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Gratitude 196
2022-08-15
15 years. It's been a fantastic 15 year journey that I could have never imagined. I never would have guessed half of our journey that we have been on, but id say we were half right from teh start. Right from the start we both knew that we had found the other person that we wanted to spend the rest of our life with. We wanted to go to the same college, have two wonderful kids, and a house. We could have told you many of these big picture items from very early on, but the journey that it took to get here has been exciting. It's been full of highs and lows, but nothing I would have ever traded for the world.
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Gratitude 195
2022-08-09
Today we opened up the game Skip-Bo for the first time in quite awhile, Ayla is pretty darn good at the game. She really loves playing physical card and board games like this. Skip-Bo and Uno are great ones that are simple enough for her, yes does not get too boring for the adults. We played two games, I took the first round and she took the second.
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Gratitude 194
2022-08-08
Bike rides have been the theme lately. I am really excited that Wyatt has been coming along to many of them lately, and Ayla for a few, but Wyatt usually holds out a bit more and really gives dobby a good run. It's quite fun, but we go so fast that I have to hold Dobby back a bit, I just don't want him to make the wrong move and get hit by the bike. When we leave the house we have a gentle downhill and he is fully pulling me on the bike all the way down.
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Gratitude 193
2022-08-03
Big ride tonight. Dobby has been doing fantastically on the bike, we ended up going on our first big ride outside of our neighborhood. He is progressing so quickly. He does so good at setting the pace and running right beside me with a slack leash. Sometimes he gets distracted, but not too much. I am just so gratefult that we have picked up this activity together, its been great for us.
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Gratitude 192
2022-08-02
I am making some progress back on my open source projects. Just this morning I created a plugin that turns a markdown document into a set of slides on a webpage just like my favorite terminal presentation tool lookatme does, except in a web browser. I really like the ability to create presentations in a single markdown document its so quick and fluid. I really like that I now have another option to host them and include images. Images is one of the few things I was missing from lookatme, that I am no longer missing.
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Gratitude 191
2022-08-01
Last night I took Dobby for his first bike run, and he absolutely loved it! He was running alongside with a big smile the whole time. We took it nice and easy our first time on the sidewalk, didn't go too fast and paid attention to not wrap any fire hydrants or anything. I am ready to head out with him again, now is the time.
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Gratitude 190
2022-07-30
Today Wyatt landed his first front flip on the trampoline to feet. It was quite stumbly, but I've told him all along I count anything that he stays up on, no matter how sloppy. Everyone was super happy and supportive for him, he has been working on this for probably near a month. I first notices how close he was I set him a challenge and we worked hard on it all that week and after 4 days I got it. I think after that he lost a bit of steam, but has been working pretty hard on it still. The last few days he has been really close, landing on his feet, holding some weight, but loosing balance. This has really inspired him to kick it back into gear and this morning he got it. I am so proud of him!!!!
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Gratitude 189
2022-07-28
Tonight I played power washing simulator with Rhiannon. She was playing with wyatt before he went to bed. When he was sleepy I took over to finish up the fire station level with her. I really enjoyed it. It has been quite awhile since we have played a video game together. I absolutely love playing with the kids, but it was fun to have a change in pace and do something different with her.
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Gratitude 188
2022-07-27
It's been a lot lately, just a lot of everything, but it feels like things are ligthening up. Mostly with Rhiannon's help. I really appreciate all that she helps me with. Lately she has been working with me to set good boundaries with the kids. Which is well needed, lately I've really been letting it go too far and let them run everything. I really struggle to allow them some time when they need it, but setup good boundaries when its time. Overall though I would not trade being able to be with them everyday for anything. It's hard, but I completely appreciate that I am able to spend so much time with them throughout each day.
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Gratitude 187
2022-05-13
Today I had my first and final physical therapy appointment for my knee. It went really well. I went to one that we really trust, and he was able to asure me that everything was healing and looking well. He told me what to look out for and what to do to keep healing the right way. I am just go grateful that everything has turned out well from this simple accident that could have been even worse.
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Gratitude 186
2022-05-12
Tonight I got to stream and knock out a big feature in a side project that I have really been wanting to knock out. I made my website builder themable sot hat users can choose thier own colors without needing to write any html and css, I am pretty excited for it. I got to play with the kids early on, and made a hard stop where I was going to stop and do my own thing. I think this will help me get a few more hours for myself here and there.
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Gratitude 185
2022-05-10
Today we got out of the house for a walk around the neighborhood. It feels good to help everyone get back out and active. I can't skate with the kids yet, but they can still ride their scooters. Rhiannon came with us and I am very grateful, because Ayla was really struggling and needed a whole parent to focus on her.
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Gratitude 184
2022-05-09
Today was mothers day, and it was one of the most chill mother's day we have ever had. We, maybe I should say I, did not go so wild with things. Mom got some handmade artwork, and easy afternoon, and a mothers day theme sidewalk chaulk art.
At the end of the day we went to Hy Vee, and dang am I impressed with how well Wyatt did. Both did very well till the end, where Ayla really lost it when she saw things that she thought that she really needed, but didn't. It's so hard when you have not been in a store for so long to get so see real things for sale.
Anyways, Wyatt was fantastic. I pushed mom in the wheel chair and he took the cart. He very calmly and maturely pushed the cart through the entire store, and even filled it with all the things we needed, and nothing more. Not once did we have to remind him that we were there just for groceries.
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Gratitude 183
2022-05-04
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Gratitude 182
2022-05-03
Crutches are gone, whoop whoop! But dang this leg is weak. It's crazy how much strength you loose after 3 weeks of no weight bearing, but also impressive to see how quickly it starts coming back. After just half the day back on my feet I am walking without crutches pretty well.
Wyatt has been so helpful lately it has been very impressive. Since our big meltdown night he has been ready to help without too much push back. This has been a huge relief and really helped get through the tail end of this stint on crutches.
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Gratitude 181
2022-04-30
Getting back into a rythm. It's been crazy around here with my broken leg, but things are finally finding their way back into a somewhat normal rythm. Today was Saturday and it was fairly focused on playing with the kids hacking on my blog, and running an errand with everyone. I nearly have my blog tooling fixed up from the issues I was having with copier, and now understand why it was completely deleting projects any time it had an issue. I also got my screenshot tool up and running in full force. I can now take screenshots, publish them, and paste right into my blog with a single key. This is something that I have really been wanting to add to my workflow for a long time, and am pretty excited to have it running.
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Gratitude 180
2022-04-29
Whoof It took a hot minute to get this post started, my template engine had a bunch of breaking changes. Today was a therapy day for Wyatt, which can be quite chaotic, and it sure did not let down. He had a great day leading in and through it, but afterwards is where it all hits the fan. Today did not disappoint, and I can take a majority of the blame here. You see, part of him and what makes him who he is, cleaning up is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT for him. Well complete basement desctruction had happened at some point through the week, but was just discovered. I generally help quite graciously, at least I hope I do. Generally I try to pick up the best I can after him throughout the day so that things don't go too chaotic, and trust me sometimes it's a lot to keep up with.
Currently I have a broken leg and its not so easy to get up and down, so I was pushing him a little harder than I maybe should have. I really just wanted him to take some responsibility and at least help in some way. I did a great job at calmly talking through it with him, but I was not able to help. But we only went backwards, more legos ended up on the floor than were actually picked up and more cardboard scraps were created than were picked up. I stayed calm and did not push hard, I just stayed with him and talked to him.
Where I failed is communicating with Rhiannon, you see she was down with him for about 15 mintues before she had to go. Once she left I gave them both a pretty gracious break before we got back to cleaning up. All felt mostly good, but what I did not realize is that she agreed with him that he had already done enough with her and did not need to participate anymore.
In all, its been quite awhile since I have not just simply picked up after him with very little question. I feel like I learned something from this experience and hope we all have a better day tomorrow.
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Gratitude 178
2022-04-27
I cannot believe that I went nearly an entire month witout posting here, well I am back. Habits are hard to change right, you are either in the flow or not, but once you are on one side transitioning to the other is hard. That theory will hold up here. It's time to get back into the things that I love to do. I really like taking just a few minutes per day to this journal and it will continue to happen.
Today was a bit coastery, we had some big highs and low lows, but overall the lows were pretty short and we made it through and ended with a chipoltle treat. Rhianon continued to kick some serious ass on all the house and installed a brand new deadbolt. It looks super nice and makes for a fantastic updtate to our previous old one.
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Gratitude 178
2022-03-31
It's Chemo Day once again. And once again the emotional toll is high on everyone. I am not sure what has been going on for the last few months, but I feel so bad for Rhiannon. I just want to support her, show my love, and give her everything she needs on chemo day, but lately it's been hard. There has been some emotional toll that seems to just multiply on everyone and make it really hard to put her at the forefront without everything else falling apart. I wish I understood it better. Hopefully we can find our groove again and get back to giving her what she needs on these days.
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Gratitude 177
2022-03-29
Getting back into the rythm. It's so interesting how easily a good habit can die. I stopped journeling here for a few days and used that time to prepare for a conference talk, which seemed to go pretty well, and well a week has gone by with no more posts.
Today Rhiannon and I started Casey Neistat's monthly .com course and I am excited to learn storytelling and video production from such an icon. But probably more importantly I am excited to enjoy it with Rhiannon. I feel like we are at such a great place in our releationship and little activities like this really do help bring us even closer together, and understand one another even more as we grow together.
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Gratitude 176
2022-03-17
Made it through another day, everything just feels so busy since the move. Made some great progress though. I had a small window of time to really make some progress on a project I need done by the end of the month. I feel like I made some good headway on it.
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Gratitude 175
2022-03-16
Not a year goes by where this is not a tough day for her, but every year progress is made. Healing was put on hold for many years, and did not start until she was truly able to grieve for what was lost. Since then she has made so many improvements to herself, she has put in so much work that it is easier. The hard days around this one get fewer and fewer. Her power on this day grows strong. All I can say is that I am damn proud of what she has accomplished.
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Gratitude 174
2022-03-15
What a busy morning today. We got our sink unclogged, Dobby had a follow up Vet apt, and a trainer apt. So glad that our sink is finally fixed and we did not end up with any bad kitchen floods in the process. Well there was that time when I was taking out the old broken dishwasher and it dumped all over on the way out, but it was quickly mopped up.
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Gratitude 173
2022-03-14
So we started the podcast back up, and it was super fun. Rhiannon and I just recorded a podcast super tired and exhausted, but no excuses we did it, we recorded a damn podcast. It actually didn't turn out that great because my stupid interface went low on me, but whatever we did it. I'm actually excited to get back into it and make some time each week to just chat to her about whatever.
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Gratitude 172
2022-03-12
Hooof, what a day... I am so grateful that I am able to have the flexibility I have with work. The kids were just tearing each other apart if left alone at all today. It was just insane how quickly I would leave them to utter destruction. It's all ok though. I got a few things done at least, and everyone survived.
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Gratitude 171
2022-03-11
Tonight I got a good fetch session in with Dobby. It was a wild and busy day, but it ended on a very good note. It's quite relaxing to play with him in a 1:1 format where no one else was trying to step in. It really lets him focus on what we are doing, and he does so well with it.
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Gratitude 170
2022-03-10
Today was chemo day, and we made it through. The kids were high energy and kinda building on each other, but overall for a chemo day it went pretty well. Rhiannon was there for a very long time, I feel bad for her, but hopefully the fluids she got help aid in a speedy recovery.
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Gratitude 169
2022-03-08
Tonight we started a new adventure into Blender. It's something that Wyatt has been asking about for a long time and we finally just did it. I will say the barrier to entry was way lower than I thought it would be. Within minutes we had it installed on both of our computers and were sculpting silly characters out of virtual clay. It was so fun. I am so grateful for the tools that we have available these days for cheap or free. This type of software was far from even possible when I was a kid and what was out there was not available to kids. I am excited to see him grow and stretch his muscles into game development, simulation, digital art, or whatever may come of it.
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Gratitude 168
2022-03-07
Making progress. Today was a very productive day, brand new door handles on 3 doors, and nearly got one of the new ceiling fans up. Maybe tonight we can continue and get a cabinet up.
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Gratitude 167
2022-03-06
Today felt felt a bit like a busy one. It all goes back a few weeks ago to when I was cleaning out and installing washer and dryer. I had pushed the washer in and out like 3 times. well on the last time I decided not I probably was not done yet and I was not going to button it up. Instead I would leave it out a few inches and not install the drain hose, because it was probably coming back out soon again anyways. Weeealll.... I kinda forgot about this later as I finished mopping up and decided to just nudge it back into place on my way out.
So today I wake up to a backed up sink, and after many hours of trying to unclog it, I go to the basement to explore for another cleanout somewhere. Maybe there is something down here that can reach the clog. Well to my surprise I walk into the guest bedroom to find two ceiling tiles on the floor, about a dozen ruined, along with some mattress sheets. At first I was in complete disbelief of what I was actually looking at, until I remembered what had happened a few weeks ago.
I am so grateful that it simply dropped through some ceiling tiles, and onto a tiled floor. Made for not too bad of a cleanup. Now as a homeowner I get to fix it and now answer to a landlord.
Lesson learned, water on the floor equals check the basement.
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Gratitude 166
2022-03-05
Happy Birthday Rhiannon, I love the chill day that we had. Sometimes Birthdays get over hyped the the kids kinda go over board, but today they just did fantastic. We started with a great trip to Hy Vee to pick up the cake, flowers, and a few extras. We came back and set up decorations just in time for my first and only real meeting of the day. Had a good lunch date that included pop tarts and a cinnamon role doughnut. Then Rhiannon spent the afternoon dying her hair, and it came out with just the most vibrant purple, it looks so good on her. Finished up the day with a great potato soup, as requested, and cake. Getting ready to go kick her butt in game night now. Just because it's her birthday does not mean she can't lose at some games.
