A Wonderful Day!

Yesterday my brother came home from an honorable mission in Chile. It was so fun to see the excitement in his eyes and all those who came to see him home. He had not changed from his jokeful and fun self. He did however, come home with a spirit about him that anyone could see, a testimony a thousand times stronger than when he left and a love for his fellowman that had only grown.

He has turned into a fine man and a great future husband and father. I am particularly proud of him and the example that he set for me and my children. My boys have a respect and love for missionaries and look forward to the day when they get to be one. For now they just have the suit and future missionary name tag.

Thank you Heavenly Father for helping him serve well and keeping him safe until he was returned back to us.

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Easter-finally

Our Easter was a little less planned and a little more thrown together this year. We had a really nice family home evening before hand about Christ and tried to explain to the boys what Easter was all about. They seemed to catch on and even remembered when we quizzed them later on.

We only had about 2 dozen eggs to find this year and the baskets were simple. The boys woke up at 6:15AM to see what they had been left. They had a great day and I don't think they even noticed that it was more simple.

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Kelci Update

Kelci is such a blessing to our family. I cannot imagine life without her. The boys love her and take good care of her. Tracen is just now starting to have a hard time. He doesn't like that she can get his toys and mess things up. Preston is the protective older brother and loves to make her smile. He will always try to get her to stop crying and loves to hold her. Nathan is wrapped around her little finger and wouldn''t have it any other way. I treasure each day with her and love to watch her grow. She is a special spirit and I am thankful Heavenly Father trusted our family with her.

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Disneyland Trip

I got some tickets to Disneyland for a good price and so we thought we would take our little family while we had the opportunity. Our kids are at the really fun age of looking up to the characters and truly believing in them. It was really sweet to watch them and their amazement. We had a great time and one day was plenty.

Nathan is very big into history and historical sites. He had found out about a guy named Hi Jolly a few months before and remembered that his grave was in Quartzsite, AZ. We had to drive through there on our way back and decided to stop by. It was not as easy as we had hoped, but we did find it and it was definitely worth it.

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The boy named ebay

Terra sells things on ebay and does really well with it. She is a great bargain shopper and turns around and makes a good profit. So our kids will see things that she has bought and will show interest in them. Sometimes, when they are toys, they will originally think that they must be their toys. Well today we were driving in the van when Terra sees Preston pick up a toy in it's box and Terra tells him to put it down because it is for ebay. Well after hearing this about several items he askes us if he can go over to "ebay's house" to play with all the neat toys. For who knows how long, Preston has been thinking that we have been two-timing him and buying some boy named ebay all sorts of neat things and he must have been wondering why we keep buying this boy so many more toys than he gets and he hasn't even met him. The poor boy thought we were showing favoritism to a boy who doesn't even exist.

Now What

So I didn't get the job-at least not right now. They want me to spend a little more time with the company-could be months or years, they didn't give me a time line yet. I was bummed, but feel like it was not meant to be since I had several people praying and hoping that we would be moving to Tucson. I guess the Lord has other plans. I guess we shall see what happens next.

My brother Garett comes home in one week! I am overly excited! He has never met Kelci and the boys were just babies really when he left. I am excited to spend time with him and see how much he has changed, as we all have a bit in two years. I am so proud of my brother and the choices that he has made throughout his life. He is a great example to me and my family. I love that my boys want to be missionaries like their uncle Garett. I can't wait for Garett to marry and give me some nieces and nephews too! Hopefully it won't be too long.

So, I am so confused on one hand about what to do to support our family, yet overjoyed with the blessing of being able to see my brother again after so long.

The Plan?

So I have learned that plans do not go as planned. When Nathan and I came down to the valley for an interview for Nathan back in January-we thought that he would work and I would be staying home with the kids. I told him that I would pick up something to help us get out of debt and back on our feet. When we found out that he would have to wait a few weeks for the position to open-or so we though-we decided that I would take a little job to help until his job came through.

Lesli suggested that I go back to the restaurant business and serve. I didn't think that I would like that. Nathan asked me why I didn't want to and I gave him a long list. He told me many of my concerns would not be the case if I worked for a chain. So before we got back to AJ from Gilbert I decided that I would apply at Red Lobster, since 15% is 15% so the more expensive the restaurant, the more I would make. The third Red Lobster I called told me to come that day and bring my resume. I did and before I got back to AJ from Alma School and the US60, they had called to see if I would come back for testing and an nterview the next day. One week after walking into Red Lobster I started working there.

