Most of you will probably hear about Randy Pausch’s passing before seeing this post, but I really appreciated all he had to share with the world, especially his attitude toward life even while preparing for his death. His last lecture is well worth viewing, even if you have seen it before.
Add comment July 25, 2008 at 01:44pm Jordan
Received this birthday e-card today from my friend (and former boss) Sharon… enjoy a laugh courtesy of the guys at JibJab!
My birthday isn’t until tomorrow, so you all have time to get me something nice… 
Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!
Add comment July 25, 2008 at 08:17am Jordan
This past Christmas, I received some gift certificates to Lowes so I could purchase a chain saw, as we have a few trees in our front yard that need to be taken down. With two days of heavy rain last week, one of our trees started to uproot in the soggy soil, threatening to land in the street. So on Sunday, the dream of chain saw ownership came true, and within 90 minutes, the tree was gone and the wood stacked up. The new saw “cuts like buttah.” Enjoy the before and after:
Before:
After:
Add comment March 10, 2008 at 10:44pm Jordan
Happy birthday, Jonah! It is hard to believe he is five already… he is growing up so quickly!
He spent the day hanging out at the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, with Anne, Ethan, Lauren, Grandma Reiley, and friends Liam, Molly and Ms. Carrie. Quite an entourage, if you ask me! The museum got a big thumbs up from the kids and moms alike.
We capped off the day with some cake, ice cream, and gifts. The big hits were more “Cars” cars, a Diego Rescue Pack, Timex kids watch, and SpiderMan PJs (which have already been put to use!).
1 comment February 12, 2008 at 10:21pm Jordan
A sampling of things said around our house this weekend:
Ethan, while studying some bacon I had over-fried: “Uh-oh…”
(For the record, it was not burnt (completely), and he still ate it. The boy likes bacon.)
Anne, while reviewing the alphabet with Jonah: “Who is the most important person in your life, whose name starts with the letter ‘M’?”
Jonah, with no hesitation: “Me!”
(Anne was hoping for “Mommy.”)
Anne, while watching a Saturday Night Live re-run: “Who is Tom Brady?”
(SNL was re-running the show Tom Brady hosted one or two years ago, in honor of his appearance in this weekend’s Super Bowl. He is the quarterback for the New England Patriots, in case you don’t know either.)
And my favorite…
Jonah, during his Sunday afternoon nap-time prayers: “Dear Jesus, please come into my heart.”
(Well done, son.)
1 comment February 4, 2008 at 01:51pm Jordan
Another year is drawing to a close, and what a year it has been. (We find ourselves saying that every year… especially since having kids!)
Lauren was born on November 7 (view her birth announcement). We were often told by other parents in the know that “the third child raises herself.” This has yet to be the case. Even so, she is a wonderful baby, and the boys just absolutely love having a little sister.
Ethan is our linebacker in the making. At age two, he bigger than most of the three year olds he meets… he is just a solid kid. He is also our social butterfly. He loves introducing himself to people and doesn’t know a stranger. (We have to watch this!) The only down side is he has yet to say his name, so he introduces himself as “Jack-Jack”… the baby from the movie “The Incredibles.” Somehow his big brother convinced him that this was his name! As you can see in the photo, Ethan started wearing glasses this year. He is doing really well with them. What he doesn’t like is the patch he needs to wear four hours a day to strengthen his weaker eye… but he is doing as well as a two year old can with such things!
Jonah is going to be five in February. We can’t believe we’re about to have a five year old! It has been amazing to see him develop and learn… he is like a sponge. He loves going to pre-school to learn and see his friends. He has a wonderfully creative imagination, and is always thinking of new games to play with Mommy, Daddy and Ethan. His biggest question lately has been, “when can Lauren play?”
Anne continues to enjoy staying home and being with the kids. She especially likes exploring all of the parks in Cary, and hanging out at the pool. But it isn’t all bon-bons and pedicures. Raising two active boys and a baby who likes to stay up until 1 a.m. is hard work! Speaking of hard work, Anne is also in her second year of leading the MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers) group at our church, which includes nearly 30 moms and their children. There are many hours of work and phone calls with leading MOPS, but she really likes pulling it all together and she does a great job at it!
Jordan is still with IBM, where he leads the small & medium business (SMB) marketing programs for the services group. He also keeps busy with projects around the house. In early summer he removed the carpet in our bonus room and replaced it with hard wood flooring (thanks to Pat for helping!). He also finally finished installing and painting all of the trim in the kitchen… something left over from that remodel from two years ago! Jordan also continues to take on new leadership roles in our church. He is a trustee and helps lead the men’s ministry. He has even dusted off his trombone, which he hadn’t played since high school, and has played in several brass quartets for the church. He claims it is like riding a bike, but we’ll let the audience be the judge of that!
Add comment December 20, 2007 at 10:42pm Jordan
Our baby girl, Lauren Emily, was born on November 7… we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her into the world!
You can find the key “stats” and photos at the online birth announcement we created and posted here: www.jordanne.net/lauren/
Both Anne and Lauren are doing great, and the boys have been adjusting very well. They are thrilled to have a little sister!
1 comment November 12, 2007 at 11:23pm Jordan
If the frequency of posts is any indication, you can tell that October was a busy month. Some of the highlights:
If you want to see photos of what we have been up to, check out the albums for Ethan’s Birthday and a Fall 2007 collage.
Add comment November 4, 2007 at 11:22pm Jordan
I was using Google Reader to catch-up on my RSS feeds, and clicked on a link to a website hosted on blogspot.com (a Blogger.com website, which is owned by Google.)
I received the following error telling me that they thought I was an automated computer virus or spyware application.
So, if you use Google Reader to link to a Google-hosted blog, Google thinks it is attacking itself. Nice.
Add comment September 20, 2007 at 12:17pm Jordan
Having just posted about a bad sports marketing idea, here is kinda good one. Ok, it really isn’t a sports marketing idea, but it ties into sports.
In light of ND’s rough start to the football season, Taco Bell restaurants in the South Bend area are offering free nachos to their guests on Sunday because quite frankly, game day for an Irish fan is “Na-Cho Day”. (A play on “not your day” for those who don’t get the play on words.)
Taco Bell is getting all kinds of press and blogging around this (including me, obviously) so I’ll qualify it as a decent marketing idea. It will also get people into the restaurant to buy some tacos and burritos to go with their free nachos, which is always good.
Add comment September 20, 2007 at 12:11pm Jordan
This website is a little something we worked up to keep in touch with our family and friends. We hope you enjoy it and come back often. Cheers!
