Anniversary

To celebrate our 1-year anniversary, Jen and I took a trip down to Galveston to stay for the weekend. We strolled along the strand and went to the military surplus store that is usually always closed. We grabbed some lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, then we spent the rest of the day Saturday at Moody Gardens before heading home.

It was Jen's first time to Moody Gardens and I hadn't been in several years. First we went to the Aquarium exhibit, which was pretty cool. I got quite a few pictures there before my phone died (and we didn't think to bring an actual camera). Next up was the IMAX (Jen's already said we can build one of these at our house. If you've never been, it's a movie screen that is 6 stories high and 8 stories wide.) We watched a really good documentary-type film on a team exploring the Titanic wreckage. After that we went to the Titanic exhibit. The exhibit had actual artifacts pulled from the underwater wreckage (everything from plates and spoons to wallets and bags). There were also pictures and stories of some of the people and families that were on the ship, and a list of everybody on board which told who survived and who did not.

We had a great time getting away and celebrating our year together! On the way home (while crossing the long, shoulder-less bridge) I was even given the chance to brush up on my tire changing skills! I've still got it!

Here is a seal from the aquarium, obviously...they wouldn't be still enough for me to get a good picture.



The sharks were even worse.



But Jen posed like a champ! Look how beautiful she is!!!



Here's a better picture of a shark, but it's still a little blurry.



Here we are! (The sun is RIGHT in my eye)



Some fish



An Octopus

July 15th

July 15th marked 1 year for Jen and I...it was our 1 year anniversary of when we first (actually) met. If you know our story (it's on the right hand side of the page!) Jen and I were in the same youth group about 10 years ago, but never actually met there. We met just over a year ago at a Hillsong United concert and started talking the same day (July 15, 2007). We count this for our anniversary sake, because we've talked every day since. Our first date was actually 6 days later (1 year ago today...July 21, 2007)!! We went to the show and watched the latest Die Hard (a guy movie). That's when I knew she was a keeper! We have not been apart a single day since that first date!

It is crazy to think that within 1 year of actually meeting each other we were able to date, fall in love, get engaged, get married, buy a house, and get pregnant! :) But before we even met we both wanted a family more than anything. I was afraid that it was going to take some time to meet somebody, date them forever, be engaged for even longer, then be married for a few years...but God had a different plan for us, and now our family building is under way!

We haven't been to the doctor yet, so we don't have much of an update as of yet, but apparently our little guy has hair and fingernails now! That's crazy!

Jen has proven herself to be the most amazing wife and friend to me and a wonderful mom to our baby! I knew she would be great with our kids, and that's already begun. She is so giving of herself for our baby! I don't know what I would do if I wasn't with her forever! She always impresses me with how loving and caring she is towards me, and she is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, both inside and out. I truly am the luckiest man alive or otherwise!

New Job

Today is day 5 of my new job (and I get off at noon, no big deal). Monday (July 14th) I started a job with TJD Financial Services near 1960. They are a cash for title company with about 11 stores around Houston up to Bryan, with more stores to come soon. I got the job thanks to my good friend Jacob, who was in the position before me. I am the Director of Technology, so basically I am the head of the IT (Information Technology...computers, basically) department (not that there is anybody else in the IT department to be the head of, but if there were, I'm almost positive they'd be under me).

I've been looking for a position in IT like this one for several years now. My job at Hewitt was temporary to help pay for an engagement ring, a house, and so on until I could find this position. IT is a hard field to get into without knowing somebody. One of the somebody's I did know finally paid off! I will be working fewer hours (I get off every Friday at noon, longer - and paid - lunch breaks) and I will enjoy my job much more. They're also ordering me a new 24" iMac that I'm pretty excited about!

Other than that, Jen is doing great, apart from the low energy levels, constant discomfort, back ache, shin splints, nausea, and so on. We're praying for her to feel better, which we've heard the start of the second trimester helps. We're coming up on the second trimester pretty quickly! We've got our first doctor's appointment scheduled for August 6! I can't wait to see our little guy floating around in there!


Here is my office from the hall. Check out my view!



