Minor update

We are not dead.  We are just without internet.  I'm doing this post from my office, and so it must be short.  But we are moved into our new place, and it may be a while before we get internet there for various reasons.  So until then, we will keep up with your blogs where possible, and post on ours when we get the chance.

Chow!

Moved... kinda

So Rochelle and I have been very busy. Last Saturday, we moved. Rather, we moved out. We have yet to really move in. Our stuff is in our new condo, but our new condo isn't really ours yet. The inspection hasn't passed yet, so their is no certificate of occupancy, so we can't live there. So where are we? We are living with my parents until the condo is ready. And we haven't finalized our purchasing of the condo yet either because of the inspection and other things the builders haven't completed yet. Hopefully that will all be finished soon. But yes, our stuff is in our condo. The builder felt bad that he promised it would be done, when it wasn't, he gave us a key and told us to put our stuff in until it is all complete. Thank goodness for that. At least we won't have to pay for a storage unit and move twice! So at this point, we are waiting to get everything finalized. Waiting is painful, but it is made less painful by having parents to stay with for the interim. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) Aside from that, we are looking forward to Rochelle's graduation, and for her parents' visit this week. Lots of fun stuff to look forward to!

Keeping up with the blogs

Hey all, here are some instructions on watching blogs in a very easy way.
http://sociolitics.blogspot.com/

Poetry? or...

So, apparently April is national poetry month. In honor of that, I thought I would write a few verses about my life at the moment! Now, don't get too excited- this is not exactly high quality literature here! But since rhyming is kind of fun, I thought I would post this, and encourage everyone to write something back- rhyming or not! C'mon, it will be fun!

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
finals are here-
and moving day too!

I'm writing a paper
and packing a box;
applying for jobs
and sorting my socks!

...Washing the laundry
and scrubbing the tub;
doing the dishes
and cooking up grub.

...Knitting a blanket
and studying for boards-
checking the mail
to see what it affords.

I'm getting a bit tired-
but really, I'm fine!
I'll be glad when it's over
and victory is mine!

A new blog

I looked far and wide, and have determined that there is no rule saying a man should have but one blog, and consequently I now have two. I will continue to post here, but my posts here will be family oriented, and more personal. My other blog will contain my more controversial posts regarding Sociology, Politics, Technology, and anything else I find interesting and controversial. Today I have posted my first post there, and you are all free to take a look. This blog will be open to the general public, and so it is entirely possible, if not likely, that complete strangers will be reading it and commenting. I will therefore have no references to my personal life on it, and no links to this blog or other family blogs. Due to the fact that I am somewhat more liberal than many of you, please do not be surprised if you happen to disagree with me. However, please feel free to comment and tell me what you think. I respect all of your opinions, and am happy to hear your thoughts on my blogs. I think that a lively conversation can be both invigorating, and educational, and that we should all take part. You can find my other blog here: http://sociolitics.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Welcome home!

This is for those of you who wondered if my last post was serious... ;-)

Loads and loads of fun

So, we have been packing for the last two weeks getting ready for our move on April 19th (if Rochelle tries to tell you it's the 20th, reminder her that it isn't). ;-) Our apartment has loads and loads of boxes everywhere. Full boxes on the bottom, empty ones on the top, stacks as tall as me. And I think we are only about half way done packing. I have been grabbing every box I can find at work, and some of them are big enough to pack an entire closet. It has been both fun and stressful to get ready to move to our condo. Yesterday, we locked in a rate of 5.5%, something that we are very happy about. I'm sure the rates will probably drop to 3 something just because we locked it in, but that's life. ;-) We have had a huge pile of shred-ables (credit card offers etc.) that we have put to good use. We shredded them, and they are now padding dishes and glasses, and breakable things. We have been packing everything that we don't use on a regular basis, and we have quite a system going. We have a master list of every box, and what it contains, we have every box labeled with a number, a color, and the contents of the box. The color represents the room to which it is to be delivered to upon arrival. We have already reserved our truck, and got a dolly. I guess it is official... we are moving. ;-) If you will be around on the 19th, you are welcome to come join us in our day of organized chaos. We are very excited about it all... and we hope to invite ya'all over once we get settled in.

