Briam's Family Blog

Hey All!  I promised that I would get the pictures out by monday .... and TADA ... I lied.  It's tuesday now.  But better late than never, right?  I added a new gallery section for Hilton Head 2005

Enjoy.... and please feel free to leave feed back.  We love feedback!!  My wife would not let me publish the pictures until she had approved them for display.....

Peace out!!

So there were a few things the doctor told me before I left his office (Vasectomy).

1.      Don’t get that area wet for a few days (not even showers)

2.      Don’t do any heavy lift (over 20 pounds)

3.      Don’t drive for a couple of days.

So, being the genius that I am, I drive the family for 6 hours to the beach.  My kids and the luggage all way outside the allotted lifting limit, … and there is no way I am able to keep dry.   J

…and to add to that, the area I had to shave for my surgery is starting to grow stubble…and it did not feel nice when I walked.  Too much info?  (Probably)

Well.  We had a great time!  We made it back alive.  And by that, I mean that the kids are doing well and me and my wife are dead tired.

When we got back tonight, I dropped my wife’s camera in the dock and pressed the button to transfer the photos, and BAM!!  200 pictures.  I did not think we were gone that long.

I will get the cream of the crop pictures in the gallery tomorrow…. For now, I must lay still and learn to breath normally again.  Hilton Head 2005 Party Fest is now over…  J  It was a lot of fun…. But it is always good to come home again.

Thought I would post so you guys would know that I was still alive.  The Vasectomy went smoothly.  The process was quick and painless.  I went back to work afterwards.

I did as I was told and took it easy when I got home.... with only minor horseplay with my kids.  Then it was bags of ice and Television.  One of my favorite shows was on, LOST!!

So, a good nights rest.  And I am back in the office this morning.  Minor sourness (as expected) and doing good.

Thanks to those who were concerned. 

Definition:  A contraceptive procedure in men in which the vas deferens is cut and the cut ends are sealed to prevent the transportation of sperm. Surgical separation of the vas deferens so that sperm, while still produced, do not leave the body.

So, we have had our third child Sophia.  And My wife and I had talked prior to this that we only wanted to have three.  And since the last was not triplets, I guess we are done.  J

Of course my co-workers are very supportive and encouraging me with words such as:

            “…now you will be able to sing those high notes…”

            “…snip snip… the end is near…”

You get the idea.  I am not really worried about the procedure, since it is a simple 15 minute surgery, and if all goes well, I will be fine the next day.  Although, maybe a bit sore.

In good fun, I dug around and found the following funny picture, which I thought I would share.

Keep me in your prayers…. 2 pm today “Snip Snip”

Peace out!

You remember the old shows that use to teach us family values, like “Leave it to beaver…” or “The Brady bunch”.  Well, each episode had some lesson we were suppose to learn.  Or some family values that we were suppose to agree on.

Yeah…yeah… some of these were really hooky.  But they start taking on some deeper meaning when you grow up … get married… and have kids (not always in that order).

My mom gave me this picture today at church.  It was a picture of my dad and my son planting a baby tree.  My father started this tradition about planting a tree for each of his grandkids.  This one was for my daughter Sophia that was just born 5 weeks ago.  It probably seemed like a great idea early on …  J  but now there are 7 grandkids total and one due in the next few weeks!!  (Congrats Kurt & Karin)

I think about what my parents did for us growing up.  They were always taking time to be with us, even when times were rough.  But the times never really seemed rough, since our parents showed us that it was not “stuff” that makes a family happy…. but the “value” our family had.  Value does not just appear because you put a price tag on it… value appears because you spend a lot of love on it…..and time.

My wife and I strive to keep this family tradition going…. Almost seems like a crime not to.  But we already see it working in our Family values.

Take care!

Growing up ... I was always told that if I tried hard enough, I could do anything.  Well, that is a good thing to hear while you are growing up, but is it always true?

There are many things in this life that I KNOW that I am not supposed to do.  For one thing, my wife does the cooking.  I could cook, but it does not come out as nice as my wife's meals.  I could paint, but it even makes me uneasy to see some of my creations.  :-)

So I was flipping through some old favorites in my browser and I came across a site I had not visited in a long time.  http://www.despair.com  A very funny site that has some hilarious posters.  I had not been there for awhile, but saw the poster for Ineptitude:

You see, I love to ski .... but this picture pretty much shows you my best skill.... eating snow.  But I do not do it to be good... I do it because I enjoy it.

