February '12

Tristan had been in talks with a couple of different golf course superintendents regarding assistant positions for a few weeks and we were just in limbo to hear back from the courses. Each one represented a different adventure. There was just so much up in the air: When is the baby going to arrive, which course is going to offer him a job, how soon will be have to move?

After what seemed like forever, the right offer came our way, from Prestwick CC in IL. Two days later, our little Ham joined us on the 9th. All the worrying and questions were finally answered, though many more surfaced. I was in a kind of planner's heaven though, because now I could get down to the details of things, like where to move, when we were going, booking movers and shipping pods, changing addresses, and all that fun (!) stuff.

After Ham was born, we took a couple days to relax at home and just celebrate and recover as a new family of four. Bird loved on her little brother and we loved on the both of them.

The following Thursday we headed on a home hunting trip to IL, complete with our 2 year old and 1 week old. Some may think we're crazy, spending 2 nights in hotel room with these kids so soon after welcoming an addition to the family. All I say to that is, the clock was ticking and we had to find a home sooner than later. We spent a day checking out places we'd found online, through referrals, and using a realtor. Lucky for us, the weather was great and the kids did amazing with all the in and out of the car and being off schedule. We ended up finding a great place, in a pretty cute location and got all the paperwork taken care of all in 2 days.

We came back, and with the help of our great family and friends, we packed up, said our goodbyes and moved to Joliet, IL on March 1st! I was and still am amazed at the outpouring of help from everyone, from meals, to lending a hand with the packing to just stopping by to hold little Ham for a couple hours. We were surrounded by the most amazing people who care for us.

Pre-labor

Ham - 2/9/2012 | 8 lbs. 11 oz. | 21 in. | 12:52 pm 

One-eyed glance | Standard

So in love

"Eye!"

Sister & Brother

Knocked out at the hotel

Father & Son

Uncle time

So excited I almost forgot to share.

Another shop update, just in time for my holiday giveaway, which you still have 10 hours to enter (!)

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a story:

So I read this a little over a month ago and thought, this is for me. I quietly crafted my submission email and sent it off in the wee hours of the night, divulging this only to T. I was excited and nervous and didn't know what to make of it all except that I wanted the position.

After a phone interview and some time had passed I finally received word that I got it! I am so excited to be joining the papernstitch team as their intern, to gain an amazing experience and to use my skills to help from right here at home with my little lady by my side! I don't think things could have turned out any better and it feels like another great Christmas present.

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Enjoy your holidays and I'll be back with giveaway results in the morning!

Unemployed, again

So I find myself without a job, again.

Saturday was my last day of work at my new job.   Yes in less than 3 months, I'm out of work again.  The store I was working for was being closed at the discretion of our parent company and I have been let go.

But I'm not freaking out.  This is part of a greater plan and even though I don't know what that plan is, I'm along for the ride.  I'm actually really excited to see what is in store for our family in the coming months.  I'm going to take this time to explore new job/career opportunities, including possibly going back to school or just taking a few classes.  Its the perfect time for me to be able to look into something new.

First day

Yesterday was my first day of work at my new job.

First T called me about 20 minutes before he was supposed to be home to say that traffic was bad and he was going to be late. I took a few deep breaths, finished up feeding Bird, and proceeded to get ready for the first of what will be many hand offs of the car keys and Bird. T arrived right on time, not late at all, and with a group hug and kiss, I was off.

I think I'm really going to like working at this place. I got along really well with the manager I trained with and so far the other staff I've met have been nice/funny/real! Time flew and before I knew it 4.5 hours had passed and I was on my way home.

Bird was asleep when I got there and dinner was cooking. T and I got to enjoy a quiet dinner together and hit the hay fairly early.

...its all working out...

Updates

• We have had one car for just over a month now, after turning in the Jetta we leased in 2007. I'm proud to say we haven't had any real issues with car sharing so far. T and I have anticipated the inconvenience of having to share, waiting for the other person to get home or to come pick us up and realized that its worth it to have lower expenses at this time.

• The decision has been made that I will not be returning to work at my old job. The logistics of getting there with one car, the hours and most importantly, the cost of daycare for Bird if I were to return was just getting to be too much. I will miss the staff and the folks that we served there, but for now, this is what's best for my family.

