Can you imagine???!!!!

Can you imagine if this happened to you?

3 yr old opens all the presents Christmas morning before the rest of the family is awake!

*Jawdrop!*

http://myfourcrazykids.blogspot.com/2009/12/story-of-carson-and-christmas.html

I'm going to say it out loud. . .

(Stephanie, Robbie and Natalie Bullen, Christmas Day 1983)

I've already told my mom. She said my brother said the same thing in the car on the way home today from my uncles funeral so I know I'm not the only one thinking it. . .

It was so nice to be together today as a family just the 5 of us without our spouses or children. Maybe that makes me a totally rotten wife but it was nice to get back down to the level of just us. It hasn't been just us together for 14 years. Thanks Mom, Dad, Rob and Nat for a great day! I really enjoyed spending time with you.

25 random things about me

So I KNOW it's Christmas and I could show you a bazillion things we've been doing, talk about Christmas stuff, etc. But I have about zero time right now. I know I've been rather scarce so here's something that is already saved on my computer.

1. Until moving last year I have never lived more than 15 minutes from my parents, siblings or all my in-laws.

2. My weaknesses are See's Chocolates nuts & chews.

3. I was a gymnast until I was 14 and sprained my back.

4. I ran my first 5K at the age of 7. I ran on the high school varsity cross country team and lettered in cross country in Jr High. I don't even think I can run a mile now.

5. I've sold crap on ebay for 5 years.

6. I used to have a shopping addiction. I was in Gymboree at least twice a week every week for 2 years! Happy to say I've been over it since July 2006

7. When we moved to Petersboro it was the first time in my entire adult life I was not taking care of anyone else’s children. It lasted for about 8 months.

8. I miss teaching terribly.

9. We've owned a Wii for almost 2 years and I've only played it twice.

10. Growing up I had hair past my butt. It was waist length until after Christian was born. I used to spend 2 hours every morning doing my hair.

11. I always wanted 6 children.

12. I am addicted to Star Gate SG-1. We own every season and Brandon and I have spent most Fridays watching past episodes for 4 years.

13. I make several lists every day. I have lists for my lists.

14. My biggest pet peeve is rain drops left on the windshield. Brandon refuses to use the wipers until he almost can't see and it's worse than nails on the chalkboard!

15. I LOVE movie popcorn with LOTS of butter. I buy it even when I'm not going to see a show. Maybe this should be added to the weaknesses?

16. I bake something at least once a week usually from scratch.

17. I am a total sentimental sap and am emotionally attached to everything my children have ever owned. Up until 2 years ago I had never sold or given away one piece of clothing or toy. We are talking 8 years worth of kids stuff!

18. I have a ginormous porcelain doll collection that now lives in Rubbermaid totes.

19. My Beanie Baby Collection is even bigger. Also in permanent moratorium in totes.

20. I almost never go to bed before mid-night and it makes me really tired.

21. I am a Disney Vacation lover. I've been to Disneyland over 30 times. Probably 40 I’ve lost track

22. Brandon and I honeymooned in Disney World with my entire family, extended too. LOL

23. I can't name my children until I see them. My cat has never received a name. Her name has been Kitty for 11 years.

24. Brandon and I are high school sweethearts. We started dating in 1992.

25. I am a laundry Nazi. Everything besides underwear and linens is washed in cold and line dried. It has been really hard in this house but I have not given it up. I iron everyone’s clothes every single day. Even t-shirts and jeans.

Proud Mommy Moment

Last night was definitely a proud mommy moment. Christian had his first orchestra concert. I tried all night to upload these clips to Facebook for the grandparents who were unable to make it to the concert but after an hour of being unsuccessful I gave up. This seems like a better place anyway. Let me first tell you about the program Christian is in.

Mountain West String Academy (MWSA for short) was started 10 years ago by Dr. James McWhorter. A long time resident of Logan, Dr. McWhorter is an accomplished string player. He too is a cellist and has played with the Utah Symphony and the Boston Pops. He is a professor at USU and travels the country speaking and teaching all different kinds of groups and at universities and conducting orchestras for young people. He saw the need in Cache Valley for a quality string program for children. 10 years ago MWSA was started on a shoe string budget with 11 children.

Through generous private donations from many area companies and the support of Cache County School District MWSA now has an orchestra program in every elementary school, with 2 teachers and one aide at each and 400 students district wide. Children can register for orchestra starting in the 4th grade because the optimal age for learning a string instrument is 8-9 years old.

At the beginning of the year Christian came home with papers about MWSA. He BEGGED us to let him sign-up and try. You could see it in his eyes it was something he REALLY wanted to do. If you know Christian he has some frustration issues with lots of things. He gets so frustrated with himself and some situations he cannot be reasoned with. We have been told by a pediatrician he has some OCD tendencies and with age he has been getting worse. We were very hesitant to start an instrument. Especially a string instrument that takes hours of practice before you actually sound like you are playing something. We agreed to let him start and were bracing ourselves for many long nights. Christian chose to play the cello and for a one time $30 registration fee which included all his books, a one time $40 instrument rental fee, and $15 to purchase a music stand he was ready to start.

Guess what? The opposite has happened at our house. Christian loves the cello. He is not frustrated when he can't play it perfectly. He is patient and happy to learn and be taught. The cello has helped him, it's been a form of therapy in a way, and his "freak outs" have been far and in between. What a blessing! Guess what else? Christian has always been an excellent reader reading 3 grade levels ahead since 1st grade but math has not come quite as easy. He has not struggled per say but has been more of average B+ student and found math more challenging. After just a few weeks of playing the cello math came easy! It is a proven fact that when children start playing a string instrument their math and reading scores increase by 2 grades, so C to A. We have seen in happen here. At the beginning of the school year his teacher asked us to write down a goal for the Christian and the only thing I could think of was, "Christian needs to be more positive about math and become more proficient." Math is no longer an issue.

Christian attends orchestra for 1 hour each Monday after school, 1 hour each Wednesday morning before school and we pay $2 on the Saturday's we are able for him to go to a 1 hour "Cello Lab Class" at USU taught by Dr. McWhorter and a few USU string students.

Last nights program featured all 400 string students from across Cache Valley. 2/3 of them like Christian have only been playing for 2 months. The rest have been playing for 14 months. They are all 4th and 5th graders, 9-11 years old. When you consider the short amount of time these children have been playing it is pretty impressive. We were one of the VERY lucky parents to have our child on the front row last night where he could be seen. It was a sea of black and white and moving bows. We were also VERY lucky to get such a great seat. The concert was held at Kent Concert Hall on USU's campus, every seat was filled and it was standing room only!

These clips were taken with my digital camera not a camcorder. There is quite a bit of shaking so sorry. I was also next to Parker who Would. Not. Sit. Still. So there is even more shaking from getting bumped by him. They did play a couple more songs but for whatever reason they didn't turn out. I think it is hilarious how serious Christian is. His bowing is more than cute and watch his hand when he finishes his last "pluck" on the last piece.

Isn't he handsome? Look at his killer tie which I picked out for him yesterday at Dillards. His dad is in love with it too and if it was a little bigger would probably steal it. He also tied that tie himself with zero help. I am absolutely in love with this little boy. He is growing up so fast now. :) and :(

The night we call Family Home Evening

. . . or FHE for short. In most LDS families, each Monday night is set aside as "family home evening." This is a time for families to study the gospel together and to do other activities that strengthen the family spiritually, create family memories, and increase unity and love. Last night was special because we were invited to join our Bishop's family for FHE. All the children were looking forward to it. I think just the fact that they got to go to someone else's house was exciting.

As soon as the Parker got home from school and Christian got home from his orchestra class I started drilling them on proper behavior. . .

"We don't run around their home."

"We don't call names or say bad words."

"We sit quietly and listen."

"We have good manners."

"We don't ask for food."

See, I KNOW my children.

Then I start preparing myself in my mind.

"I have to start dinner at 5pm."

"We have to eat at 6 no later."

"I need to make sure I change Ella's shirt it's a mess."

"I need to make time to change out of my velour pants & t-shirt and get some eye make-up on."

5 o'clock comes. I put a tablespoon of olive oil in my wok to make stir-fry. I walk off to do something else and realize the grease is getting too hot. I run back over and quickly pull it off the burner when the 3 million degree grease sloshes up the side of the wok and onto the floor and my FOOT. I rip off my sock and hobble to the bathtub to run cold water over it. I then realize I have left the burner on. This is a bad Ella combo. I hobble back to the kitchen in burning agony and turn it off. I realize it is 5:20 and it's getting late. I don't have time to lay around in pain soaking my burn so I stumble to find a wash wrag in the drawer. I get it wet and wrap it around my food as I try to finish preparing dinner. As I stand there chopping vegetables I can feel the blister growing and growing and growing. I am thinking, "Honestly of all nights!"

At exactly 6pm by some sort of miracle dinner was ready but where was Brandon? I wait until 6:10. Still no Brandon. So I call the kids in to eat without him. Again before I will give them any food I drill them on proper behavior while visiting someone's home. This conversation was followed by, "Do you understand!?" Since everyone understood, dinner was served. Christian asked to bless it. I said, "Sure." Ella ran into the other room screaming. Christian proceeded with the blessing. Ella continued screaming. The boys started eating. Ella continued screaming. (If you are someone who knows my daughter you know this is not unusual behavior.) I go in to try and coax her back to dinner and she explains that she wanted to say the blessing. She won't come back in the kitchen so I tell her she can bless the food again. The boys fold their arms and bow their heads with their mouths full of food and Ella blesses our dinner for a second time. I am thinking, "Honestly of all nights!"

