Mom goes back to work...

I am so behind on blogging.  Way behind.  I have wondered if it is worth it to try to catch up, and maybe it's not.  We shall see.

My last post was about David getting a job, but what I didn't include was that I got a job too.  I have had the amazing opportunity to be at home with my kids from the day my oldest was born.  This has been my dream and my goal for as long as I can remember.  I never wanted to be a mom who worked full-time.  I have always felt strongly that my place is in the home.  Still do.  But, David and I knew there was the possibility it could take awhile for him to find a job.  With the severance package, we also knew we had some time.  I didn't want to go back to work at this stage of life, with my kids as young as they are.  David didn't want me to either.  We decided we would give it 6 months to find a job and then reevaluate at that point.  Well, as you know, 6 months came and went with no job.  And we reevaluated.  I felt completely paralyzed at the thought of going back to work.  I was not ready for this.  I was not ready to leave my kids.  I didn't think I could do it.  But, we took it to the Lord, as we always do with major life decisions.

The answer that came was not the one I expected.  Nor was it the one I wanted.  The answer was that I should go back to work.  Oh, the tears that poured out of me.  My heart physically ached at the thought.  I, literally, felt like I could not catch my breath.  But, with great reluctance, I moved forward and began the process of searching for a job.

I am a nurse, but hadn't practiced in 10 years. Honestly, I wondered who would even hire me after such a long break.  Thankfully, I had kept up my RN license through continuing education for those 10 years and I am so glad I did.  As I began looking through the nursing jobs posted online, I discovered there was very little I was interested in.  There were a lot of rehab, nursing home and home health jobs.  I was not jazzed about these, but I needed a job as quickly as I could get one.  I have a brother who was an administrator at a Rehab facility and, with his help, I ended up getting an interview at one of these facilities.

After the interview I was bummed because this really wasn't where I wanted to work.  I was not excited about it at all.  When I got home from the interview I immediately got online and searched again...hoping for something better.  To my surprise, one of the listings caught my attention.  It was for a Postpartum (Mother/Baby) Unit.  This has always been my dream job.  Ever since I took my labor and delivery course in college, I have wanted to work in Labor and Delivery or in a Mother/Baby Unit.  I did not choose this out of school because I really felt like I needed experience taking care of sick and injured patients first.  Not only did I feel like I needed that experience, but I wanted that experience.  With that said, I have talked for years about what I would want to do when I did go back to work.  It has always been to work with pregnant women...whether that be in an OB/GYN office, Labor and Delivery or Postpartum.  I have looked at such jobs over the years, but attached to every job posting, under "required" has been "at least 1 year experience in Labor & Delivery."  It is there, every single time.  I began to wonder if it was something I would ever be able to break into without having prior experience.  But here, in my search, was a listing for a Postpartum Unit and no experience necessary!  I applied immediately, even though I didn't expect them to call me.   But, God is amazing!  I got a call the following day from the hospital recruiter wanting to schedule an interview.  That same day, I got a call from the rehab facility...they offered me the job.  I told them I had another interview and wanted to see where that led first before making a decision.

During my interview for the postpartum job, I learned that while I would sometimes work in postpartum (the mother/baby unit), what they were really looking for was a Level 2 NICU nurse (they only take babies who are 34 weeks and older).  This spoke to my heart.  It was my dream job.  A dream job I didn't even know I had until it was presented to me.  I was SO surprised to get a call 2 days later with an offer.  I said yes immediately.

The ironic part in all of this is that David was offered his job the very next day!  Honestly, I was a little miffed.  Even though I now had my "dream job" I really just wanted to be home with my kids.  Had I waited just 2 more weeks to look for a job, I would, right now, still be at home with my boys.  We did re-evaluate (again) and still we felt like this was what we were supposed to do...with the goal of getting down to working just 1 day a week as quickly as possible. :)


I can hardly believe it, but it has now been over a year since I went back to work.  Some days this past year has felt like 10 years and other times it has cruised by.  I worked full time (night shifts) for the first 4 months, and let me tell you, I have a newfound respect for mom's who work full-time.  It is not easy.  It was so difficult juggling kids, sports, work, sleep time (my sleep time AND the kids sleep time), homework time, play time, and on and on.  I could not have done it without the help of my parents and my amazing sister, Tiffany.  I hired my sister to help "nanny" my kids on the evenings I worked.  She helped with homework and getting the kids to bed.  What a heaven-sent!  My parents (especially my mom) watched the kids while I slept after my night shifts.  I owe these women so much!

