I have the best job and husband!

Let's start at the beginning so I can always remember how far I have come. In 2002 I started working at the Olive Garden. I loved it immediately. I had great bosses and the people were wonderful. I worked for less than a year because I graduated massage school and wanted to work in that field. Well a couple years went by and massage didn't work out. I moved back to Utah and started working for the same General Manager Travis Ballingham at the Olive Garden again. It was just like old times. This time around I made some of my best friends though. Alex Doria will always be my guy. Jesseca is my girl. Jaclyn, Bryson, Tate, Jules, Lee, Wilson, Hess, Jac and Josh, Cheryl,Josh, Anika Trent, Jim. I could go on and on. We had some good times and work was always a joy. I got the opportunity to travel to Alaska so I took it which mean't leaving the OG again but I knew I would be back. Wrong! I met Richard and decided to make Alaska my home for the next two years. I did however come back after that. My last time back to the restaurant was July 2009. I went right back to doing my old jobs (bartending, take-out and serve). It was a little different but mostly the same. I was appreciated. I had a great relationship with my manager Dave Rigby and he trusted me to do quite a bit. I even started the track to management. I had a setback when I got pregnant with Madison but decided to go back in it again. We got new management in October of 2011 and all hell broke loose. Now I know each manager is different but this was almost a slap in the face. She came in and changed everything. No one is happy at work. She is a micro-manager which is my least favorite type (and frankly I don't think can work in a restaurant setting). She turned the restuarant upside down. Employees that have worked there for years are finding jobs elsewhere, employees are quitting and getting fired for stupid reasons. It was just exhausting to go to work especially if she was there. Her other managers are fantastic but she makes their lives hard too. A blessing came into my life in May 2012 when we found out I was pregnant again. I knew that with this mean't I would be able to take off some time after the baby was born and have a break from this wretched place called work. ( I know what you're thinking, why didn't I just quit) I had insurance through work, I had a retirement plan, I had years and I was pregnant, no one would hire a pregnant lady and give her insurance so I had to stay. So I stayed and worked through it. I moved back to take out full time in June and was happy there, but that just mean't I was interacting with the managers more. I saw too many faults up there; the way the other employees were treated, the way the bar was handled, the way the CT's were not being utilized and the way the restaurant was falling apart. Because I had been with the company for so long, I knew how it should be run. It really just broke my heart to see it run so poorly. It was all about numbers and money instead of employee relations and guests. My next blessing came August 14th. I was working with my favorite employee Jake Porter. We were talking about how people don't do their jobs but yet talk about each other like they are better than one another. An employee by the name of Ryan Honeyman came up and he was the one of talking about Jake. We discussed it and Jake decided confront him. Ryan immediately thought it was me and started yelling at me in profanities and calling me inappropriate words. I decided not to do anything about it because we never work together and honestly I didn't want to waste my time. So I left it alone. Well that following saturday Aug. 18th it happened again but this time it was worse. There was a misunderstanding and because I was at work, i was involved and knew what was going on, so Ryan decided to call me on the work phone and again yell at me in profanities and call me names. I lost it. I couldn't breathe, I could barely speak, I was hyperventilating. I went off in front of the manager that was present and he was confused. He had no idea what was going on. Jake filled him in on everything. Richard was there too and Jake told him everything. That led to Richard getting mad and the manager taking action. However, this manager wasn't the general manager so he couldn't fix it. It had to be the GM which by previous paragraphs is not exactly my favorite person. So we went about our shift and got through it. I for sure thought I would be called into the office to speak to the GM the next day. Oops, I was wrong. I went to work on Tuesday and nothing. I was starting to get really mad. I went home that day after work and basically begged Richard when I could quit. We had decided that I would work through September 8th just so he could get used to school. So I was excited. I planned on telling them my next shift which was on Thursday, in two days. Well that all changed. I gave up my shift because frankly I didn't want to work. The GM ended up calling me on Thursday asking me when we could chat, like it was a casual thing. I was astonished. I said to her, "I didn't want to do this over the phone but I am giving my notice", she then tried to sound all sad and say "oh, that's probably best for you, and your family" The conversation went on for about 5 minutes with her saying things about me having a big family and it's where I want to be and blah blah blah. It really took the cake when she then said "well I can take you off the schedule next week, because Ryan needs shifts" Can you believe she would say that to me? I said fine. I will work saturday and be done with this place. I hung up the phone and was speechless. She had the audacity to speak his name like that like nothing. She didn't care, she never cared. I went to work on saturday and it was weird. She kept trying to be nice to me and I finally just looked at her and said "Stacey, I am not quitting because I am pregnant, I don't need to be home, I can still physically work, I am quitting because of you, I am leaving because you don't care and because I can't work in this environment anymore. So please stop trying to be nice to me, because I will never have to see you again" That felt really good and I never spoke to her again. I am truly blessed to be home with my babies and be the mother and wife that I want to be. I am just heartbroken the way it ended and the fact that nothing was done about Ryan Honeyman and he still works there and how he is just going to find another girl to do this too. Richard is the real hero here, he made it possible for me to stay home. He is making it possible for me to make this home into the haven I want it too be. He is a good man. And I can only hope that I make him and my children proud.

Twins!

We are actually very excited and overjoyed for this new chapter in our lives. On August 6th we went in for our 16 week appointment and were able to find out the sex of the babies. We were thrilled. We had anticipated that it would happen in a few more weeks but when the tech said she could tell us then we opted to find out. I went home and picked up Richard and the kids and we went back at 3:00P.M. to see the babies.......dun dun dun, we are having one of each! They found baby girl first because baby boy is always in a ball for some reason but we were able to shake him a little and he moved so we could see him. WE are so excited, I can't begin to describe. We were hoping for boy/girl and that's what we got. YAY!

