Dallas in Casco

so we all went to our first Christmas concert! dallas was worried because, being the new guy, he didn't know the songs very well... yeah right! he sang his heart out! he loves to sing! he did quite well by us, that's fer sure! it seemed like all of the 7th and 8th graders were in the band, singing or otherwise involved in some music aspect. very nice kids! i love to listen to band! Mei Mei loved it too! she did not fuss one bit! the whole time that we were there, she just sat and danced, clapped and talked up a storm! what a riot! she sat and just stared at times in rapt attention then she would smile a huge beaming smile and sway or jump up and down on our laps. we all had so much fun! dallas was pumped afterwards too! he's such a turkey... you know, i saw two girls flirting with him too! he won't admit it but they would follow him with their eyes. he's so handsome! tall and sweet. get 'em big D! you're the man! he's still rather clueless to it all and that is fine with me! i'm very proud of him.

where's the computer?

can't post at home and show pictures without a computer! it'll be found soon, i'm sure... i dropped Mei Mei off at the daycare center for the first time and i found that leaving her there, though in good hands, was hard! i dressed her up in her finest Packers outfit, she looked so good! as usual, i know. she's adorable. several other children and parents also had Packer paraphanelia and acoutrements. what fun! i'll go back and check on her later today. Kim is doing her orientation today also! today will be kinda crazy! it's already begun.

have patience!

we still don't have the computer set up at home so i can't post pictures and whatnot yet! dallas has turned THIRTEEN though! jeez... what fun! he is a full inch taller than me too. yikes. he wants to do sports so bad, he's gonna be one strong teenager. we are all settling in pretty well. lot's of work to be done... wow.

11-5-05

picture taken around 1P.M. today, the day before the game. tim has already parked 'Blue' in the shadow of Lambeau Field but there were at least 4 other vehicles scattered about that had staked a spot too. a short while later as tim and i were taking a beer break, these Steelers fans started harassing us so we invited them over for some cheap brew on us. what fun! by the time that i left at 6, the parking lot was almost full of campers and whatnot from all over Wisconsin, it seemed! what a riot! i'll return, on foot, tomorrow for the best tail-gateing to be had anywhere! this will be great! i hope that it doesn't rain... speaking of rain, the Morales caravan is making good time on their onerous journey to Wisconsin. don't ask Mei Mei though! she's mad! get me out of this stinking seat already! why is no one listening to my screams? yikes. stay tuned.

Friday night... 11-4-05

today was hazy and dreary... my wife is sick. tempers are running amuck. the dogs are restless. children are crying. the Morales caravan/circus is slowly making it's way in a most ponderous manner towards Green Bay. i just hope that they all make it here safely. that is all that i want. that and for the Packers to kick some Steelers butt! yeah right.

Halloween...

personally, i don't do halloween... but the kids and their costumes sure are cute! there have been A LOT of kids running around today! it feels weird that the sun sets before 5 now and all these people are out and about doing things! shouldn't you be in bed by now? oh. sorry. i forgot! it's still early! here, have some candy! don't eat it all in one sitting! trick or treat! smell my feet! give me something good to eat! funny that the younger kids didn't know that little rhyme. why didn't i see any apples in any sacks? no fruit? no raisins? oh well. this little Asian bug, by the way, is a spokesmodel for SHOPKO here in green bay! kinda shy really...

saturday morn...

i don't have any new pictures but i just wanted to say that Mei Mei now has about 8 teeth showing and has many new words added to her little baby repertoire! she loves to ask for 'more' with the cutest lilt/inflection to her voice! so adorable. she likes ducks and likes to imitate the 'quack quack' which sounds hilarious! she is growing and gaining weight appropriately and loves life and the outdoors big time! i know that she will love it out here! there are so many new sights, sounds, smells and THINGS! let's go explore this trail Mei Mei! let's check out this other stream! see the fish? FISH! she loves that word too! fsh... too funny. i bet that Dallas is AT LEAST an inch taller than me by now! very handsome too, you'll see!

well, i am going to listen to my new 12 Girls Band cd and read 'Thunderhead' by Preston and Childs. did i mention that they write really good books?! i can't get enough! check out the 12 Girls Band on their website www.12girlsband.com and listen to some snippets of Asian sounds fused with modern music. i'll bet that ancient Chinese musicians never envisioned the erhu to sound like this! a pipa was never supposed to accompany a piano! synthesizers? sacrilege! not to these world renown musicians! neat stuff! check them out. thank you, Leaf, for the tip!

Thursday! 10-27-05

This is me... There you go. Now you know. Any questions? read my bio... gotta go.

Monday night 10-24-05

winter is arriving! i missed last weeks lunar eclipse, did you? i spent this weekend 'camping' in the northern part of wisconsin (see pictures) and i absolutely loved it! THIS is what i have wanted to do since i left michigan when i was 10! i miss kansas though! i love the trees, hills and streams better though, i think... we took some trails on the atv's and crossed streams, marshes, hills and campgrounds and i could not seem to keep my mouth closed! i was simply in awe at the grandour that i was witnessing! how can people love city life when sights like these abound? it was absolutely incredible! too bad that i left the camera while trail riding! the best pictures would have come from that sub 2 hour trek through the woods! the way that the sun hit the trees with the miriad of colors at sunset was astonishing. Tim and i stopped frequently to turn off the bikes and just take it all in... listening and watching, drinking in the beauty that was around us. no elk were heard though and that dissappointed me somewhat. we came across many deer in our path though! i can't wait to take Dallas fishing out here! i have not gone fishing seriously since i left michigan, partly because i stunk at it, but i will give it another try! it won't matter if i am 'good' at it or not! we will be having fun and enjoying nature! what could be better? i am pumped! bring it on baby! i'll try some ice-fishing too! perhaps if i meet someone that has snowmobiles i'll do that too! oh the possibilities... i may not be too happy yet at work (still screwing up w/that one doctor!) but my surroundings more than make up for it. wow. you have to be here to know what i am talking about! so come on up sometime! we'll make room fer ya! well, i'm gonna curl up with a cabela's catalog to do some research and then it's off to bed i go. g'nite all! (good morning, Leaf!)

it's a monday!

nothing new to report. my family will be here in three weeks! this is the truck that i helped to swap a fresh motor into it and hence a view of the house that i am currently 'rooming' in! dont'cha love the fall? i need to get some pictures from the river of the paper mills, homes, schools, etc. lot's of beautiful sights to behold! anyone playing powerball? it's gonna reach 400 million! what would YOU do with a bit of that pot? would you change? what would be different in your life? would you set up a trust? blow it all? Intriguing...

life altering...

i had some profound and life altering comment that i wanted to disseminate but i forgot what it was as i had multiple distractions before i sat here before the computer... sorry folks! perhaps i am destined to win tonights 300 plus million dollar jackpot. don't call me. i'll call you! i'm gonna go and keep reading 'The Ice Limit' by D Presston and L Child. i absolutely love their books! T Brooks too. anyway. it's perfect reading weather right now.

friday night/saturday morning...

well, i always wanted to live or go somewhere where in the evening i could see a romantic cityscape, riverfront, beach or whatever and now i have it. i love when the sun goes down and the city lights up! here in Green Bay i get that view as i cross over the fox river and see the paper mills lit up and steam rising from their large 'smokestacks'. low hanging clouds and the river both reflect the light nicely and the overall picture is very pleasing. if only that darn idiot behind me weren't drafting my tail i wouldn't feel so perturbed though! what is it with city folk and their constant hustle? jeez! this is why we left Orlando!!! the constant and incessant rush of vehicles everywhere at all times. i used to love it and now i don't, simple as that. my family and their (our) safety is more important! arrive alive folks! slow down and relax a little!

anywayz... i learned to play texas hold 'em poker tonight! my coworkers had a gathering of families and had some excellent chicken and venison hotdogs! yummy! lot's of good food everywhere! just my kind of party! the kids played karaoke and skits all night, competing for our attention and even the dog joined in on the festivities. what fun! i feel good, but, WHERE IS MY FAMILY in all of this? well, it will be exactly one month that i will see them again and then i can lug them around with me everywhere! yippeeee! let's go salmon and trout fishing! yummy. there's that food thing again. yikes.

goodnight everyone! i need some shut-eye! it's sixty two degrees in my room! so nice...

bid accepted! sort of...

i did a littel business this weekend with my realtor and wrote up the contract for the house in luxemburg and guess what? they came back with a decent counter offer, which i will counter yet again but only once more and then accept the final offer! it's sooo close! kim also has a job nailed here too! i expect that by the first of november, we will all be here in green bay together again! wooohooo! yeehaw! there's gonna be a ton of work ahead of us too! the ball is finally rolling! everything is coming together! finally...

homecoming weekend in Green Bay!

this is a crazy tradition that they have here! there are hundreds of homes across the green bay area that are papered up like this! rich or poor! it doesn't matter the home! it's pretty funny to see really! see my cheese hat? i have it in the van and with me at all times! this is a nice area but still hectic. i drove out to my new prospective home out in luxemburg and, boy, what a difference! it's country out there! apples and orchards abound! i love it! i saw my first deer since i left kansas! i'm slowly coming around. gonna go eat at a friday fish fry now! see you all later! tomorrow is the heart walk... how ironic! i'm trying hard to change my eating habits but i can't do it all in one day! love that fish!

