Becoming a "World Changer"

What an incredible week this has been! On Sunday we had a group of about 300 teens show up in Salt Lake City. They are a group called "World Changers". Each teen paid approximately $200 to come and work on people's houses for a week. It was HARD work: Re-roofing, painting,
re-framing doors and windows, yardwork, building porches and wheelchair ramps are just a few things they did.
While here they also go into the community and share God's word. A quick story about that:
On Wednesday, a man came up to one of the groups and started asking them what they were all about. They started sharing the gospel and found out lots of things about this man...his name, how many children he has etc. He told them that he could not talk anymore at that moment, but he gave them an address and told them to please meet him the following day at a certain time. They show up at that time and a man answers the door not the same man. So, the group tells him that they are looking for the man from the day before, he says well that is my name but I did not meet you. They gave him information about how many children he has and he says those children are mine. So, they then tell him that they were coming to tell this other man about Jesus Christ and the man says "You see, you were sent to tell me about Jesus and I must accept him!" and he did right there on the spot! What and incredible God thing!
Ok, so I know you are all thinking "Wow, cool story but what does this have to do with you?" Well, I was a "Lunch runner". Each day I would take lunches and treats out to the site where my team was working. Kaitlyn and Aidan were there each day as well to help pass out lunches. My kids got to meet some awesome roll models! They had a blast meeting all of the kids, we ended up meeting about 5 groups total. My favorite part was when we decided to drop off popsicles for our groups (Our church hosted 7 groups). Well, there was a group we didn't know that was working close to our group so we bought them popsicles too. One of the guys said, "God bless you! I just have to give you a hug" and gave me a big bear hug. They were all great group and it was so much fun! In fact I had so much fun that I was asked to play a bigger role next year. I will be the food coordinator for the entire group that is coming. We already have ideas on to make things a bit better and I can't wait to see the kids (hopefully they all come back plus more!)

100+ Things I love about you....

Today Aaron and I are celebrating our 10th Anniversary! I can't believe it has been that long!
Aaron, it has been a wonderful 10 years with you! I'm so thankful for a wonderful caring
husband like you! So with that said....100+ things I love about you!


1. I love that you love me.
2. I love how you play with our kids and make them scream even though it drives me crazy.
3. I love that you are a leader in our church.
4. I love that you put God first.





5. I love that the kids and I are a very close second.
6. I love that you teach Sunday School.









7. I love that when I told you I was pregnant with Kaitlyn that you switched careers to better our family.
8. I love that you wash the dishes most of the time because you know that it is one chore that I despise doing.






9. I love that we are celebrating our ten year anniversary but we have really been together for 14 years.





10. I love that you were in RCC marching band.






11. I love that you encouraged me when I tried out for RCC color guard and was totally embarrassed when I flubbed the audition.
12. I love that you encourage me in my singing.




13. I love that you play the saxaphone, and wish you would play something just for me.







14. I love that you have a sense of humor.




15. I love that we took a chance and moved to Utah when we didn’t know anybody here.
16. I love how that move bettered our marriage.
17. I love how sexy you are when you are smoking your cigars.
18. I love that it was with you that I smoked my first itty bitty cigar.
19. I love that you love photography as much as I do.
20. I love that you mostly listen to me when I give you hints about a gift I would like for birthday or Christmas.
21. I love that you have good taste in jewelry.
22. I love that you spur me on to be my best.







23. I love that you don’t say anything when I spend most of the money, but don’t actually make it.






24. I love that you let me go on trips by myself, even though you know if the tables were turned I would be totally jealous.
25. I love that even though I have gained weight that you still think I’m beautiful.
26. I love camping with you. Especially our honeymoon.
27. I love that you are so passionate about BBQing, and that you have created you own marinade that is really yummy!
28. I love the way you call Cookie “traitor dog” when she sits with you and not me.
29. I love that for a year of our lives you ran the evenings everything from making dinner, to baths, to homework, to carting the kids to their various activities, and never complained about it once. I wish I was more like that.
30. I love that you are an instructor and made it there in just a few short years.

31. I love that you love your job.
32. I love that you carry on a piece of my families history through working for the railroad.
33. I love that you are a handy man and can fix pretty much anything…except plumbing.
34. I love that you love to have a vegetable garden even though you hate vegetables.
35. I love that you are teaching our children how to care for a garden since I can’t even keep a house plant alive.


