Don't freak out! I think this is the first time since Dec I've had back-to-back daily posts.

We picked up a crib last night very similar to what we had for Sydney. Samuel already has tons of clothes and accessories. I think one of the few things we have yet to acquire or be given is a carseat for his toddler years.

Today was an info packed doctor's appointment. We learned that due to the diabetes Merrie will have to have some extra blood tests and another ultrasound over the next several weeks, and she's added regular insulin to her morning dose. The big news is that we learned that she will be induced 2 weeks before her due date. A firm date has not been set and probably won't be until after the ultrasound, but we anticipate somewhere around 8/14 instead of 8/27. The boys will be thrilled because the baby will come before school starts on the 22nd. They want to be at the hospital for the birth but don't realize how boring a hospital waiting room can be. Thank goodness for relatives and gameboys.

This development means the boys and I will likely try to go to MS the week of 7/30. That will give me time to get my current projects out of the way and for Stephan to turn 16 and allow some spare time in Aug in case Samuel wants to come even earlier. Luckily, we have a Habitat workday the 19th so they can get some practice in.

Enjoy the long weekend (if you have one) and the fireworks celebrating our country's independence and the freedom we enjoy here. It's nothing compared to the freedom you can have in Jesus though.

We thought Merrie was doing OK on her diet but she had a couple high readings (mostly caused by not realizing what she ate) so her doctor put her on insulin. Hopefully that won't last but I'm sure she'll manage fine. She's got plenty of practice sticking other people. :) We have an appointment Friday. She has also realized that she hasn't been getting enough calories though she's been at her carb limit so she's researching some other foods to eat. I keep telling her pregnancy is a great weight loss program because she keeps losing weight.

We took off to Cleveland for a quick trip last week to see my parents. It was nice to get away but I also got some more work done. We got way too much sun on a cruise of the Cuyahoga - it was perfect weather for a cruise and we got to peak at the time trials of the grand prix race at Burke Lakefront Airport. Here's a picture of our family.


I'm still busy working with current clients, but need to find more clients. Business will slack off quite a bit I think when we'll need it the most (after Merrie quits). I've bought several used LCD monitors and a couple used PCs so I have my own little test environment to play around with software development.

The boys have been doing fairly well with their homework and reading, especially Stephan. Hopefully that will help him in the transition to high school. I have verified I can take the boys down to MS with me to work on houses if I can manage the time away and Merrie can live without us.

I'm sure there are other things I should write, but I'm busy now and this is all I can think of for the moment.

The last few weeks have been busy researching starting a business. Topshot Systems LLC is now official. Now I need to start beating the bushes to find more work.

Raisin continues to be active, and you can see Raisin moving around now if you're paying attention. Merrie just learned she is gestationally diabetic so she's going to have to go on a special diet. We meet with the counselor Wed. Hopefully she can control it with just diet. It must be her age because I was already feeding her a low carb diet to prepare for her "yucky" glucose tolerance test.

The boys finished school Friday. Both had great attendence this year - Stephan had 1 tardy and Sydney had 1 absent. We haven't gotten Stephan's grades yet (maybe today) but he thinks he managed to keep Cs and higher. Sydney finished mostly in the B and C range with some outstandings. Hayden actually has moved away now so they don't get to see each other as often but Hayden mysteriously shows up near our house quite a bit still. He even slept over the past 2 nights. Stephan is the typical teenage social butterfly it seems.

Max and Sam had a harrowing day yesterday. The boys asked if they could play with them in the sandbox, but that escalated to putting them on the slide for which they were scolded when Merrie and Stephan got home, and then Hayden was squirting Sydney (who was holding them) with the hose when I happened to go outside. I was not a very happy camper. Max and Sam seem to have recovered from their adventure.

I got my "play" computers setup this weekend also. I bought some stuff off Ebay so I could have 2 machines to test Oracle configurations for my business needs. We never got a chance to test some things when we upgraded a client to version 10g so now I can see just what will happen when the primary "crashes". It is always fun trying to break things. :) My "lab" is in the basement on top of the stack of laminate flooring that we bought in 2001 to cover the first floor. That was supposed to happen very soon now that the boys were grown, but Raisin has put a damper on that. Maybe next summer if my business goes well....