Two Graduations & The Wedding

Well, it has been a busy several weeks. Tina graduated from college, Grace graduated from high school and Hope got married. All were great and memorable.
Next steps, Grace is looking for a job and will go on to college. Hope and Danny have gone back to Florida. Tina is researching her next move.

It's Been Almost Four Years Ago?

Wow, my last post was almost 4 years ago! A lot has changed since then. I did complete Leadership Oak Ridge! It was a great learning experience. In March 2013, I was let go from Emory Valley Center. I spent four months unemployed and looking for a new job. One day, I decided to submit my resume to several hotels. They called me the next day for an interview and I was hired. I spent just over a year a the Sales Manager for three Choice Hotel properties in Knoxville. It was during this time that our oldest daughter was hired with Disney. This meant that she needed to move to Florida. I will share more about God's hand in that in a later post. We also lost Tina's father (a mentor and friend), Steve this past Summer. Our family spent a couple weeks in California during his final days and then getting the service together. Linda (Tina's mom), has since come to live with us. We are happy to have her here!
In August 2014, I was offered a job with the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and took it! I am blessed to work with a great team!
Our youngest daughter is now a Senior in high school and we look ahead with her to graduation. Tina is also completing her Associates in Music at a local community college. She too will be graduating in May.

The other day I was asked how we ended up in Tennessee. Throughout our story I was reminded of what God told us before we left California. He said "don't worry, I am going ahead of you". He has been true to His word and I am grateful.

Leadership Oak Ridge

Well, yesterday I began an 11 month journey. It involved a room full of mostly strangers. Leadership Oak Ridge is a program coordinated through the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. It's mission is to inform current and emerging leaders about Oak Ridge and it's issues, and provide them leadership skills development in order to empower them to identify and implement solutions to those community issues. Opening Session started with breakfast and a meet & greet. We were greeted by the Mayor of Oak Ridge and then the Chairman of the Chamber Board. Photos were then taken. A fantastic lunch buffet was served followed by a tour of Oak Ridge hosted by Ray Smith, a local historian. I am honored to be a part of this year's class. I am anxious to learn more about this city with a history. I am also excited for the opportunity to network and build friendships with current and emerging leaders in the Oak Ridge community.

Emperor's New Clothes

Well, both our girls are involved with this weekend's production of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Hope has an acting part as older lady. She is very excited to be able to wear a fat suit! Grace has taken on a more technical role as sound person. Tomorrow they both get to miss school to perform a school show. They will be doing two performances on Saturday and one on Sunday. We will post pictures following the Sunday show.

For more info on this show and The Playhouse www.orplayhouse.com


weather today: beautiful and 76 degrees. nice day!

A Couple Newspaper Articles

Earlier this year the supported employment program I serve as the coordinator for was featured in two local papers.

The Oak Ridge Observer article can be found on Page 2 at the following link

http://www.oakridgeobserver.com/images/stories/archives/January%207%202010_Smaller.pdf

Another article appeared in April in the Oak Ridger featuring a couple people we support.

http://www.oakridger.com/localnews/x1042541898/Adults-with-disabilities-find-employment

-Norm

Busy......

I know that no entries from April to September might be viewed as unexcusable.

We are sorry and we'll try to do a better job of contributing to the blog more regularly.

We are always doing something, so check back often for updates....... -Norm

Three Years Ago....

I've allowed an important date to pass unnoticed. As of September 12, 2010, I had been in Tennessee for three years. I left California late afternoon on the Thursday after Labor Day in 2007 heading toward Tennessee and a job interview. I arrived in Knoxville on Sunday evening. I went to work for the agency I drove 2,500+ miles to interview with and then began the search for our new home. My family and our dog, Mitchell arrived a month later. We purchased a home and settled in.

During these three years, Tina was hired at a drive thru coffee business. She later left and was hired at Starbuck's. I left that orginal job and was hired at another agency working my passion, employment for people with disabilities. The girls have attended and changed schools (elementary to middle school, middle school to high school), looked for and found a way to use their talents in singing and acting.

We also found a fantastic faith community, Crossings and have plugged in.

We got a second dog, Annie.

As I said earlier, I left my original Tennessee employer and am now working as a Supported Employment Coordinator at an agency in Oak Ridge. I enjoy assisting people with finding community employment and networking with employers. In a "down economy" we have helped 13 people to become employed and more are in the works.

Tina is employed as a Barista/Trainer at the Knoxville Airport and does a very good job. She is also the family taxi driver, driving the girls to their activities and practices. I generally pick them up in the evenings.

We enjoy Tennessee and there are many roads and areas still undiscovered by our family. Thankfully, I think we'll be here for a while. We will discover those places in the not to distant future. We'll tell you about what we find and see.

We're mighty glad to be here and very, very happy............

-Norm

weather today: 73 degrees and beautiful.

