job interview!

I got a job interview! It's with Scottsdale Health Care for a rehabilitation aide. I don't know what the pay is and the position is "On Call" so it might not be something I can do. But it will be working with patients on assigned therapies they need to do. And I would get to work under physical and occupational therapists! It might be a good way to get my foot in the door for Scottsdale Health Center! http://www.shc.org is there website - check them out! My interview is Thursday March 5th! I have a feeling I'm overqualified (the only required education is a high school diploma) but that might make them want me - because I have my bachelors and I'm planning to get my masters in a very related field! I'll keep you updated with how it goes! I'm so so excited and am praying for this opportunity...if it is the opportunity God wants me to have right now.

Disneyland - February!

Pictures from huntington beach and disneyland! enjoy :)

oh life....

So I haven't posted about my job yet and I think I should. For the last 9 months I have worked for a wonderful agency in a program called Healthy Families. I have loved my job and I have despised my job. It is a great program but what I see in some families is so discouraging and I was thinking about quitting about a month ago. I decided to stay at my job and that even though it was hard at times I was helping the families that I met with a little bit at a time. Also, there are some amazing families that I get to talk with and it is so encouraging to hear their stories and talk with them about their future. Well, last Friday (the 13th actually...haha) an email was sent out to all the Healthy Families staff to let us know of some budget cuts. We are mostly funded by DES (Department of Economic Security) and they were so grossly over budget and they did not plan well at all. Therefore they slashed our funding by 75%. Which means that this program which served thousands families state wide and employed hundreds of people will now have to operate on a quarter...25%...of the money that they were once able to operate on. Oh...and they gave us 2 weeks notice; the funds run out February 28th.

I was on a visit when my coworker called me 2x in a row so I excused myself to take the call. She told me of the emial that was sent out and my heart dropped, my stomach turned, and I had to fight back tears. I couldn't believe that they were doing this - we knew that with only 25% of the money coming in we were both going to be laid off. I went back into the visit, finished up quickly and went home to let my mind race freely as to what this means. I called Ben and told him and he responded so well...exactly how I needed him to respond: encouraging, sympathetic, and positive. When I got home I started searching for jobs (I forgot how overwhelming that feels!) I updated my resume and posted it on 3 online sites, careerbuilers.com and jobbing.com and monster.com! I think I felt so overwhelmed that I needed to know that I was doing everything I could do get a job. We hadn't even been told yet for sure that I would be laid off but I just knew that it was over.

I spent the weekend thinking about what I could do and where I should look for work...with all the thoughts in my head racing like...we have a mortgage and bills....will we make enough to get by?! There were so many layoffs in my program and other like it that were funded by DES that there will be tons of people applying for the exact type of job that I would be applying for! I started to panic a little bit...but I believe that God knows and sees everything - and that includes me and my job. I knew God foresaw this and He had another job waiting for me - I just needed to be led to it! I prayed a lot and thought about what God could have in store for me.

I got the news on Tuesday the 17th that for sure I was laid off and my last date of employment would be February 27th. I was prepared for this and was able to now tell all of my 13 families that I served that we needed to stop services. Those were some HARD phone calls. I'm not looking forward to this week of meeting with them for the last time :(

Ben and I had been planning on taking Eden to Disneyland for her birthday which was Feb 19th. We took his youngest sister Hailey in January and we had so much fun we knew we wanted to do the same for Eden. I was nervous to spend the money and would have rather added that to our savings account (although some reservations had already been made so we would have lost that money...) but we knew that the time with them on this trip would be priceless and we had been looking forward to this trip so so much! So...we left the next day and took them to Disneyland...such a good decision! I know that we will just need to sacrifice a few things this week and in the coming weeks so that we will get by - totally worth it! I'll post pictures in a new more positive blog.

Okay so Tuesday I decided to post my info and resume on a couple nanny sites online. I didn't know if anything would come it but I thought it could. I had just finished listing my info and kind of job I am looking for and less than 30 minutes later I got an email about a job description that matched what I was looking for. It was for a family that needed someone 2 days a week for a 2 month old baby - that was it - one baby! It was part time, yes, but that's ok! It was something and it was a 2 month old! So I emailed them my phone number and email address and let them know about me and why I would be great to hire! 3 days later I get a phone call from that family and we had a phone interview...40 minutes long! I didn't realize that it was the parents at first (I thought it was like the nanny agency calling) so I was really nervous and was shaking a little bit. The more we talked the more comfortable I felt and at the end of the conversation they invited me over to meet with them in person at their house. I set a time with them for Sunday at 1:30.

As I started to think about being a nanny long term I got a little sad about not having vacation time or sick days to be able to call in (for benefits I can switch to Ben's so that isn't a big deal). I also thought about the fact that I do want to go back to school in the next couple years and it would be great to work somewhere that helps to pay for further education. So I knew that I needed to tell this family that I'm not sure about long term anymore but that I still needed a job for right now. Surprisingly they were so understanding of my desire to get my masters and that working somewhere that helps with tuition makes a lot of sense. They also need someone as the mom goes back to work tomorrow. They offerred me the job as a kind of temporary thing (so far we have the month of March scheduled) and I will keep them updated with how my job search is going and they will let me know if they find a premenant nanny (although they didn't seem anxious to look for someone else). When I said that I was looking for a job in a hospital they were like, "We might know someone who works at Mayo...we'll have to see for you!" I was thinking "Are you kidding me!? These people are offerring to help me find a job that would take me away from them?!" I felt so amazing walking away from their house! I felt like God just handed this to me as if to say, "Here is a job! This is what I had waiting for you, this is perfect for your needs and perfect for you and perfect timing. Dang I'm trustworthy aren't I?" God is trustworthy - He had a plan for me and I feel so blessed and honored to be a part of His great Plan.

The other totally awesome thing and what I am very thankful to God for is that this family is Christian! They go to a community church, wanted a trustworthy nanny, and were thrilled that I am a Christian! They are laid back and yet knew how they wanted their little baby cared for. They love that I have child development knowlege and want me to do those activities with their baby.

I am overwhelmed tonight but not with the stress of finding a job...I am overwhelmed with the amazing love that God has for me and that he has a plan for my life! I still can't believe it but it is coming true before my eyes! I am so happy and can't wait to see what God has next for me!

If you actually read this whole blog until now THANKS! I don't know if anyone actually reads my blog and this one is so long and wordy! But thanks if you did - I don't blame you if you didn't! I'll post more about how my first days go with this family (I start March 3rd) and what God puts on my heart as to what I should pursue right now.

My first hockey game!

First I needed to post a picture of my new hair! I got it cut and colored and I have never felt better walking out of the salon! I can not wait to play more with it and see what it can do!


Now for the hockey!

Ben's work, Discount Tire, gives sports tickets out to their employees for every game that goes on (Suns, Cardinals, D-Backs, Coyotes...and several other teams) Ben won the seats on the glass for the Coyotes hockey game tonight! I was really excited to go because I have never been to a hockey game in my whole life! So...I need to write down all my thoughts on hockey and some of my experiences tonight.

~ There is a "puck drop" at the beginning where someone from the community walks out on the ice (but they lay a carpet down) and they drop the puck. It doesn't start the game...the players fake hit it after the drop...there is no point to this "puck drop."

~ There are no quarters or halves...they have 3 periods! Why do they have these odd numbered things? What happened to half time? ....it doesn't exist in hockey.

~ The puck switches between teams so so often that the term "turnover" or "interception" have no place. Whoever gets the puck gets the puck.

~ They have cheerleaders! Can you imagine wearing a cheerleader's outfit on the ice? They are crazy in my mind.

~ I have never heard to much yelling and cursing at a sports event in my life! Hockey fans are potty mouths! hahaha

~ To be "checked" looks really painful and I got to see it right infront of me a few times!

~ The puck makes a really loud and startling sound when it hits the glass

~ Tonight a puck came down between the net and the glass, hit the wall, bounced over me, and the guy sitting next to me caught it

~ You encourage and cheer on fights between players

~ A lot of the players really do have gaps in their teeth where teeth have been knocked out!

~ I was on the big center screen

~ The seats we got were also passes to the "club" which means we got special passes to wear around our necks and go to this great room under the stands

~ In this "club" there is an amazing buffet with everything from rice to corn and black bean salad (YUMMY!)...to pizza to hot dogs to beef tenderloin carved from the bone (gross).

~ There was a whole ice cream bar! That was delicious!

~ We went to the club first and ate a little dinner. Then I got to get a free pinnapple and malibu (just about my favorite drink!) and free popcorn and went to our seats

~ I also got a free coffee/hot chocolate during the game to help keep me warm and awake

~ I wasn't as cold as I thought I would be

~ I could not believe how close we were to the action!

~ There was this kid...probably about 6 or 7 years old yelling at the players. He would yell "Hit 'em where it hurts" "Take 'em down!" "Come on, get up! Get him!" It was hilarious to see him be so intense about the game!

~ Most importantly Ben and I had a fun evening together and just played and laughed and joked and loved each other. I love being with my husband!

It was a really fun night - I am a total fan of going to hockey games now. I don't know how much I'll like it when I'm not in the glass seats or have a pass to the club to get free food and drinks. But I will definitely do it again!

new art work!

I saw a picture in a magazine and thought - oh I could do this at home! I LOVE doing that! What I saw was a piece of canvas with a word painted in lots of different languages. I absolutely loved it and wanted to do it for my livingroom. I decided to do 2 canvases: 1 with the word PLAY, the other FAMILY

Last week my friend Morgan came over to help me paint the base coat on the canvas. The background is taupe (the color on most walls in my house) I had a great time getting to know Morgan better as we painted. Thanks Morgan!

