More pictures of the baby

I'm so proud. So very... very proud.

Pictures of Kiah...

The pics aren't all I'm postin'!

See the detailed account of Kiah's delivery below!

Here are the pics.

This one is a compilation of some the best pictures from Friday...


Here's one of my favourite pictures of Kiah so far.


Here's our beautiful blossom... and some flowers.


And finally, pics from the nursery. Jaundice stinks!

Updates on Kiah and Sarah

Hi everyone. Thanks for being patient. We've had a crazy couple days, and I'll go over in part, what's going on now, and a bit of what the delivery was like.

Sarah had some contractions last Wednesday night. We went to the mall, and walked around a little bit, and after we got home, I went to take a nap in case we were going to go into labor that night. I woke up around 10:30 and Sarah was pretty serious about the contractions. I updated the blog, and did a few other things and slept for another hour. She tried to sleep, but didn't, and woke me up at 1:30 with the news that we needed to leave NOW. We did, and we arrived at the hospital around 2:00. We walked to the check in, and at her first checkup, Sarah was 5cm dialated already. She was 10cm by 6am, so 5cm in 4 hours was pretty impressive. The nurses wheeled a baby warmer in, and Sarah started pushing. Her doctor arrived about an hour later and after taking a look at Sarah, let us know that she shouldn't be pushing yet. That there was still some cervix left to dialate, and that we were just bruising the baby. So we did some more contraction handling, and were soon at the pushing stage officially. Now for the uninitiated, dialation of the cervix requires breathing through contractions. You're not pushing, you're simply surviving. Once they let you push, as I understand it, it is alot more gratifying. And shorter. Generally. According to a book we have, the pushing phase of childbirth should last 1 push to 2 hours. Sarah pushed for 3. With no pain medication. No local anisthetic, no epideral. Nothing. She's like a legend now. Doctors were gathering outside the room to see the girl with no pain medication. One of them told me it's one in a hundred, but probably more than a hundred...

Anyway, during the labor, our doctor, a very smart lady, tried to use a vaccuum to help extract the baby while Sarah pushed. But, it was unsuccessful. They only try 3-4 times, because there's just too much risk of hurting the baby. I forgot to mention, that for the doctor to even attempt to use the vaccuum (the modern alternative to forceps) she would have to be able to see Kiah's head. Which we could! Sarah had been pushing so hard, that he was crowning. Almost there. But stuck. It was so hard to see him so close, only to go through contraction after contraction, pushing and pushing, with no forward movement. I asked doctor Schwietzer what she thought, and she said that after a few more pushes, we might have to move to a c-section. She gave Sarah the benefit of the doubt, and waited until even Sarah had given up hope of pushing him out. She said it later, but I'll say it now, the doctor believed that it was the right decision because it was made at a point when Kiah still had a strong heartbeat, and wasn't in too much distress. If we had kept trying, the results could have been very bad.

We moved Sarah to the operating room, while she tried to control her contractions. Go back to breathing... try not to push... It was really hard on her. They had me get into operating clothes, and let me bring my camera. I had to wait outside the room for 10-15 minutes while they prepped her, and got her epideral in place. They called me in, and I sat next to her head while Dr. Schwietzer and another doctor operated. Several nurses, and a pediatrician for Kiah assisted. After a little while of talking to eachother quietly, Sarah heard a squeek over at the pediatrician's table. Then a cry. She said "Is that him?" and I looked to see, and yes it was. They had extracted him a few moments before, and were cleaning him off and giving him oxygen. He was blue, and squished, and looked bruised all over. It turned out that the worst of his bruising was on his face. He had been sunny side up, or facing the wrong way, and would never have come out. We made the right decision and just in time.

The hard part was then going with the baby to the Infant ward where they treat distressed babies, and leaving Sarah behind. But they had to stitch her up and get her to recovery. While I waited with Kiah, they got some saleen going through his system to boost his circulation, and gave him a little oxygen. I took pictures and a video or two, so that Sarah could see him, and when I was comfortable with how he was doing, I went to find her. I found her recovering, and I changed clothes back to my street clothes after showing her the pics and video. She was happy to see him doing well, but wanted to be with him. I ran back and forth between them for awhile, until we all got to be up in the mother/baby ward, where she still is now.

