Merry Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas

Number 7

This morning I got up for a conference call and left Becky and Audrey sleeping while I did so. I took the call and then tried to get some scheduling done before they woke up. Becky had a sleepless night with Audrey and I wanted them to be able to get the rest in which they needed. At 9am I heard Audrey talking in her bed so I quietly went up stairs and rescued her and brought her back down to watch Max and Ruby. I gave her a sippy cup with some juice and threw a blanket over her and she snuggled under it ready to watch "Mimi". I thought that I needed to make her some breakfast so I started to prepare some oatmeal since it was a little chilly.

As I waited for the water to boil I started reading a paper that Becky had taken out of a magazine and posted on the fridge. The title is 10 Thoughts on Whole Living and it gives you some things to think about. When Becky put this up the other day I joked with her that it seemed odd that she was putting it up. We went through a couple of them that she liked, but to be honest I didn't read the 10 thoughts. I found my self reading them this cold quiet morning.

1. Allow yourself the chance to really savor the moment.

2. Optimism isn't just a shift in perspective. It's an act of bravery.

3. Only you can decide the path worth taking.

4. Don't wait for your mood to change; take action despite it.

5. Approach gift shopping as an opportunity to honor the people you really love.

6. Rather than search for a single miracle food, strive for a varied and delicious diet.

7. You can't grow without pushing your limits.

8. Stop worrying about getting sick; focus on your health instead.

9. Don't believe what you hear. Life is good.

10. No one knows what the future will bring. Put your energy into now.

When I reached number 7 I stopped and reread it. I started thinking about the last few months and where we are right now physically and spiritually. You can't grow without pushing your limits. Over the last few months we have gone through some tough experiences and Becky and I have discussed many different times why we are here and where we will be in the future. We figure out where we are going to be in a couple of weeks and start moving that way only to find out that there is something else we need to do or a different direction is in store. We are constantly striving to get out of this hole that we have dug for ourselves but the more we climb the farther away the end seems.

One constant thread running through these discussions are how blessed we are. We are not in the house that we wanted to be and although we have cut every bill we still have bills piling up. With this said we still feel so blessed and we can feel the hand of the lord in our lives. We don't have everything that we once had but we have so many things to be thankful for. The church, our families, each other just to name a few.

7 seems to have become our mantra over the past few months after losing a job, leaving our gorgeous house and moving somewhere we didn't ever want to be. You can't grow without pushing your limits has to be the single most important piece of advice we have gotten over the last few months. How can we know who we are and what we are capable of if we don't push ourselves to the limits and endure to the end.

We are going to get out of this hole and when we do we are going to look back and see the progress that we have made. That progress is going to be leaps and bounds, not only temporally but spiritually. We have been given this opportunity to grow and we will succeed in doing so.

The water started boiling and I finished the oatmeal right before Becky came down. We were able to have breakfast and watch Max and Ruby together. We all climbed under the blanket and sat snuggling on the couch not even thinking about any problems we might have. What a wonderful morning.

Gameday in Provo

This past weekend I made the trip to Provo to see BYU take on TCU in what I thought was going to be a great match up. In the end the game wasn't as good as I had hoped and BYU lost. Never the less the journey was exciting and I had a great time in Provo. My parents, Marc and I drove down Friday night to stay with Lyric and Scott. When we got there I received a call from a mission companion who had been camping out in the west parking lot of LES since Thursday. He said that we were going to have to be down there at 3am if we wanted to get into ESPN College Gameday. We decided that it would be in our best interest to drive to Provo from Murray that night and spend the night in the parking lot of Lavell Edwards Stadium so we could get in the gate the next morning. We prepared and made the trek to Provo for the night. We got there at midnight and found my mission companion and his tent. He said that they would start lining people up at about 4am to get wrist bands on so we could get in. We thought that the best idea was to go back and try to get some sleep in the van before that time. Marc and Scott slept in the captains chairs, I slept in the middle seat, and dad slept on an air mattress in the back of the van where we had taken out the back seat for more access. We didn't get much sleep that night with myself only getting an hour. At 3:30am we woke up and made our way back to the tent city and waited until 6am when they handed out wrist bands and put us in lines to get into Gameday. It was a blast and we were on TV a lot that morning. I think that the four of us were having a great time but for Scott and I this was a dream come true. We drove back to Murray to get some rest but instead Marc and Dad slept while Scott and I watched the broadcast of ESPN College Gameday. Because of this I only got an hour of sleep and Scott didn't sleep. We woke at 2:30pm and got ready to head back to Provo. The traffic was bad so ended up not getting parked until 4:30pm. We walked to the stadium and hung out for a little bit and decided that it would be better to go in and watch the team warm up. The game wasn't great but we all had a good time discussing the game with each other. It brought back great memories of when we use to have season tickets and when mom and dad came home with Aunt Millie and Uncle Rob, and Dad and Uncle Rob would watch the rebroadcast of the game and discuss it. I had so much fun and I have to thank Marc for making it possible. I wouldn't have been able to go if it hadn't been for Marc. So thanks Marc for making it possible and thanks mom and dad for letting me tag along. It was a once in a lifetime deal for me and I am so grateful that you all made it possible.

