Spring time

Phil and I have been staying pretty busy this past week. I started my new job last Monday and it's definitely going to take some getting used to. They warned me that I will probably never have a 40-hour week (I'll always be working more), and last week proved right on. I am really learning a lot and thus far, I have enjoyed taking everything in. My typical schedule has me working the floor on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 4p-12a. During that time, I'm helping the clients with showers, preparing for bed, making dinner and completing evening activities/goals. Between 8-9pm, the clients go to bed, so for the last few hours of my shift, I am finishing laundry, cleaning up, documenting and preparing for the upcoming days. Wednesday-Friday, I have office hours from 9a-5pm (yes, I have my own office)! During that time, I'm filing, charting, taking care of staffing issues, discussing things with other home leaders and people at the main office, and just attending to the needs of the house. The staff at the house have been fantastic at helping me, so I am so blessed to have such a great team to work with.

To make things a bit more overwhelming, after finishing an exhausting week, Relay for Life was Friday night. I was the Food and Hospitality Chair person, so after I got home on Friday afternoon, I had about an hour to re-group and then headed to the big event. It started at 7pm on Friday night and ended at 7am Saturday morning. I am pleased to announce that at the age of 25, I have finally completed my first 24-hours of staying up! Thankfully, I was a good college student and never had the desire to pull an all-nighter, so needless to say, staying up for so long was a shock to my system. But, I made it through and it was such an amazing night for a great cause. If your towns have not had the Relay for Life yet, you need to get invovled (either get a team together or donate).

Phil's job continues to be full of new adventures. They have finally narrowed the list of applicants for the agent position, so in two weeks, they will conduct face-to-face interviews with the candidates. So, hopefully, they will be full-staffed in about 2 months.

We've finally been able to get out to a baseball game. Saturday night, we went with a couple of friend's to the Midland Rockhounds game. It was great being outside with good weather and fun friends (and delicious adult beverages)! More games are definitely in the calendar, as well as seeing our new professional soccer team in action.

Next week will be pictures of our trip to Austin, as well as my triathlon... keep posted!

Catching up

So much has happened since I last wrote, so I'll try to keep things short and sweet, but make sure I don't leave out any details :)

As for the last blog, I'm sure all of you know now that it was our April Fool's joke! One day, I put in the wrong address for our blog site and I went to another Katie and Philip's blog, and wouldn't you know, they were blogging on their pregnancy! After a moment of confusion, Phil and I came up with the grand idea to put an ultraound picture on our site for some giggles. So, sorry, but we are not pregnant (and don't plan on being for some time).

Since I last wrote, a lot has happened. I have started training at my new job and so far, I'm really liking it. I feel like a deer caught in headlights, and I have a feeling that I'm going to feel that way for a couple of months. But, I love the clients in the house and I'm slowly meeting the other staff. It will be a shock to my system to change my hours (Monday and Tuesdays, I'll work 4p-12a, then Wed/Thurs/Fri, I'll have office hours from 9a-5p). The people training me have been angels sent by God and I'm so blessed with the amount of patience and wisdom that they are giving me.

Other exciting news is that I got to go to Colorado Springs for a few days last week. It was a much, much needed break from Texas and it was so good for my heart to see a lot of friends and family. The only thing that I requested of my parents was that they have snow for my enjoyment-- wish granted. I flew in on Wednesday to a snow storm and left Sunday after a storm had come through Saturday afternoon. Oh glorious! But, I took it without complaining! The main reason that I went home was to participate in the World's Largest Scrap-a-thon in Denver! It was my third year attending and like the other years, it was fantastic! There were about 2000 participants and we spent 11 hours chatting, scrapping, laughing and having a great time. (The picture shows just part of our table of creativity-- I didn't get a really good picture of the whole table, but this is just the mess from three of us). In addition to that wonderful day, I spent time with some of my old co-workers, visiting some programs that I helped with, eating yummy food (here's Sarah, Cquava and I at The Loop-- if you live in the Springs and haven't gone there, it is a must!) and just relaxing. It was only a few short days, but I am going back for my brother's graduation in a few weeks, so I guess I couldn't cram everything into just one trip!

Back in Midland, things are moving along just fine. Last night, Phil and I had one of the greatest moments thus far, as God provided us with rain, hail and even a lightening storm! We put on our sweatshirts and stood outside watching the beauty of it all. (Picture is from our patio, looking into our 'backyard.')

We also have been wrapped up with great hockey watching experience. Last night was great, not only with the storm, but we got to see an amazing NCAA championship game on ESPN. Oh, happy moments :)

In other non-exciting news, we've spent the past week clearing up some messes, finishing our taxes (yippee-- good job Philip!) and doing some Spring cleaning. I guess this is one of the few times that I appreciate having a small apartment-- not a lot of clean-up!

Hope everyone has a great Easter! We are heading to some friend's house to enjoy lunch with them, and a few other people. Then, back here to eat some candies and relax before my first day at my new job tomorrow!

Oh boy!

