I’m in Jacksonville, Florida, on business this week, and as I deplane, I get a text message from Cindy that said she was at the ER with Alex, who had spiked a 103.5º temperature. Cindy and Alex have been battling this fever for the last 3 or 4 days, and every time he starts to perk up, his fever knocks him back down. They were at the ER for about 3 hours while the doc ran some tests, no flu, but it was likely something viral that’ll just need to run its course. Hopefully, it’ll be over soon. Cindy has hardly gotten any sleep the last couple of days, and has had to care for a sick baby, and his brother! She’s amazing!

I feel terrible that I can’t be there to lend a hand…she sure could use the help, and support. Thankfully, this is our last week apart.

Sunday night, I drove to Atlantic City, NJ, to prepare for a conference Monday and Tuesday. I had a room “with a view of the Ocean” at the Trump Plaza. Although I did have a view of the ocean, I had a better view of the building. The picture on the left was Sunday evening. It was cold, windy and raining. Monday morning (the picture on the right) was much nicer.

The conference went well, but I thought the hotel was a dump. At first glance, it looked very nice, but upon closer inspection, one could easily see that it wasn’t kept-up too well. In my room, the massive accumulation dust behind the nightstand illustrated the lack of attention to detail the staff puts into cleaning. Also, my room had a some classy wallpaper, sort of a Victorian pattern, but it had been hung very sloppily. Whoever did it, failed to remove the outlet plates from the wall, and instead of removing and rehanging the wallpaper, he just cut out a hole for the outlet (and not very neatly…my 10-month old son could’ve done a better job!). Anyway, you get the picture.

I did enjoy the drive home; the leaves changing color along the Atlantic City Expressway was very calming…

I was talking to Cindy yesterday and the boys were screaming in the background. Not really screaming, mind you, they weren’t upset, rather, they were simply enjoying the sounds of their voices. Anyway, Cindy put me on “speaker” and I said, “hello” and asked what all the excitement was about. Then, silence. The boys were staring at the phone and probably wondering how in the world daddy got in there…

Photo caption compliments of BigHugeLabs.

Alex and Adam recently visited their niece (a.k.a. “big sister”), Kameran, to join in the celebration of her 5th birthday! The sweetest little girl in the world took good care of her little uncles and made sure their visit was fun and exciting …

… and what’s more fun and exciting to a little kid than a swing???

Two weeks have passed since I left Cindy and the boys for Pennsylvania. I understand the weather in Mississippi has been very hot and humid (especially for October). Walking outside was described to me as breathing through a wet mop. I suppose that’s true when it’s 91° and the humidity index tips the scale at 100+ !

Quite the opposite here where the days are floating in the 70s and the nights drop into the 50s. It feels like autumn, and the leaves are changing. It’s beautiful country, and it’ll look even better when my family gets here!

This picture was taken just a couple of days before I left. Alex was restless, and I was rocking him to sleep. When you’re separated from your family, you find its the little things that come to mind–its the little things you miss the most. A simple moment such as this is worth its weight in gold.

Only 24 more days…

** sigh **

…Little Brother.

Adam just loves his big sister, Jessica. We have pictures of Jess on the wall in the hallway outside his room, and he likes to stop and look at them. Of course, I think he likes the real thing even more!!

On September 25, I packed up a 6′ x 12′ U-Haul, and left behind my lovely wife and wonderful little boys to begin our move to Pennsylvania. I accepted a position with a hospital there and stated work on September 28. I spent the week in meetings, and in my spare time looked for a new home for the family. Cindy and I figured we’d rent something for a year while we get to know the area, and then look to buying. After passing on some disappointing houses, I happened upon this lovely townhouse. It actually has more square footage than the house we live in now, and is in a great neighborhood.

So, today, I pulled the stuff out of the storage unit I had rented the day I arrived, packed-up another 6′ x 12′ U-Haul trailer, and moved into the townhouse. I basically packed one complete bedroom, my clothes, and some kitchen supplies, so that should I find a place, I could move in and save on the hotel bill.

Cindy and the boys will be joining me next month. I’ll be returning to Mississippi the first week in November to pack-up the house, and make a second trip to PA–only this time, I won’t be alone, and my house will soon be a home.