Finally... an update

I don't know if anyone is still out there checking in on us. For those that are, I figured it was time to get rid of that "This is Painful" headline and post something a little more uplifting. :) Hopefully this will fit the bill.

I should be anxious... but I'm not. I should be stressed and crazy... but I'm not. I should be bitter... but I'm not. What I am is Grateful. Excited. Scared, maybe. Definitely Spirit-filled.

My husband has found another new job. Yay! He had gotten a job almost immediately after Polaris made their "We can do better in Mexico" announcement last year. We were thankful that he found work so quickly when so many others weren't as lucky. But what good is a job if you hate every minute of it? What good is it to work every weekend when you hate where you're at and would much rather be with your family, doing the stuff that families do on weekends? So he continued to look for something else, applying here, there and everywhere. Getting first interviews and sometimes second interviews, but never an offer.

Until last month, when he finally received an offer. THE offer. An awesome offer, doing something different than manufacturing, which is where he has always been and where he has had more than one job loss over the years due to what we call "the Mexico factor". The new job is in a field that is directly related to our country's energy industry, which should be a solid field.

The big news? We are moving. Two hours or so south of here. Still in Wisconsin, so I still get to be a Cheesehead. :) I was afraid that his job search might take us to Minnesota, in which case I would be a MudDuck. (I'll bet you didn't know we had pet names for each other did you? It's all said in love, I'm sure)

We have no idea where we will be living. We have no idea if our house will sell. We have no idea when this is all going to happen, except he starts work tomorrow.

What do I know? I know that I struggled with the idea of moving because I love it here so much. I know that I felt God working on my heart to bring me to a place where I can see He has a plan. I know that I told Derick if we move I am not working. At all. Anywhere. No part-time stuff. No daycare. No outside obligations. My focus has to be on teaching my kids and he agreed. My part-time work that I have always had to do over the years has kept me from being the best homeschooling mom I can be. It was to the point that if we stayed here, I was considering putting the kids in school because I felt that they weren't getting what they needed from me. Then Wham - he gets this job offer and we have to decide - what is our vision for our family? Stay here, where we love it, both of us working, and put the kids in school. Or move away, where we can live on his income (praise the Lord), and still homeschool, but yet be in a strange new community. The decision wasn't easy - I don't want to make it sound as though the answers came quickly. After much discussion, and tears, we decided the best thing for us was for him to take the job.

Now if you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know how I struggled in the beginning to even get him on board with the homeschooling idea. This is what he said to his parents when he told them he had taken the job. He said, "If we stay here, the kids would have to go to school and that's not what we want." Out of his mouth! Without any prompting from me! :) I was shocked, and thrilled. I felt God's presence there.

So now I am in the midst of packing and organizing, purging and planning. In this housing market, we plan on renting a home for a while. Finding a place that will allow four kids, a dog, a cat, and a horse is not proving to be easy! But surprisingly, I am not worried. Yet. :) I have learned through this process that when you are in the center of God's will for your life, then everything falls into place. He provides what you need, sometimes even before you know you need it.

I am not sure if I will get more time to blog during this move. I hope so, but if not, at least those of you who still stop by every so often finally have something happy to read!

Have a great night.

This is painful...

I'm not sure how many of you are fans of this company. Or how many of you have heard this news about that company.

Yep. Mexico. And yes, this is where my husband works. Until November 1st or so.

We have been devastated by this news. I mean, we have worked hard to create the life we have here, in a community we love, only to have it all taken away. Again. For us, this is the second time in ten years that we have suffered a major financial setback. It sucks.

So. I know I have been absent from here for a while, but if there is anyone out there who still checks in occasionally, I thought you should know. We will be on the job hunt again, only this time there is an urgency about it. We have no idea what's in our future, and only time will tell.

On a good note, my mom said she would let us live in her basement.

Sorry to keep you waiting...

Derick did not get the job - but as disappointing as it was, there is good news tucked inside. They want to put him on as an alternate, to fill in for people who may not be able to travel for whatever reason. They told him that he was a very strong candidate and they want him to try out the traveling thing as an alternate to see if it is really something he would like to do. They made it sound as if he would be definitely considered for any future positions, if he enjoyed it and wanted to pursue it.

So. There we are. I swear, I expend an awful lot of energy thinking about things that never end up happening. :)

The Time Machine, 1960

I am not usually a fan of old movies. Some of them are decent, but I have not enjoyed them enough to actually seek them out and watch them, on purpose.

So I initially balked at Samantha's request that we rent The Time Machine, a 1960's film about, well... about a time machine. She had seen part of it at Grandma and Grandpa's, where they have that cool thing called satellite TV. (being the uncool parents that we are, we do not have this amenity at our house) She happened to catch the beginning of the plot climax and was so enthralled that she begged me to Netflix it. After several whining sessions, I conceded and it arrived in the mail a few days later. (Netflix - the greatest thing since sliced bread)

Here is my review... I loved this movie. It is equal parts enthralling, mysterious and intelligent, with a little bit of hokey thrown in for good measure. I kept having to remind myself that it was made in 1960, just as a reference point for all the time traveling going on. I was drawn in to the storyline right away, and watched with anticipation to see where our hero ended up. There were a few times when I just had to chuckle at some of the outdated scenes, but the movie did win an Oscar for some of the photographic special effects. They were definitely Oscar-worthy by 1960 standards.

The best part came at the end. I won't spoil it for you, but Samantha and I both looked at each other in We Weren't Expecting That! shock. Good stuff. In a weird sort of way.

It's Wednesday

It's Wednesday. Every day so far this week, when Derick calls from work, my first question is, "Well?" His answer? "Nothing."

He had a second interview for the new job last week. He said it felt very promising. We are 90% sure that he will get the job, but of course they can't let us know until the obligatory "let's make them squirm and wonder and think about it some more" time has passed.

This job will mean huge changes for our family - the least of which will be maybe moving. The job posting itself never mentioned moving, but they asked him about it during the first interview. Never mentioned it during the second interview. Not sure what that means. My gut feeling is that they will ask him to relocate eventually, but maybe not for the first year or so.

The moving thing has to be put out of my mind for now. I can't waste energy on something that may or may not become a reality. Instead, I have to worry and have anxiety over the other part of the job that scares me. Ready for this? This job will involve... drum roll please... lots and lots of... travel. Derick will be gone basically all summer, home holidays and every other weekend, with a few exceptions. Then home again for most of the winter months. Blech.

I don't want to divulge too much of the job itself until he actually has the offer, but let's just say that this job can be likened to every little boy's dream job. I encouraged him to apply, knowing full well what it would mean for me, because I know it is a job he would love to do. He will hate being away from his family so much, but our homeschooling will allow us the freedoms to go and see him when we are needing that Daddy fix.

So if it becomes a reality, then I am going to quickly become the heavy lifter around here - a job that I have carefully avoided until now. :) I am going to have to learn to be resourceful and handle things on my own. I know I can do it - I just have to get used to it. I do depend on my awesome husband quite a bit!

*sigh* I'll keep you posted.