Barring any unforseen problems, Kim and I will be the proud owners of a new home this afternoon. I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of it over the past few months, but today’s the day we’ll be able to finally call it “home”. Building a home has been more than a little stressful, but our Stephanie Kernaghan (our realtor); Rosemary and everyone at Medallion Homes (our builder); and Marsha Wilson at Augusta Mortgage Co. (our lender) have all been more than helpful. Having said that, posting might be sporadic over the next several days as we move into our new home.
Category: Personal
Posts of a more personal nature.
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A Lesson in Customer Service
While shopping for a suit this past weekend, I stopped by the Men’s Wearhouse here is Augusta. I was immediately approached by a helpful salesman named Eric Sherry. Eric was knowledgeable and friendly. He was able to tell pretty early on that the store didn’t have my size, but he didn’t hesitate to refer me to a store that did. A day later, I called Eric back to see if there would be any way possible for him to measure me, so I would be able to provide the place he recommended with my measurements. He was more than happy to help out. Talk about great customer service! As luck would have it, Men’s Wearhouse did carry a great pair of size 15 shoes in stock, and I was more than happy to spend the money with them to get them. Eric went above and beyond to help me out, without the guarantee of any sort of sale, and turned me into a grateful customer. Now that’s great customer service.
If you need a suit, tuxedo rentals, etc. stop by and see Eric and the staff over at Men’s Wearhouse. They’re located in the Augusta Exchange shopping center, 263 Robert C. Daniels Jr. Pkwy. or call (706) 736-1794.
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Invisible Children
Got this today via email, and I thought I’d pass it on…
From Scott V.: Tonight the Documentary “Invisible Children”, about how the lives of children in Uganda are effected by the civil war, is playing for FREE at the Imperial Theater [in Augusta, GA], all you have to do is show up. It starts at 6:30pm, the filmmakers will be on hand to speak after the film, pretty cool. Learn more at http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
I’m doubtful I’ll be able to go, but checking out the website really has piqued my interest. Let me know if you end up going. I’d love to hear what you thought about the movie, and the reality of life in Uganda it discusses…
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What Have I Become?
I never thought I would hear myself utter the words,"’I sound like my parents." But it happened. When I said it, I did so in a half-joking manner, but now that I think about it more, I don’t think I was joking. Let me explain…
We’re staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel here in Macon, GA where Kim is attending a two-day seminar on teen substance abuse. In addition to having this event for mental health professionals, there’s been some sort of event for high school FFA clubs going on. Not a big deal, right? Wrong.
Our end of the hall probably has around five or six rooms of teenagers. I was made aware of this fact by the increase of traffic in the stairwell next to our room and in the hallway outside of our room. For a better part of the day, I could hear kids walking from room to room, slamming doors here and there. I could hear kids stomping their feet up and down the stairwell. (I joked to Kim that it sounded like they "brought their cows with 'em". She didn’t get it right away.) Anyway, until about midnight I "tolerated" these inconsiderate kids as they galavanted up and down the hallway and stairwell. At midnight, I did what my parents would have done: I called the front desk and complained.
Typically, I wouldn't care. I’m a heavy sleeper. Noise doesn't bother me. Now that I have a fourth-and-a-half month old, though, noise has to be a concern for me.
So, back to the realization that Kim and I had in the car… We are becoming our parents, because we are parents. So, if we sound like our parents… maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
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Tour de Georgia 2006
Well, another Tour de Georgia has come and gone to Augusta, Georgia. Augusta played host city to Stage 1 of the annual event which ends in Macon, GA. As has become customary, I’ve ‘shopped another pic of Scott as a rider in the event. We’d like to thank Dasani for sponsoring him (not really) in the race.
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Moving
Only 18 more days until we’re out of our current house. We’ve been slowly packing and moving things out of the house and into storage. Part of me is sad to be moving. The rest of me is excited for what the future holds for Kim, Tyler and me.Our new house is moving along nicely. They’re working on the drywall right now, and it looks like things are well ahead of schedule. We’re supposed to close on June 30th, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to close sooner.
I’m looking forward to the new house. We’ll be close to several friends that live in the neighborhood. We’ll have a bigger yard, bigger house… a garage!
God’s been good to me and my family. We’re blessed to be able to make this next step in our life. And I appreciate the work he is doing in our lives.
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Meet Jesse
Meet Jesse, the American Boxer puppy my parents picked up over the weekend. She’s an adorable pup and has made me desire to get a Boxer even more… I made a deal with Kim that might aid me in this… If I lose 100 lbs, she’ll let me get one. Sounds like a plan to me… -
Lost (and Found)
Since yesterday afternoon, I’ve been freaking out because the office digital camera came up missing. I thought, perhaps, that I had simply misplaced it somewhere. I thoroughly checked my desk and my laptop bag – no dice. I went home, checked all of the usual locations that I tend to place items – no dice.
Fast forward to this morning… I’m looking everywhere in the office for the camera. I’m looking under my desk, under papers, in drawers, on shelves. It’s nowhere to be found. Then, the unthinkable happens… my personal camera is missing as well.
Coincidence? I dunno. Immediately, thoughts start racing through my head… ‘Am I this absent-minded that I have misplaced two cameras in such a short period of time?’, ‘Did someone steal them?’, ‘Did someone simply take them without asking?’ I start asking coworkers if they had seen either camera – no dice. They’re as astounded as I am. After a little bit of detective work, we determined that it’s highly likely that someone our office had been trying to help came into our office and took them.
Am I mad? Not any more. Am I disappointed? Yeah. It’s only ‘stuff’, and it can (and was) replaced.
After praying about it, I’ve discovered in myself, that I take for granted all that I have, and I leave it out in the open for all to see… That’s pretty much like inviting someone to
permanently borrowsteal from you. -
Home for Sale
Well, it’s official. Our home went on the market today. The ranch-style home is in a great neighborhood close to “downtown” Evans GA, with convenient access to both Washington Road and Columbia Road. If you’re interested in checking it out, call Stephanie Kernaghan at (706) 868-1000 or toll-free at (800) 755-3632.
UPDATE – On 3/5, we received an offer on our house for the full asking price… Can you believe it? The house was only on the market for four days. The couple that put the offer on the house, even liked the room I painted for Tyler enough to ask that we leave the two farm animal themed valances in the room.
Glory be to God for working in our lives like this… I could never have imagined that our house would sell so quickly…
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Unexpected Benefit of Having a Newborn
All your problems disappear as you come to realize there’s no time to deal with them anyway.
How amazingly true. That little tidbit was the February 16th entry in my 365 Days of Being a Dad desk calendar. It’s funny how all of our problems go away once you realize that you’ve got a little one depending on you for their survival. Just thought I would share it with everyone… and save it on here, for me to remember for the years ahead.