A Scott's Journey

Update

2009-06-26T20:47:00.001-07:00

updated photos http://torgersons.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

pictures

2008-11-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

http://torgersons.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

check out the blog and pictures

Gabriel Earl Torgerson

2008-11-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

A new adventure begins. Gabriel Earl Torgerson was born at 8:14am 8lbs 1oz and 20inches long. He is wonderful with all parts accounted for and very precious. It will be a whole new world now that we have two. No more tag teaming and having a break while the other handles the care. We are at least not outnumbered! It is so amazing. After 2 1/2 years of being a dad and enjoying all the good and bad of stress, i still can’t begin to express the amount of joy and ah I have for God's creation. My ah is only increased by today's events. I have loved Elijah with every fiber of my soul and i was scared about how i would feel about Gabriel. I knew i would love him but i was curious how it would feel to hold and smell his hair and feel his breath....It is fantastic. Its amazing how God fills your heart and creates within you the ability to love.

Thank you Jesus for this wonderful gift of life. Bless it in Your name.

2 years

2008-06-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

and it begins. He is 2 years old 36 inches and 27.7 lbs. Wow pictures will follow soon.

Jay

updated

2007-10-15T20:52:00.001-07:00

spaces site updated with new photos and blog go check it out

http://torgersons.spaces.live.com/

updated

2007-10-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

spaces site updated with new photos and blog go check it out

new place to post pics

2007-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

http://torgersons.spaces.live.com/

I will probably post all my pictures and videos to that site because it is much easier to use. Hope everyone is well.

Cheers,

Jay

Baby update

2007-02-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

So Elijah was much more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes than the actual presents at Christmas. We had loads of fun though and took more video than we did pictures. He has managed to be pretty sick over the last few weeks. But I am sure we will survive. Here are the long awaited photos.

Sorry

2007-02-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you who keep checking back and wondering if I'm ever going to update my blog: the answer is yes. I feel horrible as it is and as each day goes by I find it harder to post because of the guilt. I have hundreds of photos of Elijah and the family that need to be posted and even some video feed if I can ever figure that out. There have been many requests and I will do my best to get somethign done on it this weekend.

Cheers.

sick

2006-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Well we went to NJ for 4 days to visit my eldest brother and his family. It had been almost 2 years since we had been back. It was wonderful to see everyone just wish the travel time hadn't taken so much out of us. Elijah got sick coming home and now has a cold. He is still adorable even with his little cough and runny nose. I'll post the pictures later.

Jay

more pictures

2006-11-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

Elijah is finally able to fully enjoy bath time with toys and all. His first time with bath toys was a joyful experience and he had no desire to leave the warm water. However his enthusiasm has prompted us to think that it is time to move him from the sink bath to the big boy bathtub...the dogs and the kitchen were cleaned shortly after this :) Elijah is so close to crawling! He has this rocking motion down and can roll all over the place. He has also taken to "butt in the air" pushup pose which is quite humorous. I see a Home Depot trip for gates and outlet plugs in our near future.
Of course a rough day at the beach and hiking or maybe even just a good long feeding leads to...
Oh and now he is sporting 3 teeth with 2 more on the way!

pictures

2006-11-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

YUM!!

My First Meal!!

Beach Trip!!! Anyone want to go for a swim??

Guilty as charged

2006-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

I had such high hopes that I would keep up on this blog with pictures etc....I have been failing miserably but all I can do is move on and try to update you all on life.

Elijah is doing wonderful he is set to crawl any day. He has the whole rocking back and forth on his hands and knees down and can scoot backwards like no ones business. He is also the king of the roll. Like a little steamroller he'll roll accross the floor to get that much needed wire or electrical outlet. We ahve started into oatmeal in the last month and so far he is loving it. We will probaly start introducing green vegitables(well at least Chenoah will since I want to do the sweet ones so that he lovs me best :P). He is stuck in a 4 hour sleep cycle at night which isn't that bad but occasionally we would like at least 6 hours back to back. He is as cute as can be and looks a lot like his mom, or so everyone says. We are pushing about 16lbs and 29 inches at 5 1/2 months. He has two teeth in and 2 or 3 more coming in that we can feel. His laugh is awsome (just like his old man's).

Chenoah has been back to work part time since September. She is glad for the time out of the house but I know she really misses him everytime she is at work. I take care of him on Mondays and Wednesdays as we have the blessing of me being the boss and able to work from home. We'll se how long that lasts though, as he gets more moble it will be difficult to get any work done and we may have to look into other options. Chenoah turned 29 in October, so I'm back to dating and older woman again!

Work is well we aquired a buisness in September which to some cash outlay but should prove to be a good investment in the long run.

We are on the hunt for a church home. We have been so terrible about getting to worship since we've had the baby and I think it is really wearing on us. I think I have located a couple of prospects so we'll keep you posted on that.

We are heading to the east coast to vist Jason (eldest brother) and celebrate and early Thanksgiving this weekend. Then a long treck up north for Chenoah's family next weekend. All in all things are well. We miss everyone in Tacoma hopefully we can set up our own reunion soon.

Best wishes

Jay

Catch-up

2006-08-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

It has been way too long since I posted anything so lets catch up a bit on life.