Brandon finally arrives a little after 6:30. I hobble around and clean myself up. I find some shoes I can wear with my still growing and very painful blister. I manage to find Ella some clean clothes, fix her hair, and get everyone's shoes and coats on. Brandon quickly eats and changes.

At exactly 6:55 we are ready to head down the street to the Bishop's house. As we open the door a stray cat decides it's tired of the snow and runs in the house. Brandon continues out the door with the kids and I start to hobble after the cat. I am thinking, "Honestly of all nights!"

I find the cat, get her out, get into the car and we are on our way. We get just to the end of the street and guess what? The van dies! The engine shuts off. Brandon puts the car in park and starts to try and get it going again. This time I am thinking, "Dang the adversary is working hard tonight to keep us from family home evening tonight!"

Brandon gets the van started again and we head down the hill towards the bishop's house.

When we finally arrive we are of course late. We are greeted with love and warmth. We sang and prayed and learned about missionary work and played a very fun Starburst game. Parker spent much of the lesson upside down on their couch but other than that behavior issues were at a minimum. We had a yummy rice crispie snack for a treat and guess what? Both Christian AND Ella got to say a prayer. We had a great time and got to know the Durfey's a little better.

As we were driving home Christan started giving out assignments, "Next week we are going to read the scripture. And Mom we should probably do the lesson too and Sister Durfey can make more rice crispie treats and. . ." All three children wanted to go back to Bishop's house next Monday. It was a good night.

Worship

Worship [wur-ship]

1. Reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

"Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life.

What was the reaction to His message of mercy, His words of wisdom, His lessons of life? There were a precious few who appreciated Him. They bathed His feet. They learned His word. They followed His example.

Down through the generations of time, the message from Jesus has been the same. To Peter by the shores of beautiful Galilee, He said, “Follow me.” To Philip of old came the call, “Follow me.” To the Levite who sat at receipt of customs came the instruction, “Follow me.” And to you and to me, if we but listen, shall come that same beckoning invitation, “Follow me.”

As we follow in His steps today, we too will have an opportunity to bless the lives of others. Jesus invites us to give of ourselves. Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.

There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord our God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves. It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much, he who gives time gives more, but he who gives of himself gives all.
Someone has appropriately said, “We make a living by what we get, but we build a life by what we give.” It is through giving, rather than getting, that the Spirit of Christ enters our lives.
Let us listen for the sound of His sandaled feet. Let us reach out for the Carpenter’s hand." (President Thomas S. Monson)

(Brandon teaching the boys the parable of the Good Samaritan)

(The Christmas Story narration is always wonderful except Ella kept SCREAMING, "DAD! That baby is naked at the TEMPLE!!!")

Gifts!!!

Have I told you lately how excited I am for Christmas?!!!

Remember how I told you this year I was going to be able to give more TIME???

The gift I am most excited about it my grandma's. Like I'm so excited I have to tell you about it!

My grandma is 91 years old, lives alone and is one of my best friends. Tomorrow I am going to give her a box filled with all kinds of questions about her holiday memories. I'm going to call her everyday starting December 1st. She's going to pull one question out each day and we are going to talk about it.

On Christmas I'm going to present her with an 8 x 8 scrapbook filled with all the things we talk about, pictures, etc.

I am seriously so excited for the treasured moments I am going to be able to spend with her!

AND for a sneak peak, here are the gifts for some special little girls that I have been working on with a TON of scrap felt I have. I can't wait to FINALLY give these gifts as well!

(Unfinished makings for PB&J sandwiches)

Once Upon a Time. . .

Once upon a time I was leaving my house for 12 hours to be a vendor at a mom's night out event in South Jordan.

As I was leaving I asked Brandon if he wanted me to leave the car seats.

He said, "No I'm not going anywhere."

I said, "I better. Someone might need stitches or something."

You see every time a child gets hurt around here it's when I'm gone.

2001 - Christian needs 7 stitches in his forehead - I was at work.

We had a pretty good run.

Then. . .

2006 - Parker swallows a coin and needs x-rays - I was visiting teaching

2007 - Parker and Christian were wrestling and Parker popped the back of his head open. Needing 2 staples. - I was shopping.

2007 - Parker fell and hit an end table requiring 6 stitches about his eye - I was shopping.

Fast forward to Friday the 13th I am in TERRIBLE traffic in Taylorsville when I get a call from the neighbor mom across the street. "Steph, Parker and Jaci were playing in the exercise room and he cut his pinkie finger on a piece of equipment and it's pretty bad." I'm thinking CRAP! So I give her Brandon's number.