Sarah got to hold the baby for about 20 minutes before I had to take him back to the nursery for them to check his vitals. It was fast though, and I got him back to her in minutes. Her mom arrived soon after that from her flight and shuttle ride from Chicago. That's where most of the pics that you've seen have come from. That period of time.

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Since then, Kiah has been trying to nurse, but hasn't done real well yet. He'll have to get it, and hasn't been peaceful enough to. The first deal was his blood sugar level, so they poked and prodded, and fed him formula. Now he has jaundice, so the poke and prod him and make us feed him formula. We chose a soy formula so that he won't have any bad reactions. Sarah couldn't eat formula as a baby, and we don't want to chance it. The jaundice is pretty bad, so they have him under this crazy blue light. He has to wear these little eye covers, and is away from us all the time. They bring Sarah to him so that she can try and feed him, but he's so comforted by her holding him that he falls asleep instantly when she holds him. He's so stressed and worn. So is she. She misses him, and so do I for that matter, but I've been in the nursery with him alot, making sure that they don't neglect him, or let him scream, or forget to feed him... Every time we just "trust" them, it hasn't worked out, so I ride them like a bull. Every nurse has a different opinion, different info, different levels of interest in our well being. One will say that the baby should never have water, the other will list it has her first suggestion. One will say that she'll wake Sarah up to feed and forget, while another will bust into the room, give Sarah a time limit, and demand she feed him that instant. They're really not bad as a hospital goes, but they try our patience.

At this point, Kiah is still under the lights. Sarah tries to breastfeed every few hours, I feed him soy after she's done. She doesn't want Kiah associating her smell with bottle feeding. It gives us both bonding time, but we miss him. I hope he'll come back to the room with us tomorrow.

Sarah's mom has been awesome. We've gotten to spend some fun time together, and with Sarah. Trying to be supportive.

Well, I am bushed. I'm off to bed. Love you all, hope the update was good. More pics to come!

Hezekiah Immanuel Miller

Hezekiah Immanuel Miller
Born: May 25, 2006 @ 10:53 am
Weight: 8 pounds, 13 ounces
Length: 21 inches
He was delivered emergency c-section after a ton of natural labor.

Here's an early picture of me and the boy after the surgery.

Another early pic.


The new mommy.


Kiah and his giant red hat. He was happier than he looks... really.


Sarah's mom flew out to help out in our early weeks with the baby.


Giving eachother funny looks...



Well. That's it for now. I just wanted to run home for a couple minutes to update you all.
I'll write about the whole labor later.

Distractions, contractions and contraptions.

Well. Here we are. Once again in the middle of the night. Obviously things aren't too crazy, or I'd be in the hospital, not blogging, but if we're reading the signs right, and there are a ton of them, we're heading into labor within the next few hours.

Sarah's contractions are about 10-15 minutes apart. Some less than that, but on an average, 10-15. They've been that way for a few hours. Seemingly getting a bit stronger. She's had every sign in the book, short of her water breaking, so we're pretty excited. I got about 3 hours sleep, and woke up around 10:30. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more minutes rest before we need to leave for the hospital. Sarah's been resting as best as possible, and drinking more water than Robin Williams on broadway.

We've been trying to remember everything. Charge the camera battery. Remember the iPod and cds... Pack our toiletries... We have changes of clothes in our bags, and snacks for me.

We ended up in the hospital for a few hours on Tuesday. Sarah went in for her checkup, and the baby's heartbeat was a bit fast, so the doctor sent us over to Memorial to have Sarah monitered for awhile. It gave us a chance to see the facilities a bit better. We've been on two tours, but I got to see the little kitchen area, where I can get water, juice or popsicles for Sarah, and coffee for me. We weren't sure what was going to happen, but we had brought our bags, so just in case they needed to induce her or anything... we were ready. But after two hours, they let us go home, and told Sarah to drink as much water as possible. That his heartbeat was fast, but still acceptable. He's just active they said. Which is funny. He seems like a quiet baby for the most part, with active moments.

