Almost there!!

Well, Sherri went tot the doctor today and he conceded that it was time for this baby to get here. So we have made an appointment at the hospital for 7:30 am Saturday, February 2, 2008 to go have this baby. MAN I AM EXCITED!!! Sherri told me to make sure it was scheduled for Friday or Monday, of course, because Superbow XLII is Sunday. I asked the Doc about the TV's in the rooms and he said Saint Rose has 14 inchers in the rooms. If we would have been able to go to the old Saint Rose, right next to his office we would have had 43 inchers in our room. Figures. Anyway, we are excited to finally meet him. Sherri is scared and I am nervous/excited. Her borther's Mike, Chris, and then Dad ad I are going to give her a blessing tomorrow to make sure eveything goes as the Lord sees fit. So, we'll be posting pictures. We'll be sure to let everyone know.

Some work benefits.

This is a video of #48, Jimmie Johnson, as he was pulling off the track. Some oil spilled into his engine and then Blam...Fire!!! I loved it. Some of the benefits of working with Sprint is that I have occasion to visit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and perfrom various Sprint Technical Duties. On this particular day, I was at the track to help the drivers and crew cheif's pick out new phones and do some minor repairs. I was also able to tour the new "Neon Garage" and other parts of the facility. This was the first time I have ever been in the infield. The year Sherri and I were married we visited the pit wall area, but did not venture to the garages. It was fun. The cool thing about this is that the drivers were coming to see me and get there new phones. I felt very priviledged. This video is one of my favorite short videos I have taken. There is also one for my sister, Teri Berry, and that is of Kenseth. So sis, press play and have a great time.

I have lots of videos like this but these are the best two. Lot's of pictures of unpainted cars moving really fast along the track. #42, Juan Pablo, set a new track record. 192.85 mph. He completed a t lap in 28 seconds. Man that is fast. Anyway, we look forward to going to the race in March. We wil probably find a sitter for Justin so Sherri can go.

Close Call

Well, we took our first official trip to the hospital yesterday. False alarm. Sherri has very high blood pressure so the doc changed her meds and put her on...and I quote, "complete bed rest with bathroom privileges." Nice. Anyway, here is a pic from the hospital. The other does not show the strip very well but we had a nice view from her room.

We'll keep everyone posted.

Baby Coming Soon..but not soon enough!

Well, yesterday we had a baby shower for Sherri and Justin. What a party these sisters put on. The "haul" was larger than I ever expected. These ladies really love Sherri and I say "what's not to love?" She is so gracious and loving to everybody, except the New England Patriots. Anyway, we would like to say thank you to all involved and a special thanks to Wendy Reed, Laura Turek, and Tammy Empey for putting their planning muscle and expertise behind the shower. So thank you.

Of course I am going to add pictures so here you go. I hope you like and I will be as accurate as possible with the descriptions, but please remember, I am but the dad and my place is to do what I'm told.



This is a picture of Justin's cake. the unfortunate thing is he will only get some from his mother. Very beautiful and actually looked like a display cake, or something you would find in a window. It was fruit filled white cake and boy was it good. of course the ladies did not finish it so we are still eating it today.

Here is a picture of Pepe before the shower. Of course, he is a real "Ladies Man" and has to be a part of everything. He begged and begged from every lady there. The interesting thing is we tried to keep him in the office with me and Ed but Pepe would have non of it. So, he gave us a wet present right by the chair. So I kicked him outside, using the garage door and before you know it, he was back inside using the ladies for treats.

Here is one of some of Justin's "loot." Man this kid is going to look good for a while anyway. Lot's of very nice things, Clothes, baby monitors, pack-n-play, toys, mobile. pacifiers. Interesting thing is...not one bottle, or anything like that. So, off to Wal-Mart for family home evening tomorrow.
This is one of my favorite gifts. this is a baby carrier. Of course, I immediately had to figure out how to use it. So, Pepe was volunteered to test it out and I have to say the test was successful. so, I really like this one and will be able to take Justin and still be able to use my hands. This will be fun.

Sherri is still having issues with her blood pressure. We are calling the doctor tomorrow and are no sure what is going to happen. He should be here in 3 weeks anyway, but we want to be sure that neither will have issues. Her feet are big and swollen, her hands are numb, and she is FULL of water. The Dr says she will really make a mess when her water breaks. I think she should empty into Lake Mead in order to help fill it up. That is just a joke of course. Anyway, that is about it. The next will probably be when the baby arrives. So leave any questions or comments. We'll get back to you soon.

