Atlanta to New York

This post is long over due and the process of getting to it has been equally as long. If you did not already know... I am now working in NYC while Janice and the kids are in Acworth, Georgia. As that may have taken some by surprise I will back up a bit to fill in the blanks.

Around the beginning of the year I officially took on a second set of responsibilities with Carter’s. The second job came from IT, as they needed assistance working on the Mac’s there at Carter’s. My original job was research, training, process development as well as filling a variety of technical needs for the Art and Design community at Carter’s. On the technical side I worked with IT to make sure the needs of the Art and Design teams were being considered and met. My work with IT often included trouble shooting computer issues and assisting in the roll out, training and install of new software. The additional job was just increasing a portion of my original job.

Two jobs are a lot of work but as I worked, IT watched and about mid-year I was asked if I would be interested in an IT position covering the NY offices. Now we can fast forward to the last week of November which was my last week working in Atlanta. It was hard to leave 9+ years of history but it culminated into a wonderful send off party and an extraordinary card (thanks guys!). I started this new position on Monday, December 3rd. I am working in Manhattan but take the bus in from Brooklyn where I am currently living. Janice and the kids are still in Atlanta. I will be in Atlanta for the holidays and will return to NY the first week of January. We will move everyone to NY as soon as possible.

It has been an amazing year, an amazing career really. Going from creating art to fixing computers – a rather odd progression which I am enjoying immensely. My desk is on the 6th floor of our OshKosh office in Manhattan (SoHo) office 625 Broadway in between Bleeker and E. Houston (pronounce that “House-ton”). So far the hardest part is not having Janice close nor getting to spend time with the kids. Although I do get phone calls, video chatting, pictures and even received a package. Here is a screen capture of one of our iChat conversations. The kids were soooo excited!

I will soon have pictures and maybe even some video of my NY experience but for now let me just say it has been a happy adventure so far.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just for laughs...

I was playing with the new iMovie 8 this morning using the little video camera in my laptop. I thought it would be fun to pass it on to you. Nathaniel's laugh is really infectious. Enjoy. If you cannot see the video click here.

Life is very busy right now (more on that later) so this will be very brief.

We missed a few events so here are the links to the pictures (since they do speak a thousand words I thought it would be okay to send you over to them.

Halloween 2007
Nathaniel dressed as Batman, Ben as Diego, Joelle as a Ballerina and Evleyn as a little chick. Click here for more pictures.



Joelle's 2nd birthday
Click here for more pictures.

Evelyn's Big Day

Big family occasions are a lot of work - especially with four kids - but there are times when it seems like you have all your bases covered. Usually the mirage fades amidst a sploosh of milk on freshly ironed clothes or the crash upstairs on the opposite side of the house from where your child is said to be brushing his teeth. Sunday was a mirage day. There I was standing at the front of the sanctuary in a state of bliss. Our friend Ryan had and knew how to operate the video camera. His wife Cheryl panned the sanctuary planning shots and testing angles with the digital camera while the church filled with people. In the pew beside me, mom and dad each smiled that grandparent smile which generally precedes a wallet full of pictures. Glazed with a happy grin I leaned back against the pew in front of me and took in the moment. It was Evelyn's dedication. Friends and family celebrating and affirming the joy of raising a child. My child. My Evelyn.

But for a moment the mirage wavered and I noticed something - no Evelyn. The pastor made his way to the front. No Evelyn. The room settled down to a thin quiet moment and Cheryl leans over and whispers "Did you notice that the dedication happens first?" The mirage wisps away as I rush down the side isle and out the door.

I found Evelyn with Janice in the nursery. In the brief moments allotted between Sunday school and church Evelyn had nursed, napped and was nearly dressed. Our little princess had three attendants quickly dressing her for the special day. One tying the bonnet, one slipping on socks and mommy buttoning her slip. She smiled and cooed at each compliment. I announced "We're up after announcements!" and was handed Evelyn. A final "She's so adorable" followed us down the hallway as we rushed away.

All was good again. We just needed to wait to be called up to the front and the dedication would begin. The doors in to the sanctuary were closed as we approached and one of the ushers opened the doors for us and smiled. Back in my glazed state of mind I offered a proud-dad-look-at-my-beautiful-wife-and-daughter smile back to him. Then he ushered us down the isle. At that point I should have noticed that there was a violation in basic ushering rules - only take people down the isle when everyone is standing and/or singing. Everyone was sitting and staring at us - which should have been my second clue. I flashed my glazed smile at someone and then noticed the pastor was making his way down from the pulpit. Suddenly I realized the dedication had begun and I was the only one in the church that did not know it.

Fortunately everyone else knew exactly what was going on and the dedication went really well. Below is a video of the dedication (or you can click here if you do not see it). Although it does not capture my moment of confusion it does show the dedication which includes a cute conversation between our pastor and Nathaniel.

After church we had a relaxing lunch at Bugaboo's and later a quiet afternoon and evening at home just enjoying a cool fall day. Everyone played, Grandpa took a nap, the weather was fine, no mirage necessary just joy, most notably Evelyn Joy.

Click here to see all the pictures from the dedication:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/totblogs/sets/72157602425513505/

Click here to see the movie of the dedication:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8575848929474009965&hl=en

Our Backyard Ballerina

We gave Joelle the chance to try on a costume over the weekend which produced very interesting and exceptionally cute results.

Nathaniel did some posing too - he dressed up as Clark Kent (notice the cape coming out from under the button down shirt).

We took several more photos - go here to see the ballerina photos and here to see more of Nathaniel as Clark Kent!