36.I love that you don’t work in the field anymore.
37. I love that you don’t come home all greasy anymore.
38. I love that you don’t work out of town anymore.
39. I love that you endured the time when you worked out of town all the time and never complained about it.
40. I love how you love the character of old homes and can see the potential in them, even if they need a lot of work.
41. I love that even though you were really picky about what you ate when we first met that you have branched out and will now even eat sushi…and love it.
42. I love that you are so passionate about football.
43. I love that you don’t think I’m crazy when I’ve met people over the internet.
44. I love that you let 10 strange women come stay with us for a few days when we had QKU.
45. I love that you encourage my love of scrapbooking.




46. I love that you love to go sledding with the kids, because I hate hiking up those hills and don’t really care for the ride down either.
47. I love our movie nights.







48. I love us time.






49. I love how you treat me, and how that is teaching Kaitlyn what type of person she should pick to be her husband.









50. I love that you are an example to Aidan of how to treat his wife.




51. I love that you let your hair grow out from the mullet before our wedding.







52. I love that you insisted on wearing a white tux at our wedding because you deserved to also.
53. I loved how sexy you looked in that white tux.
54. I love that you waited for me.
55. I love that you are my one and only.
56. I love that I am your one and only.





57. I love that even though you don’t like cats so much that you are still willing to have one.
58. I love that you agreed to get a little dog instead of a big one.
59. I love that you let our pets sleep in bed with us each night.
60. I love to sleep in with you on a chilly morning.
61. I love that you have a knowledge of many things.
62. I love that even though many people thought we were too young to get married that we are still going strong.






63. I love that we have had our fights because that makes our bond stronger.
64. I love that those fights are forgotten.
65. I love that you told my mom 3 weeks before we got engaged and asked my dad for permission to marry me.








66. I love that it was before senior prom that we got engaged…it was so beautiful.
67. I love that you mow the lawn because it wouldn’t get done otherwise.


68. I love that you don’t mind my love of going to Disneyland.
69. I love that we used to have season passes to Magic Mountain, and actually used them.
70. I love that our first date was to see Jurassic park, and that you helped me clean up my purse when Ryan spilled coke all over it.
71.I love that you wrote me a poem to ask me to be your girlfriend…
72.And that we were on our way to magic mountain that day.
73. I love that you don’t mind a flowery couch.
74. I love that you tracked down the antique dealer that bought Mammom’s couch and continued until you were able to give it to me for my birthday.
75. I love that you don’t say anything when we use antique open cellar salts rather than a regular salt shaker. Even though secretly I know you hate those little spoons.
76. I love that you tease me that I want all of our wood furniture to be white.
77. I love that you have promised me that you will take me to Paris someday, and I know that you will because you always keep your promises.
78. I love that you always keep your promises.







79. I love that you make me feel safe.





80. I love that you make the kids feel safe.






81. I love that you don’t begrudge me sleep in days when Kaitlyn is off track and you have to work.
82. I love that you always tell me a new hairstyle looks great even if you secretly hate it.
83. I love all the poems that you wrote me when we were dating.
84. I love that you wrote a poem for Kaitlyn.
85. I love that you have dreams for our retirement…even though we are only in our thirties.
86. I love that we are growing old together.
87. I love that we have grown up together.











88. I love that you love my family and make them feel welcome when they come to visit.
89. I love that you said “Wow” when I came down the aisle on our wedding day.
90. I love the way you kiss me.
91. I love that when I need an opinion that yours is the one I ask for first, and respect the most.
92. I love that you are willing to make a fool of yourself to make the kids or me laugh.
93. I love that you want me to bring the kids to have lunch with you so they can see where you work.
94.I love that I never have to ask you to take out the trash.





95. I love that you don’t complain when I start painting another room in the house…even though it means that we will probably be changing outlet covers.
96. I love that you are always willing to go to the store for me when I’m cooking dinner.
97. I love that you never say anything about me being completely forgetful.
98. I love that you always are willing to try a new dish that I make for dinner, and tell me how good it tastes…even if it tastes awful.
99. I love that you eat vegetables for the kids, even though you don’t like them.
100. I love the relationship you are building with our children.
101. I love that you are the person I can be totally honest with and know that you will still love me no matter what.
102. I love that I can tell you my secrets.
103.I love that you will probably tease me about this being more than one hundred things.




