Gary was offered a job! Finally! We are so excited and can't wait to get things started! Gary doesn't officially have the job until he passes his drug test, but we all know that's going to be no problem. The position is in Yakima, or more accurately, Union Gap. We're starting to look for places to live there, so we can get this ball rolling. The company, Pexco, wants Gary to start ASAP, and we're trying to figure out how quickly we can move and get started!
We were also debating whether or not we should just go house shopping, rather than renting. But then again there is this little pesky problem of down payment. We've not been able to save hardly a dime since we have student loans and a car payment. Plus it's hard to just pay regular bills on a paltry $12/hr pay rate. But that is going to soon change! We are so stoked to finally be on a salary! What a strange feeling that is.
Perhaps even more importantly, this job is absolutely PERFECT for Gary. He'll pretty much be doing exactly what he wanted to do when he signed up for a mechanical engineering degree in the first place. He is so stoked.
I'd be remiss if I published this post without expressing the gratitude we feel to our Heavenly Father for keeping us in a home with enough food on our table and the ability to buy diapers for our little one for these past 2 years (even though there were some very tough months). I guess we were just meant to be patient a little while longer until this position opened up and the perfect job became ready for Gary. And working at Decagon in the place he's working helped immensely too, so I'm glad he ended up there. It has been a long road, but as always, we finally realize just exactly how much HF was looking out for us this whole time. It actually makes me sad and a little embarrassed at the many times I doubted and my faith was shaken, however briefly. Now to follow the counsel of the Book of Mormon and continue to harken unto the counsels of God even in our day of prosperity. We definitely need to remember to pass our new-found "wealth" (for we'll still only be middle class, and probably still pretty poor until our loans are paid off) around to others who don't have the same fortune as we do. I think HF has given us this blessing with the expectation that we will do our best (and better than we have been) to serve those around us.
And that's what's going on with us! Expect a few more very excited posts about this subject in the future :D
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Hazy Pullman and Sleeping Girl
There have been lots of forest fires in Idaho recently, and we here in Pullman are seeing some of the effects of that. It's been hazy here. Real hazy. It is as if there is a perpetual fog blanket on Pullman. The sun came up blood red today. Isn't that nice? I snapped a few pictures of it this morning.
It definitely smells like smoke too. So that's what we've been having fun with the past few days.
In other news, Peri is still sleeping in her big girl bed, and she loves it. When it comes close to time for her to wake up (or after Gary leaves and stops being so noisy) I open her room door a crack so she can come out whenever she wakes up. So far it has made a really happy little girl. It is so nice to watch her walking into the living room with a big smile on her face and no crying fits in the morning.
She is also really good at her bedtime routine. We tell her, " Peri, it's time to brush your teeth!" at about 7:30 every night, and she just drops what she's doing to go and get her toothbrush. She loves having her teeth brushed and then chewing on the toothbrush afterward. I think it is her favorite thing of the night.
Then she puts her toothbrush away when we ask her too, and goes to her room to get pajama'd all up. Then either Gary or I (we take turns) read a book to her while she plays. Currently the books are more for us than her; right now we're on the 7th book of the Artemis Fowl series (which is really good and unique and well-written, so you should all go read it. It's about a teenage criminal mastermind. What's not to like?) We had to read through all of them so Gary could catch up before I got to read the 8th and final installment.
Anyways, when we stop reading, it's time for family and Peri's personal prayers. Sometimes Peri even volunteers for prayer by folding her arms. It is the cutest thing she does. Since she doesn't talk yet, we help her with her personal prayers. After that we go back to the living room so I can feed her one last time before she goes to bed. Sometimes that puts her to sleep and it's easy-going, but sometimes it doesn't and I put her back on her feet and she walks all the way to her bedroom climbs into bed all by herself, where she lays down and doesn't get back up or play around or anything. She just lays there until she falls asleep while Mom or Dad sing bedtime and Primary songs to her.
We haven't have a crying fit bedtime for ages! And it's mostly because I have the sweetest, smartest, cutest, bestest little girl in the world. (Which all moms say, and it's always true)
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| This is the best picture of the sun's color this morning. |
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| And this is the best picture of what all the smoke looks like. |
It definitely smells like smoke too. So that's what we've been having fun with the past few days.
In other news, Peri is still sleeping in her big girl bed, and she loves it. When it comes close to time for her to wake up (or after Gary leaves and stops being so noisy) I open her room door a crack so she can come out whenever she wakes up. So far it has made a really happy little girl. It is so nice to watch her walking into the living room with a big smile on her face and no crying fits in the morning.
She is also really good at her bedtime routine. We tell her, " Peri, it's time to brush your teeth!" at about 7:30 every night, and she just drops what she's doing to go and get her toothbrush. She loves having her teeth brushed and then chewing on the toothbrush afterward. I think it is her favorite thing of the night.
Then she puts her toothbrush away when we ask her too, and goes to her room to get pajama'd all up. Then either Gary or I (we take turns) read a book to her while she plays. Currently the books are more for us than her; right now we're on the 7th book of the Artemis Fowl series (which is really good and unique and well-written, so you should all go read it. It's about a teenage criminal mastermind. What's not to like?) We had to read through all of them so Gary could catch up before I got to read the 8th and final installment.
Anyways, when we stop reading, it's time for family and Peri's personal prayers. Sometimes Peri even volunteers for prayer by folding her arms. It is the cutest thing she does. Since she doesn't talk yet, we help her with her personal prayers. After that we go back to the living room so I can feed her one last time before she goes to bed. Sometimes that puts her to sleep and it's easy-going, but sometimes it doesn't and I put her back on her feet and she walks all the way to her bedroom climbs into bed all by herself, where she lays down and doesn't get back up or play around or anything. She just lays there until she falls asleep while Mom or Dad sing bedtime and Primary songs to her.
We haven't have a crying fit bedtime for ages! And it's mostly because I have the sweetest, smartest, cutest, bestest little girl in the world. (Which all moms say, and it's always true)
Monday, August 13, 2012
Simplify my life!
That kind of sounds like some reality show doesn't it? "Hi, my name is Naomi Jackson, and I want you to Simplify My Life!!!" (said at the very end of the sob story application video). You all can see it right?
Anyways, moving on. I've been reading a blog by a cute blogger named Kelly (she has the most adorable twins). She blogs at The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking and has a lot of fun things and good points to make. I've been reading that blog, but this post isn't about that blog. It's about her second blog that she started recently The Year of Less.
Let me tell you now, it is the. most. awesome. idea. anyone has had yet. She and her family have decided not to buy into the idea that more stuff=more happiness. How cool is that? Not only has she and her family renounced this idea, they are actually doing something about it! That is really the coolest part.
I struggle with this all the time. I think about it. I moan about it. Sometimes it makes me sick. But I still think a lot of the time that someday when I can buy this thing, or that thing, or be able to do whatever thing I want to do at that moment, I'll finally be happy. Even though I also know deep down inside me that all of that isn't a bit true. Suffice to say, I have very conflicting feelings. I go from wanting more stuff to being happy with what I have in the blink of an eye.
There is another bit about this blog that is even better. Kelly and her family are Christians, and she believes that her stuff is getting in the way of being a good Christian. She says it better in the About Us portion of her blog. As a Christian, and as a Mormon, I know that she is absolutely right.
I keep wanting more things, but what I really want--what I really need-- is to make my life more centered on Christ.
I really want to simplify my life just like Kelly is, by getting rid of things and whatnot, but what I really think I need to do is center my life first, and then perhaps the rest will fall into place.
To that end, Gary and I have committed to a "spiritual schedule" if you will. We wake up every morning and say our personal prayers. Then we go out to the living room and before anything else, we do our personal scripture study. Before Gary goes to work we kneel down and have a family prayer to send him off. When Gary comes home from work, after dinner or while dinner is cooking, we have family scripture study with Peri. When dinner is on the table, we have a blessing on the food. When Peri goes to bed, at the end of her bedtime routine, we have family prayer, and whoever is putting her to bed says her personal prayer with her. When we go to bed we remind each other to say our own personal prayers too.
Since we came up with this schedule, we've been sticking too it fairly well. Sometimes we forget to have family prayer before Gary leaves in the morning, and sometimes we forget to have family scripture study at dinner time. Everything else is going well though, and I think once we get into the swing of things, we'll remember those two things more often too.
I still want to get rid of a bunch of things though. And actually I have decluttered a little bit here and there. Right now we're working on a better solution to the crafty corner. It is a disaster right now, but it's the only place we have for that stuff.
Anyway, whoever reads this should totally go check out Kelly's blogs, because they are tres delightful! Onward to simplifying our lives!
Anyways, moving on. I've been reading a blog by a cute blogger named Kelly (she has the most adorable twins). She blogs at The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking and has a lot of fun things and good points to make. I've been reading that blog, but this post isn't about that blog. It's about her second blog that she started recently The Year of Less.
Let me tell you now, it is the. most. awesome. idea. anyone has had yet. She and her family have decided not to buy into the idea that more stuff=more happiness. How cool is that? Not only has she and her family renounced this idea, they are actually doing something about it! That is really the coolest part.
I struggle with this all the time. I think about it. I moan about it. Sometimes it makes me sick. But I still think a lot of the time that someday when I can buy this thing, or that thing, or be able to do whatever thing I want to do at that moment, I'll finally be happy. Even though I also know deep down inside me that all of that isn't a bit true. Suffice to say, I have very conflicting feelings. I go from wanting more stuff to being happy with what I have in the blink of an eye.
