2 under 2... and a trainee

This past month has been crazy! My husband is an FTO (field training officer) and this past mo th he has had a phase 3 (month 3 on) trainee. Pretty sure I hate road life and/or FTO life now. I was thinking “third phase this should be good! He should have his shit together and be on top of stuff so that he can be ready to go out alone. Third phase should be awesome”. ABSOLUTELY WRONG! I’m pretty sure my husband worked 16 hour days 90% of the month! Meaning dinner? Just me and the kids. Bath time? Just me and the kids. Bed time? Just me and the kids! He was going days without seeing his kids. It has been insane! I have never wanted 8 hour shifts so bad before! Now I can get over it and do what needs to be done, and my daughter is too young to notice dad not around. But my son would just break my heart. Now he would act like he understood when I would say “sorry buddy daddy’s at work” but some nights he would just stand by the door and say “dada” over and over. Teaching your children this LEO life is harder than I thought it was going to be.

But with the bad, comes the good! There was an in office position opening up as all this was going on and my husband was interested. After a lot of discussion and prayer we decided it was worth applying for. The worst things were going with the trainee the better this position was looking. And thankfully he got an interview and even better the position! Shift work has been so much harder with 2 under 2 than I ever thought it was going to be. But this new office life hours should be nice! Knowing he will always be home at 4:45, always knowing he has weekends and holidays off. Being able to actually plan the next year will be amazing!

So I am feeling like my favorite verse goes perfect with this month.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬
There are always going to be trails, but how we handle them to make it through is what makes the end even sweeter. God always has a great plan for us, we just have to keep moving forward and trusting in him.

So much going on!!!

It has been awhile since posting and honestly its because we are so busy with stuff other than CHP! :) Its nice when it is not the center of the world for awhile.

We are actually in the escrow for our first home which we should be moving to in the next week or two! We cannot wait this is process is over. Many people told us it was the most stressful thing to go through in your life... I think the academy was worse so at least that was good. LOL Still hasn't been easy though.

Anyway, my husband has had his first trainee this past month, which has been interesting. Makes me feel good knowing he is not the one swamped with reports but then again I am annoyed when he is home 2 hours after the shift ended because he was waiting in his trainee to get things done. But overall he has enjoyed it and I knew he would. He has such a giving heart I know he hasn't been a total pain to his trainee but at the same time its funny to hear the stories of the trainee leaving the lights on and how he has had to get them to notice without flat out telling them.

The one thing I have really enjoyed about him becoming a FTO is that he has more confidence in himself and seems more relaxed with his coworkers. He is such a "perfectionist" that he can get really hard on himself for things but since he has a trainee he is focused on them. He comes home with more light-hearted stories of how the FTOs were sitting back watching their trainees figure out an accident together or comparing at the end of the day which trainee had a better day. Pretty much, he comes home a lot happier being an FTO. He doesn't have a trainee next phase but I am hoping the following he will because it will be fun to see the difference of FTO 1st phase and FTO 3rd phase.

Once exciting thing is we have a holiday off! He actually got Thanksgiving off! I like that our office just keeps things the way they are. if you normally work Thursday, then guess what you work Thanksgiving. At least that way I expect it. And come on this is only his 2nd year so we don't expect any holidays, which is completely fine! We know we picked this life and this is just something that comes with it, no biggie. But if we are not moving that day, it will be really nice to actually just enjoy the holiday together.

Until next time! Pray for us and the closing of escrow and moving! :)

Everything is happening at once!

I just love my church. I just love that God always has whoever is preaching to say exactly what I need to hear! And I almost didn't go today because I didn't get much sleep last night but God got me up and I know why. Today's verses:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 5:6-11 NIV

http://bible.com/111/1pe.5.6-11.niv

So there is a lot going on in life right now. Let's start with my husband. WE'RE GOING BACK TO A WATCH!!! 😄 tonight is actually his last C watch shift (at least for 3 month, or if he take OT) but I don't care. We can have dinner together again. I get to sleep again! Oh how I miss sleep when he is not here. I know he has had a lot of fun on C watch and he will be "low man" on A watch but I just need good sleep again, everyday! Lol Another thing is that he finished FTO (field training officer) training so he can officially train the new boots coming in, I think mid Oct too. And if so he is more than likely to get a training this first round because they normally train on A watch first. There could be some real fun stories coming soon. He is still training for motor as well but he seems a bit discouraged. I know he was saying the other day how he has his whole career to do motor. I just don't want him to not do it because he is scared. He is a perfectionist and he doesn't feel like he gets to train enough to actually go back to Sacramento and do the 2 week training/testing. Hopefully he finds his peace and can figure it out. I think FTO will be fun for him for now.