This is the old setup...I've rearranged, and I also have a picture of my beautiful bride sitting on my desk now!



This is me, excited on my first day of work!

4th of July

Jen, her brother Josh and I drove up to Florida for the 4th of July to our grandparent's house on Cook's Bayou in Panama City. Every year Jen's family competes with the neighboring "Dawg House" (the Tiki Hut-style bar across the bayou) for the best fireworks show. Every year before the show Jen's family (the Pickles) heads across the bayou to talk trash to the Tiki Hut (all in fun). After dark the show begins... First up is the Dawg House. Their show was not bad this year. They had most of their fireworks launched from a boat in the middle of the bayou and they had quite an arsenal. But next up was the Pickles (Jen's mother's maiden name :)... but first I need to rewind...

Jen's uncle Bobby (from Virginia) found a fireworks dealer that would actually ship into Florida (buying fireworks in Florida is difficult unless you want snakes and sparklers...and we spent weeks trying to find somebody to deliver the fireworks because state lines and fireworks do not agree with each other). So Bobby, his son Nate, and good friend John spent hours of research online to check out videos of each firework to make sure they were good enough to be in our show. Once they made their selection and sent in their order, the shipment arrived in Florida. The boxes of fireworks were a staggering 4ft x 4ft x 6ft. Now the work began...

The entire show was timed and planned to be as precise as possible. There were 4 stations set up: First was the barge on the lake which shot off all of the "cakes" (the multi-shot fireworks, saturn missles, etc - there were a total of 3,210 saturn missle shots alone!); The remaining 3 stations were all dedicated to mortar shells (which make for a great show). The mortar shells are single shots, which wasn't going to work for our show. That's where our safety fuse came in. Hours were spent in testing the fuse for timing and then taping fuses together to make sets of 3. When it came time for the show the cakes on the barge created a constant pace, while each station set off their mortars in the perfect sequence. This was the best show I've ever been a part of, and it will continue to grow and become more amazing as the years go by. Needless to say, we had a good time at the Tiki Hut talking more trash after we won.

Here is our stack of fireworks



Here are just our mortars...



This is what was used to set off our grand finale...12 mortars simultaneously...



...with the barge backing us up with the saturn missles...

A Real Handyman

I've finally completed my first successful task in remodeling our house yesterday. As you know, there are quite a few projects for me to do, but I was able to remove and replace the old (broken) garbage disposal (that we did not realize was broken as we poured more and more food in). Needless to say, our kitchen smells a little fresher these days. It was not an easy task, but everything went pretty well. I only wanted to cuss once or twice.

And on another note, our home warranty company finally cracked and are replacing our downstairs AC unit. Not only the outside like we were gunning for, but the inside unit too! It will cost us some money for the stuff that's not covered, but we're getting off a lot cheaper than expected!! Thanks for the prayers!

Other Updates...

With a baby on the way, we've got a lot going on with our house. For a couple of months now we've been without A/C for the entire downstairs of our house (our bedrooms are all downstairs...) We've been getting the runaround from First American Home "Warranty" trying to get the unit replaced (and we're finally making progress!) Other than that, I've been working on the "curb appeal" of our home...replacing the front porch, removing the overgrown bushes... Jen's parents just put in a new pool so I loaded up a full truck load of their dirt and filled in some low spots...that is the last time I'll ever shovel dirt. :)

Things left to do on the house: you name it! Setting up a nursery, for starters! We're planning on painting all throughout, and either painting the outside, or replacing the siding...we're replacing the flooring and hopefully the cabinets...rebuild the upstairs deck and cover it...and whatever else comes up. The plan is to fix it up and sell it and use whatever profit we make to move into something a little bigger.

Also on the list of updates, I have just passed my real estate license exam! My poor wife had to wake up at the crack of dawn to drive all the way down to north Houston to bring my the passport that I forgot (which was mandatory if I wanted to take my test). She's the best! But this means I am now officially a licensed real estate agent! I've been researching and trying to get into real estate investing for some time now, and this is a HUGE step in that direction. Also, I can help you buy or sell your house! :)