That's PRESIDENT Obama to you

Ya like apples? How do ya like them apples? Congratulations to the next President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. 11:00 PM 11/04/2008.

The Ride of a Lifetime

Hello again friends and family. No politics this day. Just updates about me, my hott wife and the ankle biters. In the interest of full (fool?) disclosure, I am working slowly but tirelessly on my second margarita of the evening. I must say, the less I drink the better I feel after fewer drinks. Hey there's a rationalization: Economy in the crapper? Increase your enjoyment of alcohol by drinking less but enjoying it more when you do! So with that said...

Yesterday was the most intense cycling day of my life to date. It was supposed to be a Sunday social ride that split up into two groups after 12 or so miles. The speed freaks would go one way and those that were winding down for the season (the smart people) the other. The roadie ride moved along at a casual pace of about 18 or so MPH with sprints and climbs here there and yon. There were three sprints and one good big climb at the end. I took two of the sprints and the climb. One of the county line sprints I didn't just take by a nose; I took it by several bike lengths. Prior to the sprint I found myself placed at the front by the other sprinters and was smart enough to say, "screw that", and I secured my spot back in 6th or so place. When the sprinters went I was right behind them up until about 33 or so and the moment I sensed lactic acid threshhold setting in on them I dropped the hammer and snuck up close to 37MPH and that was all she wrote. It took a little bit for the group to regroup and I knew as soon as we took the next right someone was going to turn the screws. They did. They got dropped too. I went right back to the front, chased down the folks turning the screws and just chilled. Yes one guy was a HEman that attacked on White Oak, but I meated out my efforts as I knew the big climb at the end is where I was to invest. That would pay off also as I was able to return a smart ass comment IN PASSING to some banana head that wasn't smart enough to understand why you don't wear headphones on a group ride. I've ridden in the A group less than 25 times in my life. Yesterday I knew what it was like at the top. I may not be back there for a while, but damn yesterday was a good day in the saddle.

The wife. What can I say? I've been through the dictionary (yes, I read the dictionary for leisure) and there are simply not words to express how fortunate I am to have her as my partner. Nor are there words that express the luxury her presence represents to our sons. I could have a Porsche, we could have a 2nd house, or a nanny if Karen went back to work. But the other day, unbeknownst to my wife, I watched as she and David rolled around in the grass in our backyard. It was a roux of love, laughter, caring and closeness for which there is no monetary comparison. She is the lighthouse upon the rock which guides this family forward in waters calm and challenge. Of late she has chosen to dive deep into nutritional analysis. We've (when I say we I mean Karen) eliminated dairy from David's diet and early signs indicate this may be helping David with his propensity for impulsive behavior (I have NO clue where he gets that from!!! Yesteray I was Lance Armstrong, tonight I'm Edgar Allen Poe in Baltimore. Again, NO clue.) Karen has the support of her sister, Joy, in this effort as Joy is a registered dietician. Karen has also gotten some input from the mother of one of David's friends who has also done her share of research on the dietary front. So between keeping David in preschool, managing Camden's FIVE therapies a week and keeping this house in fine working order I would not tend towards words like boredom to describe her days. I love her dearly. I so appreciate EVERYTHING she does and she knows this. :-)

Number one son. God help us. I told him tonight that if he'd stop biting his nails and picking his nose, I'd do the same. What the hell was I thinking? I'm gonna miss those two things. Seriously, I have to read the dictionary to feign intellect, but David comes by it honestly. David and I were watching the Giro de Lombardia (a 250k bike race in Italy) the other night when one of the riders had to bunny hop up onto the sidewalk as he'd overshot the exit from a corner. After having witnessed this David commented, "You know it takes a lot of talent to hop up onto the curb like that and keep going." The intellectual extrapolations one can make from this sentence blurted out by a four year old are many. But the furthering of what I'm sure would have been a fascinating conversation was muted by my North Carolinian response made in sheer amazement, "Shur duz". Heyzeus! I've been releagted to the short end of intellectual conversation with a FREAKIN' FOUR YEAR OLD. That's OK. I can crush him on a 1k climb at 14%... for now.

