admit that.

Perspectives on Time and Fatherhood

Each day has 24 hours and there’s a certain period during the day that I look forward to.

• Five o’clock end-of-workday whistle? No. I love my job.
• Bedtime? Nope. Although I do enjoy sleep.
• Cubs/Bears/Tech/Mavericks game on TV? Surprisingly no.

Monica leaves for work between 6:45 and 7:00 each morning, therefore; I have between 30 and 45 minutes with Katie Lynn. Just her and I. I feed Katie Lynn her morning fruit, get her dressed for daycare, and play with her in the living room. I have her undivided attention — unless Wrigley walks by, or she spots her favorite toy(s), or sees that one random piece of lint on the carpet. But that time is our time to bond. This special father-daughter time is invaluable. We “talk” to each other in the car as I drive her to daycare each morning.

I’ve always heard the phrase that babies are only “this” size once, and it’s so true. Before I know it, Katie Lynn is going to be feeding herself and dressing herself for school and riding with Monica. She won’t need us to do any of that for her.

On a somewhat related note, it’s amazing and refreshing to see fathers involved in raising kids. Each morning I see a good amount of fathers dropping kids off at Katie Lynn’s daycare. In Lubbock, I rarely saw any fathers at the daycare. Maybe that’s a geographic differentiation or something; I don’t know.

What I do know is that I value every minute I spend with my daughter, and the day just doesn’t seem to have enough time.