And The Winner Is....

PAUL!!!!

I am so incredibly proud of Paul, he is such a hard worker! He has worked at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for about 8 years. He started as an apprentice, has worked in San Diego, New Hampshire, and Japan, and has worked his way up the ladder to becoming Supervisor of Shop 67 Nuclear Electronics for about 2 years now. He has put in a lot of time and energy into his job, and he loves it. We were so excited for him when we heard a few weeks back that his supervisor nominated him as "Supervisor of the Year". They held the ceremony on April 10th, and since he was a nominee he got to invite/bring his family. I (and the kids) felt so blessed to be there but Paul really didn't think he had a chance since he was up against 16 other shop supervisors and he had much less experience than any of them. He had no reason to think that though! For he won!

(click on the arrow to watch the video)

God has truly blessed him for his hard work and dedication. We can see the Lord working in our life and rewarding Paul for supporting his family and humbling himself. We just finished going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University through our friends, the Mills' church. We got out of debt, started a strict budget, sold our nicer vehicle and downgraded to a cheap minivan, sold our travel trailer, and started saving money as fast as possible. We haven't been ashamed to talk about it or give it up as we know that the more we build wealth the more we have to give away! Paul received a very generous amount from the shipyard for his award and we are so thankful to PSNS, and to his boss Jim, and to Jesus! We would never have the security we are so grateful for without any of them.

The conference center was so full, more than 600 people/workers attended the ceremony. Paul got to shake the hand of the Captain of the whole Shipyard who also handed him his award while they read a short excerpt from the nomination write-up on him.

Marissa was so sweet and mature about it. When Paul walked up with the other nominee's she said "I am so proud of daddy, if he wins I'm going to start crying!" And she did while she clapped as hard as she could, smiling nonstop! It was the sweetest thing. And she gave him the biggest hug ever. With both the kids hanging onto him, arms wrapped around his neck, while his boss and coworkers shook his hand congratulating him, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with respect for Paul. He is an amazing husband, father, and man of God.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at the Bremerton Waterfront Park.

Then moved on to bowling with our friends the Mills who were so proud of Paul as well! They are such supportive friends and we are grateful to call them our brothers and sisters in Christ! I wish every couple had friends like them. They are always encouraging, praying for us, lifting us up when we need it, and celebrating with us!

(Kyle bowling)

Next we took our kids out for ice cream!

It was a wonderful day of celebrating Paul! I love you honey and we are so proud of you! Thank you for all you do for us! I thank you for the wonderful 14 years you have given me and so many more to look forward to!