I found out that they were opening more locations throughout the year and there would be management opportunities in Tuscon. I was excited since my mom and the kids are moving there in July. The locations in Tuscon open in July as well. After talking to my managers I found out that as soon as I made Captain, which is sort of like a head server, I could apply for management. I made Captain on April 1st, not even two months after working there. One week later-to the day-I had my first interview for a management spot in Tuscon. I have my second interview tomorrow and hopefully will be starting the 13 week training program shortly after that. So Tuscon looks like it may be our new home-about the same time as it becomes so for my little brother and sisters.

I feel very blessed with this opportunity. I love my company and the nature of my job. I love that everyday is different and that I can move around within the restaurant doing everything from production to serving. I love the fast-paced people environment. Some days are more challenging than others, but never dull. The best part about this opportunity is that I will be making somewhere in the ballpark of 45-50 thousand. That is a big financial step for our family.

I graduate on May 16th with my AA from Northland Pioneer College and am very excited for this as well. I plan on starting my BA in July, as soon as the financial aid year starts again. This was not at all what our plan was for our family, but I think the Lord knew better than we did since Nathan wouldn't be able to get a teaching job any time in the near future here in AZ with the cuts happening now. He will continue school while being home with the kids. Not at all what we planned, but what we feel is right for our family. He is great with the kids and I am great in the corporate world-I don't think the Lord cares who does what as long as we live righteously and raise our children to be the same. I can testify that the Lord provides a way for us so long as we are willing to accept that His plan may not be our plan.

Just a few stories

Alright,

Terra and I often mention how we need to write certain funny stories down or even just funny phrases or comments that people make. So tonight I have thought of a couple older stories that I feel are worthy of posting.

When I was on my mission, we went to a members house for dinner. My companion and I were chatting with the father and son about missionary stories. The father had served a mission too and so all three of us were sharing stories. The son had a question after his dad made mention of the MTC. He asked why the church would send you to an "MTC"? The father explained that the MTC was the place the missionaries would learn the discussions and any languages etc. We all began to tell stories again and a few minutes later the son, probably sixteen years of age, asked, "yeah, but why an MTC"? The dad gave some kind of explanation to his son and we began to talk again and for the third time he asked the same question. By this time we were almost frustrated by the simple question. So I used my "finding skills" to determine his struggle in understanding the MTC and it turns out he thought we were saying "empty sea". He couldn't figure out any logical reason why the church would send the missionaries to an empty sea rather than some other logical place, like a building in provo or something.

Here is another one that I hope my brother Len remembers and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing. After we had purchased our first home here in the valley, my brother Len had flown into town and came by to visit and see our new place. As He, my wife and I were walking along the path to the front door, he stops us and while pointing down at the small little cactus, asked us, "when is that palm tree going to start growing"? I wish I could tell you what kind of cactus it was, and to his defense, it did have a palmy kind of look to it.

Alright, my last one for tonight. I hope I don't offend anyone by this story. I know Amy Holly was asked to remove a post by a close friend because it made them uncomfortable. So, I hope we don't have the same friends. No, not really, but I hope everyone can laugh at the story because it is true as can be and Tiffany and some nurse in Show Low can testify. ---- A little background. when Terra was in labor with Preston, all she wanted me to do was massage her legs. It was the only time she yelled at me. I made the mistake of asking her if I was massaging hard enough and she yelled back, "don't ask me any questions!". Other than that, she was very pleasant with all three of her deliveries. Anyway, when we were at the Show Low hospital ready to start labor with Tracen. Tiffany, Terra, the very nice nurse and I were visiting amongst ourselves and I went ahead and told the story of when she yelled at me during Preston's birth but also explained that if my life depended on it, she surely couldn't find the strength to message me very strongly, because she has very weak hands. Terra confirmed this statement about her weak hands by saying "I AM a weenie rubber". The nurse turned red but tried to pretend she didn't hear it. Tiffany started laughing and then we all were laughing. I must say my wife never ceases to surprise me. I love her to death.

Quick Update

So, we are a part of the online world again! I am so happy! Since the last post-we have been really busy. We took the boys to Disney Land, moved into our own apartment (Dobson and Guadalupe about), I got a promotion and had my 27th birthday and Kelci started crawling! Life is great and family is better!

On a spiritual note; I love conference and always feel so much better about life after listening to the speakers. I really loved the analogy of how building our homes on rock doesn't keep the wind and the rain away, but helps the home make it through the elements in tact. This is so true and really hit home for me at this point in my life. I also found it interesting that they spoke about wants and needs-I have really learned what I can live without recently. I have learned too how truly blessed I am and what things are really important.