Carly Lynch came over tonight to paint the words for me! After thinking about my writing I realized that I really can't do this and I knew Carly has great writing and is creative so I asked her if she would. She has such a wonderful, giving heart; she said yes right away! We grabbed JAMBA on our way home and Carly got started! Carly did all the work - all I did was keep the paint supply up and conversation going. I am so blessed to have people in my life that are willing to do these things for me! I thought it would be more of a team effort but it was not and I am so glad it wasn't! She did such an amazing job - I can't believe that it is going to be hanging in my livingroom!

We didn't have time to do the other canvas which will say Family...in about 7 languages! Carly wants to do that one too and I am so so glad because this one looks SO good! I hope we can do that soon. I'll definitely be posting pictures about that as soon as it happens!

a little re-arranging!

This is our living room...newly arranged! Ben was gone all morning for work and then went out in the evening with his friends. So I decided that since I didn't like how it was arranged before that I would move everything until I liked it! I'm learning to love my house for what it is and it helps that we have plans now that will allow for it to feel way more like a home!

We are going to take all the tile out in our house and stain the concrete so we can save the money we would have put in the flooring into other projects. We are going to redo the shower in the master and get new toilets and vanities. That will probably all take place in the next 6 months so I will post about those as they happen. So...this is the living room for now but when Ben got home he said he hated it so we'll see how long it lasts!

Birthday in Disneyland!

A little over a month ago Ben and I got annual passes to Disneyland! We were so excited to make 2009 be a year of playing together and taking trips to Disneyland :) We got the idea to take our sisters to Disneyland on their birthdays as it worked out for each one. The first sister to have a birthday is Hailey so we thought it would be fun to plan a trip and surprise her with it! We decided to wake her up at midnight on her birthday and tell her we are taking her to Disneyland so pack and let's go! The few people that I told...the ones that needed to know Ben or I or Hailey would be gone...all were so excited for her and said how much fun it would be. Ben I just took that as affirmation that we were doing a great thing. We set everything up with her parents and were really excited to go wake her up.

Ben and I snuck into her room, turned her light on and slowly nudged her awake. She was NOT happy at all to be woken up and did not want to talk to us at all. Ben and I kinda looked at each other not knowing what to do and he started to tell her that she was going to Disneyland...that we were there to take her Disneyland right then. She tells us that she does not remember any of this but when she finally sat up she just kept shaking her head like "no, I'm not going to Disneyland." We were like.."Actually you are...that is our birthday present to you."

Then she kinda woke the rest of the way up and realized that this meant she wasn't going to school to get the balloons and a cake from her friends, she wasn't going to see Sean, her boyfriend, and that she wouldn't be with her mom and dad. She started crying and saying...but I was going to go to school!

What Ben and I did not think through was that Hailey does not like it when the plan changes, she does not like change at all. If the furniture is rearranged she gets upset! We didn't think through that she had planned what her 16th birthday was going to look like and although we were taking her to her favorite theme park we were changing her plan. And that was really upsetting to 16 year old Hailey who was woken up from her sleep.

We were kinda holding our breath as Brenda talked to her about how change is ok and that she will have a good time...Hailey slowly packed and we were on our way soon enough. We decided to pick up Hannah Kleven, her best friend, so that she would at least see one friend on her birthday. Hannah was excited to get a call at 1am inviting her to come...and 20 minutes later we were at her house to take her with us.

We...actually Ben drove through the night (he had slept from about 1pm-8pm) and I who normally can sleep in a car did not sleep hardly at all! I think I slept for about 20 minutes at a time but only a few times. Man was I tired!

We got to Anaheim around 6:30am and went straight to IHOP, Hailey's favorite breakfast place, where I had about 5 cups of coffee and we had a delicious breakfast! After that we went to our hotel (they let us check in at 8:30am!) We were able to set all of our stuff up instead of leaving it in the car! We decided to head over to the park eventhough it didn't open until 10am. After getting the girls' tickets we went to the gate and they let us in for the Magic Hour! We got in early! That allowed us to see the characters and get pictures with the ones we wanted and we were able to walk around such empty streets of Disneyland! So cool!

Here is Hailey infront of Sleeping Beauty's Castle...
Hailey and Hannah :)
Hailey decided this would be her new car!
Yummy yummy Disneyland Ice cream!
On Thunder Mountain...they screamed at the top of their lungs and at the top of their range for the whole ride! I got a video of it and will try to post it at the end of the blog if you care to hear their ear piercing screams!
On the monarail taking us to dinner at the Rainforst Cafe!

The trip was a great one and I think Hailey did enjoy her birthday afterall! We just will never wake anyone up and surprise them with anything ever again!

I can't figure out the video but if I do I will post it!