If you haven't heard on Facebook already, Ethan James Bradley is here! He'd love you to visit his site at www.ethanjamesbradley.com to see his photos and videos. Stephanie and I are truly blessed!
There are a few things I've learned in his first nine days with us:
When you are peed on by someone and you don't mind, that's love.
A baby's sneeze is probably the cutest sound... ever.
You can do anything you want on two hours of sleep... if you don't care if it's done right.
Spring is in the air again, birds are tweeting (and so are a lot of people, including me), and we're only a tad over five weeks away from Ethan's anticipated arrival! The nursery is pretty much ready, the bag is almost packed, and we're playing the waiting game.
It's weird knowing you're going to be a dad but not understanding what it will feel like. I'm a planner, a project manager, a task-oriented thinker and not having the knowledge drives me crazy. I don't care how many books you read, videos you watch, fatherhood stories (and horrors) from friends it's just not something you can wrap your mind around until the time comes. I've accepted that -- being a dad is the thing I've wanted most since becoming a husband. See ya soon, E.
Until now, I've never shared the image below with anyone except Stephanie. Understandably, she didn't want to take the picture, but I said I wanted a picture that I could look at throughout my life when times were bad, the going got rough, or I was just having a bad day and that this image would put things in perspective for me.
Things are not bad at all now. I mean, ~May 30th we'll have a wonderful baby boy! I looked at this picture because, as chance would have it, my last day of chemotherapy -- probably the hardest day I can remember -- was January 9, 2004. I almost didn't go, but knew I had to, and the eight hour session seemed to take twelve. Just five years later, January 9, 2009, I saw my son on his ultrasound.
There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, and thank God for that.
With Christmas Day just hours from now I know this will be the last Christmas that Stephanie and I will experience being just the two of us. With our little bundle of joy on the way I really can't wait for next Christmas! However, tonight as I ready for bed [hey, Santa doesn't come when you're awake] I have not only our baby to think of -- and the magnitude of change that will come with him/her but I'm incredibly thankful for yet another baby that changed so much for all of us. Let us not forget the "reason for the season" and take a moment to be thankful for all we have and all we are given, because of Him.
If you haven't heard by now, Steph and I are going to be parents in six months or so! I've been wanting to be a dad for quite a while now -- it just sort of 'clicked' one day. Though obviously shocked to hear the news from Steph, I'm now ready for my greatest challenge. I never fully understood "I loved you before I ever knew your name" until now. "Peanut," as we are affectionately calling the baby for now, is always on my mind. I know that Steph and I are going to have our eyes opened to all that having a baby brings.
I know I won't be a perfect dad, Peanut, but I promise I will do everything to the best one I can be. Love, Dad
Last weekend Steph and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend trip to Chattanooga. She had never been and it has been almost 15 years since I had been there myself. Early to mid November gives the best fall color on the two hour drive from Nashville, especially through the Monteagle area. We stayed at the Chattanoogan Hotel on the south side of downtown which was a nice place to stay with a great breakfast buffet at their own restaurant, the Broad Street Grille. We enjoyed the Tennessee Aquarium's two buildings -- Ocean Journey and River Journey. Saturday evening I took Steph to Niko's Southside Grill and we enjoyed the most tender filet ever and topped it off with probably the best, moist, and sweet strawberry cake I've ever had the pleasure of eating. Sunday, on the way home, we toured Ruby Falls which was amazing to me. If you're a nearby reader, or are up for a trip, check it out, especially in the Fall!
We've arrived at my favorite team of the year. I despise being hot -- and I get hot very easily. In fact, as a child I recall sitting on the floor of our family room coloring with crayons and sweating like I had been running a marathon. When Fall arrives and the temperatures drop I absolutely love it. Crisp breezes, colorful foliage, that smell of a wood-burning fireplace, and the thoughts of the holidays ahead -- I love it all. This evening I took a walk through our neighborhood and for the first time in quite a while the air was so clear and fresh I could see the stars. In front of our house I saw the brightest dozens, but as I neared the lake and the street lights didn't interfere my eyes adjusted and I saw thousands. What an amazing sight! I could stare at them for hours.
