Kristen and Amy Painting Ceramics

Amy and Kristen love to hang out together on the weekends. They had fun painting ceramics. All of my girls have a creative gene.

Kristen's bowl

Amy's plate

Amy just got her hair colored!

Picking the pieces up one week later (March 13) after they were fired and glazed.

Kristen Sick

Kristen just got sick again, not even two weeks since she was last sick. She was at Amy's house for the weekend and woke up with a stuffy nose and migraine headache on Sunday March 1st.

She was able to make an appointment for Monday afternoon at the BYU Health Center and Amy was kind enough to drive to Provo and go with Kristen. The doctor ordered blood work, suggested that Kristen go for some allergy testing (since she is living in an apartment with rabbits), and Amy helped her get some vitamins.

The bloodwork came back a few days later showing Kristen was really deficient in Vitamin D. Good thing that was one of the vitamins Amy got Kristen started on. Having low Vit. D can contribute to a weakened immune system.

Kristen also set up an appt with an allergist for the following Monday, March 9. Unfortunately, after walking to the appt, she found out that they needed some paperwork from BYU Health Center before they could move forward, so Kristen will have to go back again.

Kevin (along with a student from one of his classes) gave Kristen a blessing that said Kristen would be healed, she would find out important health information that would contribute to her future health, and that it would be a faith-building experience.

Kristen still has to go for allergy testing.

Girls and Work Updates

All three of our girls have been blessed in their work lately.

Amy is still working as a BDR (business development representative) at Glia. Last week she was asked to attend a conference in Florida at the last minute. It was a whole different kind of challenge as she learned quickly to approach people and start up a conversation and hopefully set some "meetings". Such a good training for future opportunities in sales.

Misha is still working with Gibbons-White in Boulder. It is a challenge in a good way. She was also asked by her boss at her old job (marketing at the CU Denver Rec Center) to do some contract work for them as they haven't replaced her position yet. 

Kristen was talking with a friend who recommended a job working at the BYU Conference Center as a student custodian. She works on Thursday evening from 7 pm to 11 pm and then Saturday from 7 am to 3 pm. She stacks and unstacks massive amounts of chairs. Remembering what Chris and I both got paid when working at BYU (and in Utah), she makes pretty good money. And, she gets her work done quickly and then has the rest of the shift to work on homework or whatever.

The Music Man

Chris and Kristen gifted me tickets for a Christmas gift to see "The Music Man" in Denver.

The night finally arrived for our performance. We met up with Misha for dinner at Pepper's Asian in Denver off of Colfax at 6 pm

After parking, we quickly found our seats and settled in for the 7:30 pm performance.

The backstory here goes back almost 30 years when Chris and I were engaged. We attended a performance of "The Music Man" at the Sundance outdoor theatre in Utah. He was able to take me, and we both latched on to the idea of being each other's "someone" from the song "Goodnight My Someone." It became our song. So much so that we each secretly had "My Someone" inscribed in the other's wedding band.

When we had little girls, I adapted that song and tune to a goodnight lullaby for my girls. They asked for it many nights before falling asleep.

Goodnight my someone, goodnight my love.

Goodnight sweet angel from up above.

Sleep tight my darling, sleep tight my love.

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight.

 

Chris' Job

Chris is starting into his 4th week working as the CEO of Pivot Door Company. To say he is being stretched is accurate. He spent the first couple of weeks getting to know people, setting up his office, learning the job, and introducing a few changes.

He has a "sales" team, but they are more customer service specialists than sales. I think Chris is even seeking some ways to begin building an actual sales team to actively bring in business. Right now, most of the business comes because people find the company online and pursue a pivot door because they want one for their new build.

Washer and Dryer

A couple in our Monument ward asked on Facebook if anyone had a washing machine/dryer to sell. After talking with Chris, we both felt impressed to offer our still working 12-year old set for free. We didn't realize that the set wasn't for them, but for someone else in the ward.

I had a bit of giver's remorse though as I began to look at a new set and realized that we could make do with our old set for a little longer and that the reviews on newer models weren't stellar.

However, I could not deny that I was feeling prompted to gift someone our old set. So, I kept researching and even asked CoPilot (AI) to help me narrow down the best option.