104. I love that you know when I need a break, time out, a hug, quiet time.
105. I love that you play with our kids.


Aaron, I love you! I am so glad God has blessed me with you! I know that He has a plan for the next several decades of our marriage and I am excited to see what God has in store for us! Happy 10'th anniversary to my one and only!

A Farwell To Pastor Gregg.

Post's about Gregg's seem to be the theme for this week, today is about another Gregg. Yesterday, our Music Pastor (Gregg) announced his resignation. It was quite a shock to us, but we know that he has prayed over this for quite awhile and that God is directing his decision. It is going to be an interesting year at HBC as we are now without any sort of Pastor. God has a plan for HBC, but we aren't sure what now that our 2 main leaders have been pulled away. I think it will be a good thing for our church and am excited about the changes to come. We pray that whatever happens that the church will be on fire for the Lord! He is faithful and we know he will provide someone awesome for us....it's just that in the meantime it will be interesting.
So, Pastor Gregg, Cheryl, James and "Big George" (and Holt too if you are leaving with them!) we will miss you all! We pray that God will bless you in your new adventure.

Influential People.

Have you ever had a person in your life that was really influential in who you became later in life? The person in this picture, Gregg, is one of those people for me. With my upcoming trip to Africa he has been on my mind a lot lately. Gregg was the youth leader at our church for a few years. He became a good friend to me, and I even went on my first double date with him (he was not my date). Later he left to go to Africa for missions. We wrote a few times (this was before the internet) but eventually we lost touch. While in Africa he told me that he thought someday I would go there, and then in the next breath he would tell me about the cobras. I would tell him that because of the cobras there would be no way...ever... that God would send me to Africa. Africa is one place that I never thought in a million years I would be led to go to, and now I am gearing up to go...snakes and all. Gregg has always been at the back of my mind during special times, and I always wonder how he is doing and then I say a little prayer of thanks that he was in my life for that little while. Someday, I hope to tell him how grateful I was to have him in my life. I also pray that someday my own children will have a youth pastor and friend like him.
As far as Africa, we had our fundraising luncheon yesterday. I was in charge of the menu and shopping. I also did most of the prep work and a lot of the cooking. We made Gyros, lemon rice, green bean soup, green salad, Mozambican biscottis and Rababit (a middle eastern drink). Everyone raved about the gyros, and we made a good amount of money for it being a holiday weekend. The team that is going to Mozambique worked really well together and I think we will have a great time working together in Africa, and I am getting really excited about the work we will be doing while there. As a team we have also decided that we should take a few extra days and go on a safari! Although it will cost us more money how can we go to Africa and not do a safari, and this is probably the only time most of us will ever be in Africa.

Just a quick thankful post.

Early this year, I found out that one of my best friends throughout childhood had cheated on her husband and that they were splitting up. They were a great couple and it just breaks my heart that they and their 3 children are going through this.
Yesterday I received a birth announcement from a friend at our church back in California. They had a beautiful baby boy in December. In November she found out her husband was cheating on her. So, he left her before the baby was even born. She is now a single mother of 4.
It is so hard to hear that people close to me are going through this, and yet at the same time it makes me thankful for my wonderful husband. It is a wonderful feeling to know that no matter what Aaron is there for me. He and I talked extensively before we got married about divorce. I told him that I didn't believe in it except for 2 things...unfaithfulness or abuse of any kind mentally or physically. So, we decided that no matter what. No matter how hard things were. No matter how far apart we are at a certain time that we would stick together and work through it. In church my pastor announced that a couple had just celebrated their 75th! wedding anniversary. He asked them what it took to stay together for such a long time and their response was that they never stopped loving each other at the same time, and a lot of hard work.
So, this post is mostly for Aaron. I vow to never stop loving you, to work hard to make our marriage work. I am so glad that we agreed not to get a divorce no matter what, and that I feel secure in you. You are my rock. I am so glad that God blessed me with you.


**Just a quick disclaimer***
These are my feelings alone, and I am not condeming anyone who has gone through a divorce. This is just what Aaron and myself have set for our goals in marriage. Please know that I am sad for people whose marriage doesn't work out, but I do not condem or judge them.

I can't believe it has been a month since I last blogged!