Since July-

I turned 28 and my wife through me a wonderful Surprise birthday party. Thanks honey. Elijah has is now somewhere around 26.5 inches and 14lbs and is laughing and giggling. He has also taken to slobbering all over anything that is remotely near his mouth. The discovery of his toes has been fun yet frustrating cause he can’t seem to get his feet to his mouth.

Jeff’s bachelor party was a blast. 12 guys in Cancun for 4 days and 3 nights. We went deep see fishing and everyone caught something. Jeff and Bovie (sp?) both caught some huge trophy barracudas measuring 4-4 ½ feet. Plaid plenty of cards and drank to much and ate to much Mexican food.

We are heading this weekend to Chicago (Elijah’s first airplane ride) this weekend. Should be a blast.

Business is well, we did not acquire the business we had been working towards but we did end up taking on a smaller book of business. The nice thing is; it’s a lot less money and work and for a decent return.

Pictures to follow later since I don’t have them hear yet.

Oh and I got a new camera. Canon EOS 30D! So you all should be seeing a plethora of pictures in the near future.

Another prayer

2006-07-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Just when you think something significant is going on in your life something happens to someone you know that makes everything you are dealing with trivial and silly. Not to demean our own challenges and trials but at times we have to put them aside so that we can remember that in life we really only have one another. Our treasures that we store up in heaven are our relationships with one another. So here is an open prayer...

Lord,

First and foremost forgive me for my transgressions against You, my family and friends and myself for all to often I get wrapped up in my plans. Also let me thank You for the blessings you have put in my life and blessings you continue to shower down on us.

I ask for you to be with Chris and his family as they greave the passing of their father today. For Michael and his family who also suddenly lost their father on father's day. Be with them. I can only imagine the pain and suffering that one goes through when loosing a close parent and my heart goes out to them. Provide them with comfort and peace in a time of uncertainty. Bring hope into their lives and allow them to grieve in your arms.

Lord be with our friends. Comfort for their loss, hope for their future, healing for their hearts and minds. I can only hope that you will bless them with a child in your time and allow them the joy for which they long. Nothing can replace what was taken and we can only hope for peace in time. Provide them with a renewed sense of hope and joy in their lives. Heal their family. I thank you so much for their friendship without which I may still be stumbling along the rocks of the cliffs. Bless them Lord.

For our friends and families who seem lost in their marriages and are seeking renewal I ask that you grant them a new love and joy. Remind them of the reasons they married the choices they made. Help the turmoil and anger to fade away into the past and bring forward the memories of joy.

For my son. Health. Safety.
For my wife. Joy, Peace, Restful sleep. That I might continue to be worthy to be her Husband.

For myself. Forgiveness, Guidance, Strength, Peace.

Thank you for listening to my prayers.
In His Name
Amen.

I can only pray

2006-07-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Things are movin and shakin, I can't say much at the moment but life could be taking a drastic change. I'll detail more when I can.

Elijah weighed in at 10lbs 4oz! He is doing very well and still gaining an ounce a day. Our good friends Nate and Tone had a baby boy on July 5th. David Andrew Vahl weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and is doing well. Mom and baby are expected to be dischared today or tomorrow.

We had the chance to go visit our good friends Jenny and Kevin for a day on our way north to see the in-laws. Was great to see them and introduce them to our baby boy. We talked of wine tasting plans in the near future hopefully everyone can find a weekend to make it happen.

The inlaws were great. happy to hold their grandchild and oo and ahh.

No time to spell check or edit. Pray for wisdom.

Cheers,
Jay

hot

2006-06-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Its hot. No one is able to sleep. Its too damn hot. But funny enough we are learning to live with it. I had always been blessed with air conditioning if my previous homes and now I wish we had it hear. But we don't and we will survive. For the 2 or so weeks out of the year where it is outrageously hot we don't need air conditioning(so i tell myself in order to avoid spending the money). Think of it this way at least we are saving on our energy bill too cause we don't have A/C and we don't dare turn on the lights...

ok going to go lie in some cold bath water in order to cool down....

Pictures

2006-06-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

I'm told I have been lax on updating photos for the hungry audience. So here are some more pictures.

Normalcy?

2006-06-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

I had a rather odd question posed to me. "So has life returned to normal?" in reference to having had a child and the turmoil of the weeks following...I must say that I don't think there has ever been a stage in my life that I would have considered normal in any conventional sense except maybe at the macro level. So lets see...We wake up every 1 to 3 hours in the night to change diaper feed rock back to sleep and pray that this time is one of the 3 hour stretches. We love our son dearly and therefore really have no complaint about the schedule, but that doesn't mean we don't look forward to sleeping through the night again. Going to the grocery store poses new challenges and one of our favorite past times of going out to eat is nearly non-existent for multiple reasons. We have a constant stream of blessed family and friends who shower us with their presence and, most gratefully, their help around the house or cooking a meal. Without this support I'm sure by now Chenoah and I would be at the end of our rope. But as is we are quite content with our little tike and are plowing ahead into the world of parenthood which is at times a little scary.

