The Boys

Sam and his cousins, Cobb and Rhody.

(click image to enlarge)

Pictures

Here are some pictures from Easter weekend in Tyler.



















And here you can see what I have to deal with every night. Stupid dog thinks he owns the place.

The Horizon

Nothing to really blog about, especially since I've lost almost all interest in writing about the mundane and banal. Don't worry - amazing things are on the way, just nothing at the moment.

It's about time to get into serious new-baby-mode. Walls need painting, furniture needs moving, Blair needs running. The first several weeks of having a newborn are like a boot camp - and you can't survive boot camp if you're not in shape. No name yet for this little boy, but not for a lack of effort. We consider, discuss, evaluate, and dismiss. But don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun. A ton of fun, as they say.

In other baby news: my cousin, Adam, and his wife welcomed twins into the world on Tuesday. I'm telling you - they are incredibly cute. I'm talking about the twins. A boy and a girl: Braden and Delani. Delani is doing great and is enjoying all of the affection she deserves. Braden isn't doing as well. He's in the NICU, fighting to breathe with a collapsed lung. We are all confident he'll be fine after a couple of weeks, but it's hard to see a baby with tubes in his mouth.

In other news, starting in a day or two, you can hear me on a new podcast. I was asked to join a couple of guys to be a part of a podcast about social mores, etiquette, manners, etc. It's a light-hearted look at things people do that are not always in the best interest of others. From talking on a cell phone in the elevator to how far a person is from the door before it's okay to not hold it open for them. It has moments that are similar to some of my past "Common Sense" posts. It's, at times, pretty funny. I only knew one of the guys and was just invited to hopefully add to the 'chemistry', so don't expect to hear "The Blair Show" or anything. I think it's interesting, though. We have two episodes in the can and about four more left. The first will be available, like I said, in a day or two. I'll let you know. You can subscribe to the podcast from the website or from i-Tunes. Yep - bigtime.

If you're among the dozen or so people in America who don't know what a podcast is, it's basically an episodic talk radio show. There are tons of different ones out there, each one about a topic.

Fake

Yes, it was a wig. Surprisingly accurate, though.

My Big Day

I was just promoted to a new job in online management. I am so pumped. Here are some pics from earlier today.

Some show how happy I am about the new job - some show how serious I am about the new job...

In The Dojo

This is one of the coolest things to ever happen to my brother and me. Well, it didn't really happen to me, but I share in experiencing the coolness of it.

As many of you know, there were some movies that my brother and I were really into when we were kids. Most obvious is Rocky, but equal to that is The Karate Kid. We integrated lines from The Karate Kid into our everyday lives - and I guess we still do, from time to time. My brother was even more into this movie than I was. The Karate Kid to him is what Die Hard has always been to me. Hardcore.

I'm proud to announce that, over 20 years later, my brother is officially acquaintances with Billy Zabka (aka Johhny Lawrence). They are both in the Christian film/video industry and a mutual connection introduced them. They've emailed back and forth! Of course, my brother made it clear what a fan he was, and Billy was really cool about it. We grew up watching Zabka in The Karate Kid movies, European Vacation, Just One Of The Guys, and others. He was like a member of the family.

Anyway, I just thought you should know. And here's how he ended an email he sent to my brother...

"Peace.....& "No Mercy"
Billy

Awesome. Destiny, you're a wily gal!

Easter Weekend

We had a great weekend in Tyler. Lots of fun, lots of food, lots of time with family, and lots of food. Here are some pics for your enjoyment. I'll be getting pics of Sam in his Easter attire soon and I'll post them.

Click on pics to enlarge them

Here are pics from our trip to the Tyler Zoo...



































Here's the bakery/restaurant in Edom, where we ate on Saturday. Home of the best cheeseburger I've ever had.








Here is my tribute to Sam's sensitive eyes. These are my pics of Easter morning.

And the baby is a...

Boy!

We found out yesterday that Sam has a little brother! We're so excited to meet this kid. He's very healthy and very big. His profile is identical to his brother's, at least as far as we can tell.


Nicole - who two little boys love more than anything else. Three, if you count the dog.

Sam is pretty excited, too.

Realism - Best Fight Scene

The Stud

Here are some pictures of Sam taken while he was in Tyler with his grandparents, and some here in town with his glasses on. Note: his glasses have that auto-tint, so when he goes outside, they darken. It's a great feature - especially for a kid with such sensitive, light eyes, but the downside is that it takes a while for the tint to go away, once he's back inside. So, in some of these pictures, it looks like we make our kid wear sunglasses inside the house.