Overwhelmed....

...with beauty.

This past weekend (December 29-30) I had the incredible opportunity to go to a wedding in Long Beach, CA. I was able to go for 2 whole days without my kiddos. (thank you honey!!!)

Over the course of those 2 days, I was able to hug, kiss, love on and catch up with probably, about 100 people.

It was non-stop, on-the-go busy and oftentimes unbelievably precious.
I'm not actually sure how to even write about this. And this post is more for me, than anyone else. So if it is exceptionally, long, too bad! :)
I was able to see and touch 6 very distinct phases/aspects of my life in the course of 2 days.
1. The family God gave me to grow up physically with
2. The family God gave me to mentor me spiritually and love me in my youth
3. The precious friends I have walked life with
4. The tender family that called me up to maturity and loved me for me
5. The amazing family God has blessed me with in my husband and children
6. The beautiful friends that are walking beside me now


My brother Mark, Beto, Laura, and friend Lindsay


Dino Maisano, my youth minister


Melodie and Auntie Katy


So Cal sunrise from my mom's backyard


Me and the folks at Bake-N-Broil my favorite restaurant in Long Beach


Miss,my dear friend from high school and Marci, my friend since elementary school!


Mary Bouma (of mair-wear who makes all of our super cute beanies!)


PJ and Karin....our pastors, mentors, friends


My brother, Danny and my mom at the best burger joint, In-N-Out

So, seeing as it is now a month later and I have not finished this post, I will just post it as is.

God is GOOD. It is amazing to see His hand in my life. I am grateful for His guidance, provision and plan for my life. God has graced my life with the most wonderful people. I don't know where I would be without them. So to my friends, old and new and to my family, I love you. I appreciate you. I am so thankful for you.

New Look for '08

Let's be honest. I LOVE pink! So why not have my blog truly reflect my love for this wonderful color.

When I was little I loved pink anything. Clothes, ribbons, panties, shoes, socks, dolls that had pink dresses, sheets, bedspreads, notepads, stickers,pencils...anything.

Somewhere along the way, I realized pink wasn't so cool anymore. So I made the switch to yellow..which I also really love. I didn't want to appear too girly.

But, thankfully, pink has really made a comeback! Its everywhere now. You can buy just about anything in pink...KitchenAid mixers, trash cans, ipods, cell phones...anything. I love it.

I try to keep my pink possessions to a minimum so as not to frighten off my dear husband. But, honestly, if I lived alone, my house would probably be decorated in a plentiful amount of pink accessories.

So, here's to PINK!

A warm body with above average intelligence

Yep, that's me in a nutshell according to my supervisor, Deven, at my new job.

Yes, you read that correctly. I have a new job.

Some of you have heard about it, most of you are probably in the dark. (Sorry!)

I am now an employee of Delta Air Lines! I am a CSA (Customer Service Agent) working at the ticket counter at DIA (Denver International Airport.) The airline industry REALLY likes acronyms.

Ok, so here's the long, drawn out story because you will be asking questions if I don't say it all.

Lots of people in Reunion work for the airlines. We live about 13 minutes from DIA so its an easy commute. Several moms I know work for airlines. So I decided on Oct 17 to look for any openings at any airline. It was late at night and I just started going to websites and applying for any available part-time work. Now, I wasn't really ready to go to work part-time, I just figured your app sat in their database for months on end and maybe my name would come up in 6 months or a year or something. And maybe at that time our lives would be at a place that I could leave for a bit each week.

ANYWAYS, on Fri, Nov 2, I got a message on my voicemail from Delta saying they wanted to interview me for a position. I called her back, with little hope that this would work for us. Mary and I chatted a bit on the phone and hit it off. She said they were looking at me for their "Ready Reserve" position. What? I had NO idea what that was. I was completely embarrassed when I asked what that position was. She explained that is was an on-call position that worked "below part-time status" to fill in holes in the schedule. They sent out the schedule a month in advance and we would choose which shifts we wanted to work. Hmmm. The minimum requirement was 8 hours a week and the max was 3 days a week. Hmmm. Oh, and she was sad to inform me that they don't offer full benefits for this position, but full flight benefits were included. Excuse me? Yes, 30 flight days for me, John, McKenna, Brooklyn, Josiah, my mom AND my dad. Hello?! Crazy! I could go in for an interview Sat (the next day) or Tuesday. I opted for Tuesday.

So, I went in on the 7th and had a great time. It was fun to dress up and have someone care about the skills I have other than changing diapers and making dinner. I felt really good about the interview and even better about the job.

I heard nothing for a couple weeks, then out of the blue Mary called and said I was in the next level of interviewing. I went in for a PAT (physical agility test) on the 20th. Whew, I passed. :) Then, I went in for fingerprinting on the 23rd.

Feeling good.

Then nothing. For a long time.

Finally, on Fri, Dec 14 I get a call saying they want to extend a job offer. Whoo-hoo! Orientation is Sat Dec 15 or Tues the 18th. I opted for the 18th. Went in for 5 hours of orientation. At that time, they politely informed us that they needed "warm bodies" during the holiday rush and that we had 13 hours of computer training to do before we could work the following week. Gee, thanks.

Well, since I am "above average intelligence" I was able to get through the training in about 9 hours. I worked my first shift on Dec 24. Yep, I signed up for the early morning shift: 4:00 am-12:30 pm.

It was great. I got up at 2:45 (IN THE MORNING!) and my coffee was brewing as I came down the stairs. I had a lovely cup of coffee while sitting in front of the fire. I was able to drink the whole thing without distraction or having to microwave it 2 times. Then I got ready, without distraction, and headed out the door at 3:20. It was GORGEOUS out. Crystal clear skies. Sparkling stars. The air was crisp and clean. The airport was all lit up and beautiful.

I had a great time. I didn't know how to do a thing! My main responsibilites will be
1. Working the lobby. i.e. directing traffic and encouraging people to use the kiosk
2. Working the kiosk. Helping people read the monitor and push a button.
3. Checking id's and tagging bags.

That's it! Its fun and great to meet new people.

So, I'll be doing this 8 hours a week, typically on Monday mornings. Our flight benefits kick in at the end of the month and then we can attempt to travel standby. (Are you so bored already?)

Ok, so that's my scoop on my new job at Delta.

God's Gift

I figured you were tired of reading about Delta, so I thought I'd write this separate.

What has been so incredible about this job is how God has orchestrated ALL of it.

Everyone has asked me how I found this job. My only response has been, "God gave it to me."

Most airlines only have part-time and full-time. Many people get hired on as full-time and then give their shifts away to accommodate their lives at home. But, they run the risk of getting stuck with unwanted shifts. This 8-hour a week deal is pretty much unheard of in the industry.

Most airlines have an extended (2 weeks) training out of state...usually in their hub.
Because this is a "below part-time status" position, they only required a 4 hour orientation locally...on site.

Apparently, 135 people applied for this position. 5 were hired.

Many of my girlfriends immediately wanted to know how to apply for this job. It really is perfect for stay at home moms. The job did not exist on the Delta website. I looked and couldn't find it. In fact, it didn't even show that Delta existed in Denver. When I asked a supervisor about it, they said it is only listed while the job is available. When I applied, the listing was only online for 3 days.

Typically, the airlines will only look at applications that have a resume included. When I was randomly filling out online applications, I did not have a resume put together. So I just left it blank. Remember, I wasn't looking to get a job now, but much farther in the future. When I was doing my orientation, Mary, the supervisor that hired me, said, "Yeah, I remember reading your application. I cracked up because in the notes section for your resume you put: Stay at home mom. Will submit resume later."

So, all I can say, is I did NOTHING to get this job. It was all God, and I am so grateful. We are hoping this will enable us to keep in close relationship with family and friends in SoCal. Not to mention, ever give us the opportunity to travel a little and vacation from time to time. :)

7:24

That is what time my son slept until this morning.

John and I were talking and we decided that in his 21 months of existence, he has not once slept that late in the morning.

Thank you, God! What a treat!



I don't know Mommy, I just felt like sleeping.