All dressed up...

Allison's sister, Amy came to visit for 2 weeks and was a big help. She also enjoyed some quality niece time.















Amy helped us decorate our Christmas tree and then took some pictures of us all dressed up.

sleeping beauty

Like most newborns, Isabella does a lot of sleeping. Babies look so peaceful when they're asleep. Daddy's little angel.

cuddle time!

Although I haven't been a daddy for long, I'm pretty sure this is one of the best things about it.
















































I'm currently trying to figure out how to (easily) move blog entries from one blog over to another. If anyone knows, please clue me in.

First bath

She wasn't too happy with us for this inaugural event. I promise the water was nice.



MAN that clean baby smell and super soft skin is irresistible!!! :-)

It happened again!

Well, we knew it was bound to happen again SOMETIME!















The due date is Nov 25th which is one day later than last year! It's exciting and scary again, but this time Allison is pretty sick which they say is a good sign. We've already had two ultrasounds and both times, we've been able to see the heartbeat. We should be able to HEAR the heartbeat in another week or so.

Thank you Allison

My wife is my friend. She must love me to put up with me the way she does. Some of the reasons I KNOW she loves me is that she shows it in everything she says and does. It's not just her telling me all the time. She tells other people that she loves me. I hear about her bragging about me to her friends and she builds me up when I'm not around. Am I worthy of all that praise? Absolutely not, but she's a smart girl and knows that kind of actions will be reciprocated. She knows me well enough to know that I'll try as hard as I can to be deserving of the accolades she heaps on me. She knows that I want to deserve the good treatment I get so we're constantly trying to outdo each other with goodness.Sometimes, I hear friends or even family complaining about their spouses. All people love love attention. Most people have learned that a good/easy way to get attention is to have a sob story worse than their audience so they'll "earn" attention in the form of pity. (for lack of a better definition)

This breaks my heart when I see and hear of this. It's unproductive in a relationship and just as damaging to the individual. We live in a society that tells us that if we don't' take care of ourselves then nobody else will. I hear this vocalized verbatim often as well. If people really believe this, then why would ANYONE ever get married? That's a horrible thing to think and a deplorable way to act.

After 13 years of marriage, I still look forward to coming home to my wife from work. We spend almost every waking minute together on the weekends and on some weekdays when I work from home and we never get tired of each other. We still hold hands when we go out in public and when we ride in the car together. We still snuggle on the couch when watching movies or even in the movie theater.
She works and only shops for sale items. Even though she works, she STILL keeps a clean house, cooks our meals at home, does dishes, laundry, and never complains. How could I possible EVER be deserving of that?
This is one of the things that really scares me about having kids one day. I've been so spoiled and have been the center of attention that it's been easy for us to lavish attention on each other. Once kids come, there will be a new set of priorities to deal with and I'm not sure how I'll handle that. I've seen other friends of ours that were affectionate couples (pre-parenthood) become just a mommy and daddy to their kids and it doesn't seem like they have much of a relationship with each other anymore. Hopefully, it's not as gloomy as it seems. I'm sure there's more to it than I'm seeing.
Either way, I sure do enjoy what we've had and what we still have now. Really makes me wonder why people think marriage is so hard. It really isn't as long as you put your mate first.

does sacrificial service = fulfillment?

Think about the last time you did something good for someone else with no ulterior motives. Perhaps it was volunteer work at a homeless soup kitchen, or participating in some sort of community project for the less fortunate. Maybe you've even donated time or items during the holidays to organizations dedicated to helping the impoverished. How did it feel? Did you enjoy putting your own interests aside for a time to make better the situation of another? Most people experience the pleasure of selflessness at some point in their life, but few practice it on a regular basis. Why is that?
Giving money may be necessary and helpful, but it's so impersonal that it rarely yields any personal satisfaction and thus isn't repeated often. What I'm advocating is giving of yourself, your time and your own personal effort to something for which you'll get nothing in return. Get out and volunteer! It's very liberating! The harder it is to do, the more it's worth it!
I encourage everyone to engage in some form of (sacrificial) service to others. It's not a "good deed" if you get something other than a good feeling in return. In my own life, it seems that once I agree to do something for someone else, something always seems to "come up" that would give me an excuse to back out of my agreement/commitment. When I forgo my own personal wants to fulfill my agreement/commitment, then it always seems to be the most gratifying. When I sacrifice my own desires, time, and resources to benefit others, it's fulfilling.
Whether you equate it to the movie Pay It Forward or consider it your civic duty, everyone should experience being a giver when it is not reciprocated. It's nice to be appreciated for the effort and work you put into something but just because you may not be appreciated or thanked for something doesn't mean that it was any less of a good deed.


Just in case you're wondering, I'm only advocating sacrificial service in one's personal life. NOT in a professional life. It's great to take pride in yourself and in the work you do, but please do NOT give more than necessary to a soulless company who will show no loyalty to you as an employee.