Here's Caleb and Chloe. Caleb is growing like a weed, and Chloe says her first word, "Mamen." (Amen). it is so cute, and we're so proud....

Last Friday Connor and I went to Utah to see my niece Morgan play softball for Arizona Western College. All seven of us Simpson kids graduated from AWC, and I was so proud to see Morgan playing for them. She has a full ride to AWC, and is doing great. Can you tell by this photo that Connor loves his cousin?

When we got back in town Saturday afternoon, we went back over to the All-Star Jam to claim the computer. With a waiting crowd of hundreds jammed around the Lenovo booth (the official PC of the NBA, of course), I got my PC, and Connor got to get his picture taken with NBA All-star Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets. The PC was also autographed by T-Mac, as part of the promotion.

Our computer is awesome, and the Lenovo people, as well as the guy from the NBA, couldn't have been any nicer or more accomodating. We had a blast...

Wow. Today was a rollercoaster. Connor and I drove back from Utah, after seeing my niece Morgan play softball for Arizona Western College. Then we went back to the NBA All-Star Jam at the Mandalay Bay, where Connor got to personally meet and get photos with one of the NBA's biggest stars, Tracy McGrady, who autographed the new laptop I won Thursday. We were having a blast, but then from nowhere I was devastated by the news that one of my dear, dear friends, Virginia Parsons, passed away this afternoon in Mobile, Alabama. I really don't feel like posting about all the fun stuff that we did today right now, out of respect for her.
Virginia Parsons was a geniune friend- she loved me, supported me in prayer, and never let me forget how much she cared for me. She was extremely loyal to me and my family. I have had few people in my life who have showed such concern for me and my family, and I'll never forget her. She was a loving wife to her husband Henry, and had a large, beautiful family she was so proud of. She enjoyed her retirement years after spending a career in education as a school teacher. Virginia was part of a group of senior adults at First Church North Mobile that became dear to Annette and me. When we had our first child, he became the group's baby, and they would take turns doting on Connor. (That's Virginia with Connor in 2002 in the photo above.) Noboday doted on or fussed about our little baby boy more than Virginia, and you know how special people become to you when they love your children.
She would probably not forgive me if I didn't write about how crazy she was. She was one of the funniest people I've ever known. Some of the stories about Virginia are legendary to me and our group, and you could always count on her for a comment on any subject, and it would be right to the point, and funny. We all had inside jokes, about the Blue Goose, and the coyote in the middle of the road in Gatlinburg. Just the mention of these from Virginia would bring waves of laughter. I enjoyed talking to her on the telephone several times each year after we moved here to Las Vegas, and she was always so encouraging. I often joked with her that If I ever passed away, I wanted her front and center at my funeral, because I knew I could count on her to wail and cry real loud, and throw herself on my coffin, which to me would be a pretty good funeral! I did a good bit of crying tonight, and I'm sure I'll shed more tears for my dear, sweet friend, Virginia...
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints...."

The NBA is FANtastic!
Connor and I went to the NBA All-star Jam here in Vegas, and had a VERY eventful time. We walked around, saw the sights, Connor played games, but then...
We found my good friend Rick Strasser, who is Sports Anchor for our Las Vegas NBC affiliate, and a member of our church, and whom Connor LOVES! Rick had scheduled an interview with NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkens, and when he was done, asked Dominique to take a photo with Connor. There were probably a hundred people around, and Connor gets a photo with Dominique. Classic!
Here's the best part: early in the day, Connor and I were walking past a booth, and a guy asks if I want to come to their both, and call play by play to an old NBA video clip. You're the announcer, and they record it on a DVD, which you can take. I did my old sportscaster voice routine, and had fun with it. When I finished, the guy says that since I was one of the first 5 people, I was eligible to win a Laptop computer from the company. Anyhow, long story longer, we go to whats called Center Court, out in front of a big crowd, and the fans choose who wins. I had Connor with me, and I was holding him up, and he was getting the people to applaud- I won a Laptop computer. I was so jazzed... a Laptop! Connor and I had a special prayer to thank the Lord! Here's a few photos of our night....