Fun Fun Fun

Well... Lots has been going on recently with us. We have been house hunting, and doing our best to find an affordable place that is also a place we would be happy to call home. The search has been frustrating at times, but I think we have found a place that we like. But we still need to find out if we can get an FHA loan for this place, before we are in the clear. If we can get the loan, it probably won't be long before we make an offer. Scary and exciting stuff. The prospective home is a condo. 3 bed, 2 bath. It has roughly 1250 sq ft, an open floor plan, and extra big windows (one of our favorite features). We are hoping everything works out with it. If all works well, we will be moving in sometime within the next 4-6 weeks. (Here's hoping that it does work out.) Rochelle took these photos of the model (the last one is of the actual condo that we would get):

Condo photos

Check it out, and tell us what you think.

Let's see, aside from that, we have been busy with the normal stuff. Work / school / school / work. Rochelle is getting dangerously close to graduating, and her stress level is going up. I'm sure she will do well, and that she will be a great nurse. We are going to be very excited to see her graduate. We will all take a big deep breath!

More Fun in Moab

Besides the Half-Marathon, we also spent some time in Arches National Park. It was fairly warm and sunny, so we had great views and although we didn't have time to hike around much, we did enjoy the beautiful nature all around us! Afterwards, we went and got the boys checked in for the race, and found our hotel, which was downtown, just a few blocks from the finish line. We ate dinner and had some great conversation despite being tired ("Let's play Truth or Dare! Or actually just Truth or... I Dare you to Tell the Truth..." -Collin, I think. Haha!).
After the big finish, we drove back and ate dinner before going to visit Grandma C.! Dad and the boys flew back to Oregon on Sunday. Too short of a visit! But we look forward to seeing everyone again, hopefully soon.

Fun in Arches National Park

Yay for Runners!

Good job, boys! They all did an excellent job- Dad's finish time was faster than last year, Collin was one of the few people in his age group that ran the half marathon, and Tayler and BJ ran hard and strong and did great too! Marissa and I enjoyed cheering them all on and just being part of the fun in Moab. Let's do it again! And let's get some 'other' people in on it too! (Cara, Mom, I know you thought about doing it this year!)

Half Marathon Finishers!

I finished it...

So here are my thoughts as I have just completed my first half marathon:

• Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
  
• How do people ever run twice this amount!
• This gives me a little more appreciation for the title "Marathon of Faith" and "Endure to the End"
  
• It takes a lot more to get ready for a run of this magnitude than I thought. (I thought I might be able to get away with only running once a week.)

So... I did finish the half-marathon, but by no means am I extraordinarily proud of how I did. But all the same, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad that I had it in me to finish it, even if I spent some time walking instead of running. Next time, maybe I'll be able to run the whole thing. We'll see. But I did learns some things. Pain makes you appreciate your life (especially just after it leaves). Struggles encourage you to call upon God. And no matter how bad I have it, there is always somebody who has it worse.

I am grateful for all the blessings that I have. I am grateful that I am healthy. I am grateful for those who supported me, and ran with me. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves us. And I am grateful just to be here. Life is so full of blessings. Occasionally, something just opens our eyes a little to help us see that-- I am grateful for those things, painful as they might be, they give us joy in the end.

It's a Boy!

It's true- and I must admit I was completely surprised (and pleased, too!).

The perinatologists checked everything out, and said that our baby looks healthy and great! There was no question as to the gender... definitely a boy. Good thing we had a boy's name picked out! It was kind of a funny transition for us to start calling "it" a "he", and then realizing we could call "he" by an actual name- Gabriel Benjamin Taylor. Yay!!!

Ultrasound pics

It was exciting for us to have somewhat of a picture to match with this little person we have been been thinking about so much. I have been thinking and dreaming about little babies for a couple of months now, so it was cool to finally know that it is a boy, and see him a little! I think for BJ, seeing the ultrasound was the first time it has really hit him that there is another person coming into our family. Maybe he can blog or comment about what his thoughts were after we found out. It is wild for both of us to think about!!!