Well, sorry to keep you all waiting on pins and needles! Things have been hectic to say the least. Our house is now officially listed and we are waiting for our first appointment for someone to come and see it. It has been a long hard road to get this house ready, it has taken us a lot longer than we thought it would, but I think the extra work we put into it will help sell it a little more quickly.
We had put in an offer on another house, but somebody else beat us to the punch. So, it is back to more looking. I am getting frustrated though since I am not finding something I like.
On the missions trip front things are going well. The trip has been set up for September 19-30th. Some of you have asked if I am taking the kids with me. My first thought was no way, but then I found out that there might be some children going so I am thinking of taking Kaitlyn with me. I think it would be an excellent expierence for her. I am just waiting to hear what the age limits are before we decide on that.
Other than that things have been pretty quiet, the house has been consuming all of my time and efforts. Hope things are well with everyone, next blog update probably when the house sells, unless something important comes up!

So many things going on!!

The Wampler household is full of preparations! We have decided to move. The train tracks behind our house are going to be used for a local light rail commuter train. What this means is that we would have a train going behind our house every 15 minutes. Not fun! When we first moved into this house we asked around about the tracks, we were told that it hardly ever comes through and there were no plans to use them on a regular basis for about 30 years. Then we got some fliers that said they were looking at starting the project in 5 years, and we started talking about moving but still not real worried because it was just rumors. Well, a few weeks ago we heard that is has been bumped up to 18 months because they received funding for it. It is still in talks but we have decided to move while our property price is still above what we owe on it. We love this neighborhood and we really love this house. We are sad to leave it, but are trusting God that he has something better in store for us. Our plan is to have the house listed by the end of the week, which means I am in full cleaning and decluttering mode! Although, I do keep telling Aaron that I don't want to do this. We are hoping to have this house sold by May (which is quite feasible in this area) and hoped to be moved in June.
We are hoping to find a house that needs a lot of renovations (for a good price) that we can totally gut and renovate to our specifications...but if we find something that we absolutely love that doesn't need any work well, we would be open to that too.
Other preparations is that our church is hosting a missions trip to Mozambique, Africa. We have some members of our church that became missionary's over there last year and our church wants to go support them. With that being said Aaron and I are planning on going. I am a definite yes while Aaron has to see when the exact dates are and see if his work schedule will allow it. I am so excited to be able to go to another country and tell them all about God's love for us! While there we will be working in an orphanage, hosting a "True love waits" program to help combat the spread of AIDS, doing a sports program for the teens and going into the bush to tell them stories about God and his incredible love for us! It should be an amazing experience, and I think that is part of the reason we have to move is so that I can go on this trip. I am really praying that Aaron will be able to experience this with me, but he also told me that if he can't go he thinks I should still go. What an amazing husband! Right now the dates are not set in stone but it will be either in September or October. I'm sure I will have lots more to post on this when the training starts for it.
OK, so I've got to get back to the housework, but I wanted to share our news with everyone! Please pray for us! Life has not slowed down one bit since I quit my job, but the blessings sure keep pouring in. God has great things in store for this family!

Handling a situation with love, grace and forgiveness.

As per my last post I was really angry with the people we carpool with. So, I called them that day and told them that I no longer work for JetBlue and that I will be more than happy to take the afternoon pickups. See, the mom was not too keen about afternoon's because she has a kindergardener (half days) who she picks up as well. Well, after I called and spoke with the husband I didn't think much else about it, but later that night she called me.
She said "So I heard you quit your job" and
I said yes, but it has been in the works but today I felt it was time to just let it go. She then said "I'm sure you were really angry with me today"
"I was upset that my daughter was picked up by someone who I don't know and taken to a strange home, and while I don't doubt your judgement in chacter I don't like the fact that she was sent home with some one I have never met"
She apologized several times, and I told her that I forgive her. It was a bad judgement call, and she knows she would have been angry if it had happened to her. I was glad that I had time to calm down before speaking with her, so that I could speak with her with a forgiving heart.

As for Kaitlyn, we had always told her to not go with strangers. But when the school office calls your class room and tells you that you are to ride home with a certain mom who are you to doubt that. We did have a long conversation about it though. I did tell her that if she is EVER told to go home with someone she doesn't know is supposed to pick her up then she is to go to the office and tell them she needs to check with her mom first. Especially if it is someone she doesn't know, but even if it is someone she does know but I didn't tell her would be picking her up. She cried a bit, but I did explain to her that I wasn't angry with her, just with Heather for having someone I don't know take her with them. It was a good learning lesson for her, and she knows if it wasn't the right person it could have been really scary.

