With the new year arriving and a new baby in the house, I have had an opportunity to reflect on some of the much needed changes in my life.

• I should probably stop saying words like 'hell' and 'damn' when I think that my kids aren't listening.  Who am I kidding, they are always listening! Anyway, it isn't really fair that I get angry with them when they repeat it back to me.
  
• I want to watch television a little less.  There was a time when I read books more than I watched TV and I kinda miss that.  I guess I will have to find out later if those LOST people ever get off the island.
  

Whether or not these become actual resolutions remains to be seen.  On a different note, I recently weighed in at over 300 pounds.  An unlikely admission on my part, however it motivates me even more that you all know how fat I really am.  But with this new found quantification of my obesity I find myself at a definite crossroads...either I continue down this road of idleness and weight gain or I make a change.

Well, a miraculous opportunity has arisen in recent months and I have decided to take it.  On January 14th I begin my new employment with Fitness Ridge Resort & Spa in St. George, UT.  My new job will essentially require me to make a lifestyle change in order to adequately represent the spa as their Marketing and Public Relations Director.  In fact, my first two weeks of employment requires me to go through the spa's weight loss program.

Although I think that this job change could actually save my life, it remains a bittersweet move for me.  I have spent the last two years working with the most amazing people at CirclePix.  I am going to miss them.  I love you guys.

Is there a more perfect ornament for a fat guy?

Dear Friends,
Until now our family blog has been my feeble attempt to be entertaining and informative.  However, as of 2:21pm on 12/12/07 this blog has now shifted and become a baby blog.  You know the type, right?  Well, yesterday our little girl Olivia was born 15 days ahead of schedule.  It was a pretty easy delivery (Amie's words not mine) and we are thrilled to have the 4th and final installment of our family here.  She is so sweet and sooo beautiful.  Amie and baby are coming home this evening and upon their arrival I will post some pictures.  Here are a few fun facts from this wonderful event:

• Olivia is our lightest baby in weight at an even 7lbs.  Jake, Natalie and Spencer were all approaching 9lbs.
• Olivia came into this world extremely blue -- the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice.
• Olivia was in the hospital nursery with two other Olivia's...I guess we chose a popular name!

Thanks for the love everyone.  We are blessed to have another sweet girl in our family.

Keep in mind that these photos are minutes after being born.  She is still a bit goopy in some of them.

As many of you know, Amie and I clean commercial buildings after our day jobs.  It has its rewards and I will admit that they are mostly financial.  There are also drawbacks involved; the long hours, the lack of time off, and the often unsanitary conditions.

On Saturday we were cleaning and I was on lavatory duty.  I was wiping down the commode and getting it nice and shiny.  I glanced to my left and noticed some unexpected residue on the handicap bar attached to the wall.  I am used to washing down the bar because it usually has a plethora of fingerprints, dust and sometimes the occasional booger.  This time was different though, the residue was not something I had seen before...at least outside of the toilet.

My surprise increased as I examined the splotch further.  I said to myself, "Nah, it can't be.  No one would do that?!"  "It is though...why would someone wipe it there?!"  If you haven't guessed already, someone had wiped their feces on the bar, leaving a streak about 3 inches long.  It was evident that the culprit had missed the toilet paper (or poked through) as there was an outline of three fingers streaking along the bar.  Surprise turned to disbelief and disbelief yielded to revulsion.  I quickly sanitized the bar, wiped it down, and left the room, wishing that I never had to return.  Alas, I was there again this evening and could not help but re-live the moment.  I am hopeful that I will never have to encounter such flagrant disregard for bathroom etiquette in the workplace again.

Jacob has been wrestling with a loose tooth for a couple weeks now.  He was tired of it just wiggling all the time and came to me last night and demanded that I, "get it out already!"  My stubby fingers had trouble grasping the baby tooth and I told Jacob that he just needed to wait a bit longer.  That was not good enough for him and he returned shortly thereafter with a pair of needle-nose pliers.  Seconds later, the tooth was in Jacob's hand and he was scrambling for some tissues to stop the bleeding.  I sat there stunned.  I had never before observed a child that was so open to alternative dentistry.  The front tooth right next to it is also loose and soon Jacob will be singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"

We had a Christmas breakfast at church this morning and all of the children participated in a nativity scene.  Jacob was a shepherd and Natalie was a sheep.  They were cute and sang their hearts out to the tune of 'Away in a Manger'.  Here are some pics of our toothless shepherd and baby lamb.

Let's ignore the stereotypes for a minute....okay, maybe we won't.  The holidays are often full of cheer, egg nog, the 'better to give than receive' tagline, and the renewal of various family traditions.  Do the holidays have to include Great-Grandmother Agnes and her entire family tree though?  Last Saturday we had the occasion to attend a family Christmas party with the entire Kelsch family tree....over 140 of them...it was fun, just a little bit overwhelming with all the people.

Please forgive me if you do not feel the same way I do, but I feel that the holidays are much better spent with more immediate family.   I think that the distant family has its place, you know at the random summer picnics or something....but the holidays should be for 'family'.

So in the spirit of more immediate family, tonight we got together with Amie's parents and siblings.  We are all so busy that we rarely are able to get together.  We all ditched our kids, got babysitters and went for some food.  It was a great time.  P.S. We missed you Cam and Michelle!

What do you consider 'extended family'?

During a couple's courtship you can find out a lot about an individual.  For example, I dated a girl once that had a severe dislike for hispanic people.  Having lived in Mexico I knew right away that she wasn't for me.  Other things you might find out when dating; favorite foods, genres of music or maybe political affiliations.

I have a good friend that married a wonderful girl after an on again-off again courtship over about five years.  They have been married for about two years.  Very recently my friend found out that his eternal companion was a registered democrat...he is a devout republican.  Is this something that should have been discovered during the dating phase?  Does it really matter?

In 2002, 21% of United States households had a real Christmas tree, 48% had an artificial tree and 32% had no tree at all.  

When we first got married, Amie and I had difficult discussions on what kind of tree to use for our Christmases together.  Amie had grown up having a real tree for the holidays and I (I think on account of living in Asia where trees are sold at a premium) was used to dealing with a fake tree every year.  Needless to say, our first Christmas we settled on a real Christmas tree.  It was a great experience until the tree dried out and the needles started falling off...oh, and then there was the issue of disposing of it after the holidays were over.

We bought three small fake trees of varying heights in 1998.  They have been extremely convenient, easy to store and all without the mess.  This year Amie couldn't stand the thought of putting the lights on our three trees, and I have never really been able to do it to her satisfaction.  So we borrowed a pre-lit fake tree and we set it up this evening with the kids.  We had fun decorating it.  Here is what it looked like when we finished.

What about you?  Real or Artificial?