He's probably just getting ready.

I got an email from a dear friend, and while I think he was joking, I can see how some people would actually think that the name "Kiah" is somehow tied to a certain Korean car company of a similar name. I then realized that I don't believe I've ever explained the reasons behind the name in the blog, and if there were ever a time, I guess it's now.

If indeed we are having a boy, and not just an incredibly devious girl with athletic sonogram abilities, we are naming our baby Hezekiah Immanuel. We'll call him Kiah for short, but the name Hezekiah is one that I've grown up loving, and that Sarah has fallen for as well.

Hezekiah was the name of a king of Judah in the old testament. His father was an evil man, but despite that fact, when Hezekiah took over at the age of 25, he didn't waste a day turning the country around. Within 3 weeks he had instigated a complete turnaround. He brought the people back to God. Back to where they should be. Under his kingship, the nation of Israel withstood some of it's heaviest attacks and continued to prosper. In his entire reign, he only made one serious mistake, the consequences of which, he'd never even see. When we think of the things we want for our son, we think of leadership. Wisdom. A heart for the needs of others. And the name Hezekiah is a fitting one for someone with those qualities. Kiah seems like the best shortening of the name, and is kind of fun to say.

Immanuel means "God with us." If there's been one all encompassing statement that's surrounded us this year, it's that God has not, and will not forsake us. No matter the circumstances of life. We've been so encouraged by all He's seen us through. Plus, a short name after Hezekiah would sound stupid. "Hi, I'm Hezekiah Joe!" Sounds like a forty niner or something... "Hi, I'm stinky Pete!"

Well, I'll keep you updated. Hopefully we'll have a picture post soon that won't consist of internet humor, but will instead having a healthy baby boy. Not to mention, that if we have him today, my brother Ezra will be insanely happy. I mean, insanely happy. He turns 11 today, and has been pushing us to have the baby on his birthday since he found out the due date.

P.S. Sarah and I went to the mall yesterday and saw baseball caps on sale. 2 for $14... so Sarah got her Cubbies hat, and I got a Sox hat. So now we can represent! Nice. Jim, don't give her too hard a time. Her grandmother was a fan, and Sarah's love of her grandma clouded her judgement growing up. We can't all be St. Louis fans...

The day Joey had enough of Frank's stupid comments...

So Proud

Ryan is on iTunes. Finally. Awesome.

Funny picture from Kaitlin's myspace.

This is too awesome to not put this on my blog.

Middle of the night.

It's the middle of the night. Or the beginning, depending on one's perspective. Either way. It's 12:30 am.

I went to bed at 7:30, having been up since 3 as usual. I wanted to try to get a full 8 hours, but when I woke up to get a drink about 11:30, Sarah was in bed too, and still awake.

I asked her how she was doing, and she has been having contractions. Not steady yet, but we're getting there. I'm so excited right now, I just can't sleep. I should be trying... if today is the day, we've got alot ahead of us, and being rested will help a ton. I got up and finished a mix cd for Sarah during labor. (They let you bring your own cds...) I will go to work at 4 if nothing is steady, but I'll be ready to run home if she needs me.

In other exciting news... I GOT THE JOB! Pretty awesome. They made me an offer yesterday, which I accepted. I start on the 30th. So just a few more days of being a valet. I'm very excited. All these changes at once... feels, well... feels like normal. I won't be starting in the restaurant like I first believed, instead, I will be starting in the front office/desk area. My least favourite area, but who knows? I may end up loving it. I can't wait to wear a suit to work.

Well, I'm gonna go try sleeping. Before I go, here's the playlist to the cd I made Sarah for labor. If you want a peaceful, but inspiring mix... look no further. I'm real happy with it.

Labor Day (ha ha) mix

1. The Golden Age, by Beck
2. Switching Off, by Elbow
3. Bob Dylan's 49th Beard, by Wilco
4. Gravity, by Vienna Teng
5. The Princess Bride, by Willy DeVille & Mark Knopfler
6. Baby Mine (Dumbo cover), by Allison Kraus
7. Tomorrow, Tomorrow, by Elliot Smith
8. Boadicea, by Enya
9. Bothered, by Over the Rhine
10. Time After Time, by Cindi Lauper
11. Halo Friendly, by Damien Jurado
12. I Didn't Know About You, by Karrin Allyson
13. Miles, by Over the Rhine
14. Lullaby, by Pedro the Lion
15. Rest Easy, by Audio Adrenaline
16. Fade Into You, by Mazzy Star
17. Sleeping In, by the Postal Service
18. Let Down, by Radiohead
19. Tell Me How, by Rosie Thomas

Fridays are weird...

Well, Friday was no exception to my incredibly strange week. I mean, last week was like a script from a new sitcom. One of the ones that hasn't gotten it's feet under it yet. The writing is choppy, and the acting is sloppy, and this sentence is starting to sound like a song. It isn't... but it could be.

Friday morning, I checked to see if Neil Armstrong had checked in. He was in room 1202, and was due out on the 13th, so I was pretty sure I'd at least see him. Growing up a total space geek, I went over scenarios in my head to make sure that I didn't attack him when he came downstairs. I rehearsed "Mr. Armstrong, how are you this morning? How was your night? Do you have a car downstairs that we can bring up for you?" things like that.

Needless to say, that the morning went on fairly normally, and he did not come down before 6. One of the other navy officers from his squadron, however, did come down for breakfast. And as he was sitting alone, I struck up a conversation while he waited for the restaurant to open. We talked about the state, and where he was from, and he asked me where I was from. I said Ohio, and he commented that Neil was from there too. I said that Stryker, where I grew up, wasn't far from Wapekaneta, where Neil was born. Now take into account that while they are spry little guys, all of these navy officers are pushing 80, if they haven't already fallen into it. For those of you who don't know many 80+ year old men, they get excited easily, and then forget what they were excited about, and spend the rest of their day perpetually excited, but they don't know why. That's why they sleep like 3 hours a night. They are so excited about something or other. (Note: Sometimes, this can also translate into crankiness. Insert the word cranky instead of excited into the rule above, and it will account for about 1/3 of old men days per year. The other two thirds they spend mysteriously excited.) Anyway, he got very excited, and then ended up looking a little confused until the rest of his party came down for breakfast. I went back to work, and forgot the conversation for the moment.

About two hours later, I had just returned from bringing up a car, when I saw the navy squadron gathering outside to get on their bus, and get on with their busy and mysteriously exciting day, when I spotted Neil in the center of the group. He was wearing a light pink dress shirt, and was looking very healthy. The last few pics I've seen of him haven't done him justice. Anyway, he's a very private man, and I didn't want to scare him, so I took my look, and went inside. Just in the doors, I was accosted by the little old gentleman from earlier, and he said "Have ya met Neil yet?!?" I said no, and he hauled me out the door and toward the group. "Neil!" he yelled as he flung me in front of the first man to step on the moon... "This boy's from Ohia! (pronounced correctly, I might add.)" Neil asked me where, and shook my hand. I told him I was from Stryker, and he said he knew where that was. (Almost unbelievable, but he gave a reference town that established that he did indeed.) I told him that it was an honor to meet him, and that I hoped he had enjoyed his stay. I wished him a good day, and took my leave.

I was in a bit of shock. Introduced. How much better was that then pushing myself at him and saying something like "I'm glad ya made it back!" or "Way to beat those ruskies!" or something ridiculous like that. I was so happy, that I told a couple of coworkers before returning to the front to get back to work. As I approached the front desk, I noticed a slightly dishevelled customer waiting to be helped. I went up to ask him if he needed help, and possibly tell him about Neil Armstrong getting into the bus outside when he turned around. It was Ron White. Ron "Tater salad" White of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He looked slightly drunk, which is, or course, his look. "Mr. White. How are you this morning?" I asked. He said he was ok, and I told him I loved his show. (He is easily the funniest part of what can be a thoroughly disturbing look at america.) He was simply looking for a place to buy socks, preferably where there was a pretty salesgirl, and I directed him to the right place. He went and ate breakfast, and spent the morning wandering around looking for something to do. Unfortunately... there IS nothing to do in Colorado Springs at 9am on a Friday morning. So he went over to the spa and flirted with the girls there. Avoiding the random "TATER SALAD!!!" screaming fan with grace. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked. Armstrong, I saw coming, but a week of naked old men, half drunk celebrities, and new shoes... it was a bit too much for me. I needed a few days to process it before bringing it to you my faithful readers.

Well. On to something else. Here is a montage of Sarah pics from this, our ninth and final month of pregnancy. Below it, you will find a desktop picture of Sarah's 9th month. (I'm a dork. But a freakin proud one...)

My current desktop

This is not my most recent large post... check the one below. I just wanted to show a pic of what my computer looks like right now. Desktop pic, and Operating System theme are by the amazing artist David Lanham. Icons are random, and by various artists. I'm running iTunes and Adium, a chat client.

That's it for now. Have a great night.

Naked men and new shoes...

So yesterday morning, about 5am, a gentleman stepped out of one of our elevators, stark naked. Thankfully, he was equipped with a newspaper, which he had apparently failed to wrap around himself, and was simply holding it in front of himself.

He was interested in a key to his room. He had been out in the hallway, fetching his morning paper, naked, when the door had suddenly, as doors do, closed behind him. I can picture him standing there for a moment... contemplating his options... thanking God that it was 5 am and not later... Then, turning, and walking stealthily toward the elevator.

The most outrageous part of the entire ordeal was the front desk agent asking the poor old dude for I.D. "He's naked!" I exclaimed... "He is not going to be able to provide you with a driver's liscence!" He gave her his address, which she thankfully accepted, and he turned, placed the newspaper behind him, and walked back to the elevator.

Several things:
A) Why did he not wrap it around him, instead of simply shifting it from fore to aft?
B) Wouldn't it have been awful to be travelling down an elevator, and have it open to that sight, first thing in the morning?
C) Or any other time for that matter.
D) What in the name of Fergis McDoodson was he doing getting his newspaper from a public hallway in his antique birthday suit?

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I move on. To today.
We got new uniforms. Mine looks like an old-timey barber's outfit. It is charcoal with gray piping on the vest and pants. I basically wear a white dress shirt and bow tie, with a vest and pants. I also wear shoes. Today I was wearing my new outfit proudly when Larry the GM and Ron the Hotel Manager walked up to inspect it. They were happy with everything, except my shoes. Now mind you, I have pretty nice shoes. They're leather sketchers. Trendy, with a strip of suede up the center. They're not dress shoes by any stretch of the imagination, but under a certain age (32) you can get away with trendy black shoes. Especially if your job includes running up and down 5 floors of stairs, 30+ times a day. Up till the uniform change, I guess they were acceptable, but no longer. Larry looked at my shoes and said "You need some more... formal looking shoes... like mine." I nodded and said ok... Of course, we're paying off debts, and thinking about diapers, so I didn't chip in anything about my urgent desire to follow up on his statement. I simply stated that mine were slip resistant and sporty enough to do my job well. He didn't ignore me, but he did overlook the statement. "Mine are non-slip, and very nice work shoes, but they look like dress shoes" he said. "Tell you what. Go out, buy some of these, and bring me the receipt. I'll buy you some shoes." I turned to Ron to ask him what kind and where, because of the vagueness of the statement, and seeing the question in my eyes, Ron responded that Rockports were very nice shoes, and they had them at Dillards. Now Dillards is one of the nicest department stores in town. Comparable with Marshall Fields of Chicago. I said "Yes sir. Thank you sir." and that was that.

Jeff, another one of the bellmen was part of this exchange, and as far as I'm concerned, a bigger offender in the skanky shoe department, so he was included in the offer as well.

I went home, and when Sarah was almost ready to go tutor, I picked Jeff up, we went to Dillards and bought some Rockports. And so, I obtained my first, really nice pair of dress shoes, and I did so on the generosity of what is turning out to be my best job yet. Other than seeing naked men, consoling crazies, and trying to find someone to drive any stickshifts I may need to bring up.

P.S. Neil Armstrong is staying in our hotel tonight. I truly hope I get to meet him tomorrow. He's in town for a retired Navy group who are celebrating some sort of anniversary.

Crazies, interviews and major league baseball.

Well, today goes down in Jim-history as one of my weirdest with the Antlers Hilton. As the faithful readers know, I was to meet with (and did meet, just in case you were worrying) the VP of our company for my final interview for the management position, before they make an offer. Waking up this morning, I was positive that the interview would be the most unusual thing that would happen during the day. I was of course, wrong.

The day started out with a mumble. One of our guests forgot to mention when checking in, that she was, in fact, crazy. Last night, after checking in and paying cash, she tried to make several calls from her room. Because of her cash deposit, and lack of credit card, she was unable to, and complained to the front desk. She was told that a credit card would enable her to call from her room, and that there were payphones downstairs if she needed to call someone. They also told her not to worry, and that if there were an emergency, she would be able to contact 911 from her room. So she called 911. To let them know that the hotel wouldn't let her call people. Cops showed up. Handled things. She went back to her room.

This morning, she sat in the lobby for 3 or 4 hours, talking to herself, and randomly blurting things at random strangers. Finally, before she left, she started accusing everyone she saw of being her taxi driver, and forcing her to be late to her very important meeting. I even heard one lady apologize to her.

Later on, another guest who will be staying with us for a month rambled on about differing subjects. About how she's a poet, who has been forced against her will from the Sheriton. So she'll be with us for the next month. You can tell that she has interaction issues, but the nice thing is that she knows it. She pulled me aside today, and asked me to strike up a conversation with her if I notice her roaming the halls looking for someone to share poetry with. Because, she said, she will occasionally try to talk to people she shouldn't or share poetry with people who hate art. I felt like quoting Napoleon Dynamite... "I know what you mean."

She's sweet though, and knows she's crazy, so there's somethin we got goin for us.

A few hours later, I was just back from running a car up when a customer asked me to take him down to his car, parked in valet, because he needed to ship some things from the trunk. He looked like this. (Except not glowing...) So I helped him out, and on our way back, I asked him how long he'd be in the Springs. "Just today. Tomorrow I'm in Boston... then LA... I'm busy this week. But at least I get to see a couple baseball games." That's cool. What was his business I enquired? "I own a baseball team." Very matter of fact. Not pretentious... must be a minor league team. "So which team is that sir?" I asked. "The White Sox." and he added "world champs!" quietly while pumping his fist lightly for emphasis. My jaw dropped. But... it had been a day of crazies, and a gentleman, claiming to own the world champion baseball team was not as weird as some of the stuff that had happened, so I retained my doubts... but he really was who he said he was... He even signed his business card for me... I told him I'm a fan, and of our onesie war. (Sarah's family and friends have been sending us onesies for the baby. Some Sox, some Cubs...) And the debate over whether the baby will be a Sox or Cubs fan... he laughed. We had a good talk, and I shipped his FedEx.

Well... while you were reading this. I was eating dinner. Pretty cool huh? Bet you didn't even know.

Well, later on this morning, after I got off work, I had my interview with Larry V. Everything went great, and he said that he's going to get together with the folks I met with last week, and discuss what they're going to offer me. So there it is. On the table... I'll let you know when I know more.

Peace

Big news.

Well, I did promise some big news on the way, and even though it's not all the way solid yet... it's time.

A few weeks ago, at the hotel, I was approached by the head of human resources, who asked me if I'd be interested in a different job at the hotel. I've had the valet supervisor position in my sights since I started, and it has been pretty much assumed that I would step into that job fairly soon.

