Blindslided!

Hey Familia,

It's me again. Just thought I'd share a little news...Cody went into work today only to find himself in a last minute meeting where an announcement was made that his office is closing. Yep, it finally happened! The entire R&D part of the office is being closed out. This means that 200 out of the 230 employees including Cody are out. Luckily, Cody is one of the last people to go. His job ends on March 31. A lot of his co-workers have to leave in November. So there you have it. I think were both still shocked even though we knew it was eminent in the next two years.

Cody is unbelievably chipper at the moment. He came home for the rest of the day and is working on his latest hobby involving L.E.D.'s and his truck. He has been looking for a new job for a while now. So he's happy he got to stay with Ericsson long enough to get a severance.

It's so weird that I woke up this morning to a normal day and how fast it changed! It has been full of ups and downs and it's only 3:00. Were just thankful that we don't have to be jobless right away and Cody can take his time and find a new job that will be fulfilling and challenging. He really would like to switch gears and work in some new green tech job or research.

I'll keep ya posted!

Love,

Jen

Feelin Like Fall in Colorado!

Hi La Familia!

Just wanted to say hi to ya'll.

We're having a nice fallish day here in good ole Colorado! Today we celebrated biscuit day in Erie. We went down town to the biscuit festival and ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Very yummy! Dad you would have loved it!

We've had a nice busy week going on. We got a new tree delivered yesterday. Had to dig a huge hole, thanks to Cody's strong arms I didn't have to do much! Now I have a nice big tree out my back door! That's my big news, kinda boring if your not into trees I guess!

The fam is doing great. We're off to a great year in school! So happy with teachers and classes. I'm even more delighted that Cody will be done with his board obligations this November! Yipee! Hopefully we'll have lot's of time for fun in the snow this winter. Surf gets a free ski pass this winter. All 5th graders in Colorado get that nice little perk. Hopefully we'll take advantage of it!

I guess that's about all. It's been such a hard month, I miss you so much and love you even more! I don't always let you know how I feel but, I really love you guys so much! It's been hard to be so far away from all of you this month. I've been really trying to take Aunt Debbie's advice about spending quality time w/ the kids. Looking them in eye when they are talking, and being available to them mentally as well as physically. It's so easy to be too busy and distracted when the boys need me. Anyways, gotta get going.

Have a great weekend!

Hope Italy is fabulous Jess! You have no idea how jealous I am!

Love you all!

Jen

sad

I feel very sad, my posts on my blog are gone and I had some great feelings there I wanted to keep. Is there any way to retrieve them? Mom

Hey fam

How is everyone? How is everyone feeling? Are we surviving the week? Just wanted to say love ya and to be strong. This life is one crazy ride isn't it? Wish I could see you all and give you hugs-but this will have to do. Hugging my kids a little tighter and holding Obeta's hand a little longer this week. We haven't had to deal with to much heartache in the past-I guess it's our turn this year. I'm so far away and don't get to talk to you all as much as I would like to but I think about you guys and your families daily. Thought a lot about life this week, what's important to me, how I spend my time, what I'm teaching my kids, how I treat others, what I'm supposed to do with my life, lots to think about. I hope that I can live my life honestly and in honor of grandpa and Cory and all those who've died that I love. It makes it easier to get up and go, not to be idle and let life pass me by-knowing that I still have so much left that I want to do and I really have no idea how much time I have. I hope I can be a better sister, aunt and daughter to all of you-I'll try harder to be there for you. Love ya-me

Our visit from Surf & Scout

Hey everyone! It's been a long time since anyone's posted - so I thought I'd start back up by posting some of my fav pics from when Jen was here!! I posted more details about what we did on my blog so I'm not going to narrate!!
















We missed the rest of you but we had a great time with Jen & the boys! Happy 4th of July weekend to you all! We love you!

Hey everyone

Hi family,
How are all of you doing? The phone and computer have been quiet this week, so I'm assuming summer is keeping everyone busy. Hope you are all well. Dad and I had weeded raspberries and did some yardwork, then watched Avatar, then went to Smoking Blues for our anniversary. Quin and Jodie's is Monday so we had a double date. Now dad's at work and I'm just crocheting as usual. It was a warm beautiful day finally...I love the sun. I have packages for the kids, I'll get them mailed on Monday-just a fun little treat. Give them all big hugs...we miss you all. Love, mom

A day in May

Planted potatoes today and learned a new skill-rototilling, all on my own. Dad will chew me out when he sees, but I had fun and I want to get the seeds in the ground. I'm ripping out flower beds and downsizing some...yes, I did listen and heed my daughters words of advice last summer. It will take time, but I'm getting there. How are all of you? I miss everyone. Dad is quiet..ok, he's usually asleep when I'm home and I'm asleep when he gets home...so we need some noise. Preferably ten little grandkids...I'll take all of them all summer. Seriously!!!!
We have had some nice days and many crap days weather wise. A friend of ours who works with economics has given us some advice...more food storage and rotate it. He says there is no way with the trillions of dollars the government is spending that we will come out of this financial mess easy or early. He said to have food on hand because it's going to get pricey and some of it will get scarce.
Then today, the butcher said the price of chicken is going to zoom up because of the foreign trade policies...another friend who is the gorcery manager at Macey's said to stock up every chance you get...things are going to skyrocket and people are going to have to tighten their belts.
Coming from 3 different people over the past month in 3 different conversations is not just a coincidence. So, I'm begging and advising you to try and get storage of water and things you need just in case. One of the best things we have done is invest in wheat and a grinder and plant fruit trees and berries. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but this nation has some serious problems and they aren't going to just disappear. We the people are going to have to pay and being prepared can't hurt. Please just think about this, ok. I worry about my family and I couldn't stand to have any of you going hungry. Maybe it won't come to that, but it wouldn't hurt to listen. Not all of these people are church members...so, it's not just a Mormon thing.
We also had some great advice from firefighters and EMT's the other night about earthquake preparedness, learning to use fire extinguishers, changing your first aid supplies often...bandaids do wear out and fall apart, I saw some. They also advised us to know where our shutoff valves for water, fuel etc. are and have a wrench handy to turn them off in emergencies...all women should know these things. They also said basic CPR and first aid were a must for everyone old enough to learn. They told us that five blocks away from us there was a water line that broke last year and the people were without water for 4 hours and begging the city to bring them some. When they were told that the city didn't do that, they stole the water from the crew working on the lines...they were not even ready for a few hours. We were also told to prepare enough to share if needed and to not tell everyone about our storage supplies, because of looters. That was interesting. If any of you want info on how much and what to store and how long it lasts. let me know. I've been trying out a new product called Thrive, it has a 30 year shelf life and it tastes good...it's freeze dried fruit, veggies and meats. I'm working on getting time to be part of a certs group...a person quailifed to respond to emergencies in the area and help where needed. It's a nine week training course with test etc. I feel like I know alot, but can learn more and be ready when help is needed.
Please kids, consider this. How are my bambinos doing? We need to do some skypeing this weekend, we both have ot off. Yeah! Take care, Love mom