Macey

That is her. Our little bundle of joy. Macey is our christmas present to ourselves, well along with the house of course. No real gifts to open this year, but that is ok. Little Macey has been wonderful. She is very cuddly, and very happy. She is a pointer mix and incredibly smart.

She gets bored during the day, and likes to dig holes in the dirt in our back yard. That has to stop, so we are going to get her a little pen today hopefully that will help her behave more during the day, and keep her warm so that she will spend more time in the basement.

It has been cold here, and Macey has been great about keeping us warm, during the night, and during the afternoons. She likes to sleep on the bed, except when she does she crawls her way up in between Tara and I. With my back out like it is now it is ok, cause i can't really move at night, but when my back gets better there is no way that will work. I wanna hold my wife at night damnit, and she wil be in the way. So we have started her sleeping on the floor on her blankets, she has done pretty good so far, though when Tara gets up so does she and she is instantly up on the bed cuddling with her daddy. (Did I mention she is absoluetly adorable?)

Our New home!

I know, that the last post was about our new home, but this one is sooooooooo much better. This one, is ours. Yup, me, a Freakin Home Owner! Its pretty darn spiffy. This is totally my dream house too. It is 3 bedroom 2 bath, about 1600 square feet. Great Big open hallways a daylight basement, big back yard, a rock wall already installed, sprinkling in the front and side yards (we get to do the back yard ourselves, and the fence, and the ac. . . . ) We have a nice master bathroom with a walk in closet that is big enough to hold all of our clothes, no more getting dressed in a different room. I have an office, that is freakin awesome. Tara spoils me rotten. I have a great desk, that I totally love, plus its really similar to the one that I have at work, so its comfortable here and there. Not too shabby.

We can have a dog now, and even though Tara wants to get a fence before we get a dog, i think that both of us have been waiting just way too long to get that done first. I am guessing that the last day of school before winter break we will head to the pound to pick out a puppy, one that will hopefully be able to get a long with the big grey furball that is sleeping, again, gee, isn't that

a shock and half? Stupid thing sleeps all day long.

Things at work are starting to slow down a little, i can actually start to really get caught up. Its frustrating sometimes, when I can't get something completed by the time i would like to. It takes so much longer for things to get complete in a school. It is so hard for people to understand all the things that have to go in to making the smalles things happen.

I think we are really starting to work well as a team now. Myself, Bud, Mrs. Stone, Deanne, we are really making good strides for the school. I just wish that there was less drama, and more cooperation. The more that we can work together as a team the more successful we will become, and the better our teachers lives will be, the better that the education for our children will be. That is my goal, make the learning expierience as good as I can.

Oh, i forgot, here is a layout of our home http://mcarthurhomes.com/designs/classic/canterbury.php we really like how everything is in this house. Right now Tara is down in our daylight basement, which is really turning into her Green house, the one that she always wanted, hey maybe we can really turn it into a green house. I bet we could make a wonderful garden room right there, we get so much sun through those windows, why on earth should we waste it.

I don't know if you all understand how great my wife is. Without her not one bit of this would be possible for me. Before I met her I was sad, lonely and in terrible debt. I don't want to say that she rescued me, but she did. She made it all possible, we have a beautiful home, a happy kitty, hopefully a dog on the way, and maybe more?????? I am an extrodinarily lucky man, thanks to my most wonderful wife.

I hope that i will always remember how wonderful that she is. Her smile can brighten the darkest days for me, and she gets me to vent my frustrations, and she really listens to me, and cares so deeply for me. I hope that we can all find our perfect mates, i know now that it took all of my mistakes to bring me here, and i am more greatful for them now than I have ever been.

Missing You. . .

I just wanted to put up a post for everyone that has helped me get to where I am today. If you are not pictured, it isn't because I don't find you important it is simply because I ran out of Room.

It has taken Tara and I a long, long time to get where we are, but it has been the happiest time in my entire life. She has made me a smarter, more hard working, more relaxed person than I have ever been in my entire life. Her confidence in me is what keeps me going every single day of my life.

Also a most very special thank you to my brother, Lincoln Seth Fillmore, the man without whom I would not live in this wonderful house where for the first time in the 4 years that I have owned my speakers, I finally get to turn them UP, not just part of the way up, not leaving the sub completely turned down, no way baby these suckers were pumping. With sound like this I can see how you can really get engaged in a game like Call of Duty 2, you really feel like you are among the fighting, it is intense (espeicially with my 22" Viewsonic, Thanks Tara and Ken).

Anyway, back to my brother. Sir I do not know how to thank you for having the confidence and faith in me to give me the responsibilty for a very good portion of your company. For that I thank you, for trusting me, and for being a wonderful brother. He has always been willing to help, and exudes confidence not only about himself, but all of his employee's. That is not an easy thing to find in a boss, and I promise that I will do all that I can not to dissapoint you sir.

The opportunity you have given me allows me to spend more time with my wife, who is the greatest person in the entire world, and my truly greatest friend. She keeps me sain, and she keeps food on our tables, by not allowing me to spend as I see fit. Her guidance has gotten me to be something that I have not been since probably my 18th brithday when I got my first credit card. She has me completely debt free, and that is one of the greatest things that I could have ever asked for.

