Shawna and I were married in September of 1996. I worked in the Twin Cities, MN while she went to graduate school and became a Doctor of Pharmacy. We then lived in Memphis, TN for a year while Shawna did a year of residency. (I loved it there. Bit of a culture shock for an Iowa farm boy and his Minnesota wife.) We then lived in Boston, MA for a year while Shawna did a year of residency at Boston Children's Hospital. (We HATED it there. Long story.) (All this time, I was a computer programmer/systems analyst for a variety of different places.) Then Shawna got offered a job at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. We moved here in 2001 and bought a house in 2002. I got a job with Auto Trader (where I stayed for 7 1/2 years), continuing with software development, and eventually moving into IT management. Our daughter Alexandra Rose (Alex) was born on 11/25/02. Our daughter Samantha Jayne (Sammie) was born on 10/30/04. And yes, our THIRD daughter Andrea (Andie) Ophelia was born on 11/17/07. I always wanted a daughter. Be careful what you wish for. Now I can't get them to stop! Despite all this, my life was not complete until early 2005, when my 2-year-old daughter "coerced" my wife & I into going to church with her and grandma that was just down the road from us. Not long after, Shawna and I gave our lives to Christ. And we haven't been the same since. Since then, I have been called to be a Community Group Leader in our church. I lead of group of about 16 adults (and 10 kids) every Friday night in praise, worship, prayer, and studying His word. Something that I could never imagine doing in a million years is now one of the most important things in my life. We have the greatest group of people who have become family to me. Every week, I feel so incredibly honored to be considered their leader. I've also become very passionate about my work with the Audio Visual team at church. I started off as a cameraman for one of our TV-grade HD cameras where I attempted to keep our pastor in frame at all times. (Not as easy as you may think!) I have since become one of our Technical Directors and help to direct the camera operators, graphics, audio, and lighting teams on Sunday mornings. And I love it! I love working behind the scenes to try to make our Sunday services an atmosphere that will help to catch people's attention, yet, only to help them focus on the message. It's all about Him. It's not about what we do, the technology at our disposal, or what flashy effects we could use. I have also just started a new job at Advanced Health Media (www.ahmdirect.com) as an IT Manager. (05/18/09) Basically, we provide event planning websites for pharmaceutical companies.