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Gratitude 165
2022-03-04
This afternoon Wyatt and I went on a big skate throught the neighborhood. He had such a good time he wanted to do a second lap, and another later right at dark. I am grateful that the sidewalks are so nice for us to ride on wtih very few cracks that would fully take anyone out. The traffic is also very mild. There are very few cars on the roads and the ones that are there are all going at a vy nice pace. No one really races through our neighborhood.
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Gratitude 164
2022-03-03
Today we went on a family walk around the block and met some of the nicest neighbors. I am so grateful that we have a nice neighborhood to take the whole family on walks around. Dobby did so good at his leash training. Ayla and I collected trash to throw away, and Wyatt was way ahead of us all with a skateboard. I am so proud of Ayla, part way through it started to sprinkle on us and she stayed relatively calm and collected.
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Gratitude 163
2022-03-02
Do you ever wish that you could just get through to someone, try to get them to understand your side? Right now I would really like to know how to explain to my family what my wife means to me. The mother of our children. My best friend for as long as I can remember, the only friend I've really had any where near this long in my life.
On the flip side, I would also really like to try to understand their side. I think I know, but its so damn foreign to me that it just makes no sense. I feel we just have very similarly opposing feelings there, just not understanding where the other is coming from. It all feels so rediculous, but every day, every big event I feel like I just loose a bit more of them. It make me feel sad.
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Gratitude 162
2022-03-01
Slowly back into it. After the longest break I have had from work (other than shut downs) in quite awhile I am back at it. It felt really good to know that the team that I am building at work is becoming capable of sustaining themsleves without me. A few years ago this was not the case. We hired a bunch of people really fast and threw them all into it without onboarding. Since then we have taken the time to really grow them into where they are, and have been much more careful about onboarding new foks. I am so proud of this team for being able to sustain themselves all on their own.
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Gratitude 161
2022-02-28
Today we opened up the house for Dobby, so far he has been pretty confined to his play pen and a few extra areas that were boarded up with boxes. He has done ok, but you could tell that he just wants to be with everyone. He absolutely loved it! He was just sprinting around the house like a crazy pup. There were definitely some hillarias slide outs on the tile floor. Wyatt especially loved having that extra space to run with him. They did so well together.
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Gratitude 160
2022-02-27
Nearly finished. We have the keys to our old house for one more day, and we are co close to being finished with it. Rhiannon has been crushing it over there, like seriously 🦵 crushing it. She spent most of the day there with the move out cleanup maids, and has gone back to pick up the last of the clutter, skim coat holes in the wall, and paint. It is looking remarkable over there by the video I have seen of the place.
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Gratitude 159
2022-02-26
Laundry room is working! It appears that for years the dryer vent has been just kinda set on top of the hole in the floor, not attached at all..... This had blown dryer lint over everything in the laundry room, and I am curious if it contributed tot he excessive duest on everyting in the whole house. I got it all cleaned out and hooked up to the best of my ability. The connections have a solid couple inches overlap and taped tight.
The one issue that we ran into was. I fully setup the washer, then pulled it back out, and forgot to put the drain back on before running a load and draining in onto the floor.
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Gratitude 158
2022-02-25
Cabinets are cleaned up, well to the best of my ability, and are geting filled up. You might not think this is such a big deal, or what crazy person needs to clean the cabinets of their new house before putting anything in them...
Well let me tell you these had 20 years of greasy grime and dust coating them making them feel like a fly trap, giving the kitchen its own special smell and just waiting for the next poor bug to land on it.
This was so bad that on the last ones nearest to the stove I had to pull out the paint thinner to get the bulk of it off. in the end they still feel slightly sticky. Anyways, thanks very much to, not a sponsor, Drill Brush for making this happen.
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Gratitude 157
2022-02-24
Another busy one today! Lot's of people in and out of the house to get all of our services up and running. I think we are gettting settled in pretty well. Tomorrow we will be able to access our basement, and have nothing scheduled, so we will be able to just do the things that we need/want to do without needing to be somewhere else.
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Gratitude 156
2022-02-23
Long day... We got everything moved over to the new house, and it was a long day. My legs are killing from the all the stairs. The kids did so good with all the chaos going on, I am so proud of them. Now we really get to make this house ours, we don't have to answer to anyone!
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Gratitude 155
2022-02-21
Big day today!!! Movers are coming to box everything in our house!. It feels crazy but this move is about to happen. We could sit back and just tlet them do everything, but that is not our style. I am too cheap to let them do everything without me doing as much as I can, and Rhiannon is too anxious to let them. She also likes to save money, but I dont think its in quite the frugal fashion as me.
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Gratitude 154
2022-02-20
Big play session tonight with Dobby and the kids, everyone was sprinting through the basement like crazy. All with HUGE smiles on their face. We ran so hard for so long that eventually dobby just stopped and laid down.
While Dobby and Wyatt got a good cuddle session. Wyatt was so happy. He said that it was soo calming for him and he just loved it. Generally they are both just so high energy that Wyatt inadvertantly gets nipped and does not like it.
Also got a bunch of boxes packed up!
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Gratitude 153
2022-02-19
Whew, an exhausting day. Packing, running with Dobby and the kids, and fully scooped the drive at two houses. We had our first chance to just hang out as a family at the new house, and it was pretty nice. The kids had a ton of energy as one would expect, but it was nice to actually spend some non rushed time there to really poke around at OUR HOUSE.
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Gratitude 152
2022-02-16
We bought out house today!! This all happened so fast and has been such a mix of emotions all the way. I am just so happy to be able to provide my family with a house they can love and cherish and grow up in. We woke up today thinking that it was going to be at lease four more days as we were waiting on the irs, but due to some Mortgage company magic we were able to close today!
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Gratitude 151
2022-02-14
Today felt like a mostly productive day, I got some good packing in. Played with the kids. Wyatt and I continued on with our amazing boat course in minecraft.
At the end of the day Dobby and I had a huge play session with lots of heavy running back and fourth. He got a huge workout. I have never seen him move like that, but I could see that it really made him very happy to play that heavy with someone.
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Gratitude 150
2022-02-13
Today feels sad, it just does. The politics of this stupid pandemic just hurt. Its really amplifying a lot of things that have been there for years and it hurts.
Wyatt and I played a vehicle mod for Minecraft today, It was super fun, we ended up making a boat course where we made big jumps with different water elements. He was definitely the better boat operator. I would spot where he was landing and making landings in those place.
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Gratitude 149
2022-02-12
I am so proud of Ayla and all of the progress she has made lately. She is doing really well with Mr. Black, her teacher from school. He has been really good at helping us navigate what to expect. Rhiannon has been giving her gum during school and it really seems to help her ability to focus and work.
She has been doing really well with her peristeen and getting her independence back. It's really hard for her to want to do it, but she does really good at understanding that she needs to do it.
Today she gave me her number, oh and her house is 4.
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Gratitude 148
2022-02-11
It's been a few weeks since I have talked to Mom, It kinda hurts. I really don't know what to do. This stupid pandemic is to dang politcal for it's own good. I for once am standing strong beside my wife and am supporting her the best I can. Her doctors have told her that there is no way her body could survive getting COVID-19 so it is really hard for me to understand anyone who chooses to go unvaccinated.
Ok so I can kinda get it wtih the vegan hipsters that don't take any modern medication and use yoga to cure their pneumonia. Not getting the vaccine aligns right in with their core values. But those who are slinging fried food, steak, burgers, and beer on a regular basis. I really cannot fathom a "my body, my choice" argument. It just does not compute with me. We live in a society that depends on each other. As much as some people would like to think they can survive in the woods, the fact is they don't. They live in a society built on groups of people working together. The fact that this thing is still going on is rediculous. The fact that DEATH RATES, not just cases is higher than when it started, with the unvaccinated getting taken down 20x more is just insane to me.
What really hurts is that there are people like Rhiannon dying during the large spikes because they cannot get the care they need. Hospitals are overwhelmed with unvaccinated, who had a choice in the matter. Rhiannon is living with an uncurable cancer, she has absolutely no choice in the matter when her body decides it's going to shut down and need an ICU bed.
It's really just hard to imagine that anyone we thought was close to us really give two fucks about her at the end of the day if they are not doing their part.
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Gratitude 147
2022-02-10
Rhiannon is kicking butt today 🦵! She finished setting up our movers, started looking into full house cleaning services. And the greatest jeans ever came in the mail... for me! I've wore holes right through my favorite jeans that I wear every single day, and have been needing to replace them. She went the extra mile and researched the most comfortable dad jeans ever. Mom jeans are a pretty popular thing, and keep your crack in, Dad jeans though, I was completely convinced these did not exist. She found some. They fit and move so much better than my old ones.
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Gratitude 146
2022-02-09
We got the appraisal back on our house today. It came in a bit under, and we are going to need to bring some cash to the closing, but it's ok it was not over our budget. We will get out of here and in there before our lease here expires, but it might limit some of the things that we are able to do with it. I am just excited that we are moving forward, and do not need to be in the middle of this mess for a long time. Hopefully for a REALLY long time, we have moved WAY too often over the course of my 12 years being out of my parents house, I'm pretty sure that I have held 11 different addresses over those years, its time for that to slow down big time.
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Gratitude 144
2022-02-07
Today it warmed up quite a bit and the sun was in full force on the big dump of snow that we got last week. It made just the most epically packable snow. This is something that we dont often see in our area so we took full advantage. The front yard was fully shaded and was still powder, but the back yard had this packing snow. I wanted to build a huge snowman in the back and Wyatt wanted to continue his fort in the front. We compromised and built a fort in the back.
It was super fun and soemthing I home we talk about for years to come. It turned out as the most epic igloo that I have ever witnessed in person. It was surprisingly easy to build with the nearly slushy snow that we had today. He was so excited to show Rhiannon that he did a video call wtih with her right from the comfort of the igloo.
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Gratitude 143
2022-02-06
BOOSTED x2. Rhiannon is double boosted as of today. She is so far handling it like a champ. I can tell it's having its effect on her, but the real effects are going to come over the next few days. I really think the timing is great, she will have some time to recover before the move really starts to happen and she will be fully boosted right as all the major stuff is happening, keeping her as absolutely safe as possible.
Tonight is date night, super excited to chill and watch the race with her for the night. This season has been pretty exciting so far and its been really fun to get back into it with her.
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Gratitude 142
2022-02-05
Today I got some good Dobby training time in. He and I took a long walk around the park. He did really good, even in the deep snow that we have going on. Later on tonight we did a bit of training. This was my first chance at training with treats, and its amazing how fast just a young pup is picking up commands. He seems REALLY smart compared to most other animals that I have had close contact with. It could also be that with Rhiannons great research we are starting him off on the right foot.
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Gratitude 141
2022-02-04
Brisket night! We had a fantastic Brisket delivered to us by Butcher Box, and everyone absolutely loved it. Ayla was so skeptical, that it was kinda funny. she went from "ew, I don't want that", to "Maybe I'll try some", to "YES give me some", to "Can I have MORE!".
We all seem to be coming down with a bit of a winter cold. It's a bit rough, but so glad that it's not covid, we have been testing like crazy. At this point I feel like we are one of the few left who have not got it, we are also so crazy protecting ourselves from it for the sake of Rhiannons life! There is no way she could survive it so we must do everything in our power to avoid it. I think the hardest part is that the rest of the world is like 'eh its ok, nothing bad will happen', ya know what, at this point most of the rest of the world has had it at some point.
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Gratitude 140
2022-02-03
HUGE SNOW DAY. Today we got one of the biggest snows we have had since moving to Illinois nearly 10 years ago. The one that feels close was the first year we were here, the day Becca came to see us in Minier we got dumped on. I remember calling in that day and the response was well, if you don't think you can make it you can use a vacation day.... it was my first year and my very little vacation was pro-rated. Oh what different times we are in now!
Rhiannon scooped the drive... well she hired it out. I am so grateful for her doing that, because as I watched neighbors snowblow their driveways I realized how back breaking shoveling would have been.
While everyone else way blowing off their drives after work Wyatt and I were enjoying the fruits of Rhiannon's hard work. We made a really awesome igloo in the pile of snow that turned into a tunnel through the pile. He was super impressed and was had a ton of fun playing it.
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Gratitude 139
2022-02-02
Today Ayla was quarantined in her room after having a sick evening yesterday. She seems to be doing great overall today, no more symptoms. I completely expect tomorrow to be back to normal. We set her up with all sorts of fun activities and meals in her room. We even gave her one of our Alexas so that she could drop into my office anytime that she needed. She would drop in, tell me jokes, and all about the things she was up to. Overall I am very impressed with how well she did today. She is so good with all of these kind of things.
Oh and I would drop by with dobby at the door each time we needed to go out for a puppy peek to help us feel better, it would bring the biggest smile to her face each time.
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Gratitude 138
2022-02-01
Boxes came today! Getting ready to really dig into the next phase of this move. It's a combination of exciting and overwhelming. I am so incredibly grateful that this is the last time that we have to do this semi-unwillingly for a long time! There is no more landlord, no more owner to deal with. The next place is all for us to decide what to do with. We get to pick the colors, we get to pick what new appliances to put in. Most importantly we get to choose when we want to move. We will be in a very stable place where we are in much more control.
Dobby is still cute as can be and spent quite a bit of the morning time with me. In fact he completely fell asleep on my desk for one meeting I was in. He is so far doing fantastic with all things puppy, fingers crossed that we can continue to guide him to good and not need to battle him every step of the way. We really could not ask for a better puppy for us!
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Gratitude 137
2022-01-31
First full day with Dobby home went fantastically! We did have one accident inside the house, he let me know that he needed to go, but I wanted to put real pants on first. Well that didn't work out so well, peed right as I set him down. We live and we learn. At least we still have a really good pet spot vac from Gizmo's final year where he really started to have some serious bladder issues.