There is another bit about this blog that is even better. Kelly and her family are Christians, and she believes that her stuff is getting in the way of being a good Christian. She says it better in the About Us portion of her blog. As a Christian, and as a Mormon, I know that she is absolutely right.
I keep wanting more things, but what I really want--what I really need-- is to make my life more centered on Christ.
I really want to simplify my life just like Kelly is, by getting rid of things and whatnot, but what I really think I need to do is center my life first, and then perhaps the rest will fall into place.
To that end, Gary and I have committed to a "spiritual schedule" if you will. We wake up every morning and say our personal prayers. Then we go out to the living room and before anything else, we do our personal scripture study. Before Gary goes to work we kneel down and have a family prayer to send him off. When Gary comes home from work, after dinner or while dinner is cooking, we have family scripture study with Peri. When dinner is on the table, we have a blessing on the food. When Peri goes to bed, at the end of her bedtime routine, we have family prayer, and whoever is putting her to bed says her personal prayer with her. When we go to bed we remind each other to say our own personal prayers too.
Since we came up with this schedule, we've been sticking too it fairly well. Sometimes we forget to have family prayer before Gary leaves in the morning, and sometimes we forget to have family scripture study at dinner time. Everything else is going well though, and I think once we get into the swing of things, we'll remember those two things more often too.
I still want to get rid of a bunch of things though. And actually I have decluttered a little bit here and there. Right now we're working on a better solution to the crafty corner. It is a disaster right now, but it's the only place we have for that stuff.
Anyway, whoever reads this should totally go check out Kelly's blogs, because they are tres delightful! Onward to simplifying our lives!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
At Grandma's Part 4
While we were on the West Side, we decided to have a small early birthday party for Peri so Grandma and Uncle Gary could celebrate with her. We bought a cake for everyone to eat.
And also a cake just for Peri. It stared at her.
She stared back.
She didn't understand blowing out the candles, but she did think the flame was pretty.
You can see how she really felt about this cake, as she went straight for the eyes as soon as we blew out the candle.
Next she tore off the rest of his face and munched on the cakey goodness inside.
The battle was bloody, but Peri did prevail.
Grandma bought Peri some little people. There was a tractor and a farmer named Jed and some animals too. The tractor sings! She thought theytasted really good were really fun to play with!
Grandma gave us the very large gift bag to tote the toys back home with us. I thought maybe it could be a good alternative to a stroller. You know, like carrying around one of those purse dogs, only it's a one-year-old. It could catch on.
Peri didn't mind for about 2 minutes, but then she heartily objected, so I guess I had no choice but to let her out. The bag wasn't that comfortable anyway.
Later on, Grandma found some other little people things at the store. She got Peri a big barn with more animals and another farmer. We've named him Farmer Dej, Farmer Jed's evil twin brother. When we find a small enough sharpie, we're going to draw a teeny, tiny mustache on his face so it will be official. She very much enjoys playing with it. She especially likes to lock all the animals and farmers up in the silo together. I'm not totally sure what that means.
And that concludes our trip to Grandma's! Peri had lots of fun, and continues to enjoy her presents!
And also a cake just for Peri. It stared at her.
She stared back.
She didn't understand blowing out the candles, but she did think the flame was pretty.
You can see how she really felt about this cake, as she went straight for the eyes as soon as we blew out the candle.
Next she tore off the rest of his face and munched on the cakey goodness inside.
The battle was bloody, but Peri did prevail.
Grandma bought Peri some little people. There was a tractor and a farmer named Jed and some animals too. The tractor sings! She thought they
Grandma gave us the very large gift bag to tote the toys back home with us. I thought maybe it could be a good alternative to a stroller. You know, like carrying around one of those purse dogs, only it's a one-year-old. It could catch on.
Later on, Grandma found some other little people things at the store. She got Peri a big barn with more animals and another farmer. We've named him Farmer Dej, Farmer Jed's evil twin brother. When we find a small enough sharpie, we're going to draw a teeny, tiny mustache on his face so it will be official. She very much enjoys playing with it. She especially likes to lock all the animals and farmers up in the silo together. I'm not totally sure what that means.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
4th at Grandma's Part 3
After fireworks and fun the night before, we went to Pointe Defiance Zoo early the next morning. When we got there, there were hardly any people there, so we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. It was pretty fun. The first place we went was to the aquarium. Peri had fun roaming the halls with us checking out all the pretty fishes.
She still likes the sharks the most (they were her favorite when we visited 6 months ago too). I don't blame her. I mean, who doesn't like sharks?
We saw seahorses.
And little fishies.
And Dory and Nemo (otherwise known as a Blue Tang and Clown Fish, but what's the fun in that?)
I don't even remember what these were, but they were glow in the dark and looked like they would bite if you got too close. What's not to like?