Packer Sunday!

today i awoke to the soft sound of rain... i slept pretty good too, no crazy dreams! i love the sound of rain though! don't you? it's very pleasing. the weather is def. getting a 'fall' feel to it now as the daytime temps are hovering in the 60's and at night it can dip into the upper 30's! wonderful! i was invited to go to Lambeau Stadium to see the Packers play today! yeah baby! no tailgating for me today! i am IN! for only 55 bucks. i had an apple for breakfast/brunch around 10 this morning and then by 11 Tim drove me to his sisters place where we were all to meet before the big game. she made some monster angus burgers for all of us and then drove us to the field which was just a few blocks away. it felt like i was going to Daytona for a big race or to Indy for a Formula 1 race! cars and people everywhere! we actually walked back from the game as it would have been impossible to drive out! gridlock! in any case, the rain barely let up and there is a pervasive fog that refuses to lift and gives the whole landscape an ethereal feel to it. this is great! the game itself was fun too even though we lost! the crowd was so loud that i had to take my headphone/radio contraption off as i was getting a headache! it was a sea of yellow and green everywhere you looked. i only saw a few tampa bay buccaneer fans walking around. i thought that they might get clobbered but the crowds were civil, though loud and very animated. it was really neat to see all the players in person and Brett Favre too. green bay will get better as the season progresses! they have too many rookies! what fun! now i am back 'home' and i helped Tim take out a garage door and put in a new one. not the big up-and-down one! a side door! i feel pretty handy! this has been a good weekend. i didn't know what i was going to do but everything worked out pretty good! i can't complain. i will go see the casinos on another day. they will always be around! gonna go eat now... catch you all later!

Friday! 9-23-05

the weekend is upon me once again! what am i gonna do? hit the local casino houses of course! the American Indian nations have casinos everywhere! this should be fun! i want to see the Oneida Nation! how many tribes are there around here anyway? i gotta find out! there are Mexicans and Vietnamese (Hmong) too. you know what that means, right? lot's of good ethnic restaurants, of course! what did you think? i am going to buy a fishing rod and go fish the local Fox river too! i can't wait for my family to get here so that Dallas can show me how to fish! just wait until he actuall SEES the fish out here! northern pike, trout, salmon, bass, perch, walleyes and other whatnots abound! so tasty! you know what i haven't seen out here yet though? deer! every evening in Kansas was almost guaranteed to see deer feeding in the fields but out here there are too many trees! i saw a bunny this morning though! one single solitary bunny... he ought to move to Kansas where there seem to be millions! there are tons of squirrels out here though! i love the chipmunks! haven't seen any birds of prey either. coyotes? yeah right. there are however black bear roaming around! elk and moose are said to roam the upper reaches of the state too. maybe i'll go skulking through the woods and capture some on film fer ya! how bout dem apples!? speaking of apples! i can't get enough of them out here! i love apples! i love trees! i need to get out more! i need to go now...

will this be our new house?

so i've looked at this property twice now and although i have mixed feelings about it (it's almost 100 years old, i am told), i really like it! so does Kim and she's only seen the pictures! it's on three well manicured acres less than 30 minutes from green bay and st vincent hospital, where i work. 2 story, 2400 sq ft, full basement. brick home on a very solid foundation. all windows replaced recently and 200 amp service upgrade done throughout. when you look closely, you can tell that the house is older but from afar or just walking through on a quick tour? nope. very nice. it's a dollhouse! all the outbuildings are clean! nary a spider web to be found! amazing. the other homes that i've looked at have tons of spiderwebs all over the basement and outbuildings galore! i like it! we just need to put a fence around where we would put the horses and voila! instant hobby farm! i took about 102 photographs of the place on my last outing and some video too for kim to see, perhaps i'll post some to flickr for all ya'll to see! all ya'll? jeez louise! anyway... it's bedtime! i need to get up an hour earlier due to a heavy friday workload. my previous post? not sad or melancholic, just felt like it. it came to me so don't be afraid that i am gonna get depressed or something like that! i just miss my family! is that so wrong?! hmmm... a poet i am not nor am i good with dictum but it's fun to try! good night every one! it will be in the 40's tonight and 60's during the day! woohoooo! i love it! i hear that it is still in the mid 90's in kansas! good riddance. good night.

I miss you...

i don't know what you are doing right now but i miss you... i'm not doing anything right now but thinking of you. as i drive around this big city, alone, i think of you and i want to share my thoughts and emotions with you! i want you to see and experience what i am experiencing! i want to share my joys and my sorrows, my triumphs and tribulations, the good times and the bad. i know that you are doing well and so am i but we are not together and that does not make me happy. i do not feel whole. i need you. the leaves are changing color, did you know that? the geese are starting there long migration south and they are not alone! the world around us is in constant motion and yet i feel like i am standing still. i am oblivious and yet acutely aware of my surroundings and the changes that are happening all around me. i hear your stories and i yearn to be there too! i need to hold you and hear your soothing voice whisper softly in my ear. as we follow this crazy tortured path, i know that your road and mine will soon meet somewhere in the as yet unforseen distance and that gives me hope. i know and understand that our paths must run parallel lines and that you are feeling the same as i but that knowedge does not alleviate the empty space that i feel in my chest every day. i yearn to listen to your voice each and every day. i thrive on your words and they give me sustenance and keep me afloat on this empty island. i have faith and i have hope but even more importantly, i have you and that is all that matters! we will be together once more and will be stronger than ever! i can feel it! we must continue on this parallel continuum for some time still but when our paths meet again, we will be overcome with joy and satisfaction! we will lay down our roots and finally be able to grow into what we know to be our destiny as a strong and cohesive family! we have always been able to rise above it all and so we are doing it yet again even when it has been thrust upon us in a most unwelcome manner. it was not fair but we will build on it and let the experience strengthen us and bind us inexorably together. this is our path, our legacy. i miss you. i love you. i look forward to seeing you again every day. be strong, my love! the seasons may change but my love for you will not, cannot! i am but a thousand miles away! what is that distance to me compared with the knowledge of spending the rest of my life with you? i live for you, fight for you, work hard every day for you. my family gives me strength, hope and love... for that i thank you, love you and cherish you. forever. as you lay your head down to sleep tonight, look out of the window into the dark star-filled night and know that i am doing the same. see that twinkle? it is a reflection of my eyes! sweet dreams! see you soon! i miss you...

Saturday 9-17-05

miscellaneous ramblings! i like it up here! i will absolutely love it when MY FAMILY arrives! everything can get so complicated! nevertheless... i had my first crab apple since i was about 10 years old! i took it from a house that i went to go see with my realtor! i love crab apples! so will Dallas! i was very excited as i love apples! there are tons of cool looking trees out here. i love all the colors! i even plucked a weed that had pretty berries on it! speaking of berries, there is a huge cranberry festival out here somewhere i hear is very good to go and participate! that's all i know about it. hot air balloons are taking flight too! isn't that awesome? i also love the way people talk out here! i love their accent! i wonder what i would sound like now if i had stayed in michigan for a few more years? hmmm... there was something else that i wanted to say! it's lost in my bitty little brain somewhere now and i'll remember when i am at work or far from a computer. everyone going to watch this sunday's Green Bay Packer game? you bet that i will be watching! i never follow professional sports much but living here i gotta learn this packer thing thoroughly! even better yet, one of my favorite race tracks is less than two hours away! I can go and watch CART, Trans Am, ALMS, Ferrari clubs, Porche clubs, Camaro, Corvette and who know who else race here! tons of things to do again! i need to bring my Mustang up here with me! what fun! oh yes, my hosts are awesome and i am extremely grateful to them for letting me stay here with them instead of incuring heavy hotel costs! they also cook lots of good stuff! i'm gonna get fatter if i am not careful! so much good food everywhere! Tim and I have been installing his engine in his old truck too. i haven't worked on a motor in years! we rented a movie last night that we thought was a comedy... team america, world police or something like that. i was all puppets (marionets) but with heavy graphic violence, extreme profanity and explicit sex scenes! all done with puppets! hello! what the? amazing. even the theme song which was pro United States was heavy on the profanity! was this a political movie? screw the world! the U.S. is the best! amazing. don't rent it! whew. i need to go to be now! call my wife! then read a good book to prepare for the sleep to follow. someone please purchase our place in McCracken!

