Hey all! Welcome to the new “work in progress”. If you’re seeing this post it’s because you’re a die-hard blog reader of mine – thanks for coming by. I haven’t blogged here for an embarassingly long time – most everything as of late has been via Twitter. But it’s time for me to get back in the game, here… so here goes. There will be many changes coming over the next month or so – bear with me as I learn a new blogging platform (in the middle of changing diapers, touring, and supporting my wife through one of the busiest seasons of my career).

I would ask one favor: if you have me on your Blogroll as http://jeremythiessen.typepad.com, please change that link to www.jeremythiessen.com. Thanks so much – looking forward to blogging with you again!

My wife is putting me to shame as far as blog posting goes. She has generously allowed me the privilege of putting up this link to Liam's most recent photoshoot with Sara Harper – again, some absolutely priceless pictures! Hope you enjoy…

This is my first blog post since the beginning of June – that’s rather embarrassing, honestly. But hey – life has been moving at a rather speedy pace and I’ve been doing all I can to hang on. SOME things have to fall by the wayside…

I’m not going to be writing an essay today, but I wanted to at least put up some fun pictures of Liam and I from the last few days at home. If you’re a Facebook-er you can click here to see the album (which includes a few more pictures) and comment away.

Liam is a real joy – quick to smile, quick to cuddle, slow to get upset. We love him dearly. If you haven’t already found my wife’s blog, Erin is doing a great job over at Life with Jerin at tracking his development. Just yesterday she posted an update with some new pictures as well – make sure you stop in over there and check it out.

Thanks to Harry and the crack media team at Rolling Hills Community Church, we already have video of Liam's baby dedication ceremony today. Enjoy!

This upcoming Sunday is going to be a busy one for us. First, we will be celebrating Liam's baby dedication with our home church – Rolling Hills Community Church. This is a neat ceremony in the life of a child and the church. Basically, Erin and I will stand before the church and commit to raising Liam in a godly home. Then our church will commit to helping us raise him in a godly fashion as he grows up in the church. Because our families live so far away (Canada and Montana) we won't have any family present for the dedication. But we would love for you to come and be our "Nashville family" if you are in the area. It will take place in the 10:30am service – please come and say hi if you choose to come!

Sunday EVENING we are honored to be the beneficiaries of a wine and chocolate tasting hosted by the good men of my mentoring group. It's open to anyone – it starts at 7pm and will take place at Sol on Main in downtown Franklin. We would love for you to join us there – Liam will be around to meet his public for the first 45 minutes, so you will get a chance to meet him. You can click here for more details.

So… by Sunday night Erin and I will be bone tired but I'm sure overwhelmed by the love and support from our church family and friends. We hope to see you at some point on Sunday!

Yesterday I entered and completed hopefully the first of many triathlons. Team Magic runs a fantastic event on Memorial Day called the GJCC Memorial Day Triathlon. This is what's called a sprint distance triathlon, meaning all the distances are pretty short. This particular race included a 200m swim, an 8.5mi bike, and a 2mi run. My goal was to complete the race in under 60 minutes, and my official time ended up being 53:59. I'm thrilled with that! Here's how my times broke down (T1 and T2 are the different "transition times" – the time it takes for me to switch from 1 event to the other):

Swim – 3:27
T1 – 2;51
Bike – 30:39
T2 – 1:47
Run – 17:04

I actually ended up placing 4th in my age group (Beginners ages 30-34) and had I registered for the Clydesdale division (men over 200lbs) I would have placed 2nd.  So all in all, I was very happy with how the race turned out and spent a good amount of time yesterday online looking for the next one. My ultimate goal is to complete a full Ironman race (2.5mi swim, 112mi bike, 26.2mi run), but that's not going to happen this season. Although I'm eyeing a 1/2 Ironman the end of September… I'll keep you posted.

A big shout out to Randy, Ken, and Spence – they were my tri buddies for the day and all did fantastic as well. We're already planning on doing the race next year – want to join us?

Erin and I continue to be honored and blessed by the generosity of those around us. The guys in my mentoring group – Randy Elrod, Brock Gill, Randy Williams, and Chad Jarnagin in particular – have decided to host a wine and chocolate tasting in Franklin, TN to benefit my son Liam.

If you are new to my blog, Liam was born with Down syndrome this past December, so as first-time parents we have been learning about a different world of child rearing than most. We really have no idea what is in store for us as we raise a special needs child – but thanks to these fantastic guys, everyone who will come out to the wine and chocolate tasting, and the gifts and prayers of many of you, we are confident the Lord will provide whatever we need whenever we need it.

Here are the event details:

Date: Sunday, May 31st
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Sol on Main (downtown Franklin)
Price: no set price, but a suggested donation of $10/person

Facebook: Facebook event page

We would love to see you out. Brock will be bringing chocolate from all over the world (he does chocolate tastings for people all across the US – I was able to sit in on one and it was fantastic!), and Randy and Spence will provide the wine (there will be soft drinks there if you're not a wine person).

Please feel free to pass on this information to friends or people in the Nashville area who you think would be interested in coming. Being the proud father that I am, it would be my honor to introduce you to Liam.

Thanks – hope to see you May 31st!

Here is a video Erin captured a couple of weeks ago of Liam playing with his shaker. Look at that rhythm – he's got a gift! (Notice his bib…)

My wife started blogging a year or two ago, but without a reliable computer to call her own and a travel schedule that didn't allow much time for "extras", blogging was not a priority. Now things have changed – she has her own computer and is at home more often than not… The "time for extras" thing is still up for debate, but she has been able to carve out a little bit to get back into blogging. Take time today to stop by her blog – you'll be glad you did!