I had another question answered that I had been somewhat worried about... I haven't really felt the baby moving much, but they could tell by the ultrasound today that the placenta is on the front of my uterus, so the baby's movements are pretty well cushioned by it. They said it might even be a bit longer before I can feel much movement, and definitely before anyone could feel anything from the outside of my belly. But it will come soon enough!!!

Anyway, that's the news for now. I will post other pictures soon.

It's a Boy!

Well, Rochelle has given me the floor, and I am to spill my thoughts all over it. Today has been one of those days that leaves you a little dazed and confused. As I took Rochelle to the hospital for the ultra sound, I felt like either way, boy or girl, I'd be happy and that would be that. I wasn't expecting to feel a whole lot of emotion, or to really think much about it beyond being able to call 'it' a 'he' or a 'she'. I had seen ultra sounds before. I already knew we were going to have a baby. I was excited to find out the gender, but hadn't put much more thought into it. But as we watched the images on the screen, and began to put a little bit more of an identity onto the baby, I felt overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that I can scarcely identify. How do I explain my feelings? What do I tell people as I call them? About all I was able to say was: "We found out we are having a boy and we are excited about it." Today, excited was an understatement. But it left me speechless. Honestly, I really don't know what my feelings even are except that they are good ones. And my thoughts have little more clarity. About all I can say is that I felt an out pouring of love, joy, and happiness, for the baby, for Rochelle, for my parents, and everyone close to me. Feelings of gratitude for all of our blessings welled up in me. And all I could figure out to say was "we are excited". Well, excited we are. Feeling very blessed, we are. Trying to imagine what it will be like to hold that little boy in our arms. Trying to imagine what it will feel like to meet him for the first time. And then... trying to focus on work, and trying to be productive. Can I just say that today was not the best day at work for me? When I spoke to Rhonda today, she gave me some sage advice. I wish I could quote her, but as best as I can remember she said something like the following: "Kids bring you the greatest joys in life as well as the greatest heart aches." This is something that I have always known, but hearing it today after feeling the swelling of emotions that I had gave this concept new meanings to me. And honestly, I know I'm in for a roller coaster, but I'll do my best with the bitter, as long as I can enjoy the sweet. The bitter may be tough, but I truly believe that the sweet will out last it. And come what may, I am willing to give it my best.

Do you dig it?

Maybe this will be one of those blogs that carries absolutely no interest to you. I imagine many of you may feel that way. But I just wanted to say that I found a cool little program that I like, and that I think you might like too (if you are a nerd like me... what was your nerd score?). The program I have found does something very useful for me... it allows me to use one program to sign in to many chat clients, and email clients. Now, honestly, I only use a couple of chat clients in the first place on a regular basis, but at least I don't have to look at adds from Microsoft and Yahoo every time I log in now. Google, thankfully, has never put ads in their chat client. I digress... so maybe it isn't the end-all app for all of you, but you may like it all the same, even if you only use one chat client. Some of you probably will say that you don't use any chat client. To you, I say "Good for you." I don't suggest you install digsby. ;-) But if you do decide to install it, it is in "private beta" right now, meaning that you can't install it unless you have a special code from them to install with. But they seem to be pretty easy to come by. I've seen two codes online, blueball and cnet. You can use them to download and install the program if you so desire.

Oh, and I think the program looks pretty cool too, minus their weird icon, but I'll forgive them for that.

End of nerdy news for today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love you all, and hope you all have a wonderful day! I hope we can always focus on the love that our families share, and remember the many blessings that we have been given. Rochelle and I were thinking about our past recently, and thinking how incredibly blessed we are. She has started to keep a "blessings book" where she writes where she sees the hand of the Lord in her life. It's a good idea, and something that I feel like I should start doing as well. The amazing thing is that it never fails... come good times or bad, we can always see the hand of the Lord in our lives. It fills us with love for Him, and for each other, and we hope we can share that love with everyone around us.