Chris and I settled on one LG set to buy at Home Depot, but realized that the higher model of the set at Costco would be cheaper and come with a better warranty.

So, we had our new set delivered and set up on Wednesday. The delivery guys even put the old set into Chris' trailer for transport.

The new set.

The trailer. Now that's another story. Chris bought it used last summer. The tires were in worse condition than we thought. Chris had changed out one of the tires with the spare after using the trailer to bring the new dining table home from Costco. The tire gave out just as he was driving up to the house.

When John came to pick up the washer/dryer set to take to the family we were donating anonymously too, he hooked up his van to the trailer.

We "heard" John return with the thump thump of another blown tire. Luckily, it again waited until he was just about to our house to blow. Gotta love the small miracles.

Chris has now replaced all three tires!

Garden Planning

I had my garden in Firestone down to a science over the past twelve years. 

We had a garden space built here in Monument, but I knew I would need to figure out a new plan. I spent hours on a Saturday afternoon working with CoPilot (AI) to help me come up with a plan, plan for the Monument growing season, create a soil building guide, a rotation schedule, plant and flower options for our new garden area, etc.

It was a fascinating conversation with CoPilot. I could have found out all of the information I learned in one afternoon, but it would have taken me days and hours of research.

CoPilot gets a little gung-ho, so refining and defining the area took some time. I uploaded a plan of my garden area and layout of our house.

CoPilot: "Got it—and thank you for the floor‑plan image and the orientation details. Since you’ve given me the exact location of the garden relative to the house and the true‑south orientation (165°), I can now give you a layout that’s not just “generic raised beds,” but optimized for your actual microclimate, sun angles, wind exposure, and the way your home casts shade." 

This is what we came up with:

The asparagus and strawberries will be permanent in their location, but everything else will rotate on a four-year schedule. I've included the best seed varieties on this page. I will probably have the garden beds made to the size specifications.

Dining Table

Chris and I had been eyeing a new dining table when Costco brought in their new furniture for the new year. It matched our home colors and style a lot more than our old Costco dining table.

Previous table:

The Costco closest to Chris' work was marking down the price of the set to make room for new merchandise and we decided to jump on the purchase before the tables were out of stock.

New table?

We are still trying to sell our old table on Facebook Marketplace, but we both love the look of the new table.

The House Selling Saga: Mountains and Miracles

I wrote this post a couple of months ago, but waited until now for the new job to be concrete. Read to the end. You'll understand.

This post is mostly for Chris and I to remember the timeline of events over the past two years of our life. I know that time dims the hard stuff after a while, but I also know that we won't want to forget the miracles amid the mountains of hardships.

A number of years ago, Chris and I had a quick overnight getaway right before Christmas. We stayed in Colorado Springs and were intrigued by the beauty of the area. We tried to visit some of the model homes and builders, but since it was Christmas Eve Eve, everything was closed. 

We even checked around one neighborhood and found a view lot that we loved that overlooked the Garden of the Gods in the Springs. After the Christmas break, we checked in with the builder and found that that particular lot had already been sold. 

Since Kristen was still in school, we decided to stay put until she graduated from high school and headed off for college. Fast forward to graduation and sending Kristen to the University of Utah for her first year of college. Chris and I were enjoying empty nester life and decided to visit the Colorado Springs Parade of Homes in September of 2023.

We spent the entire weekend looking at homes, pricing, builders, and locations and left after the weekend thinking that this was something to pursue. It was time.

September 9, 2023  

We are "considering" a move. We have LOVED living in our home at Pelican Shores, but with just Chris and I at home, the work to maintain an acre and a half of property is overwhelming. We hired a young kid to help with yard work and even he got overwhelmed because when he was done, there was still so much weeding that he didn't do. 

At the end of September 2023, we returned to Monument and Colorado Springs to look for a lot (and select a builder).  

October 2, 2023 

Chris has been more gung-ho on looking in the Springs. I hadn't felt yeah or nay. But to be specific, I hadn't felt a strong "go for it" either as I had in our other moves. Since our visit to the Springs a couple of weeks ago, I have been praying and trying to let the idea of a move take root in my heart. Moving forward as though this might be the plan for us.

