She Has a Name!

Our granddaughter will be named "Allison Olivia", isn't that just a beautiful name!!! Oh this is going to be so fun being a grandparent! I THANK YOU GOD!

It is All Coming Together!

Happy Memorial Day. I absolutely love three day weekends! I don't need plans or activities to make me happy, just plain old knowing that I have a long weekend is enough for me:)

Today, we went with Lauren and Ben to pick up the baby's dresser/changing table. It is so beautiful and will look lovely in her nursery. She really is one lucky little girl. So the plan is that this Monday, we will go over to their house and finish painting and loading up the dresser drawers with all the washed and folded gowns, onesies, socks, blankets, bibs, etc.

I am excited about doing that for two reasons. The most important being that the nursery is in its final stages and coming together. The second reason is I get back my two spare closets and one of the extra bedrooms. I have literally stockpiled all the baby's things till the nursery was ready.

This last week of work was so much better for me. I am finding my groove and have been enforcing the things that I was taught. Next week I have more to learn but at least I feel ready to take on more. I am feeling my age....it takes me a lot longer to find first gear!

We had a loss this past week...Our dog ,Toby, died on Thursday. He would have been 15 years old this November. He was blind, deaf and had dementia and we know he is better off but we sure miss him and it broke our hearts to say goodbye. You were a good dog Toby and we loved you very much.

I am still asking the Lord to please send a job Chuck's way. Not just any job but one that HE has designed for Chuck. I know first hand how hard it is to be patient and calm during unemployment but I know the Lord will be faithful to us and all will be fine. I thank you Lord, in advance for the blessings you will bestow on us.

Why Do Weekends Fly By?

It seems like it was just Friday evening and here it is already Sunday. Now that I am among the working people, I live for the weekends. My new goal will be to live and enjoy every day no matter what day of the week it is.

After being home for that unemployment period, I do know that I will enjoy retirement (with a hefty 401K of course!) There is a certain joy in knowing you are free to do as you want, a certain peace in scheduling the things that need to be done in your time frame. A sure tranquility in being given your daily bread. I have learned that I can get by on the simple things and the love of my family. So with that being said, I am ready to sock away all I can in a retirement plan because unfortunately the world still requires you to pay bills.

I also wanted to let you all know that there is a new blog on the web. It belongs to Ben and Lauren and it is there to keep friends and family informed of their baby to be. So if interested, check it out at www.laurben.com

Happy Sunday and may we all have a great week.

Ooooh... the Excitement is Building

Our daughter emailed some pictures the other day and when I opened them, my heart was filled with excitement and a dose of reality that we are REALLY having a baby! I do get to see her pregnant belly and I lay my hands on it to feel all the movements (can we say future gymnast!) but for some reason seeing the crib with the baby doll her Daddy picked out for her just thrilled me.

They are sampling colors to paint the walls. It is going to be a two toned room with a hand painted custom floral border done by their wonderful friend, Gretchen. The curtain is hung (also done by Gretchen) and it is so cute.

I am so thankful for this happy wonderful time in our lives. This baby is already wanted, loved, spoiled, adored, stocked with a 2 year wardrobe, outfitted with a personal library and more. All her family and friends are excitedly waiting! There is already a host of people wanting to sign-up for babysitting duties, and silly me thought I was going to be the ONLY babysitter!

A Job Offer and a Ton of Feelings

Well I went on another interview on May 8, I did my best (as always) but just didn't "feel it". I thought it was another interview that would turn into nothing. I just seriously thought it was a dead end and had no clue that I was "impressive" to the two ladies who interviewed me. I liked the office, the duties weren't bad and I really liked the benefits.

I got home about two hours after the interview time, I got a call from the southeast recruiter for the company who asked me to fill out an online application and permission for a background check. He never really came right out and said they want to hire me but that they would like to receive more information from me. So I did that and about 20 mins. after hitting the send button I received a call from one of the women in the interview telling me that they were really impressed by me and would like to offer me the position. I was surprised, happy, shocked and of course accepted the job. I begin work on May 15.

So no problems right? Except I have a ton of emotions which I don't understand. I know, I know, I should be thrilled but I feel... sad that I won't be home during my granddaughters first days. I was secretly hoping for my husband to find work first so that I could be available to help out my daughter and love up my new granddaughter when she is born. I feel...dread that I am having to start all over again. I feel...anxious, nervous, excited, hopeful, cautious, and scared just to name a few emotions.

I so want to just feel grateful that a job finally opened up to me. I pray that this is where God wants me to be and it was HIS design for me. I want the feeling of peace that only HE can bring. On the bright side (and I need to look at that side more often), I am making a nice salary, I will have medical benefits on day one, and a wonderful three weeks of vacation available to me the first year - all of which is totally AWESOME and almost unheard of in this job market.

I will chalk up this mix of emotions to a long 5 months of unemployment and uncertainity. I can almost say it is like I feel spent emotionally and mentally. I pray now that I continue to walk on the path of my Lord and Savior. I still pray for Chuck to find a job and his unemployment period to be shorter than mine.

I will focus on being grateful for my family and my health. I will look at the bright side of things and concentrate on the positive. I do have SO VERY MUCH to be grateful for!

Too Pretty to Eat

I had my very good friend Tammy come over today and help me make this diaper cake for Lauren's Baby Shower. It was fun and I think that this is a gift that I am going to make for any future baby showers I go to as well. This cake will actually serve as a centerpiece so it is a decoration and a gift.

If it wasn't for this baby coming into our lives in a few months I sure would be down. I am trying so very hard not to get discouraged but all this job searching with no positive results is starting to get to me.

I have another interview tomorrow and I am still waiting to hear an answer from an interview I went on last week. Sometimes when I stop to remember that God is in control, and that He already knows the outcome and my future, I can relax in that knowledge. I just wish I could be at the end of this voyage but my wants are not important and my needs are being met. So with that thought I am thankful and grateful to my Lord.

A Beautiful Saturday

Today is a nice, sunny, not too warm day here in FL. I am slowly getting around to doing the things I need and want to be doing around the house. Sort of a light spring cleaning. We are also having a Garage Sale here next Friday and Saturday, so I am going through the closets and gathering stuff - we have too much stuff!

My daughter, her (and my new) friend Maggie, and I went shopping on Thursday, and picked up the decorations, invitations and misc. for the Baby Shower. We have a few more items to get, put we put a huge dent in the list of "Things to Do".

We settled on a date, time, menu, and all the other little things that make for a baby shower. It was so much fun and so enjoyable that I can honestly say this is one of the happiest times of my life! Thank you God.

Chuck had an interview yesterday, and although a formal job offer isn't in front of him... it looks good. I pray that this is indeed what the Lord wants for him. