It's been exactly a year since the last update. We promised more to come, as life settled down, but it never really did...David was laid off from Ashworth, and we are now moving from the West Coast to the East Coast, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from Southern California to the Washington, D.C. area. That's right, we're Maryland bound!
For the forseeable future, we will be staying with David's parents, where David lived for 12 years in Maryland. It will be nice for the kids to see their Grandparents for an extended period, and for David to re-connect with some friends. Hopefully, Patricia will be able to adjust!
Here is a picture of Oliver and Benjamin from June 30, 2007. They are seated atop a polar bear statue, just outside Benjamin's favorite exhibit at the San Diego Zoo.
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Things are going well in California. Patricia and the boys get to go to the beach quite often, and Oliver even has a surfboard! Here he is on his first day out:
More updates are to come, we promise! Things are starting to settle down to a relatively "normal" state...
Things are going well in California. Patricia and the boys get to go to the beach quite often, and Oliver even has a surfboard! Here he is on his first day out:
More updates are to come, we promise! Things are starting to settle down to a relatively "normal" state...
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
A lot has happened in the nearly seven months since Katrina. The family has now moved to Vista, California, a suburb North of San Diego (in San Diego County). It truly is an amazing area to live in, albeit expensive (especially housing!). The beach is about 10 miles away, and there are mountains with snow (and skiing) within a couple hours drive. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to live here, and hope to make this area our home for many years to come.
The means by which we were able to afford moving to southern California came by way of a great job for David. He is now one of three digitizers in-house for Ashworth, the number one golf apparel company in the world. It's really the perfect job for David; he gets to sit in front of a computer all day long!
The Embroidery Distribution Center of Ashworth (where David works) is truly amazing. They have over 500 embroidery heads, and do thousands of garments a day! To put it in perspective, Ashworth can do in one hour what would take David (with his single head machine) over a month!
Finally, a recent picture (yes, David has a LOT of work to do in the "recent pictures" area). This one is from our trip to the Grand Canyon, on our way out to California. Hopefully David will be able to do more updates soon, including some of the 3,000 pictures yet to be posted.
A lot has happened in the nearly seven months since Katrina. The family has now moved to Vista, California, a suburb North of San Diego (in San Diego County). It truly is an amazing area to live in, albeit expensive (especially housing!). The beach is about 10 miles away, and there are mountains with snow (and skiing) within a couple hours drive. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to live here, and hope to make this area our home for many years to come.
The means by which we were able to afford moving to southern California came by way of a great job for David. He is now one of three digitizers in-house for Ashworth, the number one golf apparel company in the world. It's really the perfect job for David; he gets to sit in front of a computer all day long!
The Embroidery Distribution Center of Ashworth (where David works) is truly amazing. They have over 500 embroidery heads, and do thousands of garments a day! To put it in perspective, Ashworth can do in one hour what would take David (with his single head machine) over a month!
Finally, a recent picture (yes, David has a LOT of work to do in the "recent pictures" area). This one is from our trip to the Grand Canyon, on our way out to California. Hopefully David will be able to do more updates soon, including some of the 3,000 pictures yet to be posted.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
As you have undoubtedly heard, the New Orleans area has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Our family is safe and sound in San Antonio (with Patricia's family), and we are making plans to move here permanently. Please pray for the city of New Orleans, and those who were left behind.
Please use the links to the left to contact us by email, and please understand if we do not respond right away.
As for our possessions, it is unclear whether our apartment was flooded, but if the windows broke then much of it will be lost. We are sure that our Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler were flooded, and remain in about 4 feet of water as of Monday, August 29 (according to the video shot by Fox News).
If it is possible for me to update the pictures section of the website with a few recent pictures (Oliver is 3 1/2, and Benjamin is 2 years old), I will try. I know all of the pictures here are at least 2 years old, and many people have asked me, "when are you going to update the site?" Well, there are other things to tend to now, but I may be able to find the time...
