Camp Sexton

2014-06-29T23:04:00.002-04:00

Hey folks. I'm still here, but have been really busy lately. Most of my updates to go Facebook these days, so you can catch me there.

Take care,
Tom

I got a new toy for my birthday!!

2010-04-21T07:44:00.002-04:00

For those of you that don't have cellular capabilities built into your car stereo system, I highly recommend the Motorola MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth speakerphone! This cool little gadget clips to your visor, and allows hands-free operation of your cell phone through a bluetooth connection. Even if we weren't getting closer and closer to having laws that require handsfree cellphone operation, this device makes talking on the phone while you drive much, much safer!!

You can use the T505's speaker, which is very clear, OR you can broadcast the audio through your car's speaker system, just like a built in handsfree kit. The T505 allows you to sync up with 5 different FM channels, so you can always find a clear channel for your cell phone. You can also stream music from your cell phone through the T505, so if you've got your favorite songs stored on your phone, you can play them through your car's speaker system. I love my T505 the functionality and safety that it provides while I drive and talk.

Good article on managing debt

2010-04-09T08:32:00.001-04:00

Debt Management - 5 Principles to help you get your debt under control!

Debt consolidation and refinancing have become thriving industries in America these days. American personal debt is at the highest rate we've seen. It's hard to get credit these days, so managing your debt, and your credit score are more inportant that ever.

BusinessWeek says that total household debt in the US was more than 100% of our disposable annual income last year. The average person has more than $8000 in credit card debt.

The bottom line is that our personal debt is growing at an alarming rate. You can now charge your fast food meals at many restaurants, paying interest for years on something you consumed in one sitting. Many people have taken steps to address their debt problems, including consolidating debt to lower interest rate cards, or to home equity loans, or at worst case the dreaded "B" word, Bankruptcy.

5 Principles of Debt Management

1. Create an accurate assessment of your debt situation.
Make a list, chart or whatever you're most comfortable with, of all your debts. Be sure and include the amounts, interest rates, and expiration dates (especially on any no-interest for ## days type loans). Be sure and note any old accounts that you've got "laying around", such as that department store credit account that you opened to get the 15% discount.

You can now get a free credit report online. You should make sure that you've got a credit report and FICO score from each of the 3 national credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The FTC advises monitoring your CREDIT REPORT activity ON ALL 3 BUREAUS. Under a new Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. AnnualCreditReport.com allows you to request a free credit file disclosure (ie. Credit Report) once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. This free credit report won't include your credit score, but it does give you a consolidated list of your debts, a record of requests for your credit history, and a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Once you've gotten your free credit report, you also need to get your Credit Score. You can get your Credit Score, along with daily 3 bureau credit monitoring and other great services from FreeCreditScore.com.

2. Make a budget and stick to it!
Making a budget helps keep from increasing your debt, while you're trying to pay it down. Be specific and detailed in your budgeting. Except for emergencies, you should only be spending what is accounted for in your budget. Some people have found it helpful to keep a 30 day log of their spending. Carry a little notebook, or some index cards with you, and write down everything you spend each day. You'll probably be amazed at how much money you spend on things you want, and don't really need. The smallest things, such as that $3 cup of coffee every day, can slowly eat away at your finances. This will help keep you from getting further in debt. Your budget should define how much money you'll send to each of your creditors monthly and how much you need for bills, and how much is left for discretionary spending. Try limiting your discretionary spending to things you can buy with "pocket cash". This may be hardest thing you've ever done, but you won't get further in debt if you only spend what you have.

3. Pay off the debts one by one.
Maintain minimum payments to the rest of the debts, but pick the debt with the highest interest rate, and send extra payments to pay it off. There is a proven psychological benefit to being able to take a debt off of your list.

You should also consider replacing your credit cards with prepaid debit cards. Prepaid debit cards give you the same functionality as a credit card, but you can only spend as much as you have in the account that backs up the debit card.

4. Consider debt consolidation or debt restructuring and possibly refinancing your home mortgage.
Lower your credit card debt by 70% by consolidating. With interest rates down, it also may be time to refinance your home mortgage loan and cut your monthly payment. You can get free mortgage loan quotes at LowCostLending. When you refinance, make sure closing costs and other fees don't outweigh the savings in your monthly payment. Another option is to get a Home Equity Loan. Home equity loans are good because they allow you to deduct the interest on your income taxes. Remember though, new credit is not a license to incur new or more debts. Once you've transferred a balance by consolidating, or refinancing, don't add more charges to the old account. If you've got a lot of open accounts, you may want to close some of them, but you shouldn't necessarily always cancel the old account. Having a good payment history with a few existing accounts can be better for your credit record than many canceled and new accounts.