I told her I'm always interested in new opportunities, and she said that she had recommended me for the position of management trainee. It's a job that's only been filled once before, and the guy that had the job is the son of the owner of the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs' most respected resort. His dad wanted him to have a job that would enable him to see every aspect of the hotel business, and wanted it to happen at a place where he wouldn't be "the owner's son" so he chose us. I told her absolutely, and she set up an interview with herself later the next week. The job would consist of moving from department to department, 3 months or so at a time, and learning the ropes. It's an amazing opportunity, and I'm thinking about it heavily.

Robin's interview was really boring, but had some decent info. She was happy with it, and set up interviews with the 4 top people at our hotel.

I had those interviews on Thursday and Friday. PJ, the highest ranking of the folks I met with, is the sales manager for the entire company. She is amazing. Working with her would be a gigantic learning experience in and of itself. Her knowledge, and intuition of positioning alone is unparalleled in the company. It's been said of her that she could be vice president of pyramid (our owning company) in a breath.

My interview with her came first, but the great thing is that I've interviewed with her before. The day I applied for a job at the Antlers, I initially applied for the job of sales assistant (a secretary, but I didn't know that) and she said I could have the job if I wanted, but I was like her, and I'd go nuts in a week, inputting data, and setting up appointments. She sent me down to Peter at the front desk, and the rest is history. The second interview went incredibly well. She feels as though she knows me, and basically laid out what the job would look like for me. She said I wouldn't be bored, because in many ways, it's crisis management. They'll send me into a department that's hemoraging, and throw me in the middle of it yelling "have fun! learn alot! do well!" Which is precicely what I want. I've often said that I do great in a crisis. It's regular life I have trouble with. The last guy did a great job in that kind of environment, and apparently I've been compared with him quite often in management circles.

I moved on from PJ to our controller, Colin. He is a really cool guy, for being an accountant. He had even more insight into the job, and asked alot of really good questions. At one point in the interview, he said "I'm not calling your knowledge of 'hospitality' into question, pretty much anybody here will say that if anyone at our hotel knows what hopitality is, it's you." I was pretty stoked. He went on to ask if I thought I'd be up to discipline as part of the job, but I was able to use several instances from my time as a manager for Starbucks to settle that subject. I actually enjoy getting things straightened out. I see it as helping the group, not attacking the individual. If they're making everybody else's jobs harder, it ends up hurting them too.

My next interview lasted an hour, as opposed to the half hour interviews so far. I met with the hotel manager, Ron. Ron and I have had countless conversations, and I really appreciate his input. He runs the hotel very well, and is the best person I've seen in that kind of position. We talked a bit about the job, and then moved on to what Sarah and I want for the future. Ron shared some stories, and we talked about what I would need to do, and the mindset I would need, "when" I got the job. He said "when" instead of "if" three times. I couldn't feel more confident about things at that point.

My fourth interview took place yesterday with the head of food and beverage. He ranks lower than the others, but I would almost definitely end up in the restaurants first if I take this job. The food and beverage part of our hotel is really hurting for quality people lately, and needs help. I think that it was set up so Frank could judge whether I would fit with the crew. He and I are already quite aquainted, so it ended up with him monologuing for quite awhile. I interjected when needed, but I think he's pretty set on me, and that's what matters in this case, so I'm happy.

My last interview is with Larry V. the vice president of Pyramid, and that happens on Tuesday. Larry and I have a great repoire, and he was the one that read the letter from the customer at the company wide meeting. The one that was about me. He knows me, and my attitude, so I'm pretty excited about getting to interview with him.

Now, the job is an 18 month commitment, and after that, they'll offer me a management position where I excelled, and where there's a position available. At this moment, I'm just excited to learn the ropes in every corner of the hotel.

Well, that's the scoop. It's pretty big. Sarah was mentioning to me the other day that this has never happened for us until now. I always invest a ton in my employer, try my hardest, and generally I'm applauded, but never paid more. I've not been approached for anything like this in such a serious manner before, and we are excited to see where it leads.

It's amazing that just 3 months ago, I was out of a job, trying to find a way to pay our rent and eat... God is so good, and has sustained us. Soon we hope to have everyone paid off, that helped us, and on our way to being stable.

Thanks again everybody for your support, and your continued prayers. We love you.