We took a weekend to visit Shem and LaDawn in Boise. There we were able to watch Analee play some volleyball and Damien play some soccer. They seemed to have fun and it was good to see them active. It was a good weekend and it was nice to get away for a short while.
Grandma and Grandpa Cockrell also came to visit. It was really nice to have them come. Raif was a slow to warm up to them, but by the time they were ready to take off, he was ready to follow grandpa around. Dad and I did a lot of yard work. We spent a greater portion of a day trying to get a $25 weed eater to work. In the end, we had cleaned everything possible and adjusted it also. We got it going and it is still working. Sometimes it is just nice to work with dad and try to figure stuff out. We also did some site seeing in the area, but more than anything we just spent time together.
We have a garden that mostly Angela and her Lisa Reeves work on. It is doing OK, but the weeds are tough to keep at bay. We'll see how it all does come harvest time.
Just an update about our finches. Grandma and Angela bought some toys for them, a traumatic experience for them when the "big giant hand " reached in and threatened everything they know. It was questionable for a while whether they would recover or not. They have, and are playing with themselves in the mirror and like to swing on the ladder.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
No we are not lost, yet
After more then a month of no word I'm sure that many of the three of you had assumed us dead or baried in diapers. Ok maybe baried in diapers but not dead. We have however had some eventful...uh...events. In April Alma moved back out to his apartment with Misty (when she decides to stay there) and two weeks ago Alma was slow to move again. At this time I decided to drug test him and he came up positive. Things did not look good because I knew with the way things were, the business could not go through the ups and downs again. So a family council was called and it was decided that the best thing to do would be to shut down the business. Since then I have been going though the motions of doing just that. The rentals have rallied to fill the void in my life by calling with new repairs and problems. Isabella visited for a week to lend her support in the week following the shut down of the business. I'm so glad she came, it is always fun to see how are the kids are growing and hear Isabella expound on how her kids are better than Raif. Kregg then called her home too soon and I was once again left with just my closer loved ones.
It was during this lull that I discovered how important it is for husbands to listen to their wives. And how carefully we should phrase requests. Prior to all of this and late into the night, a brilliant thought had accurd to me. I wanted a fun date planned completely by my husband. To some this may not seem like such a great thing but to my husband Dennis it was akin to giving an hour long speach in church naked. Death was looking better and better. For fun I gave him a full month to come up with this date. Now fast forward through the next couple weeks. By then I had become a bundle of sad, sometimes weepy, over stressed, under loved shell of myself. I began to rip Dennis apart for small things like not helping to set the table, plow the garden, walk on water, etc. While Isabella was here we talked about why I had not received my date, and he wondered if I would want to go out while Isabella was here. To which I happily replied that she was a free babysitter. Days after Isabella left, I had taken these things to my heart and thought on them (Luke 2:51) then cornered my husband again on the nondate. My love language is gifts and acts of service. Dennis' is quality time and physical touch. For those of you unfamiliar with the love languages please refer to the books that mom gave out for Christmas 2004-05. I discovered that I had really asked Dennis to address my love language by taking me on a date. Dennis being the loving husband wanted to make it a major production of Broadway tickets, romance and candlelight. I had moved past these notions to just wanting to get out of the house. After long married persons discussion we learned that I needed to go out. On Tuesday Dennis took me out for dinner and a movie, on Wednesday I got my hair done by a professional salon lady, Thursday I got new shirts and hair things and by Friday I felt like I could once again take on the world. Dennis now has a wife that will pet him and sit by him as we watch movies. We have both learned a little more about loving each other and Dennis has readjusted the budget.
As for the business. We still have people calling hoping to find a plumber and Alma is going through the stages of grief. We know that he has past denial and anger. He has tried some bargaining but we are unsure if he has moved past it. We are hoping that before too long he will get to acceptance and find a new fabulous job that will help him figuire his life out.
It was during this lull that I discovered how important it is for husbands to listen to their wives. And how carefully we should phrase requests. Prior to all of this and late into the night, a brilliant thought had accurd to me. I wanted a fun date planned completely by my husband. To some this may not seem like such a great thing but to my husband Dennis it was akin to giving an hour long speach in church naked. Death was looking better and better. For fun I gave him a full month to come up with this date. Now fast forward through the next couple weeks. By then I had become a bundle of sad, sometimes weepy, over stressed, under loved shell of myself. I began to rip Dennis apart for small things like not helping to set the table, plow the garden, walk on water, etc. While Isabella was here we talked about why I had not received my date, and he wondered if I would want to go out while Isabella was here. To which I happily replied that she was a free babysitter. Days after Isabella left, I had taken these things to my heart and thought on them (Luke 2:51) then cornered my husband again on the nondate. My love language is gifts and acts of service. Dennis' is quality time and physical touch. For those of you unfamiliar with the love languages please refer to the books that mom gave out for Christmas 2004-05. I discovered that I had really asked Dennis to address my love language by taking me on a date. Dennis being the loving husband wanted to make it a major production of Broadway tickets, romance and candlelight. I had moved past these notions to just wanting to get out of the house. After long married persons discussion we learned that I needed to go out. On Tuesday Dennis took me out for dinner and a movie, on Wednesday I got my hair done by a professional salon lady, Thursday I got new shirts and hair things and by Friday I felt like I could once again take on the world. Dennis now has a wife that will pet him and sit by him as we watch movies. We have both learned a little more about loving each other and Dennis has readjusted the budget.
As for the business. We still have people calling hoping to find a plumber and Alma is going through the stages of grief. We know that he has past denial and anger. He has tried some bargaining but we are unsure if he has moved past it. We are hoping that before too long he will get to acceptance and find a new fabulous job that will help him figuire his life out.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Cave Exporing
Well it has been a fun couple of weeks. Last weekend we went with Brenda and Verlon to explore some of the caves near Shoshone. One was closed for the season and the other had several small bats hanging down. It was really fun and we hope to be able to find some more caves later. Alma has started football and they had a practice game this last Friday. He has started (along with some other guys) a minor league here and is playing as a linebacker. He has another game coming this next friday. This last friday I went up with Brenda for a half day that they had. The kids loved playing with Raif and I liked being able to see where she worked and the kids that she has. They played a pilgram game were the class was broken into teams and they try to survive in the wilderness. They even had hats that they could wear. Next week Dennis' boss will have his retirement party and things will begin to shift around. I'm not sure how Dennis' job will change but I do know that he will be getting a different desk that sets higher. The one he sits at now is too low and he has to be careful not to hit his knees. Needless to say he is looking forward to the new desk
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Traveling and Sitting
Last weekend we were able to go and visit Shem and LaDawn. It was just a one day up and back deal, but we got to see Damian sing. Damian was asked to sing to an all boys choir that they have in Boise and we were excited to see him sing. Unfortunatly, they only sang 3 songs and then they had a band play and some other kids sing. Damian was really excited about it and he really seems love singing. It was also nice to be able to talk to Shem and LaDawn next time we will spend the night so we can get in a longer visit. Sophia kept a careful eye on Raif and encouraged him (several times) to have a drink from his sippy cup, keep close to Mom and Dad, and play with several toys.
Raif is currently enjoying finding various parts of Pepper that he can sit on. Paws, legs, belly he is tring each to see what height he ends up at and Pepper keeps sleeping though it all. He has enjoyed sitting on many objects lately to see what happens when he does. Raif is also tall enough to play some notes on the piano and drags around the makeshift firepoker we have. His favorite surface to drag the firepoker seems to be the kitchen tile. His dancing has advanced to picking up his feet now instead of just bouncing and he takes the chance to dance whenever he can.
Angela has painted some of the laundry room a tan/purple shade and is looking to adds some trim and finishing touches. We are also looking at painting and adding trim to the downstairs bathroom in order to finish it.
Alma and Misty went to church with us today and we have told Quincy that he has until Wendesday to find another place to stay. All in all life is moving, on and we are working in keeping it in the middle 'best we can. Love ya all and we hope that all is well with you.
Raif is currently enjoying finding various parts of Pepper that he can sit on. Paws, legs, belly he is tring each to see what height he ends up at and Pepper keeps sleeping though it all. He has enjoyed sitting on many objects lately to see what happens when he does. Raif is also tall enough to play some notes on the piano and drags around the makeshift firepoker we have. His favorite surface to drag the firepoker seems to be the kitchen tile. His dancing has advanced to picking up his feet now instead of just bouncing and he takes the chance to dance whenever he can.
Angela has painted some of the laundry room a tan/purple shade and is looking to adds some trim and finishing touches. We are also looking at painting and adding trim to the downstairs bathroom in order to finish it.
Alma and Misty went to church with us today and we have told Quincy that he has until Wendesday to find another place to stay. All in all life is moving, on and we are working in keeping it in the middle 'best we can. Love ya all and we hope that all is well with you.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
An attempt at improvment
Part of our Sunday is now to include time set aside to blog. This is to help me prove to my family that I indeed still care about them. However, writing and correspondence has never been one of my strong points. So there is definitely room for improvement.
The following will be life from my perspective, since Angela tends to have a different point of view.
Work is going well, but presents its challenges. There is a large learning curve for me at this point. I wish that I didn't have to ask so many questions, or make the mistakes that I do. Despite my imperfections and rookie status, I continue to make progress and get a bit more responsibility little by little. I do believe that they are pleased with my efforts and my production. I like being able to interact more personably with customers in the loan department rather than the impersonal phone calls that took place in customer service. I like that bank holidays apply to me, and I get a decent amount of 3 day weekends.
