Playing Catch Up

This post won't contain the pictures of our new place. I (Nicole) decided that I wanted to tidy up and make it look decent before I go showing the world. :) A lot of things have changed since my last time blogging (which was in the summer of 2010!). Let's start off with a few opportunities that came up for me. Around the end of November or beginning of December, a friend of mine informed me that Pearle Vision was looking for an Optician and a Receptionist when they moved to their new location in Rapid City. She said she was going to apply, but suggested that I go for one of the positions as well. I assumed that in order to be an Optician, you had to be licensed and go through a substantial period of training before you would be classified as an Optician. I applied for the job anyway, hoping that this would be my ticket out of working at Starbucks. Right before Craig and I left for Florida toward Christmas time, I received a phone call that they wanted to interview me. I went in, and they basically told me I had the job right then and there! I was to start January 3rd right after we returned from our Christmas vacation.
I have been working there over a month now and I absolutely love my job! I adore the people I work with and actually feel respected and valued as an employee. This is a HUGE difference from what I was experiencing at Starbucks. I am planning on continuing being an optician and once I feel comfortable in my knowledge, I want to go to Minnesota and take the Licensed Optician test. Some states require that you be certified in order to work at their establishment. South Dakota is not one of them. However, I do want to be able to continue doing what I am doing if/when we move again.
Now, a little about Craig. Craig more than likely would not post anything positive about himself, nor would he brag on himself at all. That is why I am going to write this post instead. He deserves recognition because he is amazing at his job and everyone around him knows it. In December, Craig received a tremendous honor! He was chosen as the 28th Squadron Maintenance Professional of the Month! No one from the 28th MXS squadron has received this award for a long time!



All of his Supervisors, First Shirts, and Flight Chiefs all voted that he receive this award! He won't admit it, but this proves that he is great at his job and all of his superiors feel that he is reliable and responsible. I just know that he is going to do awesome things. :)
Craig has also been shooting around ideas about going to OTS (Officer Training School). This would require him to achieve a Bachelor's degree and attend a technical school for 15 weeks. Once he does that, he is also thinking about trying to get into Pilot training. Nothing is set in stone, but I know he could achieve anything if he wanted to. After a serious amount of prayer, Craig did decide that he wants to make a career out of the military, but he knows he doesn't want to stay in the Avionics career field. So please continue praying for him and that God will show him the path He wants Craig to go on.

I promise the next post will have more pictures!!