Back Home...

Just a brief update. We are back in Reno and so excited to be here. moving is always a feat to undertake but we did it. It was a process and are glad that the trucks are unloaded and so are some of the boxes. Our new house is fantastic and we can't wait to be unpacked and stay put. God is good. We miss our friends in Elko but it is so nice to be back with our old friends and family. the kids are so excited to be back too. I will take some pics and get them posted soon.

Puppies and Kids

Hello all. I have been so bad at updating this, it seems the same old story these days. We did have some much needed excitement last week. Lilly gave birth to 8 healthy puppies. They are all doing really well and she is a fantastic mom. She had 5 boys and 3 girls. We are excited for them to open their eyes and starting walking a bit. The kids have really enjoyed the process and have been good with them, Cody is anxious to put one down the slide in the kiddie pool they call home, but that will have to wait.

I think spring has sprung in Elko, and we are taking advantage of it. We have done some hiking and lots of playing outside.

Shawn is still job hunting, and as I type this I realize what truth there is in the word hunting right now. It is a tedious process and people just dont appear to be in a hurry to hire. It is discouraging I know. I have started subbing. I was terrified but it was fun. I did one day in first grade and last Friday in Kindergarten. The schools here in Elko are traditional so school ends next week. On to the unknown plan B for me then.

Kylie is playing soccer and loves it. She scored 2 goals last week and after she scored, she turned around smiled at her dad and gave him a big thumbs up!!! Kylie also got a hair cut (need I mention the second in her 5 years of life) I am proud to say that this one wasn't self inflicted though. She is in the "I hate my hair in a pony" phase and has been asking for a cut. She really wanted to wait until we went to Reno so Kate (my hair girl) could cut it but I convinced her to do it here. I will try to include a pic if not I will do it soon.

Cody is great. He is a little tank and catching his sister in weight and shoe size everyday. Its crazy. He talks all the time and in complete sentences, to think a year ago we were worried he would ever talk.

Enjoy the pictures, and enjoy spring. I ask you all to lift our family in your prayers, pray for work for Shawn and Gods guidance in the choices we face. He has been so steadfast and provided for our every need for the past 4 months, we have so many stories of GOds perfect timing.

Easter Fun

Spring came just long enough for us to enjoy an Easter outdoors and then it quickly turned to winter again. The kids had a great couple of days with egg hunts, games at the library and Easter dinner with some new friends. It was lots of fun. We went to an Easter party at the library on Friday. On Saturday they had a HUGE Easter egg hunt at one of the parks here. It was amazing, I hope the picture does it justice. Sunday we went to church and then to Steve and Kathy Browns for a meal and egg hunt. The kids were the only kids so they loved it. The food was good, the fellowship was lots of fun, and the kids found lots of eggs. It was hard to be away from Reno for our first Easter (since kids anyway). Kylie really didn't like that we weren't there but she adjusted.

Like I said it returned to winter here. We had about 14 inches of snow here. It came over the course of 2 days and will hopefully leave as quickly but it has made a muddy mess again.

Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work he goes...

You read it right!!! Shawn got offered the job here in Elko on Monday. He is at an orientation today and will get more info there. We are thankful for a job. We waited 2 months and in 3 days 3 calls. He had someone call him yesterday who is desperate for welders, they haven't spoken to each other yet so we'll see. The job starts March 30th. They are doing some shutdowns at 2 of the mines nearby and he will be working 7- 12 hour days until May 13th. They are required to take every 8th day off so we'll see him a bit.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. We are so excited that the doors have started to open. We will keep you all posted. Have a great week and I hope you are having some nice weather, ours has been sunny and the kids are loving being outside.

Finally there is a change

Well I thought I would take a second and update on here. We have been holding strong and praying hard for a job for Shawn. On Friday we got the first follow up phone call in 2 months. We made a mad dash for Reno and Shawn took a weld test and had an interview on Saturday. And while we were driving there we got a call about a job here in Elko. He is at an interview here in Elko now. Its funny, we knew it would be like this.. nothing for months and then finally and then more than one. We are trusting God to continue and show us what is right and in accordance with his plan. My sub license has been submitted and we are moving forward with that too. I would like to sub a few days a week even when Shawn goes back to work, but we'll see. Childcare here isn't as easy as it was in Reno, so starting to do some research on that too.

Thank you all for remembering us in your prayers, we will keep you posted.

Silly pics and such

Elizzabeth, Kylie, Cody

Here are some more pics of the kids. Kylie has been into putting on "shows" for us and when Tom and Amanda and Elizabeth came over the other night she had us all dress up. Tom was the best so I will share his photos.

Life update...

There isn't a ton of change to report. Shawn is still job hunting like a mad man. We have tons of applications and resumes out there and no one is biting. I started working last week, I am cleaning houses 4 days a week. It isn't too bad, its cleaning house so take it for what its worth. Shawn is playing Mr. Mom and they are all loving it. Its been good and hard to be back working. I haven't worked in 5 years so its different, but we are all adjusting. I am praying that its only short term but we will see. God has continued to be ever present and we have an amazing sense of peace. If you watch the news or read the papers you can get inindated with the doom and gloom of all going on in the world, but we don't have to buy into it. There are parts of this process that are very humbling and some that are really empowering, without a little stretching we would never grow, I can tell you that we are being stretched, but it truly is what we make of it. If I were writing a book (or two) about my life right now I would title them "Hope in Mondays" and "Not all Angels have wings". May your hope come from above and may you see ALL the angels, wings or no wings.

Kylie turns 5

Some birthday pictures....

Better late than never I guess... We made the trip to Reno for Kylies 5th birthday and it was fun. It was really great to see everyone, can't believe we've been away for 8 months. Kylie had 2 parties and soaked it all up. Grandma and Grandpa Grisham had a party for her and it was grand. Kylie wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday and she got it. The cake turned out darling and we had a very nice time with everyone.

Ice fishing and sledding

January has been a month filled with lots of ups and downs. The weather has been a bit milder so we have been out a bit more. Shawns mom and dad came for a short visit and that was really nice. Shawn is looking for a job and we are trusting God will open the door that needs to be opened. Its a scary time in this economy to be looking for work, but someone in a movie we recently watched described it as "serene chaos", trusting in the midst of the chaos. He will be stocking shelves this week, not his ideal job but its a job. I am cleaning toilets so I think he has the better deal. We have a number of applications and resumes out so we are waiting to hear. The mines are "thorough" in the hiring process, and that translates to slower than we would like. It took a good month to get started with Newmont, we are hoping it is a bit faster than that this time.

The Southfork Reservoir is about 15 min from our house so we have been there a few times. The kids are bundled from head to toe and we go ice fishing, and sledding. Truth be told, dad tries to fish and the kids play. Its fun to have a giant ice rink to "skate" on and some good hills to sled down. Kylie had a blast sledding down the boat ramp and straight out onto the water. I will have to admit that walking on a frozen lake takes some getting comfortable with. I didn't brave it this past week as it was creaking and cracking too much for me. The ice still 12-18" thick. Shawn has gotten up before the sun the past few days and gone for some "daddy" time. He caught a nice one this morning, and we have enjoyed some trout on the barbie this week.

My MOPS group is having their first steering committee meeting Friday. I am excited and nervous. Its different to be semi- in charge of something. I am thrilled at the lives we will touch and the friends to be made.

Please keep us in your prayers, as Shawn searches for a job and we learn to "be still" and know that God is in control. Our love to all of you.

Christmas Pics

Better late than never. Here are some christmas pictures. Again, we had a great time, it was nice to see family and friends, and I never get pictures of all of it, the kids are going, going, going.

Our house was a manger

Oh where to begin on this one. Christmas Eve was one to not soon be forgotten. We left for Reno on the morning of the 24th and we left our dogs, at home, in Elko and Tom and Amanda were taking care of them for us, they were checking on the dogs daily and aside from that our house was vacant...

So midnight on Christmas Eve, Shawn and I are talking and doing some reading when my cell phone rings, the caller id on my cell shows it to be our home phone number. Instant panic sets in, my dogs can't use the phone and knowing Tom and Amanda they were in bed. I answered the phone and no one was there, called the house back and it was busy. Called Tom and Amanda and as we begin to put the pieces together, they also had received a call from our home phone about an hour earlier, but didn't recognize the number.

Tom called our house from his cell while I was on the phone with his wife, and SOME WOMAN ANSWERED MY PHONE!!!! Her name was Rebecca, she told Tom that she had broken a window to get in, she'd pay for it and the dogs were in their kennels. Amanda and I had to hang up so she could call 911. I DON'T KNOW REBECCA and she shouldn't be in my house. The story unfolded from there and after much confusion, heartache, disbelief, and a few more crazy phone calls, the story goes...

Rebecca and her husband(?) were housesitting up the street from us and he decided that he would spend Christmas Eve beating her up. He choked her and she was able to escape through a bedroom window with her 5 month old baby. She got into the truck, began to drive away and he caused the truck to drive off the road. He ran back to the house they were sitting and she ran towards ours. Let me tell you that winter in Elko is COLD, midnight has to be worse. We have been getting down to 0' so being outside is no place for anyone, and especially not a baby. She ran to our house and broke a window. She climbed in with her baby and found the phone. Not sure why she didn't call 911 but she called people we knew from our phone book in our phone. She told her story to random people, and once Tom called 911 the police arrived. After much searching and such they were able to apprehend him. He had 3 priors on domestic violence and an outstanding warrant. He will be in prison for a while.

Aside from a broken window our house was fine. I don't always understand how God delivers messages to us and can now see how sometimes we miss the real message, but I will tell you that in order to make positive out of something unnerving like this we read between the lines..., and TRUST.

Our house was her INN on Christmas Eve. There was a fire in the stove, food in the fridge and had she needed just about anything for that baby and looked hard enough she could have found it. God brought her to our house for a reason. She was safe, warm and able to care for herself and her baby. Many people pointed out and it took me a while to see it, but people tend to break in to steal stuff, not for refuge. OUR HOME was a place of refuge, a PLACE OF SAFETY, for a woman and her infant on Christmas Eve. God is amazing, and plans all things for his glory. 2008 was a tough year for our family and God was steadfast, always present, and always bigger than anything that came our way. What a way to end a year we would never want to revisit, by showing us that OUR HOME was safe, secure, warm, and able to bring refuge to someone in need. Thank you Jesus.

Blogging here we come

Okay all, I feel like we're the only ones without one of these blogs so here

goes, I am going to give it a whirl.

We were able to head to Reno for Christmas (pictures to follow soon), and it was nice. We had a white Christmas. It was crazier than any Christmas in recent past because of having a 2 year old and nearly 5 year old. I think they were racing to see who could open the most packages the fastest, or at least thats how it seemed. They had fun and we were all tired from watching them.

Hope your CHRISTmas was nice and may 2009 be filled with wonderful new moments.