Let's Talk about Will...

For those of you who don't already know, my husband Will is not really one to talk about himself very much. Yes, he'll write the occassional blog about how messy our house is and how boring our weekend was LOL. But when it comes to writing stuff about himself, he is very modest.

For the past year or more, Will has taken a backseat to my music career. We discussed how this would all play out (our careers vs. family, finances, etc.), and there were two major things that influenced Will's encouragement of me pursuing my music. First, in one General Conference Elder Packer spoke about his wife, and how husbands needed to treat their wives. He said that he always made sure that his wife had some time to work and develop her own hobbies and skills, because it was so important to him that she did that for herself. He would stay home with the kids so that she could attend her choir practice, or class, or whatever it was on a particular evening of the week.

Will holding some photography equipment during one of my CD photo shoots

Second, we both wanted to have a family one day and knew that if I was going to pursue this whole music thing, it would need to be before kids came into the picture and while I was still young. We both knew that one day I would be more preoccupied with raising little ones than with performing and producing music, and so we both felt that, at that particular time, it was "Jenni's time".

Earlier this year, we made an even bigger step towards me fulfilling certain music goals, which was that I quit my full time job so that I could be a full-time professional working musician. (This decision also came about after trying to get pregnant for over a year and a half, and realizing that the stress from the job may be a factor). This is a step that is every musician's dream. The day when an artist can finally quit the dayjob is, well, it's a huge leap of faith. Of course, again, I would not have had the liberty to do that without Will's help though.

A kiss for good luck - On the beach during photo shoot

I worked hard all year to promote my music, to perform, to get it out there, to network and establish relationships in the music industry. Now the year is almost over, my concerts are almost over, and I am now pregnant with my first baby - I am excited that a new chapter is going to begin in our lives. My "time" to shine has now come to a pause, and I'm excited that Will will get to now step forward and work on pursuing some of his dreams, that he has so graciously put on the backburner so that I could have my "time".

A kiss for "Good job honey!" - after my CD Release concert in April 2007

So this is where I am going to talk about Will, because he will not talk about himself and I am so proud of him and I love him so much. I know this might embarrass him, but babe, I am going to take a moment and brag for you. :)

For those of you who don't know, Will is a very educated person. He graduated from H.S. early and finished his associates degree even before serving a 2 year mission for the Church. He then came home and put himself through college on scholarships and multiple part-time jobs to earn a Bachelors degree in Finance, and a Masters Degree in Real Estate Development from Portland State University. All the while, he invested his student loans in the stock market so that they would pay for themselves later.

For the first 5 months of our marriage, aside from me having a couple of piano students, neither one of us had jobs and he was able to support us just from his investments that he had had over the years. During his last year in school, he worked for a notable investment group where he managed to help people properly invest their money for retirement, and also advised many friends and family on finances and budgetting. He and his brother Daniel also invested in a couple of condos, which they flipped and turned around to sell and make a nice profit on.

Will after a long evening of working on the condo, after a day of school as well

During the last year while I was busy working on my music, Will went to school and got his WA State Real Estate License. His whole intent with that is because at some point in the future Will would like to start his own home-building business, manage it himself, and also handle all of the real estate transactions.

Right before I quit my job, we were looking at investing in a property over on the WA peninsula to build a home on it and sell it for a profit. Will spent countless hours researching the property, ran the numbers and I was so proud of him - he found a lot with a water view that was very much cheaper than other waterview lots, simply because he did his research on it and found info on the lot that others might not have known.

We were also looking at purchasing a small cabin up in the mountains that he and I were going to go up to on weekends to fix up (put cute log cabin furniture in, paint, etc.) and make it a vacation rental for snowshoers and hikers. Once again, he did so much research on this property and found himself the best deal.

The property over on the peninsula that we were looking into buying

But again, I just can't even express it. Maybe because I'm pregnant and totally emotional? It brings tears to my eyes when I think about the amount of sacrifice he has done for me. He again, gave all of these "dreams" of his up so that I could quit my job and work on my music, knowing that without my 2nd income we would not be able to do these real estate investments. He did it because he wanted to see me happy, and cared more about me than his interests.

There are days when I feel so terrible. He is such a hard worker, and does so much for me. I have just been trying to think of what I could possibly do for him. And that's why I'm writing this blog. I don't even think he has even told very many people that he has a real estate license. I don't even think his job even knows. He would LOVE to help anyone who has questions, or looking and totally for free (unless you want him to sell your house or something, etc). Like me with my music, real estate is HIS PASSION and any opportunity to talk about it, research it, he would be so excited to do that. He has great research skills and is a numbers guy and has access to all the public records too.

So anyway, I just wanted to give Will a chance to "shine". Sorry for going on and on, but I love this guy and I want to see him succeed in his passion and just wanted everyone to know what a smart, great, loving and wonderful husband he is.

And just for kicks, here is his business card that he designed himself! Haha I laughed at his slogan, but he said "But that covers everything! Right?"

Will I love you, honeybucket.

(this is the backside)