Quick Update

Sorry about not getting updates out on a more timely basis...I've had a lot going since last week with this being my last week of work at Sprint.

I had a great run last Saturday in Independence along the Little Blue River path. Out and back, it was a little over 14 miles - in a couple of weeks, Steph and I will be heading to St. Louis for the St. Louis 1/2 Marathon on the 6th.

On Easter, we had Steph's mom and sister over, along with Shallen's boyfriend Matt (I had to get a little support with all that Woman Power going on). I grilled steaks on the bar-b-que and we had a good time of telling stories on each other and laughing a lot - it was a very nice Easter with family.

Steph took Shallen to KU for a visit on Monday - Shallen absolutely loved the campus and is ready to start there tomorrow (she's a junior and will start fall of 2009). Her boyfriend Matt is going to MU next fall - let the smack talk begin! Shallen will be involved in marching band and is still not set on a major yet. I told her that was a good idea - go to college, meet new people, take a few classes you think may peak your interests and then near the end of your first year, you'll know your major and be comfortable with the school at the same time.

Yesterday, I made my own trip out to KU since they are the only school in the area that offers a Master in Construction Mgmnt. I met with a few instructors, talked to the VA rep (I plan to use my GI Bill to take care of the costs) and walked between 3-4 miles from three different buildings on campus. The walk wasn't a big deal, but I was in my dress shoes. My plan is to start in the fall.

This has been an extremely long week for me as I prepare to leave Sprint after 11 years. I'm definately ready to move onto something new. I've made a number of contacts with construction companies and researched the industry over the last few weeks - this is definately going to be a challenge, but fun at the same time!

Stephan has started back on a lower dosage of his meds again after we saw the Dr. last week. His grades definately supported the reinstatement of the meds - some core class grades dropped terribly. Luckily, he still has a little time to get those grades back up before the end of the semester.

Stephanie is in first place at her company for the NCAA bracket. I wish I could say that it was due to all my suggestions, but that's just not the case - she did it all on her own! Her company opened up the brackets to everyone (at no cost) and has a big prize for the winner!

Thanks everyone for reading my Blog - I write to get my thoughts down, but also write to keep you updated on my life and report about the blessings God bestows upon me and those I love each and every day!

Checking out Maryville

Sorry for the delay in getting additional daily items out. Monday, which was the start of Shallen's Spring break, Steph, Shallen and I took a trip up to Maryville, MO...Home of the Northwest MO State University Bearcats. Shallen is looking to spend the first year to two years in Maryville before eventually transferring to KU.

It was a little rainy and pretty gloomy. On the way up along I-29 there were a lot of shattered trees from the ice storm the region had the last winter. In a few areas, it looked as though a tornado had come through and just ripped the tops off all the trees.

Shallen has spent quite a few summers in Maryville with the regions Band Camp located there each June. We had an opportunity to go into most every building and had a great tour from a Senior guide from St. Louis. At the end of the day, we were in the Admissions building talking money - probably the most difficult part of the day.

With the ACT score Shallen has made (she takes the test again soon to better that), that, along with a number of scholarships should make the bill pretty low - thank goodness!

Next Monday, Shallen and Steph take a trip to KU...it's my last week of work and I just won't be able to tear myself away. I need to make a trip to the campus as well to register for the fall when I start my Master's in Construction Mgmnt.