So I guess its not how we do something, but the fact that we do the things we like to do.  What kind of life would it be if we worked at something that we hated, but we were good at?  I thank God that I get to work on stuff I like.

So I guess my parents where right.  I can do anything I like... they never said I would be good at it.   :-)  Enjoy life... its too short to fill it with things we don't like.

Do you know what day it is?  Yes ... it is finaly here.

Ah yes... I remember my younger days..... when I had such hopes... such power.  I could have been Darth Briam, ... but then I tripped on my cape and fell on my saber.   That hurt.

So instead I turned to a life of computers.... and making babies.  :-)

Today some of the office guys are having an off-site lunch "meeting" that coincidently happens to be as long as the movie "Star Wars III".  This meeting promises to be more entertaining than our regular meetings... but only time will tell.

A few days ago, I found my self saying to my son,  "Matthew, I AM YOUR FATHER" ... in my worst vador voice.  He just looked at me and said "you are the bad guy, and I am going to shoot you..."  Ah such wisdom from the mouths of babes.

Peace out.

The good.... Or I should say GREAT!! My sister (Ivana) called last night and my newphew is doing great following his surgery!!  We have been praying for him, and will continue to do so during his recovery.  But thank God that the hard part is passed.

The bad.... I am sitting in the dentist chair on my lunch break....  :-(   wiating on the dentist.  Sending this blog entry via my blackberry.

If I dont make it, tell my wife and kids that I love them. 

Update:  They sent this link so that you can check on Nicky's status.

My wife took this lovely picture of Sophia.... right before she was jumped by a band of crazed stuffed animals.  This pack of stuffed animals was most likely made insane, due to the relentless torture and abuse from children who have no regards for their emotional well being.

It’s a tragic thing really.  These cuddly toys were once happy and eager to play with new babies.  But this is the third baby… and times have changed.  They most likely are tired of being tossed aside or drooled on when they were only looking for a hug.  But maybe this baby will be different… maybe this will be the baby that appreciates the cute soft toys that will help pass the time….   Only time will tell.  So beware baby.  Be nice to your toys…. or sleep with one eye open.   J

...so last night... just going in for a quick 15 minute upgrade.   :-)   Its never just a quick 15 minutes is it?

Got home from work this morning around 9 a.m.  And family was leaving for church..... and I was leaving for pillow land.

My son kept trying to explain to me that it was no longer time to sleep because the sun was up... and that I needed to get ready for church.... I guess he was right... I was too tired to win the argument... but in the end I was able to just fall asleep since I had forgotten how to work my shoe laces. 

He eventually gave up on me and went to church.... and I slept a long sleep.  The sleep of the dead..... dead tired that is.

Today has been a nice day.... rest is good.

Love Love Love.... love so strong you are willing to smack your brother in order to give one more kiss on the cheek?

I find it hard to remember when my emotions and actions were so simple.  So simple that it was as basic, as getting what was more important to me... When was the last time we "smacked" something in our way to get that kiss on the cheek from someone we love?  ...maybe that is too intangible.  When was the last time we turned down doing something at work (that could wait) to go home and spend a little more quality time with our spouse and kids?  ....when did we stop working to support our life with our family, and start spending less time at home so we could get our work done?

....It is important to get these reminders.... not because this is some amazingly incredible new information... but because we are only human and tend to forget.  We don't live to work.... we work to live... with the ones we love.

Go hug a loved one!

Ah yes…. The in-laws are gone now.  They have been a great help as we adjust to life with another rug rat in the house.  It will be hard to adjust, but I guess that is part of life.  So much blessing…. But also so much work.  But it never seizes to amaze me how quickly the grow… and start to crawl, and walk… and run… and jump on you when you least expect it!!  J  But I guess for now Sophia will take it slow.  

I guess I will have to cut back on my golf game….

Oh yeah… I forgot.  I don’t play golf.  Well then, I guess I can just cut back on my sleep…. Who needs that anyways.

Peach out!

I decided to take a day off work … and we took the family to visit some old friends.  Mike, Laura and their cute baby Audrey.  We had a really nice time.  It is so nice to see good friends…. Although we had not seen them in a long time, it always feels like we pick up right where we left off.

From there it was off to downtown Atlanta to walk around a bit and play at Centennial park.  There are some pictures in the gallery under the Centennial Park Day section.