5. If necessary, get help.
You may choose a credit counseling service, or debt counseling and debt help service to help with each step of your debt solution. Credit counselors can add accountability to your debt solution, and also serve as a source of encouragement. They are used to dealing with people with bad credit or poor credit, and can help you create a custom debt solution. They can suggest money lenders that might be more willing to make a loan to someone with a lower credit rating. Once you start reducing your debts without incurring new ones, you'll start to see your credit score rise.

By following these simple principles, you should be able to get your debt under control, reduce it, and eventfully eliminate it. If managing your debt doesn't make it go away as fast as you'd like, you could always consider getting a new job or part time job to generate more income with which you could pay down your bills faster.

New pictures of Grayson are up!

2010-04-07T07:54:00.000-04:00

Finally got some new pictures of Grayson uploaded to his website. Not like there's a shortage these days. ;-) Check them out on his pictures page.

Finally bought a UPS - Surge Protector for my PC

2010-03-01T11:16:00.002-05:00

I finally broke down and bought a UPS/Surge Protector for my PC, monitor, cable modem and router. Not sure whether it was the router, or cable modem, but every time the power went out, my network would go down, and not come back up. The cable modem would re-establish a connection, but my PC couldn't connect to the internet. This should fix that problem. Also, I've got my PC, a 22" LCD monitor, a 19" LCD monitor, the cable modem, and the Linksys router plugged into the UPS. The UPS indicates roughly 50% capacity usage, and an estimate of 9 minutes of battery life if the power should go out. From a capacity perspective, this UPS should be fine. I did consider higher watt/VA ratings, but based on the capacity estimates showing on the UPS, this should cover it. I didn't buy this in order to keep my PC running for long periods of time during a power outtage, but to protect it and the other devices during brown-outs, and prevent reboots due to power fluctuations.

New pictures and blog entries are up on Grayson's Blog

2010-02-13T19:15:00.002-05:00

There's lots of new pictures and blog entries on Grayson's Blog. Be sure to add it to your 'favorites'. :-)

Grayson's pictures are up!!

2010-01-07T22:50:00.002-05:00

Visit Grayson's site to see a gallery of the pictures I've collected so far! http://www.gtsexton.com

Grayson Thomas Sexton

2010-01-02T17:24:00.001-05:00

Please welcome Grayson Thomas to the Sexton family. On Dec 30th at 1:14 pm, Grayson arrived weighing 7 lbs 10 ozs. He was 20.5 inches long. Both Grayson and Cher are doing great! We should be returning home tomorrow.

Our new HD Camcorder

2009-12-26T13:26:00.001-05:00

Cher and I decided that we'd buy a camcorder as our present to each other this Christmas. After much research, I decided on the Canon HF100, but quickly found that, with it already being Dec 23rd, I couldn't get that camcorder in time, because it had been discontinued, and I could only get one via TigerDirect (and with shipping it wouldn't arrive in time). I then looked at the HF200, which has replaced the HF100. Canon decreased the resolution some, but added some new features. Amazon offered overnight shipping for just $27 and I had it by Christmas eve.

So far, the HF200 has been a very simple camera to operate and use. I've taken several "test" videos, and it's very simple. Of course, there are tons of features and settings that I've yet to investigate. One thing I really like is that I can connect it to my computer via a standard USB cable, and easily copy the pictures and movies directly to my computer's hard drive. The movies are in AVCHD ( .mts file extensions) format, and the pictures in jpeg format. Also, I can take pictures while in 'movie' mode. It takes 3.3 mb pics in photo mode, and 2 mp pics in 'video/photo' mode. More to come later ......

Thursday Routine

2009-12-11T09:24:00.004-05:00

Every Thursday morning, we go in for an "Non-stress test", or NST. They strap a contraction monitor and a heart monitor on Cher, and record results for anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes. This was yesterday. We are at 36 weeks.

I thought I'd capture the moment. The room is somewhat dark, as the lights give off too much heat for Cher. For a change, Cher is usually hot when I'm cool/cold now. I'm sure that will change back in about 3 weeks. ;-) Our C-Section will be in Wed, Dec 30th, at 1pm, unless they change the time again. We were happy that they bumped us from the original time of 8:30 am, which would have meant we had to arrive at 6:30 am (otherwise known as oh-dark-thirty).

