Sunday, July 15, 2007

Workin' hard & staying busy while we are apart.

It has been 2 weeks since Chris left for Tennessee. Although the separation has not been ideal, it has been less painful than was expected. We must be being blessed. Chris is working hard in Tennessee, working a grave yard shift for the past two weeks. I am staying busy remodeling the other half of our basement, last year we remodeled the mother-in-law apt. in our basement.

I have also stayed busy selling our home. We will have it under contract this week, and anticipated to close by the 15th of August! So we are praying for a miracle that we will find a job and a place to live that fits our criteria VERY SOON! Chris is starting his job hunt Monday, July 16. He has 9 interviews set up with different potential employers. Some in Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. He loves what he has seen so far in the Mid-west and has informed me that he is 100% committed to moving to a small rural town. I, on the other hand, still love the idea of moving to a small community and have a farm, however, I will admit I am not excited about moving 20 plus hours away from my family and friends. It will be a great adventure but at a great cost of leaving so many people I love dearly. At the same time however, I know that it will all work out for the best and I look forward to our next few months. Chris is planned to return August 3rd. Less than 3 weeks to go! :)

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Goodbye Tridell, Here we come Midwest??

Okay, so we had big summer plans that involved a small town in Utah and a nice piece of land to work hard to build into a home. We were excited for the opportunity to build our dream of a small farm. Well those plans have changed! Call it fate, call it destiny, call it bad luck or good luck, we are no longer moving to Tridell, Utah!

Here is an update:

June 19: Chris gets a call from his potential employer, DCFS in Vernal. They inform him that they can no longer offer him the salary they previously told us they could pay him. So we said, ok how much, their reply was a shocking $12K less a year than previously offered and 20K less a year than when he quit the state in March 06. So in keeping with our family's goals which are to raise our family on one income we declined the offer to work for DCFS in Vernal. Needless to say we were VERY disappointed!

June 20: Chris looks for other job possibilities. He finds that the three other jobs in Utah (Gunnison Prison, Community Mental Health in Central Utah and LDS Social services all put a freeze on hiring new employees. So he begins a new search outside of Utah, which include jobs in Idaho, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

June 22: Dennis, (Chris's brother-in-law) tells Chris he has a temporary job for him in Tennessee. It is installing a video surveillance system in a large Department store. He will pay for all of Chris's traveling expenses to get there and he will pay him while he works there. Chris saw this as a great opportunity to get to the midwest and interview with these mental health companies he has been pursuing.

June 28: We decide together Chris is going to Tennessee to work for Dennis and interview with potential employers in the Midwest.

June 30: Chris leaves for Missouri. He will arrive in Tennessee on Monday July 2 and will start the temporary job. He will return the first week of August.

Not like we planed. However, we are learning that life doesn't always work out like you plan. We trust our Heavenly Father and know that all will work out for the best!