Thursday 9-15-05

i'm feelin' pretty good right now! just came back from brett favre's restaurant where i had some awesome jambalaya and godiva chocolate liqueur with my fellow coworkers. mmm, mmm, mm! it was a good day anyway, awesome weather, just the right amount of work and a phone call to the wife! can't complain! i was thinking though, i haven't had the same sense of pride and general fuzzy feeling about working here though... when i went to hays, i had a tremendous swelling of pride! i felt good to be there! granted, i knew that there was something fundamentaly wrong there but it was a vague undercurrent that i didn't think would rise up and snatch me away the way that it did! spit me out like so many others... that should not happen here! i just don't have that same sense of pride. i'm not sure why. perhaps it is because i came against my will, so to speak. it is an awesome place and the cardiology program is growing like mad and i am learning a lot! my coworkers are awesome too but i haven't yet 'clicked'. it will take time and some effort on my part, of course. the area is beautiful! when i was living in michigan, i was happy. i should be happy here! Dallas and Mei Mei will love it! ice fishing, snow mobiling, all sorts of winter activities! summer hiking, camping, fishing, water parks too. there are things to do year round. lot's of things! museums, malls, theatres, etc abound too. heck, just sit by the fox river and watch the big ships go by and do their thing. bird watching? ton's of that too. the canadian geese are moving all over the place right now! what a sight! the trout are said to be coming soon too! i remember fishing trout, bass, salmon and whatnot with dad when i was Dallas' age and loving it! this will be great! Kim will find some excellent horse people and activities here too! it won't compare to mccracken though. can't walk your sheep down main street here! sorry honey! i'm trying to find a nice big brick house with wood floors for ya! 3-5 lush green acres and some fruit trees will round out the picture. perhaps a pond or a stream too... time will tell, i need to be patient. that is proving to be difficult! i have a wonderful family and i miss them! hurry up gang! put a fire under that realtor! i'm harrassing mine! that's for sure. what else? i don't know. life is good, really. tomorrow will be a busy day. this weekend is the packer's home game! i'll be tailgating with the rest of the city! perhaps i'll take some pictures if i remember! then we'll come back home for kickoff at 3:15 cst. the waiting list for season tickets or whatever they are is said to be about 20 years as every child that is born is put on the list! packermania is very pervasive here! what fun! stay tuned!

addendum...

o.k. kids. this is it! i am getting tons of crap on my comments from spammers so i have to turn on word verification! sorry gang but i gotta protect my stuff! and delete the detritus! jeez. i hope that you understand... njm

Saturday night!

it's saturday night and i am happy to report that i will be leaving this hotel tomorrow! a coworker offered to put me up at his place free of charge until my family arrives! prayers are being anwered! life is good! by the way chel-bug, thank you for all of your support! i love you! i have long distance support! today was a good day! i spoke with mom and she is in good spirits today too. her sister has a lot of support from friends and family also to help them through such a difficult time. jake, i know how you feel! what an incredible time this is for all of us! isn't it crazy? unbelievable... i miss my family! i won't recognize my kids when i see them again! dallas will be another inch or so taller and Mei Mei, well, who knows! she will probably be talking! on another note, i saw some beautiful homes yesterday! did i mention this already? i think that i did! today i spent all day with my new adoptive family working on a truck. we are pulling the old motor out and putting in a fresh crate motor that he just bought. what fun! i haven't done that in years! also, my friend Elliott called and we talked for awhile. him and his wife are doing well and working hard. they love their new home. wow. i need to go to bed! or at least pack up all my junk so that i can leave before check out time tomorrow! g'nite all!

It's Friday!

so what is going on out there in the world? hello? anyone out there? there are tons of people out here in green bay, i know but what about the world that i just left behind? it's silent... hmmm. in any case, i had a good day today! my first 'week' at work! done. over with. let's move on! oh yes, i need to go through orientation first! like they say in hays, i need to get 'orienTATED'! the hospital didn't orientate me yet so i am not orientated yet. no scrubbing for me yet! i looked at three homes tonight also. they are so beautiful! all this beautiful grass, trees, fruit and vegetables growing everywhere! horses, cow and sheep abound too! this is so nice! where is my wonderful family to share this with? i haven't taken any more pictures so you can't see them on here yet either! i have been slacking or shirking my duties! i just went to the restaruant here at the Inn and it used to be the ticket office for the Green Bay Packers and Vince Lombardi's office too! neat restaurant/bar! you should see the wood door to the office! medieval! heavy! awesome. friday night all you can eat fish fry night is popular out here! i'm going to die soon because i just learned that my cholesterol is climbing over 240! can you say diet? lifestyle change? statins? jeez! can you believe it?! then i had to have fried fish tonight... NICE NIXY!!! WAY TO GO!!! idiot! jeez! come get your dinner you fat lard! well kids, i'm going to go walk by the waterfront then sit on a bench and read some. watch a ship or two go by. whatever. i LIKE this place! g'nite.

Thursday...

today stunk. i was not a happy camper. it was slow and boring so i was a little melancholic. too much time to think! i love and miss my family big time... then i got the news that a family member died today.... i almost lost it. i did not need that! mom tried to cheer me up and encourage me positively, i love my mother. you know what broke the spell? chatting online with my son! even Mei Mei got in on the action a little! now i feel good! i feel refreshed. tired, yes, but happy and content. i feel like going to bed though! i'm tired! i wonder why... now where did i put my latest terry brooks book?

Wednesday 9-7-05

not too bad today... tried to get in there and do something! you know?! yesterday was chaos, today was better. i don't understand yet what these coworkers of mine are trying to do though. where is the schedule? oh, printed in the morning. where are the patient folders? we don't have 'em. huh? what are all these boxes? stuff that needs to find a home. o.k. kinda crazy if you ask me! i'll get the hang of it. eventually! good bunch, really. the cath labs are new and some of the docs are too so everyone is learning and working hard. after work, i headed down the street to interview the childrens center again and do a walk-through. the building has been around for what, over a hundred years? i love the look of it! there is plenty of staff to go around too! these kids are never alone or ignored that's fer sure! i like it. very friendly and flexible! then i decided to go to barnes and noble to return something but after i did that, i took a wrong turn and my return trip to the hotel was about a thirty plus mile trip! it's been raining too and that didn't help things one bit. i live in a big bustling city now! all of 100plus thousand people in green bay alone. then there are all of the adjoining towns that interconnect... jeez. oh well. tons of traffic. helter skelter. go, go, go! THAT i will miss about hays and surrounding area, like my utopia in McCracken! calm and serene with an excellent restaurant down the street where everyone knows my name... i wonder what tomorrow will bring? i will learn a lot! the hospital was established in 1888 and now the cardiology department is expanding in a big way! i love it! i can't wait for fall, winter and spring. my favorite time of year. stay tuned folks! i love ya...

First day in Green Bay...

well folks, i may it just fine. i am happy to be here and yet melancholic too as i left my family behind. anyone interested in 60 acres? anyone know of a place i can buy or rent here in green bay? let us know! it was a good and beautiful drive out here though! i kinda stair stepped my way up here and it took me 16 hours over two days. i stopped sunday night at midnight and then picked back up monday morning at 6:30 to arrive at green bay by 1. not bad! there were tons of places that i would've loved to have stopped to see but since i had no idea what my time would be like, i didn't stop at places like the SPAM museum! shucks! oh well. i am just thankful that i arrived in one piece and i am healthy! i currently reside in a hotel by the waterfront too! scenic! as of yet, i have not heard a dj play two songs at one time or a commercial over a song like 103.3 does in hays! i won't have to hear the jeweler commercial anymore either! drove me nuts! i need to do a complete turnaround on my cathlab routines too as they do things very differently here too. there are three physician GROUPS instead of just three physicians! the equipment is different, the protocols are different... so much fun! i love learning new things but the first week is always the toughest. hugs to my close friends in hays! you know who you are...

Sunday 9-4-05

I have the most beautiful daughter in the world! She is very industrious today! Busy, busy, busy! Very talkative too... How adorable. Last night, Kim took me on a romantic horse-drawn cart ride into the sunset! I love my family! Dallas has a friend over and they spend the time on the X-box, at the pool, outside horsing around or watching tv. Good kids! I want to take this opportunity to ask my friends and family to pray for us on our new adventures! I will miss Hays and the good people that we are leaving behind. I have learned much here! Thank you gang! My next post will be from Green Bay! Stay tuned! Much love to you all! njm

Headin' to Wisconsin!

This is it folks! I am officially done! I accepted the offer from St Vincent Hospital in Green Bay and will be starting on Tuesday! That means that I leave Monday... So soon! Don't know when I'll post after that though! I'm shaking right now! Nerves! Hungry! gotta go!

it's sooo good to be home!

what a ride! what a trip! wonderful and beautiful but i gotta tell ya... i miss it here in kansas! yes, there are good and bad things everywhere but i thought that i had found my piece of paradise! why do we have to leave? perhaps as kim said, we were brought to hays to bring us together as a family and to therefore adopt Mei Mei but now we move on to the next step in our lives. perhaps. but what of our relationship with the glovers? with brendan and january? i thought that our daughters and sons would grow up together and we would all benefit from it! we would learn spanish and mandarin chinese! what now? time will tell and i know that all will be well but nevertheless... a sense of melancholy creeps up on me and yet a sense of excitement and elation are there too! new careers! new adventures! beautiful surroundings! tons of things to see and do! lots of good schools and churches everywhere! The Green Bay Packers! what fun! yes, i do believe that we will be fine and perhaps this has all been preordained in the grand scheme of things but we will still miss you here in hays. my cath lab coworkers were awesome and taught me a lot! thanks gang. even Grumpy taught me a thing or two! what else? there is so much to say! i need to unpack and settle in though! this will be a very busy weekend! i'm gonna win the spectacular summer sweepstakes! sunday is Joy's party! there is a lot of packing and unpacking to do here at home! I need to give my pointer away to a good home too. she is two and points naturally. loves to be with her people! such a good dog... a little spoiled and neurotic by spending time with Kimber but she found a new home too. know of anyone that wants a free pointer? let me know.

