Our Military Family

Chris and I got to meet Hunter Wimpee's (yes, that is his last name believe it or not) wife, Tosha, the other day. Hunter works with Chris. It was fun to meet her. We got to see each other again this evening. We went out to eat and enjoyed each other's company. It's so nice that one of Chris's coworkers is married. I told Chris that I was very excited to meet his friends that are married (I assumed all of them would be) in the Air Force, but none of his friends are married except Hunter. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with being single (I loved being single) because I get along with all of his friends, but it's also nice to know that Chris and I aren't the only married couple in the group.

All of Chris's friends in our group have become our military family. They are all so much fun. We hang out just about every weekend. I'm glad that we have our own little military family here. I only know of one friend of Chris's that's LDS which is fun. His name's Marco Martinez. He and his family are pretty cool. I like his wife, Valeria. She's fun to hang out with.

Clockwise: Tosha's Dad, Hunter, Tosha, Sergio, Catherine, Beth, Brian, McKenzie, Me, Chris, and Cyrus

I'm so grateful to have these friends in my life. I didn't think I would know anyone who works with Chris. I didn't know we'd be hanging out together as much as we do. It's nice to know that they will always be there for us. I'm so glad that Chris joined the military. If he didn't, I probably wouldn't know any of these awesome people.

Chris is a surgical technologist right now. He's the one that hands the tools to the surgeon. We were talking about the military a while ago. He said he wanted to stay in the military for about five years and get out and go back home to Shelley, Idaho. But, a while later, he told me he wants to become a chaplain instead. He said if he does that, we'll probably stay in for the full 20 years. I think he's set on becoming a chaplain. To be honest, I was surprised when he told me. As long as he's happy, I'm happy.

A Wonderful Evening

Chris and I got to see Bryan Searle and his wife, Mary, yesterday. Bryan is in our family's Stake presidency back in Shelley. I always call him President Searle because of it. My dad called me early in the week and told me that they were coming down for business and that they wanted to see us. Then, President Searle called me and we made plans. It was so nice he called me and actually made the plans. It was so sweet of him to take time out of his busy schedule to come down and see Chris and me. We went out to Saltgrass Steakhouse on the Riverwalk for dinner yesterday evening. We talked about how our families were doing. President Searle has a son, Eric, who's Jared's age. We talked about him a little bit too. President Searle said Eric and I had a "brother, sister" relationship. I hope that's how it always will be. I was his first date in high school. I asked him out to a dance. Also, I've always called him "Kewel Eric." I'm not sure why, but I do and I probably always will. He's on a mission in Peru and his parents say he's loving it. I email him a little just to catch up with him. He doesn't write much back, but I know he's busy. It was so fun to see President and Sister Searle.

Chris and I came home at one in the morning and we passed out. Chris had an even longer day because he had to work, but thankfully he didn't have to work today. I'm so grateful for all he does for me. He's the best hubby in the world and I'm so glad he's mine.

Giving Service and Education

I babysat Monique Baldea's little boy, John-Louis, for a couple hours this afternoon. Nancy Ford called me and asked me to babysit him. Monique is the secretary in the Primary. She has always been such a sweetheart to me. I really like her. Nancy was going to leave because she had an appointment to be at, but because John-Louis was fussing quite a bit, she rescheduled and stayed with me. Nancy said he isn't used to other babysitters and he just started teething so that was most of the problem. Poor little guy. I felt so bad. I just wanted to take it all away from him, but I don't have the ability to do that. John-Louis stared at me like I was a stranger the whole time, which I was to him. He is such a cutie. He clung to Nancy the entire time, but it was fun to help out.

I had my first Gathering tonight for my classes. It was so fun to see Elder and Sister Heller again. They are the Pathway missionaries. They are so nice. I always get hugs from Sister Heller and she is always so kind to me. She's always making sure that I'm doing okay. It is so nice to talk to her. I loved seeing my classmates again. We always have a party in our classes together. They are so fun to be around. I love hearing their insights on the lessons and I love learning from them. It was also fun to see Sister Petersen again. She's my teacher for my Book of Mormon class. She's fun. That class is so hard though. She gives us quizzes on what we've read about at the beginning of class and I did horrible on them last semester. I pray I do much better this semester. I'm going to need all the help I can get!

What's also neat about this semester is that I know my instructor's sister. My instructor's name is Sister Scott. Her sister, Miss Niederer (aka Mrs. Barker), teaches at Hobbs Middle School in Shelley, Idaho, where Chris and I are from. I never had Miss Niederer, but my sisters loved her. I thought that was so cool. I had to call my mom after I found out.

I have a good feeling about this semester. I hope I do really well. I try to do my very best and sometimes, it's not good enough. I still strive to work hard in whatever I do. I want to get good grades and set a good example for my children (someday) of how important education should be to them. Education was important to my grandpa, my Gran, my mom, and all of my aunts. I hope to keep the tradition alive and do well in this course and prove to others how important education is to me!

A New Semester of School...Wish Me Luck!

My next class for the Pathway Program started online today. I'm taking an English 106 class and I'm taking the second part of my Book of Mormon class. I was a little nervous to start another class, but this will be good for me. We have our first Gathering on Thursday. A Gathering is where we meet and discuss what we have learned while doing our lessons online. It's a fun opportunity to meet others who are in the same boat as you. I'm so glad I have wonderful classmates because I thought I was going to be the only one in the world doing this program. Thank goodness I'm not! :)

I've never been really good at writing. I'm good, but not that good. I mean, I can write stories at home on the computer and English has been one of my best subjects, but when I've been given a topic that I have to write a paper on, that's a whole different story.

A cool thing about this class is that all the students are part of a "Speaking Partner Program." While doing the lessons each week, we have to meet with a student who is learning to read, write, listen to, and speak English. We are supposed to video chat with them through Skype which will be cool (if Skype works). I've never been the best teacher so this will be a learning experience for me. I mean, I've taught my husband what I was learning last semester because I had to do a thing called "Teach a Friend" for my homework assignment, but working with someone who is learning English sounds like a bit of a challenge. Say a prayer for me, because I'm going to need it!!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. Chris and I hung out at home for New Year's Eve. We played Phase 10 and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with his friends from work: Cyrus, Brian, Danielle, and Beth. The rest of his friends were out of town. It was good to see everyone. This was the first time I met Danielle. I like her. She's cool. We had pie, chips and dip, soda, sparkling cider, and pizza. It was so fun. I didn't think I would make it until midnight, but I did, with a stomach ache.

I was thinking about all the resolutions that I need to make for the upcoming year. Some resolutions I've made are: to cook more (I'm a horrible cook and I need to be better at that), to help out more around the apartment, to read more in the Book of Mormon every day, to play my piano every day, and to attend the temple more often with Chris.

I love this holiday season. It gives us all an opportunity to start fresh and to begin again (sort of). I love that we can all become better in the new year. I encourage all of my readers out there to think of something you need to work on and work really hard on it this next year. I will take this challenge too because I have so many things I need to work on, along with my other resolutions I've made.

I hope we can all strive to be those better people this upcoming year! :)