As you have undoubtedly heard, the New Orleans area has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Our family is safe and sound in San Antonio (with Patricia's family), and we are making plans to move here permanently. Please pray for the city of New Orleans, and those who were left behind.
Please use the links to the left to contact us by email, and please understand if we do not respond right away.
As for our possessions, it is unclear whether our apartment was flooded, but if the windows broke then much of it will be lost. We are sure that our Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler were flooded, and remain in about 4 feet of water as of Monday, August 29 (according to the video shot by Fox News).
If it is possible for me to update the pictures section of the website with a few recent pictures (Oliver is 3 1/2, and Benjamin is 2 years old), I will try. I know all of the pictures here are at least 2 years old, and many people have asked me, "when are you going to update the site?" Well, there are other things to tend to now, but I may be able to find the time...
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Just when we thought it was safe to store all our digital pictures on one hard drive (and just before we decided it might be a good idea to make a backup copy of the 2,000+ family photos), the "REGISTRY" goes bad and the computer becomes worthless. David can't think of a good way to explain what a "REGISTRY" is (read: David has no idea what a "REGISTRY" is), so let's just say that it's necessary and doesn't work anymore.
The computer has been sent to Terran Systems for repair, and hopefully the files will be recovered in-tact. Apparently, there is no way to return the computer to it's former state; it must be totally erased, starting from scratch.
All that being said, we had a lot of new pictures to post, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we will have to wait before we can put them up.
Just when we thought it was safe to store all our digital pictures on one hard drive (and just before we decided it might be a good idea to make a backup copy of the 2,000+ family photos), the "REGISTRY" goes bad and the computer becomes worthless. David can't think of a good way to explain what a "REGISTRY" is (read: David has no idea what a "REGISTRY" is), so let's just say that it's necessary and doesn't work anymore.
The computer has been sent to Terran Systems for repair, and hopefully the files will be recovered in-tact. Apparently, there is no way to return the computer to it's former state; it must be totally erased, starting from scratch.
All that being said, we had a lot of new pictures to post, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we will have to wait before we can put them up.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Things are going well for Benjamin, as he is nearly eight (8) weeks old. He had so much hair in the first few weeks he was home, but he is loosing a lot of it on top right now (pictures will be posted some time in the next week or so). He is only two months old, and already suffering the effects of male-pattern baldness!
Oliver loves his brother so much, and gives him kisses and hugs all the time. He even likes to hold the bottle for Benjamin! No matter how tight we wrap him, Benjamin is able to get at least one hand and one foot out of the blanket(s). It's at these times that Oliver likes to grab his hand or foot; he especially likes Benjamin's toes!
Patricia is glad to be back at work for Drago's. It's fun there, and they serve the best dish in all of New Orleans: Charbroiled Oysters.
David's search for a job continues, though the prospects are looking much better these days. A lot more phone calls and interviews, but no offers as of yet. Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers, and let us know if you have any job leads. In the meantime, please visit David's new online store, Cornucopia. There is a number of unique gifts and collectables to choose from.
Thursday, August 7, 2003
As David is looking for a career change, Patricia is getting set to go back to work. After a short seven weeks of maternity leave, she is ready both physically and mentally (read: work is an every day vacation from screaming kids). Now the challenge is finding suitable (read: cheap) daycare for Oliver and/or Benjamin. Patricia's family is helping out a lot (THANK YOU!), but we know the burden of taking care of both of them at once might just be a little too much to ask.
As for David's job search, it is moving along at a snail's pace. If you think you might be able to help out, take a look at his resume. Also, please feel free to email David if you know of any jobs that he might qualify for.
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Well, the Chapman family is in need of prayer...David was laid off from his job at General Marine Leasing today, where he has worked for the past two years. He did inside sales, outside sales, estimating, project management, marketing, and business development for the company, and also was WebMaster and general Photo Editor. While he has considered sabotaging the website, this would likely prove to be a bad career move (black and white stripes do not look good on David).
