This year continues to throw us surprises. We have been incredibly blessed in such a short time! To start from the beginning though...
B started hard core job hunting last fall. We had several interviews spaced out throughout the fall and none of them produced an offer. A couple of these interviews were awesome and we both had great feelings about them. Therefore, when no job offer came, we were pretty disappointed. One in particular seemed absolutely perfect. We felt the door had been opened at this particular location and waited somewhat patiently to hear back if there would be an offer. After a couple of weeks (and an election), the door was closed on this opportunity. We struggled some with this one as we truly felt God moving during the interview process. (Just prior to us hearing that they would not be able to make a job offer, I had prayed that God would clearly shut doors where we did not belong. There was a sense of peace as I let go. It is hard to explain, but I distinctly remember one Sunday in church thinking, maybe this isn't it...maybe we need to let go of this one...) Once we realized that this was not the place for us, the search continued and the prayers continued fervently.
The holidays came and went with not much headway and discouragement set in. Trying to be an encouraging wife can be tough when so much is out of our control. I continued to trust the Lord that He was sparing us from things we could not see and that He had something even better out there for us. During the holidays, we also received a couple more "no's" or "not yet's" and frankly, some of them were baffling and handled strangely. We struggled to not let this consume us, but there comes a point where it is always in the background. The need for the future was surely there and it started to feel like time was just passing by while we stood still.
Then B was contacted out of the blue by this group asking for an interview. He had sent out a ton of resumes to many, many groups in the fall whether they had job postings or not. He honestly did not even remember sending this group his resume it had been so early on in his hunting. And here they called him out of the blue. They wanted to set something up soon and things fell into place for the interview to take place last week. Leading up to the interview, it became rather apparent that they were pretty serious about B. We continued to pray. The interview was fantastic! The group is awesome! And they made an offer within a couple of days!
It has amazed me to see God moving so evidently during this process. From the disappointments to the continued hope that His plan was unfolding before us. He was indeed saving us for something great! Though it is hard to explain, this interview felt so different than the other ones for me. There was a huge sense of hope and ease, but also this massive amount of nervousness as if we were on the verge of something huge. Through the discouraging times and frustrating times, we have seen God's hand work ever so quickly, when it was His plan and timing. Just after the interview, on our late night drive back, my constant prayer was that we would hear something quickly and that the excitement we both felt would be His affirmation to us that we were following His plan. God could not have made it more obvious! There were many things throughout the interview day, just prior and just after, that were so reaffirming!!
We still have many things yet to be done, some of which make my stomach clinch to think about them. But I am reminded that God has orchestrated this entire life of mine. He can handle the big things and the little things. And He has definitely shown His love and grace in ways unimaginable and has shown us that He does indeed have better things in store for us. Things that we would never expect ourselves!!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
New Year
I wish I could say I remembered the beginning of this year, but it's already slipping away from me! We had some friends over to watch football and as all of the had to work the next day, they couldn't stay until CST New Year. But we did watch EST ring it in!:) Then of course, we had the traditional pork, greens and black eyed peas on New Years day.
The next couple of weeks sped by somewhat uneventfully as we worked and B continued the job search. Those couple of weeks were definitely a needed reprieve after Christmas. Then January hit us like a ton of bricks.
My dad has been having neck issues and needed surgery to remove some severely degenerative disk. He had this surgery on the books for mid-January and I made plans to be there the day of the surgery. Though a fairly invasive surgery, everything went well for him and he continues to recover slowly but surely. The surgeon was glad he had gone ahead with the surgery and the disc were causing narrowing of his spinal chord and would have eventually caused major problems if not corrected.
The day prior to dad's surgery, my uncle had a stroke and was rushed into emergency surgery. The last couple of weeks have been very difficult for him as he will progress and then have a set back. The initial stroke seemed to have done some damage, but considering the severity of the clot that was removed, his speech and mobility was miraculously still intact though somewhat affected by weakness. A few days later, he had a second stroke and a second emergency surgery. He has been monitored very closely and is currently back in the hospital with an infection. We would covet your prayers for his healing and comfort for my aunt and cousins. Every day has been a different day with different challenges, some expected and some not.
The Sunday after my uncle's strokes and my dad's surgery, we had an incredibly sad call. B's uncle passed away late Saturday. He had been battling a very aggressive form of throat cancer for quite some time. We were able to shift things around so we could attend the funeral and celebrate his life. He touched so many people and had such an impact on everyone's life. It was heart warming to hear so many funny stories about this incredibly brave man. He was definitely loved by all who met him and never met a stranger! It is incredible to think about all he went through these last couple of years and he never lost his fighting spirit or his humor. He took his illness in stride and continued to live his life to the fullest and loved his family and friends at every opportunity!