So if normal is being thrilled about the color of your babies poop or happy when he burps relieved when he sleeps(cause that means you sleep) but you can't wait for him to be awake, having no real schedule of any sorts and wondering what day it is today then I'd say we are completely normal.

Chenoah has begun to explore the fascinating new machine that her friend from work gave her. The breast pump. The idea that she gets to sleep an 8 hour stretch is very exciting for her.

Well I probably have plenty of work I should be doing. Till later then

Cheers,
Jay

sleep

2006-06-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

So sleep hasn't been plentiful in the last week but its still a joy to have Elijah. We have had loads of help from friends and family. Both sets of Chenoah's parents came for visits over the last two weekends and of course the baby won them over. Cheonah's brother Zach also paid us a couple of visits in the last month with his lady Lacy. They are now on their way to Texas to meet up with her family....good luck Zach!

Elijah is getter very close to his birth weight now so we are hoping as he adds on the pounds he will begin to sleep more through the night. Its difficult to put him down though cause he is so darn snuggly and cute. I need to get a better digital camera. Most of those black and whites were taken with Stennar's camera and now I'm addicted to an expensive purchase but as of yet I haven't actually bought it. Probably won' since the camera would put us that much farther away from buying A/C for the house. Always have decisions....

Well more later after I get some work done.

Cheers
Jay

Tired but still going

2006-06-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Nights are a bit longer then they ever have been but every time you hold him it makes it worth it. I am told that it can get old but still worth it. Hard for me to believe that I would ever be tired of smelling his head or holding him. I don't look forward to going back to work on Monday but duties do call and there is a lot of work to be caught up on. It does motivate me in a big way though thinking about him and knowing what he is going to need and what I need to do to accomplish that. It won't happen over night but I'll just keep plugging away and praying that God provides for the family because without Him we are in for a long haul! We seem to be getting good sleep in 4 hour spurts now which is nice. Its so nice to not be in the hospital and woken up ever other hour for some sort of assessment.
The puppies have been accepting so far of Elijah without any issues. Bo seems to have the most amount of curiosity. He follows us around with him and sits and watches him feed. It is rather amusing to observe his actions. Sunny gives him a kiss or two but otherwise really doesn't pay him much heed.
LaVonne is in town (Chenoah's step mom) and helping take care of us till Tuesday. Its nice having the company to get us through the first couple of weeks as we adjust and have chores to do and try to establish a routine.
Elijah's cord fell off today so the beginning of his bellybutton can be seen. We think he will have an inny. I never thought I would be so excited about poop. But we are always checking and looking and happy to see Elijah poop.
More to come....
Cheers
Jay

Visitors

2006-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with so many friends and family that have come to help us in this new venture. Stennar and Crystal (Chenoahs Mom and Stepdad) came on Thursday and are leaving today. Stennar lent me his digital camera while he was here and I had some fun with B&W photography. How I miss photography. It is so difficult to not want to be with our child all the time but he has to sleep and we have enforced our rules that he feeds and while he is awake its ok to pass him around and give him hugs etc but as soon as those eyes go shut he needs to be put to bed cause he is a growing boy and needs sleep! Especially so Chenoah can get sleep!Here are some of the pics that we were able to capture!

HE IS HERE!!!!

2006-06-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to describe the elation that comes over you when your baby is born. The joy that filled us was so overwhelming at his first cry that tears were in our eyes and e ached to hold him instantly. This little bundle that we had watited and anticipated for so long. Here is our first family picture. Not everything went as planned but the outcome was awsome. We showed up at the hospital around 6 am on Saturday May 27, 2006 and by 7 am Chenoah was given a drug to help move along the labor. By noon she was off the drug and in full labor pain and the gave her the epidural. At 2:45pm n she started the pushing and we pushed for 3:30 hours before they finally made the decision to go for a C-section because one of two things were happing. One his head was too big (they all blamed me for this) and or two he was postierior (face up ) which makes vaginal birth very difficult. The surgery went perfectly and baby Elijah Scott entered our lives at 8:09pm on the 27th of May. He was 8lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. He currently has royal blue eyes and a full head of sandy brown hair. He has cute big feet and hands with all the toes and fingers accounted for! The next 4 days were long recovery days but all worth it. We came home on the 31st of May and everyone is dong much better being able to be home. Thank you alll for your prayers. Elijah is healthy and a beautiful baby. The Lord truely answered our prayers and we continue to pray for his health and development. I can't wait to get to know his personality as it develops and find out what his gifts are!

May

2006-05-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Its here. The month of May has arrived. Baby Elijah is due to meet us sometime this month, and we are very excited about him coming. Scared as well. There are a lot of unknowns, but we are having to leave a lot of that to faith.

Chenoah is tired. She is ready I think to have the baby, yet still scared about HAVING the baby. Which is understandable. Jeff is home from Australia and it is good to know that he is going to have a job and be back on top of things shortly.

Nothing really major has happend in the last month. We have had a lot of baby showers have a lot of baby stuff.

The crib arrived and it is beautiful. A true work of art.

Thats it for now.

Cheers
Jay

Reflections

2006-04-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

Someday...

Remember when...

If only I...

