Last Jump

Luke Sheehy was killed June 10th while doing what he loved, fighting forest fires.The 28 year old was a member of the Redding-based California Smokejumpers, firefighters who parachute into remote areas from airplanes. He was in Modoc County, Northern California, when part of a burning tree fell on him. This is always so hard to hear. It puts a lot of fear in my heart. Please remember his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

"An absolute monster on the fire ground." -Aaron Burrough (A good Friend of Luke's)

Puppy Love

If I can offer a small word of advice for anyone living with a traveling man it would be get a dog. When Chris and I first got married I had never lived alone. I had never even stayed alone except for maybe one night in my entire life. I knew it would be an adjustment for me. It was so hard for me at first. A few weeks after Chris and I got back from our honeymoon he had to go back to California for a month to finish up the apprenticeship program he was in. I hated being alone. I found myself just wanting to go home (to my parent's house) quiet often. So that's just what I did. After Chris got back from California the fire season was beginning. So he started to leave again. He went on several assignments for a few months. So at that point we had been married for around 4 months and hadn't spent very much time together.

I felt so depressed. I felt like I wasn't even married. It's not like I didn't know or understand that my husband would be gone all the time. Chris and I dated for over 3 years before we got married. He had done this job for more than 2 years. He had spent 6 months in California with me only seeing him 2 times on the weekend when we were dating. That is 4 days out of six months that I saw him. I knew how hard it would be! But, that didn't stop me from wishing that we had the typical marriage.

Then, in June of last year we visited an animal shelter. I fell in love with a puppy there. Chris and I discussed buying this dog but decided to get a husky. Chris owned a husky when he was young so he had always wanted to get another one.  As soon as we picked Oscar up from his previous owner we were in love with him. He was such a loving, beautiful pup.

Everyone knows that having a new puppy is not easy. Especially a puppy that grows big and strong pretty quickly. Oscar and I have had many struggles with each other and we have taught each other so much in the past year. I taught him to potty outside, sit, lay down, speak, and shake hands. But what is most important is what he has taught me as time has passed. The most important of the lessons is to be content with being alone. He was there with me every day and every night through the past year. He slept with me, he went places with me, he acknowledged me when I spoke to him, and he licked the tears from my face. He has been my best friend. He gave me the love, comfort, and companionship that I had been missing.

He also has taught me to relax and not sweat the small stuff. He has really prepared me for having a child. I have learned not to worry so much after he has made a mess. I have rolled around in the dirt with him. I have broke my back giving him a bath and spent hours cleaning up dog food after he flung it around the kitchen.I have worried over him having a belly ache or a small cut. I have been offended when people judge him by his appearance and I have even threatened to confront people that have treated him wrong.

This dog is my family. He is my boy. I love him with all of my heart. I am his and he is mine. There are times in my life where he is there for me in ways that other people cannot be. When I look into his eyes I know that he has unconditional love for me. Even when I least deserve it he still loves me. I feel that people that have not felt the love and companionship of a dog are truly missing out on one of God's many blessings. 


"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

1 Year Old

Priceless

"Don't think of cost. Think of value."

Often times I find myself  evaluating and logging in my brain the cost of everything. With Chris being gone a lot I am the financial guru of our family. I find myself making spread sheets and monitoring numbers on a daily basis. As many of you know it is very hard to be the person in charge. Sometimes financial choices have to be made and as a hotshot wife we have to make them. ALONE. It takes a strong, confident person to make hard choices alone.  

We have recently started to build our home together. It is almost complete and we are so excited to move in. Even amidst all of the excitement I find myself having a small anxiety attack over costs. When you get through such a huge project, the end is where the bills start to freak you out a little. Being the person that handles all of our finances, I feel like I am the sole person in charge. I am the one that needs to keep us on budget. At times it is very stressful.

We are getting close to closing on our loan and paying off all of our small debts we have collected along the way. We have been trying to watch our money but still fill our home with things that we will need. I have been monitoring numbers like a crazy woman. The only thing I have been able to think about is money.

Then, today I came across this quote. "Don't think of cost. Think of value." It was so simple that I could have easily overlooked it. Thankfully I didn't, because it allowed me to reevaluate my thought process. I began to change my thinking from what we owe to the value of what we have. I cannot even begin to explain the value of my home. I started picturing the unfinished rooms. I pictured a Christmas tree with our future children opening presents, a dining room table full of family, cook outs in the back yard with our friends, a first birthday party, Chris walking through the front door after being gone on a long assignment, Oscar and I piled up on the couch together.

Then, I began to realize that the value of our home out weighs the cost. It is worth every penny being spent. For years we will be able to enjoy our home with our family, friends and co workers. It is a place that I want everyone to feel welcome. It is a place that we can laugh, cry, pray, have new experiences, and grow old together. To me that is priceless. I may spend the next thirty years paying off a loan but my children will have a home that they will grow up in. I am so thankful for our many blessings. I am so blessed to have a beautiful home to share.