Changes

I know life is about change. What would it be but boring, boring if there were no changes to our lives? It would be predictable, but boring nonetheless.

In the last year+ we have had a son come home from a mission, a daughter graduate, the same son get married, said son and daughter leave for school, come back, leave again, etc. In all that happening, we have also had our younger children continue to grow and change from 2-3 1/2 and from 6 1/2 -8 years old. We had some tough financial difficulties, and I went from being exclusively a domestic architect, to doing some intensive work-from-home things. One thing that I have noticed as a generational thing is that it seems now that it is very normal for people to change careers or employers quick frequently. When I was growing up, if you were in the work force, you maybe got promoted, but you typically stayed with the same employer and career. Well, my dh, JS, has been different. All the time we have been together he has had the same career. He has gone from working with a company, to being self-employed, to working for a company to being self-employed again, but all with the same business. When the economy went sour, his business struggled. Also, other options have opened up for people to get the product he sells for cheaper than what he can purchase it for, so it has been very rough to make the sales we need for our support. We prayed and prayed (also mentioned in previous post), and just when things looked desperate, he would make a sale that would come just at the right time. Our landlord was very understanding and was lenient with us being creative with the rent. Then I got the job that was exactly the amount that we needed for that time frame (I literally mean exactly the amount we needed). Well, the season ended, but it still wasn't looking very promising for JS's business. Our very good friend and home-teacher happened to mention a couple things and it turned out that JS was able to start working with him. JS thought it would be a part-time, in-addition-to-his-business, type thing, but it has turned into working full-time with this other company and completely different job. He is liking the change and challenges. And it is helping us breathe easier come the first & last of every month! Again, and again, prayers are being answered. Not in the way we expected (or advised Heavenly Father :-), but in better ways than we could have ever imagined.


Other changes in our family - VP all of a sudden in August said she had been applying for jobs in SLC and was going there for interviews. At the same time, CM/MA were coming home earlier than expected from Maine since things there were not what they expected and were promised, so they were coming to go back to school in the fall. AR turned 8 and was baptized and 

NG just keeps growing and growing. She is actually turning into a ham, but is so shy that only the close family members get to see her humor. She is sharp as a tack and amazes us at what she comes up with. Her latest thing is asking "Why did Jesus create...." One day it was "Why did Jesus create all this stuff (waving her hand over the glass, plate and food at dinner). Then: "Mom? Why did Jesus create the bad guys who killed him?" That is just the way that developing mind is working!




Well, AR got baptized, VP flew to SLC (where she had left her car the previous week), CM/MA left for Provo all within 4 days of each other. I am happy for the changes, but they just keep coming at us from all directions! 

VP is very happy in SL at her job as a trainer in a fitness club. She actually wasn't supposed to get this job. She applied as a front desk/greeter. One of the managers got a call from a trainer in Idaho who was moving to SL and wanted to transfer. The manager talked to the other manager and said "Someone just sent in their application who is transferring here, so go ahead and hire her". He pulled up VP's app instead and called and offered her the job of trainer. She is currently studying to certify to be a trainer. 

CM I can't really post what he is doing as he isn't sure yet. He is applying for jobs while MA has started school - she has 3 years left before she graduates, so they will be in Provo at least that long. He has lots of options, but hasn't firmed anything up.....

   

  And so again, our house is emptier than it was. We are most likely going to stay just a family of 4 in the household - except maybe for summers and holidays??? It is very much quieter now than it was 6 weeks ago. AR has started 3rd grade and NG is doing preschool (well, we're doing it together as a co-op) and swim lessons. I am so blessed to have children who work hard, love to serve others and are resilient to challenges. They are forgiving and understanding and faithful. I have a hard working husband who is also forgiving and understanding (they must get it from him....). He is not selfish and is kind to everyone that he meets. I have a testimony of a loving Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the opportunities that come because of changes that happen in my life. (I might not like them, but I am grateful for them - and love the results).

Where have all the months gone??

So, obviously it's been so long since I have posted that the whole blog thing has changed and it took me a while to even figure out how to get to the publishing page. Can that be my excuse? NO. I have just not taken the time to post - I never thought about it and thus it just got put way back on my to-do list. I actually don't have a to-do list except in my head.... Anyway, so here I am again. Trying to get caught up on life in the H household!