Phrases that I don't like to say. As in the song "We have only so many days to ride around the sun..." And some days I feel more true to that then others. Really trying to live every day. But then there are days when I ask myself just what in the hell am I doing. In 6 short weeks, Elijah will be born. 6 weeks. In 27 years there probably isn't a more important event in my life that has happened. Well there are two. The day I accepted Christ, and the day Chenoah said yes.
It seems to have all gone by in a flash. I still remember vivid details of 1st grade and Jr high and High School. My 10 year reunion is in August. Crazy to think that I will be arriving with Wife and Child in hand. Its truly hard to grasp the meaning of what we are doing here sometimes. I feel a lot is pointless. The relentless pursuit of things at times. We work all day and some people all night to provide for our families. God gives us gifts to use and some will use them others won't even recognize that they have gifts. I fear sometimes that I am one of the latter. I fear that I just let time slip by and I am really not doing the things I should be doing. My job is an important one, and I feel adept at doing it. I feel like it truly could be so much bigger than it really is if I would only get over the silly little inhibitions that block my way to success. Mr. Fields said it correctly that ifI really wanted to recruit the big dogs, I should probably figure out a way to show them that I have already walked the line. I don't want mediocrity. But then again do I deserve greatness? And I don't mean greatness in terms of fame or anything like that. Mostly I want to be comfortable. To be able to provide for my family and to give generously because I am able to. But I don't feel that my actions justify greatness. At present the may not even justify mediocrity.

There are things in life that we can control and things that we can't. I understand this and most people would look at the phrase and say thanks for pointing out the obvious. But sometimes its exactly what needs to be done. Because sometimes we aren't paying any attention to the obvious because we play a game of denial. We choose to ignore the things we can control and blame everything on the things we can't control and then we end up with those phrases...

Someday...

I remember when...

If only I...

Jeff you really did a number on stability when you called me and said Kim and I are moving to Australia. We are quitting our jobs and going to go on a 9 month adventure that may turn out to be the rest of our lives...It was brilliant. Really it was. Nate you moved to Norway with Tone to pursue and education in a language you didn't even know. 9000 miles away from family and friends so that you wouldn't end up at those phrases. So really what is it? What is it you really want to do. And make it happen. Yes things take money. Find something you love and don't let it waste away in front of you. Because it will float away if you don't grasp onto it. Its never to late and it may not be too early. There is a world to explore and millions of people you haven’t met that could become your next best friend.

Jeff would commonly say when i visited him, "Just be patient, It will work out just be be patient..." And he is right. It will work out but you do need to take an active approach to having it work out Go buy a lotto ticket, for those who know the joke. Step up to the plate: ask for the order: you get the point.

So what is it that prevents us for doing just that. What stops us from pursing that which we want to happen or know we need to do to become successful in our ventures. Fear of_________ fill in the blank. Overcoming the fear is, and has, not been an easy task at times. I don't have the answer unfortunately otherwise I would be hugely successful writing a book and being on a talk show and handing out my secret little formula so that everyone could be rich happy and successful.

Its funny how bad habits form so quickly and are so hard to break yet good habits take forever to form and are so easily broken. Ironic more than funny. I know that I can't change my habits overnight. I know it take resolve and it takes patience and prayer and support. I eat too much I don't exercise enough and I don't work as hard as my family deserves. I don’t' support the church as much as I should, I spend to much and save to little. Jut to name a few of the bad habits. And at times you look at yourself and you may think its a lost cause so you embrace it. And thus embrace mediocrity and end up at those damn phrases...I don't want to end there. I am too young to become bitter and to optimistic to become cynical. So I will change. I will pray for change. The problem is where to start. It would probably be best to handle one thing at a time. Baby steps so to speak. Because in 6 weeks there will be another mouth to fill. Chenoah will be going part time and benefits and the income needs to be made up by me.
Having a child, knowing that there is going to be a wholly dependent person in your life, changes you. Life will pass you by ;things will spin out of control and bad things can and do happen. so start with the things you can control. Life is a series of decisions and consequences, you can play an active roll or...

I wish I had...

Stuff and Things

2006-03-13T09:36:00.001-08:00

Every once in awhile you just have to get around to doing the "Stuff and Things." You know what i mean. The stuff that you have let pile up behind your desk or the list of things that you have every good intention of completing yet every day you wait the piles get deeper and the list gets longer. Well this weekend we choose to get some stuff and things done. We cleaned up the yard a bit then we hung pictures in the house. Amazing that we have been living there 9 months and not a single picture had been hanging till yesterday. Nice eh?

Oh and baby stuff. Our new Pack N Play arrived and of course we immediately assembled it in all its various forms. Weird to look into the living room and see it...Chenoah is getting tired. She, and by she I mean we, are having trouble sleeping. There really isn't a comfortable position anymore but I am sure we will manage.

We bought the new Harry Potter movie and watched it. Great flick great books. I need a new book. I haven’t had one to read since I went to Australia and before that it was August. If only I didn't go through them so fast. I suppose I should take a lesson from Jenny and use the library I would save some money.

Work seems to be moving along, a lot going on and a lot in the pipe. We'll see what happens. Lord willing....

