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Go Wolverines! -or- Spanish Fark Here We Come!

After over ten months of looking for work, Wade has accepted a position at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He is the Director of Advisor Training and Development and is excited to be at UVU (Go Wolverines!).

Along with this new development, we have decided to move to (gasp!) Utah County to make the commute more manageable. As of yesterday, we have committed to build a home in Spanish Fork (Fark?). We feel that we are getting a pretty good value and look forward to moving in sometime before June 30th. You can see some pictures of what the house will look like here: http://oliver-family.info/house/.

We have learned a lot over the last many months but maybe the most important lesson is that God is mindful of us always. Though it has been a test and a significant challenge, we can see the hand of God in our lives throughout and are very grateful for those he has used to bless us so richly.

The Adventure Continues...

Well, it looks like our time in Virgina may be coming to a close. It has certainly been quite an adventure and we don't regret a minute of it. In May, Wade was informed that due to deep budget cuts and restructuring, he no longer had a job. This was very trying and abrupt news but we are doing our best to go forward with faith and "Find Joy in the Journey."

We are planning to return to Utah to visit for a few weeks at the first of July while Wade continues to look for work. We have had a wonderful experience on our adventure and look forward to what comes next!

Picnic in February!

Yesterday we were treated with beautiful, spring-like weather which compelled our family outside. The children played on the swings and trampoline while Jenny and I worked in the yard. At lunch time, Kate had one of her big ideas which was to have a family picnic on the deck. It all seemed like a wonderful idea so that is what we did. We sat together and talked while we ate grapes and chicken salad sandwiches. It wasn't until the picnic was all set up that we remembered that it was February 7th! Where we come from, it is still the dead of winter so it took some doing to reconcile things in our minds. Now there will be some more cold days but the forecast for the next fortnight calls for daily temperatures in the 50s and 60s...a far cry from the 20s and 30s we left behind.

~Wade

2008 In Review

Wade: Had his job description doubled at CNU to oversee two offices and won a trophy for his prized crested ringneck dove at the National Young Bird Show that wasn't even entered in the contest. And they banned him from showing for a year as a result!

Jenny: Tutors pesky high school students at Denbigh High School on her free afternoons and tries to keep up on the mountain of laundry (just not happening).

Abby: Takes care of a puffer fish named Bob at her new Marine Biology middle school and tries to pretend that she doesn't know us.

Sam: Rode Griffon roller coaster for the first time at Busch Gardens this fall, 90 degrees straight down!

Kate: Placed into a talented and gifted program at another school though no one bothered to tell us until the day school started!

Maddie: Managed to break, dislocate and lacerate all four fingers on her left hand. Thanks for all of your prayers.

~Jenny

Red Makes You Look Fat

The weather here on the East coast of Virginia is absolutely incredible right now and will be for several weeks. Highs in the mid 70's and lows in the 60's. It is sunny most days and the leaves are just barely starting to think about changing colors. The weather is like this every Spring and Fall and really is amazing. There are about two months of nasty heat in the Summer and two months of cold every Winter but the bulk of the time is very comfortable. We have really grown to love this area for the weather as well as the beauty and the history not to mention the valuable lessons we have learned.

Then, every once in a while, our exciting adventure in Virginia is interrupted with an experience that make us miss Utah a little bit. We had one of those last weekend. It was about 8:00 in the evening and I was looking on the internet to see if I could find a way to listen to the football game between Utah State University and the University of Utah, when we received a text message from Jenny's sister, Ashley, who is a new freshman at the University of Utah.

Ashley was texting us to tell us that she was actually at the football game which was being hosted by Utah State in Logan, UT. Though I graduated from the University of Utah and proudly wore their crimson red, I later spent six years working at Utah State University where our family became Aggies through and through. Even now, nearly two years later, our closets are filled with dark Aggie blue.

I replied to the text message by asking , "Are you wearing blue?"

Ashley's response struck me as a challenge when she said, "No! RED!"

Now, I didn't want to back down from a challenge and after having been working with college students for so may years, I knew just how to win this little exchange with a new freshman college girl. I texted back, "You look better in blue. Red makes you look fat."

I figured my message had the affect I was looking for because I didn't get an immediate response. I pictured Ashley and all of her friends dropping their jaws in mock disgust and working together to come up with a fitting reply. Then, after a few minutes, Ashley finally responded simply by saying, "Thanks Wade."

I felt terrible and guilty for allowing my competitive nature to get the best of me and I quickly texted that I was joking and that I hope she had a great time. And then any guilt I felt was washed away with a text from Ashley several hours later which rightfully gloated that the University of Utah won the game with a score of 58-10. In the end, Ashley had the last laugh, and I was glad she did.

