Bahamas!

In a few weeks, Adam and I are going on our FREE cruise to the Bahamas! I had so many travel points from placing students that I am also taking my two sisters and brother all for free! Should be a great time. I didn't even want to go because I was so depressed but now I am getting excited and I'm sure it will do us some good to get away from our lives for a week.

Eternal Perspective

Don't you just hate hearing the phrase "eternal perspective" sometimes? Especially when it relates directly to you? Perhaps I hate the phrase sometimes because I'm not actually ready yet to accept that things happen for a reason and I have no control over the situation except for how I react to it.

The details of what went down earlier this week are as follows:

Sort of realized Monday night it was going to happen as his application status had been changed to "No longer being considered." We had to wait an agonizing night before this information could be confirmed. We were hoping and praying it was some mistake.

Tuesday morning Adam gets a call from his contact he's been working with for the last year and he tells Adam that, unfortunately, someone had applied at the last minute with experience and they got along well. They couldn't justify not hiring him over Adam who has no experience in the operating room.

Some good news-- His contact said that he, the VP and Regional Manager who all interviewed Adam in his last interview, were completely blown away and impressed with his persistence, preparation, and interviewing skills. He said that he personally learned a lot from Adam and to not be discouraged. He said that the VP and Regional Manager were so impressed that they have already made the effort to contact people both within and without the company and that they really want Adam on their team wherever they can get him.

That helped soften the blow a little bit. Then, the RM called Adam later that night and basically said the same thing and that another division was going to be making some personnel changes in the near future and he would do all that he could to help him get the job if he is interested. I mentioned all of this to my brother, Greg, who works in the industry and he said that is a HUGE deal that those guys would even take the time to do something like that. Greg said they must have been super impressed to go to those lengths because that never happens in business. Higher-ups don't care, they move on with life, and business is business.

We were talking to Adam's dad yesterday and he said when he gave Adam a blessing right before his final interview, he just didn't feel like this was his job but he definitely felt like this was the right company and the right direction.

I know Adam still has some residual anger and he's very confused and depressed about this because he had received several strong impressions that THIS was his job. I think perhaps Heavenly Father wanted him to feel that way so that he would try his very hardest to stand out and impress them. Which he did. I guess the Lord doesn't want us in Salt Lake and, for whatever reason, not that particular job. I DO know that, throughout this year-long process, he has gained some powerful allies and connections and that OUR job will be found through those people. We have prayed and expected miracles. In this case, it takes time to bring about a miracle.

This morning, I read a quote by Neal A. Maxwell: "The thermostat on the furnace of affliction will not have been set too high for us--though clearly we may think so at the time. Our God is a refining God who has been tempering soul-steel for a very long time. He knows when the right edge has been put upon our excellence and also when there is more in us than we have yet given. One day we will praise God for taking us near to our limits--as He did His Only Begotten in Gethsemane and Calvary."

Adam and I have definitely struggled during the last two years but we have always been able to get by with my job, unemployment, sporadic work for Adam. We are, in a sense, stepping into the dark. With ZERO income now (my job is over), perhaps the hardest and final part of this trial is beginning. "We receive no witness until after the trial of our faith." This is it. We're down to nothing and now we have to trust that the Lord will guide us through the dark and into the light.

For the past month, Adam has been attending the temple daily. He made a covenant with the Lord that he would attend every day until he found a job. Yesterday, he was angry and didn't want to go. I decided I would go in his place with my sister and parents. As I was getting ready to leave, he was ironing his shirt and preparing his clothes for a morning session. It made me cry because that's why I married him. Because he has more faith than anyone I have ever seen. He is always willing and ready to sacrifice his time and his talents. He is always the first to volunteer for anything in the church, one of the few who stays to clean up after every ward activity, always ready to jump in and help wherever he is needed.

In Case You Are Wondering...