Number two son. God has helped us. Never a day goes by when a smile does not monopolize his beautiful face. He loves his big brother, he owns his mother's love and his father could not be more proud. Of ALL Camden's accomplishments of the last 60 days I will admit to the selfish appreciation of the development of his ability to hug more than all the other accomplishments. The only way I can describe his hugs are that they feel like a conduit through which love flows free of resistance when he pulls you tight. His vocabulary is hovering around ten or so words that we can interpret, but since communication is so much more than words I would say his overall ability to communicate is improving incrementally and daily. Camden can identify words and can identify objects in the real and written world. Intellectually we're impressed and encouraged by Camden's progress and equally so in the physical realm. Camden can stand independently; he simply doesn't know it yet. When the mental confidence is developed, the independent standing will occur much more frequently and confidently. I've said it before and I'll say it again, our family would not be complete without "Little C".

I have two children. I have two living parents of near-sound mind and largely capable body. My good friend Jim has a lake house. You see where this is going? Yes indeed on or about Friday October 17th Karen and I handed off the kiddies to grandma and Pop-Pop and away we went to my friend Jim's lakehouse. 30 hours of sheer bliss. Karen and I arrived at 8:30 or so and checked out the house. Within 10 minutes I knew I had the following at hand for the time being: a pool table, a fridge full of beer, a cabinet with some JD in it, a big screen TV and a hott chick I can prove I'd tricked into sleeping with me at least twice. Thank you God for those 30 hours. Thank you Jim & Phyllis for your graciousness. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids. Thank you Karen for being my wife.

And thank you Sammy Hagar for making this fine Caba Wabo tequila, but alas it is time to retire for tonight. I hope you've all enjoyed this installment of Alright with the Preises and check back soon. Peace.

Earth to McCain. Come in McCain.

Well we cashed in my 401K and we've decided to go to the movies. The good news is we're 'buying' and will not likely be selling for about another 20 years so the proper perspective is treat the losses as paper losses today and take comfort in the fact that we are continuing to buy low.

I am very excited to see Barack's progress and at the same time feel obligated to thank John McCain for his selection of VP as perhaps the biggest contributing factor. Talk about a lack of vision. You can't make this stuff up. McCain defines wealthy as having more than FIVE MILLION dollars in assets?!?!? Hell, I oughtta be eligible for food stamps. Then he says the fundamentals of the economy are strong; again are you kidding me? This is a guy that doesn't know how many houses he owns. If you think he is more like you and me, please contact me to let me know who you are - I need a loan. The icing on the cake has to be his VP pick. Let me get this straight... a two year Governor of a state with a population equal to Poughkeepsie, NY currently embroiled in a scandal involving the potential wrongful termination of a state employee with a five month old son with Down syndrome with nary a hint of international diplomacy experience. Again, can't make this stuff up. Take a wild guess what the percentage of non-elected Presidents has been historically. 5%? 10% maybe? (hint hint: keep going) try 20%. McCain - whose health I would not classify as robust - is in the decade of his life when most men die. So I have to ask, where's the 'Country First' in the quality of his VP selection? I don't want someone 'like me' as the President or Vice President. I want someone better suited to the task at hand. Paraphrasing from an article I read recently, we want elite pilots to fly the aircraft on which we are passangers. We want elite doctors performing our surgeries and elite teachers to educate our children. So you can call Barack elite because of his education or his position, but he's not out of touch. He may not be like me, but he understands me. John McCain is not like me becuase he's beyond out of touch. Sarah Palin is not like me either. I would never consider taking a job so consuming and thus prioritizing my career over my family. One last thing about Sarah Palin, if I read one more article about her noble decision to bring a child with Down Syndrome into this world I'm going to puke. Sarah Palin is a staunch Pro-Lifer. So I ask, what decision was there to make?

Birthdays, Obama Days and Work

Well here I am at the end of my third decade and I'm proud to say not a single grey hair in sight. Yes it's true that the last sentence would still be correct without the word grey, but let's not get bogged down in the details. Indeed David will be four this month and I will be forty. Both of these are to be celebrated. I believe that on David's menu we'll find a party, some cake and some presents. Jim's menu will consist primarily of Tequila, Triple Sec and lime and perhaps a phone call or two to some old friends. All things considered, I am proud of my thirties and bid them adieu with very few regrets. Cheers.

