from waffle house

On Mondays I run down to the office in Norwood to drop off paperwork, and on days when I don't become enveloped in conversations at the office, I'm able to make a pit-stop at Waffle House on the way back home to enjoy my "staple" breakfast of a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with a side of grits paired with a glass of orange juice. Usually I enjoy my breakfast while reading whatever book (or books) I'm currently working on, but today I had my computer and decided to do a little "catch up" with things going on in my life.

The process of bringing our new house into order--turning it from a house into a home--continues, albeit at a snail's pace. Ashley and I rolled up our shirtsleeves and spent several hours working on the finished basement over the weekend, finally unpacking boxes, squaring the girls' playroom away, and generally making it livable. The garage continues to be a vast repository of boxes, but at least the house's insides are coming together. Our bedroom may still be a mess, but I've finally gotten my side mostly organized (pics to come in time!), and I found time to piece together the nautical rope shelves for the living room. I saw them on Pinterest and decided to take a stab at making my own, and I must say I'm not disappointed (you could even say I'm surprised they turned out decent, as carpentry isn't really my thing and I bumbled through most of the process):

granted, they're uneven, and the one on the right kinda tilts, but... whatever.

Work with Walk of Joy has been going well, but I've begun feeling out other positions elsewhere. It isn't that I don't love my job (I really do!), but within the next twelve months we'll likely need more income. Walk of Joy has been a fantastic place to work, and over the past five years I've gone from a lowly direct care service provider to house manager, oversight over remote clients, spearheading dealings with client guardians, working directly with the state, and being a part of the organization's leadership. I told one of my management co-workers that I was considering other jobs, and she told the CEO and the CEO called me and told me he was holding an emergency meeting with HR to try and find ways to keep me on while providing for my family's increasing needs. When the rest of the leadership team found out I was looking for other jobs, they gasped and exclaimed, almost in unison, "We can't lose Anthony!" For a long while I've been called a rock and anchor; my joy and peace has been infectious, and my mere presence in the office is like a cooling breeze. On top of all that, I actually get stuff done, and those projects under my hand run seamlessly. Needless to say, they aren't excited about me looking for other jobs, but they understand. Hopefully the CEO can work something out so I can stay on. Walk of Joy has been fantastic, and the idea of leaving nauseates me. But when you're the head of a family, you can't just stay at a job because you like it. I'm praying for guidance and opportunities; I know God wanted me at Walk of Joy, but I'm not sure if that will remain the case in the immediate future.

In the meantime Ashley, the girls, and I have been enjoying the summer (even if the heat index crawls up to 100 degrees most days). I have lots of ambitions for this summer: canoeing with Chloe, paddle boating with Zoey, and lots of hiking and a few days of fishing. Ashley and I may be taking a vacation to Denver late next month, and we're spit-balling taking the girls to Gatlinburg (they've never been). It'd be a cheap couple-day vacation to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just unwind. A temporary escape is a park we found adjacent to our neighborhood. The Shawnee Nature Park has a butterfly house, lots of trails, a creek filled with snakes, marshes, and multiple playgrounds and picnic areas. Chloe and I like to play basketball on the courts, and Zoey's all about going 'off the grid' and exploring the woods and the creek. On one of our last adventures I took a few snapshots of the girls on one of the trails:

My time here is running short.

(Or, rather, my battery is running low.)

But before I go, I must commend the girls for a wonderful Father's Day.

This is technically my first "real" Father's Day, since I adopted the girls last September, and it was filled with lots of tickling, wrestling, and cuddling. We went out to eat at Smokey Bones so I could get my loaded chicken and jalapeno nachos (I crave them at least once a month), and for once the girls got along and didn't fight. That was a Father's Day gift all its own! I kept doing goofy things to embarrass Chloe, and then Zoey jumped in with some of her antics, and we got a lot of smiles and laughs from nearby patrons. Chloe hung her head in shame and Zoey, feeding off the attention, just amped up the goofiness. It was a wonderful meal. Chloe got me a Best Dad Ever beer stein that she filled with sharpie pens (she knows what I love!), and Zoey got me yet another Star Wars mug; this one is emblazoned with the Millennium Falcon, and when it gets hot the Falcon jumps into hyperspace. While at the store she had a difficult time deciding between that mug and one that was a bust of Chewbacca; she forgot the Wookie's name, so she explained it to me as "The brown one. The sloth." She still thinks R2D2 is a robot, thanks to Ashley insisting that it's so just to tease me and mislead our children. "It's a droid, Zoey, a droid. It's significantly different from a robot." But when I begin to mark the differences, she gets bored and leaves. *SIGH* Such is fatherhood.