We knew you would eventually wander through here again. Ah, summer. warm. sunny. beach. humid. flair. fair. intense heat. travel. we've been busy. we're happy and healthy nonetheless.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
3 years old!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Hard to believe Joshua turned three today. He's my boy squished between two girls - i think he's going to be a great guy! As I browsed through some photos tonight, I came upon this taken from our beach vacation. Joshua wanted to be in the water, every time I requested a "break"; he cried. and cried. and cried. The water was cold, 65 degrees! didn't bother him - he was born to play in the water. Happy Birthday, Joshua!
(click photo to enlarge)
Do you hear what I hear?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
When I turned 30 last year, Alicia splurged on what we normally do-not-buy-expensive-gifts-for-birthdays; I am the proud owner of an i-touch. Call her my second love if you want. She arrived right around the time I was bilaterally activated. For you new readers, I wear two cochlear implants. I have accumulated a lot of music, television shows, audio books, games and sound effects. Sound effects? What?? Before I go any further let me clarify – from the age of 7 to 24 my hearing declined; as in progressively went down-hill. Gone were the everyday sounds taken for granted – water running, toilets flushing, enjoying music, and so forth. Four years ago I underwent surgery to implant my right ear, the decision wasn’t easy but it was necessary to accommodate the important aspects of my life. Four years later – I implanted my left ear. So why am I writing this?
My love, she has steals much of my daily attention, playing games, she puts rhyme and rhythm in my ears, and the television shows are just awesomely bad to watch. The computer geek guys at Apple clearly thought this device over when they allowed other geekets around the globe develop applications for said i-touch users. One rainy day I came across an application called “Fart”. If you have known me long enough, you know I am obsessed with bodily functions; typically a two year old will pass this phase, but for some undetermined reason, doctors cannot figure out why I haven’t matured.
Anyway, as a human I have to do business, sometimes at work, sometimes at home. Usually my business occurs at 1:30 pm every day. Oh – the greatness of being on a schedule. When men or where men do their business, there is not much estrogen around; consider this your warning. Men, we take pride in our business. Some do a trinkle and some do (much) more. My favorite is when John Doe is standing at the urinal, liquid coming from one end and suddenly rips a loud sound from the opposite end! Wow, amazing!! I honestly never, ever knew a human could do that – HUMANS – could do that, even in a public establishment. Enter my obsession with bodily functions. 1:30 pm on a typical day, I’m enjoying my usual stall; John Doe enters and picks his urinal. If I were an audiologist I’m sure his business is registering in the 60db range – that’s pretty damn loud folks. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he rips one. This is where my love enters! Monopoly at task, I decide to challenge Mr. Doe and his auditory effect he just left me. As he rips one, I rip one out of my “fart” application – on this day I chose the “sloppy joe” – when I did, Mr. Doe immediately shuts the fire hydrant off and exits. Humanity has come (or gone) a long way in my years of declining silence. Wow.
Just imagine one day soon “The Farting Olympics”. I’ll “hear” you there; 1:30 pm at 1111 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 4th Floor, tenth street elevator men’s room.
2008 in Review – Mike style
Thursday, January 08, 2009
I would like to say the private company I work for was purchased and the generous severance package enabled me to travel with my family around the U.S. In fact, I'm writing you parked outside Sarah Palin's driveway inside our gigantic RV (which gets less than 5 MPG). We spent the beautiful day hunting – she is truly one incredible mom. Now, now..why did I start with more political propaganda when we have had enough to last a lifetime? I don't know. I was dreaming… Back to reality – Mike remains gainfully employed. We started 2008 on a very happy note! We were expecting our third child in August. After we put our condo for sale in February, the market quickly nosedived. Only by the grace of God were we able to sell and make a marginal profit! With no back-up plan and a quick settlement, we moved into Alicia's parents' basement and have been there for the last 15 years. Actually, we lasted there 6 months – in December we bought a beautiful townhouse in Ashburn, VA. All the while, our precious Ashley Jocelyn came into the world. At 4 months, she is truly a gem, a precious baby to hold. If this moment could be frozen in time. Alicia is a full-time housewife, domestic goddess, chef extraordinaire, wife, best friend and the woman who never stops working. Annemarie is our oldest, she turned 4. She talks more than her mother and dresses better than anyone in the house. Speaking of dress, she wears a DRESS everyday! Her heart for her siblings astonishes me, because all I wanted to do as a young boy was steal my brothers' G. I. Joe figures and blow them up with bottle rockets. Annie's favorite things include dressing up, ballet, art, talking, laughing and entertaining her parents. She also loves to get up every morning at 6:00 am! Joshua is 2; he is a studly man, takes after his fathers' jaw-dropping good looks, arm-pit sweating, hairy chest, incredible biceps and inherits his mothers' intelligence (whew). He charms you with his smile and tender affection, yet seems very resistant to listening to concrete instruction – "Joshua, please do not touch that" means nothing to him. The most charming, personal event in 2008 for me, yours truly, was the activation of my second implant. Now I'm hearing in stereo! Re-discovering new sound has become a daily treasure for me – there is always something new to hear or discover. All the while I thought I was content hearing out of one ear via a cochlear implant for the last 4 years – it has become an entirely new "life" hearing bilaterally. In summary, 2008 turned out to be a very eventful year for Alicia and I. I learned that in a millisecond, you can die – Alicia nearly did soon after Ashley was born. When the real estate market nose-dived I honestly thought my place would sell for ½ less than what I purchased it for. Anxiety, anxiety anxiety. Through all the trials (I don't want to make you sleepy), I learned that our God is a sovereign God, he holds us in the palm of his hand. His truth is the same yesterday, today and forever. It does not matter what issue is or isn't on the ballot - He loves us all the same and regardless who is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; HE REIGNS OVER ALL. May God watch over and protect you and your family in 2009.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)