Where we go from here..

I know everyone is wondering what on earth we plan to do with our lives now that Bryce has been laid off. Well, it wasn't as if it was a huge surprise. His company has been letting people go as jobs were completed, and even letting go a majority of the office staff. We almost felt as if we were 'walking the plank' as we were waiting for his turn. That is just the reality of construction these days - even for a superintendent. So back in September, when it became official, we looked at eachother, and decided we had better come up with a plan.

I should start by saying, he has been my rock through this. He has had such a positive attitude, which isn't easy to come by in this type of situation. He is there for me, each time I suffer a nervous breakdown and just want to cry my eyes out lol. One of the first things he did, was go talk to our bishop. What a difference that made. He helped him to see that this could be such an incredible opportunity, if we make it one. Sure, there are lots of people losing their jobs, and just struggling to find something else to get a paycheck. But, we have the chance to take this 'burden' that we have been given, and turn it into a blessing.

Several years ago, when I was going to nursing school, I seriously thought I was going to die. Seriously. Why was I killing myself to get through school, have my third baby, and be pregnant with my fourth, all before I graduated??? Well, I did it because it was what I knew I needed to do. Why? I wasn't sure. At the time, Bryce was making more money than he ever had in our lives. But, I did it anyway, and graduated with high honors. I certainly didn't do it alone, I had Bryce, the kids, our families and I'm certain a whole army of angels bearing me up to get me through - and I did it with flying colors!

Fast forward to 2009. We have our 4 kids, I'm 29 and Bryce is 30, and he gets laid off. Here is where I start to count my blessings that I pushed forward and graduated from college, even with as hard and impossible as it seemed at the time. It has turned out to be one of the biggest blessings we ever could have imagined. I already had a job, all I needed to do was pick up one more shift a week (for a total of three days a week) for a full time employee. It was a great answer to this temporary issue, but what about the long term outlook? Things are not promising in construction. We have come up with 101 different ideas on what do with our lives, maybe even more. We started out by applying for every superintendent job we could find online, all out of state - mostly in Texas. However, it didn't feel right to go chasing construction all over the country with no guarantees that this same thing wont happen again in 5 years. So, it was back to the drawing boards. This has seriously taken so much prayer, fasting and temple attendance. I'm guessing that was part of the Lords plan for us. Put us in this situation, and see how much we will rely on Him. Well, we certainly have more than I could have ever imagined.

We have finally come up with a plan that we feel is right for our family. This was a decision that has taken so much more thought and prayer than probably any other decision we have ever made together. We have decided that Bryce will go back to school. He has been going to school for construction management, but we are making a clean break from construction. Starting over new, which can be a very scary reality as we are (almost) 30 years old and have 4 kids and two houses. He has decided that he will get his Bachelors in Science, with a major in Athletic Training. He firgures if he has the chance to do anything he has ever wanted to do, he may as well do something he loves.

So, here is our plan. He will go to CSN (College of Southern Nevada) for the next 2 years to get some of his general classes out of the way, and get his GPA as high as possible. Then, he will apply to BYU. They have a great Athletic Training program, and well, this gives him the opportunity to be right there with the BYU football program. His dream come true:) If he does not get accepted, then we will head down to Texas. That would be my first choice, as I would go to Texas in a heartbeat! Either way, that may be where we end up, since they have such a high demand for athletic trainers in their high schools and colleges.

That is our plan for now. Not to say that it wont change tomorrow, but for now, this is what we feel is right for our family. I will continue to work my 3 days a week, and he will do side jobs to get extra money while he goes to school. Is it ideal? Not exactly, but this is the position we have been placed in, and I think we can do great things with this opportunity. I know someone has said that our lives are falling apart... I believe it's quite the opposite. This is turning out to be one of the best opportunites, not only for us as a family, but for Bryce. He has always done construction, it is all he has ever known. Now, because he lost his job, he has the chance to do whatever he wants. We tend to do things backwards - as most people make this decision at 18. We were already married at that age, so this is now his chance. Funny how life works sometimes.

It's going to be a long road for us, but we are ok with that. Nothing ever worth it is easy. He will have me, the kids, our family, and that same army of angels bearing him up to get hime through this. Our kids are incredible, and will do great - wherever we end up. We have faith that where he does get accepted into school will be exactly where we are meant to be.

I hope all of our friends and family that are reading this will have a great Thanksgiving. I know we will:)

Warm Fuzzies

This was our FHE a few weeks ago. We decided to do our own warm fuzzy jar, based on the conference talk by President Monson. It turned out to be such a fun one, and for our activity we did a service project. This is what is now sitting on my kitchen counter, and the kids can add to it as they help other people. It's nice to have it out where they can see it, and a good reminder to keep them filling the jar. When they get it filled to the top, they get to pick a fun place for us to go as a family.

Thanks Jan for the lettering - it turned out so cute!

Halloween night - Trick-or-Treating

These two are adorable as Minnie Mouse. I had a friend make the tutu's and shirts, and got the red glittery shoes from Target. So cute!

Evan's costume was from the D.I. for $3. My sister and I found it, but it didn't have a cape. We stopped by Walmart on the way home, bought .99 worth of red fabric, and made the cape. Yay for cheap, cute costumes. I seriously LOVE the D.I.

As for Cade's costume.. yes he was a football player - again. Although, this year he was a BYU player. We found all of the decals on ebay, and his helmet turned out great.

We have an awesome neighborhood. Once again this year it was packed, and the kids got WAY too much candy! They did pay their taxes and gave some to mom and dad. I also bought some of the candy from Cade and Haylee, and they all still have a ton -ugh!

Track or Treat

This year our stake did a track-or-treat at a big park that had a walking track around it. Everyone came and set up a station along the track, and then we walked around collecting candy.


Kendal was all ready to collect candy in her purse.

Carving pumpkins

Here is Bryce's masterpiece...



and Evan's...

Bryce helping Haylee with her BYU pumpkin, lol

and Cade working hard on his that he designed at school, he just had to come home and carve it.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch for FHE one night. It wasn't that great...but we did get some pretty good pumpkins and some cute pictures.

Gotta love these kids!

Checking out the animals in the petting zoo area.

Look who's 2!

My baby turned 2 on Oct. 23rd. We had gone to the Fall festival at the kids' school that night, so we just decided to make a run to Dairy Queen to celebrate and open presents. As you can tell, Kendal wasn't so sure about the candle in the ice cream cone - so Haylee had to blow it out for her.


I had to add in this picture of Evan - just because it's so cute!

We love our sassy little Kendal. This girl sure has a mind of her own! She is so girly - she loves princesses, dancing, and pretty much anything Haylee does. She has such a fun personality - and makes us all smile (or cry, depending on her mood:)