Our weekend

Friday, we were part of a cover up for a suprise birthday party. We ate dinner at Matt's parents' because they were having a "retirement" party for Earl. Just as we finished dinner, Jeff Stout came in to transport Alice's friend Nancy to her suprise party. He placed her on a stretcher and loaded her into the back of his van.

Matt took 2 weeks of vacation from Chrysler so he could start at the fire department. His current supervisor called him Friday to let him know that when he returns to work he will be on second shift. He said he explained to the new supervisor what was going on with the job at Frankfort and that Matt wanted to do both for a while in hopes of another buyout offer coming along. Matt had a message from the afternoon supervisor on the answering machine. She just wanted to let him know if there was anything he needed, such as a leave of absence, to let her know. She also said there is another buyout offer coming! We are praying Matt can last that long, as it will make our lives much easier.

Saturday, I went to Russiaville to sign Hazen up for t-ball. Then he had soccer at the church. He did very well as goalie. We think he is going to be better suited for football (or rugby). He has a bad habit of running full speed and mowing down other kids.

I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow. Rett's youth group is having a super bowl party. We've also been invited to one at another church.

It's Official!

Matt was sworn in as a Firefighter/EMT at Frankfort Fire Department yesterday. The city building, referred to as "Old Stoney" is a neat old building. Everyone was very laid back. They had us wait in the Mayor's office for him to show up. Hazen was running around giving high fives and checking out the candy dish. The County Clerk popped her head in and said, "Oh I didn't know you were here yet, we can get started." Apparently one of the guys Hazen was high-fiving was the mayor of Frankfort! The whole "ceremony" took maybe a minute.

We went to Indianapolis for his uniforms and turnout gear. We were hoping to sneak in a little "date" time, too. That didn't work out so well. The list from the department was confusing to the sales rep. at the first uniform store. We spent 3 hours there to get basically 2 Class B uniforms (semi-dressy), 1 Class A uniform (Very dressy usually only used for funerals), and 2 coats. Then, we had to drive from downtown Indy to the northeast side for his turnout gear. That only took about a half an hour. We managed to squeeze in a bite to eat between the two. We got home in time to take Rett to a friend's house and head up to Maconaquah to watch Kelsey cheer at halfitme. I'll get those pictures on here soon.

More Turmoil

I don't understand why everything has to be so difficult for us. Here we thought Matt had a great opportunity to pursue his dream just as the auto industry started to crumble. He got the phone call from the Chief today that all the paperwork was complete, he could start his shift as soon as I got home from work and he could be sworn in tomorrow. Then, he got another phone call from his friend who is also on Frankfort Fire Department. I guess there has been a little conflict regarding the fire department and the ambulance. The EMT'S are also firefighters, but the paramedics are civilians. There are 6 firefighters (2 per shift) devoted to the ambulance. I guess some of the firefighter/EMT'S are upset because the paramedics will only tech ALS runs even though that is their only job. Because of this, there has been talk about pulling the ambulances from the fire department. There was a county commissioners meeting last night about this issue. The fire department was there to state their case for keeping the ambulance with them, but they were not allowed to talk. In fact, they were escorted from the meeting by the sheriff's department. So now Matt is worried that he is not doing the right thing. He is afraid if he leaves Chrysler, the fire department will loose the ambulance and then they will not need the bottom 6 firefighters. He is going to try to do both jobs for a while, but I don't know how long he'll be able to keep that up.

Meanwhile, I got an e-mail from Rett's Science teacher. She said he is smart and his behavior is excellent, but he has been unprepared for quite some time. Apparently he has lost his Science book. I know it has to be at school because he NEVER brings anything home. He said he has looked for it, but it is nowhere to be found. So, she wants us to replace it. Like we have the money for that!!

And so are the Days of our Lives......

A little bit of everything

Matt got a letter in the mail from Chrysler giving him another week off work. He is supposed to report on the 26th now. He is still waiting on paperwork from Frankfort Fire Department so he can start there.

Hazen is going to play soccer at the church again. We go next Saturday to meet his coaches and the rest of the team. He will also get his uniform. We also found out that he is old enough to play t-ball this year, so we've been watching the paper for sign-ups. Kelsey is going to cheer at the Western vs. Maconaquah game next Friday. For once, Rett doesn't have us running everywhere.

We have gone almost a week without a debit card. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. I guess it is better to be without the card than to have your account wiped out. It's funny how accustomed you get to using it, though.

Winter Days

Since I have started scrapbooking, both of the boys have taken an interest, too. Rett has had his own scrapbook for quite some time, but never really did anything with it. Last Sunday, we spent all afternoon working on them. Hazen had to have his own, too. I just gave him a 3-ring binder with computer paper in it. I think we all sat there working for 2 hours. It was nice family time. Of course, I wasn't able to get much done on my scrapbook due to helping the boys.

Everytime Hazen even sees a snowflake, he asks if he can go sledding. Wednesday, we finally got enough for him to get his wish. Western released the kids early due to the weather, so Matt took the boys out to play. Unfortunately, I had to stay inside (nice and warm) at work. I think they had a good time. Rett actually made it all the way down the hill on his snowboard this year. I love this picture of him.

The Scrapbooking Bug has Bitten!

I decided to start a scrapbook for Rett and his marching band years. Well, pulling all of that stuff out has inspired me to start our family scrapbook. I decided to start with 2008 and work my way back. I was very happy with how these two pages turned out and maybe that was all of the confidence building that I needed. Always before I would pull everything out, draw a blank on what to do with it and then just put it all away again. Today I did a total of 5 pages. I do owe a special thanks to mom because she let me "go shopping" in her remaining Creative Memories inventory.

An update to the update...

Matt called me around 3:30 and said not all of the paperwork from his physical had been received by the fire dept, so they cannot officially give him a start date until it is. He went to the board meeting and was voted in this morning and has spent all day at the station. He did his mandatory 4 hour update and signed a waiver to ride with "his" crew. He said he should be coming home when the guys go to bed, so maybe around 9 or 10. I'll let you know more when we do.

A little update

Matt started his first shift at Frankfort Fire Department today. He went straight from the Board of Works meeting to the station. He will be working 24 hour shifts. He works today, Friday, Sunday and then starts his 4 days off. This has all happened so fast. I am still really nervous, but it is out of my hands now. The people at the Union Hall just told him to show up to work when he can and after he misses so many days, he will get 30 days off as disciplinary action. Hopefully that can keep him in the system until another buy out offer comes. Continue to keep us in your prayers as this will be a difficult transition for all of us. Hazen is so used to Daddy tucking him in every night with the "daddy blanket", and Rett will have to act as man of the house in his absence. On that note, Rett threw a 40 lb. bag of salt on his shoulder the other night and carried it down to the basement like it was nothing. I was impressed.

I will post more and let you all know how we are adjusting.

He did it!

Matt got a phone call from the cheif of Frankfort Fire Dept. He passed the physical. He goes tomorrow at one to fill out paperwork and returns Wednesday for the Board of Works meeting. They said he could start whenever he wanted after that. He is going to talk to someone at the Union tomorrow to see what his options are and if there is a possibility of another buy out offer coming anytime soon. We'll keep you posted.