October is almost over

Hard to believe how fast this month has gone by.

Things are going well... Jen and new baby seem to both be fine. We have another ultrasound in early November, which is the one where we can find out what the sex of the baby is. I want to find out but I think Jen is still on the fence- she loves surprises.  However, I am pretty impatient, and don't want to find out the way we did last time (by a nurse on the way to the OR where Jen had her c-section, before I saw the baby).  So we'll see what happens in a few weeks...

The car saga continues.  The blazer decided to crap out the 4 wheel drive and the suspension (sway bars) earlier this week. While driving to Mr. Beefy's with a full vehicle, people were literally swinging back and forth.  I found a great deal on repair work after some advice from a co-worker. It cost me $180 at Sears to get things fixed up. The 4wd turned out to be a switch problem, which was only another $40. However, 4 high doesn't work, only 4 low, which is supposed to be driven at speeds of 15mph or less. I'm still kind of in a Dilemna on the 4wd...

Anyway, Jen and I went to a dealer last night, half expecting to buy a Toyota Highlander.  To make a long story short (I had a lot more, but I hit control z, which decided to erase most of what I was typing) we got the dealer down to invoice - rebate, but he wouldn't give us the low financing, and offered the same $500 for my trade that I was a month ago despite repairs. My "strategy" is to wait until I'm paying the equivelant of a car payment per month on repairs, or until the car payment on our other vehicle is gone (hopefully 6 months or less). I hope I can hold out that long- really don't want two car payments.

Weekend Update...

Friday night Jen surprised me and took me to a high school football game at Oak Harbor. That may not sound all that exciting, and it wouldn't be- except for the fact that The Ohio State Marching Band stopped off to play!  Apparently one of the OSU band directors is an alumni at OH.  It is only about a 20 minute drive from our house, so it didn't take long to get there. It was well worth it!  The pre-game show opened up with script ohio.  I was amazed that they did it right away. Usually they save the best for the last...  Anyway, the band played again later at half time. A great show.  I always get a little choked up when watching the "pride of the buckeyes"- reminds me of my marching band days back in high school.    Anyway, after half time we picked up the latest CD on the way out.  Great tunes!

We had the ultrasound early Fri morning.  It went well- no major issues but Jen still needs to keep things relatively low-key.

Saturday was pretty uneventful. I stayed home and watched OSU womp on Michigan St while Jen and Kaitlyn went out shopping for a little bit.  We got to hang out in the afternoon/evening and had a good time.

I'm going to be heading back to NY on Monday and coming back late Tuesday night. So I get to go to the big apple once again!  Eventually I'd like to spend a little more time there doing some tourism, but I don't want to do that unless I have the family with me.

Have a great week!

Back from NY,NY

I just got back home from my NY trip. It went pretty well.  Arrived Monday evening and got to go to a really great place to eat. Unfortunately the name of it escapes me- smith and somethings that started with a "W". It was right outside our hotel- the Doubltree Hilton.   The restaurant was AWESOME. We had a seafood platter with lobster, crab, and other stuff that was really good. I then ordered a cajun strip steak that was probably up there with the best of steaks that I've ever eaten. 

The hotel turned out to be a real hole, especially for $300 a night. It was about the size of a closet and the ceiling was peeling a little bit. On top of that my internet access didn't work, so I had to go to the lobby to use the wireless. Oh well, hopefully next time I won't have to stay there.  Oh, and it looks like next time might be next week...

The meeting went well. I had to give a presentation on something my team is working on that went over well.

Unfortunately I didn't get to do a ton while in NY.  However, I did get to go to a place called Katz's deli, which is made famous by "When Harry met Sally" movie.  I will post some pictures.  A colleague of mine wanted to take me there and I'm glad I went. I got a reaallly good Reuben sandwich and some fresh pickles.  I could only eat about 1/2 of it.  Great food!! It was also nice to be able to take a cab and see the city a little bit.