My boss wanted me to work full-time for a year before dropping my hours, but it was just too much.  After 4 months I was able to drop down to part-time (2 night shifts a week).  I have been singing the hallelujah chorus ever since.  I am not saying working part-time hasn't been hard too.  It has.  But so much better than full-time.  Come June, I will be down to 1 night shift one week and 2 night shifts the next, then repeat.  Eventually, I will be down to just 1 night shift a week, but right now, June can't come fast enough!

Bring on Summer!!!  And maybe, just maybe, if I am working less, I can be writing more here on this blog!

Update #2...Our Big Life Decision

The last several months have been long.  Many long months without a job.  David warned me well in advance about the statistics of people at his level getting a job.  He let me know that it can take 6-12 months.  I hated that statistic.  It scared me.  And, honestly, I didn't think that would be us.  Surely, it wouldn't take that long.  Ha!  Little did I know.  In the end, it took 8 months.

I won't lie, there were some tough moments and rough days, but there were also good moments and great days.  The days when we saw the hand of the Lord in our lives.  The days we experienced tender mercies along the way.

The first tender mercy came in the form of time with the kids.  Even an unemployed David worked a lot, but after school or in the evening, the boys got their dad.  It was so fun to watch them play soccer or basketball together.  During the first few months of unemployment, the boys didn't want their dad to get a job.  They were enjoying their time with him and didn't want to give him up.  When it got cold and playing outside was no longer an option, the boys began to realize we could not have a house of our own until there was a job.  It was then that they started to change their tune.  They suddenly became very interested in the job hunt.  Whenever David would interview, he was always questioned afterwards, by his children.  They always wanted to know how it went and if he did well.  Poor David...not that he didn't already feel the pressure of the world on his shoulders!

There was one particular day when we heard back from 3 companies that David was not chosen for any of them.  And there were no prospects waiting in the wings.  That was a hard day.  I went to bed in a fog and woke up in a fog.  I was so down.  I went about my day in a haze.  I went grocery shopping and then headed to the organic store for some deli meat.  While standing in line, I heard the lady in front of me tell the cashier that she would be buying my food as well.  I wasn't sure I heard right, but I looked up at her and realized she was serious.  I told her she didn't need to do that.  She replied with, "I know, but I want to."  Again, I told her it was not necessary, but she insisted.  In fact, she said, "I just wish you had filled up your cart!"  What!?!  I thanked her profusely and gave her a hug.  Then we parted ways.  When I was finally seated in my car, the tears just started to roll down my cheeks.  I didn't need this woman to buy my $6 deli meat.  Financially, we were doing just fine.  We were not lacking in anything.  What this sweet act of service did for me was let me know that my Father in Heaven was aware of me.  That He knows what I am going through.  That He cares.  That He loves me.  That He has not lost sight of me and my family and our troubles.  And he chose this woman, an angel on earth, to tell me that.  What a needed tender mercy that was for me.  The only thing I regret is that I did not chase this woman down in the parking lot to tell her what she had done for me.  I wish I had told her about the difficult day I was having and how I had been wondering if God was listening. I wish that I could have told her how she was an answer to my prayer.

Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for us to hear from multiple companies on the same day that David was not the one selected for the jobs he had been interviewing for.  Most of those times, there was nothing waiting in the wings.  We would go to bed with a heavy heart, but invariably David would get a call the following morning about a new opportunity.  These too were tender mercies.  Right after having our hopes dashed, we would be blessed with hope again.  It helped to keep our faith alive.

There was another point when I was a bit down and wondering about how long this was taking, I came across a scripture in my daily reading.  The scripture is 2 Nephi:22:2.  It reads:

    "Behold, God is my salvation;
      I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord
     Jehovah is my strength and my song;
     he also has become my salvation."

Wow.  On that day, this too was just what I needed.  I immediately memorized this scripture.  I shared it with David and he printed it off and posted it in many places where we would see it daily.  This scripture became our mantra.  Over a period of 5 months, whenever I got down, I would repeat this scripture over and over.  I had frequent pep talks with myself by saying, "I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song."  I knew that we were where we were supposed to be, no matter how long this process was taking.  This scripture helped me to remember that and to trust in God, who we knew was guiding us.