So even though this was a really bad situation I do think that some good has come out of it.

Reaffirming my decision.

First of all I want to thank everyone for their kind posts about me leaving JetBlue. Every time I turn around right now I feel affirmed in our decision. Today's was one of the greatest affirmations yet.
I usually work 3:15-9:15 Mon-Thurs. Today, I did start my shift at 3:15 but I am still sick so I went into "after call" (it basically stops the calls coming in) and went upstairs to refill my water. While up there the phone rang and it was the lady I carpool with. She said she went skiing with her husband and it was very crowded so they were getting back late... so she called someone else and had her take the girls to their house until she could pick them up. This made me so angry! I do not know this parent at all, I have no clue where she lives and my daughter is at her house???? And you did not even bother to call me??? Well, I said ok (it was too late Kaitlyn was already there) and I had to get back to work. Well, when I got back my heart was racing, partly from the cold and partly from being upset/worried/mad so I called work and told them that I was done for the day. I am just so angry that a person that is supposed to be responsible for my daughter sent her home with someone I don't know!
I am mulling over what I should say to this parent, but I need to cool down before hand. Right now I am leaning to taking my equipment into JetBlue and saying I'm done right now. That way I can call this parent and tell her the same thing.
So, yes every where I turn right now God is reaffirming my decision.


****Update: I have decided that as of today I no longer work for JetBlue. I will be picking Kaitlyn up in the afternoons and she will be dropped off in the morning's by the father of the people we carpool with (who is much more reliable than his wife) and that way I know she won't be going anywhere else.

The Happiest place on earth and decisions.

We had a wonderful time at my mom and dad's. We ended up driving the 11 hours it takes because flights were so full. We had a fun time on the drive out though. The kids brought along their CD's so we played them and sang funny so the drive didn't seem too bad.
Disneyland was a lot of fun! The kids had a great time and we did a lot of things that we didn't get to do last time. We took them on the little roller coaster in toon town and Aidan loved it. (I never did get Kaitlyn to go on space mountain with me). We had a blast but really missed having Aaron their with us. I wish I could post some pictures of our fun trip but I left the camera at home so I will have to get the pictures from my parents before I can post them.
The drive home seemed a lot longer and that could be that I was on the verge of getting sick. That night I started getting a sore throat and I woke up yesterday with a really bad sore throat and a stuffy head. Today I feel like I have something pounding my head so I am hoping to get some time off work....
Speaking of work, while driving I had lots of time to think and pray over my job. I have not been happy working their for awhile now. And after being forced to work overtime I was really upset. And While looking to see how much time off I have accrued I also noticed that I was not paid for those 4 hours that I was forced to work.
Also, with Aaron's new job the kids are by themselves more than I would like. Aidan just doesn't understand the concept of being quiet while I am working. We have tried movies and snacks and things and he is just too much of a distraction. Right now it isn't so bad because it is only 45 mins until Kaitlyn is home and then they play upstairs together. In about 4 weeks though I am starting a new shift that would require him to be with me for several hours. I would start at 1:15, and I just don't see how we are going to work it.
We have looked into putting him into daycare for those hours, but it would take my entire month's salary to do that. So, then I would be miserable (because I dislike the job) and my son would be in daycare...something that Aaron and I had always said that we didn't want to do. I would only be working for the flight benefits and we can't even make it on flights. So, I have decided to turn in my resignation. This has been a very difficult decision for me, and Aaron says he supports whatever I feel is best. I may go back to it when Aidan goes back to school, but I am also looking for another job that I may like better.
While I thought that working from home would be one of the best things I could do, I have really hated it this entire year. You are completely and totally alone in your room, with people yelling at you and wanting you to fix whatever problems they have. There is no one to vent to, and if you pause to take a breath before the next call comes in it goes against your stats, of which you only have 1 min per week to make extra notes in people's records, to stop and go to the bathroom or to just stop and take a mental breath before heading on to the next person.
A minute is not a long time to accomplish all of that, and you find your mental health seconds disappearing. You have a supervisor that communicates via email, but sometimes that just isn't enough. While doing this job I have been called stupid, idiot, a bitch and several other names that I don't have the time to list. I have had to listen to people chew their food, use the toilet, and swear at their kids and threaten suicide...all in the name of good customer service.
So, right now our little family is going through a lot of changes, some for the better such as Aaron's new job, and some not so good, such as me quitting. But I know that God has a better plan for us and that mentally and emotionally I will be a better mom and wife than I am right now. I know that this is what God is leading me to do and I am ok with that, I don't know how it will all work out but that is what makes God so wonderful! So, please say a prayer for us that God will direct us in the ways he wants us to go and that we will listen.

