Great Quote

A good friend of ours sent Melissa this quote and I just felt that I had to share it.

Don't think of organ donations as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive.

Pictures From Puerto Rico

Crazy Story

I am pretty sure that I broke my toe as you can see in the above picture. At least there is a story to go along with it. Please be sure to read all the way to the end.

This morning we went out to a local waterfall and of course, decided to climb it. There were several other people there as well, including some kids. At some point along the way one of the kids slipped and was hanging on to a slippery rock with one hand. In my rush to get down to the kid to help him, my foot got caught in a crack in the wall and as I went to pull my foot out, I felt a terrible pain shot up from my toe. I still was able to get to the kid and get everyone down safely.

Good story right?

I wish it were true.

The really story is that I walked into the foot of a chair in our hotel room. It still hurts like hell though.

Eat. Pool. Drink. Repeat.

Now I do love my action packed, adventure focused vacations.

This trip to Puerto Rico is not that.

After a few days here, in which the only thing that we have had to schedule our days around was the free full service breakfast in the morning, and the free two hour happy hour each night, this whole relaxing style vacation isn't so bad.

Now if you will excuse me, Happy Hour starts in 10 minutes.

Back to the Island

Ugh...

It's 3:30 AM.

I am not still up. I am getting up. And I am smiling.

Now usually I would not be smiling waking up at 3:30 AM, but today I will be eating lunch on the beach in Puerto Rico. You would be smiling too.

We are returning to the place of one of my favorite vacations ever. This trip will likely be different. Our last trip to Puerto Rico was all about hiking, zip lining and adventure. This trip will likely be little bit more laid back. We are bringing Braydon and we will be traveling with some friends as well.

I am hoping to get in one or two small little side trips in if possible, but if not, I will be perfectly happy relaxing by the beach and pool.

What's on Your List?

Before I go any further, let me put out this disclaimer;

I despise MTV.

I believe that every second MTV is on the TV and I am within ear shot, I lose a significant amount brain cells. The so called reality shows that they have on may be the root of the downfall of modern society.

That being said, I might risk my own well being and brain cells, and check out a new show they have starting tonight. It is call The Buried Life.

The basic idea of the show is this. A young group of guys have a list of 100 things they want to do before they die. It is in the same spirit as The Bucket List with one exception. They are still young. And it makes sense doesn't it?

Why wait until you are old and near your death bed to start on your bucket list. What is wrong with today?

Without knowing it, I have had one of these lists for some time. Back when we first found out that I was going to need another liver transplant, there were of course some difficult times. Melissa would constantly ask me if I was going to be OK, and I was always answer yes without hesitation. Then one day she asked me "How do you know?" I didn't have an answer for that one.

Shortly after that question, I wrote out a list of 100 things that we would do together. The list included things like have a baby, surf in Costa Rica, swim with dolphins, spend an entire day in a hammock, and take our child to the zoo. This list was my answer to "How do you know you are going to be OK?" I knew because we had too much we had to do together.

This list was posted on or refrigerator for a long time, but eventually faded into the back of my memory. When Melissa stumbled upon The Buried Life, it reminded my of the list and I looked at it again. Turns out we can already cross off several of them;

#1 Have our baby

#9 Hike at Red Rocks

#39 Go to Puerto Rico

#21 Spend Christmas at the Lake House,

#25 See Jimmy Buffett live

#63 Get caught in the rain and Laugh about it

...and several others.

11 down, 89 to go. I will post the list in entirety later.

So what on your list?

What's with this Weather

Earlier this week I had to scrap ice off my windshield. Let me repeat that; ICE on my windshield. I live in Florida. That doesn't happen in Florida.

Fast forward to this afternoon. This is what my dashboard read when I got in my car.

Now, granted, I have a black car that was sitting in the sun several hours, but it was still a beautiful day. I have a feeling I will be seeing more of this weather at the end of the week.

Feeling Better

The shots on Saturday and the nebulizer treatments several times a day since then seem to be taking and Braydon's cough has almost disappeared. He is defiantly feeling better. It has become very evident tonight as shown in the fact that it is now midnight, and he is still laughing and smiling and playing on the ground. Despite numerous attempts by both Melissa and I at putting him to sleep, he wants nothing to do with his crib right now.

i suppose we will just wait it out. He has to get tired eventually. Right?

Sick...

No, not me. But every one else in the house is. Melissa has a cough and over all just feels lousy. Braydon is not quite that simple.

It didn't take Braydon long to have his first unplanned, last minute run to the doctor on a Saturday morning. At the middle of last week he had a small little cough. By Friday night it was a heavy cough, and by Saturday morning it was an all out hacking attack. Luckily we went in Saturday and got him seen right away.

The doctor says he has bronchiolitis with a secondary ear infection. He got a nebulizer treatment in the office which he didn't like, along with two shots that he hated. They sent us home with more nebulizer treatments to do three to four times a day.

Of course the hardest part is for us to see him cough and cough and not really be able to do anything about it. He is about four and a half months old right now. I have a feeling we will have many more of these moments remaining.

Liver-versary

One Year Ago.

It seems like an eternity, but it was only a year ago.

One year ago today, my life was forever changed.

One year ago, I was given my third chance at life.

My life was saved through the ending of another. Right now, there is a family out there somewhere thinking those same three words. One year ago.

One year ago they lost a member of their family, but through a very difficult decision, they were able to save my life.

So here I am, one year later, living the best that I can, making the best of what I have, and trying to make things around me a little bit better.

I can only hope that this year was only the beginning of more great things to come.

Too Cute Not to Share

I normally do not post pictures and video just for the sake of posting them, but I could not resist on this one.

This is from our recent trip to Cleveland. Melissa's Grandma is singing to Braydon. As you can hear, Braydon loved it.

Four Month Check Up

All three of us had doctor appointments today, but Braydon's is the only one that really matters.

Here is how he is looking at four months;

Weight: 16 lbs. 3 oz. (75th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (95th percentile)

By all accounts he is a very happy and healthy baby.

He also got the second round of his shots, three all together. I was preparing myself for a day long of crying and whining. Five minutes after the shots, it was like they never happened.

Bring on 2010!

We welcomed 2010 with several great friends at a bar down on Rush Street after a terrific dinner.

With 2009 behind us, we are looking forward to more good times with great friends, and I am sure some surprises along the way in 2010. It is our hope to continue to live each day with purpose and to make the best out of every moment that we have.

May your 2010 be filled with love, laughs, memories and pleasant surprises for you and your family.