Random Thoughts from a New Year

Well if you have not already heard it by now Becky is pregnant with a little boy. His name is Liam Kristoffer. Where did we come up with Liam? If you look-up the meaning of the name it says "determined guardian". I don't know about you but since I am getting older I feel better knowing that I have that to fall back on. Plus other than Liam Neeson there are few celebrities with that name, giving him a great chance to carve out his own niche in this world. As for Kristoffer, we enjoyed the Scandinavian spelling and the fact that it stood for the "patron saint of travelers" (it goes well with our love of traveling). Put all of this together and you can see that the names deep meanings are the reasons we went with it. You can check out info on Liam here. You can check out info on Kristoffer here.

So many things have come to mind this year. What does it hold? Will our luck be better this year? Do I have a chance at the lottery? Do the Cowboys have a chance at getting to the Super Bowl? Do the Stars have any life left in them to play better? Most important of all, will child birth be easier on Becky this time around? She is looking at a delivery date of May 12th. I hope to open the betting window soon so everyone can pick a square for the delivery time. No calling the Doctor to get inside information (that includes you Mel or as we now call you 2% Dad).

I need some heeling prayers for my Mom as she recovers from her shoulder surgery. I know I have teased her here many times before and I will do it again. As this is the special way that I keep her young (or is it sending her to an early grave . . . oops). Being a retired nurse you can imagine that she is a bad patient and is always testing her boundaries. You have to love the spunk in her even though I roll my eyes sometimes, I do it with love. Get well soon Mom. Also my good friend Alex is fighting through his own injuries and I ask that you keep him in your prayers too. Alex is the kind of guy that will drop what he is doing to help you no matter what. I'll always appreciate the things he has done for me over the years and I hope that someday I can repay him.

Finally my job is going well and I will be starting my chemistry class next week. The schedule has me in class on Tuesday and Thursday. I am looking forward to the challenge though I will miss the public skating time and hockey practice times with my friends AJ and Ryan. I hope to find another date and time that we can hang together soon. Our next game is January 23rd at 9:15pm. If we win this one then we will be in the Keg Championship. If you get a chance come out and support us.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year and that we can all get together soon.

In Memory

I dedicate this posting in memory of my Grandmother Lilah Janis, who passed on 12/15. Though we were never as close as most grandparent relationships are do to the distances we lived (she in Atlanta, GA), I always made an effort to call her everytime I changed planes in Atlanta. She was probably one of the most avid readers of this blog and asked me to write more so she could keep up with us. Now as I write this I reflect on all of the times I spent with her and the impact she and my Granfather had on my life. I wish I had more time with her and wish I could share the birth of our new little one with her, but I'm at peace. Peace because I know that she is with the love of her life my Grandfather Stanley Janis. I also know that she has finally had the chance to meet her Great Grandson Johnathon (he's probably listening to her read a nursery story just like the one she read to me). I ask during this time for two things. Prayers and phone calls. Prayers for my family in dealin
g with this loss and for everyone who reads or hears this blog to pick-up a phone and call that relative that you have not heard from in awhile. Let them know you are thinking about them. Distance grows us apart but communication keeps us together.

I pray that peace, joy, and happiness may come to you this holiday season.

Police & Fire Academy Photos

I graduated Thursday night from the City of Euless's Citizen Police and Fire Academy. This will allow me to do volunteer work for the Police and Fire Departments. Nothing dangerous just helping to deliver cold water on a hot day and/or aiding them in some charity events. They took pictures of us doing various tasks that the real public servants perform. Here is the link to the rest of the pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/srjanis1998/sets/72157622758132668/

What a Week

So this past week has been choked full of many things. I've had everything from recovering from my surgery, taking an exam in school after missing classes because of surgery, getting hired to a new job, and finally piloting a Falcon 200ex over Memphis (from takeoff to landing). It has definitely been a busy, productive, and exhilarating week. What can this week hold? I do not know but I don't think it can top this one. However, before I cross this week I had better explain what occurred above.

My surgery went well and I have been up and moving around quite well. Some pain issues around the incision site, but otherwise no real problems. I did have my post op visit today with the Doctor and he has cleared me to return to light duty with a return to hockey on 11/28. I will start a stationary bike routine this week to slowly get me back up to speed. By the way, my theory on hernia surgery is that it is a real pain but still better than shoulder surgery.

Due to the effects of the narcotic pain pills I was given I was not able to study for my Anatomy and Physiology class very much. This made it tough to remember anything for my exam. In the end, I did quite well on my exam and made a solid B on it.

I am completing all of the pre-hire paperwork and background checks to join Bell Partners. I will be managing Derby Park apartments in Grand Prairie for them. I am looking forward to getting back to work and to working with so many of my former co-workers. A couple of years ago my old company UDR sold many of its properties to Bell and when this occurred many of my co-workers left to go work for Bell. Being hired by Bell is like having a homecoming even though I will be working for a new company. It feels very strange to say the least.

Becky decided to surprise me Friday night with the experience of a lifetime. She arranged for me to fly a Falcon 200ex. Though my first landing ended in a fiery crash, my second landing was more successful. Becky’s co-workers husband works for a company that trains pilots and he was able to get us into one of the flight simulator trainers. This was awesome to experience what it is like to fly a regional jet with such realism. I don’t ever plan to really fly an airplane so this will be the closest I ever get. Knowing that pilots can receive all of the training they need on these trainers and can go directly into flying from here made me extremely impressed by it all. Why did we fly around Memphis? I’m not sure why. I guess because Elvis is there and it is good to be the King.