Off to the happiest place on earth....

Which would be my mom and dad's! Well, we are going to Disneyland too, which is technically the happiest place, but for me it is my mom and dads. I can't wait to see them and several other members of my family!
Only bummer, we (the kids and I) may end up driving instead. The flights look really booked, so we will try to make it, but we may just end up driving. Aaron is going to stay home and do work stuff. We are sad that he can't come this time, but I am looking forward to 5 entire days off from work!!! As busy as we have been lately I totally need a break.
The kids are making their lists of what they rides they want to hit first. I'm trying to talk Kaitlyn into going on Space Mountain with me, but so far she is not budging. Maybe I can get My mom to go instead.
I'll make sure to post some photo's when we get back! TTFN! (TaTa for Now!)

Wow, time sure flies.

It doesn't seem like all this time has passed since I last blogged. Life has just been very hectic since Aaron received that promotion.
I did not get the Analyst job, and to be honest I did not think I would get it. I don't have any experience with that, although if trained I know I could do it well. So, I am still watching for something else within the company.
I am struggling with my job right now. The new bill of rights has made people think that we can give them whatever they demand and they yell at us all the time. Lately, I have been very grateful for the few nice calls I get. Before the 14th the majority of the people were really nice and I was enjoying it. Now I dread going to work every day. To make matters worse, the call volumes have been extremely high and they are "strongly encouraging us to work overtime" almost every weekend. I am one of those who can work very few overtime hours and by adding Aaron's new job to the mix it has made things even worse. He has not been getting home until after 6 almost every night since starting this job. I am pulled by work and my kids trying to balance it. I have looked into taking a leave of absence just until Aaron's job gets into a more normal pace, but it doesn't look like my work will let me have anything like that. Anyways, I digress I am just a little stressed out being pulled in several different ways and not knowing which is best. I really don't want to quit with JetBlue, but I really don't know what the best answer is. I am praying that I will be shown the way I should go, but right now I just don't have a clear answer. OK, onto other things....
Next weekend I am taking the kids to California to visit my mom and dad. I am looking forward to it, and the kids are really excited that Poppa is funding a trip to Disneyland. Yes, again. My mom sent me an email and asked where the kids would like to go. So, I asked them and they both yelled "DISNEYLAND!" So, we will be there next Friday, me, the kids and Grammie and Poppa. Aaron is staying home because he will be in a class and just can't get away right now, but I wanted to go see my parents while Kaitlyn is on break.
Speaking of the kids....They spent the last 3 days at Aunt Janet's and Grammie and Poppa's (Aaron's parents). They had a blast. But next time we will have to remember to take clothes with us. It was totally spontaneous and so much fun for them. We went to borrow Aaron's parents car until we can afford to buy another one (Aaron's last job provided him a truck so we didn't need another vehicle). We met halfway between the 2 houses and Kaitlyn casually said "I wish I could go with Poppa". Well, Aunt Janet said "I don't see why not." and then proceeded to tell me she was coming this way Wednesday so she could bring her back then. Well then of course Aidan wants to go to, so they both end up going. They bought some clothes, toothbrushes and toys at the dollar store while up there. They really did have a great time! Thank you Aunt Janet and Grammie and Poppa! They are already talking about going back to do it again.
Aaron and I enjoyed having some time to ourselves, and being kid less for a few days. I was able to get a lot done around the house without being interrupted a million times. But I did miss them a lot. Things seemed too quiet around here, and I am glad to have them home.

Happy Birthday to Aaron!!!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I can't believe that we have been married for almost 10 years and have shared almost 1/3 of our lives together. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. I am so proud to be your wife and I love you more today than I ever have. I wish you all the best on your day!
Love you, love me.


Photo taken on our honeymoon at St. Patricks point in Northern Calfornia. In 1997.

Interview update.

Well, I think my interview went well. It was an actual interview this time. I should hear something by Wednesday they said, so we will see. I don't have my hopes up but it would be a great position to have. Thanks for thinking of me!