It has helped her with the adjustment to Utah, and it has made her smile, and she gets to eat good meals for dinner. I will miss cooking for her more than probably anything, aside from sleeping, I have no idea how I will be able to sleep in that bed without her. It is going to be a long week. I better go eat lunch now, Tara will be mad at me if I don't. Just kidding, sort of. . .

Our New Home, and the crazy journey it took to get here. . .

Well, we are finally finished. It took for freakin ever but we are finally in Utah. It turned out to be a crazy journey too. We have of course been packing for the past month or two, but the last entire month was a real strain. Tara and I are both feeling the relief that comes from getting things together.

Today is the first day we didn't have to move furniture of some kind, oh wait, we built the new Bookcase, and brought in the kitchen table, man I am crazy. Well, tomorrow, no furniture, we just have to install more blinds, like 8 sets or something crazy like that. I am gonna be exhausted after that too, hopefully we will get it done quickly so that we can just relax for the rest of the day, and enjoy the last day off. Ok, so how crazy?

Thursday June 23, 2007 6:15am:

Alarm sounds, James has been awake for at least 45 min just waiting for the dumb thing to go off, Tara has too, but neither one of them knew the other one was till later. Get up, shower, get dressed, get over to Budget to pick up the truck. Get the Truck, go home, and agree to go back and get the tow dolly attached so that we can tow the Tercel.

7:30am:

We start packing up the 4 TV's (two of which we won't be connecting to satelite), about 1/3 of Tara's plants and other important artifacts into the two cars.

8:30am:

Done with the cars mostly, so we start loading boxes and what we can lift into the truck.

9:45am:

Help arrives!!!! Rebecca (a friend of Tara's from the Library) shows up with her two willing and somewhat eager teenagers to help start loading the furnature, just as Rebecca is walking up Gary arrives and starts talking about my comic books.

10:45am:

MORE HELP ARRIVES, Chip, Jina, Austin, Dylan, and Ryan all show up ready to help load.

11:45am 95 degrees F:

The truck is HOT. I lost 10lbs just sweating that week.

1:30pm

Pizza time. Sweaty people eathing pizza, drinking gallons of water, sitting in front of a moving truck, and sitting on the grass trying to cool off in the shade, little is said, lots of cooling off.

2:20pm.

Can't get everything into the vehicles that we have. We decide to drop off the Truck in Utah, and drive the RAV back to CA, on Monday, and get everything else.

Carpet Cleaners show up, James drives over To Granny's and takes a shower. James and Tara run more errands. . .

It was a heck of a day, and then we did it on Saturday, in reverse, no blood spilt, well not much anyway, Daniel scraped his knee, probably when he was trying to climb on the roof of the house, I don't mind, I know that I would have tried the same thing if I were his age. Roof's are fun, or at least can be.

Drove back to CA, on Tuesday, because we wanted a day away from the car, turns out we had to go to Walmart almost every day so far, tomorrow hopefully only have to go to the Home Depot to get more Blinds. We are tired. This has been a VERY long week, but I promise you we are proud of what we have, now I have to start work on Monday. oye.

Night all.

Time Can Pass So Slowly. . .

I suppose it is rather fitting, that as I am living out my 30th year on this planet, that I am upon a precipice of sorts. Very shortly my wife and i will be moving, to a new house, a new city, a new job, a new state, and perhaps even a new state of mind. Who knows. We are both very excited and very nervous. I worry a bit about Tara going to Utah. She has never lived anywhere other than in Modesto. Not that that is a bad thing, but from this almost anything can be culture shock.

Central California is so much different than so many other places that I have lived, and the people here are just so angry all the time. This just isn't the kind of atmosphere that we want to raise our children in. So soon, we will be embarking on a new journey, one that will be the next of so many steps, and probably the biggest one that either one of us has taken.

Now all of this is great and wonderful. If you are patient, and I am not. Drivning me crazy waiting, but I suppose there is something for me to learn from all of this. When I figure that out I will let you all know. . .

2 Years Ago. . .

Two years ago today, I met a most incredible woman. Thanks to my friend Angelique. It was a bit of a blind date for the both of us. Niether one of us had any idea of what would come of our first meeting.

I am very happy to say that it was not our last. One year to the day after the day I met her she agree'd to be my wife. Now just a little over 6 months later, and on the anniversary of the day that we met, She is still as beautiful and wonderful as ever.

We have been able to accomplish so much together. We have worked and worked to get out of debt, and now we are. Finally. What a weight I have been carrying for oh so long. I have no idea of how I would be able to make it without this wonderful woman by my side. Her confidence in me and her ability to make me feel more strength than I ever thought I could will never be forgotten.

I hope that we can have many, many more years together. She is the most incredible person in the world. Now we are getting ready to move to Montana, and I know that we will go because I know that when my darling wife wants something, she gets. She works and works until she gets it, but she always gets it. She got me didn't she?