I need to get better at this!

Sometimes I feel like I blast my whole life out there! I feel like I am talking, but I am not saying much :).

Anyway, we have had a lot going on. I recently took a job at Longview Police Department....and I start on Monday. The reality of it has started to set in, and I sometimes feel warm and fuzzy as I quietly, secretly, freak the heck out! I then think, "What have I done?" LOL! But, in the middle of this emotion, I am so stoked I cannot believe it is finally here. I will miss my friends at the District Attorney's Office, and I know it will be an adjustment for my family, but I know that there is a reason, a path, that God is leading me down. I will meet this challenge head on, just like everything else I have accomplished.

When your scared saddle up anyway! Thank John Wayne.

Any hizzle, Christmas is breathing down my neck. This year we decided to do it about 4 days early so Jag-mister could have plenty of time to play with his stuff. Ok, I'll admit that is every kids dream is to break their parents down so they can open their presents before time, but I feel guilty! It is going to be lonely on Christmas, because Jagger will most likely stay at his moms that day so he can also experience the plastic goodness that he got there too. :) He leaves for Missouri, so he isn't complaining about the early unwrapping.

Lastly, my mom introduced me to a friend of hers that we ran into in a store. She later explained his situation, and it is grim. Without posting too much, he probably has an income of 1/4 of what most of us bring home a month, and has kids that he is caring for on his own. He STILL tithes every month. I have never been so touched by just a 5 minute conversation in my life. It makes me sick to my stomach to know people basically throw away what he gets every month....for what? Internet? TV? Cell phones? Hair? Nails? But when it comes to giving to the church, we will "make it up next month" or "we will see what we have left" NO! Give first, the rest will take care of itself, and if it doesn't, then you don't need it! I need to listen to my own advice. I will admit it.

Well, good night....the Golden Girls are on......

I'm back and better than before!

Well, there has been a LOT going on lately! I recently graduated from the police academy, so I am officially a peace officer. I always knew I would do something in this field, but never thought it could actually happen. When my parents would tell me I could do anything I wanted to, I knew it to be true but thought "yeah right" in the back of my mind. Ok, it was the front of my mind. Now, here I sit, graduated from the police academy and 4 classes from having my bachelors. I become breathless when I think back on all of it. I never thought I would amount to much in life just kinda breeze along......but I'm trying. Not for myself either, I do this for all the people along the way that will hopefully become inspired, or that I can help. Nothing is impossible, and you REALLY can do anything you want.

We have a new hairless baby, Dee Dee. She is anther Chinese Crested and she is the most precious girl ever. Willis loves her but the feeling is not mutual just yet. We have had her for about 4 months, and love her more and more each day. While Willis greets me at the door, she LEAPS off the couch, only to race to the water bowl. We will need to fix that LOL.

The next thing is we got new furniture, and yes, about a month of having Clint a brand new leather recliner, I stabbed it with a knife on accident. UGH. I am still sick about it.

The last but not least new info, is Jagger, his mom and stepdad, and 2 siblings are moving back to Golden! They bought a house and I am super excited to have my buddies back. I have missed them terribly over the past few years and we are glad to see them back in the 'hood.

Un Employment

Well, it is official. I could never be a stay at home wife at this stage in my life. I have no kids, so there isn't much to keep my days passing by fast. Willis is pretty annoyed with me trying to make him take a bottle...just kidding. Well, if you don't know, I got layed off last month temporarily. I am not looking to go back though. It is time to start looking for something that pertains with my degree...criminal justice.

Well, after jumping on job applications the day they post them has proven how impatient I really am. If you notice, the counties and state jobs usually are posted for a month before they start calling you in for an interview. If I turn in a resume' or application, I expect a call as soon as I hit send. So, you could only imagine how nervous I have been. Well, finally I started getting calls today because the jobs are starting to close. I have a interview with the Smith County District Attorney's office and a local attorney in Quitman. I have applied to about 20 places (including jails and half way houses) so hopefully soon I will hear or get something soon.

Just keep praying that the good Lord will teach me patience and will place me where He needs me.

Worst week, best lessons.