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been. Since the last post we have had many blessings in our lives. The best and most stressful/wonderful one was on June 27th we had our first doctors appointment and it went very well. It being the first appointment makes it the longest, so I did my vital signs, peed in the cup, got weighed, yada yada yada, then waited for my ultrasound. We went into the room and I laid down on the bed. The tech immediately found the baby and it was a very strong heartbeat 178. We were happy. I don't care how many babies I have, hearing the heartbeat just makes it real and wonderful. We were done, or so we thought. The tech moved the wand instead of picking it up and another baby popped up! AHHHHH!!!!!!!, I couldn't help but laugh. (see on 3 different occasions I had had twin dreams before this appt) This was not as big as a surprise as some would thought it should have been. I cried a little but mostly just laughed even into the lab for blood work and into see Dr. Judd. I think it was a nervous laughter. We immediately alerted the family and after they all knew I put it on facebook, or course a gazillion responses came in making me feel loved. We are still trying to wrap our heads around it. The following week was me walking around like a zombie but also being stressed. We are not financially set for twins. I have to buy everything again, even though I have enough for one baby, we are having two babies. It didn't really sink in until about last week when I woke up in extreme mouth pain and couldn't sleep, so I just pleaded with Heavenly Father which then turned into me crying that I was not a suitable mother for twins and why me? Almost immediately Madison woke up, so I went to her room and just snuggled her and got my answer. Heavenly Father believes in me enough to care for these two precious spirits and he doesn't give you anything you can't handle, so I know I will be okay. It was my first breakdown but he quickly took it away and I am truly grateful for a knowing Heavenly Father who loves me. About ten days ago, some friends of ours were given another car, so they sold us their old one. Its the not greatest car but it is a blessing. We are able to work more and not have to spend money on the bus. They are very sweet friends that we will be indebted to. As for our everyday life, we are just working and playing. We go to the pool about 3 times a week. It really makes Jackson smile. The weather has been absolutely ridiculous this summer. 90's to 100's everyday. It is a killer. I am just praying that fall gets here soon. On the 16th we went to the school to figure some things out and finally Richard is RESIDENT! It is a miracle. We have been trying forever and finally it happened. Another blessing. As you can see we are doing well. The kids are growing and getting so smart. Richard started hosting this week and already loves it. He will be making an hourly wage which in the long run will help us set up a budget. I am glad he is happy.

And then there were 5!!!

YAY!! On May 18th, I was feeling a little funny and by my calculations I was 5 days late so just for fun, we went to the store and got some tests. TA DA, those little puppies turned positive before I even flushed the toilet. I couldn't believe it, we had only been trying for a month. Since General Conference weekend to be exact. If you remember my post from a few months ago voicing my frustrations, well I had a chat with both my mom and richard and found it was all a misunderstanding really. I then used General Conference weekend to sort some things out and pray and listen for answers. Well, I got them and was able to share with Richard the overwhelming spirit I felt about having more babies and we decided it would be a good thing. Little did we know that Heavenly Father already knew and made it happen a lot faster than we expected but we couldn't be happier. Jackson wants a brodder some days and a sis some other days so who knows. Of course Madison doesn't really get it so this should be fun. Holy goodness, we are going to have 3 kids!!!!

Thomas!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

We were lucky enough to have the whole weekend off due to our quickness of requesting it off like 3 months ago. We definitely enjoyed our weekend. To start things off we went to Heber City and rode the railroad and visited with Thomas the Tank engine. Jackson just had a blast. More pics to come of that. Monday we went up to Jolleys Ranch in Hobble Creek and had a BBQ with some friends April and Joe Clark. We really like hanging out with them. WE had an abundance of food and found a perfect little spot with shade and sun to enjoy. They had a nice little creek that Madison fell in and of course screamed bloody murder and a neat playground for the kids. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, played baseball and football, blew bubbles, lit sparklers, ran around a lot and just had a wonderful time. I truly enjoy these little outings we have and hope that the kids remember the fun times that we have together.

Kids say the darndest things!

Lately Jackson has been saying funny things and I wanted to just jot them down so I don't forget. Him and Uncle Kirky were watching a movie the other day and I sat on the couch to join them and he looks up at me and said "mommy, i don't want you on the couch, i need you in the kitchen" I said "what?", and he says "go to the kitchen" i couldn't stop laughing, but I left anyway. We play this funny game with Jackson just to get him to laugh. We ask him who he is, by saying "are you a monkey?" NO, "are you an elephant?" NO, "are you a ball?" NO, "are you a girl?" NO. During this game my mom said, "oh, you're a horse," and Jackson replies, "NO, you're a cow!" He had no idea what he was saying and of course my mom didn't take offense to it, but it made us laugh for like 5 minutes. One of my favorite things he says every time one of us gets home from work is when he follows us into our room so we can change clothes and he sits up on the bed and says "tell me about your day." It is just the cutest thing. He loves Thomas and Friends, and has a train set with a ton of trains. He is constantly playing with them and it is so cute to hear him say "thomas has to take on some coal", or "Spencer is going to the branch line". Lately he's been running around the house singing, "trasfomers, than meets the eye" and "bots roll out". Daddy and Jackson have been watching the Transformers cartoon on Netflix and he is fascinated by them. He is just learning and growing so much, it makes me sad but anxious to see where his life takes him.