Here at the home front it is a battle of wills. First there is Alma. He has a plethora of personal problems that he is dealing with, along with trying to fill in the shoes of his father in the plumbing business. It is frustrating seeing a business that was built in 30 years through hard work and sweat struggle. I think that the company will take care of it's workers, as long as they take care of it. At this point it seems like Alma just wants the business to take care of him. There are still many hurdles to overcome, but there are signs that this time his resolve to straighten his life out may hold true.
Working out the kinks of international communication never stops. Angela has the organizational skills to handle issues that she can control. One would be quite foolish to believe they could control Brent and Connie or the banks or the cell phone companies. The Bank and Cell phone company have just been block headed about sticking to their rules after Brent and Connie are gone, but when it came to making sure things were set up for them before they left, we have found they were less than thorough.
My optimistic theory includes everything, plumbing and rentals, being fine tuned just in time for Brent and Connie to come back and have to learn everything over again.
My pesimistic theory includes the walls of Jerico falling in on us all.
Just kidding. Now and probably not for the last time, Faith is what's required and not my negativity. I know Brent and Connie need to be on their mission, and the Lord will make it possible both here and in Mexico.
Raif walks, runs, falls, cries, eats, plays, poops, and grows. Though seemingly impossible, he is always doing all of those things. He is really fun to watch grow and change. I like coming home and knowing he is excited to see me.
The following will be life from my perspective, since Angela tends to have a different point of view.
Work is going well, but presents its challenges. There is a large learning curve for me at this point. I wish that I didn't have to ask so many questions, or make the mistakes that I do. Despite my imperfections and rookie status, I continue to make progress and get a bit more responsibility little by little. I do believe that they are pleased with my efforts and my production. I like being able to interact more personably with customers in the loan department rather than the impersonal phone calls that took place in customer service. I like that bank holidays apply to me, and I get a decent amount of 3 day weekends.
Here at the home front it is a battle of wills. First there is Alma. He has a plethora of personal problems that he is dealing with, along with trying to fill in the shoes of his father in the plumbing business. It is frustrating seeing a business that was built in 30 years through hard work and sweat struggle. I think that the company will take care of it's workers, as long as they take care of it. At this point it seems like Alma just wants the business to take care of him. There are still many hurdles to overcome, but there are signs that this time his resolve to straighten his life out may hold true.
Working out the kinks of international communication never stops. Angela has the organizational skills to handle issues that she can control. One would be quite foolish to believe they could control Brent and Connie or the banks or the cell phone companies. The Bank and Cell phone company have just been block headed about sticking to their rules after Brent and Connie are gone, but when it came to making sure things were set up for them before they left, we have found they were less than thorough.
My optimistic theory includes everything, plumbing and rentals, being fine tuned just in time for Brent and Connie to come back and have to learn everything over again.
My pesimistic theory includes the walls of Jerico falling in on us all.
Just kidding. Now and probably not for the last time, Faith is what's required and not my negativity. I know Brent and Connie need to be on their mission, and the Lord will make it possible both here and in Mexico.
Raif walks, runs, falls, cries, eats, plays, poops, and grows. Though seemingly impossible, he is always doing all of those things. He is really fun to watch grow and change. I like coming home and knowing he is excited to see me.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Fast Mail Is up again
Dennis has finally cleared out room on his fast mail so that he can recieve mail again. We heard about the celebration for Grandma and Grandpa and we can make it Dennis is going to sign up for some time off of work to go (but we need to make sure that the date is a definate) He also is going to be taking some time off in July (a week) and we will be going to Wyoming to visit everyone (detail will be coming later).
Thursday, January 18, 2007
January brings birthdya smiles
Christmas was fun. Dennis has that week off so we were able to just sit and enjoy the holidays. the biggest thing we got for Christmas was a wii nitendo system. It has been really fun to play. Our arms were sore the next day but after that it's not so bad. I would recommend it to anyone. After Christmas I went down to California to visit with my sisters for the New Year. Raif had an ear infection while he was down there and didn't enjoy it as much as I did. It was really fun being able to hang out with my sisters.
On January 5th Raif had his 1st birthday. So he got to be striped naked and eat cake it was really fun to watch him. He got some books, bathtoys, and sleeping clothes for his birthday. The last few days he has been walking on his own without the aid of the couches. He still gets really giggly at night just before we put him to bed and loves when his Dad comes home from work. He can now look at Dennis and say Dada but he still says that at a lot of things.
After Raif birthday we celebrated our anniversary by getting a babysitter and going to a movie. We saw Night at the Museum and I loved it. We'll probably end up getting it when it comes out on DVD. We'll that's all for now Love ya!
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