Weekend Update

This weekend / last week was somewhat eventful.  We had a little bit of a scare with Jen and the new baby on Friday- had to go get an ultrasound done to make sure everything was OK. She had a little bit of bleeding and it turns out the placenta was torn just a tad. Apparently this is pretty common, and even more so when you have a c-section in earlier pregnancies. The Dr. didn't seem to be concerned- just wanted Jen to be low key activity wise. As of Friday the baby was 14.6 weeks along and doing great. We're going back for another check up on Friday.  Please keep us in your prayers that everything will be alright.  We know it is all in God's hands. 

Today I'm off to NY, NY.  I've never been- this will be a first.  I probably won't have a ton of time to do much, since I'm essentially going for a one-day meeting. I'll be getting back on Weds.  I hope to have some good pictures to post when I get back.

Mid week update

I missed my weekend update due to things being a little chaotic.  Saturday we ended up running some errands. While it was raining, I noticed the four wheel drive switch no longer worked on the cash blazer... So I decided to take the family car shopping.  (Side note: this is the third time the four wheel drive switch has gone out in the past 5 years. Each time it cost about $500 to have repaired...)   We went to a couple of dealers, unfortunately I don't remember the names of all of them.  The first one was a Jeep/Chrysler dealer "just for kicks".  We liked the Jeep Grand Cherokee the best, but it was way high even with a Chrysler discount. On top of that, I've just about had it with union built vehicles- if you are planning to drive one more than 5 years, I think the total cost of ownership is much higher than the non-union or foreign made counterparts (see for reference the last 2 vehicles I've owned). So.. we went to a small Toyota dealer in Maumee after that. I test drove a Toyota Highlander and realy liked it.  The highlander is built on the Camry frame, which is a solid vehicle that lasts forever (my parents finally got rid of theirs at 250K miles, over 12 years old and got a new one).  The features in the one I drove were very similar to what I have in the Blazer, though it lacked the compass and powered seating.  However, I'll take a reliable vehicle over gizmos any day.

We didn't end up buying the highlander... the financial situation is kind of tight right now, especially with a little one on the way.  We still have a years worth of payments on the Mazda (my wife's car) which I'd like to pay off before buying a new one.  In addition, the Toyota dealers do not negotiate on price much . They were only willing to give me the incentive off the sticker price.  I can't blame them- at the first lot there was only one highlander, the second there were two.. They know they will sell them. At the first dealer I gave them a low ball offer and they didn't even want to talk to me any more.  At the second dealer, they gave me a low ball offer on my Blazer for trade in ($500) so I didn't want to talk to them anymore. :)  I am going to look around at Germain Toyota in Columbus which has a much wider selection and seem to negotiate a little.   PS, if anyone knows of someone looking for a Blazer, I'll give them a good deal... Blue Book for "fair" for my model (LS) is around $3000. If I can sell it for $2500 I'd be a happy camper and could use that to pay off my wife's car. The engine runs fine, it's just all the other stuff that needs work- wipers, 4x4, air, and it has a few cosmetic dings and dents on the body (but no rust).

** Church Update **

We've been having a missions conference at church.  It's been really awesome and refreshing.  The pastor is from a church somewhere in Michigan. A few missionaries came- one who has a family in Brazil, and a young couple trying to raise support to go to Nigeria.  We've had services since Sunday morning and evening, and mon-weds. I've been to all of them so far but won't be able to make the one tonight due to an after work meeting.   It's been really refreshing because it puts our focus back on the basics- evangelism and winning the lost.  Not that we don't focus on that normally, but having a mission conference helps you see evangelism in a different light.  Hearing stories about people getting saved and the work that God is doing abroad is very exciting.  It motivates me to want to get out and share my faith more, and also to give more to missions work.  In Phil. 4 Paul is writing:

[14] Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
[15] Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
[16] For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
[17] Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account

Out of all the churches in the new testament, the ones in Macedonia were the poorest and the only ones that actually gave to Paul's ministry. He did not desire that they give for his own sake, as he could earn money making tents (though it was a distraction to the ministry)- he desired it so that fruit could abound to their account as written in verse 17. That is pretty cool... knowing that when we give to missions, it is something that is credited to us eternally.