I'm sure some of you appreciate the Obama banner addition to the web site. I'm equally sure that some of you rest in other camps as well. I hope Obama wins because in my opinion he is the best person for the job. He's an intelligent, compassionate man that, to me, represents our best opportunity for change and reconciliation both inside and outside of our borders. He's demonstrated how easily the media and interest groups can direct, distract and divert attentions away from the critically important issues and focus the spotlight on side shows and the irrelevent. He puts a high value on accountability and that is one step toward real change. He also recognizes that poorly thought out ideas and instant gratification seldom contribute to a better tonmorrow. I'll be voting for Barack Obama because he represents sincerity in his call to action for change in our government which has so obviously forgotten its obligation of service to the goverened. But he'll also have my vote because I believe he'll guide us toward the restoration of the America the world once respected as much for its compassion as its might. And that's the America I'd like my kids to know.

When last we left our superheros Jim and Karen... They were headed down to Atlantic Beach for the weekend after dropping off David and Camden at Grandma and Pop-Pop Preis' to celebrate their 5 year anniversary. Yay! Despite getting the wrong room and the fire alarm going off at 3 AM and the gale force winds and the torrential downpour and the loss of TV service we had a splendid time. Yes all of those things really happened, but we were simply so happy to get to sleep in, the incidents really didn't matter. We watched TV, chilled-out, went to Hooters, had a couple of nice dinners and just decompressed in general for about two days and that was more than we could have asked for. Oh by the way, if you're ever in Atlantic Beach and you want a great dinner there is no beating Amos Mosquito's. We had dinner there both nights - it's that good. I'm not going to go into detail; either trust me or eat marginal food elsewhere.

After ol' Mom and Dad got their groove back in early March the entire family headed down to Vero Beach for vacation the first week in April. Aunt Mary Louise and Uncle Fred (AMLUF from here on) kindly offered us a week at their winter home in Vero Beach at a development named Sea Oaks and we accepted like Rush Limbaugh at a free Vicodin booth. The place was everything they told us it was going to be and so much more. Here's my top five things I enjoyed the most... (1) accomodations fit for a King (or a fat renaissance guy like me) (2) elevator into your house - how kewl is that? (3) perfect weather (4) running on the Jungle trail and (5) the whole family in the Ocean, at the beach and in the sand. We also got to visit with Karen's sister Joy and her husband Matt and family including Matt's mom and dad who were kind enough to extend their hospitality and feed us yummy and healthy food! I could just go on and on about how good this trip was, but suffice it to say that it really revitalized us and made memories that we'll share for years to come. This was a trip that the whole family needed and AMLUF made it possible with their generosity. For that they have our most sincere thanks and independent of their generousity, they have our love as always.

Well it's time for me to sign off now as my discretionary time is limited. The project I am working on at work has all hands on deck and a huge schedule challenge before us. It's 8 PM on the button now and my job requires that I worry from now until I fall asleep about how hard the team is working and that they know how much their efforts are appreciated. I know that really successful people do a good job at separating their personal lives from their work lives and to that I say hogwash. My BCBSNC Team and colleagues are my friends as well and if I had to sum up my anxiety over the concern for my team it would be that I simply care about them.

Rain, Rain and Family Updates

Well hello once again from dry, sunny Cary, NC. I say that with a bit of a cheeky grin because we've actually gotten some rain of late, but only enough to keep our deficit in the single digit inches.

So many updates, so little time.

We'll start with the kiddies.

Master David continues to become his own little man. Sometimes the things he says just knock us off our chairs. The other day as I took a corner, his new bike - in the back of the van - fell over. David really loves his new bike and even though he was strapped in his safety seat he had his hands on the bike as I rounded the corner. Suspecting that he had contributed to the bike's tipping over I asked him if he had knocked it over to which he replied, "It fell over when you turned. That's not my problem." I had to laugh. While there is essentially a zero tolerance policy for backtalk in the Preis household, I evaluated what he said and, well, it was said with respect and he was right. There's never a day that goes by that we don't thank God for all that David is and is becoming. This is not to say that David doesn't present his share of challenges, but we know how much he loves us and he's intimately aware of how much we love him.

