Pictures from March

We surprised my mom at a sports bar to watch the UofA game...they made it into the sweet 16!
She didn't even know we were coming to Cali and then we all got to go to Disneyland. It was a year of surprised for my mom!

We went to the beach the day we got there - windy and cold - but we still had fun and took some pictures.

It has been a long time since we were all together like this!

First ride of the day!

Me and Cathy :)

We took the train around the park

At Tarzan's Tree House...I had never been through it.

We LOVE this ride - no motion sickness in our family!!!

My mom's birthday dessert from a delicious restaurant in Disneyland!

Snow White's wishing well

My sisters with the cute dwarfs behind us

Last ride of the night - Dumbo!

Saying good bye to Disneyland...sigh...

And this is the video from my mom's surprise party for her 50th. Her sister Paulette who she dearly misses came in just for her party and surprised my mom - you'll see her reaction. It makes me cry.

Pills and flowers

I asked my sister about the pictures and the video - she will send them to me soon. Until then I decided to post about my vitamins and supplements that I take. A couple of weeks ago I decided that Ben and I should take vitamins. My gracious husband humored me and started taking the vitamins along with me - and he really likes how he feels with them! I really felt that we did't get enough nutrition in the food we eat and I think our bodies suffer all around from lack of nutrition. So I talked to my cousin-in-law Brent who is a chiropractor and has tons of knowledge about supplements. He has his office stocked with lots of them so these are what we bought. The group on my left is what I take in the morning, the group on the right I take at night. some pills are in both and the bottle in the middle is vitamin D drops that we take 2x per day.

I know that I was the one with the grand idea but I discovered that I do not like taking pills and I don't take them very well. I choke, gag, and have even spit them back out. Wouldn't you if you took this many??? Ben is my cheerleader who says to me over and over "Just do it" "Don't think about it" And he does it lovingly. I was the one who brought them home and he is the one convincing me to take them almost every time! I did discover that if I take them with pinnapple juice I handle it much better than with water. A couple of the pills have an awful taste. I still gag - I think I will always gag. But at least now I am not spitting them out! These are all of the bottles.

I also wanted to put a little post in about my flower garden. I started this yesterday and was so happy to finally have something pretty in there! And I think I will truly appreciate it because it took a lot of work to get the planter cleaned out and new soil in there. I love my pretty purple and white daisies - I just hope they hold up well in the sun...the papers said they would but this planter is right in the sun almost all day. I'll keep you updated with how the flowers grow :)

updates March and April

My blog title "Ever Changing Life" is so appropriate right now. That is partially why I have not blogged in over a month...any time I though oh I should blog about that something new happened and I was busy with that or didn't know how to blog about it. But I thought I should just sit and write. So here I am on a rainy Saturday looking out my livingroom window listening to the falling rain. I love the sound of the rain! I am sipping on my delicious TODDY coffee (http://toddycafe.com) and eating the last of my birthday brownies. I like cake but I LOVE brownies so I asked for my mom's zebra brownies for my birthday this year. SO YUMMY!

Ok so I'm thinking back to my last blog entry....and I told you all that I had my job interview at shc. Well...I got the job! It pays about 30% less than my old job :( and is on call so they don't promise any hours....they told me to expect 2-8 shifts per month (I know what a range)! I am encouraged because most of the other on call workers are in school and I am not so I might be more available than the others to pick up extra shifts when needed. They also like to promote on call workers to part time after a trial run as on call. I hope that I do this job well and that I like it!

I decided that although I got this job I would still try to find another part time job, possibly as a nanny. I interviewed with one mom on Friday and have applied to 2 other families so we will see what happens with that! They pay almost what I was making at my old job so I'm praying that I get interviews with them. I know that God will take care of us - we are learning about trust and responsibility so much right now. I think we were spoiled to start off our marriage with both of us working in semi-good paying jobs. We were making good money. Now...I'm laughing...we are constantly having to watch money in and money out. I'm praying we don't get overwhelmed with it because it is just money.

