A Very Merry Christmas To YOU!

I am embarrassed. The SECOND year in a ROW I have not sent a Christmas card. It has been a crazy year... I WANT to do a family Christmas picture, but to be honest, I see my husband for about 15 minutes a day, and I have about 10 minutes to clear up things I need to clear up and then, it is over. I would love to do a picture, and write all of the things we have done.

I don't have the picture.

But I can write. THAT I can do. . .

THE YEAR IN SUMMARY 

WYNIA FAMILY 2011

The Wynia family had a crazy year. No really, we did. It started off with being newly laid off, and having to make big, gut wrenching decisions about our lives, and our future. Good times, good times. That lasted until April, with Peter traveling to locations, crunching numbers, praying, and trying to figure out exactly WHERE we were going to start on our new Papa Murphy's business venture. (At least we had THAT figured out) We contemplated no less than 5 or 6 places, and finally came down to the Inland Empire in Southern California. For those of you who don't know, that is the little strip of land that travels south from Riverside straight to San Diego on the I-15, and is directly behind those beautiful mountains that are just before the ocean. There is no DIRECT route to the ocean, but we find ourselves making our way there frequently anyway. 

We spent the spring months signing our life away, doing training and getting ready for the big plunge. Peter and I even went to a week long training at the Papa Murphy's headquarters to get ready for this big adventure. 

Kids at Nanna and Papa's house at the Lake during our trip to the corporate office. 

We moved in July. We had the help of a moving co., but of course, I packed every living last thing we owned (besides Peter's office) and I will forever be grateful for the sweet people who showed mercy on me and helped me pack up my house for the 11th time in 11 years. (I am including our first move in together and a few moves from apartments and in-laws while we were building houses, but still, a move is a move.)

Abigail at our house before we "closed" on it!

We are confident we will not have to move again for a VERY long time. We found a great house in Murrieta, just about 3 miles (6 minutes exactly) from our new store, which I am VERY grateful for, because Peter is there about 14 hours a day, and sometimes even more than that.  We love our house, neighbors, schools and ward and feel amazingly blessed to have been given so much after a few years of very difficult struggles. I have truly learned that Heavenly Father has COMPLETE control over our lives, and many of the things that happen to us are purely for our benefit. Even the trials. I am not sure I could say I was grateful for those trials at the TIME, but I am most certainly grateful for them now. They taught be so many things about our relationship with Heavenly Father, how he teaches us, all of us. I am grateful to be through the trials, but still the same, grateful that Heavenly Father thought I was strong enough to endure them. 

Peter and I doing who knows what...

Our Store Front. Yes, REALLY! 

Peter working at what is lovingly known as the "sheeter"

We opened our new store on November 3rd, after a few crazy days of delays and difficulty with the county fire department. All is forgiven now that we are open, and things are going well! We have been met with incredible excitement and we have no fewer than 5 pizza stores in our parking lot. However, we feel like we have a great location, and have received great feedback on our product which is brand new to the area. That is right. There has never been a Papa Murphy's pizza here! (Hard to believe for some of you, I am sure.) 

Peter "sheeting" dough. Yes, he is not required to wear gloves doing this, and yes, his hands are clean...

Peter is still working LONG hours, and I find myself "working" at the store as well. However, my main title is "marketing freakshow" and of course, I love it. I manage our store's facebook page, as well as School Fundraisers, and any other marketing activities that we might need. Peter runs day to day operations, however, I find myself doing a little bit of that as well. I am sure that is a common occurrence when you own your own business. I even go to work and run the cash register and answer the phones when I am needed, and I work WAY more than I thought I would, but I kind like that too because I get a glimpse into what Peter does all day long and I get to educate our customers about what Papa Murphy's is, and why they are going to love it. (You can like our Facebook page to see what I do at facebook.com/papamurphysmurrieta)

Our Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting by the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce. 

Introducing, Mini Murph

Our kids. Oh yeah, we still have them. Abigail is in 5th grade. She is doing VERY well with her grades (after a rough transition to a very intense school) and is finally starting to enjoy the So. Cal. life. She LIVES for boogie boarding, and is definitely going to be a beach babe. We just got a new puppy for her for Christmas. (I know, I can't believe it either) But the family dog was long over due, and I just decided I needed to take the plunge NOW.

I know she is STANDING on her boogie board, but still..

Jaxon being Jaxon.

Jaxon is Jaxon. Really, what can I say about that kid. He is funny, and I wish I could record everything he says. He is getting used to his new school, and I am still working on deciding if we are going to keep him there. It is challenging to come from a school that had an amazing autism program to one that.... doesn't. But we are working on it. 

Waders.

Wade is in his second year of preschool and is going every day. (I had to do SOMETHING to keep him busy! He turns 5 in a few months, and will go to Kindergarten next year) I am sure he will do great, and we are working on reading right now. He is a complete video(game) head, and I hope Peter will teach him programming in a few years so we can capitalize on that obsession....