We are not fishing for gifts at all but we know - and deeply appreciate - that there are lots of friends and family that read this and if anyone is looking for a birthday gift idea anything associated with WordWorld would be an instant hit. David has developed a penchant for letters and words that can only be described as a fetish. He assembles words in the playroom, in the bathroom, in his bedroom and for all we know his dreams. If you wanna know what Word World is click here. Far be it for Karen or I to stand in the way of mastery of the English (or any other) language.

So much of what I've typed about David so far is from the perspective of David as our son but we can state with certainty that if we think he's an outstanding son, he's an even better brother. He's loves Camden to a fault and paternal instincts are strong with David. This doesn't mean that on occasion he doesn't lay on his little brother and scare the bejesus out of his mother and I, but David on occasion wakes Camden with a greeting of, "Good morning little brother", and sends him off to sleep each night with an exchange of kisses blown to and returned by his little brother.

Camden is following in his big brother's footsteps as far as continually exceeding our expectations as well. So what's Camden doing these days? Some big milestones for Camden are coming to pass here soon. Camden is getting up on his knees in both the crawl mode but more frequently he's using his newly acquired kneeling skills to get up on the side of toy boxes and tip them in the name of getting to their contents - TOYS!!! He's doing a great job of parroting which is a great skill to encourage because so many of the fundamentals we learn through observation and imitation. His articulated vocabulary is still pretty much limited to "David", "Dah Dah" and "uM Mah Ma" but there are absolutely great signs beyond the vocabulary. He clearly comprehends requests for specific physical actions like...

-"Show me clap-clap-clap!" and Camden will clap on demand and celebrate with a smile.
-If Karen or I say, "Sooooo Big!" Camden will put his hands over his head.
-If we ask Camden to blow person X a kiss, he does so crisply and with no hesitation.

How wonderful this last one is! This will hold his mother and I until he can tell us in his own voice the same. All in good time.

Camden continues to be perpetually happy with the noted exceptions of when he is ill or when he's teething. With that said, I know of few who celebrate either of those experiences!

Camden has three major therapies a week: developmental, physical and speech/feeding. All therapies continue to produce results and we couldn't be happier with his therapists. For example, one of Camden's weaknesses is his upper body strength. But the robustness of his crawl has increased dramatically leading up to the development of the kneeling talent I mentioned earlier.

I can count on two hands the number of things I am certain of in this life, but rest assured that one of those things is that our family would not be complete without our little man Camden. He drips of love in giving and receiving and he's a determined fighter. He is a blessing we never knew we'd have and our lives are improved because of him. This doesn't mean that there aren't times of challenge, reflection and sadness; there are. But love in this family is deep and unconditional and when the source of all that that love is a peaceful God, then we are outfitted amply to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.

I'd love to type more but it's late and it's been a long day. I'll try and get a Karen and Jim update out here after we get back from our 5 year anniversary celebration this weekend.

Thanks for checking in and don't be a stranger. Call. Write. Or just come see us.

Pixpourri

New pictures for October '07 through January '08! Check 'em out!!!

Running

Welcome back faithful readers. Two updates in one month!. How about that!!!

This update probably won't be as interesting as the last becuase it's more Jim and less kiddies and Karen, but hey, they can get their own web sites! (Just kidding.)

I have started running again for the 10th time. For those of you that know me, you may recall I spent about five years running pretty consistently from 1990 to 1995. I then faded out to pretty much cycling only over the last ten years or so except for training for the Marine Corps marathon with Karen back in 2001. The primary reason my running faded was ankle injuries became more frequent and serious and frankly, my career and other things took priority.

I would like to do a marathon myself. And if all goes well I should be in shape to do one about the time I turn forty next year in May. May is not a particularly popular time for marathons because of the temps, so I might have to look north or northwest to find one in May.

