The Tooth-Fairy

I regretably do not have a picture of this yet but Jude has now lost his bottom two front teeth. Not only that, but his top two front teeth are loose as well (one of them he can bend straight out). Within the next month, he'll have all four of his front teeth out.

Can't believe how big he is getting. [sigh]

Santa vs a Marine

Something interesting happened today. Stay with me for a minute because this may take a minute (and more than a little sensitivity) to explain.

Before Amy and I started dating, Amy's brother, Eric, died while in the Marines. In fact, Jude's name is in honor to him as Eric's middle name was Jude. Jude knows him only by a few pictures and many of those pictures are of him in his dress uniform. Obviously, everytime he sees a Marine he says they look like Uncle Eric.

Anyway, this afternoon we head out for Kohl's for some shopping. In the lot, a truck for toys for tots is there. We decide to pick up some toys to donate and go over to see the Marines. It was a nice little set-up: Santa was there, someone was taking poloroids of the kids with Santa and giving them out for free, an elf making balloons for the kids, a little train making laps around the parking lot and a couple Marines in their dress uniforms receiving the donated toys. Kerrigan wants to go see Santa while Jude was a bit shy and didn't want to. A woman took a poloroid of Kerrigan giving a hug to Santa so I asked Jude if he wanted a picture with a Marine instead, to which he smiled and said 'yes.' The Marines were great and were so nice to Jude and took a great picture with him. They said it was the first time a kid wanted to be with them rather than Santa.

Amy cried and Santa let out a comical comment about getting passed up for a Marine, to which we all laughed. Jude may not know how special that moment was right now, but I'm glad we got a picture. It's something Amy and I will never forget.

Miss you, Rick. As far as I'm concerned this is a picture of Jude with you.

Merry Christmas.

Nearly 11 years ago...

I was in our closet yesterday and I came across a card I had given Amy to say 'Happy 1 year & 10 months' since we had started dating. It is dated 3 October '97.

In a few days, Amy and I will have been together for 11 years. I'm looking at her right now as she's asleep on the couch and she's as amazing now as when I first met her... no, more so! I am so grateful for her and wish I could be with her another 90... then another 900!

Below is the card I had given her then. It was blank, so I created a story to go with the cover. It barely fit, but I remember how fun it was making that story up.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in the countryside in a small house. He occasionally would play in the trees surrounding his house, or perhaps walk along the stream that slowly stirred down the rolling hills.

"Although he was a content boy and happy, there was a world of emptiness inside. He had the trees to play in and his friends, the rabbits, but there was a pain and loneliness deep in his still heart that even the deer and butterflies couldn't fill.

"There was no color in his world. The boy had never seen color before; at least not in the rich, full color that comes from true joy that you or I may see. One day he saw a small puff of pink and splash of bright blue while he'd been laughing and playing with the rabbits. He stopped laughing and looked at the sky in awe at the new sight, but it had faded away as quickly as it had come. Questioningly, the boy sighed and sadly plopped down beside a tree and cried, thinking about the wonderful thing that had lit up the sky for a sweet moment.

"That afternoon, just before his mother was about to call him in for dinner, he was wading his feet in his favorite part of the stream, looking for playful fish or perhaps a smooth-sparkly rock he could skip. His child-like eyes widened as he sighted a conch shell propped up against a large rock at the bottom of the stream.

"A shell? he thought. In my stream?

"He knew that conch shells only came from the magic places his father would tell him about during his bed-time stories, but he never thought he'd see one. Especially in his stream.

"He excitedly rolled up his sleeve and dipped his small hand into the cold water. His heart welled with tears as he picked up the wonderful, colorful shell. Colors of every kind danced and flowed over the surface of the shell and as he looked inside there was a pool of color so deep and wide, so deep and bright that he thought it was heaven. As he was holding the shiny shell, it began to change; it became a beautiful brush. He himself began to change as he took on the very colors the brush was radiating. On the opposite side of the stream was the ladder his father had left where he'd been picking apples before he had gone back to the house. The boy ran to it, brush in hand, and climbed to the very top of the ladder. Stretching his arms out and smiling as wide as the sky, color as beaming and as beautiful as his wildest dreams shot from the brush across the dull sky. It was amazing.