It's at this time that I begin the anticipation of the holidays ahead, Christmas in particular. It's no longer the "gifts, gifts" anticipation of a child, but the joy of watching children open their gifts, decorating the house, giving and giving, donating, and remembering why we celebrate Christmas. Though I try to be thankful to God throughout the year, it's this time that I slow down and take the time I should always take to thank Him for everything. What a wonderful time of the year! So what if stores are stocking the shelves in October! Fantastic! I can't wait to put out the few outdoor decorations and lights that I put up each year -- it's one of my favorite things to do.
Finally, I want to take an opportunity to remember my grandmother, "Babi." It's this time of year that I miss her the most -- probably because it was this time of year that I got to spend the most time with her. Earlier this week I was walking through our house, and once at work in my office, and there was "the smell". This smell instantly sends my mind to Babi's house. It was the unmistakable smell of her house -- not a bad smell at all, but one that snaps my mind back to that place of comfort, love, and wonderful food! I still have no idea what caused me to smell it as I could never locate the source and as quickly as it came, it left. But, it will return, and then, so will the memories.
I seem to collect loose change. As a habitual swiper of plastic I rarely have a chance to use coins. Over the past several months I amassed a significant quantity of change. While watching Modern Marvels I learned of Coinstar. I had seen the Coinstar machines in various locations nearby but had never used one -- until today. Coinstar machines count your loose change (just pour it in and watch the numbers climb). Those coins are sorted inside the machine, removed by an armored truck service (such as Brinks) and taken to one of their processing facilities to be recounted and repackaged for redistribution to banks, retail establishments, and more. Normally, Coinstar charges 8.9 cents per dollar counted/accepted (the machine kicks out damaged or unrecognized coins), but they now offer FREE counting if you use their gift card or eCertificate service. Being a regular customer of Amazon.com I thought I'd give it a try today. So, thank you Coinstar and Amazon.com for converting my $77.85 of loose coins into something I'm more likely to use!
Stephanie and I tried out Mimis Cafe recently for breakfast. In our area there are locations in Hendersonville and Murfreesboro, but they have many others. Great atmosphere! The food was delicious and plentiful. I highly recommend their blueberry muffins which are made with applesauce making them incredibly moist.
Friday night's show was great and I look forward to hearing how much money was raised Friday night alone. All things considered, didn't Patrick Swayze and Christina Applegate look good? I'd like to thank the friends and family that donated to SU2C. This list are the people I know donated and deserve a special thanks. If I missed your name, let me know!
A in-no-particular-order very, very special thanks to...
Many, if not all of you, know of my battle with cancer from 2003-2004. Many of you also have family, friends and coworkers that have been affected by cancer -- and some of you, like me, are also a Survivor. I'm donating and feel that Survivors owe it to themselves to fight back beyond the physical toll by helping make this the beginning of the end of cancer so others never have to go through the same thing we have.
For those of you that haven't heard, the StandUp2Cancer organization is having a ground-breaking telethon on September 5th @ 8PM Eastern / 7PM Central. What channel? Oh, ABC, NBC, and CBS! (See the awesome advertisement for it here.) All three major networks have donated commercial-free time to SU2C for this incredible opportunity. This initiative is to raise more money then ever before to be distributed directly to cures for cancer. Also, calls will be answered by celebrities: Casey Affleck, Dana Delany, America Ferrera, Danica Patrick, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Fran Drescher, Sally Field, Christina Ricci, Goran Visnjic, Christina Applegate [recently diagnosed], Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Charlie Gibson, Robin Roberts, Forest Whitaker, Lance Armstrong, Kirsten Dunst, Neil Patrick Harris, Homer & Marge Simpson, Brian Wiliams, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Edwards, Salma Hayek, David Cook, Elle Fanning, Scarlett Johansson, Meryl Streep, Katie Couric, Jon Favreau, Masi Oka, and Hilary Swank are all confirmed -- with more signing up.
I realize that I have asked several of you before for your support, but it's needed now more than ever. You can be a part of history -- and affect the lives of millions. How? Donate. $1, $20, $50, $100, $More -- anything you can do! You can donate in more ways than ever.
Andy Qua, thank you, for bringing us Cube Runner to the iPhone/iPod Touch via AppStore. The game's objective is simple: fly through a 3D landscape littered with cubes. Hit a cube, you 'splode. Don't hit a cube and you rack up points. The further you go the faster you fly and the more complex landscape you must navigate. Well done, sir. Well done.