During this time we went to the temple frequently.  I have always loved the temple, but over the last couple of years my appreciation for the temple has grown 100 fold.  It is a sacred place where one can truly commune with God.  I love it there.  We have received many answers within the walls of the temple.  Some very specific.  One answer, although a generic one, we received with every visit over the last several months is that God has a plan for our family.  Some days that was all we had to go on, but it was enough.  We may not have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we knew it was coming.

Provo City Center Temple

And it did come!  In January, David began interviewing with 4 different companies, one of which became "The One."  The interview process at David's level is grueling.  It is not just one and done.  Interviewing is a long process that takes weeks.  David would interview, and if they liked him he would be back for another interview and then another and possibly more after that.  It felt like we were courting these companies.  After weeks of this with each company, David would often be one of two people left.  And for months he was not the one chosen.  Until Ultradent came along with an offer at the end of February!  By the time David was offered the job of Senior HR Director at Ultradent, it had taken nearly two months and he had interviewed with a total of 22 people at the company.  Twenty-two.  It blows me away.  After he started this job, everyone apologized to him about the rigorous interviewing process, but they wanted to get the right fit for the job.  It's funny how we can look back and be grateful that all those other jobs didn't work out.  God always knows best.  This job is a great fit for David, the company and our family.  We are thrilled about this job and know it was worth the long wait.

I can't finish this post without a shout-out to this man.  He is amazing.  I have always known it, but the 8 months of unemployment have shown me even more who he is and why I love him.

David worked incredibly hard over those 8 months.  It actually felt like he had a full-time job.  If he wasn't looking for a job or interviewing for a job, he was creating a job.  He started an HR consulting business to earn money.  He became an adjunct faculty member at BYU for a couple of courses.  And he bought the rights to something called Disrupt HR Salt Lake City.  There is no money involved with Disrupt HR, but progressive HR is a passion of David's, so he headed it up, added board members and ran his first Disrupt HR SLC Conference.  This man was not idle for 8 months.  He worked non-stop.  I am so impressed with how he handled these very humbling months.  He is my a rock star.

Oh, and there is one more tender mercy I wanted to share.  I know I am biased, but this husband of mine has great experience and a lot to offer any company.  It is crazy to me that it really took 8 months for someone to see this.  It is crazy to me that it took 8 months to get one offer.  David often made it right up until the end before another candidate was chosen over him.  But, even with making it so far, it was still hard on him to be rejected so many times.  It was hard on me to watch.  With that said, I also felt like it was another of God's tender mercies.  I am so grateful that we didn't have to make the decision to take an offer...or not.  Over and over again.  Being unemployed is hard.  Turning down a job that has landed in your lap, in hopes of finding a better one or even "the one" is harder.  I am so grateful we were not continually faced with whether or not we should take this job or that one.  The decision was already made for us.  And, for me, that was a tender mercy.  It made it easier for me to say, "Ok, that one wasn't it.  What's next?"  And what came next was a job that feels so right.  We couldn't be happier with the end result.

Piano Recital

We found a fantastic piano teacher!  She has taken Luke to a whole new level.  I am amazed at how much Luke has progressed in the last 4 months.  This teacher is very nice, but she also holds her kids accountable.  I was doing the lessons along with Luke while we lived in Wisconsin, but this kid has far surpassed my ability in a very short time.  He is already playing hymns!

I also love that this teacher comes to our house for lessons!  She was nearly booked when I called to sign up (she has 60+ students) and the only time slot was Saturday morning at 6:30am, but we took it and am so glad we did.  We signed Caden up too and so far he is enjoying it.

In January, the boys had their first recital.  Luke's last teacher didn't do recitals so this was new for both of them.  Both boys did great and I am so proud of them and all the hard work they put into practicing every day.

Here is Caden, who had only been taking lessons for a couple of months.  He is playing, "I Just Can't Wait to Be King."

Luke is playing, "The Sound of Music."

The recital felt a little like a ward party as so many from church take lessons from this teacher.  I am going to be so sad to lose her as a teacher when we move into our own home.  

Christmas 2016

We didn't have a job at Christmas time, but our kids were still getting a Christmas.  It is true that they were not getting as much as they typically would, but we were okay with that.  In fact, we thought it was a good thing for our boys to recognize that money does not grow on trees.  We have no desire for our children to grow up entitled and thought this (along with other things) could help with that.

When we moved in with my parents, people at church, naturally, wanted to know why.  We were up front about the lack of a job, but were also quick to tell people that we were good.  David left his previous company with a nice severance package and financially we were taken care of.  We thought we made this clear.