Goodness Gracious :)

Transitions

As a person that works with people with disabilties, I have learned the value and importance of transitions. During my time as a director at summer camp, I always made sure to tell the kiddos when we had 5 minutes left of an activity, what we were going to do next and where they needed to be. This was repeated about 3 more times during that final five minutes. This helped the kiddos, as well as the staff, know what was about to happen and what was expected of them. With all of this preparation, why are transitions so hard for me to deal with?!? I wish that someone would just be able to lay out the master-plan, go over the expectations, and then prepare me for what is next. So, with all of these thoughts, I bet you all are wondering why I am mentioning transitions. Well, this past week, I accepted a new position with a non-profit company call MARC (Midland Association for Retarded Citizens). I will be in charge of the six clients in the house, as well as the 9 staff that work there. Basically, they said that my job duties are described as being the 'mom' of the house, so I will be doing anything and everything from laundry and cleaning to maintenance requests to dealing with staffing issues and making sure the client's needs are being met. I'm excited for this new adventure, although I know I will miss the kiddos at school. With this new transition will also come the transition of changing my work hours. Monday and Tuesday, I will have to become a night-owl, since I work 4p-12a. Then change back to daytime hours during my Wed/Thurs/Fri shifts of 9a-5p. Whew! I'm really optimistic about this new adventure, so I will let everyone know how things go!

As for other details, Phil and I continue with our day-to-day activities. Last week, Phil had to work his lovely 8-day stretch of the evening shift before getting a few days off and then transitioning into day shift for two days, only to then go back to swing shift. I don't know how the poor boy does it. But, they're getting closer to hiring another agent, so he's excited with the prospect of having another body around the office.

I've been keeping up with my training, and even ran a 10K race yesterday. I was super excited with my time (beat my best time by 10 minutes!) of 56 minutes. This gives me hope that I can finish my 10K run during my triathlon in 1:20. We'll see about that...

Last night, Phil and I were part of a Murder Mystery Dinner with our bible study. It was a great time to get together and chat with everyone, and of course my favorite part was being able to dress up in 'pretty' clothes! Yes, I am a 5-year old girl that still loves to play dress up. Phil and I are always dressed opposite when we go out because he has to dress up for his work, so any chance he can get, he dresses in jeans and 'comfy' clothes, but I dress in jeans all the time (and with my new job, I get to wear scrubs), so any chance I can, I dress up. There were 9 people invovled in the mystery and it was a lot of fun! No, Phil or I were not the murderer, but we did have fun accusing each other :)

The past couple of days have also been full of hockey! We love having great hockey on TV (the NCAA men's hockey championships are being played) and we've enjoyed every minute of it. Friday, we went to a restaurant to watch the Air Force vs. Michigan game (I think people got mad that we requested a TV play the hockey game-- I mean, who watches hockey in TX?!?) and we spent 5 hours at our table! Well, I spent about 4, since I got there late after school, but from the time Phil was seated until the time we left, he had been there a little over 5 hours. That's what I call dedication! It was so great, grand and wonderful to see how amazing Air Force played (my parent's have been season ticket holders since '94ish, so I grew up watching them play). Then yesterday, the UND game was played on a channel we could watch at home, so I watched here while Phil caught bits and pieces of it while he was at work. Yeah, we won't go into the details of that game... But, only a few more weeks until the Frozen Four and more great hockey!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The past few days have been absolutely wonderful as Sheryl, Warren, Joel and Kristi came down to Midland. They arrived late Friday night and left Monday afternoon, so while it was quick (and much too short), we loved having guests! Saturday morning, we met up with Sheryl and Warren (Joel and Kristi were at our apartment) and had some breakfast at their hotel (with a mean breakfast attendant, but that's a story for another day). Then, it was off to tour the airport, eat some lunch and of course, go shopping. The ladies tried not to be too long, but I guess one of the guys thought that we took a little bit too long (hence the picture or Warren asleep on a ledge at the mall)! Later that night, we dined at one of our favorite restaurants (Abuelo's) and then back to our house for snacks and drinks.

Sunday morning, everyone went to our church (with everyone at church introducing themselves to the visitors-- that's what you get with a congregation of 30 people) and then back to our apartment for brunch. Then, the ladies headed off for pedicures while the guys went and got some things for dinner. This past week, Phil bought us a grill, so we got to give it it's first cook with our special guests! Warren had brought some steaks from Iowa and we were all happy to enjoy them. Phil also used one of his other favorite toys that we got for our wedding, and made us green ice cream, for an early St. Patties Day treat.

Monday we did minor sight-seeing (this is Midland after all!) and did another drive through town and stopped at George Bush's childhood home. After some pictures, it was back here to put on our bathing suits and head out to the pool! Unfortunately, when everyone arrived, Friday and Saturday were cloudy and only in the 50's (which is cold for us Texans!), but Sunday and Monday were gorgeous! Sheryl and I probably spent about 3 hours by the pool on Monday before agreeing that it was getting a little bit too hot for our liking :) So, back in to the shade of the apartment where everyone finished packing and started to load up the van. Unfortunately, business back in Iowa could not wait, so after some great, short days, they loaded up and headed out.

