18 months

Amanda added a few new tricks to her repertoire this past month
-loves to kiss goodbye or hello or goodbye or hello
-gets excited when we pull into the parking lot at daycare
-eats her food with a fork, drinks with a straw
-loves Flo Rida's Right Round
-took her first trip to the Holy Land known as Notre Dame
-learning to open doors
-says please, hungry and more (old hat)
-shows her belly button to anyone who asks and is very proud of it
-took her first ride in our bicycle trailer, smooth sailing

Crawl space update 3

The space is now populated. The world is right as rain.

10 years...goes by so fast

Ten years ago today, I received the worst news of my life.

I was a 22 year old senior at Notre Dame and at a beach party on Lake Michigan with friends. It was "Senior Week"; the one full week of free time allotted to seniors after final exams (when all the underclassmen go home) and before graduation. It's supposed to be the best time of your life. There are many scheduled events, parties, etc. You just finished four years at a very competitive university amongst some of the best and brightest of your peers and are ready to step out into the world and make your mark.

Over Thanksgiving weekend 1998, I found out that my father was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. Each on their own is terminal. He was given six months to live. The family was in shock. The rock of our foundation was shaken. How do you react to news like that? If you are me, you don't believe it and you stay focused to finish strong. If you are my dad, it takes away everything you spent your life living for: family, friends, a home, a career, being a grandparent, retirement.

I still don't speak much about that day - the 12th of May, 1999 - the day my father lost his battle with cancer. It was four days before I was to graduate. All my own plans and dreams were washed away in an instant. I had everything I worked so hard to get, yet I lost so much.

17 Months

A few updates to Amanda's progress.
-She uses sign language to communicate (more, bye and hi are her favorites)
-She likes to be tickled/tossed in the air
-She hates bathtime; this has become troublesome

Crawl space update 2

Insulation, drywall and lighting are compelte. I need to clean up and start moving items into the space.

Crawl space updated

Crawl space project/vacation day 5

Ahh, the last day of my vacation. It's been nice knowing you. I did no work on the house. It was going to be 85 degrees today, so I knew this day would need to be spent on other topics like family. We went to the zoo in the morning which was great. After Amanda woke from her nap, I took off on the moto to visit my newborn nephew William. He's so tiny, but weighed in at an astounding 9 pounds, 6 ounces. That's a big boy. He's gonna be a linebacker.

On my way home I picked up dinner from Paul's and tucked it into the saddle bags. They have the best Italian beef sammies. I get it with cheese and on toasted garlic bread. It's the only way to fly. It really hit the spot.

Shortly after we finished with dinner, we received a call from my cousin Brian and his wife Jen who were out walking around the neighborhood. They stopped over, we had some drinks and a great time. Always nice to have drop-ins.