I am pleased to introduce Cookie, affectionately nick-named by his big brother. What an awesome day for our family! We are so pleased and excited with this news. Jake will now have someone to wrestle besides me, in a few years of course. On top of that, we get to re-use all of the boy stuff. We saved thousands today!

Now, if we could only come up with a name.

What we like so far: Ryan Andrew, Scott Andrew, Luke Aaron, Joshua Anthony, and Justin Anthony. Any suggestions?

Wow - about a half an hour until I head out to the Baby Dr. to find out what we are having, boy or girl. I am rooting for a boy, but will be happy with either. Having a boy would be cheaper as we already have all the boy stuff.

The anticipation is killing me, not to mention the flu like symptoms I've had for two days. I truly believe in the psychosomatic medicine, and feel that these symptoms I've had are due largely to the anxiety I'm feeling about the baby.

It's so scary, I just want everything to be OK. I only want the baby to be happy and healthy just like Jake. Jake is excited to be a big brother, and Cathy and I to be Parents to another one. What a miracle. Stay tuned...

Whenever I hear this song, it brings me to tears. It really is a sad song. Time slips by, and before we realize it, the moments are gone. Never can we go back. That is why each minute of each day must count. I never want to be too busy, tired (insert excuse here) for my kids. It's not easy sometimes. Selflessness doesn't just happen.

Don't allow this to happen in your lives. These precious moments - each experience and stage of life - can only be lived once.

Cat's in the Cradle
by Sandy & Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Today I spent the day with my family, and cherished every moment. Being a Dad is the best. And I am thankful to be so blessed. Thank-you for making my Father's Day great!

Father's Day has special meaning to me as an adopted kid. I really have two Fathers, but only one Dad. This is what I wanted my Dad, Henry Holava, to know:

June 17, 2004

Dear Dad –

I hope this message finds you happy and healthy. I know I don’t talk/call/write/communicate very well/often, so I decided to take a shot at writing you a letter instead. I figured I’d type it so that you could read it (my handwriting is terrible).

I want you to know how much I appreciate you, and all that you have done for our family. You and Mom have shown us, by example and through your actions, how to be a family. They should write a book about us, as a success story. We have had it all in our family, the good, the bad and the ugly. The times haven’t always been great, but also haven’t always been tough. We have persevered through it all, and we all became stronger/better people for it. You have taught me many lessons, how to be responsible and how to be a good person. You have taught me that life is hard, and that you have to work for what you want. Sometimes I didn’t agree with you and your reasons (If I only knew then how right you were), but as an adult and parent myself, I now understand.

You truly are a great man, one of the most selfless, loving and caring people that I know. Not many people are caring enough to adopt children and treat them like their own. And although you did not give me life, you are my Dad, and you gave me a life. That is the greatest gift. I hope I can instill your greatest qualities in my children.

This Fathers Day, and all of your days, I want you to know how much I love you and how proud I am to have you as my Dad.

Happy Fathers Day!

Thank-you Dad.

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Great how to on ASP formMailer handlers. Check out the Contact Us form to see it in action. Code re-use is the way to go. Let's not re-invent the wheel...

Onion Skinned Drop Shadows: A List Apart

Just when you think it can't be done differently or better...you realize that it can be done better, cleaner, faster, etc. Goes to show you that there is more than one way to skin a cat.

This can technique can add beauty and sophistication to any site.

“Using CSS, we can stack divs together in concentric fashion, like the layers of an onion, to form a composite of anything we like.”

SU's standout attackman is named college lacrosse's top player for the second time.

By Donna Ditota
The Post-Standard

Now it's official.

Mike Powell is the best player in college lacrosse.

The Syracuse University star won the Tewaaraton Trophy that honors the best player in the college game Thursday night in Washington. Powell was selected from a final list that included Ryan Boyle (Princeton), Kyle Harrison (Johns Hopkins), Bro die Merrill (Georgetown) and Jed Prossner (North Carolina). He can now claim a collection of the trophies, having won the Tewaaraton as a sophomore in 2002.

Powell's parents, Sue and Larry, and his girlfriend attended the ceremony, held at The National Geographic Grosvenor Auditorium.

"I was really excited just to be a part of the event," Powell said late Thursday night. "It was an honor just to be on the list of nominees. And I'm very excited to have won the trophy."

Powell, 21, will leave a daunting legacy at SU.

In his four seasons in Orange, he compiled a school-record 307 points, breaking the former record of 287 held jointly by his older brothers Casey and Ryan. A four-time first-team All-American, Mike Powell joins an elite list in that category that includes Doug Turnbull (Johns Hopkins 1922-25), Frank Urso (Maryland 1973-76) and Del Dressell (Hopkins 1983-86).

He has also won three Turnbull Awards that honor the nation's top attackman. The Turnbull winner has yet to be announced this year.

This season, Powell accumulated a career-high 89 points to aid Syracuse's run to a national championship. Monday's 14-13 win over Navy provided Powell with his second championship ring in three seasons.

Earlier Thursday, the Baltimore Bayhawks made Powell the No. 1 pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft. Powell, however, maintains he needs a break from the game and will not play this summer.

Orange owes a lot to junior goalie

By Donna Ditota
The Post-Standard

After it was decided, after Syracuse had withstood a furious Navy assault to win its ninth NCAA lacrosse championship, Jay Pfeifer waded through the discarded sticks and gloves and helmets and searched for Roy Simmons III.

When he found him, amid all the debris of victory, Pfeifer wrapped the big man in a bear hug. He wanted to thank the Orange assistant for devising a defensive game plan that halted Johns Hopkins on Saturday and then discouraged Navy two days later.

But on Monday, Simmons and the rest of the Orange should have been thanking their junior goalie.

Pfeifer made 15 saves, a few of them doorstep denials, on college lacrosse's biggest stage, helping SU to a 14-13 victory over the Midshipmen before a record NCAA championship crowd of 43,898. The win further cemented the reputation of SU coach John Desko, who in his six seasons as head coach has taken his teams to five national championship games and won three of them.

Read the entire article here...