After spending all day looking at homes on Friday, and then listening to General Conference all weekend with a prayer in my heart, hoping for some clear answer, I still had not received a confident "Yes, this is the plan for you" as the conference was drawing to a close. 

Chris and I were driving home from Colorado Springs, and mistakenly took the I-70 route with bad traffic and significant delays; we listened to the afternoon session of General Conference as we inched along. As we listened to the prophet speak and heard him announce that there would be 20 new temples, I began listening to all of the foreign cities and locations. 

I can't even fully describe the emotions I felt and the immediate, miraculous answer to prayer that filled our entire car as the prophet announced, "Colorado Springs, Colorado".  The spirit filled my heart, and I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I started to cry. It was powerful. I can really only describe the intensity and power of that witness by saying, "If you have experienced such a moment before, then you know." 

Chris grabbed my hand and I knew that he had felt it too. He said, "I'm driving, so I can't cry." Through my tears I noted, "I just needed a yes or no answer. I didn't need the miracle of a temple."   

From there, we moved forward with a renewed purpose. We met with our new builder, Alliance, and started the process with buying a lot, having a design and concept meeting, then a pricing meeting, and an architect meeting all by the end of 2023. 

2024 

In the beginning of 2024, I began purging stuff from our house, cleaning, and packing. We had painters come and do touch ups, we rented a storage unit and moved most of our food storage to it, I hired students to come and help clean windows, cabinets, and baseboards. We dejunked a lot and held a garage sale. Anything that we didn't sell, we donated.

During this time Kristen was working to accomplish all of the necessary steps to submit her mission papers. She received her mission call on April 2, 2024 to Adelaide, Australia. We were all thrilled; she said a sad goodbye to the house for the last time (and us) before leaving for the MTC in Provo in June. 

Our house was officially listed on April 18, 2024 and we were prepared for a quick sale and feeling concerned with the potential of a double move.

We continued working with our builder in Monument to finalize the house plans in May and started making flooring, color, cabinet, etc. selections. It took until August for the permits and approvals. The basement was dug August 16, 2024. Happy anniversary to us!

After a summer of showings but no home sale, we were having intermittent showings by September and October. Our contract with our current realtor ended in October. Our spirits were definitely deflated.

Chris and I tried to remind ourselves often that, "If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now."  ~ Jeffrey R. Holland "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" 

The whole of Elder Holland's talk is amazing. I recommend it. I needed it. 

We decided to keep the house off the market during the holiday season, but were ready to get started in January with a new realtor. We were still hopeful. Krissy was enthusiastic, excited, and determined to get us sold. 

Chris, Amy, Misha, and I spent Christmas in Florida. We had made plans in early 2024 for Christmas since we didn't think we would still have a house in Firestone; we could have stayed home, but it was a nice break to be in the sunshine and have different scenery. Especially since Kristen was in Australia. 

2025

The Pelican Shores house went on the market again with our new agent in the middle of January while our Monument house build continued to progress. By February, electrical and plumbing were installed, drywall was up, and cabinets were in. Chris and I spent plenty of weekends working there to finish off some of the electronics, get the internet up and running, and measure for blinds. 

Fast forward to June 5. Chris and I returned from a much-needed stress relieving break in Croatia and Slovenia to a final walk through one week before our house was finished. Were we stressed that the Firestone house was still on the market? Yes. I tried not to think about it too much because the sense of panic was overwhelming.

We were packed and ready to go on June 13 for our move to Monument. There was little joy in moving with two homes and two mortgages now. 

Throughout the last few months, I have felt my own Israelite moments as the children of Israel must have felt when they stood at the shores of the Red Sea. “Ok God, certainly you haven’t brought us this far only to bring us this far. Now what?” 

And so I felt as though I was standing at the shores waiting for my own miracle. 

Our summer involved lots of trips back to Firestone for yard work. Who would have ever thought we would still be weeding? Not us. We continued to pray, fast, and have hope that God's timing and plan was already in the works. We asked family to pray and fast for us numerous times, enough that I felt embarrassed to keep asking.

I felt as though I had figuratively waded into the Red Sea up to my knees. “God, we are doing all that we can.” 

June passed. July passed. Then August. And the water swirled about my waist. 

