Remembering Dad
Dad's 60th Birthday
Today is my Dad's 60th birthday! Since his passing, I think both yesterday and today may be my most difficult in dealing with my grief. Last night, I returned back to Riverport Amphitheater where my Dad and I had attended so many concerts together. Our 2nd to last show was Sammy Hagar and it was remarkable and such an enjoyable time with my Dad. Last night's concert was Sammy Hagar, along with Steve Pecaro and Collective Soul. The line up of bands were so fitting. Steve Pecaro was a blues guitarist where my Dad and I had seen him play in tribute concerts for artists such as Stevie R ... more
2 Days and 2 Baptisms
Rachel and Lincoln are Baptized
We had a busy weekend. We finally got to meet our new nephew Lincoln and witness his baptism at a private ceremony on a Saturday afternoon. Following his baptism, we celebrated over at my brother and sister in-law's house. Earlier that day in the morning we met with our Pastor and Rachel's sponsors (Scott & Serena) to go over the baptismal service that was going to be held on Sunday morning. Amazing, with already a busy Saturday, we managed to get up early and get 3 kids and us to the church at 7:45 am for an 8AM service. We probably had between 20-25 family and friends that were a ... more
The Family Keeps Growing
CJ and Mary welcome Rachel to their Family
We are proud to announce the birth of our 3rd daughter: Rachel Elizabeth! She was born on June 2, 2015 @ 4:56 AM. She was 7 lbs 9.4 ounces and 20.5." It's been a long few days as Mary's water broke at 10:30 PM on Sunday, May 31st and waiting almost over 30 hours for delivery both at home and finally at the hospital. Naomi and Phoebe have been very excited to meet their new sister and we are especially excited to see Phoebe in her new role as now a big sister! We have had both great visits from family and messages via text, email, and Facebook from other family and friend givin ... more
Honoring Dad
CJ Participates in Movember to Raise Awareness of Men's Health
My father, passed away from kidney cancer on 10/29/14. What started as an ongoing cough, my Dad was at first reluctant to go to a doctor and seek help. He eventually did and was able to prolong his life as long as he could. He wore a moustache most of his life. I had decided to grow and supporting a moustache to spread awareness and raise funds for an important cause and pay tribute to him. During the month of November, I started clean shaven on November 1st and throughout the month of November, grew only a moustache till the end of November. The organization I got involved with is ca ... more
Our Family Continues to Grow!
Expecting Baby #3 in June 2015
Hello friends and family! As some of you may or may not already know, we are expecting our 3rd child in June 2015! We have been sharing with family and close friends since around mid October as we meet face to face but have not publicly shared yet on social media. Mary had been dealing with some morning sicknesses in her first trimester but is now feeling much better and we have had a couple ultrasounds and everything is looking very well for the health of our baby. We've been very conservative with this news making sure our baby is growing and is healthy. We've appreciated all the ... more
Trail Mix
CJ Participates in an 82 Mile Relay Along the Katy Trail
I wanted to share with you a little about a brand new race put on by GO! St. Louis that I participated with co workers that was different than anything else I've attempted before. An 82 mile relay race along the Katy Trail. 6 Runners, 18 legs (3 by each runner). The race began at Creve Couer Lake in Maryland Heights, MO and finished in Herman, MO along the Katy Trail. It was pretty incredible. First of all, our team finished 84th out of 200 teams! We had a 9:10 mile pace and finished in 12 hours and 30 minutes. Here were my personal results from my 3 Legs: 8:17 AM 30:13 minu ... more
You're as Cold as Ice
CJ takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!
The ALS Ice bucket challenge is taking our country by storm, or should I say, ice water :) I was presented this challenge by my good friend Matt S. and had Mary help me out taking the video. You should know I did save the leftover ice and put them in a container to melt outside to help water our garden. Some have criticize all the water that's being wasted because of droughts in California in spite of the good cause of the awareness of ALS. Check out www.alsa.org for more information about ALS and feel free to take the ice bucket challenge my fellow followers or make a donation. more
Extra! Extra! Read All About it!
Naomi Makes the Front Page of a Local Newspaper
Well, we you receive news or hear about your daughter making the front page of a newspaper, it's usually not a good thing. However, in this case, it was great news! Mary, myself and the girls took a trip to Frohna, MO (about an hour drive south of St. Louis). It was the Saxon Lutheran Memorial Fall Festival and our 3rd time making this event. This place is remarkable and I first came here in 2011 when I was acting for a documentary film. This Fall Festival, really takes you back in time to like the late 1800s it seems. There are blacksmiths, wood cutters, and just the most amazing ... more
The Walking Daughter
Phoebe Joins Naomi in Walking Together in Life
This Fall, Phoebe began to take her very first steps! Of course, we missed it on video. And then she never really walked for awhile. She was pretty satisfied with crawling for awhile. Then all of sudden she started taking 10 steps, 20, 30, then we just stopped counting as she seemed to get it down. This was a change for Naomi as well. Seeing her sister move around like this was something she wasn't used to and there were many times, she would knock her down (mostly unintentionally). Needless to say, Phoebe's walking is getting better and she is moving faster and keeping up with ... more
Preschool Begins!
Naomi Starts Preschool
Naomi has grown up so fast! She has started attending Preschool this year! She goes to school 2 days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays for 3.5 hours each day. She loves her teachers and her classmates very much. At first, it was tough to get any information out of her to find out what she's been up to, but lately she's been more talkative about what she is doing in preschool. The school has quite a curriculum. They learn about science, reading, counting, they do crafts, bake goodies (and bring home for Daddy to eat), bible stories, they've gone on a field trip to a pumpkin farm, and ... more