Mei Mei goes to town

Kim has been out most of the day driving her horses, mainly with her dad. The third time back to the house though, she picked up her mother and of course, Mei Mei got to go! Does she look upset? Nope! She loves this kind of activity! Definitely an outdoor kind of gal! What fun! Mei Mei is growing up fast! Now she is whipping her head side to side in some funny way. Perhaps brother is teaching her? She is throwing tantrums, which are hilarious. now when i change her diaper, she wiggles her hips side to side for a little while. freedom! she isn't sleeping the same anymore. the first few hours she gets up and fusses for awhile i don't know why. i breaks my heart when i hear her cry and she is truly upset. you can tell when her 'cry' is just for attention or out of boredom but when she is hurting deep down, her cry kills me. she is incosolable for awhile and daddy can't fix it. i love this girl so much! Dallas just came in from the McCracken pool... all wet. thanx Dallas! he comes in sounding like a horse! what the heck is that? then he bounds straight into the shower. crazy kid! he cleaned his room really well this morning before heading out to the pool too! he is very, no, extremely excited to start school this week! jeez! good for him. new shoes, new clothes and new friends. oh too be 12 again... nah.

Back from Japan!

So Kim's sister and family have finally made it! Yes, they've been in the U.S. for a few days now but I haven't seen them! They've been in Japan for the last 4 years! One of the children was even born there! They sure look the same though! Whew!
What a good looking bunch! I'm glad that they are back though, there should be plenty of good stories and pictures to share! I'll upload the few that I took tonight to Flickr. Pretty interesting. The children all got along just grand too! Excellent! Baby Brent even let me spoon feed him some squash! He has very good manners! Every few bites, he would wipe his mouth on my shirt or pants! Mmmmm! What fun! Pandemonium reigned supreme for a few minutes as they all got to playing and frolicking with the cats and dogs too. Yikes. My asthma is firmly in check though. We had a wonderful dinner and headed back outside for another gorgeous Kansas sunset. No coyotes howling though! Or turkey! After the rain this afternoon, I would've swore that all manner of wildlife would be seen and heard! Perhaps the whoops, yells and screams from the native children scared of the local wildlife... My belly is full. We are all happy. Life is good.

is it wednesday?

thunderin cakes... tantrum cakes... mei mei cracks me up! kim is working her butt off and i am the homemaker now. what fun! little catarina seems to come up with new things on a weekly basis! how does she do it? oh yes, she's a sponge! but who does these tantrum things? you should see her fall to the ground and thrash around! or now when i change her diaper, she'll shake and wiggle her hips around! whats that all about? she isn't sleeping the same either. i'll here her moving around a lot more and she'll cry a little or whimper. why is that? i seem to get up more often now to tend to her in the middle of the night. she is so darn cute though! wow.

Saturday 8-13-05

Kim and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary today! Yay! The 16th marks Kims birthday! What a crazy month this has been! Mei Mei started walking in earnest, I get fired, we celebrate two wonderful events, school starts... wow. craziness. what i wanted to say is that Mei Mei has started imitating us. on the phone! she loves to grab remotes and phones and walk around with them but now she is putting the phone to her left cheek and 'listening'! it's the cutest thing! what else has she done? hmmm... oh yes. climbing. walking is old so now she has to try and climb on to everything! how quickly children learn and grow! i think that she will graduate from college by the time that most of us dolts graduate high school! more power to her.

The Cakes Runneth! sort-of...

i never get tired of watching Mei Mei walk! she is sooo darn cute! it's also very funny to watch her as she is still so wobbly! legs out at funny awkward angles and arms a-flailin'! always happy and making funny faces and funny sounds. what a hoot! well, she also tries to run, a bit, when excited but she flails so much and her legs are out so far and stiff that she just tumbles forward and then she'll look at you like "what happened?"! i just say, "uh oh!" and she'll squeell, get up and keep comin' for ya! i have the best time taking care of this little girl! she's been getting pretty cranky lately though! cranky at night, cranky during the day! cranky, cranky cranky! getting bored with her meager surroundings maybe? tired of all her miriad toys? on to bigger and better things, i'm sure. i just love to watch her! again i wonder, what was Dallas like at this age? i see his pictures and he was still awefully cute back then and the stories that i am told are hilarious but, I wasn't there! children are a riot! what fun! i love it! i've got a wonderful family.

no crawling, all walking

so i didn't get any pictures or video of Mei Mei walking around but it was only a few days ago that she was partially walking and mostly still crawling around! how awesome is that! you should see her heavenly little angelic face! all smiles and coos and talking up a storm! what a riot! i almost cried! to see this tiny little precious baby tottering around just made me turn to mush. i couldn't believe it! Dallas was all hugs today, very cuddly. i think that the two of us will hang out for the weekend or something like that. catch a movie. camp out back in the woods and listen to the turkey and coyote, stare at the stars... i like the sound of that! it is in the 70's again! crazy weather!

stay tuned for further developments! everything is unpredictable now...

njm

it has begun!

anyone know of a good place to work that pays what i have been receiving? in hays? nearby? in any case, i have already made phone calls and started networking among the physicians in the area as to where to go and to get reference letters... i have also filed for unemployment! WHAT? me? unemployed? still hasn't sunk in... something is not quite right. funny how you think that the physician is responsible for what he does at the table but not, he is an MD and i am but a peon. i am the fall guy. hmmm... this is putrid. i actually filed for unemployment! can you believe that? even that will take two weeks or so to go through though! it is scary. in the letter of confirmation online, i was informed that the state still has to contact my employer for more information. WHAT? how is that gonna go? now my life is full of uncertainty and yet full of choices. where else can i call? where can i go? what can i do? be a drug or device rep? travel again? relocate? i really don't want to relocate! what we have going here in hays is good! but with no income, what is a man to do? this just might be a blessing in diguise. what would michelle, jake and amy say? brendan and january? good people all of them. i really don't want to leave here any time soon. baby joy is coming soon! the circle will be complete! these kids should get to KNOW each other! how depressing.

fired...

here i sit, on a busy thursday afternoon, at 'home' alone and this time it's not by my choice or even because i wanted to leave early. nope. the cath lab is still cranking out patients right now but one employee short. make that an ex employee. not to mention the others that are out on vacation or taking classes. they are short staffed now. very short. yesterday, i went to a peer review meeting due to an incident and today i find myself with two weeks to find another position at the hospital. what? me? let go so unceremoniously? yup. it happens all the time at hays medical center. only this time it was me who was let go. granted, this was not the only incident that i was involved in and that is the crux of the matter. about two months ago, i was in a procedure where some other incident happened but it was caught later after the patient was gone. this incident was noticed immediately by me and corrected but it was too late. no harm done but the potential was there and so today i find myself at home alone... looking for another position within the organization. or perhaps not! i've got two gracious weeks. at least they gave me that. unbelievable.

i'm going to wal-mart or something. get lost in the crowds for a bit. home depot and sportsmans supply sound good too. heck, the weather is fine too! crazy weather. perhaps i'll buy some beer now that i am not on-call. sit, read, drink... good grief.

this is Nixy. signing out for now...

what day is it now?

i'm back... saved another life... grungy arteries. needed two stents. kicked butt and finished quick. sorry for the expletive earlier! kids, don't do as i do! hopefully sleep will come within an hour or so! doubt it. i'll start a new book in the mean time.

Wednesday 8-2-05

Only Wednesday? It seems like it should be further along the week than that! Yesterday was a long day at work because of negative attitude and today was long for inactivity... I pulled a 4 (6?) horse trailer today and found it easy to do! I hate bumper pull trailers but this new one that my father in law bought is a pleasure to use. One of our horses, Legend, somehow pealed his knee off so Kim took him to the vet and we brought him to Johns' place today to recover and receive plenty of tlc. jake and amy are finally on their way to China! what a trip that will be! i hope that it goes well for them... we are all already holding our collective breaths for their return! baby Colleen is a riot, cute as ever and giving her parents a heck of a time! what fun! Mei Mei is having fits of anger or something lately! i ought to catch THOSE facial expressions on film someday! is she teething again? no, two more top row teeth just poked through recently! is she frustrated because she can't walk any faster? is her world suddenly too small for her? what a total crack-up! Kim's sister (and family, of course) is finally headed back state-side after 4 years of living in Japan! Woohooo! three kids in tow, one of whom was born in Japan... how are they going to adjust to life here in bazine? i think that it's great but will they? i certainly hope so. this is gonna be fun! can't wait for them to arrive in the next few weeks! speaking of next few weeks! school will start again! yes! Dallas absolutely needs to get back on track and out of the house for 8 hours! the fact that i leave every third week hasn't helped him out at all. sorry Dallas, i love you too and miss ya but this is the price we pay for home ownership but with a 20 minute response time at the cath lab. shit my beeper went off... gotta run

this is where i work!

This is the Bickle Pavilion at Hays Medical Center. Nice huh? I like this place!

sunrise/sunset

you should see the sunrise/sunset events here in Kansas! they are incredible! i just don't get tired of seeing them! if only it weren't so blasted hot!

Mei Mei's ride

This is my preferred method of travel. Stylin' and profilin' but, where are my cool shade that gramma got for me?!

At The Mustang Restaurant in McCracken

Yup, eat here all the time! I like McCracken! Great food and great people! They treat me well here. I'll be mutton bustin' soon!

mmmm! Macaroni!