Last night was date night. It was super fun we are really getting back into the flow of watching supercross every Saturday again. It brings back a ton of memories for me, as I have watched almost every race since 2005. It's just been so fun to get back into it with Rhiannon.
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Gratitude 136
2022-01-30
Dobby (our new pup) came home today, and he is just the cutest pup ever. He is already filling our house with some much needed love. I know the next few weeks are going to get a bit crazy and his need for us is only going to add to it, but it will be so worth it.
Rhiannon has done so much research, I am so proud of her! It feels so different going into this with someone who knows what they are doing than just winging it. I really feel like we are setting Dobby up for success in our house. Much of the care is focused on positivity and love rather than yelling, hitting, or any punishment. We only let him go places that he is allowed, and when he is doing an undesirable activity we simply redirect him to a desireable activity. There's obviously a lot more detail that goes into this, but distilled down as far as I can this is the essential strategy we are taking.
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Gratitude 135
2022-01-29
Today felt busy AF. It was just a solid day of activity. Tyring to get Ayla through her homework, through school, Deployed 2 projects at work, and.... and .... we are getting ready for Dobby to come home tomorrow. I am so excited for him to be home with us. Everyone is. Its just so joyful to see the excitement that everyone has for him. Rhiannon has done some fantastic research to understan what we need to do to trai him properly. We have never gotten a pet that was not a rescue. This was in part to knowing the family he is coming from, and the fact that he is going to be Rhiannons medical alert animal. We wanted him to be trained from t start for what she needs him to do. So excited for the big day.
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Gratitude 134
2022-01-28
We got a passing home inspection today. There were comments on it of course, a few things we need to fix up, and a few things that we requested to be cleared up before finalizing the deal. But nothing seemed like a deal stopper at all. Rhiannon keeps superstaring all the documents within the hour they hit our inbox she has them turned around and back on the different places involved. Again this feels like such a huge process, I am so grateful that we found such a great team to help us through it successfully.
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Gratitude 133
2022-01-27
Chemo day today, and it seemed like an ok one this time round, Rhiannon was able to get a good rest in this afternoon. That always seems to help her quite a bit. The house paperwork is flying in and rhiannon is squashing it as fast as it hits our inbox. I help with what I can, but honestly most of it is done within minutes of it getting to us. She is really crushing this beast mode.
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Gratitude 132
2022-01-26
Tonight was the first night with Ayla's new routine and it went very well. I could tell it was much easier and more comfortable for her.
I got to see our new house today during the home inspection, and it looks very nice. It has plenty of space for all of us, and should be much more maintainable at about half the total square feet that we are in right now. We are all excited to pick out our paint colors and start designing out our own spaces. The home inspection went quite well. There was some small maintenance things that he pointed out, but it was all really good.
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Gratitude 131
2022-01-25
Today Ayla got a new night time routine for her enema, its called a peristeen. We have been looking forward to this step for awhile now. The progress we have made so far has been great. She is gaining back a lot of independence and confidence in herself, but the night time routine itself has been a sore spot. It's been uncomfortable and causes cramping. Rhiannon said the peristeen went so well today at the appointment, that its going to be so much better. We are really just trying to do the best that we can for her, and want her to suceed and go on with the most confidence she can. We really do not want her scarred from having accidents for all of her childhood.
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Gratitude 130
2022-01-24
In my 32 years I cannot recall ever dropping an f-bomb in front of my mom, heck besides a short period in my life were I developed shop mouth I rarely drop one. Like twice a year at most. Tonight it was not only in her presence, it was directed right at her. I am still processing how I feel about it, but I think it was a discussion that was a long time coming that we needed to have. I'm glad to get it off my chest, but I also feel lost and not quite sure where to go from here.
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Gratitude 129
2022-01-23
It all started when we decided to celebrate buying our house 🎉. We decided screw making supper and doing dishes, we are going to order something. We got pizza for the kids and burritos for the parents. Rhiannons did not come out quite as good as she would have hoped, so she barely ate any. Little did she know the storm that burrito bowl was brewing. She was throwing up all last night and just trying to get comfortable and make it through the day today. I am very grateful for our kids patience and understanding trying to get her what she needs to get through the day. Sadly we are likely going to have to cancel our SuperCross date night tonight to let her finally get some rest, but we can always watch it not live tomorrow. Let's hope for a better day for her tomorrow.
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Gratitude 128
2022-01-22
We got a house, for real this time. I am actually 99% sure, maybe 90%, anyways it's solid. We put in an offer and it was accepted this time. It's very close to here, so Ayla will be going to the same school district, different school. Her 3rd year in school will also be her 3rd school in the same district, all within a 5 minute drive of each other, its wild. It has an appropriate amount of space for all of us, and a very big back yard that we plan to fence in and let the kids roam to their hearts content as soon as we can. It looks like a very nice house we are excited to get started with our new journey in it.
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Gratitude 127
2022-01-21
We lost the house we were really dreaming of today. It's been tough. I think the toughest part is that we are going to have to spend more to get a house that we don't love as much. This system sucks.
On the bright side, we found a house that we do really like. One that if we hadn't seen the other would really feel a whole lot better about. It's actually really close and checks a lot of the boxes that our family wants. Fingers crossed this one is not a crazy as the last.
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Gratitude 126
2022-01-20
We are getting ghosted by sellers again, they are really cramping the style on this whole gratitude journal. I am very grateful that we have a great team on our end trying to get us into a house that we love before we are sent out of this one. They are really doing everything that they can to help us, it's just hard when there is no response from the other end. This house really meets so many of our wishes, many wishes that we didnt even realize that we had. It's hard to look at other houses, especially when most are more in the city and more expensive. We still have our hopes up. We really want a house that our whole family can love and we can grow together in without worry about where we are going to be living next.
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Gratitude 125
2022-01-19
We heard back from the owners of our house! As exciting as it is they still kinda left us hanging. They admitted to just ghosting everyone and that they will get back to us tomorrow. It's frustrating that there are so many layers in between us, but at the same time I am grateful for the team of people helping us. There is so much that goes into buying a house that We would never think of wtihout tons of research.
Today Was the repeat trip back to Iowa City, another 12 hours in the car for the kids. I am so grateful for how supportive they are of Rhiannon, they will do anything for her. It was a bit chaotic at times, but overall I am proud of them for getting through this stressfull trip.
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Gratitude 124
2022-01-18
Last night we lined up a bunch of new houses to look at, still not hearing back from the owners, its frustrating, but we need to move so we gotta start looking.
Tomorrow is a follow up appointment in Iowa City so we have a big day in the car ahead of us. With all the restrictions we don't really have much chance to get out of the car. It's a nervewracking day, getting big news, with our kids sitting in the car for about 10 hours. It's the best way for us all to stay safe. Last time the kids did fantastic considering they have not been in the car at all in so long. Hoping for good news and a good trip ride with them.
Still got our fingers crossed on the house!
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Gratitude 123
2022-01-17
They are still MIA, we have our hopes up that somethings serious happened, or they are taking the holiday weekend off. We still have time, but not much, so we started looking into alternatives today so that we arent without a house before this is done.
Rhiannon and I are back to watching supercross as date nights on Saturday. We took a few years off after an event that happened in Daytona. We are both really enjoying trying to figure out what has changed since we stopped and watching together each week.
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Gratitude 122
2022-01-16
😬 Today has been a bit nervewracking. The sellers of our house are MIA, and we are waiting for them to sign some documents. We are getting nervous that they are having second thoughts about the deal before it gets finalized, but I'm sure they are just away from their devices for personal reasons.
On a less nervewracking note, Wyatt and I played on our first Modded minecraft server today. He has been asking me for weeks to set it up and we have just been swamped that I have just told him no lets just focus on playing something that works. It took over an hour, maybe two to get all figured out and running, but we did it. There was no guide out there for Linux, and all the gui's are written for windows and not working for me. Everything felt like what I needed to do was straightforward, but it I had to run the same command several times over with different results to get going. We had a blast, he was just super pumped and trying to tell me all these things he knows about modded minecraft.
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Gratitude 121
2022-01-14
I think we did it!! We put an offer in on a house, negotiated, and accepted a counter offer. This is all moving so fast, there is so much more to go, but I really think we are going to have a place to live before we are sent out of here! It is down to the wire, its so close, but there is a really good chance everything is going to come together. I seriously cannot believe this. In no way did we think we were ready less than a week ago, and as we started looking into rentals all the same feelings come back. The houses are kinda what we want, but never quite the home we imagine, and there is not much we can do about it. And the fate of where we are next month is always in the fate of someone elses hands. Now it's still between us and the bank, but as long as we hold up on our end there is not much that can actually happen, unlike renting.
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Gratitude 120
2022-01-13
Holy nother day! This process is moving so fast, this morning we stepped into the house that we have been looking for. It's honestly one that has came up several times in our searches over the past while and we keep saying we really like it, but its only for sale. Now we are trying to buy it!! We already have our offer drafted and submitted. We got a lot of paperwork to sift through, and some big decisions to think about. I am so grateful that this one came up and just looks so perfect for us. It's outside of Peoria a little ways and in a much less competitive market.
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Gratitude 119
2022-01-12
Let the home buying process begin! Just a few days ago we thought our only option was to continue renting for yet another lease, and here we are today working with what seems like a fantastic mortgage company and realator trying to figure out what we want in a house. I think we are just at the point where we would like to be in just a bit better situation before purchasing, but at the same time, we are done getting kicked to the street or needing to upgrade every 1-2 years we have currently lived in 6 different Addresses in the last 10 years, let's hope the next 10 have much fewer than this.
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Gratitude 118
2022-01-11
What a day today was, we were really tossed into the home moving process on all fronts. We checked out a rental that is really close to where we currently are. It's quite a bit smaller, more expensive, and has no backyard. It does seem like it would not be a bad short term option though. Our current house was viewed by a potential buyer, this was completely tossed on us last minute, throwing us in a complete scramble to tidy up. And finally we just started talking with a home mortgage company about the possibility of purchasing a home. It's all a lot. This house has been good to us, and getting through the last year in quarantine, but out time here is running short. It's exciting, and I am so grateful that we have some options.
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Gratitude 117
2022-01-10
What a DAY, the landlord reached out to us last minute asking if he could show the house we are renting to potential buyers tomorrow, giving us only one days notice! It was a bit chaotic, a lot of emotions around letting someone in our house, especially while the biggest wave of COVID is in full force.
I am so gratefult that we can do all the things that we need without much need of bringing anyone into our house. I am so glad this house has been reliable for use and not needed much maintenance. For the most part our groceries are delivered to us, or for a short period was gathered for us and we picked it up.
It's just so nervewracking letting people in right now. I am just asking for everyone to be ok. Most people can handle this just fine, but Rhiannon's lungs are barely hanging in there with her current illness as is, there is no way she could get through without a least a rough hospital stay.
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Gratitude 116
2022-01-09
Supercross is back. Rhiannon and I took a few years off from watching supercross, the first time I had since I was probably 15 or so. I am not sure what happened mentally, but we had a bad experience while going to one live and just kinda stopped watching for a few years, but now we are back and it made for a fun date night night in. I am so glad to have her with me and just as excited to get back into it as I am.
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Gratitude 115
2022-01-08
Today we started cleaning up some more things in the garage, quite casually. I was quite impressed at what a great helper Wyatt was, he was stying on task for quite some time, vaccuuming up some things, and folding up boxes. It's quite the growth for him to be able to focus on something for very long at all.
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Gratitude 114
2022-01-07
We made it through the first week back at it. I am so grateful that We made it through the important meetings with Ayla's school, and Rhiannon is still testing negative for COVID. It's heartbreaking to see that she is so sick, yet everything reads as if she is just fine. I wish there was something that we could do for her, but the doctors just don't do much when all the labs come back "fine". Again I am grateful that is has not yet proved to be something super dangerous. Doing my best to keep it positive in this space, but the unknown can be quite scary with this one.
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Gratitude 113
2022-01-06
Getting back into our rythm. It's starting to feel busy here again, work is cranking along with quite a bit of pull. I have have 1 of 3 major pieces of the next release of one of my big projects submitted for PR! Wyatt and I are fully in scratch and having a good 3 sessions per day. Rhiannon and I have a really big meeting with the school tomorrow, so I am trying to read up a bit on that as I can. Ayla and I had a full silly swinging around session. I am just so grateful to feel the love from all angles of life. It's chaotic sometimes, but in a very loving manner. I couldn't be any happier.
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Gratitude 112
2022-01-05
Today was Chemo day for Rhiannon, and a rough one at that. We did get a whole box of Casey's delicious doughnuts and cookies to enjoy together. That only goes so far towards seeing her suffer continuously all day. I am just grateful that its only like this for one day every month, in another day or two she will be back to her best, but today is her worst. It's not easy being the one caught between caring for everyone, but we all make due and try our best to give Mama some extra love and support on this one day each month.
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Gratitude 111
2022-01-04
First day back to work for the new year I feel much more tired after a day of work, never in my life did I think I would say that about office work, but hard thinking all day takes more out of you than one realizes. Being up multiple times throughout the night also likely plays into it.
Anyways all went pretty well, It was good to see everyone (online). There was a moment where I was pretty heads down problem solving live in front of two co-workers, Actually trying to get their project working for them so they could continue on without me, and the kids just erupted. I was so grateful that Rhiannon had my back, she got the kids what they needed and I was able to finish up that working session fairly quick, and get them going.
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Gratitude 110
2022-01-03
Really the last day before it all starts back up. Today, I totally thought it was a work day. Got dressed and everything, popped out the laptop and realized it was a floating holiday. Well it was a good dry run, cause after a few weeks off getting up and at em on top of getting everyone their things they need in the morning I was not getting going at the normal time.