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

Fall in East Tennessee

There is just a hint of the leaves turning but you can feel it in the air. I have never lived in place so geared towards fall. We've had more rain than normal and the folks around here say that translates to even more brilliant fall colors and those colors lasting longer. This fall is special to me personally because I was so sick last year I missed fall. By the time I got out of the hospital and was well enough, the leaves were all but gone. I have resolved to enjoy them each day and appreciate their splendor and contemplate the One who made them.

To a much much lighter note, this fall also holds a new excitement; its football time. I have never been one to follow the sport except to pick a team while my cousins were watching a game, but here football takes on a life of its own. Saturday was our first game; first in a couple ways. Mostly we have a new coach Lane Kiffen, who was an assistant coach with the Raiders. Also they refurbished Neyland stadium and installed a new jumbo tron. Saturday was our first game (yes, I said "our") Norm and I were out and about; I donning my UT earrings, and UT pants (that's right), Norm with his UT cap. This would look completely out of place anywhere else but as we went about just about everyone was sporting the old orange and white. We even made football snacks and all watched the game as a family. Never has this happened in Nelson history. Of course we crushed them, Western KY, 63 to 7. Go Vols.

Family Get-Together

Well we are just completing a great time with a houseful of family. Tina's parents, Steve and Linda came from California. Her sister, Rachael and her three girls also drove over from North Carolina. We have seen the sites! We had just completed a few projects around the house prior to their arrival. These involved installing molding and finishing off the archway that use to be a wall between the livingroom and dining area. Then it was painting the livingroom, dining room, hall and foyer. I installed a very nice light fixture to go over the dining room table. Back the family's visit.

While they were here we drove to the Great Smokey Mountains and hiked up to Laurel Falls. This was an 3 mile round trip hike on a paved trail. The falls were beautiful. Steve, Linda, Sivana and Grace rode in my car. On theway home we stopped at the NASCAR go-cart track in Seiverville.

(gotta go, will post more later).

Grace's Birthday Cont.

To celebrate Grace's birthday we decided to go to Dollywood and bring a couple of Grace's friends. We are about 20 miles from it so we bought season passes. Dollywood, for those who not followers of Dolly Parton or do not live in the Southeast, it is an amusement park replete with terrific rollercoasters (seriously) and of course canned Dolly music plays throughout. It was Memorial Day so we thought it would be croweded but with the threat of rain looming, it kept people away. We had a great time and the skies broke as soon as we were leaving Pigeon Forge. I have disparaged Pigeon Forge earlier but it is growing on me. We found the old part of town aptly named Old Mill. Very charming with a real working mill.

A couple of days later one of Grace's friends had been out of town and had missed the day we went and wondered if it was too late to go. Of course not. So we went to again. Unfortunatly I was sick so I dragged myself around while the girls rode ride after ride. Once again, there was a threat of rain. We are prepared for such an event with disposable rain ponchos. It came down for a ten minute period during that time they decided to go on the water rides. They had a blast (literally). While we were there a huge family was enjoying the day. We found out that the had their own show called 18 kids and Counting(?) I have never seen it but Hope overheard them talking about it with other park patrons. We had great fun and plan on going back June 12 the Kratt Brothers from the PBS show, Zaboomafoo are here (this show I know).

Birthday Week 2009

Well, we have just come through a week that included my birthday and also Grace's birthday. I remember hoping that Grace would be born on my birthday. Now that she is 12, that just simply would not have worked! She is awesome, but likes her own stuff and would not want to share her day. She started saying at the end of May "it's almost my birthday"!

I worked on my birthday (Thursday) and it was an extremely busy day. We are putting together an employer forum and I am doing much of the legwork. The day was spent contacting and inviting employers and business owners. That evening was spent grilling, relaxing, opening gifts and enjoying family time.
Grace's birthday was yesterday. Most of the day was spent just lounging around the house. Grace chose dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. Then it was back home to open presents and a fantastic ice cream cake made by Tina!
All in all it has been a great week! I am counting down the days until this Forum is over when I can breathe again.....

Weather today 87 degrees and absolutely beautiful!!!!

It's Spring In Tennessee!

Along with the spring weather, things have changed. Everything is in bloom, the kudzo is green and the weather is just picture perfect. I recently had my iron level checked and I am in the normal range (by a hair). I have also got a new job at the airport Starbucks and start this Thursday. It was a tough decision and I will miss my friends but I feel like its time.

This weekend was the end of the Dogwood Arts Festival which featured sidewalk arts and miles and miles of dogwood trails along with music and fun. It also was the weekend of the Rosinni Italian Festival. We all saw the opera Don Giovanni and walked around enjoying the sights and sounds of all things Italian (with a touch of Appliachian).

First Post of 2009!

Looking at my last post I see it has been awhile since we've added anything here. Tina has completed a series of iron infusions; seven iron tranfusions in total done at the hospital. They tried her on a different iron and it caused anaphatic shock that shook her up pretty good. She has had two of the IVs infiltrate leaving her bruised and in a lot of pain. She seems to have more energy following this series. But it been pretty rough on her since she has started working again. A couple weeks ago Tina and the girls went to Atlanta to purchase Hope's fencing equipment, the nearest place to purchase such equipment. HVA had started a fencing club that has now developed into a team. Come springtime (wait a minute, isn't it spring!) she will be competing in tournaments. This trip just before Tina's infusions so she was very fatiqued and felt pretty worn out when they got home. I had to work so they went without me. I did get to play a couple rounds of disc golf while they were gone.

Last weekend Hope participated in a shoot for a American Ladders, a commercial that is being shot locally by a group of University of Tennessee students. She is one of the zombies and is the youngest undead. This evening we are going for the final shoot. The students are creating this film to submit it to people who fund such things. All shooting last week was done in a huge warehouse and required multiple shots. It will look pretty neat once it is all edited together.
This past Tuesday we attended our first HVA PTSA meeting. It was pretty interesting to see how other Presidents run the meeting. There was a good turnout and I was not the only dad there! PTA is extremely active here in the Knoxville area. It is great to see all the opportunities that are available and the community support. We served as PTA Board members at the girl's schools and in 13th District in California
for a number of years.
I have been busy in my new job attending networking meetings with other supported employment providers in eastern Tennessee and activities with the Chambers of Commerce. We had a great meeting with a local hotel that could be very advantageous for them and the people we serve.
Most recently, I have been attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. The 13 week video version was offered at our church, so I have been attending on Thursday evenings. It comes with a great kit of resources and tools to eventually become debt free. I can't wait to get to that point, house and all!! There is a link to Dave Ramsey's website to the left of this post.
As you can see we have been pretty busy with life here in eastern Tennessee. Tina told me she was driving back from work the other day and thought "I like the south". I agree. It is beautiful. Hearing about the housing market, unemployment, fires, drought and everything else going on around the country, we feel very blessed to be here in a place we really want be. Now that we feel pretty acclimated to this area we have a goal to get out and explore the Smokys and other sites throughout this region. There's alot to do and we can't wait for Spring!!!

I think that might be all for now.

-Norm

Old Year Challenges, New Year For Opportunities

Here on the eve of a new year it is good to reflect on the past year. It has had it's challenges. Tina's surgery, both girls starting new schools, Hope's new dog-Annie, Tina's job ending, balancing finances, I started a new job. But then there are the good things, our new church community, Hope's new dog-Annie, new friends, our small group, learning to play disc golf, discovering new things to see and do. With this coming year I know there will be more challenges and more good things-I look forward to both. God has provided and is still providing in all these situations.
Before Christmas, I sent an email to a friend and former coworker in California. I learned through her "out of office" reply that she would be out until this week. Yesterday, I received a reply and it was great to hear from her. I needed a few forms that were used there and she faithfully attached them to her message. The best part was that she also forwarded my message to other coworkers. I received email messages from her and other coworkers throughout the day. It was great to see messages arrive from friends I had not heard from since moving from California. Almost like letters from home (even though this is our home now). Add these to the good thing list. A great ending to this year. I did make a call to Peggy (another former co-worker) when I got home to catch up with her as well. In my conversation with her I learned that my friend Sam had stopped by and had moved back to California. She will be sending me his contact information. I look forward to catching up with him as well.

Advent Conspiracy

We were introduced to the Advent Conspiracy during last year's Christmas season. Their video presentations really make you rethink Christmas. Here is one from Rick McKinley from Imago Dei in Portland, Oregon. It was presented this morning at Crossings. Please post your thoughts.

-Norm

Joy To The World.........

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove, The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John 1:14 (The Message)

Merry Christmas!

Norm, Tina, Hope and Grace

Our Community Is On The Move........

Since May 2008 we have been a part of Crossings, a faith community in Knoxville. We are currently meeting as a community at Downtown West theater in west Knoxville on Sunday mornings, but that is all about to change! We will soon be moving to The Square Room at 4 Market Square (4MS) in Downtown Knoxville. Our first meeting there will be on January 11 with two services. Cafe4 officially opened for business on Monday morning and The Square Room hosted it's first concert on Saturday evening.

WATE aired a report about the Open House of Cafe4 and the Square Room this past Friday evening. It was very cool!

Our family (along with 1,000 other people) had the opportunity to attend.

Have a look....

Eastern Tennessee Honor Choir

Hope was picked by her choir teacher to participate in the East Tennessee Honor Choir. The choir consisted of students from Chatanooga, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities and all points in between. She worked for several weeks on the music at her school then joined the rest of the choir for the last three days. They changed the location of the event; this year it was held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The place was so packed we had to leave after Hope's portion. It was a bit surreal watching Hope do the same thing I had done Cali with the Bay Area Honor Choir lo many years ago. I've never pushed Hope to singing; she hasn't had that much interest, but she had a great time.

Psalm 100

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever. -Psalm 100:1-5


This week-make yourselves at home-thanking God, praising him for all he is!