On the way home from the Thanksgiving weekend, I stopped into my old neighborhood.  Vicki, I, and the kids parked the car in front of the house I grew up in and took a walk around the neighborhood.  It is amazing how fast 20 years went by.

I noticed that the people who currently live in my old house were looking out the window and checking us out.  As to not alert them, I went to the front door and let them know who I was and that I was just taking a look around.  Can you imagine how I felt when they invited me in to take a look around.  I got to walk through every room and the new owner, Kevin, and I talked about the house, history, and the Patriots.  What an experience.  It sent my mind into overdrive recalling memories and times gone past.

I thanked Kevin a number of times and then we took a walk down the street.  After a little prodding from Vicki, I knocked on the Meyer's door.  I was friends with their oldest daughter Kristen and I really wanted to say hello and catch up.  After a ring of the doorbell, Mrs. Meyer came and gave us a great greeting and asked us to come in.  We spent about an hour talking....

On the walk back to my car, I faced toward my old house, and through the woods in the distance, I saw the glow of the Gillette Stadium lights.  It was a great time.

Last night and early into this morning, Vicki, I and the kids made our annual trip north to spend Thanksgiving with my family.  It's always a grueling and tiring trip (at least for me...the sleeping arrangement works out pretty good for the rest of them).  The best trips are the uneventful ones and last night was pretty uneventful.

It will be a good to spend time with family and get caught up.

A few months ago, I replaced my Nokia 6800 with a Cingular 2125.  It has a lot of the features I was looking for and a price that can't be beat (free through Amazon with a rebate from Cingular).

Here are a few of the features that were important to me:

• Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system
• Built in camera for photos and video
• Mobile Microsoft Outlook (for calendar, contacts, tasks, etc)
• Windows Media Player
• Bluetooth
• Internet Explorer for Windows Mobile
• Expandable memory for data & music storage
• A standard headphone jack
• mini-USB jack

It does not have a few features I would have liked (WiFi, keyboard) but I wasn't willing to increase accept the increased bulk of the phone to get some of the features.  I also wasn't willing to pay the extra, not yet at least.

In addition to the new phone, I have also improved the setup with my mail so that managing my personal information is easier.  I have a Microsoft Exchange Server that stores all my information (contacts, calendar, and email) and I have configured my Cingular 2125 to synchronize with my Exchange Server for all my information.  With this configuration, all my information is kept up to date, whether I modify it on the phone or through Outlook.  With a little help from Dave Weaver, and something we like to call PopGet, I am also having all my Hotmail routed to my server.  This way all my Hotmail gets to my phone too.

It's been working out great...I hope to work on some custom applications for the phone in the near future...we'll see.

Over this past weekend, I mowed the lawn for the last time this season.   The winter months are a nice time to take a break from the yard word, mowing, weeding, fertilizing, etc.  It will have its fair share of shoveling snow (hopefully) but it will give me a number of months to focus back on projects in the house.

I know that some people get depressed during these months.  It's cold, dark, and I think people generally tend to stay inside more...less time to interact, socialize, and have some face-to-face time.

I look forward to getting together with friends...for wings, for cards, or for a movie.

There is one quality that I really like in my sons Steven and Nicholas.  When they set out to accomplish something, they keep going and  going until it's done or I tell them to stop. 

For the past 3 months, they have been working on building a rubber band ball.  They get bags and bags of rubber bands and tediously, but faithfully, spend time every day layering rubber band on top of rubber band.  I am not really sure when they want to stop...but they spend time every day trying to build the world's biggest rubber band ball (made by a seven and eight year old).

I see their tenacity when doing other things as well.  I can't help but hope that this trait stays with them as they grow.  Their ability to stay focused on a task and their passion is encouraging.  They inspire me to stay focused on and be passionate about the things I need and want to do.

They don't have the best reputation...I'm not exactly sure why.  Maybe I am one of the fortunate ones because my mother-in-law is great.  She doesn't butt-in, she watches the kids so Vicki and I can get a date in every once in a while, and she treats me like her own son.

She had surgery a couple weeks ago and spend a lot of time in the hospital.  Since Sunday, she has been staying with us.  We had a hospital bed brought in, transformed our dining room into a hospital room, and now somewhat resemble the set of ER.

I wonder how many people truly don't enjoy their relationships with their in-laws...I do and I hope she gets better soon...

"Mature" trees...that just means big and old.  I have a really "mature" tree at the back corner of my property with more leaves than you could possibly count.  When November arrives, it translates to a lot of raking for me but it means a whole lot more for the kids.   After a whole lot of raking, then the real fun begins.

I captured some video with my phone...Vicki joined in the fun...hope you enjoy...they sure did.

If I wasn't so keenly aware of my own fallibility and potential for failure, I would be even more discouraged and disappointed by the recent allegations and admission by Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals.  The recent news reminds me of an interaction I had a number of years ago that stirred similar feelings.

I was working on a pastor's computer in his office trying to correct a problem with his internet access.  I was inspecting the internet cache on his machine (where all image files from viewed internet pages are stored) and found that the computer was filled with pornographic images.  The next day, I approached the pastor and explained to him how the internet works and how every image that is viewed gets stored on his computer.  He knew pretty fast that I had discovered his secret and I was quickly reminded that all of us are susceptible to falling.

Over the next few days and weeks, we will undoubtedly hear more regarding Ted Haggard.  I will allow disappointment, discouragement, and embarrassment (for the Church) to be the impetus for personal reflection, an increased pursuit of God, and an awareness of our humanity and His holiness.

You may have noticed my new blog look.  I am trying to simplify, simplify, simplify.  Thanks to www.boston.com for the header banner and thanks to the New England Patriots for the great season so far.

I am going to start blogging again.  I have been silent for a bit due to my scatterbrained-ness and plenty of other things to do.  I have been busy at work keeping GiftWorks moving along and the family always has plenty going on.