Chicken Day!

We're having a girl, and we're thankful for that! With a boy and a girl I'm hoping Jeanann will agree to snip the stork's beak off. She's still not sold on the idea.

I'm thankful for life. It's good. It's extremely difficult to look past the immediate impending doom that seems to linger over our heads from time to time, but it's possible. Sometimes it takes a reminder like Thanksgiving to help pull our heads out of our rears and appreciate all of the good things. Thanksgiving is a great 'dislodger of heads' in my book. So I'd like to share a couple things I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for Jeanann, and her friends who brought her to Durty Nelly's in Gainesville, where we met a few years back. She supports me and my dreams, and I love her. She makes smart kids too (I make em cute).

I'm thankful for Bradyn. He's 'begun'! He's curious and full of energy. I used to hear people say 'full of energy' and chuckle, not really knowing what they meant. 'Full of energy' is more like a cry triggering phrase I think. He's healthy and he loves us, and he makes me happy, even though he keeps us on our toes. He'll have a sister to help keep him busy before too long.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to go to school. I've been trying to work out some of my unused, slow, aging brain cells and turn them into athletes. I think it's working. Some of them are out of their wheelchairs and using walking sticks now. I still have a long way to go, but I understand what my high school counselor kept saying all those years. "You can do anything you put your mind to." The more I learn, the more I realize how far I am from the goal. It's like playing guitar... The better you are, the more you realize how much you still have to learn. And I now realize a little bit how to 'put my mind' to something.

I could list a bunch of things, and people, like this cup of coffee I'm sipping on,

the new VW we bought gets over 400 miles a tank, with a 14 gallon tank or so,

my fingers, they still remember how to play my guitars, even though they haven't practiced much lately, thankfully they're still attached to my hands,

my family, even those in my extended family who I haven't had a good chance to get to know yet, I look forward to the opportunity,

my lawyer, he was worth every dollar, he got the bankruptcy done before thanksgiving, so he's earned a spot on my list, not to mention he blocked the repo man from coming to my house to kick my teeth in... I'm thankful for that since I was sitting on my patio with Jeanann's shotgun,

I'm thankful I'm not in prison,

The three things I mentioned earlier is where I am focused right now, and where I hope to remain focused. Life is good. When it seems like it sucks, I remember this little story...

A young friend in NY (18-19) came to my house really upset about a local friend who died in Iraq. I listened to him a bit, and he wasn't too upset since he didn't know him too well. In my head I was glad it wasn't me, and glad it was someone I didn't know personally. I realized I 'dodged another bullet'. A minute later I said, 'I didn't know what I was getting into when I joined the Army, but I've learned one thing for sure... Life Is Good.' I think the tone in my voice expressed my understanding of that message, cuz he cried like a baby after that. I never fully understood it myself until that very second.

And it is, it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative, and I'm thankful for the chance to live it.

Have a good Holiday everyone!

It's A Girl

It's a girl, unless the winky was hiding... Looks like we'll be out of state for Christmas.

Change

YES I CAN! Osama is my leader... I wonder why the hell they sent me into the hills of Pakistan a few years back, he's right f-in here! YES I CAN! Maybe now my military disability check will show up in the mailbox. I think it comes with a free piece of cheese every month. It's been 3 years, but heck, I hear some cheese gets better with age. With 3 years of processing, that $*^* better be good! YES I DID! The bankruptcy is just about over! We're buying one of my neighbors old Jetta's. Me and Jeanann have no idea how the heck we paid our bills for so long when we bought our other house. But now it doesn't matter, cuz YES WE CAN, and WE DID! Life is funny though. Every time we thought we saw a light at the end of the tunnel, I think we realized we had our heads lodged up someones @**. But we're getting our bearings now I think. Bradyn is fun. We have an ultrasound on Monday and should find out the sex of the next one. It seems we may be sticking around CA this Xmas. It stinks in some ways, but we'll be together as a family so I'm looking forward to it. Jeanann is doing well. She's working on getting set up to pursue her RVT again at a Florida online college. I have some interviews with the CHP (California Highway Patrol for you foreigners) in January. If they go well, I may have a chance to get into CHP academy by the end of 2009. Super Troopers is a cool movie. Otherwise I'm going to 'Stay the Course' as Bush would say, and get into Sacramento State going after a Business Information Management Degree. Basically computer oriented business... stuff. IN-N-Out is hiring in Davis, the post advertised free food for employees. Think I may check that out in the meantime, though last time I worked there I couldn't understand the dang drive through people on the speaker thing. I'm sure drive through audio technology has advanced since I was in high school though, so maybe I'll be fine.

Halloween/Birthday

Bradyn is 1. He had a party at Chuck E Cheese.

There was dancing and playing for kids of all ages. And later that week, we made him some brownie, and Dad sang him a scary song in the dark.

He didn't seem to mind too much, once his first brownie hit his lips.

We then dressed him up as a monkey for halloween. First Mommy showed him off at work.

Then we took him to his first door.

We showed him off to a couple more, before Bradyn was all pooped out.

Finally We took him home, where Dad made him goofy faces until he fell asleep.