We were married on August 27, 2011. We are having a little girl, and her name is Louisa Jean Riley. This blog has now grown into our journey. We will walk through Louisa's diagnosis of an atrioventricular canal defect and Down syndrome. Mike and I will both write to serve as a ministry and to keep people up to date on Louisa's progress and delivery.

Saturday, June 30, 2007. One of my older brothers, Troy, had a bonfire at his house. It was really cool, and we planned it together so I could bring my parents to meet him for the first time. Both of my brothers were there, Travis and Troy. Both are married and both have beautiful kids. I'll try to explain the people in the picture. In the close right-hand corner is Chris, of course. Behind Chris is my dad. In the lower-left corner on the couch are Travis and his wife, Amber. On the far back wall, all the way to the left, is Grandma; to the right of her is my older brother, Troy. To the right of Troy are my sister Brandy and my brother-in-law-to-be, John. At this point we were inside talking, looking at pictures, and just enjoying each other. My mom saw a picture of my biological father. She was immediately struck by how much we look alike. It's indeed a little surprising to see someone much older than me, someone you've never seen before, who looks so much like me. It's almost a little creepy. Next we went outside and had some hot dogs and s'mores, along with other good food. A little later we started playing with the fireworks John had bought. This only led to what could be called reckless endangerment — you can form your own opinion, though.

I don't know if you're familiar with men and shooting off fireworks, but it usually goes like this: "Oooooo, ahhhhh, wow — neat!" Then someone inevitably shouts, "Hey, I got a good idea!" That's exactly what happened. Soon we had a Barney doll filled to the brim with gunpowder, and my brother‑in‑law‑to‑be stuck a bottle rocket up Barney's butt and launched it. Yes, that's right, and it was amazing. Watch the video below.

With Troy (my big brother), we haven't had any DNA testing done or anything of that sort, but the fact that he enjoys doing something like this as much as I do is proof enough for me. I had a really good time today.

I sighed with relief after finishing work. This sounds kind of odd and funny, but I didn't miss this country too much; I definitely missed my job and working. I like staying busy and earning some cash — it makes the day go by faster. I like the people at Vision Scapes; they're fun to work with and easy to get along with. Very chill work atmosphere.

After work I went over to the house Tony and Amber share with Nick and Brandon. I work with Tony, Nick, and Brandon, and our boss owns and rents the house to them. It is really cool and pretty big. They have a huge backyard, and it's right by work, so you can easily walk to the office. After that, Chris took me home and I got cleaned up. My buddy Brad called me—here is a picture of Brad. Brad is a good old boy from way back; we have known each other since elementary school. I like these relationships because I can put my trust in these people and feel confident. Brad is a good guy, plain and simple.

So Brad called, and after Chris and I chilled at the house for a bit, it was suddenly 9:30 p.m. We were both surprised, so we drove to Brad's, hung out with some people, and played with Kaido. Kaido is Brad's pit bull; he is an awesome dog. I have had the pleasure of watching Kaido grow up from a pup. He is definitely not a pup anymore, and if you make him angry, you will regret it.

MS update: Today, at work and during other activities, I noticed a definite difference in my tremors. They are hardly noticeable unless I am under a great deal of stress. This is great—I think the real test will be in church on Sunday during worship, which is where I had noticed them before. Wouldn't it be awesome if that's where I noticed they were gone? I kept myself busy today. This morning I had to report to the alcohol assessment class. It was supposed to be two hours, but I was out of there in about 45 minutes. Thankfully I got the woman with a level head. She realized that I do not have an alcohol problem and that the minimal alcohol classes would do just fine. So on a Saturday and Sunday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM I have class — fun. At a cost of $200, I better be learning everything there is to know about alcohol: why people drink it and why it is a problem in America, even though I already know all of that.

Let me clear something up: I am taking this alcohol class because of when I got in trouble back in September 2006. There is no new charge, and drinking is not a part of my lifestyle.

Around 3 PM the photographer for the News Sentinel showed up. We told her some stories from China, and then Jennifer Boen from the newspaper arrived. She did the interview, asked many good questions, and did a good job as she always does. She will be writing a good article. Chris's tire on his Lincoln was making the whole thing shake really badly for the past couple of days.