Cheers

Risk

2006-03-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

It snowed today. It is March and it snowed....wow now I bet there were plenty of people who started their spring plantings and thought winter was over. Taking a risk, albeit a measured one, that they could get started on this year’s crops etc...and then it snowed in March.

Now most of us have some opinions about risk in its many different forms. Most business owners run into risk every single day. In growing your business you take a lot of risks. How to market, who to hire, where to locate what name to choose, who to target, how much room is too big, get a temp or hire a permanent how much staff is too much or too little; the list is really quiet endless. One of the more troublesome things to deal with for me is the marketing aspect and spending the dollars. How much is to much for an ad? Should I use a prepackaged marketing seminar? should i try the radio, or TV? Mass mail? Cold Calling? And don't forget the internet! All of these have their cost some substantially more expensive then others but which one, or combination, is/are the right one(s) for your business.

Well they will all tell you there is the best and they will have a multitude of facts and stats to back it up and why the others will fail miserably or be so costly that you will go out of business in a month trying it. So we are at the point where there has been a good monthly inflow of cash, and we can choose to put it to work in the business hoping it will generate more cash in the form of new clients, or we pack it away for a rainy day.

The truth is I'm stuck. The PR/Marketing side of me knows that advertising and capitalizing on dollars is what we need to do. The cash poor need to pay the bills buddy side of me says put that cash in the bank and stockpile for a bit. And maybe I should try to find a way to do a little of both. The question is what avenue to spend on for advertising. Most people would agree that cold calling is about the worst return on your time. Seminar/networking gets great marks but is more costly due to the meals you feel the plate lickers. Been there done that with Radio, works but is really expensive in the short run and you have to have the cash flow to sustain it long term. TV works on a more regional level not so much so for the independent not to mention it really doesn't bring in business as much as establish your name. Again that’s another costly long term bet. Print ads, newspapers magazines can work if you have a timely rate to publish or a pertinent topic to cover. Can be a great form of advertising takes a bit longer than seminars but may be half as expensive in the short term. The problem is from my understanding it takes a good 6-12 months before print advertising pays off, and now you are about 2x the cost of the seminar mass mail drop program, but at least it was spread out.

So here I am at the crossroads trying to figure out which way to go.

Cheers

Just do as you are told

2006-03-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose. You are a
mystery novel dealing with theology,
especially with catholic vs liberal issues.
You search wisdom and knowledge endlessly,
feeling that learning is essential in life.

Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by

Maybe Maybe not

2006-03-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

29 weeks.....that is how pregnant Chenoah is. Baby Elijah is doing well and we continue to have a normal boring pregnancy.

Business may or may not do well. Not sure, God seems to working some miracles here and we could do better if things come through. Much better.

Somewhat of a wait and see game now.

Just keep moving

2006-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes its all we can do. Just keep moving...

Life throws all sorts of stuff at you good and bad and sometimes nothing at all, which often can be unsettling. It feels like the calm before a storm. Just keep moving....

Baby due May 18th...

Financials- a little insecure at this moment...

Being a Dad- So ready and really really excited

Faith- Struggling I know He is there, I know He hears me...I would really like to know which way to go...

Marriage- Great, solid ground here

Friends- Outstanding

Work- Nervous as all hell as what we are going to do without Chenoah's income and benefits, but we'll manage somehow...see the Faith section

Just keep moving...

Sometimes its all I can do.

Jay

A fine line....

2006-02-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it just feels like something is amiss but you can't put your finger on it. Its like that important "thing" that you know you are forgetting to do but haven’t the foggiest idea what that "thing" is. Most of the time it’s rather benign, you forgot to get the mail or drop something by a friend’s house or tell someone what happened the other day. But right now I have a sinking feeling....the one where you feel something has gone wrong or is going wrong and I can't seem to figure out what it is.

Business is alright. We had a sideways year last year. Not nearly as good as I had hoped and right now trying to figure out what I can do to prevent any of it from going wrong this year. With Elijah coming in May, my nerves are so strung out that it feels like I haven’t slept, really slept in over a month. Just worried about money of course. Wanting everything to go well. We want to continue to afford our beautiful new home, and our new baby. God has a plan I know but I sure wish He would clue me in on it.

Somewhere in all this working and earning a living there is a purpose. And we have to remember that the purpose, the reason we spend over half of our lives toiling away at our careers is so that we can enjoy some of things in life that we otherwise couldn't afford to do. There has to be a reason we do it. Otherwise we are just spinning our wheels endlessly hoping that someday we find purpose. And hopefully, if you have defined your purpose the reason you are working day in and day out you can feel motivated about what it is you do. There is also a balance between earning a living doing a job you hate but pays well and getting paid pennies to do what you love to do. Either extreme can be bad. But hopefully you can find something you love to do and do it so well that someone is willing to pay you to do it. And slowly but surely you can make a good living at something you love. This was the advice my father gave me. I do something I love. I really do enjoy my job...or at least I think I do. Does it mean that I wouldn't enjoy something else? I honestly don't know. I think I could enjoy doing a great many things, but one thing I am pretty sure of is I would have a hard time working for most people. I am a bit headstrong and opinionated and I like to be in control of my time. But it also comes back to motivation, if you have no reason to go to work...would you? Baby Elijah, Chenoah, our home, these are some of the biggest reasons I go to work. But I also go because I want to save so that we can travel and see the world. So I can taste a nice bottle of wine while wine tasting with our friends; so I can go out to eat at a new restaurant and not feel guilty about getting steak instead of chicken. It seems so simple. My job. Yet, it is so difficult to succeed at. And then I wonder is it really that difficult or am I lacking the proper motivation. It seems like my family should be all the motivation I need, but something is missing in my drive. Maybe I'm just running out of gas lately but I have no clue.

I hope clarity comes quickly and right behind it comes a solution because I have this feeling that I'm walking a fine line and something is amiss....

Jay

Baby is Moving!

2006-02-08T03:02:00.000-08:00

So I could feel the baby kicking for the first time on Monday morning when we went to the doctor. We had a slight scare as Chenoah was measuring a bit bigger than she should at our doctor's appointment but it turned out Elijah is just a bigger baby. Not abnormal just a bit bigger. 2lbs and some odd 0unces at 24.5 weeks. Very strong heartbeat and everything seems to be moving ahead as normal. Been having a bit of trouble sleeping through the night lately. For multiple reasons I’m sure. First being that I'm scared of finances. Come the end of March if I don't see a drastic turn around in my business I'm probably going to look for another job. I need to be able to support us in our home and provide benefits and all that jazz and at our current level of spending and entertainment it just doesn't seem like it will be possible. I pray that the Lord would show me the window that he has opened cause right now the room looks pretty locked up tight and I see no way out. Everyone keeps saying...don't worry about it things will be fine. And I’m sure they will be, and I need to have faith but it seems a bit difficult right now. Well I should try to sleep again its 3am and I am unable at the moment to relax. I started looking at the classifieds...no good can come from this. Cheers, Jay

So it appears

2006-01-31T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well I'm not the best at keeping up with this effort. Once a month seems to be about the amount of time I've been able to put towards this but I really should be getting better. I read my friends blogs like five times a week but somehow always forget to update mine. Oh well here is what has been happening.

I went to Australia to visit Jeff at the beginning of the month. It was awesome we played beach volleyball, went body surfing, ate way too much food and drank way too much beer and wine. But heck that is what vacation is all about. We say the Blue mountains which weren't really mountains, and went to Hunter Valley which is the wine region near Sydney. Pretty spectacular all the way around. I can put a check mark next to that on my list of things to do before I die. I will have to go back as Chenoah was unable to accompany me being that she is 5 months pregnant and not wanting to spend 17 hours flying. I can understand but she was sorely missed throughout that trip. It was good to come home and get back to reality. Work had its hiccups while I was gone and I had to spend some time putting out fires and getting things back on track. It just doesn't seem to matter though. The good Lord will have to help me make this whole thing work out, or at least show me a different way.

Baby Elijah is coming along nicely in his mothers womb. We have a doctor's appointment today to listen to his heartbeat and make sure everything is still going smoothly.

Our good friends Kevin and Jen are pregnant which is wonderful because Jen really wanted a baby like 9 months ago and she was a bit frantic that it wasn't happening fast enough. We are just so happy for them. She is due August 19th, which means Baby Elijah will have not just one playmate (Nate and Tone's baby boy) but two. We'll see if its a boy or a girl. Its nice to know that some of our friends will be having children around the same time.

Sean comes home from Japan in about a week. He left at the beginning of the month for an army exercise. He seems to be doing well but I know he is missed at home. Jason still has another month to go in his deployment. His birthday was last week but I haven't heard back from him. Not unusual as most of his free time is probably spent speaking with his wife and three kids as it should be.

Bagpiping is coming along I have been horrible about practicing since I got back from Sydney. I need to get back on top of it if I hope to play this spring with the band as was my goal. I will succeed at it, its just a matter of time. I have 9 tunes on the pipes and 9 more to learn before I can play. I know most of the other 9 I just don't have them memorized and clean...Sigh so much to do so little time.

Well back to work

Cheers
Jay

Moving Forward

2005-12-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

Ok here is the thing....I have been horrible at this from the start and I know it shouldn't be that difficult but, it is. I can't possible hope to account for all that has happened over the last few months but I can give the short and skinny of it.

WE are pregnant. Now many people may have an issue with the word WE. However, my wife assured me that she is not going through it alone so I should use the phrase WE, when discussing the pregnancy. We have also found out we are having a baby boy and are finally through with arguing over names. Its settled. Of course God has a sense of humor about when we are certain about things so unless something drastic happens our baby boy will be named Elijah Scott. I even like the way that looks. We do have a backup name. Gabriel Isaac. Both good solid names. Chenoah and I keep plugging away at the house getting things done here and there. A lot slower than anticipated but its coming along.

The puppies are wonderful, even though they really aren't puppies anymore. Bo and Sunny will turn 4 in January and its a hard thing for me to believe. Those little fur balls provide so much joy in our lives.

Work is progressing. We have added another employee, and are looking to add more. I am trying my best to assume the financial future for our family and right now the prospects are grim. Just been a tough year. God willing, next year will see drastic improvements. We attempted to start a radio show. It was a blast. We had all sorts of fun. We were on 5 days a week for an hour a day and I would have done 2 hours if I could have afforded it. Alas, the cost of the show and the regulatory environment prevented us from really pushing forward with the show. Maybe again in the future but at this point in time the show is on hold. We are however pursuing the hiring of at least 3 more brokers as soon as possible.

holidays have gone well. Thanksgiving we went to my parents house and ate way too much turkey all weekend. We went to the Tartan Ball on Saturday after Thanksgiving which was a lot of fun drinking and dancing.

Our cruise went well however we think we would rather go to one place in the future. Just didn't get enough time to explore the different islands. But it was a lot of fun anyway.

Christmas was wonderful, we were on a tight budget this year and we managed to make the best of it. I am heading to Australia in January to go see Jeff. So that was pretty much the Christmas we got. Plus all the art we bought on the boat. Now we just have to find a place to put it all.

Well that pretty much is the gist of where things are. I will again attempt to be a better record keeper of events. Maybe my soon to be born son will be the inspiration I need to keep a better record of what is happening in our lives. Till next time.

Cheers

A significant mark achieved...

2005-08-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

I PASSED! Well after much waiting and anticipation I received the results to my CFP exam and I passed. What a huge sense of relief. Knowing that I won’t have to sit for the exam again and be studying for it on my cruise in November. Just all around good feelings.

It’s been awhile since my last post and I must admit that I have been very poor at this blogging thing. The reality is that I was never good at keeping a journal while growing up but I am a rather nostalgic person and I know the benefit of a journal and especially would love for my children to have the ability to read my thoughts so I will attempt to be much better at keeping tabs on life and reporting them.

In the last month we have almost completely remolded our kitchen and done it without the help of contractors. We have new appliances I have finished the countertops, minus the backsplash grouting, and will attempt to put the final touches on the kitchen this week. We moved our couch and kitchen table into the house last night and it was a thrill to actually have something to sit on! I also cleaned off the back deck of most of the material we have been cutting up over the last three weeks. We are attempting to make our home more of a home and less of a collection of stuff.

In an effort to accomplish this goal we are paying more attention to the details of what we decorate with. Instead of the hodgepodge of trinkets and collectables scattered around the house we are going to create themes and carry them throughout the house. Not something we hope to do inside of a day but over time acquire the right pieces and paintings that will put the finishing touches on the home. Some things will have to wait longer than others such as new blinds and draperies but, we will get there.

We went and visited some of our close college friends a couple of weekends ago and it was a grand ol time. Kevin and I had a blast solving the world’s problems and were upset that they were messed up again by morning. We also attended the Renaissance Fair in Purdy while we were in town. That was a lot of fun, too hot really but we still managed to have a good time drinking beer and Meade while listening to dirty bar songs.

There was a lot of talk about kids and how to’s with children and getting pregnant. Seems as if all our friends are at the point in life where they are planning for children. Which is great because that means all of our children will be roughly the same ages and should be able to play together assuming they get along which we are sure they will.

Well lunch break is over and its back to work, till next time

Cheers,
Jay

Home ownership

2005-08-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

So as with any new purchase there comes a certain level of glee. We were so pleased to have our new home we have been painting away and getting it ready. Yesterday the appliances were delivered to the house and I was so excited to have them installed only to find out I now have yet another project. I guess it would be too good to be true if everything went according to my plan. As the saying goes life is what happens on the way to your plan. Well all was going swimmingly until the dishwasher had to be installed. Here is where I find out how stupid the previous owners were in there attempt to update the kitchen. They built the cabinets directly onto the sub-floor instead of on top of the wood floors. Which created a problem with the height of the hole for the dishwasher. They way they decided to fix the problem was to install the countertop after putting the dishwasher in making it impossible to remove the dishwasher without either removing the countertop or removing the wood floors…ARGH. This is not what I signed up for. I wanted a slight cosmetic fixer, i.e. paint the walls, and now you are ready to move in. BUT NO! So I had to remove all the tile work in the kitchen and we are doing new tile work Now the time comes to decide on whether I’m going to install it myself of will I leave the task to someone much more skilled than myself to do it for me. I lean to the latter but my pocket book says to do it myself…It remains to be decided. Then you through into the mix the thought of having slab work done for you. Now that makes me stop to think…slab granite…nice. Some people don’t care much for granite countertops, I on the other hand, am a really big fan. The only problem is the cost of those slabs.

Ah the joys of home ownership. I’m sure this is not the last of the challenges we will encounter in our attempt to make this new home our home.

Cheers,

Jay

Moving on

2005-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well one task down 234,203,129,392,109,03 to go. It seems like a never ending trail of “things” to do. Most of them I enjoy in one manner or another but now that the test is over it seems like I have let things pile up a bit. We bought a house and are now in the midst of painting. I loathe painting. I would be just as happy with the walls remaining white but more important is pleasing my wife. So we paint, and paint and paint. Great colors as soon as I find where I packed my digital camera I’m sure I’ll have ever good intention of taking pictures and posting them up, I mean it will defiantly probably make the list of things to do. I just haven’t the foggiest Idea where on the list it falls.