Here's the official photo of Chloe walking...
By the way, my two YouTube sites have had over 35,000 hits since I started uploading my old video stuff six months ago. Not bad, huh?

It's been a while since a post, so here goes me covering a lot of stuff...
Caleb is doing great. He went to church for the first time last weekend, and I was such a proud pop. Annette sang "Do You Remember the Time" by Amy Grant, and she did so well. I am trying to figure how to post an audio file here- stay tuned. Anyway- back to Caleb. He is doing great, and our family keeps growing...
Annette's mom and dad left a couple of weeks ago, and boy, do the kids miss them. They were here to help and to celebrate with us, but also to give lots of love to Connor and Chloe. Annette's dad, Doyle, especially doted on Chloe- he can't resist those girls (he had four).
He was there to see Chloe take her first steps, which she has been taking a lot of lately- she takes a first step, then sits down. She'll get the hang of it soon.
Dad and Connor are going to have a busy weekend. We're going to the NBA All-Star Jam Session tonight, and tomorrow, we're driving to Utah to see my niece, Morgan, play softball for Arizona Western College. I am a grad of AWC, and am very proud of Morgan's achievements. She is a Yuma girl, and the cutest one on the team, and Connor thinks the world of Morgan. We're going to have fun...

Here's the official photo from the upcoming film "Ocean's 13," starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. I wouldn't usually have any reason to post this, except that at the time the photo was taken, I was an extra, sitting four rows back and to the right of Matt Damon. I had always wanted to see a real film set, and this was pretty incredible. I mean, if you're going to be an extra in any film, it's not too bad to be in a scene with three of the top actors in Hollywood. I can't wait to see the film when it opens, and see if you can see a blurred image of me for 1.3 seconds.

Eveythng has been going great with Caleb. He came home on Friday of last week, and has been a good baby. Connor loves him, and Chloe's slowly figuring out that things aren't the same, but she's doing fine. Annette's dad came into town last night, and couldn't wait to see his fifteenth grandchild.

We were blesssed to welcome Caleb Benjamin Simpson into the world Wednesday night, January 24, at 11PM. For me, the best thing in the world is to watch your child being born, and this was no disappointment! He is a beautiful 8 pound baby boy. Annette was induced at 8PM (she was showing signs of preclampsia), and gave birth three hours later. We had a terrific doctor, Joel Schwartz, and he couldn't have been more reassuring and kind.
Benjamin is my mom's dad's name (my granddad), and she is thrilled to have his namesake in her family.
We took Annette to the nw St. Rose campus, San Martine, because Sienna was totally full. It is a beautiful new hospital south of the 2-15 off Durango. it wasn't our first choice, but in retrospect, we are very glad to have gone there. It has only been open a couple of weeks, and Caleb was the only baby there the night we came, so we got SPECIAL attention.
Annette is doing great, and should come home this afternoon. Connor saw his brother, and is so excited, but Chloe and Nanna have yet to meet him. We're hoping Chloe will take to him right away, but we know she misses mom, and will want her exclusively when she comes home.
God is good! Thank you, Lord, for our little baby boy...

It's been such a long while since I blogged, and lots have happened. I don't know- sometimes you get in the habit, and then you get out of the habit. I don't have too much of an excuse- I had the week between Christmas and New Years off, but with the in-laws in town, the busyness of the holidays, and an expecting wife, I didn't get to it. I also have put a little more attention to my two YouTube sites. I have two channels- dsimpson41 and thirstysmithers- and between the two, I have had over 18,000 hits in the last few months. Here's a recent video I posted from a TV show I used to direct on Sunday mornings back in the late 80's- early 90's, live at 7AM. Yes, LIVE at 7AM. The gospel group Brush Arbor came for a visit, and this was one of the songs they did. I love this one...

We had a good Christmas. How about you?
Chloe is walking with the help of a little walker thingy. I will post the video tomorrow if I can get to it (yeah, right)....
I wrote a Christmas newsletter about my family. If you'd like one, please e-mail me at dsimpson41@yahoo.com.
I'll post again soon!