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! :)

A great part about this job

I have to say, being a part of the CHP family really is pretty awesome. Yes it can be dangerous and the paperwork for them at times is very overwhelming but overall my husband LOVES his job and I am right there with him.

But I do have to the the best part about his job, at least in my books at the moment, is OT! We are very blessed to be able to live on his paycheck alone (even though I choose to still work, I love to work lol) But when we need extra money there is almost always OT. Now I know this is not the situation at most offices, another reason why I love being in a LA office. Right now we are going through escrow to purchase our first home. My husband is just a little freaked out that all our money is going to the down payment and closing cost (which most is, for sure) so what does he do? He picks up a few OT shifts. Just in the past 2 days he has 17 hours of OT. It is really nice to know that when it comes down to it and we need more money for something we want there is a way to get it.

We were really hesitant about working OT because so many talk about how you can get use to working it and that money always coming in so you start living the life where you need that OT instead of it just being extra. Plus we really value our time together and when we don't have a full day together it really through us. Honestly, he has only worked like 5 OT shifts in the past 2 years on and many people work way more than that. But the good part about that right now is that that make his the top person on the list now that he actually wants the OT.

Also, there are many different types of OT. He has done a DUI detail which means his own job that nigh is to pull over people in the area he thinks are DUI. He has had "construction" details like now the I-5 has major construction going on so they need officers to sit at the site and make sure dumb people don't drive into their closed off ramp. Or "freeway cleanup" detail and they need an officer to make sure everyone is doing their community service. So even though he may be working 5 days in a row with just 1 day off to go back at it, those OT shifts are not crazy and come be a blessing for him to get some reports finished before he goes back for his normal shifts.

So yeah for OT, boo for less time together but its only temporary and it will make this moving process to our NEW HOME that much better!

Can't wait to share with you guys next week because he has his first trainee this weekend for the next month! Bring on the new boots!

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!