Work is a bit tedious at the moment. It is summer and many clients are on vacation others don’t’ want to think about making decisions so the office remains slow. We manage to pull in a few orders here and there. Its not like we are starving of anything. Speaking of starving…its back to the diet we go. Perhaps I should clarify…

In 1998 I spent a blissful semester at school in Florence, Italy. Ah the memories…it was everything one could expect from a stay in Europe where one of your featured classes was Photography. I left for Europe a bit chunky for my frame and returned a rail. You see, I went to Italy with one of my dearest friends Noal. Noal was an athlete through and through, but his passion of the moment (and the next several years) was rock climbing. So we set out to climb all over Europe on our semester away. And we did, surviving nights with porcupines and sleeping under off ramps, train stations and bushes. After many a wonderful night it was time to return home. I noticed that none of my clothing fit except my kilt that I had purchased in Scotland. Low and behold I weighed in back in the states at 148. And then life happened really fast…

I returned to school the following semester(PLU) met my wife in ballroom dance class…and yes real men do dance…got engaged 5 months later, graduated the next year got a job, got married and gained over 100lbs. So there I was sitting at 260 and looking extremely uncomfortable and I decided that something had to give. So I tried exercise and didn’t change eating habits…great now I was strong and fat…and then I tried diets galore. Atkins, Carbaddict, you name it. Well after 3 or 4 diets I came across the South Beach Diet and for all the hell people give the low-carb diets for some of us they are truly a good thing. And better yet it works. I lost 60lbs and have kept that off and I am now ready I believe to go for 40 more. It would be nice to wear some of my old cloths again but it would also be nice to stay married! So yes back to the diet we go. The hardest part is the first couple of weeks but then you ease into it.

Phones a ringing and work is waiting.

Jay

Tests

2005-07-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Tests suck. They are up in the category of mean people. Unfortunately there are times when you can’t avoid tests though. Anyways I just got done with part 1 of a very difficult exam. Part 2 is tomorrow and then life may return to some sort of normalcy, if there is such a thing. But its not like life hasn’t been moving forward while I have been studying for this exam .

For instance we sold our house moved out and moved in with my parents for a BRIEF amount of time. We bought a house which closes at the end of the month and there are always the little details that must be taken care of while that is happening. Now I love to house shop, especially if we get to look at NEW houses. We ended up buying a used home but we love it. It’s in the perfect little neighborhood and it’s HUGE. We’ll stretch the finances for a bit but it will be worth it in the long run.

I also have this little thing called work nagging for my time and attention. Who would have thought that running a business would require time and effort! The nerve….

Then there is bagpipe practice. Now this is something I love so much that it rarely if ever annoys me to have to do. Now it may be annoying to those around me at times but it is my own little world of bliss. I love the pipes, playing and listening to them. I could sit (and have) for hours and listen to them. Sigh….

Then there is the most important thing, my wife and two dogs. In that order (hi honey). Balancing all the activates (golf, chamber, rotary, optimist, bag piping, basketball) and also trying to maintain a marriage can be challenging at times, but she does take priority! I have the blessing of being married to my best friend. We love to travel, read, play games, go wine tasting etc. It’s great to know there is always someone there. Speaking of which I had better get home and have dinner before I get in trouble.

Another long day tomorrow, I’ll report on the exam and weekend with friends sometime next week.

Cheers,
Jay

2005-07-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well I have been inspired, so to speak, to blog....Not so much by anyone event in life as much by the number of individual blogs that I have read and enjoyed. The last of these by my good friend in Tacoma was the final push I needed to start my own. Jenny after her long trip with her husband (my roommate from college) took a trip to Ireland with her "sweetiebear" and now I blame her for the need to write. So if you find the tired old drones of this blog not to your liking you can blame her. (you can find her blog at http://growingoldernotup.blogspot.com/).

Now in that last paragraph I noted that Jenny's husband was my old roommate in college, but its funny how once they are married off they then become so and so's husband....They are no longer introduced as my old roommate. Hmmm...Interesting that my first affiliation with Kevin(now the husband) no longer finds its way into the introductions until it is noted that first and foremost he is Jenny's husband. But I digress. Kevin and I have many many fond memories of Guinness and late night pasta makings with D&D and Vampires haunting our dreams. Curt our other roommate (who is not married andthereforer not introduced as someone's husband) never fully appreciated the art of gaming but still managed to participate while laughing at us out the side of his mouth.

Its funny how we find ourselves reflecting in such a public manner as a blog. So where to begin what to say! Well lets do a short background check without having to delve into to much history and stories but at least to give some sort of bearing on who and what this is all about. Names Jay, been kicking around this old planet now for all of 26 (almost 27) years. I am blessed to be married to a wonderful OLDER woman who is not only my wife but my best friend. Her name is Chenoah; we have two lovely red headed children with wagging tails. Yes that's right they are dogs, Golden Retrievers, the best kind! (In my humble opinion) Lovers and not fighters great for kids and grownups alike! Sunny Girl and Sir Humphrey Bogart (Sunny and Bo) are now 3 years old. No human children (yet) but I'm sure they will show up sooner or later.

Well off to piping practice..We'll talk about that another time.

-Jay