With a lot of hard work by Melissa and patience from the kids ... the paint is now on the wall, the beds moved back in ... and the little ones all snug in their beds.

Guess we will see how these first few night go ...

Welcome to our room

So, Owen is moving in and Joe wants to prep the place. Oh the fun with paint!

Working hard to ensure Owen likes the new room

So ... now this is just getting annoying! Joe is now back under the weather, once again with strep throat ... Melissa's is finding the sore throat returning ... and Owen now has an ear infection!!!

GAH!

A relaxing afternoon with the family ... you can't have a better day.

So ... now my sister is getting into the game. As if my brother wasn't enough!!!! Kurt ... your now the last hold out ... remain strong man ... remain strong!!!!! And in a indication of the times. No letter, no telegraph, no phone call ... not even an email. Nope! ... I have to find it posted to the web.

Well, congratulations to you both ... enjoy the next few (12, 24, 48?) months, hold on to them ... cherish them ... they are the last you have as you, for then you will be two!

Owen starts in net ... big surprise eh?

Well, this year remained "interesting" upon arriving home ... while initially we thought we were getting better, the noses never really stopped running and the throats started getting sore once again. Melissa probably got the worse of it ... as the days went by things got worse and worse ... and the drugs were not helping. When Joe developed a rash it was time to see the doctor.

Diagnosis: Strep throat
And the rash? Well, that was Strep Throat induced Scarlet Fever ???

Well, it is a VERY MINOR variant of the fever - named for the colour of the rash. Essentially, the strep throat caused the body to go out of wack which in turned causing the rash. Don't worry ... nothing serious.

However, a little antibiotics and things have turned around nicely. Once again I leave this amazed how well kids handle being sick. They remain active and happy while their energy levels are up ... and quiet when the energy is drained.Joe and Owen rarely fuss ... unless your cleaning their nose.

Joe would let christmas last forever

But as we heal we are finally getting around to cleaning the house. The tree has come down, the decorations are going away, and life is starting to get back to our day-to-day. While we are not able to re-drop the puck on 2008, maybe we will finally get to play a shift.

So ... the family is once again health. And notes for the record ... Owen is crawling on everything .. up on bags, standing up on the coaches, and now walking and pushing around Joe's Pooh-bear train. He is really moving ... and he couldn't be happier about it. (Mom and Dad on the other hand... ... ...)

So, another year is done. And how have things gone?

Jan 2007:
This next year I look to continue our growth as a family. Joe will undoubtedly start chatting up a storm, go for his first ice skating experience, and I look forward to our first bike ride. Melissa is looking forward to completely moving into our house including a full paint job while I look forward to getting pictures on the walls. Simple goals right. With the move we are also going to rework our budget and get ourselves back on track - this last year was fun and now it is time refocus and plan for the future.

At work, I hope to bring a couple solid projects to completion and work on better managing my time and energy. I would like to regain control of my non-work time to spend both helping out Melissa at home and enjoying quality times with Joe. Daddy day is coming back ... right after March ;) I also look to bring "Little Joe" to market with an enhanced version 2.0 of the Screen Saver Menu.

Well, we did add to the family with Owen joining the ranks on June 13. We did paint and things really began to feel comfortable in our new home. Joe did get to go skating ... several times ... managing to go it along on single blades after just a few outtings. (Thanks Nana and Papa for the new blades - should keep him going this year too). We also, reworked ... reworked ... and reworked the budget - to not follow it at all.

It also wasn't until late October until I started spending more time at home with the family ... losing quite a lot of "home" hours. March ... you can only chuckle at this point. I also did not get to ANY of those personal projects that have in the past so excited me.

In the end it was a very hard year. However, there were several highlights. I travelled a little more, hitting Chippewa, Anaheim, Chicago, and Mainz (Germany) over the year. And while I did not get to "Little Joe" and the "Screen Saver Menu" update ... but there is always the new year. We also bought a new computer and a new car (told you we blew the budget) ... but somethings about life are much better.

So, what has 2008 got in-store? We will have to wait until Jan 09 to find out ...

1: Personal Projects
I have a stronger desire to get back to those "personal projects" ... you could almost call it a need. I have several ideas in mind and some on the books ... so you will just have to wait and see.

2: The Family Skate
Owen should be walking before the end of spring (he is already pulling himself into a standing position - already a first for this year) ... so I expect he will be skating with Melissa, Joe and I this summer.

3: Together as brothers
Joe and Owen will be moving in together shortly - just got to paint that room (ha, guess not all the painting was done).

4: Back to basics
Especially after this christmas, we are going to get back on budget. We need to.

5: Workaholic
While I have been slaving away for that past five years, 2007 brought our employment cards ... so Melissa will likely be returning to work part-time this spring.

6: Athletic times
It is time to get back into shape ... yes, I have been hurting. This year the bike gets fixed, Ultimate sees a comeback, and we start rollerblading again. Oh, I foresee road hockey in the near future too!

7: Musical Ear
It may be the year to get a guitar ... for Joe (maybe me too). Joe really seems to have a natural beat ... so, maybe we can help with that. Oh, the keyboard needs to come out from under the bed at some point too. (Melissa, log ear-plugs on the shopping list)

8: More travel
I really enjoyed getting out this past year, I hope that can continue. If I am lucky maybe Melissa and the family can join me too. We are already scheduled for a trip to Kamloops in August.

9: Organized
I must get organized ... at the moment it is hurting me at work and killing me at home. This is a year of clean-up, back-up, and set-up.

10: Family Ties
Joe and Owen need more of their Dad while Melissa needs more of her man. 2008 cannot be like 2007 ... this year the Saturday mornings need to come back - just father and sons ... and the evenings need to be mine and the families ... and Melissa and I need time too. It is not going to be easy ... there are going to be crunch times ... but the crunch times cannot be 10 months long.

11: Bed time
Oh! Yes, I need to get to bed earlier too ... guess I still need to work on that.

Melissa and I expect 2008 to be a tough year for us ... our last couple weeks have the little things taking the hard road. We have a lot of things that we want to get done, things that need to be replaced, and two kids ... it will be, at the very least, an interesting year.

A look at home from the top of Mt. Doug