Well, the last post was VP's engagement. Her status has changed, not to married, but to unengaged and single. (YAY). This all happened right before the end of the semester in April, so she came home with very mixed emotions. She also didn't go back for the 2nd semester, but decided to stay home and work and do online classes. She did work - lots, but didn't ever get her classes started. We were very happy to have her home. As I said in my post about the engagement - there were concerns as well as us being very happy for VP and her intended. But through all the drama, I just kept feeling very calm about the whole thing - whichever way things turned out. Maybe it is good that I didn't post until now. I can look back and share a much different perspective than would have been shared had I posted right in the thick of things. The calmness was a real blessing, because whenever VP called with any kind of emotion (and there were several), I was able to say things more like support and concern rather than "I told you" so's, etc. I was able to just say things to help her see things differently and make her decisions rather than freak out with her. She might not have liked it in the moment, but in the long run, these reactions were better coming from me than anger or frustration (which is what she had - I didn't need to have them too). I wasn't calm because I knew what the end result would be, but Heavenly Father always gave me that calm feeling whenever I prayed about the situation as a way to know it would all work out with the end result being much growth and understanding for all concerned. That has been the best blessing of the last year in all situations of my family life. With VP, I am glad she had this experience. She has learned to rely on whisperings of the Spirit and the power of prayer. She wouldn't admit it, but she will understand that it is important to listen to those who love you and are concerned for you and have your best interest at heart. Even if you don't necessarily do exactly as they suggest, it will give you other ways at looking at things that will help in your final decision. That's what life and free agency is all about - not doing all things independently, but gathering all information, then deciding from there.

There is actually a lot of perspectives about life that I am now looking back on and being very thankful for how it all has turned out. AR was not too thrilled to be giving up her room 3 months earlier than anticipated. We had just got her settled when VP came home for the whirlwind weekend, then 2 months later, VP was moving back in, so AR had to go back into sharing a room again. She was really good about it, though. At the same time, CM & MA were coming home to work for the summer. It included CM coming 6 weeks earlier than his dear wife to work at a landscaping company, then they would head out to Maine to work on a farm to see how they liked the "simple" (haha) life. All this was happening when our financial life was pretty much tanking - after several months, and it was looking pretty desperate. Lots and lots of praying, fasting and temple attendance was being done on our part to see which direction we needed to go.  One night CM just happened to mention that I should be the office manager for the landscaping company. Well, it was 2 days before the season started, and I said YES!, but I am sure at this point they have someone already to go. The owner had done all this in the past and it was the first year they have hired someone to answer the phone, do all the computer work and deposits, etc - no office space, just from my home or wherever I happened to be. Well, he mentioned it to SP and I prayed. I had also recently interviewed for a part-time job of a neighbor in their home office. I actually said these words in my prayer "I know that someone else probably has this job already, but if there is any hesitation on their part, and it is something that I can and should do, then please have everything work out that I can get this". (this was Monday) In interviewing with SP and his wife (on Wednesday), they mentioned that they had someone all set up through the gal's mother. She was returning from a mission, so the mother had set it up so she could start right when she got home. When she got home, she decided on Tuesday that she instead wanted to go right away to school and declined the job.!!!! They used my exact words that I had used in my prayers. Looking back on it - I can say that it wasn't easy - not in the least bit. It was actually quite stressful, but it had an end to the season, and I was able to hang on to the fact that I knew that we needed it, and it was an answer to my prayers, so I knew that Heavenly Father knew I could handle it. It also so happened that I was watching a kindergartner all during the same time as this other job - so it was good for Nova, but also added to my normally quite calm life. In the end, the timing couldn't have been more perfect financially, too as what I earned during that 3 month period was exactly what we needed to stay afloat. 

This post is getting pretty long and drawn out. I just know that there really, really is a Heavenly Father - a Father who is concerned for all of His children with all aspects of their lives. He is caring, and knows us personally. He has eternal perspective - which our perspective is far from that, so when we rely on His, and have faith, life might not go as we think is best, but the end result is better than we could have imagined.
I am going to go do another post right away, just to break things up a little!