Social Networks

Google+ and Facebook are competing for my attention. It is very difficult to spread yourself across various social networks. I am not sure that in the long term that anyone can challenge Google to anything relating to advertising, search, or social connectivity. They have an undeniable advantage over the competition.

A Thought

The better we understand each other, the better we can be ourselves.

Forgive Adsense

I am really not happy with how Adsense suddenly got rather intrusive here. Hopefully this will not last long.

We Thought the Baby was Early

Amber texted me today to tell me that she was on the way to the hospital. She had an incident where she thought her water broke but had been feeling like she had back pain for a week or so. I arrived just in time for the nurse to tell Amber that things were okay and that she must have evacuated her bladder. We still have some preperations to be fully prepared so this was good news.

Music

I Don't Like Wrestling But......

This is worth an exception.

Expecting!

It is official. Amber and I are expecting a new baby in late August. We are extremely happy! Thsi will mean that all of the Gibson kids will have four children. Amber is definitely not feeling her best. We are getting the children to do even more chores around the house so that when the new baby arives, we will be ready.

First Post of 2009

It's a new year and already several things have changed. We did have a fantastic holiday. Christmas was a delight for the kids and we had plenty of fun together. As for the new year, we visited the Jonson's with Grandpa on New Year's Eve. It was a great time and it was nice to see them again.

I am really excited for the upcoming year. I think that 2009 looks promising for our family.

Shopping Excursion

Tonight we collaborated and used the power of team work to do Christmas shopping with the kids. We separated and selected the items that each child would buy for the other kids. I was essentially the mule taking the purchased goods under the cover of plastic bag and misdirection out to the car. I made several more trips than a typical customer at a store would make and the elderly greeter stationed at the door began to give me a funny look every time he saw me. I wondered at what point he would start awkwardly asking to see my receipts.

All in all, it was an eventful and fun time. Allen and I donated to the Salvation Army red bucket outside the door. He seemed to think it was a cool idea after I explained the idea behind why we would just stuff money into a bucket in front of a person that was ringing a bell.

Abby and Ashton each had a good time and except for some moments where the kids wanted to buy themselves gifts, everything went very well.

Survival

I survived the day after Thanksgiving. I had to get up at 3 a.m., worked a 12 hour day, and was generally just worn out but I did it. Today was pretty rough, too. I am looking forward to having tomorrow off of work.

Haircut!

Grandpa came over to watch Abby because we were in a bit of a pinch. Usually he helps Karin's kids throughout the day. He made an agreement with her to be available for us which was really great and we appreciated it. According to Grandpa, the middle of the day was apparently the perfect time for Abby to try her hand at giving haircuts. The order of how she approached her targets is unclear but the end result is obvious. The cat has no whiskers anymore, a large toy horse was left with hardly a mane, and Abby herself now has about 6 inches less of hair. Grandpa felt bad and collected the hair in one spot to show what had happened. It was impressive.

My Birthday

Uneventful day. I went to work in the morning. The great thing is that the kids are off of school due to parent teacher conferences so things are more relaxed at home. We were able to spend some time watching Kung Fu Panda and just enjoying fun times. I helped Allen play Dragon Quest IV on DS and the girls and I cuddled and played with some Dora Lego pieces. Not bad for another birthday.

Change

Today the girls and I visited Grandpa. We went to Mom's grave to set up two planters. I also helped clean a little bit around the yard. While we were there I got some advice about the sump pump that has been acting up. Fortunately, I was able to solve the problem.

Yesterday was election day. I was able to go right as the polls opened. As I left the house I noticed a lump in the front yard that looked suspicious. That lump was a raccoon that decided the front lawn was the place to kick the bucket. I called animal control because I did not want anything to do with a rabid animal but they said to just shoot it. Job done.

Halloween!

We went out with the Johnsons tonight. The kids really had a great time. Brad and his mother went out with Amber, myself, and the kids. We were out for quite a while and saw people I have not heard from in a while. Grandpa stayed at the Johnsons with Karin and handled the trick or treaters.

Amazing Guitar

Tommy Emmanuel - Classical Gas (Live)

Front Teeth

Allen lost his front tooth yesterday while I was at work. He was very excited and even woke up early today to tell me all about it. He wanted to surprise me.

Grandpa visited today. He stopped by to drop off some things and to have some fun with the kids. I asked him if he wanted to go to a museum with the kids and he seemed to be interested. I remember he and I going to the museum at Michigan State quite a few times when I was younger. They were good times. I want my kids to have the same experience. I hope we are able to work it out where everyone goes together.

I Hate Deer

It is that time of year again: deer season and harvest time. You put the two together and you end up with incredibly high instances of car deer accidents. I have a pretty bad record of hitting deer. Last night was no different. I was heading home from work and noticed that one of the fields was being harvested. From the other side two deer decided that now was the time to run into my car. It looked and sounded like all of the other times I hit a deer so when I got home I expected the worst. I got out a flashlight and all I saw was the dirt was wiped off where the deer basically ran into the side of the car. No fur, no dents or dings, no blood. I was really shocked. I have no idea what became of the deer but my car was not damaged. I lucked out.

Kicking the Ball Around

Allen and I went to the soccer field today to just have some fun. At first he didn't really want to go but I told him that I would take him to the store if he went. We had a good time and he really got into kicking the ball against me. After we went to the store he picked out a crossword puzzle book. We worked together on it when we got home and had even more fun.

The End to Soccer Season

Today was the last game for Allen's soccer team. We finished the season out with a win and I can honestly say I had a great time coaching. Most of the kids really did improve (Allen included) and I was really neat to see them enjoy the sport. One of the kids drew me a picture and wrote that I was a good coach! It was very sweet. We even had some sunny and warm weather this weekend. It was a great end to a fun season.

Soccer Victory

This morning was a great win for Allen's soccer team. Our team won 2-0 and we had lots of fun doing it. I really liked seeing the kids reaction when they scored. All of the players seemed to be enjoying themselves. No matter what the score has been all season long the kids have done a really great job and I am really proud of Allen with how much he has grown as a player.

In less interesting news, I am tired of hearing the words "macro economic" but it have been unavoidable. It seems to be on every one's mind lately.