...Now That The Dust Has Settled....

It is amazing how quickly time can pass and get away from you.  I of course knew that the last time I updated this blog was the day after my daughter was born.  I had hoped to make a few more posts after the fact, but I kept getting preoccupied with life, school, the joys of parenthood, shiny objects and pretty much anything other than this blog.  As a result it has now been THREE WHOLE YEARS and I am finally getting around to it.

When I started this blog there were originally a couple of traditions that came from it.  First was the notion of maintaining a degree of anonymity online.  Hence the reason for the woodland critter monikers.  One of my brothers did oust me in his own blog by linking to this while mentioning me in one of his posts, but this was certainly no harm no foul.  Unfortunately for me when I decided to create another blog page to use for my artistic portfolio, one which I would be sending to potential employers, it linked the two blogs together and... yeah.  It does not take much searching to see that my name is Jake Nelson now.  C'est la Vie.  Feel free to check out my portfolio blog.

Despite the ousting, I have also become endeared to the squirrely identities, so I will still continue using them in this blog.  My wife Valerie will generally be referred to as Mrs. Nutz, and I will use Peach (or even Princess Peach) when referring to my daughter Jorja.  Now its more for fun, so if you don't like it... too bad.  :)

The other tradition that started with this blog was the Thanksgiving day post.  That brings me to this entry (it isn't midnight yet so I am still kosher.)  I always looked forward to this post because it is an outlet for me to share my feelings of gratitude for the blessings I receive.  When I decided that I wanted to start writing again, I thought that this would be the best day to start again.  

While it sometimes does not feel like it, there have been some major changes in our lives these past three years.  Princess Peach has, of course, been the biggest and most prominent.  She has filled a void in my life that I never knew existed.  Don't get me wrong, I always knew that I wanted to be a father; but I was not prepared for the absolute alteration that she has brought to me.  We're talking about a shift on a molecular level.  I have since spoken with co-workers who were going to be first time fathers as well, and I have described my experience to them.  When we were in the hospital, Peach had to come via C-section, and I was mostly concerned about Mrs. Nutz.  Sure this was a routine procedure, but I have a worry-wart mentality and I was terrified of something happening to my wonderful wife.  I don't want to imply that Peach's birth made me less concerned about my wife's health, but the shift in mentality when I heard her cry for the first time was incredible.  It was as though the universe shifted and she became my center.

As an aside, while I am typing this glorious review of how wonderful my daughter makes my life, I have to walk away from the iPad, go to her room because she is still awake and playing, put on my meanest Dad face, and growl a warning that she better go to sleep.  Ahh fatherhood!

I am so thankful for my loving wife.  We have our roller coaster ups and downs (what couple doesn't) but I am so glad to have her in my life.  We've had a wonderful 8 years together and I am looking forward to many more.

Since I am also using this post to update my audience over the course of the last three years, I need to mention a few things that I was blessed to have had in my life.  First I want to mention our dog Iola.  We lost her to cancer a little over a year ago, and those emotions are still very tender.  She was such a wonderful dog, and a faithful companion to us both.  We miss her dearly, but I am so thankful that she was a part of our lives for the time that we had her.

Another large part of my life that has passed is my time at school.  Yes, I have my degree now, and I am so grateful that I have put that all behind me.  I am still working on getting my foot in the door of a studio, but having the schooling done is a HUGE load off of my mind.

Now that it is past night and technically no longer Thanksgiving I should wrap this up.  I am going to save my last thanks for my family.  My parents, and in-laws are always doing so much for us, and we are so grateful for all they do.  Also to my siblings for their help in our lives.  We are all busy in our lives, but we have each other's backs.

And at this time the last person who I would like to say thanks to is my Grandpa Christian.  My mother's father passed away a couple of years before I was born, and my Grandma remarried.  For my entire life he has been my Grandfather, and is a truly remarkable man.  This past May, after 98 amazing years, Grandpa passed away.  I was blessed to have him in my life for so long, and the lessons I learned from him will always be with me.  I am glad that my wife and daughter also got to know him (though Peach will not have many memories of him, but that means we get to tell her all about him.)

I think that about wraps up this entry.  Until next time.