Well, two days before Christmas, we had 4 bags of Christmas presents show up on our doorstep.  One bag for each child.  There was also an envelope containing money.  This was completely unexpected.  It was a bit overwhelming.  And very humbling.  And while not necessary, we were amazed and humbled some more by the generosity of good, good people.  Our boys were in awe of what others had done for them too.  We talked with our children about these anonymous, but amazing, people who were thinking about them and worried they were not going to have a good Christmas.  I tear up when I think about these incredible souls.  Our children now look forward with great anticipation for when we will give back and do the same for another family in need.  We can't wait.

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Christmas morning family picture...a must.

It was so fun to celebrate with my parents and Tiff! 

I took a picture of each family member opening their first gift then put the camera down and enjoyed our day together. 

This is Bananas.  I am so glad he took over the spot of Ryland's previous stuffed animal that was looking especially raggedy.

Bananas goes everywhere Ry goes.

Christmas afternoon and evening was spent with more family!  We even got to witness the twins take some of their first steps!  Beck was especially excited about this.  Max was done after he toppled a time or two.

It was so nice to be able to attend church Christmas morning as well.  What a way to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior Jesus Christ on his day.

Christmas Eve 2016

On Christmas Eve we went out to dinner, as per the usual, only this time we had my parents and Tiff there too, as we are living with them.  It was fun to have extra family with us!

After dinner, we typically act out the nativity, but with the costumes in storage we chose to watch it this year.  Who knows, maybe we even got more out of it.

We then got to opening the traditional Christmas Eve Jammies!

This isn't a tradition with my parents, but they got on board with us and I think they liked it!

Tiff got PJ's too!

It's true...we went shopping together and all 3 of us ended up liking the exact same pajama bottoms.  We must be related!

November...at a glance

Here is a quick look at our November!

The kids are loving the new All Together Park.

We have been here many times now.

I had to take a picture of all of Ry's "friends" watching his kindle with him.

The leaves fall from the Walnut tree in November.  They make a huge mess, but the kids sure loved it.

I loved Caden's list of things he is thankful for!

It says, "I am thankful for many things.  I am thankful for my family because they love me.  I am thankful for friends because they don't lie.  I am thankful for me because I like me.  That's what I am thankful for."

It is so fun living near family again!  I was able to attend Time Out For Women with two of my favorite people...my sister, Tiff, and my mom.

We celebrated David's 40th Birthday!!!  Too bad it happened the same weekend as Time Out For Women so he wasn't celebrated as much as he should have been.  This is a big one.  We went out later to make up for it!

We had Thanksgiving here at my parents house with all the cousins, but I failed to take even one picture!  Again, it is so fun to be close to family!!

The day after Thanksgiving we got right to the tree decorating.

The boys loved all the November snow.  And all the snow that has continued to fall this winter.

My last living grandma died at the end of November.  She hadn't been herself for years, so this was something we were grateful for.  My parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I congregated in her room at the facility where she had been living.  When we walked into her room, this was the first thing to greet us.  The facility has dolls for those living there.  The night before she died, my grandma had collected these dolls, brought them to her room and arranged them like this before she went to bed.  This is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.

The funeral was bitter cold.  All the kids, except Luke, were in the car by the time we thought to take a picture.  Brrr....

This lovely lady was the sweetest woman I have ever known.  I truly never heard her utter an unkind word about anyone or to anyone.  She was a real gem.

I look forward to the day I get to see her again on the other side.

Halloween 2016

What a fun Halloween we had in Grandma's neighborhood!  There was a little bit of a mom fail, but grandma came to the rescue.  When we moved, most of our possessions went to a storage unit, but I did my best to pull out the things we were going to need over the next few months.  I remembered the Halloween costumes, but the day before Halloween I discovered that the Harry Potter costume that got packed was the adult and not the child size.  And some of the Robin Hood pieces were missing.  Oops.

Thank goodness, Spot, the dalmatian was accounted for.

Porter was supposed to be Harry Potter, but grandma rescued him by having a Robin Hood costume from a play one of my brothers had been in during elementary school.  Phew!

I ran to the store and grabbed Caden a Ninja costume, which he loved!

Luke was an army guy.

My mom is amazing and made gypsy costumes for David and I.  

She also made Tiffany's, way cool, Archer costume.

My parents went as a Warlock and Witch to their YSA ward party.

It was fun to have David's brother and his family come trick-or-treating with us around the neighborhood.

Meg, Grant, Tiffany, David & Joey

Meg, Grant, Tiffany, Porter, Caden & David