If you would like to view his resume, click here. Please feel free to email David if you know of any jobs for which he might qualify.
Thursday, July 3, 2003
We've decided to rename Benjamin...his new name will be, "Mini Me."
All kidding aside, Benjamin is finally home, and is doing quite well. Benjamin is concentrating on his eat, sleep, pooh routine, Oliver is dealing with the fact that he has a new brother helping teach mom how to pump milk, Patricia is dealing with the fact that she has to pump and/or feed Benjamin every three hours, and David is struggling to do all the "household" chores, even though he is not at work this week (including laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.). Actually, the only thing David has done towards accomplishing these tasks is think about them; this is his struggle.
The Chapman household is currently full and life, as we will know it for the next 18 years, has only just begun...
Monday, June 30, 2003
Benjamin is doing well, now. He came off his feeding tube last night (they had taken it out of his mouth when we visited last, but they had to give him another one, this time through the nose...this is what you see in the latest pictures). This is a big step towards coming home!
The doctor called us this morning to give us the latest update, and he said that Benjamin is still having some difficulties. Nothing major at this point, but he thinks Wednesday will be his "coming home" date. They want to do a "sleep study" on him tonight, and make sure that he is gaining weight. He is now about seven (7) ounces less than he was at birth. It's normal for the baby to lose weight directly after birth, but they want to be sure he is gaining before he goes home.
Friday, June 27, 2003
Patricia came home yesterday, and is feeling better overall. While her recovery is still painful, she says that it's not as bad as with Oliver.
This morning the nurse in the NICU called and told us that Benjamin was off the oxygen dome! She said that he was doing fine, and had been off for forty minutes, and looked like he would be able to stay off the oxygen (previous attempts had failed). We went to the hospital soon thereafter, and he was doing great! He had been off the oxygen the whole time, and while we were there the nurse removed the feeding tube (they had been giving him a bottle, but had the tube just in case).
We took Oliver to see Benjamin, and he was really excited. At times he was subdued, and wasn't sure what to think or do...We are sure he knows where the baby came from, though. During much of Patricia's pregnancy (particularly when she really began to show), Oliver would touch her stomach and say, "ba-by?" and kiss her belly, sometimes turning his head to listen to the baby. Ever since the birth, in the hospital and at home, Oliver has not said "baby" with regard to Patricia's belly. He hasn't even approached her, wanting to touch it (which he did a lot, even just a week ago). He is so SMART!
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
The big news is Benjamin Andrew Joseph Chapman, born June 22, 2003. Here is his "birth day" picture (on the right), next to Oliver's "birth day" picture:
Complications had brought Patricia to the hospital three times in as many weeks, as was the case on Sunday the 22nd. We arrived some time after 2:00 AM, and her doctor was actually there! He was on call, and had just finished delivering a baby. He decided quickly that we were going to have our baby that morning as well, and Benjamin was born at 4:03 AM.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
The process of updating the website is slower than Forest Gump solving trigonometry problems (or a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter). My apologies to anyone who actually reads this website, and especially those who are waiting to see new pictures of Oliver.
I have finally established a static IP for my computer, but have yet to set it up as an html client. The reason I need to do this is the sheer volume of recent pictures that I have, and their filesize. I have over 1 GB of pictures, and more to come! This makes it rather impossible for me to store my files at Terran Systems, though I will still host the website there. Okay, enough of this nonsense, and on with the real news:
Patricia is pregnant again, and we are having another boy! He is due July 20th, and we have already decided his name will be Benjamin. We are looking forward to this new addition, and welcome your prayers and support. Hopefully I will be able to update the site properly during my time off from work once the baby is born (yeah, right!).
I hope to have the site redone, and updated properly soon, but, as you can imagine, time is something of a scarcity in the Chapman household.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
A lot has happened since I last updated the site. Oliver is almost one year old, but I still only have up to 8 months on this website. I will be hosting the site from my home computer soon, so you should see it updated fully by year's end.
Since the last update, I have had surgery on my back (ouch!), Patricia and I have gotten married (woohoo!), I bought a Jeep Wrangler (sweet!), and wrecked my Jeep Wrangler (dang!). I should be getting the Jeep back in a couple weeks, but I destroyed the other guy's F-150 in the process.
Keep checking back for more updates to the site, especially in the new year. I hope to have over 500 pictures of Oliver, as well as some video clips.
Friday, July 12, 2002
Getting the website going again, after approximately 2 years. A lot has happened in that time! I will have more details here shortly...I don't imagine anyone is reading this, but it's fun to imagine that someone is...
Things are going well for Benjamin, as he is nearly eight (8) weeks old. He had so much hair in the first few weeks he was home, but he is loosing a lot of it on top right now (pictures will be posted some time in the next week or so). He is only two months old, and already suffering the effects of male-pattern baldness!
Oliver loves his brother so much, and gives him kisses and hugs all the time. He even likes to hold the bottle for Benjamin! No matter how tight we wrap him, Benjamin is able to get at least one hand and one foot out of the blanket(s). It's at these times that Oliver likes to grab his hand or foot; he especially likes Benjamin's toes!
Patricia is glad to be back at work for Drago's. It's fun there, and they serve the best dish in all of New Orleans: Charbroiled Oysters.
David's search for a job continues, though the prospects are looking much better these days. A lot more phone calls and interviews, but no offers as of yet. Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers, and let us know if you have any job leads. In the meantime, please visit David's new online store, Cornucopia. There is a number of unique gifts and collectables to choose from.
Thursday, August 7, 2003
As David is looking for a career change, Patricia is getting set to go back to work. After a short seven weeks of maternity leave, she is ready both physically and mentally (read: work is an every day vacation from screaming kids). Now the challenge is finding suitable (read: cheap) daycare for Oliver and/or Benjamin. Patricia's family is helping out a lot (THANK YOU!), but we know the burden of taking care of both of them at once might just be a little too much to ask.
As for David's job search, it is moving along at a snail's pace. If you think you might be able to help out, take a look at his resume. Also, please feel free to email David if you know of any jobs that he might qualify for.
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Well, the Chapman family is in need of prayer...David was laid off from his job at General Marine Leasing today, where he has worked for the past two years. He did inside sales, outside sales, estimating, project management, marketing, and business development for the company, and also was WebMaster and general Photo Editor. While he has considered sabotaging the website, this would likely prove to be a bad career move (black and white stripes do not look good on David).
If you would like to view his resume, click here. Please feel free to email David if you know of any jobs for which he might qualify.
Thursday, July 3, 2003
We've decided to rename Benjamin...his new name will be, "Mini Me."
All kidding aside, Benjamin is finally home, and is doing quite well. Benjamin is concentrating on his eat, sleep, pooh routine, Oliver is dealing with the fact that he has a new brother helping teach mom how to pump milk, Patricia is dealing with the fact that she has to pump and/or feed Benjamin every three hours, and David is struggling to do all the "household" chores, even though he is not at work this week (including laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.). Actually, the only thing David has done towards accomplishing these tasks is think about them; this is his struggle.
The Chapman household is currently full and life, as we will know it for the next 18 years, has only just begun...
Monday, June 30, 2003
Benjamin is doing well, now. He came off his feeding tube last night (they had taken it out of his mouth when we visited last, but they had to give him another one, this time through the nose...this is what you see in the latest pictures). This is a big step towards coming home!
The doctor called us this morning to give us the latest update, and he said that Benjamin is still having some difficulties. Nothing major at this point, but he thinks Wednesday will be his "coming home" date. They want to do a "sleep study" on him tonight, and make sure that he is gaining weight. He is now about seven (7) ounces less than he was at birth. It's normal for the baby to lose weight directly after birth, but they want to be sure he is gaining before he goes home.