Today Ayla and I had a fantastic coloring session. We each made some heart eye emojis to give to each other and they turned out awesome. She even cut them out for me.
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Gratitude 109
2022-01-02
This is the end of the long winter break and time to get back to the normal flow of life. It's been a great 2 weeks off. I was able to spend a lot of quality time with the kids and get a lot of side project work done. Markata has come so far, and has made releasing new posts so much easier.
It's a good time to get a reset and remember what is most important, and not let work me stressed out. It's always going to be there and stressing over it is not going to make much change to it. We hae a ton of things going on in our life that requires my attention, and thats ok. This is why I am on such a flexible work schedule. There are times to push and really make a lot of progress, and times to focus on helping family with their needs.
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Gratitude 108
2022-01-01
What a blizzard. Wyatt and I braved the cold, had a snowball fight, scooped the front sidewalk and just explored. This is probably the most snow Wyatt has yet to see, it was magnificently beautful. I am so grateful to have this time off each year to really spend time with the family without feeling like I constantly need to get to something.
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Gratitude 107
2021-12-31
Happy New Years 🎉🎉. Today we played Hangry, a new game that we got for Christmas as a whole family. It was a freaking blast! The whole family was belly laughing through most of it. I am so grateful that Rhiannon was able to tough through at least one round of it despite her illness that's coming on.
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Gratitude 106
2021-12-30
Today was a super calm and chill day. It worked out because Rhiannon is coming down with something that is hitting her hard. No covid symptoms yet, we are hoping that its not that. Anyways multiple times today she had asked what are the kids doing. Which is weird because they usually let you know what they are doing without needing to ask.
We were back to Minecraft, this morning we jumped straight into it, all three of us. I am really proud of how far Wyatt has come towards welcoming and helping Ayla. He is doing really well at accepting her and letting her in more to play with us. Not that he doesn't, we do all get time to interact together, but its just becoming more and more regular.
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Gratitude 105
2021-12-29
We've switched to scratch. My son and I have one on one time twice per day, usually right at his chaotic times while medicine is kicking in. Generally it's Minecrafts as that is a safe place to be as chaotic as we need to be, but today its been a day of scratch. Its fun to see how quickly he is picking it up, he is already on his own setting up new sprites, reskinning them, and setting up keys to move them around. I step in with some things that are just outside of his zone. The first time we go through it, it seems like he is paying no attention and does not care, but after a few times of going through a concept he seems to be picking it up.
I have really been trying to get him to do the problem solving as much as possible, so if we are paired up and I am "writing" the code, I try to get him to drive as much as possible. Even if its not a direct we need a forever block, describing to me what the sprite should do and what the player needs to do to make it happen is a huge step. I try to make him give me as small of a step as he can without pushing too hard because I understand that it is his time that he is a bit chaotic.
I am so grateful that this technology exists and we can make games together. This is totally not something I had as a kid and would have loved to have or been encouraged to pursue.
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Gratitude 104
2021-12-28
SNOW DAY!!!
Today was the first day of snow! The kids and I took full advantage. We scooped the driveway and sidewalk first so that it doesn't build up into a sheet of ice since it never sees sun this time of year. We built a giant snow man at its tallest point it was taller than I could reach. We went sledding down the hill by the trail. Wyatt was the only one that braved the trek all the way to the top. I made sure that he didn't hit the pile of logs at the bottom, but I was afraid I would have hit it hard and hurt myself. Ayla went pretty high up and had the biggest smile on her face the hole time she was going down.
Our snowman at about half of its maximum height.
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Gratitude 103
2021-12-27
Today I really tried to shift focus to on the kids. It's been a wild ride this year and I have really been stuck in the motions, wake up, get kids food, work, get Rhiannon meds, work, get food, .... all the utilitarian things that we all need day in and day out. Then vacation hit and all the extra time was on cleaning and holiday things. It was hard to just use the extra time to do fun things with them that we normally have not been doing.
This morning Wyatt and I finished Wally his robot dog. It was so cute, and he loved it. Honestly the kit was super cool, complicated, and the directions were only mostly there. It turned into a lot of can you find A15 for me, do you want to cut it, thank you, this is where I am going to put it. He loved watchig it come together, but I could feel that it was too much for him to do, even with help.
In the afternoon we went out to the front and went skating/bike riding. Everyone did great, and Ayla made some really good improvements on riding her bike uphill. She was making it uphill with less and less help each time.
Finally after supper Wyatt Ayla and I all built things in scratch. Ayla sang the most beautiful song, and I animated the ballerina that she picked out to sing her song. Then Wyatt made a Dream Character move and fight a boss, he drew a custom sword, and I make it so the sword followed dream.
Just tryin to make the best of the holidays
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Gratitude 102
2021-12-26
Today has been a day. Ayla has been on some serious mood swings and doing some very out of character activity. At the end of the day we had a nice talk. We talked about how we both made some mistakes thoughout the day, everyone does they are a part of life. But we don't need to let those mistakes define how our day goes, we get to choose if we continue down a good or bad path for the rest of the day.
I am so grateful that after this talk we both had a much better night, we understood the feelings that each other was processing and were able to really turn our night around and have a much better time cooperating with each other from there on out.
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Gratitude 101
2021-12-25
Christmas has been a blast so far. Everyone has been just having so much fun, with almost no arguing or complaining. There is so much gratitude shown for the things that we have recieved big or small, fun or utilitarian. We are sad that we cannot go see our extended family, but its been really nice to have this focused time with just our close family bringing us together even stronger.
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Gratitude 100
2021-12-24
It's Christmas eve and the love and excitement is in the air. It's definitely been a chaotic day with emotions going high and low. Ayla has been singing her heart out, she even recorded one on Mommy's phone and sent it to me. Wyatt and I hav play many rounds of Minecraft, installed a crazy number of new mods, and got a few rounds of 0AD in.
Best of all we had a special supper, and enjoyed a movie all together, that's right Wyatt, the king of not being able to stay put for 5 mintues enjoyed at least half a movie with us before we cut out early to go play. I am so grateful that I have this time off to enjoy with them and see them just so happy and joyful.
Merry Christmas Everyone.
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Gratitude 099
2021-12-23
So much for better sleep, we made it to 2:00 am before kids were up. They were exhausted today, fingers crossed for tomorrow.I
Today I played a new game with wyatt called 0A.D its a real time strategy game similar to Age of Empires, we had a blast. Honestly its probably more up my alley than his so I don't see us playing it too much. It was fun to mix up our normal Minecraft time with something new, but it was pretty complicated and a completely new category of game so it was quite overwhelming with new content, and felt very fast paced.
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Gratitude 098
2021-12-22
Both kids are starting to sleep again, we switched their medicine around and are doing things like thier vitamins in the morning and compensated some others for their increased age/weight. It's been weeks since Wyatt has made it past 3am, and its been wearing on everyone, we are all quite tired from the interrupted or lack of sleep.
Today we met with Ayla's surgical team again. We are making some great progress to giving her some independence back, having daily bowel movements, no accidents, and we might not need to go the surgical route. She has been handling the new routine like a champ and we are all getting figuring out how to make the best of it. Despite what it is, it often gives me and her some time together where we are both a bit silly and trying to not let the stress of the routine get to us.
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Gratitude 097
2021-06-23
Chemo day
Today was the every 3 week chemo therapy day for my wife. Today I am grateful that it all went well and that she got her favorite nurse, Dee, to administer it. They have a really great relationship, and it makes me feel great for Rhiannon to have such a companion through this. Even though I am still not able to get into the cancer center due to COVID-19 restrictions I feel that she is well taken care of.
Thank you Dee we appreciate you so much
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Gratitude 096
2021-06-22
It's been awhile
It's been quite awhile since I have done a gratitude journal, like really long, but lately i've felt that it's time to start back up again.
Doc
Lately I've been battling some nasty allergies, today I went to the doctor to get checked out and prescribed some medication that I think is going to make a big difference. Aparantly my nose was pretty filled up. I could definitely feel some immediate relief as my nose started clearing up through the day. I am so grateful that Rhiannon pushed me to getting checked out. I am so grateful that my doctor took me back in as a patient after not seeing him for so long though the pandemic. Finally I am ready for some relief.
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The Good Old Days
2019-09-22
When I think of the good old days, you are the first person to come to mind. Back in those days I was up before the sun every day... No Excuses. I remember I would start asking to go to your house almost immediately when I woke up on weekends that I knew you had at your dad's. Mom usually held me back until at least 10 AM before I was allowed to start knocking on the door. At that point I would jump on my bike for the 1/4 mile trek down the gravel road, usually to find out that you were not quite up yet. From there I would keep stopping by every 30 minutes until you were ready to play. Which could only be in 30 minute increments... Do you remember that? We had 30 minute curfew's to that we were allowed to play at each others house. At which point we would just ask to go play at the others house.
I remember playing in the mudhole in front of my house chasing the tiniest frogs imaginable, to look behind and you had lost your boots completely stuck in the mud ready to loose your things. I was full outdoors man back in those days. Wanted to be just like dad. Spending all of my free time riding my bike and chasing some sort of animal. I would go back to help and get myself stuck. By the end of it I'm sure we both had gone head first in the mud trying to get out! At this point we were probably told that it was time to stop playing together for the day as we were both a complete wreck. I'm sure that I was angry that I made it through on my own fine, only to get messy trying to help you. In reality It was just about impossible to get through that mudhole if you weren't the first one through it.
Years later our bikes turned to mopeds, three-wheelers, and go carts. I have nearly forgotten about the go-carts by this point. I remember that you always had this big BA oddessy, and It was all I could do to keep up on the grasshopper. I remember desperately trying to keep up one day coming from our soon to be motocross track to Mark's house when I hit big hole sideways and went rolling. I had no helmet on our anything. I am pretty sure that I hurt myself pretty good, but I was too tough to let that stop me. Besides that I was probably too proud of my amazing go-carting skills to even admit that I would have crashed. By the time I caught up I just played it off like I needed a break. Which would be completely obvious because there was nothing that made me want to take a break from riding back in those days.
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Gratitude 095
2019-05-21
Happy Anniversary
Its been 8 great years so far. We have grown together so much along the way. I don't think that we could have every planned out our path to get where we are today 8 years ago. We did know one thing, that we would be here together. We fight whatever challenges come our way together. We can beat anything as long as we stick together on the same page. trouble comes as soon as we loose sight of that and work alone. Together we have grown so much more than either of us could have done alone. There are challenges that neither of us could have conquered alone. I cannot imagine myself facing these challenges with anyone else. I know that we can defeat whatever comes our way in the future, because together we are strong. I Love you Rhiannon Walker, Forever and Ever.
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Gratitude 094
2019-05-20
Let's get outside
The weather outside lately has been rainy and dreary, making it difficult for us to get outside much. Yesterday there was a break of great weather. The kids and I took advantage of the opportunity. We got outside to go on walks, to parks, and even was able to try to fly a little bit, though it was a bit windy for flying.
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Gratitude 093
2019-05-20
Wyatt Graduated OT
This week Wyatt hit a milestone. He graduated from his OT therapy!! 🎉🎉 He has come such a long way since our first visit with them. He now has many techniques to help him calm himself down. He is now able to recognize hist different moods very well and what to do in each of them to get to a more stable one or stay where he is. I just wanted to take a minute to mentally reflect on this journey with myself, and how exciting it is to see him doing so well today.
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Gratitude 91
2019-05-17
Maintenance
Today I am grateful for having our housing maintenance taken care of for us. Our AC went out last night. We called them up this morning and they had it fixed by the afternoon. The relief of not having something else to contend with is ver nice. I didn't have to waste my time checking the simple things or worry that we are spending their minimum price to flip a breaker.
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Gratitude 090
2019-02-25
Back to School
Kiddos are all back in school, and doing better. Wyatt is still running a bit slower than his normal 110% energetic self, but is hanging in there. I am grateful that we are back on track with a regular schedule and we are all able to do our own things that we need to throughout the day. I really enjoy being able to help everyone while they are down, but it really wears on me as everyone stacks up their down days back to back. It felt good to have some quiet time to get some work done and feel productive.
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Gratitude 089
2019-02-24
Keeping Busy
Lately has seemed incredibly busy. I feel like I just dont quite have enough time to the things done that I want to get done. Key word to remember is want. I am extremely grateful that my opinion is valued so much that it keeps me this busy. I am gratful that the things that need to get done, do get done. I am grateful that I am still able to get some of the things that I want to get done each day. Each day is a new one, with exciting challenges along the way. It's what keeps life exciting.
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Gratitude 088
2019-02-17
Helping each other
It's been a bit of a rough go in our family. Above the normal advanced someone or several of us have been sick nearly all winter. Rhiannon has seen the worst of the struggle with a very long running congestion. Through all of this we are here to support each other. The mental toll of being sick and tending to others who are sick takes a lot out of each of us. We are still able to work together, pick each other up and keep going. Some days are harder than others, some days we do not feel at our best be we still find the strength to help the others through. Yesterday Rhiannon helped me through a very rough time. I am so grateful for her abilitiy to dig into the menal stuff and help out. This is something that I find very hard to do. She is great at it. She is rally able to help me and the kids when we are feeling overwhelmed.
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Gratitude 087
2019-02-16
Community
Lateley I have found myself inside of a few niche communities becoming very well respected for my opinion. I rememver back a few years as I started getting more and more in to programming, I joined these communities within my company. I came in knowing very little and obsorbing all that I could. I would seek out the advice of others when my google searches left me lost. Over the years I absorbed quite a bit of this internal knowlege base and a heap of knowlege from open sources. As the years have gone by many of the folks I looked up to are gone or absent from the community. I am finding others seeking my attention more and more. It is really an amazing feeling of respect when folks not only seek out your help, but respond back hours later with a big thank you and a check out the latest version that includes your ideas. I am also very grateful for those who have helped along the way, I cannot thank them enough, and owe my getting started on the path I am on to them.
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Gratitude 086
2019-02-15
Getting out of the house
The morning is early as I open the door and am greated with the fresh skif of snow. The perfect amount to go frolicing in. Not too much to make it difficult to walk, but enough to cover everything in sight. In the Afternoon Wyatt and I mustered up the courage to brave our way through some nearby trails. The adventure was exciting as we have not yet ventured these trails much since our move here. The trail we chose approached a nearby stream. We watched as the glassy smooth stream cut through the shear white snow, ran through the fluffy off white catails, and into the frozen lake. We continued to walk onto a park, where we had a long snowball fight in which I stood back and through snowballs at wyatt as he ran through the park. Wyatt won of course as it was nearly impossible to hit him as he dodged in and out of the equipment, and I would lose one point for each and every miss. Soon thereafter the sun was quickly setting and it was time to hit the trail home.
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Gratitude 085
2019-02-14
Oh the Love
Today is Valentines day, and I have been getting all sorts of love from my family, and it is really amazing. Rhiannon helped the kids create this massive heart out of post it notes that include all the ways that the kids love me. The things they said were so sweet, and really made me feel good. It really reminded me of the difference I make in their lives every day. Rhiannon remade a sign that we used to have haning in our house. It has a saying that we always used to say " Forever and Ever". She made it really modern and it looks amazing. I also felt really good helping the kids give mommy a present, and giving the kids their presents from me. Since Ayla was home sick, I decided to bring her a single rose home. Seeing her face light up when she saw it was well worth it.
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Gratitude 084
2019-02-11
Reputation
Today I am very proud of the reputation that I have buit. I am very well respected inside my community. My opinions are valued. I am known to be very reliable. I will deliver what I have promised on time, or give plenty heads up that it's not going to happen. I work in an organization that is very closed doors. Folks keep their knowledge to themselves, and are generally not willing to help others accross the organization without a kick back. I give out all of my best knowledge for free, and will at lease give anyone a few mintutes of time to point them in the right direction. I am really proud of where this has lead me, and the reputation I have gained.
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Gratitude 083
2019-02-10
Manners
This weekend we re-implemented the ticket system in our house. It is really supposed to help focus ADHD kids. The kids have been really responsive to it. Not only have they been really helpful to earn tickets so that they can have been cleaning up and doing nice things without being asked to. They have been arguing less, and playing cooperatively more. I really hope this is a sign of what is to come. I am really grateful to have a wife that understands this kind of stuff and can research the latest techniques to help them. She is just able to pick up and see things in kids that is far above normal. She is then able to research and implement things to help them that are very targeted to their needs.
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Gratitude 082
2019-02-08
Working Remotely
I am so grateful that I am working in a space in which I can work remotely often. As a mechanical engineer I really struggled. Our team was really structured for onsite work, and did not play well for remote folks. Moving into data science, as long as I have a good connection to the data I need I can be productive from anywhere. Actually Sometimes I find there to be fewer distractions at home. Generally I work from home due to someone else's medical needs. Today was different, my voice is completely gone. This winter has been a rough one. I am so grateful that I can cancel all of my meetings, push them to next week and take time to heal. I can also put my head down and get some great work done without needing to use my voice.
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Gratitude 081
2019-02-07
Freedom to learn
I am very grateful that I have the freedom to learn the things I need to in order to advance my skills and grow my career. I am very stretched for time, just like everyone else, but I am able to get the things done that I need to and still find time for learning. I talk to some people that do not have the time. They are piled so high with tasks to do that there is no time to learn. I a grateful that my leadership sees value in it and do not really ask questions as long as tasks are being completed on time.
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Gratitude 080
2019-02-06
Fun
This morning Wyatt had a 2 hr delay. I still took Ayla to school on time. I did some work, but still had some time for fun on the MineCraft server. This is a new world that Wyatt named Nathan. We did a 20 minute mining session, and at the end wyatt found the first diamonds of the server. He was in a really fun mood, and we were chatting it up the whole time, working together towards a common goal. He was so cooperative, taking on tasks of his own, giving me tasks, divying up materials along the way to make sure each could accomplish their task.
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Gratitude 079
2019-02-05
Learning Resources
Recently I have been thinking about all of the resources that have been available for me to learn. I am so grateful to have these at my disposal. Learning how to improve myself, and increase my productivity in the long run is a passion of mine. I spend many days spinning my wheels with something, but I am always learning. Even though those few hours were lost in the short term, in the long term I always come away having learned something. These small wins each day cumulativly add up to something that gives me a lot of productivity in my daily work and allows me to succeed.
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Gratitude 078
2019-02-04
Simplicity
We have been moved into the new apartment now for about 2 weeks, and I am really amazed how it feels to have simplified a lot of things along the way. There is a lot less clutter. Cleaning is a breeze. The kids are able to find their things and put them away with ease (for the most part). There feels to be much less of a weight in each room. Everywhere in the place feels light, clean, and easy to breathe. There is very little in the way of stress of clutter and cleanliness. The daily burden is quite minimal and everything can be cleaned up with very little effort.
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Gratitude 077
2019-02-01
Teacher Appreciation
It's the dead of winter, the cold January months, so cold in fact schools closed down for two days due to an arctic wind. For these two days Wyatt brought home homework to do at home. Nothing big just a few simple things. This really opened my eyes up to what teachers have to go through every day. It is really tough to get him focused on doing the work for very long at all. It is tough as an adult when you are sooo close to the end of the task to let go and give a break, or to let him do it his way when you know he is capable of doing better. For this I am grateful that we have teachers that are experts at working with kids like Wyatt to give him the best education possible, because without them I would loose my mind!
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Gratitude 076
2019-01-21
Team Work
The Boxes are slowly disappearing, the laundry pile is creeping down to the final pieces. We are nearing the final stages of the move thanks to some great teamwork. We have been working though the day and late into the night, consistently putting the hours in. Each day we creep closer to our final goal that seemed like it would never come. Our things are slowly finding their way to their home, placed with care and precision. Getting all of our things that we love brings us joy. Some of these things were not seen since the last move. I cannot wait to see the day's progress.
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Gratitude 075
2019-01-19
Calm
We are tired, short on sleep, bodies tired from lifting, but we remain high on the excitement of what is to come. We are pushing through day by day to ensure that we meet our deadlines. Our kids are missing the amount of time that we play with them, and starting to struggle emotionally, heck I think we are all struggling emotionally. We have packed everything we own into a truck ready to move to a new place. All of our favorite things are packed in, not surrounding us, and not giving us the compfort that we are used to. This has been our life over the past week. Now we take a deep breath and appreciate all of the help we have recieved this week. The help that we recieved from our friends, to the landlords, my coworkers, and most of all each other. Our favorite things are starting to surround us in our new place. We have room, and time, to play. Some things are not yet set up, but enough is setup to breathe. Let's embrace the calm as we roll into the final phase of this move.
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Gratitude 074
2019-01-18
Anti-Imposter
I am so grateful that even during a rough time, a time where I feel that I struggle to get things accomplished. I feel that I dont put the time in, people recognize me for my work. There are days that I feel that I cannot get the simplest of thing to work, and wonder what am I doing here, I feel like I dont know how to do what I need to, someone pops in to say thanks for my work for them. Sometimes I feel that I stretch myself too broad and I do too many different types of things to get good at any of them. Then someone comes my way to ask me how to do it because they know I am one of the few in our area that knows the full spectrum from end to end. These gentle reminders keep me going. They remind me that I can do it. They remind me that no everyone knows what they are doing 100% of the time. They remind me where I was, and where I am. They remind me of the progress that I have already made. They remind me that my goals are always changing and moving, but along the way I have reached so many. So today, tell someone about the great work that they did, and how it helped you. Tell them that you have confidence in their work and their hard work is appreciated.
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Gratitude 073
2019-01-15
Great Friends
We're officially moved into ouur new place today. I cannot thank all of our great friends enough for helping us get through the move. They helped us get the truck on the coldest and snowiest day of the year, pack it up in the snow, unload it, and return the truck. But they did not leave before helping with the kids's number one concern.... bunk beds. Last night two of them pulled a very late night to assemble the kids's bed so they could sleep. These kids have been talking non-stop for a long time about these bunk beds and they were so excited when they saw them.
Thank You everyone who helped us throughout our move!
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Gratitude 072
2019-01-14
Preparation
Yesterday was packing day for a big move. We have been getting ready for a few weeks now... Rhiannon has been getting ready for a few weeks and I kinda helped. She really nocked this one out of the park. Everything was so well organized into boxes and labeled we were able to load the truck really fast. She has been pushing herself really hard for a few weeks now. We were both really impressed with how little the truck was filled. We got the largest size Uhaul and only filled it half way. We have had this same truck in the past, and filled it. We have expanded our family, and yet trimmed down on the stuff.
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Gratitude 071
2019-01-12
The Right Words
Yesterday we got a call from Wyatt's principal. It was something that I did not quite know how to deal with. These things are not in my wheelhouse at all! Rhiannon jumped right in and was able to talk to him and say all of the right things that he needed to hear. I was amazed at the way she was able to speak to him with positivity, gratitude, and most of all inspiration. She did not try to tear him down for what he did, but try to higlight the person that he was in those moments, and paint a picture of the person that he wants to be. I was just amazed at how she was able to translate what we wanted to see from him into his terms, and give great example of things that he would really care about. Hang in there mama we are on the right path to help him.
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Gratitude 070
2019-01-11
Great Morning
Today is kicking off as a pretty amazing morning so far. The whole family was in a really happy mood, even right after waking up. I enjoyed the start of sunrise running around with Wyatt at the bus stop, and continuing now while writing my gratitude and daily planning. Even though I was 10 minutes or so behind getting out the door this morning everything else has been going flawlessly, especially the most important things; family, mind, mood, and gratitude.
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Gratitude 069
2019-01-10
New Devices
Alright I do not usually mix gratitude with material things, but hear me out here. Today is the second day with my new to me refurbished three year old phone, and I am really enjoying it. I wanted to pay cash, didn't want to pay $800, wanted good performance, and didn't really care about having the Latest show room floor tech. So far it is treating me really well. The biggest reason that I got a new phone was that my signal was cutting out, and with our crazy lifestyle with lots of emergencies that I need to respond to I need somehing reliable. Today I was at work and this phone had signal in places within my work that none of my last 2-3 devices could get signal in. I was blown away when I could walk anywhere in the building and hold a conversation with my wife. This gives me the confidence that my phone will have signal when I need it and I can respond to any emergency that I need to.
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Gratitude 068
2019-01-09
Amazing People
This morning we informed Wyatt's bus diver that we were going to be moving and this was his last week riding the bus with her. It was sad to let her know that we are leaving. She has done so well with him, and they have become the best of friends. He is the first one on the bus in the morning and sits right next to her. She is able to start her day off early with a level of energy that is only parallelled by him, which is something that he needs. He really attracts to positive people that can match his level of energy and enthusiasm for the day. I am so grateful for people like her, who can bring so much positivity and gratitude to our life. Some people are repelled by Wyatt's level of enthusiasm, so it is always exciting to see this.
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Gratitude 067
2019-01-08
Recognition from unexpected places
Today I got a meeting invite with two folks that I do not usually get to interact with. The title, recognition for Waylon Walker... I am very excited to see what it is, and very grateful to have the chance to meet these folks in person. I do a lot of work that is not necessarily fit my job role, but is something that I know I have skills to do very quickly that many other folks do not. I fill many of these requests throughout the year, and every once in awhile I get a VERY nice thank you from the person, or their boss. I am grateful to be able to interact with these positive folks. It makes me feel really good, and like I am doing a good job. This particular on is different, and I will not know exactly what it is until Monday.
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Gratitude 066
2019-01-05
Great Friends
Today we are getting ready for our big move. I am very gratefull to have such great friends to help us pack up our junk, and get rid of the things we dont need. We started our minalist journey 2 years ago and during the last move we ended up with a bunch of boxes that were maybies that we are now getting rid of. Anyways. We just finished up a full day of prepping for a move, and our friends were so awesome. Everyone was super helpful, positive, encouraging and no complaints from anyone. Some even offered to take some things off of our hands as they would get more use out of them than we would in our new place, much better than seeing them hit the landfill.
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Gratitude 065
2019-01-04
We played hard
Today was filled with Dr. appointments... and Wyatt was still out of school. Days like this can terrify my sometimes, but Wyatt was completely on board with it and we had a blast the entire day. We played minecraft pocket edition in the wating room in apt 1, followed by some errands, a wonderful family lunch. Then we played around a fountain at the last one, and it was a blast. As he had surgery a week ago it has been awhile since we played this hard... and stayed completely positive the whole time. We just went with the flow starting with some simple toys we had, to ninja moves, to an epic ninja Herobrine battle. These are the moments that I yearn for as a parent. Playing one on one, completely positive, in the flow, no fights, and having a blast.
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Gratitude 64
2019-01-03
Good Moods
This morning I was graced with the greatest mood that my son could possibly have. He was incredibly courteous, grateful, willing to do things on his own. He got himself dressed, put his own shoes on, and when I told him that we had an early morning Dr. appointment he did not throw a fit and was 100% on board with going. He was at the top of his game, and as happy as could be.
Watching his gratitude and positivity shine this morning was more thatn enough motivation to start my day off on the right foot.
These are the moments that we long for as parents, and it is important to not brush over them and forget them. It's important to to watch him grow into a great meaningful member of society. Watching his gratitude and positivity shine this morning was more thatn enough motivation to start my day off on the right foot, and we did. We dropped off Ayla at preschool, attended his Dr. Appointment then came back to play and continue our wonderful morning.