This week, most of you know, we lost a very important figure of our family, the community. Pete Wright tragically passed away last Sunday. At that very moment that I stood at the dirtpit, standing over him, I realized two things. Pete Wright lived for Pete Wright and no one else, but Pete Wright also lived for everyone else. He did so much for other people because that is WHAT he wanted to do. He worked from sun up to sun down, 7 days a week with the occasional taking a break to take Pat to Ranchero's. He died working. It wasn't work to Pete though, it was life. Pete was also there passing out Halloween candy, pulling a Christmas parade float, rough housing with great grand kids, helping out a neighbor, city council, school board president. He was the hardest working person I will ever know, but he always had time. He had time and no complaints. You could look into his eyes and see that he was happy. You can actually see happiness. He was also a gentle soul. He would say "hello granddaughter" to me when I poked him in the belly. He was the first person to call me granddaughter, and I loved hearing it. He was grandpa. The turn out and outpouring of our friends was breath taking. I have seen 4 of the hardest men you have ever see become humble as they looked back at what they had with him. I am slowly taking down my other blogs because that is not how I want to be remembered...ranting and raving about some trivial subject. I want to be remembered just like Pete and even Pat. We did think Pete was too big to die, we thought he would live for ever. I think I will change the word admirable to "Pete" because when you are a person like Pete, your name can become a verb. Lets use it in a sentence, "I really Pete that guy because he is a hard working fella"....I like it. Don't you? You can use the word Pete for other verbs if you would like. There was an estimate of 1,000 people that came through the visitation and those of you that were there, you know that is not an exagerration. People waited over an hour to get in and Pat was a rock. She stood there and recieved every last one of you. They don't make ladies like that anymore. We asked if she needed a chair and she kept turning it down. I am sure I will be adding more to this blog, because I have a lot to say that that ole' man taugh me. Even though he is gone, I won't stop learning. He had told Pat just a couple of weeks ago when she was complaining that he didnt go to church with her because he was out working at something....that "I bet I pray more than you!" lol. Pete "got right" with the Lord in a foxhole in Korea, and prayed driving that dump truck down the highway. Prayed while loading dirt or smoothing a drive. I like to him of him praying right before that trachoe turned over.

Now, I have a letter to write my husband to tell him how there is atleast 2 people in this world that thinks he is the man that Pete was.

Valentine Weekend....

Well, it has been 6 yrs since Clint asked me to marry him. WOW! 6 Years! I know that isn't a very long time when you look at the elderly couples that have been married 40, 50, 60 years, but it is for someone our age. I know people that have been married and remarried with children by multiple mothers/fathers that are younger than Clint and I. So, yes, in my mind, that is quite a feat.

Friday, Clint took off work, to go register his new boat, yes, another new boat! This one should last us forever. So, when I got home from lunch, he was out in the flower beds......and I saw a light in the carport....he had a surprise for me. He had gotten me 4 baby ducks and 1 baby goose! He knows I have always wanted them, so they were the best Valentines I have had in a long time!!! Little things crack me up. I don't need fancy clothes, dinners, cars or a fancy house. Those things are nice, but I would rather spend my time playing with Jagger, the dogs, and now my little farm animals. Hopefully I will get a pig for my birthday! I also did get some Vera Wang perfume LOOK that I have been wanting as well, so yes, I still have a girly side.

Looks like someone wants to buy my car, now, if we could just get our schedule together to have them look at it! I am so excited, except now, I can't find a car I want. I guess I will just have to be patient about it. It will work itself out.

Tonight is ladies bible study at church. We will be studying about what to do if you are depressed. I am super excited! I love the church home we have found and all the people in it. I am not big on the choirs I have seen in the past, but we have some really really talented people in ours. I think the choir speaks loudly about the type of church you have. If you want to tell how strong a church is, look at the choir is my rule of thumb!

Christmas Week

We had a very very busy but fun week last week. I am tired and at my first day back at work 1/2 sick and some how I bit the underside of my tongue and burned the roof of my mouth. All in all, it is going well I think!

Jagger had about 10 Christmas's, and after that, we stopped trying to count and about 8 of which was just with mine and Clints families. He got a ton of stuff again and so did we. I wonder what we will have to do to make people understand to STOP buying stuff for us. I think next year we are going to suggest drawing names for more than just the siblings. Clint has 4 other siblings and that isn't counting their kids or significant others. So after you calculate 6 grandparents...it gets to be too much to haul home and way too much money spent! I would rather them take the money they were going to spend on me and donate it to someone.

Speaking of doing good....we finally were able to go back to the Grand Saline cememtery and look at "Baby Grands" new headstone. I know that it is kind of a morbid thing to get excited about, but we were completely heartbroken when we realized that everyone had just forgotten about a child that was found in a road ditch. Jagger has really taken to us stopping and putting flowers out or a stuffed animal. I want to show him that if you see something you don't like, don't wait around for someone else to change it. There isn't anything wrong with trying to correct the situation. We got some pictures, but I don't know how to load them, so if you have a myspace you can see them there...if you don't have one get one and search for me www.myspace.com/aka_nikkioglesby

I have been trying to get motivated for school to start back up on Jan. 5th. I am more excited that I won't have to travel so much and I can hopefully start running again. We will see, but my goal is to do some 1/2 marathons or atleast the 5K we walk every year for Susan G. Komen. I know 5K isn't far, but it can be when you are out of shape! I am also hoping that with a little bit more free time, I will be able to get involved with a charity I have been wanting to participate in for some time now. C.A.S.A. I would love to be a child advocate. Hopefully I will be able to set some ground work down for my future with this organization now or atleast find out where I am suppose to be in this crazy old world. Well, thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!

This year

Well, this year is wrapping up to an end faster than I can wrap my presents. I have realized that even though everything seems to stay the same day by day, there will be a time that you look back, and everything has changed. There has been a lot of changes in the past year...day by day. I have started a new school...from TJC to UT Tyler, now from UT Tyler to Portland State University...GO VIKINGS! lol...if I get accepted.



We started this year riding our dirtbikes every weekend with a group of really good guys...to losing one to a dirtbike accident. He was the glue that held us together, pushed me in my faith, taught me a lot about riding and not to be a chicken in anything I did. He didn't listen to my excuses, he normally called me out, and I still do not believe he is gone. By losing him, I also learned to pick up the phone when I think of someone and call them then instead of saying, "Oh later". You see, Butch called me on the Thursday before he passed, but I was "too busy" to answer (which was something I never did because I always had time for Butch-daddy), little did I know, that would have been the last time I would have talked to him. He was 64 and out rode and out lived us all. He raced his whole life and at 64 was still running over the younger competition. That reminds me when I hear a lot of people say they don't want to start school or fulfill their life dreams because they are too old, Butch wasn't too old to get back on his bike after 10 years of not riding and was showing everyone that Butch Lawrason was back. RIP Butch.



On the other hand, Jagger was tested for the academy. He is in a magnet school now and will test again in January. This reminds me of just the opposite of what Butch taught me...that no matter how young you are, it is never too soon to start your future. If you don't do it now, then you will soon become one of the people that say they can't because life passed them by. Should have, would have, could have. If you fail, don't stress, but keep working. Your purpose will reveal itself in ways you never expected. If you say nothing, do nothing, then you will be nothing. Challenge yourself to go 2 steps farther than you planned even when life knocks you back 4 steps.

In all of this, I have noticed that I stress too much on the little things. Stressing on the little things keeps you from accomplishing the bigger ones. When I realized that I needed to leave my current university, I realized that I didn't know what to do or where to go, but after a month of doing nothing, then a month of freaking out.....I remembered God is good and even if I can't get in this semester to PSU, I have some other classes I can take until my application process is complete. Plus, there is something bigger than me working right now and I just have to relax and let it happen, but not get lazy or too comfortable because as quickly as it was answered, it can be changed. God has it planned out but I do not know when or how the changes will come. All I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

I noticed that when I think life is going poorly it is that the bad things that keep me humble. A lot of people ask God "God, show me my purpose in life...." but they soon follow that up with "...but only if it fits into this life I want, or as long as it fits in with the education I think I needed." Stop asking for God to work out your plans, but be open to ALL of his plans. Even when I finish my degree in Criminal Justice / Spanish and go into something unrelated, there was something I learned, or someone I met along the way that is going to mold what I do for someone else. There is someone out there that needs you and we have to stop trying to force our agendas. WHOA let me get off this soap box and finish studing for my test! I feel like I am starting to ramble a bit.