Sunday, December 13, 2009

Away in a Manger

For those who do not attend our church, you can disregard the following posting. Because we didn't have church this morning due to freezing rain, we've posted motions here for a song we want the kids to learn for Christmas Eve.

Here is verse 1 for Away in a Manger. Amber was getting a little goofy by the time we got to making the video, so her actions don't always match mine (Josh). And no you CANNOT use this as blackmail against me!


Verse 2


Verse 3

Monday, December 7, 2009

Welcome

So I've finally broken down and started a blog. Now we'll see if I can keep up with the task. I'll start by letting all know what's been going on in our lives (hence the title of my blog). I apologize to anyone who has heard bits and pieces of, or all of this information already.

Employment
I am a stay at home mom, whose husband has worked full-time (sometimes two jobs) for the last three years so I could continue to stay home with our three year old daughter. About two months ago now, we found out Josh was about to lose his job. We didn't know when the last day would be, just that it could be two months or even up to five months before we would be devoid of income. Now, we both really hated the job he had but hey, it did put food on the table, paid the medical bills and allowed us to just plain live. It was a very stressful job and neither of us wanted him to have it long term but we figured on it lasting at least through the summer. SO...we started looking around, sending out applications, etc. We chose for him to give his two weeks notice so that he could be ready to take the first job offered to him. This may seem risky but it seemed to be what God wanted us to do.
Before the two weeks was even up, two jobs were offered. One part time and one full time, together they would make up enough to live on for the rest of the year. This week the part-time job was started and starting Jan. 2nd the other job will start.

Expecting...
Most who will read this will already know but for those who do not, I am over 12 weeks pregnant. Needless to say, we were a little concerned about everyone's well being while looking for employment. Not a good time to be bringing a new baby into the world when you don't know how in the world you yourself can live.
On top of this, we were already basket cases over the pregnancy since we lost our previous baby to a miscarriage back in the spring. So, we trekked into the doctor's appointments just waiting for something to be wrong. But much to our amazement, at both 10 and 12 weeks, baby was doing completely fine. Adequate growth, tons of movement and a wonderful heartbeat- all good signs for an expectant parent.

New Vehicle
Again, simultaneously with the previous issues, we needed to start looking for a new vehicle. Josh was driving home from a class he's taking and was in a 5 car pile up on the highway. All were okay but the car....not so much. With a totaled car and not much money, we were into paying rental car prices for more than a week.
Finally, we did find a van for ourselves. It's very nice, well taken care of, and was right within our price range. We absolutely love it and it will be perfect for our growing family!

In conclusion, I think I gave a pretty good synopsis of why I've picked this title for my blog and why we are so grateful to God right now. Nothing this year has brought us was what we had expected. God has brought far better instead. His grace is plentiful and when we probably least deserve it, He showers it upon us. :)