The Newest Family Member

We are happy to introduce our newest family member........................Piper! We adopted Piper from the pound, and are not quite sure what breed she is, but she is really cute.

Princess Kate

Grandma and Grandpa Dotts sent Kate a few princess dress up outfits for Christmas. And I think she has worn at least one every day since. Sometimes even two at a time :) Hopefully she doesn't wear them out too quickly!

Fun Pics

A New Year

Okay, okay, so I am going to try and be better about updating this blog this year. I'm sure I have said that before, but I really am. I have decided I need to "get it together" this year and be more on top of things. I am starting with organizing all of our pictures and making digital scrapbooks, which I am pretty excited about. So I will post one as soon as I am done with it. As for 2009, it was pretty much a blur. But here is a very short summary of our 2009:

--Nate got a job offer as a Police Officer for the City Of Roswell, New Mexico

--Jan '09 Nate started a 5 1/2 month Police Academy in Hobbs, New Mexico

--April '09 we put our house in Colorado Springs on the market (it never sold, so now we are

landlords---scary!)

--June '09 Nate graduated the Police Academy (at the top of the class I may add)

--June '09 we bought a house in Roswell and Kate and I moved down to finally be with Nate after a long 5 1/2 months

--Oct '09 Kate turned the Big 2

--Nov '09 Nate got shot at for the first time! Thankfully gangsters don't know how to shoot very

well and missed. But sure gave us a reality check.

And that's about it! Now you are caught up. Now onto 2010 which will prayerfully be uneventful, yet have some fun mixed in there.

I'm a Police Officer's Wife

So I am officially the wife of a police officer. That being said, there really isn't anything that exciting to blog about. Things in our life are different, that is for sure. But not different in an exciting way. So I thought about ending our blog, because I actually don't even know if anyone reads it. But then I thought, it might be good for me to keep writing about our lives now that it's taken a huge turn in a new direction, even if I am the only one that reads it.
I am sitting here wishing Nate didn't get called into work 3 hours early. I feel cheated out of my time with him. This is definitely going to get some getting use to. Start work at 4 pm, get home at 4 am (suppose to be 2 am) sleep until 11, wake up, eat and go back to sleep for a few hours before he starts all over again. And here I am again alone with Kate, trying to figure out how to entertain an almost 2 year old.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am more than excited for him and his new career. I have know for a long time this is what he wanted to do and what he felt God was calling him to do, and how hard he has tried to get his foot in the door. And I have and will continue to support him through it all. I am super proud of him and am blessed to call him my husband. But after 5 1/2 months of him being in the academy and now we are back together, I just want every minute I can get with him! I am selfish :-)

So begins the next phase of learning for me.......I am definitely a work in progress. I am continually learning to rely on the Lord for everything (much easier said than done) and to trust that the Lord is with Nate every moment he is working. That He has a perfect plan for our lives, and He wants to be our strength and our joy. That my joy and my peace can not depend or rely on my husband or my daughter. We never know what is going to happen day to day or moment to moment, but we do know that God never changes. So when Nate works 4 hours later than he was suppose to or Kate is throwing a tantrum every 5 minutes because she isn't getting what she wants, I need to stand back, take a deep breath and remember to take one day at a time. God will get me through each moment, if I let Him.

Roswell, New Mexico

So we are officially New Mexican's. Nate graduated last Thursday from the Academy at the top of the class! So for all of the departments that turned him down, they really missed out. We moved into our house on Sunday the 14th, and Nate started his field training Saturday nights. Yep, he got the midnight shift! It's going to take some time to get use to for all of us. He leaves for work when I am getting ready for bed, weird. And he goes to bed when Kate and I are just getting the day started.
If you are ever traveling through New Mexico, or want to see some UFO's (ha!ha!) give us a call!

Beach Day

Kate and I got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Dotts in CA. Kate has been to the beach before, but this is the first time since she has been walking. She was not too sure about the sand when we first got there. She did not want any part of her body touching it. Finally I got her to touch it and then she was up for walking, but definitely was not about to take her shoes off. Soon she was sitting in the sand and playing and having a blast. And I finally got her to take her shoes off and even got her feet wet. She may have been born in CO, but she has definitely got some CA blood in her :-)