Although I have become somewhat picky with my food, there are some basic things that I will always love, food puffs such as Cheerios and macaroni with cheese! My daddy has taught me well! I love food.

a cat's life...

This is Dander. He loves to sleep in these locals... Cats are weird.

our adoptive dog...

Yes, this is the great Maple! Doesn't really like the outdoors or being left alone but she sure has adapted well to the inner sanctum of the Morales circus! She is not too sure about our cats either... She'll stalk them for hours and then - BARK! and run away fast! Too funny. Maple, you're O.K.

Leaf, you will be sorely missed!

Leaf, our friend, mentor, teacher and all around great gal, is leaving for China pretty soon... She has finished her thesis and will turn it in this week. There are a few steps that need to happen before it is all finalized but it is as good as done. Jake and Amy are about to embark on their journey and Leaf will probably be gone when they arrive... I have a great sadness weighing down on me for it. Joy will be here soon though! Leaf will get updates and pictures, for sure! We love you!

meet Hershey!

This is the newest addition to our crazy family! This is Hershey, a long haired mini Dachshund! This young dog is a riot! He is very well behaved though, for a 3 month old!

walking update!

So here is the proof! I can't post any video but I snapped a few pictures! This girl is a hoot! She is playing with Dallas right now, making her laugh and dance...

The Cakes Walketh!!!

So I am told! Mei Mei has officially started walking yesterday! For the past two weeks or so, Cakes has 'walked' between two people, more like a controlled forward walk/fall thing. She always wants to hold on to two fingers and then one finger to walk. Kim also bought a small walker/car thing for her to push and walk with. She loves to walk behind our Rainbow vacuum cleaner or her high chair or even a plastic cloths bin across the linoleum. Yesterday she broke through though and walked on her own. How awesome is that? Dallas said that she took about three steps in the kitchen, realized what she was doing and sat down. A little later though, she walked around the living room without holding on to anything! I wish that I would've been there! Dallas, the ever helpful older brother always pushes her to walk as much as possible and it is paying off! I'm afraid that he will have a permanent hump on his back as a result though! That child is getting way too tall. He will turn out to be the tall, hulking, muscle bound good looking older brother whom will look over and watch out for his petite, svelte, good looking younger sister. Future boyfriends beware! This will be great.

Rodeo Queens

Rodeo Queens
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

This was the only time that one could actually see who they were and what they looked like in full Rodeo Queen regalia! In the ring, they rode full tilt around the dang place! What was that all about? Ride slowly woman! At least they looked good doing it! They make it look sooo easy.

Headed to town!

Headed to town!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

Isn't this great? The world is mine! Now take me to the rodeo!

Rodeo Day and Birthday Bash!

Rodeo Day and Birthday Bash!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

What an awesome day! It could not have gone any better! Thanks to all who came! They came, they saw AND some even rode the horse! What a day... If only I could upload all of the pictures and video clips that I took! I just HAVE to document everything that Mei Mei does (or says!). She is absolutely the cutest and best baby that I have ever seen! Not that I am biased or anything! I have the best kids in the world! I am so lucky/blessed!



I got up very late today! Actually, Dallas and Mei Mei came and woke me up around 11 in the morning! Hello! Loved the wake up call kids! Lounged around for a bit, watched Mei Mei do her thing, cleaned up in anticipation of the soon to arrive guests and read some also. So far so good. Jake and the gang soon arrived and we all migrated outside to do some show and tell as they hadn't seen our farm yet! Kim then saddled up Legend and took most of our guests on a ride. Leaf made it look like she'd been on a horse before! Easy, huh? They all had a good time. Time to eat! There was so much food! It was all great! Slowly we then headed over to the rodeo grounds to mingle and watch the festivities. We missed the kids mutton bustin show though! Kids and sheep... Too funny. My only complaint about the whole event was that 1) it was dusty and 2) the lady beside me kept complaining about not being able to see. She would yell at whoever was standing at the fence to sit or get away. "Oh no. This

isn't gonna work" she would say. What a bitch she was! It didn't help that her two friends would egg her on. Almost ruined my party! We watched calf and steer roping with both men and women and teams. Bronco and bull riding also. Crazy cowboys. Only one kid got stomped on hard though and he turned out O.K. They are one tough bunch. I have a coworker whose brother rides the KPRA rodeo circuit too. I wish that I could've recognized him. Anyway, we all left close to 11P.M. but Mei Mei and Isaac weren't about to go to sleep any time soon though! They just kept on playing after we got home. I hope they sleep till noon! We all had a wonderful time. It was an excellent day! Thank you all for making it great!

Tight jeans everywhere!

Do you like cowboys and cowgirls? Well, maybe not YOU but a rodeo is the place to see lots of young cowpokes doin' their thing! Kim and I helped with vending for a couple hours and had a good time doing that. We went on a short ride with Isa and the cart around McCracken and the rodeo grounds mid afternoon and that was very pleasurable as the weather was perfect! I love this lack of humidity thing! I didn't get any pictures tonight but I will tomorrow. Mei Mei and Dallas were having a grand time! Singin' and dancin' to the tunes! What fun! Gotta go to bed. I'll have some icecream, read a book, unwind and hopefully fall asleep in an hour or two... It's my birthday today! It'll be a great day!

Thursday...

Well, the McCracken rodeo has started! I couldn't upload any pictures as I was having DSL problems and so was the FLICKR website. I'll post some later. This is gonna be a busy weekend as we are also going to help out at the rodeo AND it's my birthday this Saturday! Fun, huh? We will enter Mei Mei in the 'mutton bustin' competition soon! In like 3 or 4 years! In the meantime, she'll have her own miniature horse to ride. We'll get a little cart for it too! I was going to say something rather profound and life altering but I forgot... Must not have been so important.

stay tuned...

What a day! No pictures though...

Kim was called to work this morning at 0800 though she was scheduled to go at noon. I should've pulled the camera out last night! Idiot... Anywayz! Mei Mei, Dallas and I had a fine day! (Kim is still at work) I cleaned the house somewhat, played with Mei Mei most of the time, fed her, changed her and put her to bed. I wanted to take her to see the fireworks in Hays but I didn't know where my keys were! Too late we discovered them in a box just by where I had left the keys last night! Mei Mei did it! So we brought out the fireworks that I bought and lit them all off in a space of about 5 glorious minutes! I positioned Catarina so that she could view ours as well as those that were going off in McCracken by the townsfolk too! She loved it! She had a big smile, ate Cheerios and swayed to and fro! One of my dogs got lost until a few minutes ago... Sorry girl! Shoulda put you in the basement. I wish that I could've taken some pictures of Catarina's first 4th of July holiday! What a weekend! Next week? Rodeo! Party at my place! THAT should be interesting! Stay tuned!

Oh yes, there is more. Dallas went to the local pool for a few hours, you should see his tan! That is one dark boy. He looks like a local from California! He's a fish, says gramma and I believe it! A friend of Dallas' came by with her mom and asked if they could put their calf in our corral and I acquiesced but the darn thing would stay in the pen! Baby cows can get out of almost anything! So they, after a few hours work, had to move the cow again to another place. We tried! Kim is in charge of next years McCracken Trail Ride! We are also helping at the rodeo this Thursday night! This place is fun! We've met a bunch of the residents here including the dude that owns the water works (he also rented this property for his cattle), the sheriff, a lawyer and others that are involved in this and that and have asked for our help. Yup. Why not. Did I miss anything? Probably. Good night though. Tomorrow I head back to work!

Success!

So the DEEPIMPACT mission was a success early this morning! I would've posted then but I was exhausted! The pictures are incredible! I couldn't log on to the NASA website, I'll try that again now but on the NASA channel, I was watching live and that is the best way to see it! Imagine a satellite intercepting and actually hitting a comet millions of miles away! How awesome is that? The satellite was a two part deal with one part detaching an "impactor" and the other in position to document the event from afar. It went off like a charm! That is incredibly cool! You should see the pictures! Actual pictures of a comet close up! I love astronomy!

Mei Mei woke up this morning around 0530 screaming! Inconsolable! What happened? I couldn't do much but mommy sure did! She is so great! Unfortunately, Kim works today from noon to midnight but was called in at 0800... Unbelievable.

Mei Mei's first concert!

What a busy weekend she's had! Holidays are great! We missed the World Classic Rockers yesterday but caught Blackhawk tonight and Mei Mei absolutely loved it! She stayed up until well after we had put her in the van, in her seat firmly strapped in and headed home (11:15P.M.)! She was bouncin', swayin', laughin' and a jigglin' all night long! She was a hit among those around her! She is such a happy baby, full of life. What's not to love? Let's see how she does fireworks tomorrow! She even had icecream tonight (bad mommy!), loved it too... Dallas and I didn't get to duke it out on the paintball field though! We had the cash, man, we had the cash! To no avail as they had packed out of there early. Wusses. Sorry Big D! Maybe next time. Anyone watching NASA and the DEEP IMPACT mission? Check 'em out at nasa.gov/deepimpact for the details! This is awesome! I hope it works! I'm headed there now... Good night all!

Mei Mei was a hit!

Mei Mei was a hit!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

Was there any doubt? Look at how cute she is! So alive and full of life! She absolutely LOVES the outdoors! She loved the big trucks too!

Look who was in a parade today!

