mills lake

i don't even know where to begin... so much has happened here in Colorado. i'm about to throw up a lot of posts in the next few days, just so i feel good about myself and this blog. i don't want to skimp any seasons we go through out here in Fort Collins. they're all so magical...really. 


for starters, i finally got a job. while i was searching and searching for an architecture job, and getting no bites, i decided i needed to jump outside that box. With the help of some friends in our church, the Lord opened a door and i was able to snag a customer service job at Otterbox. for those of you who aren't familiar with Otterbox, i'll sum it up for you... based out of Fort Collins, they design cell phone covers, and they're so popular, you may have one and not even realize it. you might be thinking... customer service? but listen here folks: I LOVE MY JOB! 


Absolutely. Love. It.


working customer service at Otterbox, is right up there with working for customer service at google or pixar. the environment is impeccable. yes... "impeccable." we're not a company. we're a family.. and i can feel that everyday when i go to work. i have the pleasure of talking to wonderful people..and not so wonderful people, but it's amazing the power i have to completely transform someone's day. for example:


i spent about 20 minutes on the phone just this week, with a man named lee, who wanted to get some latches replaced on his Otterbox dry box. he was in his early 60's: a father, kayaker, and loving husband. he chatted with me as if i was his own daughter. as the conversation carried on, he shared that the otterbox he was getting new latches for, had been a christmas gift from his 30 year old daughter, who had since recently passed away from a 4 year battle with melanoma. we talked about her life, and how she loved running marathons... we talked about my love for running, and how i'll never run a marathon. he expressed he hopes to run one in honor of her one day. i even caught him choking up as he spoke of her several times. he was so thankful i replaced his case's latches..that's it. that's all i did, and he was deeply moved by the gesture. 


later that night, at home, i couldn't help but replay our conversation in my head. crying, as i shared the story with blake, i told him that i felt like i needed to do something a little special for Lee's family. while at work the next day, i contacted my boss, shared the story with him, and with that, he gave me free reign to come up with something creative to do for them, at the expense of the company. 


flower's are being delivered to lee's house tomorrow.


i don't care if i ever hear from lee again, but it's conversations with people like lee that make me absolutely love and appreciate my job. we made his day just with a latch replacement. you won't believe the reactions we get from people when we send them full case replacements. we make their day, and that makes mine. 


so that's the update on my job. now to back track a bit and share a little bit of Colorado's beauty with you. in early october, barrett came to visit us for a long weekend, so we decided to head up rocky mountain national park with cori and john, and hit the trails to Mill's Lake.

bulla, we really loved having you come visit!