Dinner time

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Yummy!

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Thanks for Dinner Dad!

We had an AMAZING weekend in SLO. It was almost as if I were dreaming the entire time we were there. This dinner was one of the best I have ever had and not only because the food was delicious but because of the laughter, smiles and relaxing moments that were created around this table. We all need memories like these to hold on to. I am grateful to have had another chance to spend time with my family who are my friends and my friends who are my family. I love you each in a powerful and unconditional way.

We have the GOLDEN ticket!!

Wade, Hunter and I purchased our GOLDEN ticket to win this house last night! I have a good feeling that we are going to win and win big. How awesome would that be if we won?? The first thing we would do....pay off every penny of debt in our name. The second thing we would do....??

There are great expectations of those who much is given to....I believe we could meet those expectations of God and really make a difference. If he wants us to have it, we will.

What would you do?

Vote Please...I need your help!

Which Hair style do you think suits me best?

Happy Birthday Kristin!

My sister is my best friend. She is one of those people that you fall in love with instantly. Her heart overflows with gentleness and kindness. She is slow to anger and careful with her words. She is relentlessly hard working. She was not only a cheer leader, but also a straight A student. She is humble enough to believe she was not popular, but everyone knew her and loved her. Her eyes are bright and see a world much better than the one we live in. She has an imagination that is indulged in books and love stories. She is focused on her family and committed to her man Ken. Our SLO weekend Kristin Celebration will be tough to beat.



Today I celebrate you Kristin and all of the AMAZING gifts you have brought into my life just by being you. I am grateful for everyday of being your sister. Xo

By the creek

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Good morning pismo beach

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In SLO with auntie Kristin and uncle Ken

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Letting Go

I fall more in love with my boys everyday. These past few days have been full of sweet smiles and new milestones. My little boy is becoming brave. He has always loved to stand up and balance by holding my fingers....today he let go. At first I thought it was an accident. But when he did it over and over again I knew that this was his next step...trying it on his own. 

Go baby Go!

Congradualtions Kristin!

Kristin and Travis got engaged!

Kristin and I are friends from college. I remember our countless sleepovers. All of us girls would bet and giggle over who was going to be married first and we would dream about how the story of love in our lives would play out for each of us. We used to have long walks and talks about the men God had in store for us in the coming years and what our lives would look like as wives and mothers. We held each other accountable to only the highest standards. We prayed for each other then and we are praying for each other today as each of our stories unfolds.

I still remember one long walk we took in Yosemite years ago. Kristin said something to me that I will never forget. "If you want to marry a KING, you must be a QUEEN" That simple statement challenged me to be the best I could be, to never stop changing and growing and to have confidence in the fact that I was becoming a QUEEN and that I was worthy of my perfect KING.

Now Kristin has found her King and accepted his proposal for marriage. This is your dream come true Kristin! My heart overflows with joy for you and Travis.

I am going in for surgery!

Do you believe it is true that your words are the overflow of you heart?

I was challenged at church this past Sunday. The simplified message outlined that what you think about and feel becomes the basis of what you say and how you act. Pastor Mike urged us to overload our minds with scripture and be surrounded be believers...to have brain surgery.

Now I am noticing how my words are not always kind, positive and full of love. I catch myself saying things with negative tones, laughing at others and letting out other negative sighs and statements. Perhaps I need more scripture....

Oh how I desire for my words to positive and uplifting, forgiving and loving! It looks like I have a new area of my life to work on and change.

I am going in for brain surgery! Any one want to join me? Xo

Hunter is on the loose!

Nothing is safe these days! Hunter is on the loose! He can roll, squirm and just about crawl in and out of everything...including his car seat. Now I have to think twice before I set him down any where. This will be a fun new chapter of parenting...exploring and protecting.

Lord, lead his steps. Help us guide him, protect him and teach him your way.

My first ice cream!

Before I even tasted it I knew I was gonna like it!



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Lessons Learned on the job

After college I was an average computer user. My real world job gave me the opportunity to learn about networks, servers and data bases! So here is glimpse into the high tech side of my job.... Managing all of this.....



Plus the 20 computers, 10 printers, 20 wireless access points, 6 hand held bar code scanners and more spread out on 53 acre campus. I have really enjoyed working with computers! I have been constantly challenged to learn something new. There are days when I am faced with HUGE issues with email not working, connections being down and computers that are frozen. Each failure of equipment has been a lesson for me to learn. The more that goes wrong the more I learn. Recently I have been constantly picking Wade's brain to expand my computer knowledge. If only I could get ahead and be prepared so that we avoid downtime. Getting ahead and being prepared is new goal for me, and not only with computer but with my entire life!

PS. If you ever need help with your computer you should not call me.....Call my husband! He is still 100x more computer savvy than I am!!
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Grateful

I am very feeling very thankful at this moment so I thought I would share my heart.