In addition to checking off "marathon" on my lifetime to-do list, running provides me - and Karen - a few minutes each day to reset our compasses. It provides some of the best alone time you could ask for and, if your joints can take it, immeasureable health benefits. As I mentioned earlier the primary reason I quit running was that my ankles, particularly my right ankle, likes to roll. The sprains I have gotten in full stride have been worse than some breaks. But the fact is I just healed and went back to what I was doing before with no ankle specific conditioning. That is where I'm hoping to make a difference this time around. I've got some supportive, motion control shoes. I'm doing ankle specific exercises before and after each run. Lastly, I'm being more careful. No risky surfaces like trails with roots. It's either asphalt or cinder surface trails.

So let's see how it goes, eh? I hope to have a training calendar/log up here in the next month or so, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for checking in and checking out the Preis family goings on.

PS - The pictures page now has pics all the way up through September of '07 I believe. Click away and I hope they make you smile as widely as I do when I look at them. Love those boys and my wife!

Drought, Boys Update, Love

Hello again from 608 Gravel Brook Court! Today is 6 October and it's actually wet outside. We've been under drought conditions for many months this year and the last two rains have done little to erase a massive deficit. It would take a monster rainfall of tropical storm proportions to get us back to where we should be, but even then that would not help the many trees and lawns long since permanently browned. But we're thankful it's raining today and we'll see what the future brings and optimism never hurts!

David started preschool about a month ago and is making friends, eating sand and having a good time in general. He's in a class with about a half dozen other kids his age and I think the small confines of the physical room are a challenge for him (think tempest/teapot). But we don't get to choose everything and the exercises in control will serve him well in the future. Academically David is probably more in line with 1st or 2nd grade expectations. He's more than mastered the alphabet. He's almost gotten to the point with his numbers where he's figured out how to count indefinitely. And I have a funny feeling we'll be teaching him some basic arithmetic before long. The threes have seen their moments of challenge for David (and his parents) but those moments of challenge are always followed by accomplishment and learning milestones.

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Camden has really begun to shine with accomplishments. First, he's interacting with everyone in the family much more discretely and can name all of us on sight. His articulation will improve with practice, but we continue to be amazed by his verbal achievements and the variety of sounds he's learned to create is very promising. There has also been much development on the cognitive front. Camden can clap on demand. He can problem solve in the physical world; like moving object A to facilitate access to object B. He can roll a ball back and forth with a partner. And, oh by the way, he can caress your forearm gently when you're feeding him his nighttime bottle and man is that worth whatever you had to get through that day to enjoy. Camden's biggest challenge at present is the continuation of his gross motor skills development. He has just learned to execute a rudimentary crawl and he can easily sit on his own with confidence. In fact, he can stand if you hold his hands. For clarity, he has more than ample leg strength to support his weight of 21 pounds. He simply lacks the balance to complete the trick. As his gross skills become more robust, he'll accomplish the standing milestone. The net-net is that Camden is doing more than well. He's blowing away our expectations. And if corporate America has taught his mother and I anything, that means raised expectations are right around the corner. And if Karen and I have taught Camden anything yet it is to do the impossible today and put the simply difficult stuff off until tomorrow!

I wanted to update everyone on how Karen and I are doing as well, but the sounds coming from the monitor tell me that Camden is not long from waking. Thus it's time to make cereal and formula and settle in for a feed session. The net-net on Karen and I is that we continue to be each others rock. If I'm stressed or I need to disappear for a two hour bike ride, she's there for me. And should I come home to find Karen's had a 25 hour day in only 12 hours, I'm her man. I have worked out some flex time at work to help us coordinate preschool, speech, developmental and physical therapies as well as Dr's appointments. Karen's sister Lynn has also been a God send and helps with some chauffeuring that gets paid for in love and appreciation. We can't thank her enough for her help.

I hope this update finds everyone well.

Thank You, Grant and Kristin, Right

Hi everyone! First things first. Thanks and thanks again to all of the folks that have offered their help and support since Camden's diagnosis. Camden is doing absolutely wonderfully. Here's the details. So you get the Down diagnosis. Along with that diagnosis comes a laundry list of other things or defects that are more common in Down children; thyroid imbalance, hearing, eyesight, heart abnormalities etc. etc. We are very glad to report that Camden has had all of these (and more) examined and there or no concerns in any of these areas. Excellent news and Karen and I are overjoyed. We consider ourselves so fortunate to have Camden and once we embraced "measuring progress with a different ruler" (borrowed from another parent's account of having a Down child) we were even more at peace with our new opportunity.