You may have to turn up the volume a bit to hear it, but you'll hear the heartbeat very softly and the "thumping" noise is Grayson hiccupping.

New pics

2009-11-24T08:54:00.003-05:00

We went for an ultrasound yesterday and everything is going great. Grayson is estimated to be about 5 lbs. The ultrasound tech says that as he gets bigger, good pictures will be harder to get, so we were fortunate to get 2 really good ones this time.

Here's a good one of his profile:

and here's one of his face:

We've chosen a date

2009-10-27T07:24:00.002-04:00

On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 Grayson Thomas Sexton will enter this world. I originally thought the Dr had said 2-3 weeks before the due date, but in our appointment yesterday, she indicated that we needed to wait until at least the 38th week. The 38th week starts on Christmas eve, so we opted for the following week.

The appointment went well yesterday and Grayson and Mommy are in great shape. In a couple weeks we start having to go in twice a week, once for an ultrasound, and once for the NST (non-stress test). Can't wait for Grayson to get here!!

New Ultrasound pics

2009-10-21T22:36:00.003-04:00

We visited the Ultrasound tech today and got great results. Grayson is the expected size, weighs approximately 3lbs, 3 ounces and is just where he needs to be!!

Here are the latest pictures of Grayson

There's a stem on that apple!!!

And this is the fist I use on Mommy's belly

You know what they say... big feet...... big shoes

I'm shy today, so I didn't feel like giving a good facial shot.

Pictures of Grayson

2009-08-25T22:38:00.006-04:00

Here are some pictures from our last 2 Ultrasound appts:

Grayson shows his "stuff".

Grayson sucking his thumb:

Grayson's profile:

It's a BOY!!!

2009-08-06T11:48:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we visited our Perinatologist for the "anatomy ultrasound". He verfied that all the limbs, organs, etc are accounted for, and in the right place, and told us we've having a boy! (pictures to come later :-) )

Our son will be named Grayson Thomas Sexton, and will be born in late December. We'll be scheduling a c-section, so I'll eventually have a solid date for everyone.

As of today, Grayson is 18 weeks old, about 5 inches long, and weighs in at roughly 9 ounces.

Another Clean Bill of Health

2009-07-09T11:19:00.003-04:00

We got the results today for the blood tests that they ran as part of our Nucal Translucency test and there are NO SIGNs of any genetic issues (syndromes, etc). This baby is on his way to a healthy delivery in January!!!

New baby picture and results

2009-07-07T20:50:00.003-04:00

On Tues, June 30th, Cher and I went in for our Nucal Translucency Ultrasound. This ultrasound is "special" as they use it to look for indications of syndromes such as Downs, Turners, etc. Cher and I were both overjoyed when the Dr gave our baby a clean bill of health. He said that the baby is developing normally, and that there were no indications of any type of health issues. We were able to count all 10 fingers, and saw that all other appendages were developing normally. At this stage, our baby is about 2.5 inches long.

In the following picture, you're looking at a side profile, while he/she is sucking his/her thumb.

They also took a small blood sample from Cher to check for any other indicators, and we expect to get those results back within a week or so. Please continue to pray for a smooth pregnancy and a healthy delivery. Cher and I feel blessed to finally have a healthy baby, and are anxiously looking forward to meeting him/her in January. We go back for our next visit on the 30th, at which point we should be able to tell the sex of our baby.

Baby Update

2009-06-16T11:20:00.002-04:00

We visited the Dr this morning for a regular checkup and were able to hear a strong, fast heartbeat. Everything is looking good. Cher is still feeling nauseous several times a day, but hopefully that will pass soon, as we're approaching the end of the first tri-mester.

Tomorrow will be 11 weeks.

In a couple weeks, we'll be going for a Nuco-Translucency Ultrasound.

Baby's first picture!!

2009-05-27T10:31:00.006-04:00

We've just returned from our first ultrasound. The Ultrasound tech said that we're off to a great start. All the measurements are as expected and the "development" process is right on schedule (ie. the formation of the skull had just started, which is in line with being approx. 7 weeks pregnant). We even saw the heartbeat today!! This was an unexpected blessing that we weren't expecting for another couple of weeks.
So, officially, tomorrow is 8 weeks. Our next appointment is Tues, June 16th.

Here's our baby's first picture.

Our due date is now Jan 7, 2010. We were previously thinking it would be in February.

We brought back a little souvenir!!!

2009-05-21T18:23:00.003-04:00

We're PREGNANT!!! Shortly after returning from our week-long journey in the Caribbean, we discovered that we're pregnant. Right now it looks like possibly February when our little miracle will join us. Our first ultrasound, well, Cher's anyway, is scheduled for Wed, May 27th.

More to come soon.........

God's Works

2008-06-17T16:43:00.003-04:00

We know that everything that has happened has been part of God's plan, and has happened for a reason, but one of our biggest struggles has been to understand how anything positive could come from our challenges. As usual, God answers our prayers if we'll only "give it up" and let Him take control. Here are a couple examples we've been made aware of that show how God uses what we consider to be tragedies as blessings in other's lives.

Hello Tom and Cher,

I have recently left the memorial for Garrett. I can't tell you how touching the ceremony was.
Cher I don't know if Tom has shared with you but I previously had problems having children. With miscarriages there is no formal ceremony for the child. So listening to the pastor today talk about the conflict of reality and faith, hurt and trust really touched me. It was a message that I needed so long ago. But, I am glad that it finally made it to me and that I was able to be blessed by it today. I have some closure.

I have been amazed at how painful the experiences were and how that pain consumed me. In my lowest moments I did not see any light. But then one day a word from my pastor got through to me, "Sometimes God will allow you to endure something so that you can be a testimony to someone else."

So I want to tell you that I know it can seem that no one understands how badly you hurt and how that hurt is effecting you. But I also know that one day it won't hurt so bad. It will still hurt, but it won't be so consuming.

Your testimony of faith and strength has been overwhelming to so many. I hear people talk around the office, so consider this a seed planted in honor of Him and your babies. I pray that your message flows through many rivers to those who can/can't relate to your particular situation, but can see through your circumstance about the strength God gives if we totally rely on Him for all our missions in life.

We're truly blessed to receive and share messages like this, as God obviously does not have to explain himself. We continue to look forward to God's plan for our lives and the wonderful blessings that it will provide. The contributor of the first feedback also told us about a song that helped her through her troubles. The song is 'In the Midst' by Yolanda Adams. Click here to listen to it (MP3 file).

Tom and Cher

Baby Garrett has joined his sister in heaven

2008-05-17T19:20:00.005-04:00

Hello all,

On Wed, May 13th Cher noticed that Garrett wasn't moving around as much as he had been in the past. Garrett has typically had 2 - 3 sessions of rolling, elbowing, kneeing, kicking and otherwise jumping around a day, but on Wed was not as active in his normally rambunctious morning session. We visited the Dr that day for our weekly visit and were able to hear that Garrett's heartbeat was running in the normal range, around 150 beats/minute. The Dr couldn't explain the decrease in activity but indicated that we should pay close attention and look for around 10 movements within 2 hours during Garrett's awake times. He said that it wasn't uncommon for unborn babies to just have one fairly active session and that would be in the evening. So on Thurs we paid close attention, and again didn't observe as much movement as in the past. Friday morning we didn't feel any movement and decided to visit the Dr. At first we used the Doppler, and couldn't hear a heartbeat. Then we used the ultrasound and were not able to see a heartbeat either. At that point Cher and I were both crushed.

Cher had carried Garrett for 38 weeks and we were so sure that God was going to grant our wishes this time and allow us to have our child. Garrett is now with his sister Caitlyn in heaven. Honestly, Cher and I are still struggling with why we've had to endure these challenges, and why we've lost 3 children now. There are no medical explanations as to why we've had 3 different "situations" where we've lost a child. Each situation has its own unique set of circumstances, and while we understand what happened in each case, we are being told that there is no commonality between the 3, and each one is a "fluke". All we know is that we've conceived 3 children now, and that each of them has left us to live with God. Cher and I have said to each other several times "Parents aren't supposed to bury their children. It's supposed to be the other way around."