Update on Becky. Just when I thought the nausea was gone, it came back. I hope its return is short lived. Other than that, she is doing quite well.

Finally, I wanted to let everyone know that November 11th will be Johnathon’s 2nd birthday. In celebration, Becky and I are having his birthday party this weekend for him. It will be the same as last year as we will be going to church on Sunday 11/8 @ 11:00am, lunch at 12:15pm at Main Street Bar-B-Que, and then cupcakes and decorating at his gravesite. If you are able to make it to any of the festivities, we would love to have you there.

Not Again

Some good news on Becky. At here doctors visit last week we were able to hear the baby's heart beat. This means she has a less than 1% chance of a miscarriage. I have decided that I am going in full hockey gear to her next appointment. Mel has now gone from kidney blows to shin kicks. She is so giddy to be there with us and to experience what we are experiencing that she can hardly contain herself. The good news is that any bruising does heal quite fast.

We got to see my Aunt last week as well. It's always fun to see Aunt Liz and Victor. Wish they could have stayed longer but unfortunately their stay was short. My Mom even came by for a visit last week. So if you saw a red Cadillac that was creeping 10-15 mph below the speed limit on the highway I hoped you waved. My Mom prefers that over the honking horns. Last but not least I had dinner with my Dad tonight. He came into town to give me moral support.

Did I mention that tomorrow (or today depending on when your reading this) I will be having hernia surgery. Yeah yeah I know what your thinking, it must be from the hockey or from the weightlifting. I say its from the baby making! At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's something that has been bothering me all year long and I have grown tired of living with it and it's time to get it fixed. My job interviews have picked up and some opportunities have started to open, so it is better that I go ahead and get it taken care of now before I get an offer and start working. So I should be down and out for one week and then back to the living. As for hockey and weightlifting . . . looks like 4-6 weeks for that one.

I leave it to my wife to embarrass me again and post pictures of me in the not so best of conditions from the pain medications. By the way if you come to visit Tuesday night, I am not responsible for the songs I may start singing to you. As I now have a history of doing this.

Rice???

Well it turns out rice is not only the San Francisco treat, it is also the size of the little one who has taken up residence inside of Becky. As of last Thursday the new house was the right size for someone who is at 6 weeks of development. This puts us with a due date of May 19 or 20 (don't worry as we get closer I will get the tote board up and we can start placing bets again). By the way if you see me doubled over as I come walking out after Becky's sonograms please understand this is not from the reality of fatherhood hitting me, but because our friend Mel has been punching me because she is so giddy with excitement.

What great weather we are having here. I have enjoyed being out and about working with friends at the church on projects and taking Miss Divine for walks. I wish Becky was available to join me for more of it, but unfortunately the pregnancy hormones have kept her down. It has been a challenge to cook her foods that will not upset her sensitive stomach. I do know one thing if you are in need of a hot stock tip then buy dairy production companies. Our milk consumption is now up to a gallon a day. Fortunately or unfortunately last weekend our refrigerator went to Fred Sanford's place. We had to buy a new one. The new refrigerator is bigger than our old one so this has made it easier for us to stock up. Thanks to our neighbor Scott for lending us a hand in getting it in our house. What a pain it was as we had to take the refrigerator and the house doors off to make it fit.

In case you missed it I was on ESPN2 this week. My friend AJ and I attended the live taping of the Mike and Mike show Monday morning. We were smart enough to sit under the Boston's restaurant sign so that every time they showed the sponsor for their location we were the first people you saw. The only bad thing was that we were shown at 5:00am - 7:00am (central time). So if you were up you might have seen us.

Finally a triumphant hockey win on Saturday against the number one team in the league. It was a tough game full of bumps and bruises, but we were able to escape victorious. This weekends (10/3) game is at 7:00pm. Would love to see you there if you can make it.

Fire or Police

To those of you familiar with Facebook you probably have participated in one of those surveys that tell you some mindless prediction of who, what, or how you are. Usually they ask you some question that has nothing pertinent to do with the subject matter. For me the question would be” do you like puppies”. The concluding answer to “are you a Fireman or a Policeman” would show that I am a “Fireman”.

After participating in a mock raid of the high school last night, I have determined that I would be the officer you hear about on the news. No, not the one who stopped the criminals. Not even the one who was shot in the line of duty. I would be the one who was too busy eating donuts in the Wal-Mart parking lot as the place was robbed. You know, the goof ball cop we tell jokes about. Last night I was able to locate the hostages but ignored the gunman standing behind a statue in the corner. Only to get it in the end after I said “I guess we‘re done and we can leave now”.

This leads me back to firefighter training. I have learned how to rush a burning building, how to search for injured people in the dark, and how to rip a car open with the Jaws of Life. Though each job comes with its pitfall only the Police are known to frequent Dunkin Donuts. Have you ever seen the Fire Department parked in front of one of those places? That is because Firemen cook for themselves and workout so that they can perform skills of strength at a moment’s notice. Don’t get me wrong about the Police Department they have equally deserving skills of being able to aim and react. However, at the end of the day it’s the donut shop on the way back to the station that always get a quick drop-in.

Don’t worry Mom I am not quitting my day job to runoff and be a Firefighter, after all we already have one crazy in the family and do not need anymore. I'll just stick to my citizens training classes. Now if only I had a day job. If you have any suggestions let me know, I am interested in pursuing all leads.

Hockey game is Sunday (9/20) at 6:00pm. Love to see you there if you can make it. I know Sunday is such a different day for it, but it is always good to have some change in your life every now and then.

Speaking of change, did I mention that Becky is PREGNANT . . .