We continue to learn daily that God will provide for us in ways we cannot even imagine. He sustains and encourages us while guiding us in His path and plan for us. I have struggled some the last couple of weeks trying to make sense of everything, but I realized that would be futile. I am waiting on the Lord and trusting that He will give exactly what we need and nothing more than we can handle with His help.
The next couple of weeks sped by somewhat uneventfully as we worked and B continued the job search. Those couple of weeks were definitely a needed reprieve after Christmas. Then January hit us like a ton of bricks.
My dad has been having neck issues and needed surgery to remove some severely degenerative disk. He had this surgery on the books for mid-January and I made plans to be there the day of the surgery. Though a fairly invasive surgery, everything went well for him and he continues to recover slowly but surely. The surgeon was glad he had gone ahead with the surgery and the disc were causing narrowing of his spinal chord and would have eventually caused major problems if not corrected.
The day prior to dad's surgery, my uncle had a stroke and was rushed into emergency surgery. The last couple of weeks have been very difficult for him as he will progress and then have a set back. The initial stroke seemed to have done some damage, but considering the severity of the clot that was removed, his speech and mobility was miraculously still intact though somewhat affected by weakness. A few days later, he had a second stroke and a second emergency surgery. He has been monitored very closely and is currently back in the hospital with an infection. We would covet your prayers for his healing and comfort for my aunt and cousins. Every day has been a different day with different challenges, some expected and some not.
The Sunday after my uncle's strokes and my dad's surgery, we had an incredibly sad call. B's uncle passed away late Saturday. He had been battling a very aggressive form of throat cancer for quite some time. We were able to shift things around so we could attend the funeral and celebrate his life. He touched so many people and had such an impact on everyone's life. It was heart warming to hear so many funny stories about this incredibly brave man. He was definitely loved by all who met him and never met a stranger! It is incredible to think about all he went through these last couple of years and he never lost his fighting spirit or his humor. He took his illness in stride and continued to live his life to the fullest and loved his family and friends at every opportunity!
We continue to learn daily that God will provide for us in ways we cannot even imagine. He sustains and encourages us while guiding us in His path and plan for us. I have struggled some the last couple of weeks trying to make sense of everything, but I realized that would be futile. I am waiting on the Lord and trusting that He will give exactly what we need and nothing more than we can handle with His help.
Christmas, part 2
After Christmas with my side of the family, we ventured back home briefly for a little work and then traveled to B's family. It was a bit of a whirlwind of a holiday in general due to our somewhat conflicting work schedules, but so is life!:)
We had a great time (despite me getting sick) and had quite the family gathering for Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Lots of laughs and stories were shared and by the end of the evening, lots of dogs were worn out! The gathering took place at B's uncle's farm and all the dogs that came were in heaven! We had a great time sitting by the outdoor fire places watching the dogs play and catching up with everyone! Again, pictures may be the best way;)...
We had a great time (despite me getting sick) and had quite the family gathering for Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Lots of laughs and stories were shared and by the end of the evening, lots of dogs were worn out! The gathering took place at B's uncle's farm and all the dogs that came were in heaven! We had a great time sitting by the outdoor fire places watching the dogs play and catching up with everyone! Again, pictures may be the best way;)...
 |
| A little intervention and redirection |
 |
| Tons of good food and a few tacky Christmas sweaters;) |
 |
| Singing the 12 Days of Christmas...quite funny!:) |
 |
| the "kids" |
Christmas time...Part 1
Since it's February, I think I should start updating some!
Our first Christmas will be be shown in pictures! The patter of little feet and arguing siblings woke us up on our "mock" Christmas morning. B and I couldn't quite figure out what the older 2 were arguing about, but it seemed to be a game of "one-up." We opened presents, played with said presents, cooked, laughed, got a couple of games of sardines in (B won the prize for the best hiding place), and had lots of fun! It was quite amusing to see the kids open their gifts, they were done much quicker than the adults to say the least!
Our first Christmas will be be shown in pictures! The patter of little feet and arguing siblings woke us up on our "mock" Christmas morning. B and I couldn't quite figure out what the older 2 were arguing about, but it seemed to be a game of "one-up." We opened presents, played with said presents, cooked, laughed, got a couple of games of sardines in (B won the prize for the best hiding place), and had lots of fun! It was quite amusing to see the kids open their gifts, they were done much quicker than the adults to say the least!
 |
| Redefining bed-head |
 |
| A form of animal torture, I'm sure |
 |
| This was a huge hit and quite funny to watch as they learn how to play |
 |
| Love this kid...he is a monster, but so sweet and cuddly!! |
 |
| She was so excited to have matching pj's |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)