Hey you guys! (think of Goonies when you read that... except Harrison says that I am not allowed to make funny Goonies references because I hate that movie... which I do).
Well, it has been a really long time since I posted. I am sorry for that. As I say every time I have quite a bit of time in between posts... Life just gets away from me sometimes and I forget to post. My dad texted me this weekend asking when I would update my blog because he likes to read it. That made me feel pretty good! I know at least one person that I love reads my blog... which is enough to keep me going. THANKS DAD!!
Well, there has been quite a bit that has gone on since I last updated. The biggest things are JOBS! Yes- you heard right... J.O.B.S. Harrison and I are officially employed! It was a scary journey, but it was worth it.
Harrison officially graduated with a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from UNLV last December. His goal is to have a successful private practice here in Las Vegas. He has an office here in town and we are in the process of getting it off of the ground. In the meantime, he is working for an EAP company to bridge the financial gap while he builds his practice.
I received a job offer from the ARIA Hotel and Casino in late January. I am an admin in the Convention Services department. I am so happy. SO HAPPY! I really do love my job. It is so wonderful to be working in a positive atmosphere again with individuals that are career minded and overall driven people. I get a lot of questions about what I do exactly. I work with two Convention Service Managers (like account managers) and as a team we ensure that our convention accounts have successful events that run smoothly. I do a lot of reports and a lot of running around the convention center area. Here are some pictures of the last two months of my new job.
This is me in front of of the hotel. I absolutely love where I work. It is quite pretty and just a really great place to work.
There are days that I walk A LOT! I have to wear high heels everyday and this lower picture is the result of running around the hotel for about four hours. My poor little socks are just thrashed.
One of the best things about my job is the perks. I get paid to eat lunch! There is an EDR (Employee Dining Room) downstairs and it is a buffet style cafeteria. It is a really good perk! I always find at least one thing that is really yummy to eat.
I get to meet some really cool people with my job. One of our groups was the NASCAR executives during the NASCAR race here in Las Vegas. I was put in charge of making sure the meeting planner was happy with her stay during the race. So, I was able to to go to the race and bring some pretty special people with me.
I took Harrison and we also invited his dad, Frank, to come down and enjoy the race with us. Frank is a huge NASCAR fan, and it was like seeing a little kid on Christmas the whole time we were there. We were able to sit in the official NASCAR box seats and meet the president of NASCAR, which was pretty cool. Best news is... our client was very happy!
(the view from our box seats)
Going back to work was kind of a weird adjustment. Harrison and I had about six weeks together after he graduated. He was not able to see clients while he waited for his licensing to be finalized and I was still out of work, so we spent lots of time together. I wasn't so sure about spending all of that time together, but it ended up being one of the best months of our marriage in my opinion. We were able to get lots of things done around the house, we went on vacation to Grand Junction for Christmas together, we talked, we laughed, we slept in, we woke up early... it was just good times. But the day came when we both received job offers and we were headed back to work. It has been such a blessing to be working again.
My sister, Laura, was married here in Vegas in the LDS Temple. It was a fun weekend. We had about 25 people at our house that Sunday. Laura was married the day before and our sister, Charnae and her husband Dayle, blessed their beautiful baby Camille that day. We had grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, brothers, and sisters all in our house. It really was fun to see everybody together.
I love my blonde brothers. So much.
Our last meal with Laura as a single woman!
The blonde boys playing XBox.
Mr. and Mrs. Grant Butler! Congrats you two!
Would a family photo shoot be complete without me being creepy?
And it definitely wouldn't be complete without BUTT SISTERS!
I was able to spend some good time with my other married sister!
Charnae and I had good times!
We took Brok down to the Strip for his FIRST STRIP EXPERIENCE!
It was super fun seeing him get excited about the sights!
We have decided to make our house more of a home. We have decided to get our back yard all fixed up. Harrison has been working so hard on it. I am so thankful for him and for his hard work and dedication.... and all of his runs to and from Home Depot for more parts.
It will be so awesome to see how it all comes together. I will keep you posted.
I love the season that we are in right now. I love Spring. It is such a happy season. It is the awakening of nature after the dark and lonely winter. Anybody who has read this blog for any amount of time or knows me at all... knows that I HATE the winter. I am a fan of really anything having to do with winter (other than being able to wear comfy pj's and sleep under ALL of the covers at night). But that is all over with for another year! We are in the season of hope. The season of change. The season of rebirth.
I am thankful for the Easter holiday that we just had. What a gift the Savior's atoning sacrifice is to all of us. My Young Women's Sunday lessons were centered around the Atonement for the entire month of March. It was a really amazing topic to study the whole month. I know that I learned more by preparing the lessons than my girls probably got out of me teaching them (which I feel is one of the points of this new curriculum put out by the church). I have a greater appreciation for the wonderful gift of the Atonement. Forgiveness is the biggest topic and virtue that stood out to me this last month.
As Jesus Christ was on the cross, suffering, He cried out to Heavenly Father to forgive the men who had tortured and who were ultimately killing Him, crucifying Him. I learned a great lesson from that. How often do we hold a grudge or get mad at somebody? Often, right? And when do we forgive? Usually it is after we have stewed about it or found out that our trespasser has "earned theirs" or "paid the price". But think about The Savior. He didn't wait until he "felt better" about the situation or until "he had revenge"... He forgave the men that crucified Him RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACT! Right in the middle of his darkest hours, His loneliest hours, his most painful hours, HE FORGAVE! Without another thought, he forgave those that trespassed against him. This is such a powerful message to me. Forgive! Seven times seven times we should forgive.
I hope your life is feeling as happy and as amazing as mine is right now. I am so thankful for the answers to prayers and for the blessings that I have in my life right now.