Brandon gathers up the other 2 kids and runs over. There is my poor neighbor holding pressure on Parker's finger, her 6 year old vomiting from seeing all the blood, her other 3 children and 5 other friends running through the house. She is a saint I tell you, A SAINT! Neither she nor Brandon can figure out if it needs stitches so they wait for her husband to come home. He was off getting a bazillion pizzas for all the kids.

It was decided stitches were needed and again I got a phone call. It had been 30 minutes, I was still in traffic but this time I was in West Jordan. (It was a BAAADDDD traffic night!) Brandon doesn't know where to take him. We've never had an emergency here and we know that our insurance is not a popular one in Cache Valley. Brandon decides he'll just figure it out and I decide to try and keep driving. Well after much deliberation our way cute neighbor who just also happens to be a dentist decides to take Parker down to his office and stitch him up. How Nice is that?!!

So if you are in need of any dental care and happen to be here in Cache Valley or even if you're not go visit:

Mathew C. Cheney DMD

(Click on the link below for more info)

I promise he will treat you right!

Have you been grocery shopping lately?

'Tis the season for great deals at the grocery store! I know a lot of people in Utah are totally bummed now that Albies is gone. Plus we no longer get the Red Plum insert in our papers so that's a double whammy! But guess what? It can still be done. You can stuff save a grundle at the grocery store! Here's my last haul:

1 13.5 lb Jenny-O hen turkey

2 Gallons milk

1 quart Eggnog

2 double packs of Stove top Stuffing

1 box pumpkin quick bread

1 10oz lunch meat

16 cans Swanson Broth

2 tubs whipped topping

1 pack flour tortillas

2.5 lbs shredded cheese

1 16oz cottage cheese

8 cartons yogurt

10 boxes Nabisco crackers

2 cans Planters cashews

6 4pks of Duracell AA bateries

6 tubs Lighthouse dip

5 Giant Oreo icecream Sandwich singles

1 Breyers Rocky Road Icecream

1 loaf Farm Bread

4 cans Libby's vegetables

2 McCormick Gravy mix

1 bag Nestle Chocolate chips

6 Cans S&W beans

1 doz large eggs

1 16 oz sour cream

2 lbs Mission corn torillas

2 bricks cream cheese

2lb brick medium cheddar cheese

My total bill should have been $206.22

I paid $62.74!!!!

That's a savings of 70%

PLUS by buying the crackers I am getting a $10 rebate back from Nabisco!!!

Happy Shopping!

The passing of a great man

Just over 12 years ago this great man married and sealed my husband and I in the Salt Lake Temple.

Alan W. Layton

Nobody wants a Christmas worth forgetting. . .

Every time I watch this I am moved to tears.

The principle this teaches is a good one!

Where should our focus be?

Deep Thoughts

And so it went. . .

There I sat at Mountain Crest High School last week as part of "Life Studies Panel." There was a 25 year old, a woman that was 45, another 49, another in her 50's, another in her 60's, a man in his 70's and a sweet sweet skydiving grandma who was 85. I was the person representing the 30's. Our job for the day was to sit in a row and answer some very reflective questions of high school seniors. Where I sat I was the first to answer all the questions. Lucky me! *roll eyes* Not only did I have to have an intelligent sounding answer about personal experiences in my life but I had to think fast.

Some of the questions were easy.

Student: "How did you meet your spouse?"

Me: "High School Sweethearts."

Students in unison "AWWWWWW!"

Student: "What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you?"

Me: "Delivering a dead baby & and having a sick husband for years that no one could fix rank up near the top."

Other panelist's answers were just as sad. . .divorce. . .death of a spouse. . . death of parents. . . At least if anything the students realized that life is not always pretty.

Student: "What's your greatest accomplishment?"

Me: "My 3 children."

Student: "What's been your worst and best job?"

Me: "HMMMM. I haven't had any really bad jobs but my best is being a teacher. My lesser favorite would have to be being a grocery store checker."

Student: "What would you like to do before you die?"

Me: "Be a teacher again."

Student: "Are you afraid of getting Alzheimer's?"

Me: "Never really thought about it."

Some of the questions were harder and required more thought.

Student: "What has been the best part of your life and would you want to go back to that time."

Me: "There hasn't been a best part. They've all been good." I reflected on each of the stages of my short life, high school, college, newlywedom, being a new mom, now . . . I explained that they all were amazing and at each point I didn't want life to change but it did and it was different but still great in a different way. I also told her I wouldn't go back. "The here and now is wonderful. People are supposed to progress." My feelings were the consensus, even with the elderly.

There were many more questions that day but the one that sticks out most in my mind is:

"Is your life exactly the way you planned it when you were our age?"

Me: "For the most part. I always wanted to be a teacher and a mom from the time I was 5 years old. I was well on the teacher path when I was a senior in high school. I became a teacher and I am a mom. It's not exactly though. I always wanted 4 or 6 children. I only have 3."