• I will start a new part time job in the evenings/weekends next Monday! I am so excited for this opportunity and what this means for our little family. T and I know that we won't get to see each other as much as we're used to, but with me working part time, we won't have to put Bird in daycare because one of us will be able to be with her at all times. As a bonus, I'm going to meet lots of new people and have a chance to get out of the house

• Bird is getting so big and I can't believe its been over 2 months since she was born. She's met all of her uncles, her aunt, and her grandmas and grandpas now and a lot of our friends but there are still more that haven't seen her yet. We're all finally getting into a rhythm, and sleep for the most part has returned to a new normal. I love spending my days with Bird, going for walks, playing, getting smiles and waiting for T to come in the door when he gets home from work.
  

The weight has been lifted

The debt updates will have to wait because I have even more exciting news:

After my meeting with the other directors at my job two weeks ago, I decided to resign my position on Wednesday, 4/1/09! On top of that I have a new job!

I don't want to give away too much about my new job but I will say that I am grateful and excited about this new opportunity and it couldn't have come at a better time. I start this coming Monday, 4/6/09.

You know what this means...time to update the budget.

In a mini update, CC #4 is 75% of the way paid off with the ax dropping on it sometime this month after the new budget is in place. More concrete numbers to come.

Learning of the day: He's always on time.

Another anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of me starting work with the church organization!

Yea to me!

In this economy every day on the job should be a blessing. Who knows what the future holds.

I'm nervous

About two weeks ago, I had a discussion with my boss about my role in the organization and how I would like to move forward into a different position. I had been thinking about this for a really long time (about 4 months) and finally got the courage to have the conversation.

It was well received and now I have a meeting set up to talk with the other org heads about it next week.

We'll see what happens.

Brightside: I still have a job.

Alls quiet

Here at my new office all is quiet...the gentlemen I work with/for are in an out all week. The sad reason it seems to be all quiet is from the letting go of my only other female co-worker last week. Details spared, it was a good decision, but now...mostly silence. I guess that's what I get from working with a bunch of men. It is not all bad though.

On the Debt-free front, I've recalculated some things and realized that we'll be out of debt even sooner than originally estimated! There is only one drawback to this whole plan...its all an estimate. There is only so much that is in our hands to control, really its all up to God how things will work out. I'm still excited for this all to start rolling along faster 'cause there are some other goals that I'll share at a later date that sort of hinge on this happening and the faster, the better. (Here's a hint about one...four legs and fur!)

The lates...

So not too much has been going on lately since I was unemployed and harboring dollars like a miser.

The best news is that I have found a new job, and I'm really excited about it. I start work on Monday 3/24, so I'll have more news about it then, but its about 25 minutes from our house and in a part of town I've never worked/played in before.

The basics are that the organization is a faith-based org, that deals with church planting and ministries around the world. I'm excited to be part of an organization that is helping people instead of making them part with their money...except that this org solicits funds as well, but how else are you going to help someone in need...help costs money sadly, otherwise, I'd be giving it out by the handfuls!

Please stay tuned to see how this affects my life's path and our new family.

Also, on the PF note, I'm excited to get our debt reduction plan going, now that I have found a new gig and we can stop holding tight to the funds we have.

On a spiritual note, this was something that was prayed for over the past two months and the Lord totally provided for us. We saw small signs over the past two months that just told us to trust Him and it was such a great feeling to be able to follow your faith and see results, both good and bad!

the end of an era...sorta

2007 is almost over and with that I wanted to recap some of the amazing things that happened this year...

My best friend had her first baby

Two of our good friends got married

We got married

We moved back to Michigan, after surviving some time in Los Angeles

We bought a house

We joined our church and met some wonderful people through our small group

We found new jobs that we actually like

I get to spend time watching almost 2 year olds every other weekend

My parents celebrated 37 years of wedded rollercoaster

Reclaimed the joy of napping

I'm sure there is more that went on, and if you were close to me, you probably saw this all and more occurring...

Here's to the best that 2007 had to offer and to the amazing opportunities to be had in 2008!

L'chaim...


P.S. Today, so far, we have only left the house to walk to the mailbox (across the street) and back...sadly inside was a returned to sender Thank You card we had sent to my cousin and a Science Fiction Book Club order packet...