Update #1: #3 Son started walking on 2/2. I thought for certain he would have started a month ago. He was certainly capable, as his rapid progress since proves, but just didn't want too, I guess. He's now happily cruising up and down the hall. Still looks like Frankenstein. ;-)

Update #2: #1 Son lost tooth #3 today (tooth F in the Universal ( Read more... )

Marshall Fritz, my high school principal and mentor, finally succumbed to the battle with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday evening. Marshall had a rather profound influence on Varrin and I. It is quite safe to say our lives would have followed entirely different paths had it not been for his influence.

So the time finally comes when I can no longer put off my transition to Linux. It must be done. We'll be switching most of our servers at work in the next 12 months. I need familiarity in order to be efficient. Total immersion time, and what better place than at home ( Read more... )

Ah, the lazy life ( Read more... )

I've been trying out MagicJack for a little while. Two main things I like about it: A) You can plug it in to any computer with an internet connection, B) The local phone number you assign during setup is hard linked to the MagicJack, C) It works with whatever phone you plug in to it (such as my old 900 MHz cordless). I take it with me when I'm ( Read more... )

We decided to celebrate both Mother's Day and our 10th Anniversary with a trip to the coast. With the arrival of baby boy #3, we thought our traditionaly Anniversary jaunt would be on hold. Tracy decided about a month ago that she thought a visit to the coast wouldn't be too hard. Well, that and the older boys wanting to go play in the sand ( Read more... )

Yesterday's birthday party was a blast! We learned a few unexpected lessons: 1) Saturday birthday parties for 7 year-olds in the springtime are not likely to have many attendees (many families are busy with sports on Saturday). 2) About 6 or 7 kids makes for the perfect sized party - very manageable ;-) The bounce house was, as always, a big hit ( Read more... )

Tracy and I have been participating in a program at church called "Soul Food: Eight Great Dates". The program is based off of a book entitled "10 Great Dates" by the folks who run the Marriage Alive seminars. We've been having a lot of fun and have been encouraged that in the past (nearly) ten years we have ( Read more... )

Two funny stories from #2 son today ( Read more... )

Today was #3 son's 12-week checkup. Everything is good. He's now 13#7, 22.5". There's a little bit of eye goop due to allergies, for which Mary prescribed some eyedrops. There were, of course, several immunizations as well. Poor little guy's not feeling too well ( Read more... )