Earlier this month Karen and I traveled to Maryland/Pennsylvania to attend Grant and Kristin's wedding and what a blast that was. I got to see all my neighborhood friends from when I was age six through fourteen. They were all doing well and we all found ourselves in very similar places in life. Every nit picking fault I ever had as a child with any of these 'kids' had long melted away and that left only old friends with found memories and great stories to share a wonderful evening celebrating the wedding. I so wish these people were my neighbors again. Grant and Kristin's wedding was storybook with great weather, a wonderful intimate ceremony complete with fireworks. Now the fact that the day before the wedding I was at a truck stop in Virginia in a car that wasn't running with temperatures in the 90's covered in a Redskins blanket and shivering in sickness took a little of the shine off the silver for me, but despite missing the rehearsal and pursuant dinner all other things went swimmingly. I did make the wedding - I was in it. I've always done the big things well in life and I'm putting not disappointing our best friends on their wedding day in that category.

One last thing tonight. I've followed the Tour de France this year again as I have for the last dozen or so years. So far two complete teams, Cofidis and Astana, have withdrawn because their leaders or contenders within the team have tested positive for either blood doping or use of banned substancess. Only tomorrow will we know if any of the Rabobank team will start after Michael Rasmussen's stupidity regarding deception of whereabouts when reporting to the governing body of the agency that executes testing on behalf of professional cycling. It's wrong when a cyclist cheats to win the Tour. It's wrong when a baseball player cheats to hit the most homeruns. It's wrong when the people that we elect to serve us yield to corruption. It's wrong when the people we look to for religeous guidance prey on our children. I don't lose faith that good will triumph over evil though as long as you agree with me. I lose faith though when I hear arguments that introduce spin and attempts at justification. As long as we collectively are the keepers of that which is fundamentally right and wrong I hold out hope that the world will be a better place for my children in the future. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while watching the news these days might be a bit depressing, it would be far more depressing if the bad news wasn't reported because being wrong or corrupt was no longer news.

47

Well we got some of Camden's results back and the news is not what we would have liked, but "it is what it is". What we know at this point is that Camden has a flavor of Down Syndrome and we won't know which flavor until we go through additional testing at Duke. He will either have Mosaic Down or tradition Down Syndrome.

We'll start our journey at Duke over the next couple of weeks and when we know - you'll know.

This entry's brevity should not reflect anything other than BUSY! Karen and her sis and bro-in-law are relaying the flower beds around the house and I'm watching 5 kids.

The net net of how Karen and I are doing is fine. We were blessed when Camden came into this world and today we are equally as blessed. There will be some adjustment, some replanning, some extra efforts, but most of all there will be a little more love in our house and that's all that really matters.

Czech back soon or call or come by (bring hard cider!!!)

Camden Update

Hello once again friends and family. My cadence is becoming pretty good. I've been updating this thing quarterly and that's about the right amount of time to let things acrue before purging our milestones here in electron land.

As some of you know and some of you don't Camden was recently evaluated on his physical development at the advice of his pediatrician. Wake county sent a Pediatrician, a Physical Therapist and a Services Coordinator out to our house on Tuesday of last week to do the evaluation. The evaluation was segmented into different categories like gross motor skills, finite motor skills, muscular maturity etc. At the end of the day Camden was classified as mildly developmentally delayed. What this means is that he isn't where he should be from a physical development perspective. Addressing this will consist of physical therapy, speech therapy and follow up Dr's. visits. While this is certainly not the ideal situation, we plan on closing the gap between where he is and where he should be through the use of the therapies. Long term, this part of the situation suggests no significant future challenges.

