January 2014

The first part of January was very brief as we spent it getting Mr. Mitchell ready to attend his fire academy boot camp in Texas. He flew out of Boise and we hardly heard a word from him due to the workload he had while at the boot camp.

Sprout and I were spoiled by my parents for two and a half weeks.Sprout loved his snuggle time with Grandpa, and I got to see more movies in two weeks than I have in the past two years combined.

Mr. Mitchell had the camera with him at the boot camp, and he wasn't able to take many, but there are some good ones. He was voted as one of two battalion captains which means he's in a red helmet. To be more specific: He is in the red helmet without the reflective patches. Hopefully that will help you spot him. 

Engine 5 getting a post-operational pat on the
back/chastisement from Instructor Hale. (He's the baldy.)

Full gear push-ups as punishment.

Class 158.

This high-rise pack weighs 50 lbs in addition
 to the 70lbs he was already wearing.

CPR on a hose baby.

Lunchtime.

Preparing for entry.

Mr. Mitchell completed the boot camp without any problems, and we just got word today that he aced his certification test, so he will get the following IFSAC seals:  Firefighter I (beginner), Firefighter II (intermediate), Hazardous Materials Awareness (beginner), and Hazardous Materials Operations (operational- meaning he can take care of small incidents and help on big ones). I'm a proud wife. Whether or not he pursues a career in structure fire is still up in the air as he currently has a good foot in with both the BLM and US Forest Service. 

Here are our Random January Treasures for the grandmas:

He LOVED being able to sit in mommy's work chair.

Excuse our dirty window, but I just love our view every night.

I took this video to show my sister that Sprout was learning how to use the present they gave him for his first birthday. He's much better at it now.

Sprout doesn't really sit and watch cartoons or movies, but he loves animation that has songs with it.

My Family

A lot of people will call my family old-fashioned, and I will tell you why:

We are going to teach our children to respect their elders; to work for what they want; to not use profanities; to abstain from alcohol, drugs, and tobacco; that sex is good and natural, but should be saved for marriage; to respect their bodies by feeding it, giving it sleep, not distorting or disfiguring it, covering it up; to respect other people's bodies; to place God and family first, and to love their neighbors as themselves. I suppose you could call it old-fashioned, but I don't. I call it vintage, classic, stable.

My family is not trendy. Trends come and go, but my family is forever.

My family is not modern. Modern works in the current setting, but my family is timeless and will endure beyond the bounds set by society today.

My family is not cutting-edge. Cutting-edge is flashy and acceptable for the time being, but my family is solid and reliable.

I believe in family. I believe in teaching children not just to be good people, but to be the best people they can be. I believe that what we will teach our children is right, and I know that a lot of the world will mock that, disrespect that, and try to teach my children contrary to what I have taught them. I pray already that I will be the best mother that I can be, and that my children will have the strength to learn and follow what is right.

My family is vintage, classic, stable. My family is forever.