Now my life. Not only are we back in school with almost my part time schedule completely filled, it's time to get ready for the holidays with my business. Oh and did I mention that I am a in charge of a fundraiser this month for the non-profit I volunteer for. Sounds manageable right? This is where that verse was exactly what I needed to hear. I am always so anxious with so much going on. Learning to cast all that on Him and stand firm in my faith is so hard but so easy at the same time. 

Oh and did I forget to mention we are about a year and half into not being on birth control so that's getting a bit nerve racking. A little tired of peeing on a stick and seeing nothing. Oh yeah, and we are buying a house! Seriously? I spoke this one into existence. Like 6 months ago I was like "I swear if I am moving, pregnant, getting ready for holidays all during the month on October I am going to go nuts!" Be careful what you asks for right? 

And then I went to church today and heard this lovely message. 😊 Honestly, when I look at all that is going on in my life these are not sufferings, THESE ARE SO MANY BLESSINGS!!! So many people would kill to have a teaching job they love at a school they love, a business they love with customers that love them, being able to have the time to volunteer for a non-profit and help make a difference in the community, START A FAMILY, BUY A HOUSE! And all at the ripe age of 28. I mean when God makes it rain! But it's the devil that is trying to make me feel stressed, weak, anxious.... BUT I REFUSE! My students are awesome! My business is booming and I love every minute of it! This fundraiser is going to be better than the last one and done with complete freedom and ease! Our family will start just at the right time God has planned! The right house will be available to us at the right price and it will be perfect! I seriously am so humbled by all the blessing God keeps pouring down on us. I just want to be a example to others to show His amazing Glory and all that came come when you accept Christ and live the life he has planned for you! 

So breathe, pray, read His word and know that everything is going to be okay! 

FTO, motor, both... who knows!

So I guess the fun of CHP is there is really so much that can be done. About 6 months ago my husband started training for motor officer. Now this is something he always had in the back of his mind since starting the CHP application 2 1/2 years ago. He even got his motorcycle license like weeks before he went to the academy. But when another motor offered to help train him, he was all for it. It has been really great. There is nothing like seeing him all excited after practicing or even just riding around to do errand. He is much more willing to go out and do errands when he can do it on his bike lol. But since going to graves he hasn't had as much time to practice. Not to mention that the clutch broke and needed repairs about 2 weeks ago so now that that is all fix and ready to go he is back at it. Especially since his office has officially ordered more bikes and the motor sergeant asked if he was ready to go back to the academy. The fire is right back in him!

There is just one little problem towards this goal now, FTO (field training officer) training. So since he is in one of the busiest offices (if not, the busiest office) in the state, they get a lot of turn around. What that means is people don't really stay in Santa Fe Springs. Why get paid the same to do more work? Well we grew up here so were not leaving anytime soon. And my husband loves being busy with work so its not a problem for us at the moment. But they do get new officers in the officer all the time! Pretty much every graduating class there will be at least a few that go to the SFS office. But this next graduating class has like 20 coming! Obviously they are not use to that many new officers so they need more FTOs to train these guys. So even though he did not volunteer to be an FTO, someone is going to FTO training next month. 

Now if you ask me, I am really excited about this. I believe my husband is a great teacher/mentor! I think he has the patients to work with newbies without being an ass about it. He had some pretty good trainers too so that really helps as well. I like the idea that he will be partnered with someone all the time. I like the idea that the newbie will be taking most of the paperwork lol. I think this is going to be a great opportunity for him. But I know how much motor means to him. Like I said before, there is nothing to compare to see him when he just gets off his bike. He truly lights up. But the good thing is he has talked with the different sergeants to see if FTO will get in the way of him being a motor and they told him that motor is his priority. It is really nice to know that they support him in all of this. But I am excited for these new things he gets to do and can't wait to see what God has planned for him these next few months! 

On another note, it has been almost 2 years now since he received that letter saying he was accepted into the CHP academy and we headed up to Sacramento. What an amazing ride we have been on ever since then! Blessed doesn't even begin to express how I feel about it! 

Ps 128:1-4 NIV Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord.