Keeping in touch

Greetings family and friends!

After a long hiatis from the internet world I have returned! My family for the most part communicates via email, instant messanging, and blogging. Is it the modern age or what! I will definately date myself when I say that I can remember a time when you had to actually use a rotary phone to keep in touch with your neighbors and family! When I was growing up we only had four channels. One was PBS. If the presidential debate was on your night was shot. Oh well...enough ranting for now.

I work in a prison in Eastern Washington State. Now most people don't grow up thinking that they would like to go to prison or even work in a prison. Personally, I love it! It started out as a " in between" job for me. Meaning that I went to work there to try and figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Eight years, three kids, and one divorce into it I now have a career! The perks are that it is a stable job. I know there are always going to be criminals, and there are always going to be people who just can live a normal life. I know that I am not going anywhere! I started out as a correctional officer. I then decided to give counseling a try. I like counseling. Especially when a guy who has made some bad choices in his life decides that he has had enough. He starts making changes to better himself, and suddenly he gets it! Right now I am working as a recruiter for our new expansion! We are expanding from a 600 bed minimum facility to a 2,200 bed medium facility! When it is all said an done we will be the biggest correctional facility in the state! Check out a few of the pictures!

Passions

My first passion is my wife and family! My wife is a truly my soul. If you've every met her you would swear that she could change your life. She has that effect on people. She has a thread bear gypsy soul. I have four children...Elsie, Gavin, Darby, and Kylee. The three oldest live in Georgia with my first wife who has found herself in the Muslim religion. I write the as much as I can, but have not been able to see them for the past five years. I know it's sad. IT bums me out too. but they are my passion. I think about them everyday.

My youngest, Kylee, truly has her mothers heart! She is two and has become rather independant over the last couple of months. She loves her fiddle, and perfoming at the KC hall. Everytime I look at her I am reminded of the person that I need to be. I have the wonderful oppurtunity to watch her and her cousin (how is also two!) on Fridays. They keep me running! We are in the middle of potty training. One day I was cleaning the kitchen and heard the sound of my daughters little feet pounding acrossed the kitchen floor. I watched as her and her cousin we on their way to the next event that has captured their little minds for the moment. They took a turn into the bathroom. I didn't hear any water running so I figured I had better go check things out. When I got tot he bathroom. Kylee was on the potty. Her cousin Ashlee had the biggest wad of toilet paper I had ever seen. When I asked what they were doing Kylee looked at me and said "Potty Daddy!" Potty Daddy has become a Friday theme. It reminds me to stop and take time for the little things in my life. When I am having a stressful day at the office my mind repeats "potty daddy". I am able to stop and refocus.

One of my other passions is old time fiddling! My introduction to old time fiddle was from a dear old neighbor back in Royal Camp. I can remember several occasions where John and Ellen Kuske would entertain our ward with their fiddle tunes. Sad to report I did not get into old time fiddling until I was in my thirties. I had taught myself how to play guitar, and considered myself an amature. Now I have learned to play back-up guitar for fiddlers and occasionally sing. That's right baby! Who knew Joe could sing! I also taught myself how to play the mandolin, and the fiddle. I still consider myself an amature, and give my wife (who is also a fiddler) all the credit. She is the talent in the family! I'm just the background player. Growing up I can remember always wanting a guitar, I remember asking my dad if I could have one. Being the wise man that he is he never bought me one. At the time I probably would have never learned how to play it and like many boyhood things it would be sitting in the actic collecting dust. But, one of my prized possessions in the world is a six string banjo that my parents bought me for my birthday! I am learning how to play it and hope to have a good banjo tune ready for our family reunion at Ensign this year. I am currently in the process of starting a small fiddle contest this year. It has turned out to be a lot of work. But I think that it is going to be fun and rewarding. I could go on and on...But the story of my life has yet to be written. Stay tuned...

Love, Joe