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Gratitude 020
2019-01-03
Good Tunes
Recently the kids have really been into singing in the car with Daddy on the way to and from Preshool. It is so fun, because we are all belting it out so loud, and each take over for our special parts. It's interesting how Ayla has grown into liking it. For the longest time I thought that she did not like Wyatt and I being so loud, but she never complained about it. Then over the past week I noticed during some parts of the songs she is the LOUDEST one in the car. After each song the kids both ask, "Did I sing the whole song?", and I try to get super into it and have a very motivational Radio DJ style of voice encouraging them to continue and tell them how well they did.
during some parts of the songs she is the LOUDEST one in the car.
Kids Current Favorite songs
- Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots
- Emperor's New Clothes by Panic! at the Disco
- An 11 Year Old Wrote This About His Bully by Mac Lethal
- Ride by Twenty One Pilots
P.S. Its so awesome to see how into the Mac Lethal song they are. It has a really cool message about being kind to others, and treating everyone with respect.
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Gratitude 063
2019-01-02
Shaggy No More
2019 I will be more professional looking every day... not just when convenient and to kick it off I got my hair cut today. I have gone a few months now without a hair cut so I was pretty excited to get the shaggs cut down. It was very nice to just get out of the house and away for a short period and come back looking like $1M bucks. Rhiannon has been on me about my hair and my wrickly shirts in the past. No more, this is the year that I will keep up on it myself without needing my wife to hold my hand!
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Gratitude 018
2019-01-01
My First French Braid
Tonight was the last night of the big holiday vacation and I finally got that special moment with every single family member over break. It was Ayla's turn tonight. We had our break when Wyatt wanted mommy to play MineCraft with him and did not want daddy to play. Ayla's hair looked like a bird was trying to built its nest in it. We made our way upstairs with a spray bottle, comb, brush and a whole lot of excitement. We filled the spray bottle with water, and I let Ayla start going to town spraying everything in sight. Although it was explicitly stated that it would not be used for its intended purpose, detangling hair. Thats ok though as I was able to get some moisture in with my hands. I continued to do my first french braid on her. The first attempt was a fail as Ayla was moving too much and I lost it. The second attemt was a success. After this Ayla proceeded to water, brush, wipe, and comb daddy's har over the next hour!
I ran out of time, but I will still mention that she painted her first set of toes.
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Gratitude 062
2019-01-01
Productive Break
It's nearing the end of the annual shutdown. We have had a lot of illness running through the house over the course of the break, but the last couple of days have been very productive. We have been Spring Cleaning. We have cleared out a lot of unnecessary things, scrubbed the house, and packed up a lot of things in preparation for the upcoming move. It feels great to finally start to see some progress on these tasks after talking about them for so long.
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Gratitude 061
2018-12-19
Inspirational Work
I research everything to DEATH. This includes my work. I am constantly looking for inspiration, and learning from others in how they do their work. I love seeing the results that can be achieved by someone who is dedicated fully to their craft, and try to understan how I can achieve 80% of that with 20% of the effort, so that I dont need to be a full time designer, front end developer, dev ops... you get the picture. Over the last couple of months we have had a Data Scientist on rotation in our group and its time to get it into production and start getting some feedback. As he is learning how the web works its cool to see the light come on for someone else, and have that ah ha moment. The web is an overly complicated beast these days with far too many options. It is
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Gratitude 060
2018-12-18
Chill
Every once in awhile its time to take a deep breath.. Seriously do it with me stop, take a deep breath, exhale. Understand that you cannot do everything. Sometimes life throws you a loop that is out of your control. Today was one of those days. Getting down to the end of the year I get really excited to work on my projects at work for me. I take full advantage of the reduced workforce, reduced desk stops, reduced chit chat, and I GTD. Getting down within the last week I am starting to prioritize projects to ensure I get everything done that really needs done while I have this time to ensure full productivity in the next year. My son stayed home sick and I was with him. As much as I wanted to stress out about the things I wasnt getting done we came to a comprimise. I was able to work from home for a good chunk of the day, but we also spent some time chilling together on our Minecraft server. It was really fun. We were working through projects together, taking out mobs, building structures, the stresses of life seemed to melt away for awhile. And you know what we both loved it.
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Gratitude 059
2018-12-13
Positivity
There is no substitute for a positive personality. I am very grateful to have a super positive subset of folks that I work with every day, it really helps to cancel out the negative ones. I really like what Gary V. says about surrounding yourself with positive people, Keep only those who are positive arounnd you and let the rest go. I really struggle to completely shut out anyone from my life, but I do try to focus my interactions to those who are positive and uplifting. I will give nearly anyone who asks for help in a nice positive way 15mins - 1hr. Those who come and demand help with negativity are hard to give that time to. I do not seek them out for help, feedback, or to check in on them. Keep the positive ones close to you.
As this one is about positivity I find it odd that it went in a direction about negative folks and was on the edge of not really being a gratitude post. I guess thats what happens in a short/timed freeflow sometimes.
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Gratitude 058
2018-12-12
Pick me up when I Fall
Lately there has been a rollar coaster running through our house. So much going on that its hard for everyone ot keep their head above water at all times. I am grateful that we all have remained on each others team. Sometimes when we fall we have to help ourselves back up, but it is really nice when there are others there to help us up. That's what family is for isn't it? It is amazing to see how others respond when they see you down and jump in with all they can do to help. I recently had a fall (mental), and after getting through it felt rediculous. It has really opened my eyes to how to help people, and how to spot someone who is just having a rough day. Most people do not have poor intentions, but they can come off that way when they are in a bad place. Spot these moments in someones day and try to pick them back up.
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Gratitude 057
2018-12-01
Feeling Good
Lately I have been feeling great! Literally great. We have had a ton going on for awhile and its been a long time that I have truely felt this great. The benefits are astounding. They say that you can only help others when you are capable of helping yourself, oh how that is so true. I feel like lately I have been able to keep my cool and help everyone else much better than when not feeling on top of my game.
They say that you can only help others when you are capable of helping yourself, oh how that is so true.
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Gratitude 056
2018-11-19
Reflection
Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States, what a great day to take a reflection on the past year, and think about what I am grateful for.
Ayla is a singing, speaking, yelling, and screeeeeming pro. Over this last year she has gone from nearly mute to graduating from Speech therapy! Her progress has been astounding, and seeing her now you would have no idea where she was one year ago. I would say she has some of the best enunciation I have heard from a 4 year old.
Wyatt got his CPAP, and has a plan to help him start sleeping better. We are all hoping for the best for this little boy. Fingers crossed that some sleep will help his ADHD.
I am also very grateful for where our marriage is and where it has came from over the last year. It has been rocky, but what relationship isn't we're people. But we have learned so much about each other, and continue to get better each and every day. I think that it's pretty amazing that we can take everything that life throws at us and stay on top!.
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Gratitude 055
2018-11-19
Signs of Improvement
Ayla was born 4 years ago with her fair share of medical issues. Most of which are resolved... potty training continues to be a source of difficulty for us. We have relaxed and are letting her take the wheel at the moment. It is slow going, but every once in awhile she shows us a spark of hope that she will get it. Yesterday was one of those days. It is good to continue to let these moments revive our hope that she can do it and that when we are ready to push her again she will be ready to take charge.
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Gratitude 054
2018-11-13
Hanging in there...
Through everything we have gone through we have always came out on top. Nothing has knocked us down so bad that we cannot get back up. Some days it may feel like we will never recover, but we always do. Some days everything just is too much and is too overwhelming, but we find our way to the top. Some days we feel crushed, but somehow we find the strength to kick that boulder off of our chest and rise above. We are human, we have our good days and out bad days. Our bad days feel so low we think it may never end, but it always does. We rise back to the top and crush this thing we call life. Everyone has their own struggles that they deal with every day, and their own battles to fight. Next time your down, just remember it will not last forever and your day will come to crush it. We will stand strong, concour our enemies, and rise to the top.
Forever and Ever.
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Gratitude 053
2018-11-11
She is a RockStar
We recently (today) found out that that Wyatt has moderatly severe Sleep apnea. This explains a lot for him, and is a bit scary for us at the moment, and we are hoping for the best for him. We wouldnt have found out any of this if it wasnt for Rhiannon. She is an advocate for these kids like nothing else. The mom gene is strong wiht this one. When she knows something is wrong in her gut, she stops at nothing to find answers.
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Gratitude 052
2018-11-09
6 years
The past 6 years have taught me a lot about life. Especially about the most important part Family. Family are those who have your back at any moment, and you have their back at any given moment. 6 years ago we expanded our family when we brought our first child into it. Since then has been quite the journey. Throughout those 6 years every single one of use have had our ups and downs, but the others always have our backs and help us through anything. Not only is that sweet boy turning 6 today, but he is the one that needs a bit of extra attention right now. We have his back and will help him through his journey.
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Gratitude 051
2018-11-05
Talking
Today I am grateful for the fact that I have someone to talk about my problems with. Rhiannon is very influential when it comes to mental health. She has conconcoured several very difficult issues of her own and is able to guide me through mine. I am glad that we are able to talk through these things and come up with actionable things to correct.
Life remains a rollar coaster and these issues will come and go, new ones will rise and fall, old ones will creep in. It is important to keep someone like this who you can talk to. For me it is very difficult to identify what the root issue is to begin with let alone try to fix it. Recently I was really struggling and it came down to confidence/imposter syndrome. She was able to identify that, and point out some really amazing feedback that I have recieved as truth that I am achieving great standards, even if I dont feel that way when I am lost in the weeds of everything.
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Gratitude 049
2018-10-18
Happy Birthday Ayla
Today was Ayla's fourth birthday, what an adventure it took to get here. I am so grateful for how far she has came. Her medical issues are all resolved, her speech is on point, and she is overall a very happy and healthy four year old girl. Today we were able to celebrate her birthday at home as a family. She absolutely loved the presents that we got her. It was very fun to watch the excitement on her face all day long. She is very attached to her new toys and hasnt stopped playing with them yet. It has been a long journey for us to get here with us, and it was worth all of the effort!
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Gratitude 049
2018-08-30
Support
Today I woke up to find a very inspiring note from Rhiannon. It was hand writtent front and back! In the note she talked about the stuggles that we have had over the last 2 years, and that while reading through her journal there was one thing that kept her going day in and day out, me. I have been there through the hard times for her. Yesterday I heard some news that was very sad for me to hear, and made me very unsure of the future. She left me this note to let me know that no matter what happens she will be there by my side and we will get through it together.
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Gratitude 048
2018-04-22
Playdate
Today We had a playdate for the kids. While its good to get the kids out and interacting with others, its good for the adults as well. I am not typically one to spring up an event with other adults, so its great that the kids drive that for us. The adults were able to play a board game while the kids were playing. I am very grateful that I was able to get out and enjoy some time with other adults, and that the kids had a really good afternoon. The game we played was new to me and was a blast to play.
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Gratitude 047
2018-04-21
Bravery
Its not something that is handed out by participation. Being part of the battle does not earn bravery. Defeating the odds, going into a battle with passion for the end result, and putting all of your heart into it. Thats what defines bravery to me. Last night I saw two family members give excelent examples of bravery. Last night was the preschool prom night. Ayla was unable to go, and Rhiannon was very passionate about going with Wyatt. She has not been feeling well, and being around lots of poeple can make it very difficult at times, but she did it. She was able to overcome the odds and make it through the prom for him. The other great example of bravery was Wyatt. While in a very excited mood, with a lot going on around him. He was able to stand by his mothers side, hold her hand, ask her if she was ok, and ask if there was anything he could do to help her through a rough spot. He was able to overcome his ADHD, take a deep breath and stand strong for his mother. This is not the first time that he has done this. He has been growing up into a brave boy lately.
He was able to overcome his ADHD, take a deep breath and stand strong for his mother.
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Gratitude 046
2018-04-17
Kid Help
I am very grateful that we have help with the kids when we need it on a moments notice. Today I came home with a migrane, and was able to rest up for a little while before helping them with bedtime. Rather than pushing though and being miserable, I was able to take a short break then proceed with a nice night with the kids and Rhiannon.
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Gratitude 045
2018-04-14
Time Out
Yesterday Rhiannon and I were able to get some much needed time away for some very overdue haircuts. It was really nice to be able to just take off and leave the kids with friends on a whim. While it takes all that she's got to go anywhere I am still very grateful that she is able to get out of the house. It was nice to spend a dreary day out with her. Dreary days are the best because the air is always fresh and clear of most environmental smoke.
While it takes all that she's got to go anywhere I am still very grateful that she is able to get out of the house.
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Gratitude 044
2018-04-13
Running
Over the course of the winter the kids and I have been creating trails through the woods behind our house. It has been really fun. The forrest is really thick with lots of small bits of brush, a stream, logs and various old junk. The kids have enjoyed having a place to get out of the house and stop around. It has been a great outlet for us.
Recently I have started running on them. I have been getting better and better. I feel like I am starting to get back inot a bit of shape where I am not winded within minutes, but can at least make a few laps. I find the trails really fun to run on, as I have always really struggled running on a track or even sidewalk. I am always looking for something to make it more exciting.
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Gratitude 043
2018-03-30
Prep and Reflect
I have recently found a new podcast, The Ken Coleman Show, from the Ramsey network. I really like Ken's style. He recently talked about 2 two things that you should do everyday. Prepare and reflect. If you are not doing these things it is very difficult to progress in your goals. I really like how the gratitude journal works into the reflect piece of life. It brings me positivity and a chance to look back on the day. I like how I am able to reflect on the day, or last few days and find something positive that happened. It also helps me think about how I can improve myself. I am also reflecting throughout the day as I think about things that I might write about in the journal.
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Gratitude 042
2018-03-26
Happy Birthday
Today I am very grateful for all of the wonderful birthday wishes. I started off the day with two very excited kids. They couldn't wait to wake up, give daddy a big hug and wish him happy birthday today. My kids love them some birthday wishes and do all they can to make the birthday person feel special. Next the text messages started to roll in. It is nice to hear from everyone that I havent heard from in awhile. At night Scott Volunteered to bathe the kids, and get pajammas on them, while I was able to spend a bit more time with Rhiannon. Speaking of which...
I didn't forget the most special of all. Rhiannon, my beautiful wife, was a soldier today. She got up, forgone the medicine, and headed out with me bright and early to take the kids to Pre-K, get coffee, and run various errands. In which we ran into smoke on several occassions that nearly took her down. While I was out taking Wyatt to therapy, and picking up Ayla. She muscled through and finished my quilt, wrapped my presents, and cooked an amazing jumbalya!!
All in all this was one of the best days I have had in awhile, Thanks everyone!
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Gratitude 0040
2018-03-24
I slept in
Today has been a really relaxing day! I woke up this morning Rhiannon was with Ayla, and Wyatt was downstairs with some friends staying in the house, so I continued sleeping until I was ready to get up. After getting up I helped Ayla with potty training for awhile, in which we racked up 3 sticker! Then Wyatt and I went out sledding in this epic snow that we were blessed with today. It was a thick heavy, and perfect sledding snow. We built a tall takeoff ramp, and continued sledding for quite awile. It was a bit tiring from the weight of the snow, but it was super fun. The reason that I say that we were blessed with this snow is that the fires have stopped. Every trip we leave the house this past week has ended up with us running into a thick smoke from folks burning grass and brush. This landed us in the hospital once, and Rhiannon in strong pain the other times.
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Gratitude 0040
2018-03-18
No More Credit Cards
Let's face it we all know that credit cards are bad and we should not let them get out of control, but you know what life happens and when you dont have an emergency fund in order using one is better than being stranded with a broken car, or missing out on a very important family event. I am very grateful to say that today we not only do we have a good emergency fund in place, but we also have our last credit card paid off. I cannot explain how great this feels. We had stretched ourselves too thin and were using debt for emergencies for a few years, and it had gotten to the point that I felt like we were in an endless cycle that we could never get out of.
This would not have been possible without the help of several folks. First off Rhiannon, as if you are not on the same page as your wife with finances, you will never fix your financial problems. Second Dave Ramsey for showing us the light. And finally our friends who have supported us more than we can even thank them for.
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Gratitude 039
2018-03-14
Leis
Yesterday we had the great opportunity to meet with Leis from ramsey Solutions. We were very honored to be able to meet with such knowledgeable advisor as Leis. He confirmed many of the things that we had in our minds and was able to offer a few suggestions for us. Most of all I was really proud of all fo the work that Rhiannon has done to set up for the future. The meeting with Leis confirmed that she has done everything possible to set up for success. She had an answer for all of his questions, and had everything setup that he suggested. Her organizational skills have really paid off. I have a really good feeling that we are as well prepared as we can be and on track to succeed in the future. Thank you Leis for your time! It is greatly appreciated.
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Gratitude 037
2018-02-04
Kid Smarts
I cannot express how grateful I am for Rhiannon's smarts when it comes to raising small children. These things are complicated and only continue to get more complicated as they grow! There are times where I am just not quite sure what to do or how to handle certain situations, and she will come back with an answer that makes sense. Giving an understanding about how that would make the child feel in the moment and what it will do to them in the long term. As I am growing these understandings things are making more sense, but I still feel like I have a lot to learn when it comes to parenting. I am not only grateful that she takes the lead on the research and develops new strategies as they grow, but she is also able to present to me in a way that makes sense.
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Gratitude 036
2018-02-03
Special Time
This morning Wyatt came into our room just as normal, chipper as can be ready to go. But something was different than normal. I felt like I had just hit the pillow. I grabbed a phone so that he could go watch something on his own, when I relized that it was 2:30AM. This is not out of the ordinary for him to have a few days that he is ready to go. We have learned that this is part of his ADHD and his mind is just running and ready to go. Fighting it only makes for starting off what could have been a good day on a bad note. I let him go downstairs and he stayed quiet for the most part and let everyone sleep. When I came down just before 6 he greeted me with cheer, let me have my coffee and we proceeded to have some special time. We build with magnet tiles, legos, played a game, and even went outside to continue carving our path through the woods. I cherish our special time together in happiness and am glad that we are learning to work with his disorder and have more good days like this.
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Gratitude 035
2018-02-01
Peace
Today I am strugging to come up with a new topic for my gratitude journal. I feel like I have written about many of the things I am grateful for recently. As I am sitting here with a nice display of color and listening to the frogs, from our kids's lighted sound machine of course. I realize that I am just enjoying this moment of peace. It is nice to not have to worry about anything for a few minutes and just let the words flow. I think this is why I enjoy doing this gratitude journal, becuase I feel a nice sense of peace after completeing it for the day. Sometimes the days are crazy, sometimes they are normal, sometimes they are quiet each day is new and none like the other. But whatever the day brings most of them have included this 5 minutes of peace for the last 35 days. Thank you Rhiannon for pushing me to start this journal.
Sometimes the days are crazy, sometimes they are normal, sometimes they are quiet each day is new and none like the other.
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Gratitude 032
2018-01-29
Get out and move
This weekend was an abnormally warm January weekend, which meant that we were able to ge the kids out and moving more than normal. On Saturday we started to build Wyatt Walkers Walking path through the thick brush. Both kids were really into it and were guiding me through the thick brush letting me know where the path should turn next. Wyatt kept very busy with his tree pruners trimming the leftover branches.
On Sunday the kids and I went out to the skate park while mommy had a lunch date with a friend. Ayla enjoyed throwing a small frisbee off of the top of the pyramid while Wyatt rode his scooter and daddy's skateboard around the park.
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Gratitude 033
2018-01-29
Safety
Today started out like most days, morning routine, kids in the car and headed to preschool. Since Rhiannon got the January mug at Starbucks we have been stopping there for the morning coffee on the way to preschool. As we were leaving a police car came roaring from the parking lot lights on right behind us. There was an accident at the intersection right in front of Starbucks. Passing by the accident it clearly looked like one car took more damage than the other, and that it was from being hit by another car and pushed into a pole at a high speed. My heart goes out to them! It made me really grateful that we have not been in any accidents, especially because we typically drive down a very crazy road in the mornings. It is not uncommon to come accross accidents along the way.
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Gratitude 034
2018-01-29
Communication
Today I am grateful that I am able to communicate with my beautiful wife Rhiannon. I am so glad that we are able to help each other out on our worst days, and keep going even after our bad moments. We are able to grow and build off of each other. I am grateful that we have an open and honest relationship that we are able to talk about anything. We have had a rough month, and will continue to have a rough patch until after Feb. 20. Its to be expected that we have these patches with her illness. I am really grateful that we are able to get through them together, so that we can enjoy the good days. Good days are coming, lets make the best out of the rough ones together.
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Gratitude 031
2018-01-26
Pick me up
Sometimes you just need a bit of help and it is hard to pick yourself up. This morning was one of those days. I just felt overwhelmed and like there was no stopping it. Rhiannon gave me a call and after talking through some things I felt a huge weight lifted. I wouldn't say that I was healed, but I would say I was on a good trajectory. It's really hard to battle things as a family. We are all in it together and that picking each other up will help everyone.
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Gratitude 030
2018-01-25
Great Friends
I am grateful that I have such great friends that are able to help us through a very difficult time. Today I am able to work and not have to worry about Rhiannon or the kids, knowing that someone is home with them. The peace of mind is invaluable when you have a family member with a severe medical issue.
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Gratitude 029
2018-01-24
Finishing
Last night was a night that I had to run back into work late at night to run some analysis. I was able to get in and get it done fairly quickly, and it felt really good to have it done and not have to worry about it in the last hour before the presentation. I also stuck to my No More Death by powerpoint rule, and did not include an eye chart in the slides. This was something that I always said I would change when I took over the role, but never did. Now that I have vowed to never again break the principles of Death by PowerPoint I had to change.
Secondly my wife is a rockstar. She was up with our crazy son most of the night, as he was really struggling to sleep. He was just up and ready to go really early in the morning. I am grateful that I was able to get somme sleep, and really hope that she is able to get some rest while the house is quiet today.
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Gratitude 028
2018-01-23
Time
I am not sure that time heals all wounds, but some wounds just take time. Yesterday during therapy Rhiannon finally had a chance to talk about some very tough topics. It was very tough to talk about at the time, and I did have a bit of a rough afternoon following the appointment. I am not sure why, but I just needed some space and time. Today I feel quite a bit better and am ready to start my day on a good note! I am not sure how long it will take for these wounds to heal but time will help.
I am very grateful that Rhiannon was able to give me some space and time yesterday after our appointment. I know that it is very difficult for her to see me down. I am also very grateful that she setup therapy for us and has given us this outlet to discuss topics like this. I am grateful that we were able to bring it up and talk about it with a neutral party.
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Gratitude 027
2018-01-22
Encouragement
CuttinScrap.com was released last night!!! I am very excited with how it is turning out. I am even more excited to see Rhiannon start using it and getting some more content built up. This is the by far the biggest front end project that I have ever done. I think most of all I really like seeing how much Rhiannon likes site. She seems blown away and has commented that she did not think that it would turn out anywhere close to this good. She would have been proud to own it either way just knowing that I built it for her. Seeing her face light up during each preview that we did really kept me going to finish.
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Gratitude 026
2018-01-21
Calm
On Thursday I got the call that Rhiannon had passes out during physical therapy. I went right to her therapy office to find her rehydrating in a chair. She seemed ok and that this would pass and be ok. When trying to get up again she passed out. Three days later we are back home from the hospital and she is still passing out. All we know is that she has cancer and she is struggling to keep her blood pressure up while standing. I am very grateful that we have the friends we have to take care of everything at home for us. Most of all I am grateful that we are able to keep it calm and collected. Too many folks get very worked up through these events and it is not productive. Our job is to remain calm, stay focused on the things that we are able to do that help her, and let the doctors do their job. We have enough doctors involved that if there was something to find, it would have been found. I really hope that we can get her back on her feet where she is not passing out everytime that she stands up. But for now, I am keeping my calm, staying positive, spending time with the kids, and doing the tasks that help us function through the day.
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Gratitude 025
2018-01-14
Support
I am so grateful that I have Rhiannon in my life. Last night we were able to go out of our way to help a family member in need. I am so proud that she is able to stand up for what is right and help someone who really needs it. This family member was in a really dark place and Rhiannon was able to spot that and stand up to help her. This person really just needed someone there for her, to give her a hug, and not feel alone. I am so proud of Rhiannon for being able to hold this persons hand, and walk her to a better place in life.
I think there is a real sense of maturity that comes with being there yourslef and climbing out of that hole and realizing how much better life is on the other side if you can just put your head down, make some hard decisions and consiously control your life and direct it to where you want it to be.
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Gratitude 024
2018-01-11
Support
Over the past few years we have recieved tons of support from other people. This is something that I am very grateful for and we would not be where we are today without it. Along our journey we have came in contact with some very generous folks. Yesterday was our opportunity to give a little back to another. One of Rhiannon's close friends boyfriends had passed away. While we did not know him very well, he meant a whole lot to someone who means a whole lot to us. I am very grateful that we were able to take the day off and make the long trip in good health.
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Gratitude 023
2018-01-10
Excitement
This year I started a new position at work. Everything about it is enjoyable. Not sure if that is jut the honeymoon phase or not. I am working as a data scientist. Its exciting that there is so much low hanging fruit to be had. In my previous role as an engineer I was in a very established role. While this role was great, I really enjoyed it, and had no intentions of moving until this oppotunity landed in my lap. I felt like being in such an establishd role the job was to follow the processes that had been previously set up. Now being in a much less established role there is a lot more room for creativity. I like getting to work and really being excited to get to work creating things that add value to the organization.
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Gratitude 022
2018-01-08
Kid Time
Sometimes you just need some time to be a kid. Today was that day... it was a snow day. During which the kids were very generous at letting me work, but we were also able to have some quality moments. First of which happened at lunch. Wyatt decided that we were having pancakes, and the kids would help make them. I was really impressed at their cooperation. They did really well at taking turns putting ingredients into the batter, and stirring.
I was really impressed at their cooperation.
The second bit of kid time came late in the afternoon after the kids had a nap. We went outside to go sledding. They were both a bit crabby to get clothes on, but cheered up once we got outside. We all had a blast, Even Ayla who has had a terrible fear of the snow this year. She just stood in it for the longest time before warming up to it. Eventually she braved up enough, aka was forced on to the sled with daddy. She loved it! She was absolutely smiling ear to ear when we hit the bottom. From there on the kids took turns riding down with daddy for the next 2 hrs!
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Gratitude 022
2018-01-07
Adult Time
There is something special about having pure uninterrupted adult time with your spouse. Last night I went out with Rhiannon and we had an absolute blast. We went to the brand new brewery in town "Industry Brewing Company". It was absolutely amazing. The food was good, but the beer was completely flawless. There is just something beautiful about something that is so flawless. Each style I had was brewed to a T. My favorite of course was the "Industry Standard", a super hoppy pale ale.
Next we were off to the local big box quilting store to get some supplies for Rhiannon's next project on Cuttin Scrap. It was fun, we looked at a bunch of different stuff. And she was able to talk shop.
After that we were off to see the latest Pitch perfect movie. before we were able to do that I required coffee to stay up through the whole thing. So we went downtown to check out Zion coffee roasters for the first time. It was a beautiful shop that reminded me of Horizon Line Coffee in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. We finished the night off in the movies and headed home.
I am so grateful to be able to spend such quality time with my best friend. We have great friends that are able to watch the crazy kids. We are able to afford a simple night out. Lastly Rhiannon and I are getting closer than we ever have before.
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Gratitude 019
2018-01-02
My Parter
Last night stared like any other night. Put the kids to bed, hang out with my Beautiful wife for a while, off to sleep, then Wyatt comes in at the wee hours of the morning ready to start his day. The only difference last night was that it was not the wee hours of the day, it was 11:30 PM. He was wired and ready to go as if he slept the whole night through. I am very grateful that I was able to tag team the situation with Rhiannon, as he did not go back to sleep. We were both able to get some rest through the night. It may not have been the best, but we were able to make the best out of a tough situation. In the Morning we had to take the van into the repair shop, and on the way home we were able to discuss some solutions to the problem when it happens in the future. Rhiannon was able to get the ball rolling with the pediatrician to see their recommendations. Man I love her, long before I would have even thought to go that route she had already sent the message out.
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Gratitude 017
2018-01-01
Breaks
Breaks are a good time for refresh and focus on some other things. During this holiday break I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with my beautiful wife Rhiannon. I have really enjoyed helping her setup her new adventure Cuttin Scrap. It will be a nice creative outlet for her to combine her love of sewing and crafting with her love of speech and writing. I am really excited to see her get going.
We have also spent some time at nights playing games and watching YouTube. Its really nice to not have to worry about anything work related and focus on the family. The extra time has helped strengthen our marriage and allow us to discuss some things that have been on our minds for awhile. Now its time to start 2018 Fresh and Strong.
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Gratitude 014
2017-12-29
Time Off
I am currently in the middle of a week long holiday break. Its nice to take some time off from the everyday hustle to refresh the brain and focus on some other things. We are able to do quite a bit of traveling and see family that we do not get to see very often. I am able to spend more time with my wife and the kids. I have also started making a website for my wife. Its probably something that I would not otherwise have time to dig deeply into and make nearly the same progress as quickly.
The time in the car can be a nice time to connect. We have taken quite a bit of time to plan out Rhiannon's new adventure, CuttinScrap. It is a YouTube channel that will serve as her creative outlet, combining her love of speech and Drama with Crafting. I am really excited to see her find her voice and get into a rhythm with the channel. She is really excited as well. We have been doing a lot of planning and behind the scenes work and anxiously awaiting time to make episode 0.
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Gratitude 015
2017-12-29
Special Moments
I love having those special moments of time with the kids. Today we had a few minutes to play before supper time, and we decided to go down to the basement to play some imagination action adventure game. The kids are really into minecraft at the moment so its always very centered around minecraft. Tonight there was an extra special moment where Wyatt on his own gave Ayla his brand new nerf gun to play with. At this point he has not alowed her to play with it because it was a new Christmas toy. She was extatic, and we all enjoyed running from her as she shot towards us. I thought it was extra special because we were all having fun and no one was arguing about who got the new toy. I am so proud of Wyatt, because he is really growing up and growing out of the not sharing phase. I have really seen him open up to share an play with Ayla in new ways lately. It really makes you feel like a good parent when you can watch them grow up like this.
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Gratitude 013
2017-12-26
Long Days, Good Times
This Christmas we had two events on Christmas day, with 5 hours of travel, and a final destination to sleep at. I am very grateful that we were able to get through all of the travel in one piece. THe kids had a blast! It was a very fun Christmas for them. Wyatt got his most wished for gift this year, Maui's hook from Moana. It was so fun to watch him open it. He was absolutely speechless.
I am glad everyone was able to enjoy the food. Both events were very accomodating to our family allergies. The first event was a potato bar where everything was kept separate and you could personalize your dish. The kids really just wanted to snack all day. At the second event they went out of their way to find dairy free butter to cook wtih. There were only one or two items that had dairy in them. It feels good to be supported by your family.
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Gratitude 012
2017-12-25
The Good Days
Good days are the best. I enjoy the days where everything seems to fall into place seemingly without effort. The air is clean and easy to breathe. The kids are cooperating. I am working on a project with my best friend in the world. I play with my kids, and we all have a great time together.
Today was one of those days. I spent much of the day helping Rhiannon set up the Cuttin Scrap channel. We are setting up a really nice area for her to work on a craft that she is very passionate about. It is the place that she has dreamed of for years. No its not perfect with the most space available, but it is the best with what we have got, and it is all hers. At the end of the day we were able to sit down and begin working through her website and socials.
It is the place that she has dreamed of for years.
I also really enjoyed getting to play in the fresh snow with Wyatt. He loved it. We shoveled it into big piles to jump in, threw snowballs, and just had the best of adventure. Ayla and Rhiannon came to the window to watch, and they laughed at us while we acted silly. Today was Christmas, one of the most magical days of the year to spend with the ones you love most.
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Gratitude 011
2017-12-23
Happy Holidays Round 1
I am grateful that we have been able to make it to my family for Christmas time. I am so glad to see how much fun my parents and the kids have together. They all get along so well. I am glad to see some of the changes that my parents are making to get through their tough times at home. They seem to be quite a bit happier that the past few times that we have been home. We all got some really nice gifts, and I am glad that everyone was able to at least get something that they enjoy, even if it wasn't much. The kids were so excited to see all of the gifts, and had such fun opening them. They have been playing with them all day. I am very grateful to see them sharing and having fun together rather than fighting over who gets what. Wyatt has really been stepping it up as a big brother, and even spent his own hard earned money to buy Ayla a gift!
I am very grateful to see them sharing and having fun together
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Gratitude 010
2017-12-22
Strong Relationships
A few months ago my wife and I decided to start going to family therapy, to talk about some things that we could see were only going to get worse without giving them some attention. This is the best decision we have made in our marriage. We have really learned to relate to the other person, and put ourself in their shoes. We are learning about how our actions effect the other.
This is the best decision we have made in our marriage.
Without taking steps in the right direction our marriage was heading downhill. Medical needs were taking precidence, and we were both fighing through a dark hole of depression. After the first session we saw great improvement. I am grateful that we took the steps to work on our marriage in such a dark time for us on every other aspect of life. I am grateful that we got a great therapist on first try. I feel like you rarely get a medical professional that works for you on the first try. I am grateful that we are both devoted to making it work, and have made great strides in our relationship. Most of all I am grateful to see how taking the right steps to strengthen our marriage has improved other parts of our life, and made it easier to handle events as they come up.
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Gratitude 009
2017-12-21
Good Doctors
Today we are nearing the last week before Rhiannon's Next Treatment in chemotherapy. It was a rough day, she had a bad carcinoid attack last night and was on edge of another all day today. I am grateful that we were able to get in with a really good oncologist. The best in the area in terms of carcinoid cancer. I am really glad that he has a plan for us and it is helping get through most of the month between doses. Since it is such a rare type of cancer there are few knowledgeable in the subject, which just makes it that much better that we are in with the best. It allows us to have some really good days.
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Gratitude 016
2017-12-21
One on One time
Last night we made a long trip back from my In-Laws. Which was a great day by the way. Sometimes we struggle with Wyatt's energy in a house with lots of breakable items, but he did great yesterday. When we got home Wyatt just finished up with a good two hour nap and was wired... at 11:00 PM. He was hungry, as he was too excited to play while at grandmas house and did not eat much. I sat up with him, we shared a peanut butter sandwich and got out a new pack of trolls characters and worked on finding all of their names.
When we got home Wyatt just finished up with a good two hour nap and was wired... at 11:00 PM
Moments like these do not seem to come often enough. I really enjoy playing with the whole family and the full level of craziness that it brings, but having a calm one on one time with one member of the family seems extra special. It was the perfect ending to a long day with lots of packing, travel, and excitement.
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Gratitude_008
2017-12-20
Strength
I have been getting back on my feet after a long turn of a low mindset. My wife has been my main inspiration through this process. She is working very hard herself to be a more positive person, and has been for several months. She has been my inspiration. I have started this journal, drinking keytones, tracking goals, keeping up with email, trello, using pomodoro, and started working out. All of these steps are giving me strength to keep a positive attitude through a very rough time in our life. I am very happy with the improvements that I have made over the last 8 days, and glad that these changes are giving me the strength to keep a positive attitude through the day.
these steps are giving me strength to keep a positive attitude
After working out for the first time in a long time I feel great this morning. My body feels stronger, I have more energy, and I feel that I can hold my positive attitude through more events in the day. I am grateful that I was able to get this system in place, and I am ready to continue executing through 2018.
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Gratitude_007
2017-12-19
Accommodations
I am grateful for the accommodations that have been made for our family medical situation. I enjoy being able to support everyone in their appointments, and making sure that everyone is able to get where they need to be every day. Without these kind of accommodations it would be impossible to keep everyone healthy. Some career paths would not have allowed this as working in person at a specified time is crutial.
I enjoy being able to support everyone in their appointments
My job allows me to work almost any hour that I can. There are meetings and events that I need to be in person for, but those are only a small portion of the work. The one thing that I have struggled with since our move is being productive at home. The new house is a completely different environment than I am used to. There are lots of distractions and SLOW internet. The internet speed is so slow that I tend to get distracted and do other things when something that is usually executed within a few ms takes 30s or more. I know it sounds rediculous but when every step takes this much extra time it gets very distracting. It is something that I just need to learn to work with, and keep a project ready to work with little to no internet at all times.
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Gratitude_006
2017-12-18
Restart
Restarting each day is important for a very healthy attitude. Having a son with ADHD there are times where we need to restart each hour on a new foot. His mind runs at such a faster pace than everyone else's that is can be hard to keep up with him. Sometimes we have meltdowns. It is very important to be able to coach him through it, present him with a resolution, and walk away. It is very hard as an adult to quickly bring down your emotions form a very high stress situation, but it is important for him to avoid going right back into another meltdown. Our family is very good at restarting each day on a new foot and not holding grudges against each other. This keeps us very strong through such hard times.
It is very hard as an adult to quickly bring down your emotions form a very high stress situation
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Gratitude_005
2017-12-17
Family
Having a close family is one of the most important things in life. They keep us grounded. They are able to tell us things that no one else can. We are able to share our whole lives with out family. Having a supportive family is very important, because without their support things get awkward. I am glad to live in a family where we can talk about anything, and support each other through almost anything as well, though we aren't afraid to point out each others dumb ideas if something really seems off. There is also the physical part of family. We are able to share some of the workloads. Today we had some extra family in the house and it was nice to have a few minutes here and there that I could get away and know that someone would take care of the kids if they needed something.
I am glad to live in a family where we can talk about anything
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Gratitude_004
2017-12-16
Sleep
It does not get enough recognition, some good quality rest is very benefitial to start off a good day. Yesterday I was dragging.. hard. Wyatt was up at 2 A.M. and I was the one to be up with him... for awhile. Today, he was up early again, but let me sleep, then proceeded to take a morning nap. This combined with an early rest time started my day off on a good note. I was able to wake up when ready, and start my day at my own pace. I was able to get coffee and breakfast before being asked to do much.
I was able to start my day at my own pace
coffee
I enjoy starting my day off with a nice cup of coffee. Today, I had a nice fresh thirty-thirty guatememala. I am very grateful that we are able to afford nice coffee, it really energizes me compared to the really dark mass produced coffee that is typically found everywhere.
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Gratitude_003
2017-12-15
Community
I know that I am not the most social person that is ready to talk to everyone in the room about anything. I am still grateful for the communities that I am a part of. Without our group of friends we would not be able to make it through all of the medical issues that we have had throughout the past few years. Rhiannon and I are currently making great strides in our marriage and fincance thanks to the great help from Scott and Ali. Without Rhiannon's medical community she would not be here today. From getting her diagnosis to executing their plans every step along the way has given her more years on her life. Those years will be happily spent with the kids and I.
"Without Rhiannon's medical community she would not be here today"
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Gratitude_002
2017-12-14
Persistence
Persistence is one of the great talents of my wife. Today I am grateful for her persistence because she has the medicine that she needs for her MRI today. Yesterday there was a struggle to get the doctors to get her prescription submitted to the pharmacy, and after calling many times she got it done within the last hour of the pharmacies operating hours. Seriously who can get a prescription filled after 7:00PM! I am just glad that she is able to have the medicine that she needs today. It will make the procedure much easier.
Seriously who can get a prescription filled after 7:00PM!
Health
Seriously though without her persistence she would not even be here today. Her persistence to get an accurate diagnosis was what kept her alive on more than one occasion. There is something to be said for trusting your gut and standing behind what you believe in.
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Gratitude_001
2017-12-13
Initial post
Thank You for getting up with me this morning. I really appreciate all of the extra help. It means a lot to have my life partner there with me in the morning helping with the kids.
Thank You
Those two words are very powerful. This morning when I was helping Rhiannon cut her hair she looked at me and told me thank you very sincerely. It cut really deep inside, and made me feel really good. I dont think I expressed my gratitude for it very well as I had not yet had my coffee, and my response time was a bit lacking. This is something that I would like to work on with my kids. We really focus on our please's but, sometimes Thank Yous are forgotten, and we are just happy that they are happy.
"It cut really deep inside, and made me feel really good."
Overall I am most grateful today for the good morning that I have had with my beautiful wife Rhiannon and our two kids, Ayla and Wyatt.
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Good Morning
0001-01-01
My own Pace
Last night Wyatt was up in the night and was often coming in to ask for things. This often calls for a rough day. On this day though, he crashed about 8:00 and took a big nap. This gave me time to get up and out of bed At my own pace. I make my own coffee, listened to my own music, and was able to work one my own website! It is very relaxing to just do your own thing for a moment every once in awhile. Without my family life would be very boring. I am grateful for every one of them, but sometimes living at my own pace is very relaxing.