I'm sorry.
No, I'm not.
Well, yes I am.
It's been a while since my last post. I could say that we were abducted by aliens for the last eight months, but some of you have seen us or talked with us. I could say that we moved in with Mom, but that's been done and eight months would have been like a weekend (sorry, Julie ... but, especially sorry to Frank - who deserves a big screen TV for his commitment!). I could say we were planning something big for the boys again and had to go on zero-communication for a period. But none of that works.
I will say, though, that we have been busy - as busy as any family with three boys can be. School, friends, activities - they definitely pull you out of the house. There are times Shelly and I are constantly on the road, driving from one event to another. They say when you move from two children to three children, you move from man-to-man defense to zone defense. That's true when they are young ... but as they get older, that zone expands beyond the house and across the county. Thank goodness for cell phones and texting. (BTW ... a favorite activity of ours is talking about old movies or plays that would be irrelevant if they only had cell phones. C'mon, Romeo and Juliet is just a teenage drama if they had cell phones ... no death, no miscommunication. However, it would lead to a whole slew of other movies where cell phones contribute to outrageous drama because of auto-correct or an inadvertent text sent to the wrong person. Think about it ... its a fun game to play.)
One of the biggest factors has been the acquisition of my old company, Harland Financial Solutions, by a Canadian company called D+H (announced last July, completed in August, and our re-branding of our company was just announced last week ... we are officially D+H). I know what you're thinking. I did not share with my new company the expansive examples of the use of "+" by my sister. If I had, they would likely have had second thoughts, worried that they could be sued for copyright infringement. (Wow, two digs at Julie+Frank in my first blog of the year ... I'm sure they would be happy if I went quiet for another eight months!).
The acquisition has been huge ... hugely positive for our company ... and hugely positive for me, personally. Years ago, I asked Charlie what his daddy did for work. He knew I traveled quite a bit, often times to conferences. And when I would return, I sometimes had a box of pens with me - we would give out the pens at the conference, and I would return home with the box of leftovers to return to our main office. After thinking really hard, he replied, "you sell pens?"
Not quite. We sell technology solutions to banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies around the country and a little bit around the world. From software that runs the bank for internal processes, to customer facing software like online banking and mobile banking.
What I do ... (Charlie, have a read, here, please) ... is work with the influencer community - from research firms that write about new technologies, to consultants that advise banks on what technologies to pursue, to the financial press that write about what banks are doing with technology - I communicate our technology strategy with them, and glean their perspectives to share back with our executive team as part of our strategic initiatives.
Alas, I realize that all of the above is well and good ... but you just read this to get to the pictures. So, here are a few pictures:
Charlie played on an All-Star team throughout June and July of last year. The team traveled all over North Carolina, playing in several tournaments. After a slow start, they finished in first or second in their last four tournaments. Charlie provided great outfield defense and speed on the bases. The camaraderie of the boys was probably the best part of the experience.
Max was asked to play for an All Star team at the end of the All Star season (in early August) where he played for a 10 year old team at the age of 9. He held his own, playing really well at first base and collecting a bunch of hits in four games over two days. They won the tournament and dedicated the win to Max because he had not won an All-Star tournament yet that summer.
Will, not to be over-looked, had a fantastic season, too. He hit his first home run in the Fall season (over the fence) and pitched well throughout the season.
In September, Max and Daddy went to Nashville, TN to see his San Diego Chargers play the Tennessee Titans as part of a birthday present for Daddy. While there, we visited the replica of the Parthenon they have in their Centennial Park. All the boys have read the Percy Jackson series of books and this was the location of one of the events in the book.
Happy 10th Birthday to Max in December
Will ... showing off his Super Man boxers at Christmas in Florida
The Cullinan's six grandchildren ... all boys ... from youngest to oldest ... Liam, Eli, TJ, Max, Will, and Charlie ... at Christmas in Florida
Pre-game activities at an Orlando Magic game late in the year. Finally convinced Will and Max to join in the picture ... Charlie has about 5 other pictures with various cheerleaders as we wandered the concourse.