Every day I hear of more hurt, pain and loss. Yesterday I had an older gentleman in my office talking about the IOU his wife was going to receive from the state instead of her paycheck, and this is after 20 years of teaching our children! The other day another gentleman that services our water systems was in my office talking about his wife being laid off due to consolidation in her work place. I am constantly keeping up with several families through blogging that have suffered great loss and pain due to injury, death or disease. These people are fighting for their lives and livelihoods daily.

I am grateful that I am healthy and alive. I am grateful my husband and son are healthy and happy. I am grateful for our home and the food on our table. I am grateful for my job and Wade's job. I am grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful for JESUS. I am grateful for my stuggles, I hope they challenge me to be a stronger and wiser woman. I am grateful.

I am faithfully praying for health, healing and restoration of our economy. Join me in being grateful for what is good and praying for those that are in need. I love you. I am here for you, each of you, to celebrate or to cry or to laugh. Lean on me.

My Favorite Christmas Gift!

Seeing my grandparents meet their first great grandchild!












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Shopping

I like to shop now that I am big enough to sit in the cart!




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Friends

It brought me great joy to watch these two guys play together this past weekend. I hope that they grow up knowing eachother well!

Trying out the hi chair!

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Sticks and Stones

This is the pile of sticks that we have removed from the almonds that came in from the field this year. We not only find sticks...over the years I have seen dead rats, a turtle, snakes, little rocks, big rocks, dirt, grass, sprinkler heads and string. Most of these things are removed by a "potato chain". The product first comes into the pre-cleaner, equipment that is purposed to separate the almonds from everything else. It travels across a large chain that has wholes the size of small red potatoes. The almonds (in the hull and shell) fall through the chain and everything else floats across and is taken put into this pile. Every time I walk by it I think about somores!



We still have a couple million pounds of almonds from the field that we have not run. They are all sitting out in the stockpiles, or big piles of 250,000 lbs of almonds covered in plastic and fumigated. The rain has been causing muddy conditions....but we are almost done!! On Saturday we should have all the product up off the ground and through the plant! I cannot wait to see what our total throughput will be....it looks close to 26.5 million meat pounds of almonds.




A month ago a USDA inspector walked into the plant and asked for a sample of our hull as it was being loaded into trucks to leave. Ahhhh!!! Auditors always show up at the worst moments and I still get a bit nervous. We sell our hull and shell off the almond to dairy farmers who use the hull for feed and the shell for bedding. It is industry standard to be under 15% fiber content. The USDA shows up to take samples and test the fiber levels to be sure you are not mixing the hull and shell. The results came back in he mail today and we passed the test!!




I am always walking by the piles of hull and shell and checking them for almonds meats and for shell in the hull pile and hull in the shell pile. We separate the hull and shell using air, shell is lighter than hull....and less valuable. The shell is what spikes the fiber levels too. As long as the air adjustments are correct then the hull and shell separate into their own piles.

I held a BIG meeting this morning to review and train the team on a wave of changes to the inventory tracking system. I was anxious about the response to the changes and hopeful that the complaint list would be minimal....and they were all really pleased with the outcome of the changes. I love technology and have really enjoyed managing this system....I feel like it has raised the bar for this company. Teaching people on the plant floor how to use a mouse through developing and deploying software changes to the database has been a real high for me....but I look forward to being in maintenance mode for awhile. Three cheers for a completed project!!


A good day at work....now I cannot wait to get home to my boys.

Back to Work

This Christmas break was a real treat! I was off work for 10 days!! Now I am back into the swing of things and that includes regular posts on my blog! I know you all have missed hearing from me....well at least I know my mom misses the daily pictures and updates.

Wade and I took pictures with Hunter in a almond orchard when he was 6 weeks old and I finally put one of the pictures up in my office. The second I proudly set it up on my desk I realized what a HUGE part of my life is about almonds. This January I have been working in the almond industry for 4 years!! I still remember my first interview at Pacific Almond...I showed up in heals and a skirt to a dirty, dusty almond processing plant. The interview went really well and on my way out I was feeling good about things and daydreaming about my future when my heal slipped and I landed on the ground. I still laugh remembering that moment...it was almost a reminder that I need to stay humble. I was staying at Ericka's place in SLO a few days after the interview and that is when I got the call offering me the job!!! I ran around screaming and she was right there beside me...as she has been at most big moments in my life these past years!

At Pacific Almond I learned more about almonds and running a processing plant that I ever dreamed!! I loved so many things, learned hard lessons and made strong connections to people. Through those connections I was offered a job at Monte Vista Farming in Turlock....and through this job I have met the love of my life. The move closed a chapter and opened a new beautiful day!!!!! My job is hard and beyond demanding, but I love it. There is something raw and humbling about agriculture that has always tugged at my heart. I get to be a part of putting food on the table for not only my family, but the world.

In the coming days I am going to highlight what I love about my job and showing you all what I spend my days doing. I look forward to sharing this part of my life!

Go sharks go

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