I got to spend 4 days in OKC with my cousin Melissa! She is getting married in May and wanted help getting everything ready. We spent my time there putting invitations together, addressing envelopes, putting together decorations for the reception, looking at the reception site, deciding how else to make the place spectacular, laughing together, talking about memories of childhood camping trips, staying up til 2am, wine and cookies, seeing her college campus, seeing her cute apartment in Stillwater, going to my uncle's new property that he is going to build a house on, gathering tree branches from the property to make into beautiful decorations, getting unique and delicious bottles of "pop" from POPS on route 66, picking out her china (it is gorgeous!), and most importantly...made countless memories together! I love that even while living so far apart we grew up to be kindred spirits :)

The weekend after this my mom's sisters and I threw a surprise party for my mom. She turned 50 in March :) We had it at my cousin's house in Chandler and my aunt who lived in Dallas came out just for the party. She lived in PHX for about a year and my mom loved having her so close! Now she misses her like crazy. We were thrilled that she came out - and we have the moment my mom saw her on video...it's the best! It was a very fun night seeing my mom and her siblings together....some cousins came too and I like being with everyone :)

After that I got sick. I thought about blogging during that time but I couldn't even think straight. I was on the couch for like 4 days and then could get up slowly and walk a little but was so lightheaded I only stayed vertical for limited amounts of time. I slept, watched movies, and watched daytime tv....mostly dumb tv. It took about a week to be able to be outside and function well.

Right when I started feeling better it was time to go to disneyland again! My dad planned a family trip to Disneyland for my mom's 50th birthday :) She loves Dland and we haven't been as a family in about 15 years. So we all went. I was sad though because Ben had to work and couldn't come with us. March is Discount Tire's busiest month so they rarely let employees take vacation then - I know it sucks. But the 6 of us had fun. My sister still has the pictures I think I'll get those from her and then make another post with pictures.

I got home from that adventure on a Tuesday and Ben and I left for the marriage retreat on Friday....I told you I was busy! We LOVED the retreat. It was up at Khols Ranch just outside of Payson. It was so refreshing to hear about all the wonders of marriage and our relationship with God. I love marriage and how intricately God designed relationships - especially marriage. It is such a wonderful and powerful relationship. I am thankful every second of every day that I married Ben who seeks God's heart. We get to seek his heart together. I know that there are so many things that we are not doing prefectly or even very well right now. But we both know that we have our whole lives together to work on our marriage. We are trying to simply enjoy our time together and trust God and each other more. It is weird to trust my husband with our family...I have a hard time thinking of him as our leader because he has been my friend since I met him. Something that we want to focus on for our second year of being married is our strengths. We want to point out each others strengths and write them down every time we get. We hope that this will help us get to know each other more deeply, bring out what we are strong and weak in while focusing on the strengths, and learn how to encourage each other. I hope this will help us submit to each other strengths and help me see Ben as a leader for our family to come.

We got back on Sunday and I went to Flagstaff to visit my cousin Deja and her sweet family! I love going to Flagstaff! Both Ben and I love it but I just didn't have a job and work was too busy for Ben to take off so I got to go this time. Deja and Brent, her husband, have 2 little girls: Bella who is 3 almost 4 and Macie who is 1 almost 2. I love spending time with them, playing, laughing, and talking. I got to stay in their new guest suite and cook in their new kitchen, and watch a movie in their new man cave with surround sound and a great tv...they just did a major remodel and addition :) It was a short yet fun trip to be up in the cool weather and relax a bit. I also got to see Eden for a whole afternoon. I picked her from her NAU dorm and we went to lunch at the Pita Pit...HIGHLY recommended I love eating there! Then we went shopping for spring clothes/accessories and work clothes for me. I had a great time with Eden!

Whew...almost done...

I had my first of 2 orientations at shc on Monday the 6th. I got a name badge, parking pass, and was cleared by my medical exam to work. WOO HOO I HAVE A JOB! I have my 2nd orientation Monday the 13th...out one-year wedding anniversary!

Tuesday April 7th...my 23rd birthday. I can not believe that I am 23. And even more I can not believe that Ben and I have been married almost a whole year. Ben and I had both of our families over for dinner Tuesday night (our parents, sisters who were in town, my 2 cousins and the two little ones, and my Nana) 13 people total. Pretty packed table but I love having everyone together. We served pizza fondue which was delicious - we will totally do it again. Ben also grilled pinnapple for dessert (along with brownies, strawberries, and ice cream) and for dinner grilled vegetables. We LOVE having grilled vegetables. It was a very fun and yummy night. My parents bought me a power juicer which is so much fun and some luggage because I'm always borrowing theirs :) the Godings bought me a coach pouch and the movie Marly and Me. My sister bought me a shirt I had wanted from AE - she is so sweet to remember me looking at while we were shopping a while back. Ben bought me a clock I saw at Target and comment on it every time I see it there because it is so awesome. I have so many people who love me!

Ok so I think that is a lot of updating for one blog. I will get the pictures from my wonderful month and post those next. Have a great Easter weekend!

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!