Look who was in a parade today!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

What a good looking group! What a beautiful, well behaved horse! No, it is not a mule! She (Isa) is a Norwegian Fjord horse! Draft pony. Warm-blood. Whatever you wanna call her just not a mule! We all had a wonderful time as the weather was just about perfect. You should've seen all the interesting things that paraded down Main! Implements, cars, motorcycles, tractors, mowers, ATV's, this society and that club. Lot's of candy, soda and juice were given away too! Yep, we all had fun.

my beautiful girls...

my beautiful girls...
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

yes, life is good! Kim (my beautiful wife) got to see (our beautiful daughter) Mei Mei today before I took her home. Mei Mei WAS sleeping! 20 minutes into the drive, she got restless and started SCREAMING!!! I have never heard such sounds come out of this girl before! What tone! What pitch! What VOLUME! What is going on here? She is turning into a little banshee! Upon arriving at my wonderful little abode, our beautiful (don't tell him that I wrote this!) son Dallas helped me unload the truck and (allegedly) change Mei Mei's diaper. Later I learned that he DIDN'T change her diaper as I got the atomic load later. He also didn't fill the water trough with water for the horses or the dogs or the chickens... "It was a hundred out there" he wailed. Really? So the animals didn't require refreshment? Or was it that HE couldn't stand the heat? Hmmmm? Oh yes, the television was on... Cursed device. He promptly did the chores when asked though. AFTER he went to the pool and I learned that he

wasn't allowed to until he had done his chores! AAAAAAARRRGH! It was a great day today! My wonderful wife will be arriving soon and that will just seal the deal for me today.

storm chaser extraordinaire...

storm chaser extraordinaire...
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

'nuff said!

fanatical weather spotter/chaser

fanatical weather spotter/chaser
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

spotted this guy while doing errands one day... has a california license plate which might explain a few things!

Local wildlife...

Local wildlife...
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

these little rascals are pretty elusive! i kept telling Kim and Dallas that there were some of these critters running around close to 183 but they wouldn't believe me! i kept seeing them on my way to or from work regularly as they played or just hung out. finally, while travelling with Dallas, i spotted one them again and slammed on the brakes, scaring the tar out of Dallas in the process... i took one picture and he took two, including this one. his hand is much more steady than mine! nice shot Dallas! thank you!

Mei Mei got shot today!

Well, went to the doctor's to get a checkup really! She recieved 4, yes, FOUR injections! Two nurses on either side shot 'er up! Double teamed her! Gramma had to leave... She now weighs 18.4 pounds! Heck, she eats everything in sight! She is now also almost 30" in length. Enfamil Lipid w/Iron works great, huh? As do mashed potatoes, rice, corn, cereal, mom's food, big brother's food and daddies food too. You should see this little eating machine! She cracks me up! She will not lay or sit still anymore either. Constantly on the go and curious about everything! I love it! Taking her outside is the best! What a great child! What a wonderful baby! I have a great family!

Kim and Isa getting ready for the July 4 parade!

Kim and Isa getting ready for the July 4 parade!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

The official training/warming up period has started again for Isa Pushy Pants! This Fjord needs a workout! The new pasture has made her fat and lazy. Kim will whip her into shape in no time! They went into town, past grain trucks, over railroad tracks and all over McCracken with no injuries or problems whatsoever! What a good horse! What an excellent trainer! They worry the tar outta me! Horses are not my thing... I am just the stall boy. I'll help groom 'em, trim 'em and what not but that's it! Chickens are more my speed. Yup. Chickens. wanna see? ;-)

I'll go if YOU go first!

I'll go if YOU go first!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

Mei Mei LOVES to be outdoors! She is constantly on the go! She is talking more, eating more, sleeping well... I love it! What a blessing! What a wonderful child! You gotta see her play with everything! She just lights up when Dallas comes around! He just makes her laugh and laugh! She has an incredible smile! All four teeth showing! We went to eat tonight at the local restaurant, excellent by the way, and again, she had mashed potatoes, bread, watermellon, a bit of fish from brother, baby fruit puffs, 6 oz of formula and some beets. Goodness! Yes, it'll be MY job tomorrow to change her diaper! This will be very interesting!

I like THIS big machine better!

I like THIS big machine better!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

There is so much to do and see and touch on a farm! This is great! Come and see! Why can't my momma and papa go any faster? I love this stuff!

My first ride on a real mower! Weeeee!

My first ride on a real mower! Weeeee!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

This is great! What fun! I just laughed and laughed! Talked up a storm, I did! I love it out here!

I LOVE sticky rice! But...

I LOVE sticky rice! But...
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

Sticky rice is sooo good! I just love to eat it all day! Mommy makes great rice! Why can't I get it off though? What's going on? Papa?

What IS that stuff?

What IS that stuff?
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

Yech! I don't like that stuff! I thought that I could play in it but it sticks to everything! I think that it even smells a little funny! I just don't know about this cake thing...

Mei Mei's 1st Birthday Party!

Mei Mei's 1st Birthday Party!
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

What fun! All the children wanted the gifts all to themselves! It was such a riot! There was paper everywhere! The children loved it, of course. We adults had a ball just watching the mayhem! Yup, this will become an annual event. It was a smashing success! Next year will be a blowout event! (someone please explain that to me - blowout?) I was surprised that Mei Mei was not interested in Mei Mei cake! Not much for sweets, that's for sure! Good for her!

What a FINE day today!

Yup! Today was just great! Work went great! Dallas was great! It was a beautiful day! Brendan and January have their baby! How great is that? My day has ended on a fine note also... We, as a family, went walking in McCracken today and had dinner at The Mustang Restaurant. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! You know what? Mei Mei eats mashed potatoes too! Of course! Carrots? Yup. Corn? You bet! Some noodles? You tell me! This girl is an eating machine! She cracks me up! If I don't feed her fast enough, she'll pout! I love it when she pouts, really I do, but it amazes me how fast she can pack away the food! That dinner was wonderful. Got to meet some locals and get aquainted somewhat. They already knew about us. Small town. Love it. Then we took a walk to the park and had a great time till the monster skeeters came out! Almost picked up Mei Mei! Just kidding. Mei Mei was just a gigling fool on the little 'bee' swing! Don't stop swinging me! She just smiled her biggest toothy smile and giggled all the time. She also looked for brother and laughed at his antics on the big swing. What fun! The weather was perfect! I love it out here. Didn't take my camera though. Gotta get a card reader to post pictures without having to download the whole file from the camera... Can we way 'gift for Nixy on his birthday'? Come on! It's an inexpensive item at walmart! Goodnight ya'll! Gonna research lambs and musk thistles a bit...

Bah Bap! Thrrrrrr Mahp!

It seems like virtually every day, Mei Mei comes up with something new to say or a longer string of 'words' to utter. I love it! What else is she going to come up with? When will she say her first real word? When will she start walking on her own? I bet that by my birthday (coming up soon!) she will have taken her first tentative steps! I love to listen to her talk! Right now, way past her bedtime, she is screaming! We can't get her to fall asleep! I wonder if grandma and grandpa put her to bed for naptime a little late today? Kim and I had some time together, courtesy of her parents, to go and see a movie. Now though, Mei Mei just wants to play. I could sit there and listen to her but we all need to sleep! Monday morning is just around the corner! I wish that I could post some quick clips of her but alas, I cannot. You have got to see all the facial expressions that she can come up with! She makes stuff up all the time. Today, while outside doing chores with Dallas and myself, I saw her, getting bored I presume, sucking or slobbering on her toes! Yuck Mei Mei! Then she started biting her chair and then on the buckles that held her in place... Oh yeah! She's hungry! Not bored daddy! What an easy child! What a precious baby! I am now taking more video than pictures and playing around with making movies out of all this material that I have! Gonna send some CD's to family. This is so much fun! This is too good to be true. I wonder how January and Brendan are fairing about now? It should be Monday afternoon in China right now...

Tuesday 6-7-05

Yahoooooo! or, Wooohoooo! I am ONLINE from my own home!!!! AND CONNECTING AT A BLAZING 46.6!!! Yeah baby! livin' the life now! Kim hooked us up with DSL though to be connected soon! I'm livin large... whatever

You know, I love coming home! It may be a half an hour drive but it is nice. Until I get behind that dude going 10-15mph SLOWER than the speed limit! What is up with that? Puhleez people! It was nice and toasty today, about 100F by some accounts. It just might be a hot summer, what do you think?

Dallas, Mei Mei and I are alone! Kim went off to train some Halflings (I fear for her everytime she goes out to train horses!) so I get daddy duty! Dallas is a huge help too, I might add! I love it! You should hear this baby's voice... So sweet and melodious! How cute can a baby be? Life is good.

I'm going to burn some picture CD's of my trip! I've never done that either so wish me luck. Those of you who want one, email me! I am sending out about 10 of them initially to family. It is a 400 picture file. Could've been bigger! Much bigger. Perhaps next time that we go, I will do better and the weather will cooperate! Yes folks, we are adopting another baby in two years time. Please stay tuned.

Gonna go finish my errands/chores... Goodnight gang.

Oh yes, January and Brendan have now left for their trip to China to bring back baby Coleen! Yeah! They have no idea what they are up for! It is a trip of a lifetime, let me tell you. They will be gone for a little longer than we were... Hope they can make it! It's exhausting! So very much worth it though. Next up? Jake and Amy! Wow.

