Indoors

I feel like singing that little song our dear friend, Spongebob sings so eloquently...

I know of a place,
Where you never get harmed.
A magical place,
With magical charms.
Indoors, indoors, indooooors!
 
Our whole family was sick for almost 2 weeks straight, and I've just about had it with fevers, coughing, snot and medicine.  Also, I've had it with our weather.  I need Spring!  Or better yet, Summer!!!  We were all finally well enough to get out Saturday night. Mike and I took Laney out to eat, and watched The Grace Card. This movie is amazing!!!  Laney loved it too! 

My camera has been on quite the break with everyone being sick, and I think a 2 week vacation is long enough!  You'll notice that most of these pics are taken indooooors, what with our weather having multiple personalities lately.  I was able to take Jett out for a while to take pictures a few days ago, when it was about 65 degrees out.  It's not 65 degrees anymore.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. :)

{sick, sleepy, sweet baby Jett}

{I could probably eat this.  It's organic, right?}

{I think he's trying to lick the fresh air.  It's better than actually breathing it in.}

{he's trying to plug in the DS, and if he's anything like his daddy or his brothers, he'll be able to defeat Mario Bros. in just a few short months.}

{see his dimple?  I swear he has one.}

{That's the funniest thing I heard all day!}

{Oh boy...}

{This bagel is not organic, but it's goood!}

So, um, my boys can make the ugliest faces you've ever seen.  I'm not joking.  They all 3 have these angry eyebrows that show up when they're mad about something.  It's crazy.  They're kinda disturbing, actually.  Just to prove it...look:

{yikes}

{yikes}

{not quite yikes yet, but we're getting there.}

And you might have noticed there are no pictures of the girls.  I still have 2 daughters.  They didn't go anywhere.  I just haven't taken any pics of them lately.  There's no reason, really.  And I'm too tired to think one up.

Stream of Consciousness

We're finally coming into some sort of regularity as a family, after weeks of praying (and preparing) for Mike to get this new job, having odd schedules, and just kind of trying to wade through the unknown.  I feel like I have been doing what it takes to just get by these last few weeks, and it's nice to get back to some familiarity.  We still have a few days at the end of next week, when Mike will be out of town, that will be more difficult days than most, but I can't complain about it at all.  This is what we prayed for.  We've been hoping that Mike could get with a company that was very secure financially and that had great benefits and all that fun stuff, and it has happened.  Mike is very excited about this new opportunity, as he will be learning so much more at this new job.  It's so good for his career, for now and in the future.

I'm fearing that Jett may be a late talker, like Elijah was.  He only repeats a few words - ma-ma, da-da, ball (ba), teeth (tees), hi, and he makes some animal noises.  EVERYTHING he says ends in this weird "slsshss" sound.  I can't quite describe it, but it is definitely Jett's trademark sound.  Everyone comments on it when they hear him babble.  They comment on that and his BLONDE hair. :) 
Okay, I just made a video so you could hear him. :)   (and please excuse the fact that I look like crap..)

The older boys have both been sick lately.  Elijah had an earache and a sore throat last week, and Isaac started complaining of a headache and stomach ache a couple days ago.  I took him to urgent care, and the doctor looked at him for literally 30 seconds and told me he had strep throat.  Didn't do a throat culture or anything.  Trying to rush through our patients, are we?  Anyway, he's feeling much better, so all's good.  :)

We started going to one of our church's small groups, and I love it!!!   I'm so excited to develop these new friendships! But the most exciting thing that happened all week....

We got new tires on our van!!! Yay! :)

Thankful

Mike got the job!!!  YAY!!  Praise Jesus!!

He's leaving tonight to go out of town for orientation in Iowa.  He'll be back Wed. night., and then next week he'll be gone another 2 or 3 nights, but that's the all of the traveling he'll have to do.  We're so incredibly happy he got this job!  It's steady work...we'll never wonder if he has work for this week or the next, which is so comforting.  He'll be the electrical maintenance tech at a biodiesel plant.  The benefits are wonderful, the vacation is wonderful, and he has room to move up in this company. 