This last pregnancy has been a real roller coaster of emotions. From the joy of discovering that we were pregnant, to the sorrowful news that he would have Trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome), to the glimmer of hope that maybe this time things could work out after carrying Garrett almost full term, we've run the entire gamut. We were told that Trisomy 18 babies typically don't make it to delivery, and those that do don't survive very long afterwards. Contrary to what we read and what the Drs told us, we maintained the faith and belief that God could and would deliver Garrett to us, and allow him to live out his life. Apparently this is not God's will. On that Friday when we discovered that Garrett wouldn't be joining us, we we were very confused and angry with God. Cher had some words with Him, and I couldn't bring myself to talk to God. Later that day I asked a friend if he could pray on our behalf, because I wasn't ready to talk to God yet.

Later that day, we admitted Cher to Northside Hospital. We were blessed to have several friends, my parents, and Cher's Mom and sister with us. Everybody was very supportive and praying on our behalf for a quick and safe resolution to this situation. Around 4pm the Dr. gave Cher petosin to induce labor. The petosin kicked in pretty quickly and pretty soon Cher was experiencing light contractions about once per minute. We were also fortunate enough to get a visit from a wonderful nurse that had helped us through delivering Caitlyn. Her name is Kathy Sanford. It was good to see a familiar face. That evening Cher thought her water had broken, but we discovered that she was bleeding pretty heavily. The Dr indicated that the placenta was too close to the cervix and that the expansion of the cervix was causing the placenta to tear away. The Dr indicated that we needed an emergency c-section and that there was a possibility that Cher could hemorage and bleed out. Also, since she had lost a lot of blood, they could not give her the epidural. I was scared to death at the possibility of losing Cher, but tried to maintain composure in order to deal with the situation. Also, still being angry with God over losing Garrett, it was hard to turn to him regarding Cher's surgery. After losing Garrett, I was now faced with the potential to lose Cher too. At 11:25 Cher was taken into surgery. We were told that the procedure was complicated because of the proximity of the placenta to the cervix and that the procedure would take about an hour. Shortly after taking Cher back to surgery, the nurse returned to ask what should be done with Garrett.

In the midst of facing losing Cher, I was now being asked what I wanted to be done with Garrett. Luckily Kelly was so supportive and reminded me that Cher had not had the chance to experience certain things with Caitlyn and that I needed to wait until Cher was out of surgery and awake before we saw, dressed and measured Garrett. I asked the nurse to hold Garrett until both Cher and I were available to see him.

God was watching over Cher and about 20 minutes after taking Cher back, the nurse returned to indicate that the procedure was finished and they were closing Cher up. The surgery had gone very smoothly and Cher was going to be fine. Unfortunately, though, Cher would be in a good bit of pain for the first few hours after the surgery. That was the understatement of the century. For the next several hours, several of us stood by Cher, fanning her to make her more comfortable, rubbing her feet, and trying to talk to her to encourage her and keep her mind off of the pain. It was brutal to watch Cher laying there moaning from the pain!! We prayed over Cher for healing and for God to remove the pain for the next several hours. Around 2pm that morning Cher was finally to a point where she wasn't in constant pain and could relax and eventually go to sleep. The nurse indicated that if someone not in Cher's situation had even a 10th of the drugs that Cher was being given, they would be knocked out cold. Around that time, the nurse again asked me what should be done with Garrett. She had not yet taken him down to the morgue and wanted to know if I would like to see him. I did want to see him, and also allow everyone that had been through everything along with me to see him, so I asked if he could be brought out. The nurse brought him out to us wrapped in a blanket. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He had a full head of hair, and only the slightest evidence of the Trisomy 18 syndrome. He was missing both thumbs and his hands were turned inward due to the missing radial bones in both forearms, but he was perfect in my sight. Even thought Cher had just been able to fall asleep after all her pain, I knew she had to see him. I carried Garrett back down to Cher and placed him in her arms. She was literally "glowing" when she saw how beautiful little Garrett was. She immediately noticed that Garrett had her cute little button nose. We also discovered that he had very big feet. After everyone had held him and we took tons of pictures, most everyone left, and Cher and I settled in for a few hours of sleep.

The next morning when we woke, the nurse came in and we weighed, measured and dressed Garrett. He weighed 4 lbs, 12 ounces and measured 17 inches from head to toe. We are guessing that he stopped growing about the 34th week, due to the Trisomy 18 syndrome. My Mom had brought the Christening outfit and shoes that I had worn as a baby, and we put them on Garrett. He was such a handsome little guy.

