New Normal

This is the first time in 4 months that I finally feel like I'm able to breathe again. The good news is that Chris did get a very 11th hour job offer. He only applied because it was literally a one-click thing, as the district already had his application on file. He was back home after a 30 minute interview and inside I completely freaked out, thinking he didn't have the job - that's just way too short of an interview time! But no, they loved him and hired him two hours after the interview, even though they said they weren't to contact him until the next day.

We also have a new-to-us car, as my grandfather is downsizing his household and sold us his minivan for a steal of a deal. My monthly payment is a small check, several pictures, a hand painted card and a lengthy handwritten note.

I have started several projects in the last 4 months, but no finishes. Unless you count finishing my journal, a whopping 254 pages! I feel like it's a good documentation of our first year in Idaho, a lot of stress and struggles but no regrets. This is home for us.

My doTERRA business is really starting to take off. For the longest time it was just a trickle of income, but this month I finally broke the $1,000 mark! I'm not aggressive salesperson at all, it's been a 4.5 year journey to reach this point. But definitely feeling a lot of thankfulness and hope for my growth.

2015 feels full of hope for me. And I hope that includes more blogging!

The job hunt

We used to be more picky, applying for certain jobs in certain locations. But as time and money run low, I've come to realize that I can make any place a home in exchange for a full time job. There was only one place where I truly struggled to see myself living in - because I couldn't find any rentals. Didn't matter, the job was already filled.

That's something else we're learning. If we see a job that Chris qualifies for... APPLY! Especially if it's a brand new listing. The quicker you get your name in the pool of applicants, the better your chances of an interview.

I've lost track of how many applications we've filled. Some were filled, but never sent because we'd call them right before sending and they'd inform us the job was filled. Only two interviews thus far. One school decided to reshuffle internally and not hire at all. The other school ended up selecting somebody else. In both interviews they really liked Chris, said he interviews well. That whatever school does hire him will be a lucky to have him. Ok... so where is that lucky school?!

I never give up hope though. I keep pushing through, keep searching ahead for the next job we can apply. I just try to use the failures to see what we did wrong. Take the lessons learned from previous applications and apply them to the next. And pray, beg, and trust that God knows exactly what's the best for us.

Being Content

For the last several weeks I've been contemplating over getting my own domain and setting up a blog there. But I kept questioning myself, why do I want to move? Would I post enough to be worth the investment? Do I want to learn a new blogging platform? Is it going to take away the joy of blogging?

Then today it came to me, just stay put here. I don't really want to move. Maybe someday it'll make more sense to have my own web address... but not today. I like my little set up here. Just being content with what I do have.

Pinning a quilt

My sister had her baby boy a little over 2 months ago, and I'm still working on his quilt. I think I've had the fabric since she was 6 weeks pregnant!

Little Man pattern, fabric from Connecting Threads

The pattern is from Camille Roskelley's Simplify book. I was stunned at how fast I was able to put the top together, and more importantly how quickly I pinned the quilt. This quilt is the first quilt in over 4 years that I've worked on and I wasn't pregnant! Let me just say it felt pretty good not to be hunching over a belly at the sewing machine, nor getting hideously swollen ankles while pinning. Even right now it makes me wiggle my toes in happiness that they're not stiff with too much water... ahh. 

Big brother, little sister

Caleb is giving Josie an introduction to journaling.

Who can resist markers?

Journal writing gets a lot of attention in our household. It's a case of monkey see, monkey do. For Caleb's 3rd birthday, I gave him his very own journal to draw anything he desires. Almost every time he sees me writing in my journal, Caleb wants to work on his too.

A cheerful quilt

Idaho is good for my well being, I have been engaging my hobbies more frequently. My first quilty finish is a quilt for Miss Josie.

5 month old Josie

Two charm packs, half a yard for binding, stolen moments with my sewing machine, and a couple bits of frustration (I had to rip out my first quilting attempt)... Josie now has her very first quilt.

Morning at the park

Took the kids to the park. It's important to me that they're exposed to a lot of outdoor time.

Round and round in an upside down plunger

It was a "fast slide!"

I hold thankfulness that each park trip goes a little smoother. Someday I'll be brave enough to take all three kids to one by myself!