Thanks!

I'm Chill Like Dat.

Tonight we ended up at Wendy's on Eagle Road for dinner. We sat there having our $4.00 meal and just talking about where we are at and where we want to be. After a little while a friend from our old ward showed up. We talked to her and her family for a few minutes about what had happened and how we are now in Nampa instead of Weiser. She was sad that we had to move out of the ward but was glad that we ended up somewhere that we thought we should be. As we left I got to thinking that I am not in the place that I want my family to be right now, but I am not upset that we are in this place either. We have to do what we have to do and the lord has something for us. I realized that I am just "chill" where we are at. I am OK with everything and we can just be cool here for awhile.

An Excerpt From My Journal

It has been a tough summer and I have not felt like blogging due to all the problems. The other night I thought that this day in my journal might be best shared with the readers of my blog.

9/2/09

May 13th 2009 I lost my job at The Idaho Statesman. Since that time Becky and I have felt like we were in a car without any brakes. It took a month to find a job, then that job wasn't paying me. I took a job in Wieser Idaho and then found out it wasn't what they had told me it would be. The first job offered more money so we are back working for www.boise.biz but we have had to make sacrifices to do so. We moved to Nampa, which I hate, we are back in an apartment. The air conditioning isn't working, the phone line in the apartment hasn't been installed so no internet or land line. We have a swamp in the front yard. NO MONEY! Car needs new tires, oil change, 100,000 mile service and since yesterday a new headlight. Our registration is due and to top it off our property manager is on vacation. The thing that makes me not want to rip my hair out... I know the lord needs us here. With all this happening I still have a beautiful wife and wonderful daughter who seem to make things better. No matter how bad things get I still have a home cooked meal and Audrey running around screaming "I WUV you"! Things couldn't get much better then this, I am truly blessed and I know the lord is looking after me and my family.

Things have gotten a little better since then as well. This Sunday I will be sustained as the 1st counselor in the young men's presidency. I am really excited about this calling yet a little nervous with the responsibility. I do know that the lord is aware of me personally and I am so grateful for His love and direction in my life.

A Tornado

Over the last three months the Vipperman house hold has been very hectic. I lost my job, found a job, that job wasn't making us any money, found a new job, traveled an hour and a half one way to said job, decided that we were going to move to the location of that job. The first job came back and offered more money and we wouldn't have to move, we had already given our 30 day notice in the house we were in and it had rented. We kind of freaked out and now things have just fallen into place. We feel very blessed to be in this position and we know that the lord has something in store for us.

It looks like that we may be moving to Weiser. We don't know if this is a good thing yet or not. We have put a lot of thought and prayer into this decision and it just keeps getting closer. The Weiser Signal American is the local newspaper in Weiser and they are looking for an Advertising Sales Executive to sell ads for their paper. A couple of weeks ago Becky, Audrey and I drove up to Weiser to check things out and get introduced to the publisher. We had a nice time and met some really cool people. While we were talking to the publisher it was discovered that my Aunt and Uncle were the Grand Marshall's of the Fiddle Festival this year and that the publisher was really good friends with my cousin Cindy. It doesn't seem to matter where I go, someone always knows my family. Also while we were there the publisher asked how my writing skills were, I told her I didn't think they were very good. She said that they needed a sports writer and that I would have to take over those duties as well. I am not sure about the writing but I guess I will figure it out. The problem here is that we are unsure if we are supposed to be in Weiser. Only time will tell and I am sure that we will find out sooner rather than later.