Cher was still feeling some pain, but the nurse told her that she needed to start moving more and should be sitting up and even standing on her own within 12 hours of the surgery. At about the 16 hour mark, after our "assigned" nurse let us sleep for several hours that day, we got a visit from Kathy who motivated Cher to get up and going. At that point, Cher was a real trooper and rolled from her back to her side, and soon after that was sitting up on the bed. I could tell that Cher was still in considerable pain, but she was working through it. Later that day, Cher took the short walk to a wheelchair, and we moved upstairs to a new room. Our new nurses informed us that within 2-3 days of the surgery, Cher should be ready to check out. As Cher was still in considerable pain, we weren't too sure of the nurse's claims. Just as the nurse had promised, though, after the light activity of moving to the new room, and the first visit to the rest room on her own, Cher was feeling 100% better. After that Cher continued to improve very quickly and is now up and walking the halls. We've had many visits from friends and constant reminders of how many people were praying for us throughout our ordeals. Regardless of the confusion and anger that we've held against God, He has continued to comfort us and provide for us through skills of the doctors, compassion of the nurses, and the love and comfort of our friends. Cher is doing so well that we probably could have checked out today, and had a nurse visit us tomorrow at home to take out the staples. I wanted Cher to stay here in the hospital though, until the staples were removed, so we'll be checking out tomorrow morning.

Today I visited Patterson's Funeral home to arrange for Garrett's cremation. We will be having a memorial service at 11AM on Tues, May 20th at Mount Paran North. Our love and thanks go out to Whitney Till for coordinating and arranging this service for us. We are having an open casket viewing before the service and afterwards, Garrett will be cremated.

Throughout this ordeal, our faith has been extremely challenged by our circumstances, but God has never left our side, even when we didn't want to speak with Him. Although we still don't understand the "why", we know that everything that has happened has been part of His overall plan. We know that He has guided the surgeon's hands to rescue Cher from a dangerous physical condition, He has surrounded us with friends and family to support and comfort us, He has given us the strength and resolution to overcome our challenges, and He has spared Garrett from living a life of challenges and complications caused by Edwards Syndrome. Even though we are extremely sad about losing Garrett, we know that he is now in a better place, and that his time here on earth is somehow part of God's perfect plan for all of us. We plan to continue trying to have a child, and believe that God will one day bless us with a little boy or girl, or both.

Our thanks and love go out to everyone that has supported, loved and prayed for us in our time of trouble. We especially extend our special thanks and love to those folks that stayed by our side during our critical time in the hospital (Cher's sister Kelly, Cher's Mom Darlene, Lynette, Leianne, Sheree, my parents Gene and Jane, and Whitney!!)

Love,

Tom and Cher

Today's Service

2008-05-11T23:36:00.004-04:00

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers that God has blessed us with!!

I just wanted to give a little praise report from our church service today. This morning Pastor Mark revealed the fact that for the last 3 years, Mt Paran has been working on a 'Memorial Garden' for children that have gone on to see Jesus "before their time". Cher and I were both in tears for much of the service, remembering our little Angel, Caitlyn that left us in Dec, 2006. The Memorial will feature a wall/board where plaques will be posted for these children. After church today, Cher and I went to see the little memorial and agreed that we'd purchase one of the plaques in honor of Caitlyn. We asked how to go about it and were ready to proceed tomorrow when someone was around to take our request.

This afternoon, our choir director called to check on us, and to say that an anonymous church member had requested to pay for a plaque for us to remember Caitlyn by. Again, Cher and I were both in tears. The love and prayers that have been shared with us throughout our ordeals have kept us going and have been ample evidence of God's wonderful presence, but as you can see, He just keeps on giving!! We're so blessed to be part of such a wonderful church, filled with God-filled people that love and care themselves, but also allow God to work through them in ways such as this.

Love,
Tom and Cher

5-8-08 Update on Garrett

2008-05-09T18:24:00.003-04:00

Cher and I went for the weekly Dr visit yesterday. Everything is looking great! Cher is dilated 1 cm, which is normal for this stage in the pregnancy. Garrett is a regular mexican jumping bean and when he's awake, he's moving!

Our due date is the 29th, but we're packed and ready should Garrett decide to make an early showing. Keep us in your prayers for a quick and painless delivery.

Love,
Tom and Cher

How to Pay for College

2008-04-29T07:44:00.002-04:00

Come check out my newest web site http://www.topayforcollege.com.

Please feel free to critique it and send me your feedback. Better yet, hopefully you know someone who could benefit from the information it contains, and pass it on. :-)

Thanks,
Tom