At which point for the first time in the entire discussion the classroom teacher who looked to be about my age turned and looked at me and very seriously asked, "Are you going to have any more?" As she stared at me she seemed very intent on my answer as if it validated something in her own life. My answer, "No, probably not. I'm getting too old. Next year I'll be 35."

And the crickets chirped.

And she looked down at her desk.

And I looked down at her desk and there were 2 small frames with little boys in them. And I thought, "Oh crap did I just tell her she's too old to have anymore children?"

And after a minute of silence the other panelists responded to the original question.

The truth is I really don't know. Most days I say, "No, no, NO way!" Other days I'm not so sure. Do I just love babies? Do I really want another 2 year old? 3 year old? 6 yr old? 13 year old? 16 year old? If anyone has been around Ella lately you may understand my thought processes here.

How do you know you are done?

That is the question I have heard many times from many women. Other women come up with lots of really good answers.

From the very beginning, even before Brandon I were married we decided to take children one at a time. For the most part that has worked out pretty well for us. Of course we've had more than a couple heartaches but looking back we can see how those experiences stretched us and grew our spirits and testimonies. I know some peoples' lives especially in regards to family planning work out perfectly on paper but ours has not and that's okay.

The point is, I’ve got 3 kids. And out in the world, 3 is the new 2, but is 4 the new anything? It’s the old, Oh? Catholic or Mormon. I am 34 (which, don’t get me started, but in Mormon Mommy birthing years makes me not quite Sariah, but not at all spring chickeny, you know), and two of the three kids I’ve got are the crazy spider-monkey sort. Ask my home teachers they will back me up on this one. Then there's the fact mentioned above, that our track record is not so good. We have to lose one to get one, compounded with months of waiting (except in the case of Ella). Do we really want to deal with the heartache we both have said we wouldn't wish on our worst enemies?

I get asked all the time if we've, "done or are going to do anything permanent" and no we haven't because doing something permanent is not where my testimony is at right now (which is an entire other post) and I still want to keep my options open, you know? Cause I love babies. And I love my kids, too.

And even though the scientists tell me my eggs are nearly expired, I don’t feel like I’m ready to call the game on account of elderliness or mental insanity, or because I might be bald from tearing all my hair out of my head (though I do realize these are all excellent reasons), because I don’t feel 100% done.

Or am I?

I realize this sort of talk is the talk of the woman who has a choice in the matter. I know I should stop whining.

I guess I just hope that if I do climb out on the limb of this family tree, leave the relative comfort and safety of the norm of 3 and have baby number 4, people will be nice about it. In the end, IF (did you see that grandmas? IF so don't get your hopes up. I'm guessing you were in this same situation at some point and made the best decision for you) I do decide to have another child I know it doesn’t matter. What’s a few tears in trade for a whole other child? And following personal spiritual promptings? It's no contest, really. I can take the societal and family pressure, I think.

The life of a pilot

(All pictures in this post were taken by Brandon on various cross country flights with his cheesy old 35mm camera)

This is a combination of a couple of documents I have had saved on my computer. Documents that I have shared with different people at a couple of different times. It seemed fitting to document them here. You will notice some redundancy but I am not merging them.

We were having a conversation tonight with a couple members of the Elder's Quorum Presidency about our future. I think a lot of people are surprised about the reality of being a pilot.

When you see a Pilot, they're not getting paid.

When you see a pilot going through the same security you go through, he's not being paid.

When you see a pilot walking in the terminal, he's not being paid.

When you see a pilot at the gate pulling up paper work, planning the flight, and conferring with the agent, he's not being paid.

When you see a pilot walking around the aircraft doing a preflight inspection, he's not being paid.

When you board the aircraft and look in the cockpit and see the pilots setting up the aircraft, they're not getting paid.

When you land safely at your destination and walk off the aircraft and see the pilots shutting down the aircraft, they're not being paid.

When you see a pilot waiting for a ride to a hotel for the night, he's not being paid.

The only time the pilot of your aircraft is getting paid is when you DON’T see him...when he's locked behind the cockpit door as you push back from the gate. Every thing else he does until this point is for free, for no wages. Nothing!

The average airline pilot is at work for 12- 14 hours per day, yet gets paid for less than 6 - 7 hours.

The average airline pilot is away from home, at work, for 70+ hours a week, yet gets paid for only 15 to 18 hours per weeks work.

Most pilots schedules have them working 15 days or more a month... that means they are not at home half the month.

Holidays, weekends, birthdays, anniversaries, summer vacations.... not at home.

A majority of pilots have 4-year college degrees, or more. Then they begin training as pilots.

A large majority of Pilots have spent 8 years or more flying in the military, risking their lives and protecting your freedom for wages most of you wouldn't accept in the civilian world.