Wish me luck...again!

I am interviewing tomorrow for a systems analysis position. It would be a full time office position, no more working crazy hours. And I would be off the phones. I will be interviewing with the same girl that I did when I went in for the auditing position. So, I don't have my hopes up very much. But hey it doesn't hurt to try. My only problem is that I don't have any experience with something like this, but I think I can do it. Esp. if they give me training, then I would be able to pick it up no problem.
Anyways, say a little prayer for me tomorrow. Thanks!

Congratulations!!

For Aaron. He was offered the instructors position for Union Pacific railroad! The position is here in SLC at SLCC at the redwood campus. They want him to start tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly this is happening. I am so excited to get rid of the greasy work clothes (well not actually get rid of them because he will be wearing them to work on the yard). No more greasy fingerprints on the walls, and no more nasty work boots. I am just too happy about that, but more importantly I am so happy for him. He set this goal when he started with the railroad 8 years ago and each different job he took was to position himself for this job.
Way to go, Aaron! I am so proud of you!!!

Tinkerbell

So here it is my first attmept at sewing an outfit. I have learned a lot while trying to figure this out...like what those little notches are supposed to be used for. So, yes the skirt is a little crooked. It was acutally a little more crooked, but I ripped out the seams and tried it again. Also, my stiching was a little crooked and where the bodice and skirt meet it was supposed to be in a little point on the front. I could not for the life of me figure that one out so after a few attempts I just sewed it straight, so that is why the purple ribbon is there, but I think it looks cute that way. The shoulder straps (which can't be seen due to all her hair) are also of the purple ribbon because I thought it would be cute that way and I didn't want to try to figure out how to turn fabric the size of ribbons right side out.
So, I still need to make the wings and put the velcro on for the back closure, but all in all for my first attempt I don't think I did too bad.
I still have a long ways to go though.

Job, Jetblue, and stuff.

Aaron received a call Friday afternoon that they would like to do a phone interview with him this up coming Thursday. We are leaving it in God's hands, but I'm excited and nervous for him at the same time. This is a position that he has said he would want to have since he started working for Union Pacific almost 9 years ago! We have no idea if he will be offered a position, or where it will be if offered...but we are placing it in God's hands.
On the JetBlue front, things are starting to get back to normal. There have been many ups and downs with them the last week but all in all I am very proud of the way our company is handling the situation. I think the customers are also coming around to see that we are doing everything that we can to accommodate them (even too much in some cases!). They are setting up a customer's bill of rights that will cost JetBlue millions of dollars (which was put into effect retroactively of Valentines). I am also amazed of what people are asking us to compensate them for...calling us on there cell phones for example! I am glad that we are getting back to normal, and that I actually sold some tickets last night! That means that all is not lost and some people still have faith in our company.
Well, for some other news. I have decided I am determined to learn how to sew. I made a few pillows for the kids dolls, and kitties, and also a dog bed for Cookie. Cookie really likes her dog pillow/bed. And since she sleeps in my office while I am working I wanted something that matched the lavender. And while it is not perfect I don't think any of them look too bad. Now I have moved on to trying to make a Tinkerbell outfit for Kaitlyn's AG dolls. I have to bodice put together with a few a modifications, but I got stuck while trying to figure out how to gather the skirt. I had the "Complete idiots guide to sewing" but every time I tried to find information in there it didn't have what I was looking for so Aaron bought me "Sewing for Dummies" (upon my request) And while I haven't been able to try anything in it as of yet it answered all the questions the other book didn't. So, I am teaching myself how to sew. I told Kaitlyn it might not be great as I am just learning, but she doesn't care she is just happy for me to be trying. I'll post a picture of it when I am through.
And a little bit about Aidan since I can't leave him out when I am seeking about the rest of us. He is healing from his cold but his voice sounds funny to me. It is changing and I stopped short the other day and noticed that it is coming away from that sweet little toddler's voice into a boys voice....I am so not ready for him to be a big boy yet (although he tell's me that is what he is constantly). I can't believe how much growing up he is doing lately. AHH if we could just get this time to slow down just a bit! Then he talks about how excited he is that "His snow is back!" and I think to myself that he still has a few more years of growing to do. And that makes me smile!

Jetblue.

Well, This has not been a fun week, well I guess I shouldn't say week but at least half a week. It has been exhausting and frustrating, but fun I would not say.
It started on Monday actually with a few call here and there questioning what JetBlue was doing in terms of their flights due to the "Nor Eastern" coming in. The answer, "We are continually tracking the storm to see what is going to happen. We don't want to cancel your flights if we don't have to." In other words, nothing.
Valentines day comes and the storm comes with it. In full force! Planes were stranded and passengers were stranded, and ice was still coming. There were supposed to be "Pockets" of weather that we were supposed to get our planes out through but that didn't happen. The reasoning...Planes were freezing to the ground, which means that the deicing equipment had to be moved in order to unfreeze those planes.
There were 259 of our 505 flights that were canceled. It was a nightmare. JetBlue is still suffering from it, and are now trying to realign planes and flight crews. They have decided to cancel for Saturday, Sunday and Monday all of our flights that are E190's (the smaller planes). Which is 155 flights of itself. This is to help get everything back on track, but it is also creating more frustrations for our customers.
I believe this was a learning experience for our company. They have learned (finally!) that it is helpful to cancel flights before a big storm, there have been many many times that we have been lucky and there have been "pockets" of good weather where we could take off. I think there are a lot of a angry people. I am not looking forward to going back to work, and am enjoying my few days off. I may work a bit of overtime tomorrow mostly because I feel bad for our customers. When all of this happened the call volume not only went up but got overwhelming. I'm talking so much so that our phone systems could not handle it, the phone company had to work with us to actually be able to hold them on the line long enough to say "We are sorry our call volume is too high please try again later" (not a direct quote but basically that is what it said), and then when they finally got through to us we basically didn't have enough answers for them. ... Some of the questions they want to know from us... Where is my baggage? Why did you cancel more flights? Will my flight actually take off since it is significantly delayed? Are you sure this flight will take off? Is it going to be back to normal tomorrow? Why are other airlines able to get their flights off the ground and you can't?.... The list goes on and on, and basically our answers are "I'm sorry but I don't have an answer for that" or "I can't tell you for sure but please keep checking with us", you get the gist of it ... And THEN if we had to get a supervisor for them (like to have them unchecked so we could cancel and refund their money) there was a 20-30 minute hold time for that. Luckily, I was able to get some WONDERFUL people on the phones who were very understanding, there were a few who weren't but for the most part everyone was pretty gracious. But now that the ice storm is over and we are still canceling flights...well, I don't think they are going to be so understanding about it anymore.
I feel so bad for them, it is a huge holiday for the east coast. Basically, it is like a spring break and they were planning on having a wonderful vacation.
So, say a little prayer for me this week as I will be handling a lot of disgruntled customers for days to come.

Jobs, A Birthday, and Praise Team.

There is so much happening that I totally forgot to post this week! First off I want to wish Aidan A Very HAPPY 4th Birthday!

He had to share his birthday with the super bowl this year, but it was Ok with him since he was also able to share it with some good friends. We went to our friends house and had a good time, and he got to play with lots of his friends. We will celebrate further in March when we head back to California for a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal park...or as Aidan puts it, "to feed the giraffes".
I had my "audition" for praise team on Tuesday and am happy to announce that I will start singing this upcoming Sunday. I am very excited for that. And Pastor Greg gave me some good information on how to build my range back up again, since it has been so long since I have actually sung in a group.
On the job front: Still no news of the auditing job for myself. I called and spoke with her on Tuesday and she said that there were a few people who had pushed their interviews into this week and that I should hear something by the end of the week. I will probably wait until Tuesday and if I don't hear anything then I will call her again as I was told that the position was to start on Valentines day.
On the job fron for Aaron: The railroad is hiring 4 instructors positions. 2 of them are here in the SLC, one in Spring TX and the other in Chicago. He has decided to put in for it. We are not sure what will happen and are leaving it in the Lord's hands. We know that he will move us in need be and will have us stay if our time in SLC is not up. We are praying that he guides this process. This has been a position that Aaron has been working towards, it would get him out of the field and back into a class room, which is where he is meant to be. He loves teaching and it shows. Please, pray for us as we are going through this process of change. I think it would be good for both of us with a change in jobs, but only God know's what is best.

*****A quick update: I just recieved an email that I did not get the job, but my interest is being placed in a "pool of candidates" to choose from if extra need arises. Not exactly what we were hoping for, but at least I know now. Thanks for the well wishes.