Friday, June 27, 2003
Patricia came home yesterday, and is feeling better overall. While her recovery is still painful, she says that it's not as bad as with Oliver.
This morning the nurse in the NICU called and told us that Benjamin was off the oxygen dome! She said that he was doing fine, and had been off for forty minutes, and looked like he would be able to stay off the oxygen (previous attempts had failed). We went to the hospital soon thereafter, and he was doing great! He had been off the oxygen the whole time, and while we were there the nurse removed the feeding tube (they had been giving him a bottle, but had the tube just in case).
We took Oliver to see Benjamin, and he was really excited. At times he was subdued, and wasn't sure what to think or do...We are sure he knows where the baby came from, though. During much of Patricia's pregnancy (particularly when she really began to show), Oliver would touch her stomach and say, "ba-by?" and kiss her belly, sometimes turning his head to listen to the baby. Ever since the birth, in the hospital and at home, Oliver has not said "baby" with regard to Patricia's belly. He hasn't even approached her, wanting to touch it (which he did a lot, even just a week ago). He is so SMART!
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
The big news is Benjamin Andrew Joseph Chapman, born June 22, 2003. Here is his "birth day" picture (on the right), next to Oliver's "birth day" picture:
Complications had brought Patricia to the hospital three times in as many weeks, as was the case on Sunday the 22nd. We arrived some time after 2:00 AM, and her doctor was actually there! He was on call, and had just finished delivering a baby. He decided quickly that we were going to have our baby that morning as well, and Benjamin was born at 4:03 AM.
Considering he was four weeks early, it was a bit of a surprise that they were going to take him to the regular nursery. Not long after he made it there, they decided to transfer him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). He was "hooked up" to all sorts of things, including a C-PAP machine to assist him in breathing. This was the main reason he was transfered to the NICU; he was struggling to maintain his breathing, and it was rapid and erratic. Only a few hours later, he was taken off the C-PAP and given an oxygen "dome."
Patricia struggled for a few days through the initial recovery. As of writing this (just three days after the birth), she was only starting to feel better. She is doing well overall, as is Benjamin. Patricia will be home Thursday, and we hope that Benjamin will be able to come home very soon. The doctors say that once he is able to breathe comfortably without the oxygen, he will be ready to come home.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
The process of updating the website is slower than Forest Gump solving trigonometry problems (or a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter). My apologies to anyone who actually reads this website, and especially those who are waiting to see new pictures of Oliver.
I have finally established a static IP for my computer, but have yet to set it up as an html client. The reason I need to do this is the sheer volume of recent pictures that I have, and their filesize. I have over 1 GB of pictures, and more to come! This makes it rather impossible for me to store my files at Terran Systems, though I will still host the website there. Okay, enough of this nonsense, and on with the real news:
Patricia is pregnant again, and we are having another boy! He is due July 20th, and we have already decided his name will be Benjamin. We are looking forward to this new addition, and welcome your prayers and support. Hopefully I will be able to update the site properly during my time off from work once the baby is born (yeah, right!).
I hope to have the site redone, and updated properly soon, but, as you can imagine, time is something of a scarcity in the Chapman household.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
A lot has happened since I last updated the site. Oliver is almost one year old, but I still only have up to 8 months on this website. I will be hosting the site from my home computer soon, so you should see it updated fully by year's end.
Since the last update, I have had surgery on my back (ouch!), Patricia and I have gotten married (woohoo!), I bought a Jeep Wrangler (sweet!), and wrecked my Jeep Wrangler (dang!). I should be getting the Jeep back in a couple weeks, but I destroyed the other guy's F-150 in the process.
Keep checking back for more updates to the site, especially in the new year. I hope to have over 500 pictures of Oliver, as well as some video clips.
Friday, July 12, 2002
Getting the website going again, after approximately 2 years. A lot has happened in that time! I will have more details here shortly...I don't imagine anyone is reading this, but it's fun to imagine that someone is...