Civilian trained pilots have spent $50, 000-$70,000 or more to acquire the training that qualifies them for a Regional Airline job, which pays a wage less than the poverty level in most western countries.

Most pilots do not attain the required experience level to be hired by a major airline until they are well passed the age of 30. The average age of a new hire airline pilot is 32. (We are obviously behind. Mostly due to Brandon's long illness)

The average first-year airline pilot makes less than $20, 000 a year.

Airline pilots are subject to random drug and alcohol testing, any time they are at work. Fail it and they lose their job.

Airline pilots are required to undergo rigorous re-training and certification every 6 to 9 months, at which time they could fail and lose their jobs, licenses and livelihood.

Airline pilots are required to submit to random government "Line checks" during which their license could be revoked and livelihood destroyed.

Airline pilots are exposed to radiation levels far exceeding the normal safe radiation limits mandated by the FDA.

Airline pilots are required to submit to a government medical examination every 6 months (Captains) and 12 months as First Officers. Year after year. Fail that, and their career is over.

How many of you go to work where people try to kill you? How many of you have had your office turned into a cruise missile? How many of you work behind a bullet proof door?

How many of you are responsible for the lives of 200- 300 people, with any small mistake in your performance resulting in the death of your customers (and yourselves), and the financial destruction of your company?

How many of your jobs require you to fight your way through thunderstorms, rain, snow, ice and turbulence, day and night, year after year? No mistakes allowed? The excuse " I had a bad day at work" never accepted?

Many pilots volunteer (on their own time and own dime) to be trained as Federal Flight Deck Officers, and carry weapons to defend their aircraft, crew and passengers. They maintain their proficiency and qualifications twice a year on their own time and money.

How many of you go to work where you are searched, patted down and your personal items scrutinized by strangers.

Airline pilot pay scales and hours worked are usually posted by absurdly overcompensated managers who are waging a PR campaign against their Pilot Unions and trying to justify their own greedy bonus's while asking for lower labor costs.

The Parish's time table:

Another year building flight time as a flight instructor at Utah State.

Another 2 to 4 years as First Officer making $20K if we are lucky.
Many of the regional start at less than $20K. We'll be lucky if Brandon can find a job when we are done with our little Cache Valley adventure due to the economy.

Another 2 to 3 years as captain at a regional making $50K to 65K

Finally get hired by a large airline and go back to $30K to 35K as an FO.

Finally make 80K+ after 3 or 4 years at the large airline.

Most pilots have been flying for 6-10 years before they get hired at a major airline and they still have to start over at $30K/year.

Plus we can count on having to move all over the place chasing employment, Brandon being on reserve and never knowing when he will work or when he'll be home (and I don't mean he'll be late for dinner, I mean he's 1000 miles away and can't get back for 4 days).



Starting out in this career flying for a regional new hire pilots often qualify for food stamps.

Seriously.

Only after a few years in the business does the income move into the high $20K range. In the civilian career path progression, a pilot will usually work at a regional carrier before moving on to a major airline. While some regionals pay close to $30K after 3 years or so, it takes several years at others to make that much.

Starting out in this career one must expect to make some very low wages until they begin to build seniority with their airline and move up the pay scale.





Largest connection carrier, "Express" or regional affiliate airlines starting gross monthly pay:

American Eagle $1,725
Comair - $1,720
Chautauqua - $1,650
Mesa - $1,596
Mesaba - $1,800
Pinnacle $1,575
Skywest $1,425
Trans States $1,628

Pilot pay is something the general public often has a lot of misconceptions about.

The general 'glamorization' of the career leads many people to think that airline pilots make $250-300K+ a year and that they work two weeks or less a month. While there are a select few captains at the major carriers that do, they are by far the minority.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, their average major airline member Captain is 50 years old, with 18 years seniority and makes $182,000 a year. A non-major airline Captain is 41 years old with 10 years of seniority and makes $70,000 a year.

The average ALPA First Officer member at a major airline is 43 years old with 10 years of seniority and makes $121,000 per year, while an ALPA non major First Officer is age 35 with 3 years of service and makes $33,000.

A major airline is a carrier with more than a billion in sales annually. American, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental, US Airways, Southwest, Alaska (and even several 'regional' carriers) are considered majors by that definition.

However, not all major carriers pilots are members of the ALPA union, notably AA & SWA who have their own in house unions.

Factors affecting pilot pay:

Time with the company (seniority)
Aircraft flown
Whether they are a Captain or First Officer (seat)
The hours in their monthly schedule
The pay scale at their specific airline


A pilots pay is figured upon the hourly rate for their seat and their equipment based upon the pay grade for their seniority. Each company also has a set 'minimum guarantee' flight hour pay in their pilot contract. This is generally about 75 hours per month but varies slightly by airline. (A few majors guarantee is only 65!) However, in no case will the pilot earn less than the 'minimum guarantee'. They may fly less than 75 actual flight hours, but they will still be paid for the 75 per their guarantee. If they get a flight schedule that is blocked for more flight hours than the minimum guarantee, they will then get paid for the greater amount of time flown instead, plus per diem.

