The Jay Family

Okay… so it’s been several months since I wrote; to say life has turned upside down would be an understatement so I’ll throw out a few bullets

·         My loving wife of 9 years – as of yesterday (11/06/1999 anniversary) is going to school and doing wonderful; she just finished her 1^st semester and blew it out with flying colors.  Sharon got some insanely high grade in each class, something like 98.99999% or something like that, at any rate in very proud of her; cleaning houses to help make ends meet, taking care of me and the kids, fixing awesome food from scratch,  driving the kids to and from school and all of the other demands that we make of her on a daily basis.

·         Kane is recovering from a broken arm and ending a rather horrible trimester at school, we love him and believe in him; even if he has to repeat 8^th grade.  Hopefully he makes some better decisions soon, the next trimester starts in a few days and it’s only up to him on what he chooses to do about it.
·         Ashlyn is growing into a young woman and it making every effort to grow scholastically, she loves to go to church, and is getting better with her social skills.  I’m proud of her progress and I believe in her and I’m grateful for her progress; she’s in 6^th grade special education at the middleschool and loves to go to school, well kinda…. As much as the next kid at least.
·         Kira is doing wonderful in just about every area; she loves to draw, dance, play, and read; she enjoys going to school, church, and is starting to enjoy helping mom around the house.  She’s growing in her extreme over emotionalism , um… er… well she is a girl in all, perhaps she wont out grow it.

·         Jasmin is perhaps the cutest child that ever walked the earth. She has just started going to pre-school and is learning about shapes, letters, colors, and numbers WOW, doing all that at the age of 4; hmmmm child prodigy?  Perhaps not, but definitely loves going to school, enjoys going to church, and reminds us to pray when she goes to bed if we forget or think we can slip it past them if we are too tired.

I’d say overall I have everything I need; some very good friends and an environment that encourages spiritual growth, scholastic growth, and a loving family that I love to come home to.  We have been blessed to have a home and an income in these troubling times, were many others do not. 

When I look around the world and take things into perspective I must realize that my problems are light in comparison to many others.  My computer was about to crash , so we bought a new HP a couple months back and it didn’t work real well so we returned it.  That was a blessing as well; after about two months and umpteen times contacting HP support and trying everything imaginable and being told that we could not return it (60 days after purchase), God let us return it anyway.  Out of the blue – a few days after being denied the return, the company I purchased it from sent me a pre-paid shipping label, we returned in and got a full refund.  We have since purchased a new one (although I think I paid too much, nothing like buyers remorse) it’s a good system and hopefully will last us for years to come.

Much, much more going on but I’ll have to write again soon.

Long time since I’ve written, sorry.  So much…

In short…

I’ve lost 48lbs and I am continuing to strive to continue on my path to better health.  I’m eating 5-6 x’s a day; range from 1600 to 2200 calories a day with 30% of my calories fat, (healthy fat.. you know sea food and so forth, not deep fried either) and protein intake that ranges from 140 to 165 grams.  Lot’s of help from Sharon.
Kids are winding down the school year and Kane looks like he may pull off straight B’s (even though he’s an A student it’s been a long journey to get the B’s).
Speaking of B.. I’ve rented the Bee movie for tomorrow night which I’m looking forward to.  Sharon and I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia and a friend took me to see Indian Jones as a distraction for my surprise 40^th birthday party, which was awesome.
Sharon out did herself by inviting a bunch of friends and throwing a big party that was a bunch of fun.
Got to run, I want to do some research on the deadly poison known as Fluoride & another called Appertain.  I’d also like to research the Esoteric Agenda so I’ll get back to you.
 

I’ve started several entries to my blog since my last posting and they are all saved as drafts because of not having time to finish them.  A lot’s happened and hopefully I’ll get to writing about it but first I’ll just talk about today.  Kira and I went to Sea World today for a school field trip and we had a blast.  I was in charge of taking care of Kira and three little friends; we spent the 1st half of the day with the rest of the group… about 6 adults and 20 children, then the rest of the day the 4 of us struck out on our own.  We saw the sharks, dolphins, bears, fresh water fish tanks, a cool virtual ride to the North Pole and the Killer Wales.

I had a rough couple of days at work, but I got to go pray with a friend a lunch and that was just what the dr. ordered.  Then when I got home, worked out for about 35 minutes and ate dinner.  After dinner Ashlyn and I went on a daddy daughter date; we walked to her school holding hands the entire way, watched a magic show (school fundraiser) and then walked home and had a prayer walk just the two of us on the way home.  That was a wonderful way to release the tension from the day and enjoy time with my little Angel.