Kaylie is a wild, stubborn, hard headed two year old. When she is good, she is VERY VERY good, and when she is bad, she is HORRID! I had a babysitter call me in tears the other night because Kaylie was throwing a big tantrum. Really, the first of all my kids who has done it with any real intense vigor. She really knows how to throw it down though. HOWEVER, on the other side, she can be just super sweet and loving. She will go far in life, as long as we can learn to channel all that energy and intensity!

Overall, it has been an amazing year. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and are finding blessings around every corner. We know without a shade of doubt this is where were are supposed to be, and that is a wonderful feeling after years of uncertainty. We know the blessings of the Lord are upon us, and any who choose to put their faith in Him.  We wish you a wonderful 2012, and hope we will be able to put together a family photo NEXT YEAR! Until then, enjoy this one...

Enjoying the beachy life.

What is Love Anyway?

Yesterday I was doing my weekly sales calls for Papa Murphy's (I am such a great employee!) Anyway, I walked into the store two doors down and was met with a few hard faces.. You know the kind that I mean, faces that have kind of "been through life". Maybe a little bit of "hard living".


I introduced myself as the co-owner of Papa Murphy's with my husband and explained the purpose of my visit. She immediately scoffed and said, "And you haven't killed each other yet?" Her comment didn't surprise me. Working with a spouse is definitely a tricky balance. You always need to have some level of respect for each other in a work environment. I can't usurp his power, change the rules, make my own rules, or do a myriad of other things that I may be tempted to do.

I just try to keep my nose clean while I am there, and try to make BOTH of our lives easier, by trying to make HIS life easier.

There is a LOT of stress around owning your own business. There are ups and downs, ebs and flows... and it is difficult sometimes to not let the stress come between you. I am NOT saying it doesn't, but it is important to try to not let it.

I read this quote today, and I don't think that I have ever read anything I believe more.

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

Louis De Bernieres

I get frustrated with societies view of marriage. I hope that our example will be one that our kids will look to with pride, and desire to achieve. I hope they will see us as equal partners who both made every attempt to make it work, even through challenging times. I hope they will take our example, and have success of their own. And I hope they will never look to society for thoughts on marriage because it takes far more effort, desire, and understanding to adhere to the idea above...

The Dog Blog

We got a dog.

Abby wanted a bunny for Christmas.

It was all she wanted.

That was it.

I looked into it.

Supposedly, they are as much work as a dog.

So, we got a dog. (It's been a long time coming)

I wanted an adult dog.

But I was afraid of the baggage it might have.

Let's face it. ALL adults have baggage.

I changed my mind from wanting a full grown, full sized adult dog, to wanting a crate-able small dog that we could train from puppy-dom.

I'm nuts.

I regretted it instantly this morning when Abby woke me up at 6:30.

She got the talking to of a LIFETIME.

I doubt she will ever forget it.

Oh the lessons we learn.

We do NOT repay our mother for granting us the dream of our life by waking her up at 6:30.

So far, Mini Murph, is a mellow, sweet, loveable and stinky dog.

EVERYONE likes her,

except for the cat.

Who is going to have to get used to sharing.

Enjoy the pix.

Thanksgiving and more.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. Although having your own business is very rewarding, and hopefully will create a fantastic autonomy for our family some day, right now, it is completely overwhelming and draining, not to mention a complete time suck. My husband has taken ONE day off in three weeks, and guess what, it was on Thanksgiving!

I wanted to make sure my kids were able to enjoy "the thanksgiving experience" eventhough we had no house guests, and didn't travel anywhere.

They seemed to enjoy the pomp and ceremony of it all, and didn't seem to mind that they were on their own all day. However, I missed the extra family, and the entertainment that friends or cousins bring. What can I say, I am a people person, and I got my degree in throwing a party, so, it was a smidge to quiet for me.

I love this happy face.

The bird was a masterpiece, and I LOVED pretending there were going to be tons of happy eaters. But yet, there were just 6.

This is what my kitchen looked like after the dinner was made. I AM sure it was worth it in eating the dinner. I am NOT sure it was worth it in the clean up. That is admittedly the best part of having Thanksgiving guests, they usually clean up the aftermath.

I have posted on this blog the complete gratitude that I have felt for the blessings we have been given. We have been given so many.

A beautiful house to live in,

a great business, that we love and are so excited about,

our beautiful kids, who, are healthy and happy,

two sets grandparents who are happy and healthy as well,

a wonderful new state to live in,

a wonderful new ward,

a wonderful husband who has put in about 8 and 1/2 weeks of work into three weeks (yes, I am talking about 16 hour days)

Our blessings are simple, but astounding, and although I don't wish the trials we went through on anyone, I am grateful for them for teaching us to appreciate the simple blessings, of employment, a home to call our own, direction in our future, and true happiness in all of it.

We are blessed.