Church Day

Today was one of those days when I feel like I didn't even go to church. My children were so embarrassingly loud and disruptive that Adam and I got NOTHING out of sacrament meeting and then we took turns helping out in the nursery. When Adam was serving as the Ward Mission leader a while ago, he went out to do visits with the ex-stake president/ex-Boise Mission councilor/ex-Bishop/current high counselor. This guys is super spiritual and talks like a general authority. They went to visit a less-active member of our ward and the general authority-like spiritual giant starts talking to the guy about sacrament meeting and how it's the highlight of his week to be able to sit for a few quiet moments and ponder the mission of our Savior. Adam and I have talked about that several times and how 99% of our sacrament meetings post-children have been anything BUT quiet and peaceful, not even leaving a few moments of quiet time to reflect on the sacrifice of our Savior. The less-active they were visiting was a young father of two small children like ourselves and Adam told him that he (Adam) doesn't usually get moments of reflection during sacrament meeting but he continues to go because he knows it's spiritually vital for himself and his family. Today was one of those days at church.
I must report, though, that James is consistently one of THE best kids in primary. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. Teachers and leaders tell me all the time how he sits so quietly on the front row with his Sunbeam class and sings the songs and is never disruptive. It's amazing to me because he is the exact opposite at home. He is so obedient when Adam and I aren't around. I wonder when he will start being obedient for us.

Ruby Pics

Here are some random pictures of Ruby. She's obsessed with her "bike" that she got for her birthday. She wants to ride it all the time.
We lost one of the lenses to her sunglasses but she still wanted to wear them and we are too cheap to buy her a new pair. She's content with these and calls them her "pirate sunglasses." Grandma ended up buying her a new pair because she said it was spooky looking at Ruby in the rear view mirror. That made me laugh.

Been on my Mind Lately

A good talk and a good reminder.

"A second bit of advice I would give my son is do not bear false witness. It’s easy to do. We do it all the time. We love the juicy morsel about what someone did or what someone thought they did. “If you can’t say anything good about a person, don’t say anything at all”—you’ve heard that over and over again.

I don’t speak of times when a person is on trial and you are testifying in a court. I speak of the times when you thoughtlessly brand someone with a trait or an act, which may or may not be true, but which you heard; and with a certain amount of pleasure you enjoy repeating the tale to your associates. It is dangerous business.

One time I was conducting a conference in Salt Lake City and President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve was there. I invited him to speak, and he said, no, he didn’t care to speak but to go ahead. So I began to speak, and I told them that if they ever told a story about anybody, that story would stick to that person no matter how long he lived, and it would be believed by most people, and therefore they must not bear false witness.

While I was speaking, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and there stood President Richards right behind me, and he said, “I’ve changed my mind. I want to speak.”

He said words about like this: “Once upon a time I was a high councilor in a stake, and somebody made a serious accusation against a man. We debated whether to have him in and try him. Finally, the stake president decided he would talk to him privately, and apparently he did, and the man proved to the satisfaction of all of us that not only was he not guilty of the accusation, but he hadn’t even been in the country when it was supposed to have taken place. He was away somewhere, and he couldn’t possibly have done it.”

He said, “Forty years went by, and that man’s name came up for a very high appointment in the Church. In spite of myself, I caught myself wondering if the story told about the man was true, even though it had been proven false.

I had to get hold of myself to keep from voting negatively against that man on a false story told forty years before that was proved false.” Then he sat down, and I continued speaking.

That can happen to you. And if it is told about you, you’ll know what I mean."

The Job Update

Adam got home last night from Logan and his last interview for this position. He said the interview went as well as it possibly could have. It's down to him and one other candidate. They are interviewing the other candidate today and told Adam they will "hopefully reach a decision by the end of the week." They better decide this week because I can't take the anticipation much longer.