I'm just so thankful, not only that God has provided this job for Mike, but also for the fact that He's the one who gives Mike the strength and health and capability to work. 

James 1:17 -- Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Thank you all for praying for us!!  We have felt so much peace and protection during this process, and I know it's from the prayers of so many people who care for us.  We appreciate all of you so much!!

Patience

Patience:
-noun
:an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay

Just about 4 weeks ago, Mike was faced with the possibility of being laid off.  We knew it was coming, and well, he did end up being out of work for about a week.  He started looking for a new job immediately after he learned that the company he is with wasn't getting much work.  He sent his resume to a few different places, and he heard back from one company just a few days later. 
They set up a phone interview for the following day, and it went very well.  The next step was a face to face interview with their hiring manager. This company is based out of Iowa (the position is here, in our hometown), so the interview was at a local hotel.  Mike thought it went very well, and we thought that we were close to finding out something, one way or another.  Haha.. To make a long story short, Mike has had 5 different interviews, and still, 3 weeks later, we don't know what is going to happen. 
They offered Mike the position, but the pay they offered was much less than what we wanted.  Mike has counter-offered, and we're waiting to hear back...that's where we're at now. 
I was originally going to post this once we knew for sure if Mike got the job or not, but I've learned so much during this time, I just want to focus on the positive and tell you guys how God has been working in my heart.

I've never prayed so hard for anything in my life.  Honestly.  I have never spent so much time in prayer in one day than I have in the days of these past few weeks.  I'm ashamed to admit that.  I'm ashamed to face the fact that my time in prayer has only strengthened when I needed something from God.  Not when I was just praising Him for who He is, or for thanking Him for what He's done for me. Because let's face it.  We have it good here.  We live in America, we can freely worship our Savior, we want for nothing (that we absolutely need) and we know nothing of suffering like millions do in other parts of the world.  But here I am, asking for something else.  I know that it pleases Him when His children come to Him with requests.  I know that.  I just know that I need to praise Him more when things are going good or bad.  He's the same, no matter what. 

 I have learned so much patience through this time.  That's where I was trying to go with this whole thing.   I lack in the area of patience.  totally.  My nature is to be anxious.  It's annoying, to be honest. So when this whole "waiting 3 weeks to hear about a job he's had 5 interviews for" thing came up, I pretty much lost it.  I couldn't handle the waiting; the helpless feeling of not knowing if Mike was going to be working from one day to the next; the anxiety I got when I would go through all the "what ifs".  It was too much.  So I gave it to God.  I can't handle anything on my own...especially this.  And He knows that.  He was just waiting for me to come to Him, completely stripped of all my pride, and to hand over my worries and frustrations to Him.  He has promised that He will take care of us, whether Mike gets this job or not. 
There are so many things that have happened during this time of Mike being out of work and not being paid, and not knowing what is going to happen in the next few weeks that shows how amazing and wonderful our heavenly Father is.  He's taken care of us, and provided for us in a way that can't be explained by anything other than His work.  I truly cannot explain it all, but believe me when I say that it brought us to our knees, just watching how everything has unfolded.  

Matthew 6:25-27 says:
 ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

I'm claiming this.  I know He'll be with us, whatever happens.  I'm not worrying about it anymore.  I'm not saying I don't think about it anymore.  That would be silly.  But I know that whatever happens, I want God's will to be done.  Not mine.  If this job offered $500,000 a year, but wasn't what God wanted for us, I absolutely would NOT want Mike to have it.  I can say that in all honesty now, because now I see that without God's hand in our lives, we are nothing.   

Some verses I've been loving lately:

Psalm 37:7-9
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land

Hebrews 6:12
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
 
I'm starting to think that God knew how much my patience needed to be tried, and this waiting is His way of breaking me.  It hurts, but it's a good hurt. :)
 
I'll update once we know something, which will be by Friday. (or so they told him.)  
Please keep us in your prayers if you think about it.