Now, where did I leave off...

Sorry for the long delay to get back to the blog...it's been a busy week in the tax world!

Last Sunday, we started painting the Rec room. Steph went along and painted up against the ceiling and against the baseboards and I came back with a roller and put the first coat on. By about 3pm, we had the room done with the first coat and it turned out pretty nice. We plan to get the carpet shampoo'd this weekend and the 2nd coat on the walls - then the Rec room is finished!

Last night, after work, I started taking the carpet off the stairs going to the living room. We plan on replacing the carpet in the bedrooms, hall, stairs and the living room. As a matter of fact, I need to call the installer today and schedule the install in about a week - that should give me enough time to pull up all the carpet and pad, pull out all 10,000 staples that are holding the pad in place and paint the baseboards before the new carpet goes down! Please say a little prayer for Steph and I as we tackle this project after work and on the weekends.

Since Stephan is carless for awhile, I let him drive my truck back home and have it for the week - it's so fun teasing your own kids. He's going to come over on Sunday (he has the Courtwarming dance on Saturday night and wants to use the truck to impress his date) and bring the truck back.

Stephan has exactly one year left (he plans to graduate at mid-term next year...his Senior year) before he's out of school! He already has senioritice and needs to finish this year strong so he can graduate when he wants to - please pray for him to stay focused and on-track!

Speaking of senioritice, Shallen's got it BAD! She is sooooo ready to be out of school (we get a daily notice of the number of days left before she graduates)! She'll be going to MU in the fall unless a miracle happens (her grandmother is an alum from KU and wrote a letter to the Administration about letting Shallen receive in-state tuition)! Shallen would rather attend KU but is happy to go to MU as a secondary choice!

That's it for now! Take care and I'll talk to you all very soon!

Active Weekend

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you couldn't wait to get back to work on Monday morning just to get a little rest - it was one of those weekends for me.

I woke up Saturday morning to thoughts of filling holes in the walls and sanding before we went to look at a couple houses. I was up at 6am mudding walls and generally preping the walls for paint later in the day. Once I was finished, I sat back with a cup of coffee and looked over my work...on to the next agenda item!

Thursday, I called a couple of realtors who had listed homes and asked for a showing on Saturday morning. Steph and I were up early, had breakfast, then off to a couple of houses. The first was a Repo. Very nice shape, clean and about twice the size of our current home, for about $20K less. The 2nd house was smaller, not as nice and $50K more expensive. It doesn't take a brain specialist to figure out which was the better deal...we're looking into the Repo.

I spoke to Stephan during the week and his truck was parked over at his grandparents in Independence. His starter was bad - he had the old one tested and it was fried! It was just starting to snow when I left Steph at the house to paint while I went to get Stephan and get the truck running. We picked up the starter, got a little lunch and Stephan hooked up the new starter. With one turn of the key, the truck was running and he was back in buiness. We left his grandparents with me following. About 20 minutes into the drive I told him I needed to get some gas, so let's stop at Quik Trip on the way. As I was filling up, he came over to me with a dejected look on his face. He tells me after he shut off his truck and tried to restart it, he got nothing. After about 35 minutes of trying, I called a tow truck. We got the truck parked and he came home with me.

Sorry to cut this short, but Stephan's got a Dr. appt - I'll finish this a little later! Talk to everyone soon!

Steve

Spring in the Midst of Winter

Today in KC, we are to experience a heat wave (atleast it will feel like one after temperatures in the teens and 20's). I think we're suppose to get up to 61 or 62 degrees. This past weekend, after a short warm spell (1 day), I noticed the crochus' in the front yard were already pushing up through the ground preparing for bloom. I tried pushing them back down explaining it was too early, but they just wouldn't have it.

After work today, I plan on a 6-8 mile run. I hate the cold when it comes to running. Now, with that said, running when the temperature is in the 50's is great. You don't get overheated and it's perfect because your body warms up just enough to make it comfortable.

I've got to get myself motivated and out running on a regular basis to be ready for the race in Nashville. With getting the house ready to sell, looking at other homes (the one we were looking at had a contract written on it this last weekend) and being in the midst of the tax season with H&R Block, things are pretty busy right now. None of the items mentioned are good excuses for not preparing for the race. I'll get there, just a little slower than usual.

Today is my mom's birthday! Sandy Elkins is 68 today. For Christmas, Steph and I got her a Digital picture frame loaded with pictures of family that I had (and I have a lot). For her birthday, she has asked Caron, Jeff & Derek for additional family pictures to add to her already time-consuming array of pictures. She's going to have so many pictures on the thumbdrive, she's not going to be able to leave her house if she wants to see all of them! Happy Birthday Mom!

The 44th Inauguration

What a historic time...an incredible time to be living! I'm not talking about our first black president, I'm talking about the historical legacy of this great country.

On my way into work this morning, I decided to turn off the radio for a change and turn my thoughts toward this great country of ours. For over 200 years, we have been changing from party to party and shifting the power of the most powerful position in our country without bloodshed. Today, the out going president (Republican) will hand over the keys and the controlling power of the presidency to the incoming president (Democrat). Where else in the world is this done with such gala, formality and backing by the country's people without the thought of bloodshed.

I also thought of my own position as I stood in the election booth last Fall. I may not have voted for the incoming president, but I will do everything in my power to support him and his administration as he leads our country for the next four years. He is not only OUR President, but OUR Commander in Chief. It is now time for us all to rally around the leader of our great country and support his direction and passion for a strong United States once again.

I have no idea what the next four years will bring from an economic standpoint, but this is the time to stand together as one nation, under God, and throw our support behind the man who was voted President of the United States of America.

My Friend Paul

I know I've spoken quite a bit about my friend Paul. I grew up with Paul, he was the Best Man at my first wedding and we've maintained a good friendship through the years.

On my way home, over the past month, I've seen a digital billboard displayed. I just wanted to put a face with a name! Actually, this is not the Paul Turner I often speak of, luckily! So, if any of you are expecting to make a fast buck off this, I'm afraid you'll need to come up with another scheme. I finally stopped along side the road last night and caught a picture. I know my ol' buddy Paul will get a kick out of this!

This has been a very trying week for me. Early in the week, I felt a cold coming on. Right now, it's really kicking my butt. I'm hoping with the weekend upon us, it'll give me a chance to shake it. We're also trying to get the house put together to sell. Man, it seems like there's so much to do. We're also trying to sell the Xterra and have luckily had a bid...I think the guy is coming in from St. Louis on Monday to take a look at it - Steph listed it on Craig's List.

Shallen had a tire blow out on the way home from a swim meet earlier this week and I ended up having to put two new tires on her 1997 Acura. I should be getting a "Thank You" card any day from Sam's Club for what they cost me.

Today, Stephan called me and informed me that his truck just quit running. Smoke was coming out from under the hood and it wouldn't even turn over. His truck, if any of you have seen it, seemed to be on it's last leg for a very long time. 1989 Ford F-150 - just an old farm truck. I'm ready to do taxes so maybe I can get a little money back to help cover some of these expenses.

One nice thing; we found Steph a 2002 Honda Accord in excellent condition. She really enjoys driving it to work now that she's getting about 30 MPG and only puts in about half the gas she was putting in when filling up the Xterra. Once the Xterra sells, we'll put all that money back into the Money Market and it won't feel like everythings going out and nothings coming in!

Have a nice weekend everyone...you'll be hearing from me soon!

Busy Year Ahead!

This plans to be a very busy year for the Elkins' household. So much is going on:

• I already have plans to run in the Country Music Marathon in April (Steph will be running the half-marathon) followed by Hospital Hill half-marathon in June (I think Shallen plans to train and run in that one as well)
• We are currently in the process of doing a few things to our house to get it on the market for sale by the end of this month (January). We already have another house in mind and hope to be in it by March (that's Shallen's timeframe)
• Steph and I plan to make a trip to St. Louis in the early Spring and see Mary Elizabeth Elkins (my grandfather's cousin) again just to check on her and catch up
• In April, after completing 8 years in the Navy Reserve with two tours-of-duty, I plan to leave the military and return to 100% civilian life
• Stephan goes into work with a friend of his doing yard service - Stephan's going to like this, he's an incredibly hard worker and enjoys paying his own way!
• Shallen graduates from Platte County High School in May - big party just waiting to break loose!
• Steph, Shallen, Stephan and I plan to take a trip to Albuquerque, NM for a week following Stephan's school letting out - probably the first week in June
• Steph and I plan to go to Illinois to visit a few more relatives (Betsy and Virginia) that are cousin's of my grandfather. We met Betsy a couple of years ago when she came into town for a medical exam.
• Shallen starts her Freshman year of college at MU in the Fall (swishhhhh...that was the money leaving my wallet)
• Stephan starts his Senior year at Oak Grove High School in the fall
• Steph and I have all our family over to our new house for Thanksgiving this year
• Stephan graduates mid-term from Oak Grove and enlists in the military to join the ranks with other S.E.A.L. pups

As you can see, these are just the things I know about - many more will come. I will keep all of you up to date on what's going on and be sure to share many pictures and personal stories along the way. Have a great Thursday!

It's That Time of Year...Tax Season

Sorry for the long delay in updating folks on what's going on in my life and the lives of those I touch. Working at H&R Block Corp. has it's good points...and bad points. Tax season begins inOctober as we begin to ramp up. I have been on a couple of very large projects that take up a great deal of my time...including nights, weekends and time over the holidays.

Holiday break for the kids has been very good. Both Shallen & Stephan enjoyed their time away from school and spending time with friends. They both returned to school this week. Shallen has two weeks of first semester to finish up (school started late for Platte County so they extended the semester - wierd, I know)! Stephan started back on Tuesday at Oak Grove. He spent a great deal of his time playing paintball in the woods with his buddies - make sure you're looking around behind you if you walk out in the woods around Oak Grove, MO.

Steph's been incredibly busy the last couple of days at Applebee's. She works in the Accounting Dept and they are in the midst of year end - I expect to see her in a couple of days! :o)

Colby stopped by with Addison on Saturday to do Shallen & Steph's hair. Addison and I ate marshmellows, played on the floor and just had a good time. Shallen's hair was so messed up from the last time she changed the color (herself), it took Colby most of the time to do hers, so Steph only got her hair cut - I guess the color will have to wait until this Sunday.

Being four months into a new position with a new company can be very stressful. I've learned a lot since starting here in early September. As with any new position, you can usually find better/smarter ways to do things - that has become my challenge.