Finally after 7 YEARS!!

Well, finally after 7 years we are able to visit the kid's unrestricted. I had a hearing with the family court on Thursday of this week and although it seemed like an impossible, daunting, and pointless task, there was a lot of work that had to be done and, thanks to the help of my family, especially Sherri, and many friends, the battle is over for now. We are able to visit the kid's for 4 hours on Saturday, and 4 hours on Sunday. Good starters since we normally get two and have to pay for that privilege. This visit, our time doubled and we saved $200. Now we are closer to being a normal divorced and separated family. Later this summer we will try to get a week or two at a time here at home. So, for now we are very content.

The first picture is my favorite. These are the kid's sitting in the back of my car. That's right...the back of my car! This picture, of course, will be enlarged and framed and put in our bedroom, probably on my dresser. I already have a frame for it. Curved glass with brass frame in the middle.

Anyway, we had a blast. When we first set out, I got on the freeway headed to a shopping center and I had to leaned over to Sherri and whispered, "I can't believe this is happening. I don't know what to do!!" I was scared out of my pants. I had always watched other peoples kids and just did what their parents asked me to do. Now I was with Sherri and we were trying to move a mountain, figuratively speaking. So, we took the kids shopping at Target. They each got to pick out a toy. That was fun. Soooooo many choices, so little money. I could have said purpose, but the purpose of toys is to make kid's, and their dad's happy. This is a picture of the kids holding their treasures in the back of my car...that's right, the back of my car!

Here is another view. Had to do one from each side of the car. That way I am sure to always at least get one in the picture. A good one anyway.

So off we go to Petsmart! This was a very interesting visit because we had no intention of purchasing anything. However, the kid's wanted to go so we went. They were having a pet adoption day. Mean dog day is what I call it. They were barking and trying to eat the cages to get at the other dogs and small children. Some medium sized children too. These are some of the best pictures I have ever taken of these two. Something about petsmart just memorizes them.

Both of the kids seemed to like the lizards and the frogs the best. Go figure. This picture of Lily was very lucky for me. She held still just long enough for the camera on my phone to catch it. Again, one of the best.

This next one is Colby and he is making faces at the fish. That is always interesting too because I wonder if he was trying to communicate. He assured me that he was just making fun...but I'm not so sure.

When he discovered the turtles, that was it. All over. "DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD, Can I have a turtle?" of course the answer was "How many do you want?" He said, "just one." and I said, "you'll have to ask you mother." How's that for knowing what to do?

Then we went to lunch at EXTREME PITA. Imagine a Subway, where they use pita pockets instead of bread and they grill all of the meat for you. Man it was good. Here are a couple of us stuffing our faces.

So anyway, that is about it for the pictures. After lunch we went to CrackerJax. That is kind of like a Scandia or Family Fun Center. We Spent $40 on tokens and $10 of that went into the claw machine to retrieve goods. I have finally figured those out and was able to get two stuffed animals in only 3 tries each. How's that for a money saver. It was pretty loud in the arcade and after about 30 minutes LilyAnn started to get distressed about the noise. So we all took a break and went outside to the picnic area to regroup. We decided to give Colby one spin in the Jax Jr. go carts. Man he is funny when he rides those. I only have that on video in the camera so I'll not be able to add any yet. Maybe I can update it once I get the video going.

Anyway, we went to the park for about 10 minutes. It started to rain as soon as we stepped out of the car. so we headed back to the hotel and there was mom waiting. We actually had a conversation. I introduced her to Sherri and all seemed to go well. I got a picture mail from Lily on the way home and about 3 phone calls. Man that is sweet. Everything has seemed to improve 100% just over the last week. So, we are excited for the future.

It rained all the way home.we had thick rain for a while, and misty stuff the rest of the way. Once we hit Hoover dam there was no more rain. Hmmmm weird. Anyway, that is about it for now. I am soooooo glad the visits have changed. I was just about ready to throw in the towel. We Love everyone and can't wait for you to meet the Kid's. they are great. Sherri is only 5 weeks from the new baby being born. I am totally excited about that because I will instantly have a new friend.