Part of the evaluation was also observation of physical presentations and there were some minor things the pediatrician noted that encouraged him to suggest genetic testing. Now before anyone jumps to conclusions we need to level set here. The genetic testing is being done to rule out the existence of genetic defects. We have no concerns about Camden having traditional Down Syndrome, but the target of exclusion is something called Mosaic Down. I could type and type and try to explain it, but the beauty of the internet is I can simply tell you to go here for more information. Again, keep in mind two things. One - we're going through this exercise to exclude the condition as opposed to confirming an initial diagnosis. Secondly - While the results will take us down one of two paths, they will have no affect on Camden's place in his world; and the first place Camden will ever know as home in the greater sense will be surrounded by the love and support of his mother and father and his brother.

I know if you're reading this page it's because you know and love this family. It's important to us that you all know we are intimately aware of your love and support and it makes each day better knowing you are there.

Last weekend Grant and Kristen came to visit us from Westminster and their visit could not have come at a better time. Their company and their help at the house was enjoyed and truly appreciated. Kristen helped Karen with the Zoops while Grant and I put in Karen's - long awaited - garden. Grant and I used nine 6x6x12s as the container and then filled it with close to a ton of top soil, mushroom compost and cow crap. It came out great and we'll have some snaps of it out here soon. The older I get the better my friendship with Grant gets. It's not like fine wine; it's like damn good whiskey. (And to think he risked it all by dragging his feet on asking the perfect woman for him to marry him!!!) I knew when I asked my wife to marry me that she would be the only woman I would ever ask that question to and just as well I know that until the day I become garden fodder myself Grant will be my closest friend.

That's about it for now. Check back over the next week or so for new pics and family updates.

Bikes BCBSNC et al Stuff

Greetings once again Earthlings. Today is 29 January and I feel like crap. Our special today is sinus infection with a post nasal drip side and pressure headache for dessert. I knew this was coming. Yesterday I had a bike ride all planned out. I had my outfit on, my water bottles topped off with Gatorade and my heart rate monitor was just warming up. As I made my way out of the neighborhood I waved to Karen and the kids as they were returning from a visit with Karen's sis-in-law's family. I think I made it 200 or so yards past the front of our development before I turned around and headed home as that's how long it took for the good Karma to drain from this ride. Right before I started to ride, dark clouds came in quickly. What was a high of around 56 degrees F started dropping. I wasn't feeling particularly good, but didn't feel bad enough to not ride. Common sense more than Karma told me to turn my ass around and go home. The thought of being 15 miles away from home on my bike in the rain at 40 degrees while getting a cold started to sound like the ill-advised plan it was. For the record, I've been working out quite consistently for the past 5 weeks. I've been been doing some runs of up to four miles, bike rides as far as 30 miles (in temps of less than 50) and a couple of half miles in the pool. I've lost about a dozen pounds and I feel a lot better.

Karen has started working out again also. She and I ride our bikes inside several nights a week and the mind always feels better after using the body. Karen has a tough job and I don't know how she keeps her sanity every day. The boys are both challenging albeit in different ways. David is now two and three quarter years old and is testing his limits by way of testing our limits. By and large David is a joy to be around, but he conducts rather obvious experiments to see just how much he can get away with. Karen has the patience of Job and it is a good thing she does. Camden is now coming up on five months old and is doing very well. As a refresher, Camden was born with only one kidney, but all subsequent tests have indicated that the other kidney has assumed its full responsibility and he's doing fine. I think it's more apparent to Karen than it is to me that having a second child is a greater task than simply two times the effort of the first. When we had David and he had times of being all consuming there was no other entity also demanding care. With Camden's arrival, Karen has had to learn how to spread her time as necessary by priority and I know that's very challenging at times. I have always loved my wife and the greatest surprise is that she contines to grow and develop with the boys in beautiful - although sometimes challenging - ways. I love you honey!!!

Work at BCBSNC is going well and I'm starting to get a grasp on my place in the Blue universe. The people continue to be outstanding teachers and the company really gives you the opportunity to take ownership of your success. Part of the benefits package at BCBSNC are various educational opportunities and I plan to exploit those opportunities in the near future, so stay tuned for more details.

All in all the family is doing well and we miss anyone that reads this page. As Camden becomes more portable we plan to travel a little more this year visiting family and maybe even a Summer or Fall vacation. Thanks for taking the time check in on us and give us a call sometime.