O.K. G'night all...

Yin and Yang...

Didn't I just mention about the Yin and Yang of things? It rules my life. Yesterday I had a wonderful day! Everything went well! This morning? Kim calls with the bad news... More dead chickens. Pandemonium ensued last night while the house was empty. Empty of humans that is! Kim didn't close the master bedroom door tight and the white cat Dander let herself in, releasing the Dachshund Daisy in the process. Daisy found the box of baby chickens that Dallas had just purchased and proceeded to kill at least one of them and presumably scattered the rest. I think that one of the inside animals either peed or poohed in the house also. The two baby kittens were fine. Outside the house? More dead chickens. The Bantams decided that life was no longer fun or something and drowned themselves. Cotton (the Great Pyrenees) had nothing to do with their demise this time! What is going on here? Kim arrived last night around 10:30 to find the house in the dark. 90% of the outlets didn't work! We knew that a few of them didn't work but now the rest of them too? Is this property jinxed? What next? At least the horses are doing well! So far! I think that I am going to put the two Pointers in the Humane Society. Well, maybe just the bigger crazy one Kimber. Ruger still has hope. I think. What a way to start the day! Kim had more bad news for me but I need not keep going here about it! My life is crazy. I love my family though. Never a dull moment!

I'm gonna go have breakfast now...

I had some Mei Mei cake today!

First time ever folks! First annual Mei Mei party was a success today! A big thanks to all who came and participated in our little shindig thingamajig. The weather was perfect and the company was great, what can I say? We all had a good time. Oh yes, the food was excellent too! Jake Grillmaster did the honors, I believe. Mmmmmm. Mei Mei even got Mei Mei cake on her shoes! How did THAT happen? Finally she got some on her hands, which is where all babies are supposed to get it first, right? Didn't like the cake though! Loved all the other foods that were around including pickles but not the mei mei cake... Weird. This little girl is extremely active! It's been a few days since I last saw her (I stay in Hays when on-call, remember?) and I swear that she got a tiny bit bigger and just a tad more active! Yikes! Skipping a day or two in this childs life is missing a lot! We had so much fun. Again, thank you to all who came by! Later, EVERONE left, leaving me alone with Kim and Mei Mei... Mmmm... That was heaven! To spend some quality time alone with the two most beautiful, wonderful women in the world was just plain awesome! What a day I've had! It's the Yin and Yang of things. Bad one day? Don't worry! It'll be better the next! I am happy.

Good Night for now though! Wan an!

Mei Mei's first annual party today!

Hey gang! Today is the day! Yes folks, she was born on the 5th but due to logistical considerations, we will be having the party today! Those of you that have seen her know that she is a petite cute little Asian baby! How precious! Three P.M. Be here! (call me for details)

On another note... My first week of work is past and I am thoroughly exhausted! I thought that I was in shape because I have been moving heavy items for two weeks straight but nope! I was not prepared for the intricasies of cardiac work! Standing still, holding my arms up, using fine motor movements is a world away from brute strength! What a long week this has been! Not really. It flew by but I am tired! This is ridiculous. Through it all though, we made lemonade from the lemons that were dealt us and I really like that. I appreciate and enjoy working with those that can just kick butt, do what needs to be done and don't complain. High fives and cheers, "Good Job!!!" were the norm and before we knew it, the day was over. Job well done.

Lastly, I was saddened to hear that two of the Jack Russell Terriers that we placed in homes have died. It was tough to hear that two members of my family passed in the manner that they did but, well, things happen right? They were dogs after all. High energy, full bore do everything to the max happy go lucky dogs. May they rest in peace. I loved them very much and I know that their new families loved them unconditionally also and that makes me happy.

See you later! You all are great...

Mei Mei turns ONE this Sunday!

Hey gang! Catarina Nicole Le Mei Morales will turn the big ONE OH this Sunday! Can you believe it? Party will be at Jake & Amy's place this Saturday! Bring your kids! Bring pictures! Bring stories! This will be the first annual Baby Fest! What fun! I can't wait! Did I mention that I am proud to be a new dad? Dallas is almost 13 and as tall as I am... Unbelievable. Gotta quit feeding him so much! He is very handsome. Mei Mei will be Miss Universe one day or perhaps the first female U.S. President! Famous musician maybe? Our children can do anything! What do you think? What are YOUR kids gonna be some day? Astronauts? Politicians? Veterinarians? Maybe they will save the world or manatees or something noble, who knows? How awesome is that? Me? I am content working as a peon in cardiology, being a husband and dad. Not known world wide but loved by my family. That is important to me. I happen to have a very wonderful family! Very good looking too, may I add.

So when I finally have long distance service at home and my computer back up and running, I'll catch up on world events and/or call my friends and family. For now, I must do these things from other peoples' homes, cellphones, computers and credit cards... Just kidding. We are still very busy at home! We have to paint the exterior now or have our insurance cancelled. Huh? Good grief. Our cellphones have shoddy reception out in McCracken and as of yet, no long distance service from the house. Hmmm... Life is good. My sincere thanks to those families which are hosting me when I am on-call and have to be in town! What an honor for me... Thank you so much.

Have patience with me!

We still are not moved in! I lost the cable to the computer! There is so much to say! Come on over and help us paint! Please stand by for further transmissions...

Our guide, Ike likes Mei Mei too!

Everyone Likes Mei Mei! She likes everyone too! Such an easygoing baby...

Isn't my brother silly?

I like to pinch him because he makes silly faces and noises! My brother squeels, squeeks and laughs at the things that I do! He makes me laugh also. I giggle when he picks me up and make him proud. I like my big brother!

Mei Mei likes grandma too!

Gramma feeds me, cuddles me, carries me everywhere and loves me a lot, I can tell! Gramma is very good to me and I like her too.

Two too tired!

And not blurry! Sheesh! Doesn't she look like me though? That's what they tell me...

our little girl Wonder

Hello everybody! My name is Qu Le Mei! Everyone just calls me Mei Mei though! Mommy and Daddy said that my full name is Catarina Nicole Le Mei Morales but that is a mouthfull for me! I prefer bao bao or some other Chinese word please! I'll be seeing you all soon!

Remember THIS look?

Oh yes, the one from our referral photo! It's a classic!

We present to the world - Catarina Nicole Le Mei Morales!

Hear me roar! I am cute! I am adorable! I can cry and cry with the best of them! I'm gonna give my parents heck! They're gonna love the tar outta me!

Gotcha Day!

This was the first time that we saw her live, for real and in person! We were all in tears, especially Mei Mei! She is absolutely perfect! She could not be any cuter! She is so much better looking than in the little pictures that we got! How adorable! What a blessing!
ex GTRacer wannabe: now a father, mentor - FAMILY MAN!

Aaaaaah!

Because I am in pain! Because when I finally downloaded my camera files onto my computer and viewed my precious pictures, well, of the 400 taken, at least HALF are blurry!!!! AAAAAAAAAARGH!!! This is atrocious! Was it that I was shaking? Bad lighting? All of the above? This is absolutely disastrous! I want to do a 'slide show' for friends and family but what the heck are they gonna see? This stinks on a monumental scale. I am not happy. I suck at picture taking. No wait. I need a better, more expensive camera with image stabilization technology! That's it! Eureka! Let me tell Kim... (I return with a bruised arm) Anyway. We are not even 1/10 of the way into this moving thing and I hurt already. Luckily, I had Brendan lend an excellent and very welcome hand and truck! Please stand by for another call please! This is going to be a major undertaking! I am extremely thankful that I have another two weeks off as we are going to need all of that time, and then some. Our biological clocks have been reset! A little bit of work will do that to ya. Mei Mei on the other hand, is a little overwhelmed, we think so Kim will slow down some and spend more time with her in one place instead of toting her here and there, all over creation. Enough of that. The poor tike needs to settle down! I am hoarse. Tired. Sun tanned. (soon to be burned, I can tell) Happy. Let me upload a picture or two...

little girl Wonder

i love this girl more and more each day! how is that possible? she is SO darn cute! her and her little mellon head, her little feet, little hands, little butt, little ears, little everything! how cute is that? she is such a good little girl! definitely mommies girl though... she is easy to change her diapers, easy to give a bath (loves it!) but def. NOT easy to feed! Not easy to put to bed either! fights them both for awhile before she gives in to her basic needs. too funny! i love the facial contortions that she does when she is complaining! she is very vocal about it too! what was that, Mei Mei? ma ma? oh no! she isn't saving you either! in fact, little girl Wonder, ma ma is much better at this than i am! she makes it look easy! little girl Wonder loves to look around at her surroundings in utter amazement. get her close to something and it will magically appear in her bitty little fingers and almost just as quickly, pop it in her mouth. i thought that i was pretty observant but not observant enough for the little mellon head! she's fast! i am in such trouble here! what a wonderful daughter we have! i absolutely love our little precious daughter. listen to her talk! too cute! everything but The Atomic Diapers are cute! My little girl Wonder...

