An Official Announcement... Sorta

How does the saying go?

Probably not the best metaphor since I live in a desert. I haven't told a lot of people what I am going to say, but it is sort of out there already in the form of Facebook posts on the day to day happenings in my life.

My family is moving from Albuquerque, NM to Amarillo, TX. TA-DA!

It's for a job. My husband has had a steady stream of bad employers for a while now and this is just a drastic enough change in situation to give us some hope that we won't be screwed over again. My own feelings on this procedure are that I am excited, but also sad. We have lived in ABQ for 2&1/2 years now. I have family in the area. We've met some really nice people. I might even have a friend or two that I can call close. But I have to confess I'm more happy for the move than I'd probably admit out loud.

I do genuinely love this place and I'm grateful for the opportunities it's given me to grow as an adult and, more importantly, a Christian.

I've just had this feeling over the last 2-3 months that it was time for a change. Our lease for the house we rent is set to expire at the end of July anyway. I thought, "Why not make a leap somewhere else?" At first we thought about moving closer to my husband's job site on the east side. That wasn't going to work since we had no money to make the transition. (His employer still owes him pay from 5 months ago. Long story..) Rents are higher near the east mountains. Financially, we were stuck where we were. Then, my husband finally decided to get fed up with his job and release his resume back out into the wild. And that is when the magic happened.

My husband starts getting calls from a company in Amarillo, TX that really wants to hire him. We were still waiting to tie up loose ends with the last employer when that call came. So my man said he would call them back in a week. They actually called him back the next week asking him if he would come "try the job for 2 weeks."

Now I have to say, that when a person that is used to working and actually LIKES working is NOT working, it messes up self-esteem and self-worth fairly quickly. My hubby is one of those kinds of people. He loves his family so much and wants to provide for us that he'd pack up and go to the moon if it meant income. That being said, this was (in our minds) not something we should put off to see if he could get anything closer to home. To have a job offer come so fast after he decided to move on was nothing short of a God-ordained miracle! It's practically unheard of in this economy.

The more we heard about the company and what they would offer us (in writing!), the more we liked them. The more we prayed about this, the better we felt about taking the leap into the unknown. I can't really say though that this is an "unknown" situation because it's all known to God. We have seen and felt His presence through all of this. As much as we will miss all the familiar of Albuquerque, we are welcoming the challenge of whatever God has planned for us in Amarillo.

A few things anyone reading this could pray for us, if you are so inclined:

1. We need to find a place to land in Amarillo. I am joining my husband next week to start searching with a realtor. We need this to go as smoothly and quickly as possible!

2. That I will have the strength and stamina to pack up our current house and clean it to the owners specifications by the 31st. 

3. I am going to need outside help for sure. Praise God for the offers I've already gotten.

4. That I can remain patient with my kids and figure out ways to include them in the process. 

Grins and Giggles

   I've sat down to write a new post countless times in the past 10 months. I just haven't been able to narrow my thoughts down to anything worth saying, or at least what I would consider worth saying. However, since whatever I do write will be seen by very few, I guess my thoughts are going to be mainly for my own grins and giggles.
   It would be too much to try and write an update on the events during my silence. Besides, it hasn't been anything to grin or giggle about. There have been a few bright moments, but on the whole it's been rough waters. Most people that know me (and the situation) would probably agree with that too.  I feel the need at this point to share what is going right.
   My family is amazing. I think my parents alone are the reason I am not writing this in a mental hospital. My kids are healthy. Judging by the number of posts by parents I see on Facebook and other media, this is not a blessing to be taken lightly. God bless a child with a strong immune system! My marriage is strong. I've read somewhere that money issues break up a large percentage of couples these days. All I can say to that is that we know where our provision comes from. Hardship doesn't mean we are being punished or that God has turned His back on us. Sometimes it gives us the opportunity to pray for a miracle, to give others a chance to show God's love on us. It also gives us the chance to teach our kids how to be grateful for what we do have.
   I hope next time I have more interesting things to write. But for now I'll just get my feet wet again with this.

The Boat Keeps Rocking

So, It's been a while since my last blog. Here is some of the happenings in a nutshell:

  I'm happy to say that for the most part things are going really well. God has been faithful to provide for us through yet another job change for my husband. He had been working for Conoco-Williams since June of this year as a welder/mechanic. I don't know what it is with these big companies getting away with not paying their employees. Anyway, money frustrations aside, there was some good that came from that position. He is now a certified welder. This means he is nationally accredited to weld anywhere for anybody. It also opened up a job opportunity with Bernalillo County as a salaried field supervisor. (Woo-Hoo!) He starts working on Aug. 15. That is actually the worst of the news. We just ask for prayer and patience as he waits out the interim.
  More recently, the kids and I participated in VBS. This year was a Gold Rush theme. I helped in Crafts and also with my 4year old daughter's class (the aptly named Tumbleweeds). We had a great time. Our family was doubly blessed this year because our 8 year old gave his life to Christ on Thursday night! Praise the Lord! Our son has even more good news regarding school this year. Last year he was transferred to a different class at the end of the second semester because of his behavior. The move was a good match and he did much better with her. The teacher he was placed with decided to apply for a 3rd grade teaching position at the school and got it. She is now his 3rd grade teacher! We are now more than a week into the school year (year-round schedule) and there have been no problems so far. Can I get an AMEN?
  Lastly, My husband and I have been working on projects for the DSC Songwriters Guild our worship minister started at the beginning of the year. Church music has always been a deep passion of ours. After all, it's how we met. We feel so blessed to be part of that group. They have really encouraged and inspired us to grow that area of our personal ministry. My hubs has been like a man on fire writing music. The church may be planning to use a few of his songs during Sunday worship in the future. I had a personal victory with a musical issue I've been struggling with too.
  It's no secret that I like to sing and do it whenever I can. I was always the girl who used to sing into her hairbrush at the mirror pretending to be either Whitney Houston or Amy Grant. But, a few years ago in Texas I had a bad experience with a worship minister. What I'm sure was meant to be contructive criticism didn't really come out that way. I questioned my abilities and whether or not I was even called to music ministry. It made me particularly self-conscious to perform alone in front of worship leaders. It sounds silly, I know, but it is what it is. So at our last meeting of the SWG I actually got the nerve to present a song I had written a while ago in order to get feedback. I sang the whole thing while playing my guitar. There were professional musicians as well as laymen writers present. The reaction I got was that it was really well-received. I can't say I'm completely cured yet. I just pray God continues stretching me in this area.