We were becoming entrenched in life in Monument, in our new ward congregation, in making friends, and in being invited to an Empty Nester dinner!!! My Relief Society president, Mary R., was in charge of a dinner group for August and invited Chris and I. She was hosting the dinner at her son’s home. 

The Empty Nester group was made up of people at least 20 to 30 years older than Chris and I. To be honest, I was grateful for Mary’s kindness in including us, but also wondered if they were trying to infuse some younger blood in the group. 

We enjoyed the dinner but found ourselves mostly talking with Mary’s son, Curtis, and his wife, Sarah. They live in an amazing house on the side of a mountain in Monument, flanked by huge car showrooms for Curtis’ collection of cars. In fact, Curtis was in the process of building what he jokingly called his new “bat cave”. Chris was enchanted. 

We stepped into September with feelings of despair and asking, “What more can we do?” 

“The water is up to my neck now God, and I am standing on my tiptoes.”

And yet in this, the relief Chris and I so desperately wanted still wasn’t in sight. On October 11, Chris listed BOTH of our houses for rent. We had to do something. We were prepared to rent one or the other or both. We were hemorrhaging money with two mortgages and a house was NOT worth financial ruin. 

If necessary, we were ready to sell our Monument house in the spring. 

On October 13, a couple visited our Pelican Shores house with dreary results. They wanted a Modern Farmhouse with lots of changes and even different texture on the walls. Krissy had stopped sending us alerts on new showings. I think she felt bad about getting our hopes up all of the time. 

“God, I know you are aware of the details, so surely you know that I feel as though I am treading water now.” 

On October 14, Krissy mentioned she was meeting an agent and another buyer at the house around 5 pm and asked Chris to make sure the alarm was turned off. The buyer was running way late. Krissy showed the agent around the property and house for 45 minutes and then had to leave. The agent then continued to wait until 7 pm (I was keeping my eye on the exterior cameras around the house) when Brian, her buyer, finally arrived. 

Brian stayed until well after 8 pm. He had a friend or family member come over around 7:30. I didn’t mention to Chris or Krissy that they stayed so long, I figured, “Why bother?”

The next morning, I received a text from Krissy that we had an offer. She said she had sent it to my email, but nothing was showing up. I just asked her to share the details via text since the email wasn’t showing up in my inbox.

FULL PRICE, CASH OFFER!

“Wow.” I was stunned. 

Neither Chris nor I had expected to receive such good news. We were planning for a lowball offer. Chris was in meetings in Chicago. He was so overwhelmed with joy while reading the texts between Krissy and I while in meetings that he put himself on mute and fell to his knees in gratitude. Tears were streaming down his face.

We readily accepted the offer after a few typography details were worked out. Brian wanted to close in mid-November, and we knew we would be out of town. He agreed to a quick closing on October 29th. On October 22nd, Brian had an inspector come to the house. The list of fixes was long on an 11-year old house. Instead of taking the time to get bids, hire contractors, and fix things, we offered to give him $10,000 in concessions and Brian could fix what he wanted. He countered at $15,000, and we agreed.

It wasn’t until October 30th that we allowed ourselves to breathe easy. We had signed closing documents, Brian had signed his portion of the documents, and the proceeds from the sale were deposited in our account. 

But let me add in a twist that neither Chris nor I saw coming. On Sunday, October 12th, Curtis R. (from the Empty Nester dinner a couple of months ago) texted Chris and asked if Chris would be interested in a business proposition. Turns out, Curtis was tired of the day to day running of his successful company and had been looking for someone that he felt comfortable turning the reins over to. It was that two-hour Empty Nester dinner where Chris met Curtis and the wheels started turning. Two hours!

God needed us here in Monument for those two hours.

There has been lots for Chris and Curtis to work out and time needed for Chris to decide if being the CEO of a door company is even what he wants to do. It will be a giant leap away from travel and tech and all that he is super good at, but there is no denying God’s hand in it. 

There have been times when some of Chris’ co-workers have received amazing job opportunities or huge financial windfalls and we have marveled at how nice it would be if something so wonderful happened to us. 

Well, it is hard to deny a miracle that comes custom wrapped and tied with a bow. 

What have I learned? 

