Star Lighting 2009

I almost forgot ...

liveBIG will have a booth at the Castle Rock Star Lighting. Saturday, November 21st from about 2 to 6 pm. The goal is to promote street safety and raise awarness of the liveBIG Fund mission in the community.


Hope we see you there ...

I am starting my 6th month with Service Experts and the pace has increased dramatically! I am addicted to the energy and it fits well with the idea of living BIG. I will be traveling 50% of the time until November for training ... great program, but time away from the family is difficult. Thank goodness for Skype.

Now for some girl news! The first couple are camping at Rifle Falls on Labor Day - the weather was terrific:

Sabrina is working on her balance (above and below):

Look Mom - NO hands, I can sit up now!

We're 8 months now and it seems like last week we were in the NICU.

GREAT Bubbles! They make me look like I have some hair ...

Way too long!!

I started a new job at the end of April 2009 - General Manager of Service Experts of Denver. A small HVAC company specializing in residential and commercial furnace, air conditioner and water heater repair and replacement. I love the environment, culture and the people. The learning curve is steep, but the work is rewarding!

I have been remiss in updated pics of the babies - so ...

July 4th 2009

Our anniversary (July 25 - the 11th year)

The new tree and bench planted by the Town for Nicholas!

In the NEWS

This is the link to a very nice article about the liveBIG Fund and our family:

http://www.coloradocommunitynewspapers.com/articles/2009/04/16/news_press/news/23_rm_live_big.txt

Pictures by Everlasting Images Photography

Sabrina with her 'fuzzy' hair.

Sabrina makes a face.
Abby and her anchor "tattoo" - God was sending us a tool to tell them apart. The doctor says it will disappear in a couple of years.

Now that you know the secret - can you guess who this is?

Nancy Dudley of Everlasting Images Photography took these pictures (and many more). She spent the better part of three hours helping us get some memories on film (actually digital pics).

Nancy was very patient and flexible as our girls squirmed, cried, peed and generally expressed their impatience. When we returned to view the photos, a very mature young boy (about 2 years old) hugged Nancy's husband Mark in a goodbye show of affection. I think the gesture speaks volumes of their ability to connect with kids and make the sitting very comfortable and natural.

You can contact Nancy at (719) 210-2053 or on the web at http://www.everlastingimagesphotography.com. They do weddings, pets, senior portraits and of course KIDS!

BABY PHOTO SHOOTS

Over the last couple of weeks Cheryl has arranged for two separate photo shoots for the twins. First with Jamie Rich Photography. This was a silent auction purchase at the wine tasting in early November for the liveBIG Fund. Jamie has a studio in her basement and wonderful props especially for babies.

For the most part, the babies were in the buff to get those cute shots that are all the rage. Usually I am the one that calms down the babies when they get upset (Daddy's touch?). In this case, they were tired and cold so they needed a lot of consoling. In return for my efforts, they peed all over me for nearly 2 hours! It dried fairly quickly but Cheryl was shocked when I took her to lunch before going home to change. She was even more shocked when I went to the Boy Scout meeting that night with the same pants on!

The attached picture was taken by some friends of Jerry in Colorado Springs - Mark and Nancy Dudley of Everlasting Images Photography. They are just starting their venture into baby photo shoots and wanted some test subjects. The sets were crazy cool and the afternoon was enjoyable for everyone - pretty great pics too! By coincidence, the studio is LJM Photography, the same place Cheryl had pics done of her and Chris a dozen years ago.

Town Council 2009

For the last month I have been working diligently to get the word out that I am a candidate for Town Council in Castle Rock. Jeff prompted the idea a year ago and convinced me that I could make a difference. After some arm twisting and his commitment to raise money for the campaign, I agreed.

The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and the Douglas-Elbert Realtors Association both endorsed and sponsored my bid for office. Several businesses and private citizens also contributed some cash. In addition, many of my friends and neighbors helped to distribute flyers around District 3 on my behalf. To all I am grateful!

Although my bid was unsuccesful, I have learned from the experience and look forward to supporting the Town in other roles.

Whew ...

The on-line registration for the 5k is finally completed. Or at least I think it is done, it may need some tweaks to perfect. Jerry added the link to the liveBIG website and I think it will increase our efficiency for both registration as well as check-in.

Over the next two weeks we will be working hard on the sponsors and the advertising to ensure a large turn out again. I am hoping to top 450 this year!

See ya next time,
Bill

5K - May 3rd 2009

It's that time of year again, time for the liveBIG Fund annual 5k. The details are on the web at www.livebigfund.org , but we are planning some really cool additions this year:

• Seat belt convincer from the State Patrol
• Pickle's Roll 'n Ride bike rodeo and street safety program
• State Trooper cruiser on display
• Kids Bouncy arena (the big blow up variety)
• Food, ice cream and other stuff for sale
• Face painting
• Great Music

We are also trying to organize a 'dutch oven cooking contest'. I'll let you know how that goes as we get rolling.

Please set aside the time to join us. Pre register at www.livebigfund.org through the events page.

See you there!!!

Valentines Day

Abby wants to be the first to say 'Happy Valentine's Day'! Sabrina liked the gesture, but really wanted to get some sleep. Aunt Catherine supplied the shirts and it's a good thing we wore them today ... they seem to be getting a bit tight!Daddy gets his first dance with Sabrina ... watchout for my toes!

Chris won $2 on a lottery ticket for his Valentine gift. Maybe he can buy a car?

Cheryl loves holidays and this Valentine's Day marks our 11th (10 as a married couple) together. I cooked steak, asparagus and texas toast for dinner and we split a bottle of Cabernet Franc. The music in the background was mildly romantic (not too mushy for Chris).

Pictures of the Twins

Sabrina through the portal on the side of her 'isolette'.

Chris finally meets Sabrina.

Mom does a photo shoot - Can you tell who's who?

Abby and Sabrina come home

Cheryl delivered our twin girls on January 8th. Sabrina was first at 9:55 followed by Abby at 9:56 pm. The knot in the cord was amazing and the doctors were very amazed the girls not only survived, but they are thriving.

They were born at 33 weeks gestation and considered premes. At approximately 4 pounds each, they were tiny and fragile, though very healthy. Four weeks later, on Saturday the 7th of February we were able to bring them home from the hospital! It turns out that was the same day I proposed to Cheryl a dozen years before.

The first couple of days were filled with excitement and sleepless nights. Not because the babies were not sleeping - they were. Instead, because we were unprepared for the change in routine. We spent much of the late night searching for clean bottles and baby wipes, wishing we had thought further ahead and planned for proper placement of the nighttime props.

It is absolutely a labor of love.

The Beginning

It seems the start of a blog is fairly easy. Now I need to work on content and consistancy. Tomorrow ...