Sunday, February 14, 2010

Lucy is 2 years old.


Well tonight we celebrate Lucy's 2nd birthday. We can't believe how time flies and how fast she's growing. She really has brought so much to our family and we're grateful for her. It's also encouraging to see how her big brothers love her and care for her.

Happy Birthday Lucy!




I was down at LBI this weekend for a church retreat so I got to swing by the beach house and see what snow looks like at the beach...

Yep, it snows in Surf City too.

Back porch.Beach entrance at 4th St.
4th St Dune


Snow on the beach. Weird.

Okay, so there's really nothing spectacular about snow at the beach. Maybe a bit strange, but nothing really special. For some strange reason, I did want to put my feet in the water. I'll leave it to your imagination as to how far I went in. I will say this, the water was warmer than the air.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snowzilla?

You know you're in for a bad day when Jim Cantore starts off the broadcast with, "If you're in NJ, it sucks to be you." Now this is often said in context of taxes, real estate, Christianity and general taste in fashion, but it's not often said about the weather. As an aside: We went to our annual Japanese Steakhouse dinner on New Years Eve this year and I had to take a picture of a typical NJ guy that was out at this rather nice dinner establishment. Unfortunately it was too dim for the picture to turn out. But let me describe from the ground up: Untied high top leather Nike basketball shoes. Acid washed jeans. Derek Jeter jersey unbuttoned all the way to reveal the mandatory wife beater undershirt. Three prominent gold chains around the neck. And a head full of hair product.

Back to the Feb 2010 update: Life at the Jersey Shore doesn't usually involve this much snow. Our friends and family in DC, Philly and Pittsburgh share in this wondrous winter wonder (dripping sarcasm here...) This being the third large snowstorm of the winter, the novelty has worn off...

Can you tell I love the snow?

The boys are enjoying playing in the snow which seems to consist entirely of "swimming in the snow", snowball fights and not shoveling.

Lucy had been out in the snow for the first two storms - maybe we'll get her out tomorrow. In the meantime, she's enjoying have the boys at home to play with her. Right now, Lucy and Joe are playing disco upstairs - Light sabers and Michael Jackson's greatest hits are all the entertainment they need.

Kate loves the snow, it looks great from the inside. And if I sound bitter, it's because I am. I hate being cold, I hate shoveling snow, and I want it to be spring. Don't worry, I've already called the waahmbulance... Anyhow, Kate is loving having us all snowed in. The fire is roaring, we've got ribs in the oven, a healthy supply of kettle corn popcorn, and all the boardgames and puzzles we need. The mailman even came by between snowstorms to deliver 3 movies from our friends at blockbuster.

The power has only flickered once and hopefully we'll be dug out sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Drop me a note and encourage me to post more often, I'm a pathetic blogger.

Peace.

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fast and Furious











Spring and summer flew by way too quickly. What have we been up to?








Lucy is now 8 months old - she's living up to her middle name (Joy). She's a wonderful little girl, full of energy and always exploring the house.







Joe is a first grader now. It's hard to believe how time flies. Joe is famous amongst his peers, especially at church. Just about every week some parent pulls me aside and shows me how their kid either drew a picture of Joey Maguire or wrote him a letter. Sam is in 4th grade - he is surprisingly good with Lucy. He loves to entertain her. He continues to do great at school and is a flipping machine on the trampoline.
Matt is in 6th grade, which is junior high school. All I can say is yikes. He's joined the boy scouts and is taking guitar lessons. He's got a great ear for music - and we all know he gets that from Kate.
Here's the boys at the beach last weekend - no fish, but lots of fun.

Kate and I are doing our best to remain somewhat sane amidst the many activities that we somehow are involved in. We went from summer relaxed mode to full throttle busy-ness overnight (I believe it was September 4th).
That's all for now... cheers.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Welcome Lucy Joy Maguire

Yesterday, Kate delivered Lucy Joy at 4:21 pm. She weighs 8 lbs 14 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. She looks perfect.



Kate had a long day yesterday, but is doing great today.