• In ALL things trust God. I hope my girls have noted the struggle and the miracles and the blessings. Life is not easy and for us to think it has to be in order for God to be mindful of us isn’t so. God is with us on our mountains, in our valleys, and in the middle of our hard. Don’t give up hope. 
• God’s plan is greater than my plan. 
• God does hear and answer prayers. Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes it is yes, and sometimes it is not yet. 
• As many miracles go, this one has been mighty and life changing for us. We have been in some of our lowest of low moments of despair and anxiety. We didn’t realize that we were being carried through it all. 
• Chris and I have been solid with each other. Life with him is infinitely better than life would be without him. I am grateful the “We” part of us didn’t fall apart.
• It is not lost on me that this mountain of a challenge coincided quite closely with Kristen’s mission preparation and year and a half of service and that our house closing was one month before she was released from her mission. 
• This miracle seems to have come at one second to midnight—THE last moment. 

And surely God knew the details all along and my arms and my faith are stronger from treading water!

It's Been a Minute

It's been a minute since I last posted and life just keeps on going on. Chris and I arrived home from a quick trip to Panama only for me to get sick a couple of days later. I've run the gamut on symptoms, starting with fever, chills, body aches, nausea to stuffy noise, sinus pain, more body aches, and a sore throat. Here's to feeling better.

Galentines and the Rodeo

Galentines is a new coined termed for girl friends celebrating Valentines together. Amy and a bunch of her friends from the bank planned a dinner—complete with a decorated cake—to celebrate together.

The girls followed up the evening with some fun at the PBR, or Professional Bullriding Rodeo (for those like me that have to ask what that is!)

More Garage Organizing

Chris received his first shipment of the garage organizing system. Unfortunately, part of the shipment was damaged. Both he and the delivery driver had to document the damage so that he could be reimbursed or have another cabinet made.

Even though Chris coordinated a delivery for the remaining pieces after we returned home from Panama, he was alerted by the doorbell camera that they were trying to deliver while we were gone. Nice to have the notification. Chris was able to coordinate with the drivers and told them he had scheduled delivery for after February 1st.

Unfortunately, the next delivery came while he was at work with his new job, and it was my responsibility to unbox the items to make sure that none of them were damaged. They were all fine.

Saturday was the first day that Chris was able to get in the garage and begin setting up his garage. He has been waiting to feel organized for months.

If you enlarge this pic, you can see the damage to the cabinet on the right (top back corner).

Everything put together.

He was even able to use the damaged cabinet section (the one on the far left) since the upper cabinets hid the damage. The company is sending a new replacement but told him just to keep the old one. So, another cabinet is coming in the next couple of weeks.

I think we will both love getting the garage in order. 

Chris Starts a New Job

Chris started a new job on the Monday after we returned from Panama. He is now the CEO of Pivot Door Company. 

The evening of his first day of work picture.

He spent the first week learning more of his responsibilities, meeting his team, learning the ins and outs (as much as you can in a week), and planning for future growth. 

Earthquake

Amy was busy working on Thursday when she experienced her first earthquake. Scary. Apparently she was on the phone with one of her sisters at the time who could hear the earthquake through the phone.

New Glasses for Jo

I picked up my new glasses on Tuesday after getting back from Panama. I had tried glasses on before I left and came away with these two as my top options:

I ultimately chose the second pair. They don't overwhelm my face quite as much as the first pair.

Panama - Day 10

Chris and I were both awake around 7 am. We showered the night before, so getting ready was mostly easy. 

We arrived at the dining area (much earlier than previous mornings) and gave our order. The kitchen staff weren’t very speedy. We finished just before 9 and walked down to the boat with Vince and Rosie. 

The weather was much more overcast this morning and they had rain ponchos set out for us to wear. We had to be ready to leave the island by 9:15 am for our 11:15 am flight back to Panama City.

Gotta love that our transport is via boat. The rain started about 10 minutes into our ride. Chris and I both pulled on the rain hat and tried to stay as dry as possible. After 50 minutes (usually the boat ride to Bocas del Toro is about 35 minutes) of ride 5 to 6 ft swells, we were glad to be out of the boat. 

The after look.

We arrived back at the Bocas del Toro airport and checked in. This is going to be a long day of travel. After the small plane transfer from Bocas del Toro, we got an Uber to the main International Airport in Panama, waited for 3+ hours in the lounge, flew from Panama City to Houston, waited a couple more hours, and finally boarded our flight from Houston to Denver at 10 pm.