We got to see the Tiger chillin' in his/her habitat, which she/he shares with the monkeys or chimps or orangutangs or something. Anyway, the tiger was out, so the monkeys were in, which was kind of a bummer because I think Peri would have really liked to see them swinging around (or more likely moseying around on the ground doing whatever it is that monkeys on the ground do, i.e. not being interesting, so I suppose the tiger was just as well).
We caught the Zoo's plumed mascot wondering why the ice cream stand wasn't open yet. You and me both brother.
And Peri got to run around and play with all the other little tikes at the playground for a little while. The ground is squishy.
But this is undoubtedly the best picture of the day! What a goofus I have for a baby.
We saw lots of other animals: Camels, Elephants, baby Spotted Leopards, Caribou, Yaks, Walruses, Penquins, and so on, but the internet will have lots of better pictures of those things than I took, and I took far too many, let me tell you. So if by some strange chance you've never seen a walrus, you can look up a picture of one online, or go support your local Zoo and buy a ticket for some great family fun!
She still likes the sharks the most (they were her favorite when we visited 6 months ago too). I don't blame her. I mean, who doesn't like sharks?
We saw seahorses.
And little fishies.
And Dory and Nemo (otherwise known as a Blue Tang and Clown Fish, but what's the fun in that?)
I don't even remember what these were, but they were glow in the dark and looked like they would bite if you got too close. What's not to like?
 |
| He reminds me of a Super Mario piranha plant. |
We got to see the Tiger chillin' in his/her habitat, which she/he shares with the monkeys or chimps or orangutangs or something. Anyway, the tiger was out, so the monkeys were in, which was kind of a bummer because I think Peri would have really liked to see them swinging around (or more likely moseying around on the ground doing whatever it is that monkeys on the ground do, i.e. not being interesting, so I suppose the tiger was just as well).
We caught the Zoo's plumed mascot wondering why the ice cream stand wasn't open yet. You and me both brother.
And Peri got to run around and play with all the other little tikes at the playground for a little while. The ground is squishy.
But this is undoubtedly the best picture of the day! What a goofus I have for a baby.
We saw lots of other animals: Camels, Elephants, baby Spotted Leopards, Caribou, Yaks, Walruses, Penquins, and so on, but the internet will have lots of better pictures of those things than I took, and I took far too many, let me tell you. So if by some strange chance you've never seen a walrus, you can look up a picture of one online, or go support your local Zoo and buy a ticket for some great family fun!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
4th of July at Grandma's Part 2
Later on in the day, we went to look at the stalls again, and then settled down on Gary's lawn to watch the parade go by. Peri was... less interested. She played in the grass while we watched. It was an okay parade as far as parades go. Gary's favorite part was this big guy riding around on a motorcycle with a long beard and a coyote skin on his head. I don't know why he thinks that's so cool, but I must admit I've never seen anyone with a coyote on their head. Other than that guy though, we don't really remember much about it.
After the parade, we took Peri back to the beach because it was now warm enough to play in the (freezing cold) water. It looked like she was having a good time.
But I'll let you be the judge.
And of course, some of the sand made it happily into her mouth. I guess she forgot that she doesn't think it's very good.
Later that evening, of course there were fireworks! In Grandma's town, the fireworks are shot off of a barge in the sound, and Grandma's backyard has the perfect view. They even built a deck out back specifically for firework viewing. Gary fired up the grill and we had bratwursts of all different flavors, baked beans, a couple of cold salads, and some other yummy things. Gary's mom spoils her guests that way.
We decided to try taking pictures of fireworks this year with Gary's camera. It is really hard to get the right settings. We tried following the advice from here, but our camera isn't as cool as theirs, and anyway I don't even know what settings they are talking about. At least not yet. Anyways, we got some okay shots and it was fun to try.
And that was the end of our 4th of July. We did do some cool things the next day, but that will be in the next post!
After the parade, we took Peri back to the beach because it was now warm enough to play in the (freezing cold) water. It looked like she was having a good time.
But I'll let you be the judge.
And of course, some of the sand made it happily into her mouth. I guess she forgot that she doesn't think it's very good.
Later that evening, of course there were fireworks! In Grandma's town, the fireworks are shot off of a barge in the sound, and Grandma's backyard has the perfect view. They even built a deck out back specifically for firework viewing. Gary fired up the grill and we had bratwursts of all different flavors, baked beans, a couple of cold salads, and some other yummy things. Gary's mom spoils her guests that way.
We decided to try taking pictures of fireworks this year with Gary's camera. It is really hard to get the right settings. We tried following the advice from here, but our camera isn't as cool as theirs, and anyway I don't even know what settings they are talking about. At least not yet. Anyways, we got some okay shots and it was fun to try.
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| I think this one might be my favorite |
And that was the end of our 4th of July. We did do some cool things the next day, but that will be in the next post!
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