The house is once again quiet, so if anyone wants to stop in for a visit, we would love to have you! I would really like visitors this week, since it's my spring break and people may look at me funny sitting at the pool with it only being mid-70's this week (gasp- I know)! Don't worry-- I will have my book to keep me company-- I finally got suckered into the Twilight series and I'm on the 2nd book. So far, so good, so I highly recommend that everyone read the series. Phil heads back to work tomorrow evening for his 8-day work week, so hopefully I can be a good wife this week and make some goodies while he's working :)

Hope everyone has been touched by the luck of the Irish today, and may the blessings of St. Patrick continue for the rest of the year!

Only in Midland...

While our daily activity and home life have not been that interesting, Phil has come home with some great stories from work. On Monday, he was a few hours into his shift when he realized that the phone had not rung since he started his shift at 7am. Seeing as how it was a Monday, he thought this was rather unusual. Later in the day, he finds out that the City had not paid the phone bill for the airport, so no one was able to use the phone lines for the first part of the day. Later in the week, he got a call from one of the airlines stating that something like 'a large rat' was on the runway. One of his co-workers jumped into the car and found that there was a Chihuahua that had escaped from his kennel and was running around. Then to top off the week, Phil received a phone call from a woman wondering how she could send her chicken to Vietnam. Yes, only in Midland :) I'm sure they happen at other airports too, but we like to think that they only happen here just to add some excitement to our lives.

As for me, work has continued to be a big stress in my life, but I try to take each day with a smile. This past week, we took a field trip to visit the four junior high schools, since seven of our kids are going to 7th grade next year. It was a good experience for them to meet their new teachers and to see what their school will look like. I also enjoyed it, since I haven't been able to see any of the other schools in the district.

Training continues to go well and thankfully (praise the Lord), I have not had any major aches and pains (whew)! I have hit the point where I just don't want to do anything some days, but Phil has been a great cheerleader, and I am so lucky to have his high spirits around.

On Friday, Phil and I also celebrated a milestone, as we hit the 6 month mark in our marriage! We celebrated by baking a cake, having some adult beverages and just spending the evening relaxing. No gifts were exchanged since we continue to save for our 25th wedding anniversary present-- a trip to Italy :) There's no better time than the present to start saving!

We are getting very excited for his parents, brother and brother's girlfriend to come to Midland next week! It will be wonderful to have visitors and hopefully we'll be able to find some fun activities to do while they're down here. Their timing will be perfect, as I have Spring Break next week (that's why they're coming-- Joel and Kristi are on break from college) and Phil was able to switch his schedule around to have some days off. The weather is supposed to cooperate and be in the 80's during their visit, so I'm sure they'll enjoy having weather that's actually above freezing! Hopefully we'll be able to have some picture-perfect moments and have some pictures for one and all to see :)

Here Comes the Sun

It is officially summer in Midland. I know we're still in the winter season, but to us, it feels like the middle of summer (sorry to all of you in the midwest and up north-- I know you're summer is coming soon)! This past week, we had 5 days of temperatures in the upper 80's. It was hard to be inside all day, knowing that the beautiful weather was right outside. I was able to take some advantage of it during work, as I took some of my students out for a 2nd recess in the afternoon, and Phil was sometimes able to get out of the office to do an inspection or an escort. After work, I spent a couple days sitting at the pool, reading (one of my students loves the Twilight series, so I have been roped in and have started the first book). On Tuesday afternoon, we packed dinner and headed to the local elementary school to have a picnic and play on the playground. I still am in amazement at how quickly it can go from the high 80's to the low 60's in just a few hours (that's life in a desert)! Today, a 'cold spell' is coming through for the weekend, and temperatures are only supposed to be in the mid-50's.
Other than loving the weather, life has been pretty laid back for us. Last week was a time for us to catch up on errands and housework, so there was nothing major to report. We had one of Phil's co-workers come over last Sunday to watch the Oscar's, and I think all of us are ready to see Slumdog Millionaire. The day before the Oscar's, Phil and I went to see a movie, but we were in the mood for an action thriller, so we saw 'Taken' (decent movie, especially if you like the James Bond movies).
Phil's job continues to keep him busy, with staff evaluations taking place right now, as well as the continued process of hiring a new agent. And last week, he even got to do paperwork and deal with a small plane crash (no one was hurt and there wasn't a lot of damage done). He's really liked working the day shift this month (and I have loved having him home for dinner!), but it's back to shift change next weekend.
Like the students, I am happily counting down the days until Spring Break-- only 2 more weeks :) I think the whole school is ready for a break (we haven't had a day off since January 19-- gasp, I know!), so the kids are getting anxious for the whole week with no school. Thankfully, my training helps me keep my balance and is a great outlet to burn off steam from the day. A round of sickness is once again present in our classroom, so pray that I, and Phil, continue to stay healthy!