A Nice Surprise

My oldest son, Joshua, has been on spring break this week. His original paln was to come for a short visit yesterday and stay for about two days. He surprised us by walking through the door on Sunday afternoon and he stayed until yesterday.

Josh did his Christmas shopping this past year while he was in Europe and the gift he sent my dad was from the Netherlands. A wonderful Dutch cookie-like treat called, stroopwafels. They are delicious, and buttery and chewy because they have this sort of honey, syrup baked in the middle.

A friend told me of a little European shop in Lawrence, KS, called, Au Marche. What a wonderful little shop. So full of European treats and foods! Josh said it was about as close to feeling like Europe without actually being there. His grandmother filled him an amazing Euopean Easter basket. The weather was perfect that day and it was so great to spend some time with my son. And the stroopwafels are delicious!!!

NEW JOB

Bright and early Monday morning, Cliff skipped (ok not literally but I do think he was skipping in his mind) off to his new job. Watching him get everything ready Sunday night was like watching my kids when they were little, getting ready for their first day of school.

He now works for a large, national trucking company...which seems to be very employee driven. Now I know you are told this before starting any job and we also know that no job is perfect. Sometimes, though, you know these things from the start by the way they treat you and the way they operate. Things are done with respect, systems, and order.

Cliff will be training for two weeks. Monday he watched videos about the company, proceedures, etc. Tuesday, he worked the dock. Yesterday he went on a haul to St. Louis. Tonight he will head to Des Moines. Next week he will train for city driving.

For 6 months up to a year, he will be what you would consider swing shift. He'll work whenever or wherever he is needed. Everyone at this company has done this. After that, he'll be able to bid for a position with regular hours. For us, this temporary situation is a small price to pay after seeing all the benefits.

He's happy. He loves driving. He's glad to be working again and I'm glad for him.

We don't forget for one minute the supplier of this job. We know it is God. It's a new chapter for us. It's more money than he's ever made...and after trying to survive layoffs and very minimal pay, we feel as though we have been given a new lease on life.

I wrote this post last May. This is where it all really started...lessons in faith! And learning to trust and obey God through tough, dark days.

The BIG Day

Monday is the BIG day. Cliff starts work again....after 6 long but very rewarding weeks. I've been glad to have him home but we're both ready for him to be working again.

He will be working swing shifts for the first year but after that it should go to more regular hours. It's a small price we're willing to pay because the entire package of this company seems to be worth it. And as I tell my kids, "you can do alot when you know its temporary!"

Thanks to everyone of you who prayed and supported us through this time. God has been so very faithful and one day, when I can put into words how He supplied our every need, I will do a post about it.

Just In Case You're Wondering...

Cliff lost his job on January 29. And since that time, it seems as if nothing in my life has been without complications. Sometimes the complications seem so big that I realize I'm focusing on them and not all the good stuff that is happening.

During this time, our friends have been incredible. Gift cards have mysteriously shown up and I know prayers have been made on our behalf. We came through February with all our bills paid and the only income we had was mine.

FINALLY, the unemployment got straightened out and came. He was backpaid for all but one week he's been out of work and it came just days before we needed to make our mortgage payment. Coincidence? I know its been God....supplying all our needs just like He promised He would.

Cliff also finally got his fingerprint clearance and went and took his haz-mat and doubles/triples tests for his license. He passed with flying colors. He went right from there to apply for a job he's been very interested in. The HR guy helped him fill out the application and they called him this morning to come take a driving test tomorrow morning.

If the job works out, I'm happy because he's happy. If it doesn't work out, we know its because God has another position for Cliff that is perfect for him.

It's been a long, hard, uncertain 5 weeks. But its also been a good 5 weeks. And I'm so thankful!!

Kitty Curiousity

I found a cat scratcher/toy at the thrift store for .98. Brought it home and put it in the cat's favorite sunny place....under the dining room table. It took them all of 5 minutes to find it and check it out. Took them a whole other 5 minutes to figure out it was just for them!! Too funny!!

This is Pebbles. I found her when we lived in the country. She kept our home rodent-free for the two years we lived there.

The other cat in the top picture is Ronald. He belongs to Emily...exclusively. He keeps our home rodent and bird-free. He definately earns his keep!!