Here's some pics and such...



Disclaimer: No babies were harmed in making this video....



Monday, October 08, 2007

happy anniversary

Howdy folks.


I've got lots to post - I think I'll be doing a summer '07 wrapup soon. Most importantly, it was 13 years ago today that I was wed to the perfect wife for me. Kate has stoood by me through thick and thin - 3 boys, cancer and car sales (gasp). She supports me in so many ways. She allows me to be all that I can be.


It has been a blast and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us for the next 13 years.


Peace.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

June update

Time flies eh?

Kate and I got to spend a weekend in Nashville, TN to celebrate the wedding of Kate's cousin, Seth Robinson. It was a great excuse to get away for a weekend. We did some touristy stuff, including:

1. Visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame. As a relatively new fan of country music, I was very excited to see the roots of country music on display. It is a great place to visit, even if you're not a fan. This gets a rating of 4 out of 5 Krispy Kreme donuts.

2. Eating a hearty breakfast at the Loveless Cafe, which has world famous grits, biscuits and gravy. From what I understand they have defibrillator paddles at each table and a cardiologist on the premises for weekends and holidays. (5 out of 5)

3. Checking out the orginal Grand Old Opry and the New and Improved Grand Old Opry at Opryland. For grins I pronounced it with the long O as in "Oprah Winfrey" as opposed to the proper pronunciation of the short O as in "opera". I have to say I giggle just thinking about it and the annoyed looks that I got every time I said it. And yes, I'd take the family there for a week. I'm sure for the kids it would be torture on the level of Colonial Williamsburg. (original 5 out of 5; new 4 out of 5)

We also took a jog through some beautiful parkland and visited Franklin, TN which is a quaint and friendly town. It's the kind of place that makes you feel at home and at ease.

And of course, the wedding was very nice too.

The rehearsal dessert featured a huge table full of southern delicacies. I was more interested in the bluegrass jam that was happening in the living room. The grooms dad, Harry Robinson (of Tom, Dick and Harry Robinson - I'm not making that up) is an accomplished musician. He is the music minister at a Methodist Church in town. In the last 5 or so years he has picked up the dobro, which has become popular because of Jerry Douglas, who plays with Alison Krauss. Harry has recruited and trained several men from his church to form a bluegrass band, and now they are really, really good. They played for about two hours and I was spellbound.

The wedding was outdoors in a nature preserve. The sun was setting and the weather was perfect. The bride was gorgeous and all was well.

So, recharged and ready for toil, I set out to conquer our front yard "landscaping". For those of you that haven't YET visited, it was a mess and really had no other description. The worst and most difficult part was the years of white stone that have gone in the front flowerbeds. I'm not exagerating, there was at least 10 inches of white gravel down there. Personally, I think if I dug it all out, I'd end up somewhere between earth's mantle and outer core. So most of the white gravel is out, as are about a dozen spindly azaleas and various other sickly shrubberies (if only the Knights that say Ni were around). The remaining azaleas and japanese maple got a much needed buzz cut (thanks mom). Topsoil and mulch now cover the beds and I'm slowly adding perrenials, annuals and some herbs. It's a nice start.




Finally, and with a heavy heart - prayers go out to the Cho family. Dave was a roommate of mine for a short time when I lived in Oakton and he passed away last week. I believe he was diagnosed with liver cancer early this year. My impression of him is a man that didn't care about the status quo. He lived with zeal and passion and did some things that would seem improbable, if not impossible. And, he continued to praise God as cancer ravaged his body. I admire him for his courage and his steadfast love for the Lord.
He leaves behind a wife and 5 children, including a baby born a week after he died. See this link for ways you can help them.
As always, PEACE to you.





Monday, April 23, 2007

I'm famous!!!

It took me 40 years, but now I'm "published".

http://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:4264.569843585/rid:67ad8a26b6b2658e242848b7bd6d7a2d

I think the article was a little edited - some of the silliness was removed. But that's what it's like in the business (as if...).

As always.... PEACE to you.