Lots to be grateful for

Let me start off by apologizing for allowing so much time to pass since my last posting. A lot has transpired since then. I guess the best place to start was Valentine's Day. I tried to think of something to do for my bride for several days before deciding to treat her to a day at the spa. I got her a package from the Vue Spa & Salon in Jonesboro. I didn't tell her about it until the morning of Valentine's. I made her get up and get ready to go pretty early, or least early for a Saturday. I had also booked a room for us so that she could have a place to come back and get ready before going to dinner. I had hoped to be able to check into the hotel early so that I could work on tax returns while she was at the spa. Well, as my luck would have it, I didn't get to check in early. I went and sat in the parking lot of the hotel while I worked in my truck. I was able to get one tax return done before the battery on my laptop died. So much for trying to be productive as that put an end to my work. I got one return done. The rest of the time I spent driving around Jonesboro and at the mall. When Mollie was done with her pampering, we went out to eat and to see a movie before the pregnancy kicked in and Mollie came crashing down in exhaustion. We had a good time though. I was most excited about getting a Wii for Valentine's Day. Here I am a grown man getting excited about a video game. That is a whole other post though.

Last week was very rough, especially Wednesday and Thursday. I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Corning, AR to assist the A/P clerk at Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation. They suffered a tremendous amount of damage to their system when the ice storm hit in late January. I helped her enter some of their payables for payment. That was a 13 hour day. That is all I am going to say about that.

Friday, the 20th was my 30th birthday. I thought I handled it well. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Through it all I realized that I have a lot to be thankful for. The good Lord has blessed me far more than I ever deserve. Please know that I am not trying to boast, but in 30 years I have accomplished more than most do in a lifetime. I have a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, a good job, a sweet, sweet baby girl on the way, a family that loves me, and much, much more. God deserves all the glory, honor, and praise for all of the blessings that I have been given. Yes, I may be over the "cool years," but I am truly happy and grateful to my Lord and Savior for it all.

In closing, I am proud to announce that Mollie and I found out that we are expecting a little girl in August. Mollie was supposed to have an ultrasound in March to find out the sex of the baby, but she pleaded with the doctor's office to let her have one early so that we could find out on my birthday. We are very excited. I can't wait for Daddy's little girl to get here. Yes, she already has me wrapped around her tiny little finger.

Until next time!

We made it!

Well, the "Dream House" production has wrapped. It was kind of bitter-sweet seeing them tear down the set as I cleared out of my dressing room last night. I had a lot of fun doing the performances, but the practices weren't too much fun. Isn't that normally how it goes though. No one likes to practice, but everyone wants to play in the game! The first night went pretty much without a flaw. The second night wasn't too bad either. Everyone was more relaxed since they already had one performance under their belts. Everything was going well until right before intermission. I delivered a line about her "stage" mother, but looked right at her "real" mother when I did it and Mollie got a little tickled, then the audience got tickled b/c she did. The rest of the show was good. Last night was closing night. It was crazy. Everyone did well, it was just that some of the lines were changed, on purpose, by the cast members. This was really funny. To give you an idea of what I mean, I will give you an example. When I would speak to my "stage" mother-in-law, I would refer to her as "Dorma" instead of "Dorothy." For those of you who don't know, my real mother-in-law is named "Dorma." The crowd got a kick out of it.

Well, it is now all over and tonight I don't know what I am going to do. That's a lie. I have got to get caught up with my tax and bookkeeping work. Tax season is now underway and I have got to get going. I have a lot to do. I have got five tax returns sitting on my desk at home to do. There is no rest for the weary.

Well, that's about all I have. One last thing, we just found out that a co-worker of ours is having either a triple or quadruple bypass today. Her name is Sharon. Please keep her in your prayers.

Opening Day is Here!

Well, as I told you last time, Mollie and I are participating in our church's Valentine's Dinner Theater this year. We play Lyle and Christy Wells in the musical "Dream House." Tonight is opening night! It has been nearly 12 years since I have participated in a stage production. I am not nervous, but I am ready to get it over with. This has been a very stressful project for me and Mollie. I am excited about taking to the stage with the best partner I have ever had, my lovely bride Mollie. We will be performing tonight and the next two nights as well.

Tomorrow marks the 15th week of our pregnancy. In just five long weeks we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl. It doesn't matter to me what we have, but I think Mollie wants a girl. If I had to bet on it, I would say we are having a boy. That is just my gut feeling. All is going well. I can't complain. We have rented a baby doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat. We just listened to it last night. It is very cool to hear the little one in there. I can't wait to meet him/her in August!

Well, I will try to check back tomorrow with an update on tonight's performance of "Dream House."

Until then!