Sharon and I just got back from Vegas and a huge event at the Venetian.  I won a silver award; was hoping for the Gold but 2nd place nationally is cool.  I’m grateful we had some time together and I’m grateful for the recognition for my hard work.  I didn’t care much for Vegas, way tooooo many temptations at my fingertips, we didn’t gamble or drink, didn’t go to any revealing shows but had a bunch of fun enjoying each other’s company, went out to eat at the Bellagio several times, and had a banquet at the Venetian.  Overall, lots of fun, missed the kids but had lots of fun just the same.

ARDA (link) 

ARDA finalists (Link) 

Short update…
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God is good, the end…..

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Longer version…
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Kane is now 13 and has officially become a teenager, we had a small party with a few friends over and had a blast, lots of fun.  Volley ball, video games, hot dogs, chips, soda and friends, what more could a teenager want; um well, a car, money, not to have to go to school or do homework, endless pizza and candy bars, no rules…etc.  okay besides all that.  Um, er… more video games, movies all days, sugar cereal, comic books… etc okay besides all that too…  At any rate we had fun.

The rest of the family is doing well; Jasmin thinks she 16, and Kira is becoming more emotional, Ashlyn is so grow up in some ways and still very immature in others (she slammed Kane’s head in a door this wkend / he’s okay).

I’ve lost a total of 25lbs and 6% body fat over the past few months and am still trying to get through my plateau but working on it none the less.  Sharon gained 8 lbs and lost two inches in her waist, which is awesome.

We are both having consistent quiet times with God and trying to train the children to do the same and I’m back to praying with several other men about 3x a wk, which is cool.  I’m working on being more outward focused myself, striving to serve more at church, striving for more in life but accepting my lot at the moment (gratitude), building friendships, and seeking to save the lost.  To God be the glory, I’m grateful for second changes and the new covenant.  I’m still working through the old testament (up to 1^st Samuel), I had to take a break and spent some time in Matthew but I’m now back and we will see how long I can take it.  (old testament is brutal – makes me more grateful for the new covenant and Christ.

·         Sorry I haven’t written much lately but WOW!!!, life to the full.  Well Sharon and I got to go on a date last wk (doesn’t happen often) and we had a lot of fun.  I enjoyed spending time with my Starshine and without the pumpkins.  I did miss all the commotion though.
·         .Kane is doing well in school so far this trimester, but we have to continue to sit on him to get his homework done.  Sharon is going in to talk to each of his teachers each Thursday morning.
·         The girls are all growing up so fast, I had a glimpse of them being much older and realized I just need to enjoy them now as they are and make time to spend with them.
·         Hagrid is doing well (heavy) but well.
·         Speaking of heavy, I’ve lost a little more weight so I’m happy about that.  Sharon has helped me soooooo much with eating well; I’m at 1700 to 2000 calories a day and working out cardio 5 x’s a wk.
·         As for the house; we finished the floor in the bathroom, laundry room, and now the family room; still need to do the base boards and trim, but the flooring is down.  Kitchen, hallway, dining room, and living room to go…. hmmm I know it’s a lot but we will get to it, then paint the railings, replace the banisters, purchase and install two chandeliers, stain the kit cabinets, build a patio out front, put in something for shade in the back yard, clean the garage, build a work bench, and plant a garden.  I’ll keep you posted..

It’s been a while since I’ve written, life is full…  I’d doing a little better, still doing the inhaler and I’m now on my 3rd set of antibiotics; this one is a kick your but 14 day antibiotic, hopefully it works.  The children are all done with antibiotics now and my Starsine if feeling a little better as well. 

New topic:  I had to go to the old house and tear down the gazebo Saturday (after I went to urgent care again) and it was difficult to do. I had poured my heart into that house to make it the place we wanted it to be and I got real nostalgic.  Can’t let myself get material… Need to focus on things above instead of things of this world; speaking of that we had an awesome service on Sunday.  Doug talked about being personally responsible regardless of how others act or what they do to us, or what circumstances may bring.  We may not have control over some of these things but we do have control of how we respond or what our attitude. 

I’m getting back into working out again today, I’m starting to notice a difference and Sharon said she can see a difference.  I’m still at 231 but that’s down 19lb since Christmas and I think I’m starting to build a little muscle under the fat.  Time will tell. 

Same old around the house… oh something funny;  Kane went to boy scout camp this wkend and had a pack of matches in his back pocket, he decided that he would put on the same pants he went camping in to go to school today (that’s another story), but at any rate, he had the matches in his back pocket and he was dancing around the living room and apparently he had one match (or more) loose in his pocket. Somehow as he was dancing around it hit the striker in his pocket, lit the pack and burned a hole in his underwear.  I didn’t believe it but the Neighbor boy and Ashlyn watched it happen.  After a strong reprimand about the matches we had a good laugh… What are the changes of that?