Flight crew make about $1-3 per hour in 'per diem' for every hour they are away from their domicile on a trip to cover expenses. This generally adds a few hundred dollars to their pay check. A general comparison of starting monthly First Officer pay by airline:

AMERICAN - $2,240
CONTINENTAL - $2,500
DELTA - $3,640
FED EX - $3,700
NORTHWEST - $2,570
SOUTHWEST - $3,744
UNITED - $1,950
US AIRWAYS - $1,875
UPS - $2,185

All without per diem, based on minimum monthly guarantee, first year pay in smallest fleet type.

Here is a Captain pay comparison at 12 years of seniority, by the largest type in fleet (best paying). This is the gross top pay scale for each fleet type:

American 777 - $12,352
Continental 777 - $14,688
Delta 777 - $14,040
Fed EX widebody $14,874
Northwest 747 - $14,586
Southwest 737 - $14,196
United 747 - $11,570
US Airways A330 $11,520
UPS (all a/c) $15,390

All without per diem, based on minimum monthly guarantee.


As for the job outlook, the industry is constantly changing. The airline business goes in cycles and is very affected by the economy. A few years ago there was a huge hiring boom and now the airlines were still reeling from the post 9/11 fallout when the economy tanked. Thousands of airline pilots are still laid off from their jobs.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Brandon D. Parish was born 35 years ago on November 6, 1974. He is the third son of John and Joyce Parish. Brandon was born in Cache Valley Utah at the Logan hospital and the only child born in the lower 48. Both his brothers had been born on base in Alaska where his dad was in the air force. Brandon is 7 years younger than his oldest brother Rick and 5 years younger than his brother Robert. He is a wonderful husband to me and an amazing dad to three little people.

Brandon has accomplished many things! It's no secret that I am very proud of him!

You can read more about how awesome I think he is here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Letter's from the big man himself!

Remeber this?

You can get one here

It is a very fun tradition to add to your holiday!

Trust me!!!!

You know you live in the country when. . .

You can watch a cattle drive from your front yard!

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch

HO HO HO!!!

Yep I am already thinking about Christmas! Can you believe it's only 2 months away?!!! I am so excited I can't hardly stand it this year! I want to put the tree up NOW but Brandon is not going for it. :)

AND!!! I am almost DONE Christmas shopping. As in the kids are done, neighbor gifts, friend gifts, family gifts, Christmas jammies, even the stockings are done and just my Grandma's and a niece's gifts are left. Oh and buying our ornaments which we will do around Thanksgiving.

Last night at my mom's we were talking about Christmas. The comment was made by someone that shall remain anonymous ;) that, "I can't afford to buy gifts yet I don't have any extra money right now."

Well. . .

I challenged myself this year, like back in March, that I was going to spend very little if anything on Christmas. As in ZERO dollars out of our bank accounts. And ZERO dollars on credit cards cuz we never put Christmas on credit cards EVER and never will. My goal included all gifts, decor, our tradition of new ornaments, Christmas jammies, EVERYTHING!

Anyway, you're now thinking, "Steph this is impossible!"

I say nope! I have planned this very carefully.

And I'm not the first person to have this idea. Over on my blog roll check out my friend Allison's blog - "Living the Fancy Life." She is having a FREE Christmas.

These were the rules I set for myself:

I could either sell stuff around the house like outgrown toys or clothes on ebay, online classifieds, consignment sales for $$$.

or

Use coupons and sales to get things for free or almost free.

Also any gift cards to Walmart or anywhere given to us from family and friends for various reasons I have saved ALL year to use towards buying Christmas gifts.

Plus by being a Discovery Toys consultant I got free toys throughout the year that I saved as gifts for my kids.

I started saving my "outgrown junk" money (we'll call it OJ for short) and it accumulated FAST.

I have also accumulated $200 in gift cards.

I have used rebates, saved tokens and other things for free stuff from companies, used a bazillion Kohl's, JC Penney & TRU coupons (I've gotten over $100 in FREE stuff at Kohls alone) , printed internet coupons for all kinds of things including My Little Pony products to name one, shopped online using discount codes, the list goes on and on. The great thing too is by shopping online the stuff has been shipped straight to my house so no wasted gas driving around. Many places have free or discounted shipping too.