We got our car from the Parking Spot and made it home by 1:45 am. Whew.

Panama - Day 9

One more full day of relaxing, sunshine, and pool time. Chris and I have definitely changed our travel behavior in the past couple of years. 

We got to see a sloth today. It was up in a tree earlier in the week, but I never could find it. When Rosie announced that the sloth was back, Chris and I ran to look. It was tiny and dark gray. 

You’d probably never see it if you did not know what you were looking for. 

Chris had lobster for dinner. It is not my favorite, so I opted for a fish filet for dinner. I think we had fish for most of our evening meals throughout the week. 

Before calling it a night, I packed up a lot of my stuff. Most of it will just be dumped in the dirty clothes.

Panama - Day 8

Only two and half days left of vacation. We have thoroughly enjoyed the down time. 

The bug spray I use works moderately well. I apply regularly throughout the day and still get bit. Chris applies nothing at all and gets only a few bites. 

I made the mistake of saying I wanted “the same as yesterday” to my Spanish-speaking server. I figured she would remember. Nope. I had to go and ask for yogurt and fruit. My egg white omelet came with mushrooms, cheese and tomatoes instead of mushrooms, cheese and ham. 

BUT, my soy milk was cold without ice cubes. 

That’s a win. I will be sure to specify what I want tomorrow. 

Saw this cute little frog by the men's restroom.

I took a few pictures of the gym, yoga room, main casita.

We kicked off our flip flops and relaxed by the pool for the morning.

Lunch was served at the swim up bar. 

I am not a fan of chicken wings. It is a messy food with little reward. I traded my remaining wings for Chris’ coleslaw. Good trade from my perspective.

Panama - Day 7

Besides the usual, today we booked a tour to go see dolphins and then snorkel at two different locations. 

For breakfast, my “cold” soy milk came with ice cubes! 

Raymond captained the boat that took us on our excursions. There were two dolphins that performed for us.

Our first snorkel spot was quite shallow and had lots of star fish. There wasn’t much else nor was it very colorful. 

The second snorkel spot—Coral Cay—was a little deeper and had lots of colorful fish. (Not too many star fish at this spot though.) We loved the snorkeling and got in two more good workouts for the day. 

Back to the resort where we lounged, dipped in the pool, and relaxed for the rest of the day. We decided we enjoyed doing nothing even though the excursions were fun. 

Definitely a good way to spend the last week of January! Chris was enjoying his downtime from not working at LM—no messages, no emails, no demands—his access had been cut off after his last day on January 23. He was preparing for his new job as CEO of Pivot Door Company starting on Monday, February 2.

We took a moonlit walk along the beach and captured a few photos. With the flash on, it looked like day time, but not.

Panama - Day 6

What was different about today from eating, relaxing by the pool, and taking dips in the pool? 

Both Chris and I did a little exercise. I walked on the path (there was a path that went around the resort that I followed this time) for a half an hour and Chris worked out in the small gym. I had tried to use the treadmill, but it didn’t work. 

And…we got massages. Chris said his was too light and feathery, whereas mine hurt a lot. 

More of the same by the pool. 

At the end of the day, we saw this HUGE banana spider. It was about the size of the palm of my hand. Apparently it is a good spider that eats bugs and is not poisonous. Bonus!

After dinner, Chris and I got caught up watching hilarious reels on Instagram and spent the next two hours watching and laughing before realizing that the staff were probably waiting for us to leave the main area before closing up for the night.

New Glasses for Kristen

Kristen was able to get new glasses from Costco before our vision insurance ran out on January 31st. She and Amy sent some pics to Chris and I while we were in Panama to show us the different options.

She chose the first pair.

 

Panama - Day 5

The morning was cloudy, sprinkling rain, and very humid. We grabbed an umbrella and walked to the main casita for breakfast. I made sure to specify that I wanted "cold" soy milk.

After breakfast, the rain cleared up and I exercised by walking along the pathway from the dock to the main office. Chris used the weights in the "gym". I got some great shots of the dock.

Today was a day full of relaxing by the pool, eating meals, taking a dip in the pool, and repeating that all day long. It was awesome.