I had not been downtown in a long time... In the past I did not enjoy the park too much since it seemed kind of bland, but going with the kids added a different level of enjoyment.

Check out the rest of the pictures in the gallery ... there are some very amusing ones there. 

I thought I would get a little rest on Mothers day (Sunday)... but my wife invited a few thousand of our closest friends over after Church service to help her keep me awake.   J  She succeeded.

My kids did not do too bad, they were able to destroy several rooms.... while eating every item in the house that contained even the slightest trace of sugar.  Here is a picture of what used to be the kids toy room.

If the kids look a little blurry.... yeah ... thats becuase they would not stop moving.  There are a bunch of pictures from Mother's Day in the Gallery.  ... I have to do some late night work... so maybe I will be allowed to get a little rest tomorrow.

Peace out!

I finally got some rest today (monday)… by going to the office to do some relaxing computer work.  The weekend was a bit rough.  Nothing like a family and a holiday (“Mother’s Day") to totally drain a person of every ounce of energy that he has....like a vampire sucking every drop off blood out of you....

J...but I digress.  Saturday was a lot of fun with family and the kids.  We were able to go and spend some time at the Yellow River Game Ranch.  Check it out… it was a lot of fun and I added a bunch of pictures in the Gallery section.  This day ended long and with little sleep.

This is my wife and our three kids and my wives parents.  I am the handsome guy taking the picture.  :-P

...weekend so full... work and home stuff... going out...  I am running on little sleep and am having problems typing...

At least my son was not eating by the wild beast at the petting zoo... he appeased them with some tastey graham crakers.

...I will write more about this when I cath up on some sleep... tomorrow (being mothers day) promises to also be very jam packed.

Good night.  Peace out.

It took me awhile to realize that this blog is not about me.... because I am not that intersting.  But I have gotten a lot of good feedback on it.  So I changed the name of the blog this morning.  Because this blog is really interesting because of the people I love.

So, the name has been changed to protect the innocent.  :-)

After a long hard day at the office... I was ready to call it a day.  But I had one major problem I was not able to solve.  Sometimes these technical issues require a lot of testing and the solution can be allusive.  So to save some time, I decided to call in some experts to look at my notes, and suggest a solution that we could quickly implement.

These guys are no joke.  They were able to quickly look at my notes and determine how to quickly and concisely implement the required solution.  It can get expensive, but if you need a quick solution, you have to call in the big guns!

Experiment:  #532
Subject:  "Princess Megan”
Date Executed:  Sunday May 1, 2005

For some time, we have been working on a way to incapacitate subject "Princess Megan.”  All of my prior attempts have been a failure.  Original experiments were based on attempts to incapacitate subject “Matthew Monster”.  And all attempts with that subject were futile.

Since subject Megan was much younger and smaller than subject Matthew, my thoughts were that we would be more quickly able to discover some weakness.  Until now it has been a struggle to get these two specimens to behave and go to sleep on time.

But at long last after months of experimenting, eureka!  With the proper dosage of food and distraction we were able to achieve a decisive victory.  It did require some assistants from other subjects with similar age.  And a lot of running around and playing, but it was well worth it.

Here is the subject (and mom) at our friend's house obviously having a good time.  Unaware that she was being monitored the entire time.

After much play time and a healthy serving of good home cooking (thanks to our friends) the subject started to slow down.  One car trip later, the subject was out.

We may not be able to achieve these goals every day, but it is encouraging to know that it is possible.  Once we have perfected our method, we will move on to subject “Baby Sophia” in the hopes that we will be able to curb this energetic destructive behavior before it is too late.

Keep us in your prayers.

Ah... the time has come.  This morning it was time to let the butterflies go free.  Four of the five made it through the trials.  Not many species can survive that amount of time with Matthew and Megan and come out unscathed.  But only one died from exhaustion, or maybe just chose an eternal path of rest.

At first my son tried to convince me that they should stay and live in our house.  But I told him our cat would most likely eat them (or the ceiling fans).

It took awhile for them to fly off… as if not sure that they wanted to move on.  Free food and board with no natural predators waiting to snack on you…. But then again… it was probably only a matter of time before my kids would want to see what made them tick (or add their wings to the action figures to see if they could fly).

All in all the kids loved the whole process. InsectLore Thanks again Aunt Ivana, Uncle Tommy, and Cousin Nicky!