Unfortunately with Vandy buying my iPhone in March I don't expect a 3G will be coming my way anytime soon, but I am pleased with the outcome of the 2.0 firmware update for the iPhone (both first-gen and 3G models). The 2.0 update brings me ActiveSync with the Exchange system at work for live updates of email, contacts and calendars including multiple contact groups. The scientific calculator has been handy for subnet calculations. Probably the greatest thing is the AppStore with hundreds (and growing) applications available over-the-air with over 50% of them free of charge. I've been accused of becoming an Apple fanatic -- a label I'm willing to live with -- and in keeping with that I will say the iPhone is one of the greatest devices for the consumer wanting a phone, digital audio player, portable video and a browser capable of full-screen browsing. Sure, there are others out there but how many have such an easy-to-use interface that well, even a two year old can master?
This weekend I saw "The Dark Knight" as well as "Hancock". DK was, in a word, awesome! Christian Bale is the definitive Batman and Heath Ledger is hands-down the best Joker. Bale easily portrays Bruce Wayne in a way that Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney (was that even worthy of 'Batman' status?) never could. Let's hope he continues the Batman saga and doesn't disappoint with Terminator 4. Ledger's performance as The Joker was evil, dark, unyielding and overall stellar. It's a shame he will no longer be able to give another powerful performance. Dark Knight's two and half hours didn't feel that long thanks to the intense action and steady plot. No spoilers here but one question for my audience -- where can I get one of those Batmobiles?
"Hancock" was a decent movie and worth seeing in the theater (compared to the wasted $17 dropped on "The Happening"). Will Smith was good in this movie and the one-liners were hilarious! Jason Bateman's role was nondescript basically serving as a cast filler to make the story work with Smith and Charlize Theron bringing the brawn and beauty, respectively.
Having owned my car for just over a year now I thought it would be a good time to change the cabin air filter. If you don't know, many cars built since 2000 have cabin air filtration systems. Want to know if yours does? Check out a site like Google or check in with AutoZone.
Don't try and clean it, just replace it. They average $20-30 at AutoZone and three cars that I've changed the filter on took no more than 15 minutes each. Most manufacturers recommend changing them annually, or 15K miles. It does make a difference! See for yourself (obviously, new filter on the left)...
Today's post is a heart-felt congratulations to Michael and Sarah. God put two great people together and we wish you both all the love, health, and happiness in the world. Photos by Bob Miller.
TOMORROW, May 13th, 2008, is LiveSTRONG Day where you can show your support of cancer survivors everywhere by wearing YELLOW.
I'm sorry for the short notice, but would really appreciate it if you show your support to me and all of the Survivors out there! In fact, if you wear yellow tomorrow, snap a pic of yourself wearing yellow (or get someone to) and send me the pic! I'm collecting them this year! Send it by email, cell phone, Facebook, or pigeon!
As many of you know, I work in the IT field. Last year I searched Google 5,617 times, composed over 5,000 emails, and read 3 printed books. This is interesting to me, because though I'm not yet a father, I wonder about the quality of the education my future children, and your children, will receive. Many classes today still teach the same way I learned -- I sat in a class of 20-30 students, with a printed textbook, and listened to my teacher speak or show me transparency slides. Today, the textbook is outdated the day it is printed and those static slides won't keep any child's attention. So, how are you kids being challenged and engaged to learn in the 21st century? Have you spoken to the teachers yourself and made them answer the question?
Please take 15 minutes to watch the two videos below. It's not about how they will learn in the future. I think they do an outstanding job of opening your mind to what your children face TODAY.
Last weekend Steph and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend trip to Chattanooga. She had never been and it has been almost 15 years since I had been there myself. Early to mid November gives the best fall color on the two hour drive from Nashville, especially through the Monteagle area. We stayed at the Chattanoogan Hotel on the south side of downtown which was a nice place to stay with a great breakfast buffet at their own restaurant, the Broad Street Grille. We enjoyed the Tennessee Aquarium's two buildings -- Ocean Journey and River Journey. Saturday evening I took Steph to Niko's Southside Grill and we enjoyed the most tender filet ever and topped it off with probably the best, moist, and sweet strawberry cake I've ever had the pleasure of eating. Sunday, on the way home, we toured Ruby Falls which was amazing to me. If you're a nearby reader, or are up for a trip, check it out, especially in the Fall!
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Photos by Bob Miller.
