Beautiful Snow

We've received a few requests for pictures of our house. So after our first snowstorm Wayne headed out to get some winter shots. We had two big wind storms that made the lights hit the house so hard they broke, so we have some empty spots.But it still looks nice.

Almost Made It

The whole Christmas season I have been on alert. I have tried to be extra diligent with watching Brenner, knowing that all our great decorations would be very tempting for him. We have had to glue back together a couple ornaments and a village skier multiple times, however, I have been quite pleased with the minimal issues.

The plan was to start taking everything down on New Year's Eve--this year I knew I needed to get things put back together before school was back in or I would be in trouble. We were just two days away from the finish line...just two!

We had all just finished playing a board game and I was sitting down to check email when I heard a HUGE crash right behind me. This is what I foundHe did it by taking the extension cord that EVERYTHING was plugged intoand headed down the hall with it. When I took these pictures I had already set things straight again. Thankfully nothing shattered, but everything was at least chipped. Some had chunks missing like this

And this used to be a whole familynotice the feet. Then once the dust cleared and things were either put away or thrown away, this is what was leftBIG gouges in the hardwood!! There are about 4 big ones and a lot of little scratches and dings. This one still has "snow" stuck in it.

Oh, Brenner.

The Year Mark

I have sometimes refered to Wayne's year mark with his jobs as "the cursed" or "the dreaded year mark". For the past few years (since 2005), around Wayne's year mark a job change seemed to be right around the corner. You'd think I would expect it by now, but almost every year I'm not ready. January 15th is Wayne's year mark in this position and though I thought, "No way, not this time. We just moved into a house," change is again upon us.

This time, however, it was not by Wayne's doing. There have been a lot of changes going on in the corporate platform that Wayne is currently under and while at a conference a couple weeks ago, Wayne was approached by a senior Vice President. He was told there was a position that was opened with all the changes and he would like to see Wayne in it. Obviously Wayne did not consider it wise to turn down, but still took a couple days to consider, pray, and talk with me. We both felt this would be good for him and something we could adjust to.

So starting the end of January Wayne will be back in the corporate arena. He will be traveling again, but hopefully not as extensively as he was in Omaha. It's very similar to the position he had in Omaha, but it's more concentrated to just the plants in his platform (about 10). When he is not traveling he will work out of home. The great news is we don't have to move!! Wahoo!!

Change is not always easy and 6 moves in the past 8 years has been challenging, but these changes have always brought a lot of positive blessings and experiences for us all. I may say dreaded or cursed, but I say it with a smile because I am truly grateful that Wayne is being blessed in his career. He works very hard and deserves every recognition and praise he gets, and we're very proud of him.