Alabama Vacation!

Well we're back, and all ten of us made it home. Some of us just barely though. I love my family but am quite grateful that I don't live with them! (I'm sure they feel the same about me!) We had an amazing time and Jon and I aren't sure we want to be home. Cody and Kellie loved the beach but aren't big fans of the critters that live in the ocean. Everyone there loved my kids but I think they all really loved Jon. He found out what it was like to be part of a big crazy family, and I think he loved it.. He tried to see if someone would adopt him so he could stay. We spent seven days in Fort Morgan, Alabama and went to the beach every day. If you ask Kelz we also went to Walmart every day too. We went on a dolphin cruise, went go-kart racing, rode the gulf waves, Cody caught some fish, we got tattoos (temporary of course!) almost went parasailing (stinking rain!) and had an overall amazing trip. Pretty good for our first ever family vacation. To the nine other Carters that traveled with me (and after this trip, face it all of you have a little Carter in you!) thanks for the part each of you played in making this a memorable and wonderful trip for my family. I still love ya'll!

Dirt!

So if you've ever been to our house, or more importantly in our backyard, you have seen this huge section of dirt that lines our back fence. We don't know why it was there. Or what any of the previous owners were thinking but it was a whole lot of dirt! And now..(drum roll please..) It's gone!!
Now we (and by we I mean Jon) just have to fix the sprinklers and make it ready for sod or something like that and it will be pretty! No more will I have to listen to complaints of the weeds overtaking the yard, or the little dog smelling awful from rolling around in them.. Our yard will be one step closer to looking like ours! Woohoo!!

Finally!

I think summer might actually be on the way. Kids couldn't wait to get back in the pool, but they never can. Kelz starts asking for the pool to be open sometime in March. This day might be the only one where these two actually get along... But aren't they so cute?? Two more weeks and they'll be swimming in the ocean with real creatures!! Can't wait!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Kellie Jo,
Today my baby girl turns nine years old. I can't believe how fast you've grown. It seems like just yesterday that they handed me to you in the hospital, and you've had my heart ever since. I am so proud of how smart you are (everyone says you're just like me), I am in awe of some of the things you say and know at such a young age. You love your family, no questions asked. Even that brother of yours, no matter how much you two fight, you always have his back. I hope you two stay close as you get older. You mother him almost as much as I do.
Kell, I always wanted a little girl just like you. Someone to dress up in beautiful clothes and do her hair and paint her nails. Someone I can talk to, and shop with, and read with, and just BE with. You are my daughter as well as my friend. I love that you still want to lay in my bed and talk with me and be read to. I am happy that you want to stay my little girl forever and not grow up too fast.
Your baptism meant so much to me and I wanted everything to be perfect for you. Never have I seen your family (both of them) come together like that to celebrate one very special little girl, but you do have that affect on people. I hope you remember that day always.
You are your Daddy's girl in every sense of the word. You have him wrapped around that little finger of yours. He would give you the stars if he could.
You can turn us all in to mush with just one tear, and make our day with one small smile. I know I tell you often, but you are the most beautiful girl in the world, and I'm so proud that you are mine.
Happy Birthday Kellie Jo!

Oatmeal, Alabama.. Here We Come..

We are going on vacation! This is the beach house we will be staying in for 7 days. I can't explain why I am so excited about it, since I didn't really love going as a kid but I can't even wait!

There are 10 of us flying from Salt Lake to Louisiana and then driving into Alabama from there. My cousin is getting married on 06/07/08 (kinda funny) and then off to the beach we go. The beach is in Fort Morgan, Alabama and the house is right on the Gulf.

Why Alabama? Well my Dad was born and raised there. (That explains a lot!) And most of his family still lives there. I haven't been there since I was 16, and Jon and the kids never have. My Dad is from Mobile, Alabama, but we have called it Oatmeal, Alabama for as long as I can remember. I have a sister that couln't say Mobile when she was younger so Oatmeal kinda stuck.

I can't wait for my family to experience all the great things Alabama has to offer... Mosquitos, cockroaches, hurricanes and HUMIDITY! All the things that agree with me so well. I am so cute when I am there, let me tell ya! And Jo is just like me so we should be quite the pair. I have to admit there are good things about it too.. The beach houses are beautiful and the sand and water are too, I just don't love to get in them.. Give me a book and leave me in the house and we are good to go.