We keep on moving stuff today also. Some of the horses and cats are over and today we will work on painting and moving birds! This should prove to be very interesting. We took a nap yesterday while working at the house as we are still not used to being back in Central Standard Time! Sheesh. We all slept better last night though! Even Mei Mei slept most of the night! I need to wake up Dallas though. Lazy bum! He'll go back to school tomorrow for the few remaining days to hang out with his friends and tell them all about his adventures. Time to post some pictures, huh? I'm working on getting them on Flickr and a few choice ones here so please stand by and check back later! It's good to be back!

We've arrived...

it's tough to type with a baby on your lap! we got in around 2 this morning and i slept until noon, dallas till 2, catarina? she's got it all backwards too! this is gonna take awhile to readjust our clocks! speedy here is into everything! such a curious lil tyke. gotta love her. i love her now much more than i ever did! she's real now and on my lap making happy sounds as she grabs at everything and shoves them in her mouth. i love the way she talks - now she is saying 'da da' and 'ma ma', her attention shifts so quickly! i should be sleeping now, i am so thoroughly exhausted! i'll catch up soon as we now have to move to another town! i'll be back, gotta go now and pay full attention to this little dynamo doing the alligator death roll on my lap! she's one fast little girl...

Lessons learned!

Well let me tell you something! I've tried to learn as much as I possibly could while travelling out here and it is obvious to me that I need a few more years time to learn a little bit of the culture, history and its' people! What a fascinating place this is! I absolutely love it. I thought that Florida was a melting pot of people and culture!? Yeah right. I am extremely thankful that I started learning Mandarin! It's taken me to places that I would never have imagined! It makes it much easier to haggle prices with the merchants and to pick up on what is going on around you. Everyone is much more inclined to help you and befriend you. I have been able to help people with their English and they in turn help me with my Chinese pronounciations. Small differences in the inflection and intonation of the words can mean the difference between total disaster/embarassement or total joy and admiration. Please don't try to ask for chicken in Mandarin unless you are extremely sure of yourself lest you ask for a prostitute! I did. Lucky for me, I was speaking to a gentleman who has come to know all of us very well and he simply took me aside and explained my 'small' mistake! We had a good laugh but I considered myself lucky to escape a possible 'problem'. My mother in law and son were with me at that point! We simply explained to them what had just transpired and she just laughed and Dallas looked on rather perplexed. Wear comfortable clothing! It is very hot and humid at this time of year! Waterproof hiking boots/shoes come in handy! Look around as much as you can! Don't focus on just looking ahead of you as you will miss about 80% of what is going on around you, including traffic coming at you from everywhere! Walk around as much as possible and ask many questions. Education, or rather, knowledge is power! Much respect comes with this knowledge also. Try not to come on an adoption trip with small children! They have fun and can tolerate most things but we are all a little strained just a little from the schedule that must be kept every day. The days are long and demanding and the heat doesn't help things much! The food is also something that most kids can't adapt to very well unless you stick to western restaurants, hotels, etc. and even then there are no gaurantees as the cooks are not American. The food is wonderful but different, obviously. If you order chicken (wink, wink), be prepared to find the legs and head in your dish! Just ask my friend from Fiji! Take many pictures and/or keep a journal everyday as you will realize just exactly how much you have done/accomplished and it allows you to streamline yourself better and be more efficient and therefore enjoy everything better. Don't bring a stroller, baby seat, tons of formula and diapers as they are easily found everywhere out here. All that extra stuff will get in the way. Save it for when you actually have the bambino with you and on your trip back! Medicines? Don't really need much! We have been eating virtually everything and drinking everything to no ill effect. No fresh (tap) water though! Washing your mouth with tap water is O.K. as you are not going to swallow it, right? Same thing with showers and pools. Just don't swallow! Fruit? Peel it! If it is already peeled, you are safe. When you are at a western style 4 or 5 star hotel, don't worry about a thing! They are used to it all and can help in ways that you can't imagine! Exchanging money can be an ordeal! Try to do it at the hotel if you can. The airports will con you if you don't use official chanels - ask security to help you out. Gosh, I could go on and on but I am drenched in sweat at the back of a merchants shop here and hungry. Virtually all of the merchants are women! You will find bossman lurking somewhere though! Get to know your local merchant girls well as they will help with money matters, directions, hints, etc. They know more than they let on! That is why brushing up on your Putunghua skills is essential folks! We swear in tomorrow and leave for L.A. later in the evening. This has been a most educational, wonderful, and just plain fun experience that we will definitely undertake again in 2 or 3 years time. What a blessing. The addition of Le Mei to our family has brought us all together in ways that are yet to be described. I will miss this all but look forward to our new beginnings with great anticipation. njm

I'm in love with a new girl...

Yes, I can no longer deny it or keep it a secret! The whole world needs to know! This special girl that has taken my heart and soul by storm is the best thing that has happened to me since, well, Kim came into my life! This particular doll is very precious. She is perfect in every way! She smiles all the time, dances, crawls around everywhere, is into everything, talks and drools up a storm! She eats like there is no tomorrow also. She is Catarina Nicole Le Mei Morales! She prefers to be called 'Mei Mei' though! She tells me all the time! She can say 'mama' and I believe that she says 'mei mei' too! You have got to see her dancing! She just loves to clap her hands, bounce around, smile and talk her little baby talk that is so charming and endearing to me! She now has 4 teeth! (teething is no fun, she'll tell you!) All of the children have adjusted well to their families! We are all ecstatic and so in love with our children, very happy and satisfied indeed. We went to their orphanage yesterday and some families were apprehensive that the children would get upset or depressed or something when they saw their old and familiar environment but that was not the case! Take Mei Mei for instance, she was placed in a walker and she just laughed and took off! She was running over toes, toys and other children! They watched some t.v., listened to some childrens songs and then the nannies prepared some special congee for them which they absolutely scarfed up like there was no tomorrow! Congee is like a overcooked and watered down rice porridge thing. They love it! Yes, it needs to be very warm - hot really. So does the water they drink and the bottle of formula, it all needs to be pretty hot, you'd be surprised. We are having such a good time with this precious child! She is perfect! Everything that I thought that she would be and then some! I have so much to learn! My arms ache, my back hurts, my legs are sore... Who would've thought that a 17lb package could be so painful? Of course, if I handed her off more often, I could relieve some of the pain now, right? Yes, we have other ways of transporting her included a stroller that we bought locally (don't bring one!) but what fun is that? There is NO Wal-Mart here! We've asked and looked around extensively! We haven't looked extensively for the walmart, we've just gone walking and shopping everywhere! this has been so incredibly awesome that i just can't possibly explain it all! wait till we get home and give a slide show of the hundreds of pictures that we've taken and maybe THEN you can get an idea of what it's like! this has been a huge blessing to us! We can't wait to get home. For now I need to go as other families are waiting to write home too! Most shops have internet capabilities, it's just a matter of finding the time! We are all so busy all the time! We leave tomorrow, Friday. It is now 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, 9:30 P.M. Wedsday Kansas time. What a great experience! See you all later!

She smelled like rice!

Hi gang! I am now at a small shop (very hot, humid - sweaty!) in Shamian Island in Guangzhou! What a crazy ride this has been! Brush up on your Cantonese as this area speaks Cantonese! Long story. Mei Mei is everything that we thought she would be and then some. She is adorable, perfect, cute, curious, hungry, well behaved, in excellent health and finally our daughter! Well, almost. We just had her physical done and came out well, of course. She has a bit of a cough but no one is worried. We also have Omnicef which some caring person helped us out with and that is the first thing that we put her on. Where is the guaifenesin? I need an expectorant! Forgive me if my thougts wander but there is SO MUCH to tell! My last entry from Beijing was at an internet cafe where there were multiple rooms all filled with kids playing role playing games and what not, too cool. We have just been going and going and, well, you get the picture. Today, Le Mei smells like Jasmine, Kim tells me. I saw the Victory Hotel where some of you other folk will be staying and it looks awesome! This place is extremely crowded and busy all the time. Seen the National Geographic documentaries on China? Yup. You get the picture. We will go to Mei's orphanage on Wednesday! What day is it today? It is almost 5 P.M. Monday, 4:50A.M. Kansas time. I wonder what everyone back home is dreaming about right about now... We are going to have a feast tonight at a local restaurant! I've been eating just a bit more than usual! I've liked everything so far although I haven't had anything too exotic like pigeon, snake, etc. Perhaps later! I've tried other things from buffet lines that I could not tell what it was though. There are plants, trees and birds everywhere! Beijing and Guangzhou are very different. Beijing, being much further north is much cooler. Down here is subtropical - steamy! The amount of stores and trinkets everywhere is astounding. We've gone nuts snapping up silk clothing & shoes for Mei Mei, Jade items, well lot's of stuff. I like the crafts made from bamboo, bone, tusk, etc. Extremely intricate works of art abound everywhere. This has been such an awesome trip/experience. We will definitely do this again, perhaps to adopt an older child? A boy perhaps? Who knows.

Oh crap, i just lost my post! what the heck happened? How did i recover this much? uh oh. i had a whole lot more written than this...

I'll try to read any comments that anyone has posted to see if you have any questions but everything is in Chinese! I'll try to check my email too. We'll see. I'm gonna go now as I have totally lost my train of thought with this glitch. Gang, this has been absolutely wonderful. We have met many other families doing the same thing. Some from Kansas close by, some from Orlando, many interesting stories have been told but all of them positive so far. This has been absolutely great. We will be home soon

Love always
njm