Michael's Update
April 22, 2007

Well, to give you an update on all the happenings around here...I have once again lost my job. My employer, New Century Mortgage, the largest sub-prime lender in the nation, went Ch 11 (bankrupt) at the beginning of this month. I had just made it to where I wanted to be, and had just started to get the paychecks that I have been sacrificing for so long. I am currently looking for a new position, and have a few leads that I'm pursuing. My brother, who worked with me, is now also unemployed.

Addison and Evan had eye infections during Easter, so we could not go to the local parade, nor participate in any of the normal fun activities. My father had a small blood clot that came loose and lodged itself in the optical nerve of his left eye, and he is now permanently blind in the lower half of his vision. My Uncle has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and a relative in Austria just underwent triple bypass heart surgery again. This is on top of my Uncle in Italy who broke his shoulder, and my Uncle and Aunt in California who got into a car accident traveling in Cambodia and ended up in the hospital.

As you will see in the pictures, my basement also decided to flood during the big storms last week. Over 6 1/2 inches across the whole basement, including Taylor's bedroom. I had to rent a dumpster, which we have already filled up. Unfortunately, all of my pictures, flight log books, taxes, etc were completely soaked. I don't know if they can all be saved, but I'm trying.  Of course the flood happened while I was in NY at a job interview!

Addison is doing very well in school. She continues with her therapy for speech, physical therapy, etc. We are still trying to track down the reason she tilts her head to the side. The latest theory is that she has vision problems, so we have some appointments to see what we can do in that arena.

Evan is absolutely into his terrible two's, and is all over the place driving us nuts. Of course, he also can be the sweetest kid on the planet, so I guess we will let him stick around a little longer.

Taylor just got back from a school band trip to Disney World in Florida, where they took 1st place. He will turn 16 in August, so he is looking forward to his driving permit. His grades improved to all A's and B's this quarter, so we are proud of him for that.

Stacey has started increasing her hours at work, to help cover expenses. This obviously creates a lot of stress with the kids, and the shuffling around of schedules, but we continue to do what we can.

I don't know why the dark cloud hangs over our household, but I continue to hope for the best in the future. I have three wonderful kids, a strong and terrific wife, and regardless of the medical situations in my family, we are all alive. I thank you all for continuously checking into this web site, as it is nice to know how many people still care.

Mike