Good Afternoon from Sunny West TN!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update. I can't describe the relief I received from putting my thoughts into words and the support my blogging community has given. Thank you all so much.

Rebecca and I had an amazing week in the Bahamas. It was full of relaxation and support before final exams for Jane, work changes for me, and the impending birth of Blueberry. The last couple of weeks have been such a growing phase for Jane and Blueberry. Blueberry is now the size of a peach and Rebecca is actually starting to show a little bit. That was a very quick change, she went to school looking "regular" and came home looking pretty pregnant. It is surreal to see a bump on Jane and to know it is there as evidence of our baby Blueberry. We will soon find out the sex of Blueberry and, I think, have finalized names. We're keeping them under wraps until we find out if Blueberry is a BOY or girl.

This has been the first week of working at my new Gap store in Columbia. The store and staff are great! All of the leaders want to be Store Managers some day and it is great to have a team that wants a retail career instead of a paycheck. Next week I will be training in Atlanta for a few days and hope to see a few of my old peeps!

This weekend we are in West Tennessee to celebrate the initiation of three great men into my alma mater chapter of Sigma Chi. Being on campus has been a throwback of memories. It was five years ago that I graduated and the campus has exploded with change. There are tons of new buildings and people. The great thing is that it still feels like the UT Martin that I know and love. The quad specifically brings back memories of class, fraternity life, SGA, and great friends. I miss the college days, and wholeheartedly think they are the reason I am who I am.

Signing off now, looking forward to Sigma Chi festivities and getting back to SC on Sunday.

A Change of Purpose

I've attempted to write this blog a couple of times and thought about writing it exponentially more. I've been on a life/faith journey for the last couple of months and have just now come to the point where I feel comfortable sharing my thoughts with others, specifically blogger world.

My friend, Mrs. Reagan, blogged about Being on Purpose yesterday and it helped me put into words my journey thoughts. Her blog describes the motivation of being on purpose as described by John C. Maxwell, a well known author of leadership books. I've enjoyed reading a few of his books, he is able to break down leadership theories into simple, thought changing steps. His book 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a lifetime favorite of mine.

Purpose has never been anything I lack. I feel like most things I've done in life (since late high school) has been with purpose. I distinctly remember being unhappy in high school and knowingly taking steps to change that. As soon as I got to my alma mater I joined a ba-zillion organizations, stepped out of my comfort zone, and became the socialable person I continue to be today.

My purpose in life has always been to get to 'next'. Whether that was establishing my fraternity, graduating college, getting a real job, getting promoted, graduating graduate school, or getting married I have always been on a path concerned only with the next step. I struggle with people who are complacent and lack ambition, I just don't know where they are coming from.

Living a life of purpose is a great thing in most circumstances, until life changes and your purpose ultimately follows suit. For the last five years I've been a retail manager working towards next level, be that a higher volume, higher complex store or ultimately a district manager position. As many of you know two months ago my life shifted and priorities changed. We found out that Rebecca was expecting our first little one, subsequently fetally-named Blueberry.

My faith journey led me to the realization that I could not continue to focus on my career without regard for family. Previous career decisions had put me at odds for being the kind of husband and father I need to be. It was a hard pill to swallow that some of the steps I have taken to pursue my purpose/career were selfish and detrimental to my current family situation. It was almost as if the purpose of my life was at odds with what my life had become - that I could no longer continue my career growth and family growth at the same time.

Wonderfully I work for a company and boss that understands the focus of family and the sacrifices one must make when their purpose shifts suddenly. My boss and I have been working together on a fix for my work/life balance and have announced such a fix this week.

It is with a sorrow heart that I leave my current store for another within the same company family, but a different brand. It is a store much closer to my house and family (cut my commute in half or more) and has a promise of a better work/life balance. My new store does not put my career on hold by any means, just a small detour from the plans I once had. Blueberry, my new purpose of life will impact future purposes more than I can imagine. I don't know if I will return to the same purpose or start a new path when that time comes.

The purpose of my life is changing and that's expected. I feel like my journey has brought me to the comfortability to admit that my purpose can change without losing all that I have worked for previously.

Please continue to pray for my family as we grow and our purpose is enriched by another life.

So, what's in a name?

We have been bombarded with people asking what we are going to name Blueberry. Most of the inquisitions coming from my family - love you guys.

My brother and sister-in-law recently announced that they also have a blueberry on the way. (For the sake of clarity we will call their blueberry, raspberry.) This is very exciting for all involved. My parents who have been patiently waiting (my dad not so patiently, haha) for grandkids and are now being blessed with two.

How amazing that Blueberry will have a cousin Raspberry that is only a couple of weeks younger. Rebecca has a cousin, whom she has been very close to, that is only a year or so younger. They were able to grow up together in the same neighborhood and have shared so many childhood experiences. I hope that our Blueberry has the same kind of affection with Raspberry.

So, what's in a name? Naming Blueberry has become a somewhat daunting task. Jane and I have been talking names since Day 1 and still have many weeks to figure it out. Before Blueberry became...a Blueberry, we had chosen the name Jackson for our first son. We love last names as first names and I would love to have a boy with my initials, JP. But Jackson doesn't work anymore, its become too popular. Though there is an awesome young man named Jackson that we know it has gotten too popular for us. Jackson's mom has an amazing blog you can follow here. We love the name, but we don't want Blueberry to compete with his peers on a namesake level. When we looked it up it was like #6 most popular name in 2009. Aiden, another baby name in our lives is #1. How crazy is that? For a list of other popular names visit: Most Popular Baby Names 2009.

We have laid out some expectations of the name

1. Be a family name (whether it be hers, mine or both)

2. Be somewhat unique, but not made up off the top of our heads

3. Be a name that screams masculinity for a boy (such as Wolverine, haha) or femininity for a girl

4. When/if it's a boy I would like to have some kind of shout out to a Sigma Chi founder.

Not all expectations have to be met, but these are the filters we are using.

I am very interested to hear how others chose names for their blueberries and if you have any names you want to throw into the hat. I have heard of baby naming ceremonies, but honestly it seems a bit much. My Mom wants to start the name suggestion off. For a girl - Sierra Rose. Eh....haha, love you Mom.