"In that blanket of color, the boy saw a girl as radiant as the rainbow itself and he reached out for her. She came to him smiling.

"Soon the whole land was filled with the rainbow's radiance and the two sat together with their feet wading in the stream's brisk-blue water.

"He never heard his mother call for him, for he had found his friend. His heart was now alive and he felt it beat for the first time.

"He was with Amy.

xxoo

3 Oct 97 Happy 1 year & 10 months!

D.

Happy 11 years since we started dating, Ames.

I'm still holding that brush. You and the kids give me so much life and the color you paint my world leaves me open-mouthed. I am so grateful for you. I love you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone,

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Given our recent extended travels, we stayed at home for this holiday and had an amazing dinner for two here at the house (the kids had PB&J). Amy's cooking is top-notch! Friends of ours came over for dessert later in the day and that was great as well, albeit it didn't end well. Thier daughter, Chloe, took a tumble down our brick steps on their way out and she got a good scrape on her upper cheek and a nasty bump on her forehead. We drove to the closest hospital in cased she was concussed. They called a short time ago to let us know she is fine, but a possibility that she may have slightly fractured her cheek. Just glas she's okay...

Only a few weeks till Christmas!

Last Part of Our Vacation

Abbey, Kerrigan, Jessica & Jude at the park in Elyria, OH the day before we headed back to Raleigh.

Kids in Elyria

Brian & Sam's girls with Jude & Kerrigan.

Thomas' and Smith's

Abbey, Jessica, Jude & Kerrigan.

Thomas' & Smith's

Jessica, Kerrigan, Jude and Abbey in Elyria.

In Elyria, OH

The last leg of our vacation was a stop near Cleveland to visit dear friends. This is taken at a park close to Brian and Sam's house where we played for what seemed like hours. Visiting the Thomas' was the perfect ending to a great vacation. Amy suprised me with a date and the four of us went to my favorite live blues restaurant, Fat Fish Blue, and had a blast.

Camp Randall Facade

This is the facade at one of the end zones in Camp Randall.

Camp Randall in Madison

Like I said earlier, I was able to go to a Badger game when they played Penn State. This is taken from our seats during the pre-game band performance... what a great time! We stayed for the fifth-quarter performance as well and I got the entire 'Space Badger' bit on video. Classic.

Red Arrow Park

Trails of Red Arow Park.

Red Arrow Park

In the trails at Red Arrow Park.

Red Arrow Park

The kids at Red Arrow Park in Oshkosh.

Kerrigan and Elijah

Jude and Elijah

Jude and our nephew, Elijah, during our vacation to Wisconsin.

Kerrigan and Sophia

Kerrigan with our niece, Sophia, during our vacation to Wisconsin.

From our seats at Lambeau

From our seats in Section 135 as the players are being introduced.

Amy and I at Lambeau Field

Amy and I at Lambeau Field vs the Cardinals

Fun in Wisconsin

It's been some time since my last blog because it seems that internet access is hard to come by in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I am currently at a Sears 'Grand' store using a computer in their complimentary internet lounge. Amy and I have been making trips to the library for internet use, but that has been thin as well.

I have tons of pictures I hope to upload soon. I probably won't be able to get them up till I get back home but I'm sure the two or three of you reading this won't mind the wait.

A few highlights of our trip so far...

* We received a frantic call from our next door neighbor in Raleigh while at my mom's house. We had given her a key to our house just in case, and she had thought to turn on some lights in the house... what we forgot to tell her was that we have an alarm system on the house, so when she called all I could hear was the alarm. Amy and I were cracking up, I felt bad. I told her the pass code and I could hear her fumbling with the buttons while the alarm is blaring. I'm not doing the story justice, but it was pretty funny. I don't think she turned on the lights.

* Amy and I went to the Packers game this last Sunday when they played the Cardinals. What a blast. Green Bay won, Brett Favre did his first ever Lambeau Leap, we had brats with sour kraut and beer, and just had an all around excellent time.

* Not only was I able to go to a Packer game, tomorrow I'm going to a Wisconsin Badgers game in Madison, where they'll be playing Penn State! Sweeeet.

Lots of other great stuff as well. Getting to see my family, mom is having a great time with the kids... just a really great time.

Pictures to come soon.