You would not believe some of the deals that are out there and I can't tell you about them all because then that would ruin Christmas for some of the people that read this blog. ;)

Just Saturday night I got the last item on Ella's Christmas list when I found this little beauty on sale at Smith's Marketplace for $10!!! She has wanted her SOOOOO bad and she is always priced at $24.88 - $26.99 depending on where you go. I have waited and waited for a good sale. Plus I had some Catalinas - coupons you can spend on anything that print at the register to use - that made her even CHEAPER. I was so excited I almost wet my pants right there in the toy aisle! She sings when she drinks her bottle and everything!

I would just like to remind everyone that being frugal is not the same as being cheap. People who are cheap don't like nice stuff. I definitely like nice stuff I just like to keep as much of my money as I possibly can. I am not an impulse shopper and I wait to get the very best deal I possibly can on everything. Just a couple hundred dollars of OJ money has been spent to buy ALL of Christmas.

I am not trying to brag I just hope people know it can be done. You don't have to break the bank to provide a nice Christmas. And that's not what Christmas is about anyway. Christmas is about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am excited to be done shopping because now I can spend what matters most and that is time. I now have time to spend with my family enjoying the snow, the spirit, baking, singing, serving others, everything that is Christmas without the stress of shopping and over spending and I can't wait!

Food for thought. . .

On a message board I frequent a mom suggested several ways she was going to try to keep her family healthy during this bad flu season. Besides the usual take vitamins, wash hands, clean the house, etc she suggested eating healthy foods and cooking less processed meals. I thought this was a great idea! Fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains are going to help your body fight off germs. PLUS if you stay out of fast food restaurants and restaurants in general that's less contact you have to have with sick people. Just think of the potential sick restaurant employee who is just coming down with something who is cooking or serving your food! Ewww gross!

Besides the potential added health benefits just think of all the money you will save cooking at home! Now I don't cook everything straight from scratch but I do try my best to stay away from heavily processed foods. We eat a ton more fruits and veggies now that we are using the co-op and I am buying their breads now too which are 100% all natural and only $2/loaf for the sandwich breads and $2.50-$3.50/loaf for the artisan breads. The breads come from here:

http://www.azeats.com/azbreadco/ourbreads.htm

and here:

http://www.alpinevalleybread.com/

Here's what we ate this week. I've also figured how much each entire meal cost. Remember I coupon, shop sales, use rebates, stock up when things are free or almost free, use a co-op etc.

Monday - Hamburger Soup

This is something my grandma and mom made all the time! It is a family favorite and full of flavor. I served this with homemade biscuits.

Hamburger Soup

1lb ground beef browned

1 yellow onion chopped (I brown about 1/4 with the meat)

2 cans or 1 quart stewed chopped tomatoes (do not drain)

1 can tomato sauce

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

3 cups diced potatoes

1 cup green beans (optional and I used fresh)

1 can or 2 cups frozen corn

2 cups water

3 beef bouillon cubes

salt and pepper to taste

Total cost for this meal including the biscuits was $2.99. It served all 5 of us with a couple having seconds. Plus it served 3 of us lunch the next day.

Tuesday - Chicken & Stuffing, Italian Squash, garlic bread

1lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1/4 cup sour cream

1 box Stove top or other packaged stuffing

1 1/2 cups water

Mix water and stuffing mix. Set aside. Place raw chicken in casserole. Mix soup and sour cream and pour over chicken. Pour now moist stuffing on top of chicken. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Squash dish

2 cups Sliced squash (I used Mexican Gray)

1/4 cup sliced onions

1 tomato diced

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Top with grated cheese. I used Colby Jack.

Bake in the oven with the chicken dish until squash is tender.

Garlic Bread - Self explanatory I hope. :)

This meal was a little more processed but still healthier than some.

Total cost for this meal $2.64. It served 5 with leftovers.

Wednesday - Chili Verde & Spanish rice

I used this recipe:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chile_verde/

I served it with warm corn tortillas, sour cream, lime and Spanish Rice.

This meal took quite a bit of prep and cooked 3 hours but it was sooo yummy! Total cost $4.40. It served 5 plus lots of leftovers.

Thursday - Mini Pizzas

1 batch of bread dough or Rhodes roll dough

Spaghetti sauce, grated cheese, toppings.

Bake at 375 until crust is browned and cheese is melted

These are a favorite at our house because the kids get to make their own. They are so much healthier than frozen or pizza delivery. If you are into baking your own breads I have found yeast is the cheapest at Macey's. You can get instant yeast for $2.50 for 1lb!

Total cost for this meal $3.57 and made 12 mini pizzas.

Friday - Breakfast for dinner

Blueberry & Lemon Muffins - I even used fresh blueberries I had frozen from the co-op

Scrambled Eggs

Hash browns

Applesauce

Sausage

Total cost $3.53. We had 12 muffins leftover for tomorrows breakfast and 1/2 lb of sausage.

Total cost for 5 dinners $17.13 and we stayed home and didn't get exposed to any germs!