Spring....?

Yesterday was a long day, it began with an employee calling me at 4:15 a.m. for their 2:00 p.m shift.... hmmmmm, then went to work at 8:00 a.m. and ended with me having having to work a double shift to close the store, but I was able to take a break to eat dinner with my sweet husband. Jeff also was called in to work early and had to work late, what a day. We are really grateful for our jobs but days like yesterday wear us out a bit. We are glad that we have been able to sleep in today :)

It's so funny to have our weather yo yo from beautiful sunny weather to dark snowy skies. Yesterday was, once again, a big beautiful tease of spring weather and once again today I wake up to a snowy chilly wet world. Over all I am still pretty enamored with snowy weather since it has been so long since I have lived around it and even today seems like the perfect day to curl up with the Jane Austen book I have recently began to reread. I am looking forward to the tease of spring ending and it showing up in full force. Hopefully Jeff and I will be able to take a photo safari and show you the when it finally gets here!

The Church of Oprah Exposed

We found this on a friend's blog and felt the need to pass it on (thanks April). This is something that seems to have been building for as long as I can remember. Please DO NOT BE DECEIVED!

LeeAnn

Feeling Creative...

So, I have a tendency to go through creative phases. I feel a need to be creative and frantically search for an outlet that may or may not turn into something that I actually keep up with long term. Over the years this urge has been quenched in many different forms: photography, knitting, sewing, decorating my house, drawing portraits, playing the guitar, singing, planning dinner parties (or any kind of party for that matter), cooking, baking..... and it would seem that the list goes on. The only item on this list that I would say has been a consistent passion through the years would be the culinary world which can be both frustrating and exciting. I love that a large portion of my creativity is channeled into one category but then I look at the rest and wish that I was more than mediocre at them. All this to say that I am pulling out the sewing machine again :) I found a couple of patterns and some really cute material and hopefully this weekend I will have a new skirt! And once again I hope that this is not a passing phase of my creative side but that it will stick long term... and yet if it passes, at least I know that it will be waiting for me the next time :)

LeeAnn

Frank the Parakeet

Meet our new puppy!  His name is Frank the Parakeet.  Due to the antiquated speciesist policies of our apartment complex we aren't allowed to have dogs, so we got a bird.  We will of course train him to be a dog.  Parakeets can learn to speak so we plan to teach him to bark, once he has mastered that we will show him how to chase cars, cats and squirrels.  It's just a matter of time until he is chewing the furniture and digging holes in the backyard (figuratively of course since we don't have a backyard, yet another drawback to apartment life. . . what I wouldn't give to have a lawn to mow. . . I digress).  Right now Frank the Parakeet is still getting used to his new home.   I think he still thinks we are going to try to eat him, I have assured him repeatedly that that is not the case and he seems to be chilling out so I think he is getting the message.  At any rate, we are excited to have a pet to play with and we look forward to bonding with our new bird puppy. 

Some of you my be thinking Frank is a weird name for a bird.  We named him Frank because LeeAnn said we should give him a really manly name.  So  I thought who could possibly be more manly than Jack Bauer. . . no one!  And of course on season five of 24, Jack Bauer goes by the Alias of Frank.   A very manly name indeed whether you be a man a dog or a bird!

First Post

Hello All,

This is my first venture into the world of blogging so I am a bit unsure of myself but I believe the point is to keep people updated on the world of Jeff and LeeAnn. I have been inspired by Tyne, Leigh, Anna and Emily because they do not seem so far away when I get the chance to look at their blog on a regular basis, so, since we are so far away from those that we love, I thought this might be able to do the same for us.

Our life:

I am currently managing a coffee shop (which most of you know) for City Brew Coffee. It is a wonderful company to work for, still pretty young but this year they have reached the 10 year mark and are still growing considerably, an exciting thing for a company. I truly enjoy being a barista, but at times struggle with being a manager. The time that I put in, always being on call and the occasional stress of having low numbers can take a toll and make me want to give back some of my responsibility but the days when things run smoothly, my store makes money and my employees are all happy and healthy really make it worth it (which is the case more often than not). More than anything I see my job as an opportunity to honor God. The last thing Jeff says to me before I go to work is "Be Jesus, be excellent and work hard" so that is always the first thing on my mind when I walk in the door.

Jeff is currently the Assistant Chief Pilot for Alpine Air. He generally goes to work any where from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m and is normally home by 4:30 a.m. Occasionally he works during the day training new pilots or filing flight plans. We are sooooo grateful for his job, very few pilots get to come home every day and we hope that we never face the day where Jeff is gone for days at a time. The most difficult thing is that he is based out of Billings, not our favorite city although we are surrounded by so much beauty! We hope someday to move to Boise which is where Jeff is from but we try to stay thankful for what God has provided us and hope to serve Him while we are here.

There is a short synopsis of us, I will try to be faithful about updating (those of you who know me also know that this might be a struggle for me) regularly.