The last sevearl months have been really busy with school!  I was taking Quantitative Business Analysis, Systems Analysis and Design, as well as Spanish I.  Not a good combination of classes to take at one time!  Especially when I had a two week vacation planned.  That vacation cost me a C in Spanish versus a B-.  I lost 50 points for missing two classes and that made the difference.  Of course, I found Spanish to be the most challenging course I have taken!  I still not very confident in what I have learned and I have to take Spanish II starting in January!

We did have a good time on vacation to Florida and on a Cruise.  We spent four nights on Carnival’s new ship the Splendor.  The ship was very nice, though very very long! (3 footballs fields in length).  After that we spend Thanksgiving week with Jennifer’s Aunt Shirley and Uncle Bo.  We always enjoy visiting them and I guarentee anybody that visits will never be hungry!  Then we spent a day with my Sister and her family.  Wish we could have spent more time there, but with them in school and us having a two day drive… it just wasn’t possible this time.   Erica and Isabella were with us, and I believe Isabella found plenty of attention!

Now I am on a very much needed break!  I am off work and school until the first week of January.  It feels good not having the pressure of something that must get done.  Though there is plenty of work around the house that needs done, just haven’t got in the spirit of doing it yet!

We are scheduled to move to North Carolina around June.  Lots to do in order to prepare for a move.  I will be busy in January and February in school with another 3 courses, and then it will calm a bit as I finish my last two classes in March and April.   I hope we can start seriously searching for a home around April time frame.

I will be working to update this site over the next couple weeks.  You may find it changing and then changing again.  I do not have a set idea in mind yet, so I will experiment with different themes, widgets and plug-ins until I find something I like.  So check back every now and again for updates to the look and feel, as well as content.

Have a Merry Christmas and Safe Holiday season.

This past Thursday August 14, 2008,  Mack Trucks CEO announced Mack Trucks, Inc. World Headquarters in Allentown along with Mack Test Center in Allentown are moving to Greensboro, NC.  All jobs except for about 200 will leave Allentown in 2009 and 2010, including IT where I currently work.  So what does this mean for me?  I will find out next week what options I have, but it looks like I will either have to move to NC, or loose my job.   Stay tuned for more updates to come.

If we move, it probably will not be until sometime in 2009.  I am hoping I can finish my B.S. degree in April before anything happens.  Stay tuned for more info on what our future looks like.  I am taking a positive thought approach and praying this is a big blessing.  Any way you look at it though, it is an end to another era in my career.  I started in NC and worked there 8 years, then moved to Middletown PA for 5 years, and I have been in Allentown 10 years.  Where and what the next era holds…..stay tuned.

Congratulations goes to Chris for getting his undergraduate degree!!  I am so glad that he didn’t make the same mistake I made by waiting to long and letting all those credits go to waste.    At least he has the degree and nobody can take that away.  He can always add to it later by taking more course to get another degree or going on for a Masters some day.  Congratulations Chris, now you can preach education to Isabella so she doesn’t wait as long as either of us!

I love this picture! My goal is to have many more times with these two and books! (click pic to see a larger image)

When I look at this picture, I feel I have a job to live up to! It is like Isabella is looking into my eyes expecting me to give her guidance, love, and protection in life. It is my duty, along with others, to meet her expectations for the things she needs (not wants) to succeed in life. I hope that in the years to come, I have have this same look from her over and over, meaning I am giving her what she needs! (click on pic to see larger image)