St. Patrick's Day Run

For three days prior to the run, the weathermen of Kansas City have been predicting rain mixed with snow for Saturday morning's run. Friday night as I was sleeping, I woke numerous times to rain and the wind blowing against the house. I knew the next morning would be cold and very damp.
I awoke early (to get a little breakfast well before the run that started at 10am) to find a blanket of snow on the ground and the wind pushing the white stuff everywhere. My original plan had been to wear a light-weight long-sleeved top with my shorts. I wanted to turn in a good time and push myself a little.
I stayed with the shorts but went to a little heavier top; something that would keep me warm along the 4 mile course. The snow stopped blowing about 45 minutes before the race. The race started and ended in Old Wesport.
I started with a buddy from work. This was his first-ever race. I told myself prior to the run, based on the cold and wet streets, I wouldn't go after it and just take it easy today. As soon as the race started, the competitive spirit welled up in me and I had to break away from my buddy.
I didn't start my watch until I crossed the start line (probably a good minute from the official start of the race). We were pretty jammed up within the first mile. My split time was 9:48...I knew I had to get outside of everyone if I was going to make up any time at all. By the time I got to the 2nd mile, my split was 17:18. I stayed outside of the pack, and by mile 3, my split was 23:02.
I knew the last mile had a couple of steep hills over by St. Lukes Hospital and the race actually finished at the top of a hill on Wesport Rd. I took a bit of a beating on the first hill, but when I came to the finish, I passed a handfull or runners as I reached the top of the hill. I finished with a 31:14. Next time I will definately start with my pace group so I don't have to battle all the runners in front of me. It turned out to be a very good run and everyone had a great time. I don't think we got above 38 degrees for the entire run.

Big 12 at the Sprint Center

Yesterday was a long day full of basketball and smack talk! I saw the first round of the Big VII Championship Tourney at the Sprint Center in downtown KC. This is such a great place - hopefully, the NCAA will take another look at KC for tournament play.

I met up with folks from my office at 9:30 to grab a little breakfast and start to take-in the festivities of the day. Since opening the Sprint Center, the city has started to make significant changes to the downtown area around the new center. Restaurants, hotels, shops...all kinds of interesting places are opening up right across the street and are making the downtown area an exciting place to attend once again.

In the first session, we saw a couple of well played games that went right down to the wire. Oklahoma State played a solid game against Texas Tech. OSU's short point guard Eaton got on fire in the 2nd half to put them away. The Colorado/Baylor game was a wild one. It went into two OT's. Baylor has a good offensive team, they just need to maintain a solid defensive posture throughout the game...it was very sporatic. Colorado has a high scoring senior in Roby...he's a very solid, complete player.

During the 2nd session, Missouri played Nebraska. Both teams looked extremely poor on defense (Nebraska pulled down most of the key rebounds) and neither could pass to save their lives. Nebraska just turned out to be the better of the two. Nebraska will face Kansas today - look for Neb to be heading home early.

It was a good time, but after being there all day, I was definately ready to get home last night!

Everything's All Clear!

Yesterday was our appointment at Children's Mercy South in Overland Park, KS. They did an initial EKG on Stephan with no negative results and decided to do the Echocardiogram since we had made the trip and just to make sure.

Everything checked out normal - no sign of the heart murmur that was detected about 3 weeks ago by Stephan's Dr. Stephan was back to his argumentative, know-it-all, teenage self. As a matter of fact, he repeatedly told his mom and I that this was a waste of money and time, that he was just fine! I know these teenage years have to stop soon...just not soon enough!

My whole team is in town this week. Today we have an all-day team meeting with dinner tonight at Rio Bravo. Tomorrow, we all plan to attend Sessions 1&2 of the Big 12 Tourney at the Sprint Center. The 2nd session starts out with MU playing against Nebraska - it should be a great game. I wish they had been able to give us additional tickets...I had an old friend of mine, James Turner, that I wanted to have come to the games with me! :o(

Shallen's Spring Break begins next week and we plan to visit NWMSU in Maryville, MO on Monday and KU on Thursday.

These last couple of weeks of work are going to be busy ones as I finish up process flows and try to get issues resolved so I'm not leaving anything for someone else to complete! Please pray for me and my family that this transition to another job field will be semi-smooth!

Drill Weekend

Ahhh, another fun-filled weekend at Whiteman. The Plan of the Month included time for a gun shoot this weekend. We ended up going to a range in Clinton, MO (about 45 minutes away from the base) and qualifying on the M-16 rifle.

It's been a few months (about 14 actually) since we've fired these weapons. I was just hoping to hit the paper target...but everything came back - just like riding a bike. I qualified Expert again. Next month, we will requal on 9mm pistol and shotgun. I really like shooting the 9; it's very comfortable and I'm usually a pretty good shot.

After drill on Sunday, I stopped in on Stephan in Oak Grove and we went to an old haunt to get some dinner. When it was just Stephan and I for a few years, we would go to a chinese restaurant once or twice a month in Blue Springs - it was buffet style. This gave Stephan the ability to pick what he wanted, and being a growing, active boy, he could eat as much as he wanted as well.

Now that I'm getting older and the weight stays around a little longer, I don't usually venture into buffet style places anymore. We had a good time just talking about what's been going on lately with school, girls and work. Funny, but he didn't seem to want to talk about girls too long!

Stephan has his follow-up appointment tomorrow at Children's Mercy South in Overland Park for the heart murmur. Please keep Stephan in your prayers.

After dinner, I dropped Stephan off and stopped by mom's house. All the kids (Caron, Jeff, Derek and I) were meeting to help mom get back into relationship building and come up with constructive ways to keep herself busy and not as prone to depression. We talked about a lot of things - mostly getting mom active in social groups near home and coming to church with Derek on Sunday mornings (his church meets at Truman High School - just up the street from mom).

Please continue to pray for mom as well...she's doing much better!

Mom Came Home

After being in the hospital since Saturday, mom was able to be released yesterday. Caron, Jeff, Derek and I met with a Case Manager at the hospital and discussed changes necessary for mom's well-being. We (the kids) plan to meet Sunday evening at mom's to define short/long term goals for relationship building and ways to prevent her from falling back into this depression cycle.

Mom came home with me yesterday and is staying at our house for a few days. She seems to be getting along very well and enjoyed the time with family last night. Today, she plans to visit with her sister Pam who lives very close. It's good to see mom in a better frame of mind. We hope to help her set some realistic goals on Sunday to live a more complete and comfortable life. She wants to volunteer at the nearby hospital, so that's one short term goal defined.

Working from home has it's perks as well. I got up this morning while Steph was in the shower and made her breakfast. I sat across from her drinking coffee and talking about what the day had in store for both of us. It's nice to slow down a little and enjoy each other once in a while. I am extremely blessed with such a beautiful and loving wife!

Yesterday was my mother-in-law's birthday - Shirley Mitchell. She's more than a mother-in-law, she's my mom! We stopped by and took a card over to her last night. It was great to catch up with her...she looks great! Saturday, the girls (Steph and Shallen) are taking Shirley out for lunch for her birthday. Craig and his wife Nedra will be there as well. I, on the other hand, have another wonderful weekend of Navy drill at Whiteman AFB...ahhhh, such is the life!

Visit with Old Friends

Sunday morning, Steph and I traveled to Harrisonville (an hour away from home) to hear my old friend, Paul Turner, preach at his dad's church. Paul had led a conference in Columbia, MO the day before for Youth Pastors and driven back to Harrisonville to spend time with his Dad and brother before heading back home to Tennessee.
Paul delivered a great message on our responsibility to proclaim Christ through our words and actions. We have such a great example to follow, in Christ's earthly life, since he experienced everything before us - you only have to look to the Bible for specific directions on maintaining a walk set apart from this world. What a great lesson from Luke.
After church, we went back to Chuck's house (Paul's dad) for dinner and fellowship along with James and his wife Julie. I had a great time catching up with everyone. Paul and James are like brothers to me - it was like going home again.
Saturday was a busy day. In the morning I ran with the running group putting in 12 miles. It was a good start for March. I absolutely have to increase my mileage this month from the last - Lincoln is coming up the first week in May.
I spent the afternoon with Steph, my sister Caron and my mom Sandy. Mom has been battling with depression for quite some time and this weekend it really escalated. We ended up having mom admitted to the hospital for the week. After church yesterday, Steph and I went up to see how mom was getting along. Caron and Alicia came in as we were getting ready to leave. When mom is released, we expect her to come to our house for 3-4 days before returning home. Please pray for mom that she will gain strength and learn techniques to gain an advantage over this depression.
The weekend was perfect. Weather was in the upper 60's, low 70's most of the weekend. We went to see mom yesterday in shorts and by the time we left, the temp had dropped into the 40's - I know, I know, we're pushing it a little, but it was great while it lasted.