Labor Day

We had a great Labor Day weekend! We went white water rafting on Saturday, had a relaxing Sunday and then went to a BSU bash at my brother and SIL's, Greg and MaryJo's, house. We played sand volleyball in the court next to their house and enjoyed an awesome BBQ/potluck while a slew of kids ran around the yard jumping on the trampoline and the bouncy house. It was a large crowd with lots of extended family, ward friends and neighbors. The noise was deafening when BSU scored or had a good play. It's always a good time when they host a get together.
I don't think I have ever mentioned them on my blog before but they are an amazing couple. They are overly generous and often throw parties at their house and provide most of the food. They are high school sweethearts and Jo waited for Greg while he served a mission in Oklahoma. There never seemed to be anyone else for either of them. They have always been an example to me of what a good, solid relationship should be. They are both lots of fun to be around and Jo is always very loving with my kids. They are dedicated to the gospel and serve faithfully and diligently in the church. Our family is very close and all of my siblings live in the Boise area. We get together EVERY Sunday just about without fail and I love that. I know my family very well and we are fiercely loyal. When one of us is hurt or attacked, it's like everyone in the family has been hurt. My great-grandmother was that way and I assume those feelings of loyalty have been passed down through generations and generations of family.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ruby!

Ruby turned two last Saturday, August 28th, which absolutely astounds me. Where did the past year go? It's frightening how quickly time passes. We didn't really have much of a party as I was in Hailey for her actual birthday and didn't have time to really plan anything. We had a small family party the next day on Sunday. She got a big pink big-wheel which she calls her 'bike' and insists on riding through the house. Well, she can't actually reach the pedals but she does a good job at pushing it with her feet. She loves it! She also got some bath toys, underwear, purse, cart with fake food, and a new baby and a few clothes. It seems like she has grown and matured so much just over the summer. She talks in full sentences and loves to sing "Once there was a Snowman," "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam," a slew of Wiggles songs, and "I'm so glad when Daddy comes Home." She loves to read, what she calls, "the Jesus book," which is either the Nursery manual or the Gospel Art book. She can point out and name Joseph Smith, Emma Smith, all of the crazy animals/items in her books. She LOVES the Wiggles and would watch them all day if I would let her. She hates being tormented by James and James loves to antagonize her non-stop which is really annoying and frustrating. Her favorite toy is a baby-doll. She loves that baby and likes to carry it everywhere with her. She's so sweet and much less into-everything than James is which is nice. She's been a pretty easy baby and has a funny personality. She likes to tell jokes and try to 'trick' us and then she'll laugh and laugh. She said her first prayer yesterday and it was so cute. What can I say, she's a doll and I love her so much. I can't believe she's mine. I'm so thankful Heavenly Father has entrusted me with two of his children.

My Job

I haven't posted in a while because things have been so busy and a bit hectic with my job. Last weekend, I took around 30 exchange students on an overnight trip to Hailey where we met up with an additional 70 exchange students from Eastern Idaho, and they attended an orientation. Yesterday, Adam and I took a small group white water rafting which took up most of the day. In additional to those activities, my job has kept me busy:
Answering a lot of questions from host moms and dads.
Answering a lot of questions from newly-arrived students.
Running to/from the airport to greet arriving students.
Interviewing and orientating host parents in regards to the duties of hosting.
Planning/executing activities for said students.
Fielding questions from two collegues as I am now officially the team leader for Boise.
Writing reports on how the first month went for EACH of my 21 students from both the students' perspective and the host families' perspective.

It has felt like way too much lately. Granted, I do WAY more than the average exchange coordinator because I was driven to make as much money as I could. Still, I am ready to step away from this job. Another reason I am hoping Adam lands this LAST interview this Tuesday!! We talked about how great it would be if he got this job and I could keep working for EF because the extra money is great and the travel benefits are fun but now it feels like it's taking me away too much from my kids. I don't want to handle any more calls from crying kids because they are homesick, or calls from host parents because they have a question about school or driver's ed or whatever. It has been a great job and an amazing opportunity to be able to work from home. It has been a huge blessing for us for the past two years and has sustained us financially. I'm just so relieved that this whole interview process will finally be over this week. After nearly a year of waiting and praying for this job, we will know one way or the other this week. Scary but exciting. If he gets it, we will have a huge party to celebrate. Keep us in your prayers. His interview is Tuesday morning!