~Wade

Passing Time in Pittsburgh

I was startled today by a life-sized and somewhat lifelike statue of Franco Harris, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, while wandering around the Pittsburgh airport. There he is right next to a similar statue of a young George Washington who apparently fired the first shots in the French - Indian war in this area. There was a plaque between them which compared them to each other in a way that I really didn't understand.

I have been wandering the airport because my flight was canceled thus putting me several hours behind where I thought I would/should be. Instead of getting home at 8:00 p.m., it won't be until after midnight. I have been here since 11:30 a.m. (it is now 4:15 p.m.) and am really tired of it. To make things worse, I will be in Atlanta for another 4 hours after this flight and comparatively speaking, the Atlanta airport is pretty much a dive.

I have been at a National Academic Advising Association conference for the past couple of days here in Pittsburgh. It is a nice area. I really miss Jenny and the kids as I always do when I travel but we just couldn't afford them to come too. I was just reading on Newsweek.com that airfares are likely going to just keep increasing. That will make it hard for folks like us to be able to fly much at all.

I think my favorite part of the trip was my trip to the National Aviary (click here for pictures). I even got the chance to go on a "behind the scenes" tour and pet a penguin. Very cool.

~Wade

The First of Many Dozen

Today is our twelfth wedding anniversary. We spent it by traveling to Washington DC so we could serve in the temple. For the last many years we have made it a tradition to do sealings at the temple on our anniversary. During the several hours of driving (3+ each way) we had a great time remembering our wedding day and found it touching that by chance we ended up in the sealing room at approximately the same time we were there originally a dozen years ago.

Over the last several days we have been talking a lot about our lives together and constantly marvel at where our lives have taken us. We could never have guessed all that we would experience and learn. We have been greatly blessed in our lives and see how God has led and guided us over the years.

How grateful I am to be sealed to Jenny for eternity.

~Wade

Mad Dog and the Invisible Kitties

Several years ago after Madeline was born I was holding her and trying to make her laugh. Like with all of the other children I began to make up silly names for her like "Madness" and "Mad Dog," the latter of which has stuck for some reason. She even answers to it.

A few nights ago Jenny was gone to a Relief Society meeting and I was home with the kids. The older three made themselves busy with whatever interested them at the time but without Mommy here, the youngest, Maddie (aka Mad Dog) sought me out and decided pass the time with me until Jenny returned.

Now, it was clear to me from almost the beginning that the only reason she was with me was because her Mommy wasn't there. I was laying on my bed reading and Maddie barged into the room and asked me "Where is Mommy?" I told her and then she asked "When will Mommy be home?" I told her and then she sighed and climbed up onto the bed and laid down next to me.

I kind of gave her a squeeze and continued to read. Then she asked, "Daddy...do you want some kitties?" I said, "What?" She then said that she had a "bunch of little kitties that are SOOO cute." She was holding her arms in a way that she might if she were holding many little kitties. I told her that I would love some kitties and she then proceeded to hand me invisible kitty after invisible kitty. I pretended to take them from her and put them beside me on the bed and she asked "Aren't they SOOO cute Daddy?" I agreed that they were and thanked her and gave her another squeeze before going back to my reading. After several seconds she then said, "Daddy, you are cute too." Awwww Shucks...

For the rest of the evening, Maddie walked through the house giving away invisible kitties to whomever would take them. I began to picture in mind what our house might look like if her kitties were real and was very grateful they weren't any more than a 3 year-old's way of sharing affection with her family.

~Wade

The Passing of a Prophet

Along with so many we mourn the loss of President Gordon B. Hinckley. I was asked yesterday by a colleague here at Christopher Newport University if I was going to be going back to Utah for the funeral. I told her that I wasn't but that President Hinckley would be missed. I thought it interesting that she felt that I would travel back to Utah.

The day after President Hinckley died, the leader of the Greek Orthodox church also died. I have a colleague of that faith and mentioned to her that we had something in common and that I was sorry to hear of her leader's passing. She thanked me for my concern but immediately sensed that perhaps the passing of my leader would be especially meaningful to me.

Each of these people obviously has an idea that the President of our Church means a great deal to the members. Undoubtedly because of the way the media makes it clear that we consider him a prophet. Well, they are right. I must admit that the thought crossed my mind to attend the funeral. I felt close to President Hinckley even though I didn't personally know him. But, the reality is that the gathering of the Saints is to the Stakes of Zion wherever they may be. We will participate here in this Stake through the broadcast options.

President Hinckley has been called the "Prophet of the People" and how true that seems to be. It is so easy to feel as though one knows him personally without ever meeting him.

~Wade