Sounds like the boys will be chartering a boat to take out into the Gulf to fish.. (I sure hope they bring Jon back with them.) Us girls will be on the beach working on our tans! I'm a little worried about leaving my little dog behind but I've been assured he will be well taken care of and I'm afraid if I brought him he might get eaten by one of those big nasty cockroaches I was telling you about. (I'm not kidding, they're huge!)

All in all it should be a good time. No telling how many of the 10 of us will still be speaking to each other by the time we get back but hopefully we all make it back. (Even Jon.) Plus we aren't leaving until June so I still have time to change my mind!!

For more pics of this beach house and a property tour link to http://www.meyerre.com/rentals/propertiesbytype.aspx and it's called the USA. Maybe next year you can come with us!

The Baptism!

Kellie was baptized by her dad on Saturday March 28th. She was baptized with 2 of her friends Brookelyn and Lexi, making the day even more special. Never has there been 3 such beautiful girls. All in their white dresses they were a sight to behold. Jon was a little disappointed he had to do it twice. (I told him to make sure he stood on her toes!) But we figure it's once less than Cody and it must mean she's just extra clean! With all the work I put into this day, I'm a little afraid of what kind of expectations the girl is gonna have of me when she gets married. Good thing I only have one daughter! One very spoiled daughter! As proud as I was to have Jon baptize her, it meant just as much to us to have Brent confirm her. If you were there you know exactly what I'm talking about, if not all I can say is there wasn't a dry eye in the place! (Especially my Mom!) Brent said all the things that we needed/wanted to hear and made it so much more special than I ever thought it could be.
The party afterwards is what I stressed over the most and it turned out to be great, the chocolate fountain was a big hit! I think we could have just had that and the kids would have been happy! All in all, what a memorable day! Thank you to everyone!

911

A Dispatcher's Prayer

Dear Lord, help me keep safe those who depend on me. Give me healthy ears, for they are my link with those who need me. Keep my mind sharp and alert, my fingers quick and nimble. Grant that I never forget how to do ten things at once, and do them all equally well.
Bless me with patience Lord. Patience to deal with the public, with the officers, with the boss, and with everyone else who makes me want to grit my teeth and yell.
Give me nerves of steel, that I may listen to a mother screaming for her child to live, the man with a gun, or an officer yelling for backup, and not give way to panic.
Grant me empathy, that I may help the battered wife, the rape victim, the abused child, and not cause them more pain than they already have.
God, give me the ability to learn what I need, to remember it quickly, and give me the wisdom to use the knowledge properly.
Bless my family Lord, for they will have to make sacrifices to shift work, overtime, canceled plans, and times when I just can't take on one more thing. Help them understand the missed ball games, school programs, and dinners for two.
Lord, give me courage. Courage to persevere when I feel undervalued, unappreciated, overworked, and unrecognized. Courage to keep trying when I feel in my heart it's hopeless.
Last of all Lord, help me to never forget why I chose to do this job in the first place, to never lose sight of what is important in the midst of the stress. Help me to remember that I make a difference, however small it may seem some days, and that I matter.

Author Unknown

My official job title? Public Safety Dispatcher for Salt Lake City Police Department. Also known as a 911 operator. What do I actually do there? You might be surprised. I work the graveyard shift which in the fair city of Salt Lake you might think would get pretty boring, and it does.. most nights. We play games, cards, watch internet television, surf the web and get on each others nerves all night long, when it's quiet. It's the usual parties, traffic accidents, barking dogs, and domestics. Some nights it's shootings, stabbings, gang fights and robberies.

I've found that most people who call 911 don't have an actual emergency, but we have to help them all the same. I am trained to do it all, including CPR and medical instruction. I personally won't walk you through chest compressions, or delivering a baby, (In my city that's the Fire Department's job). But I am trained to do it if I ever need to.

I've had my share of stupid calls, and quite a few that stopped my heart. In the past 7 years I've worked through the 2002 Olympics, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, the murder of Lori Hacking and Destiny Norton and the Trolley Square Massacre. While I may not have been on duty for each of these, they did happen in my agency and tend to affect us all the same. I love my job and hate my job, and sometimes forget how important my job is until I hear things like this:
http://real.ksl.com/video/slc/1/171/17150.mp3

This is what I live for!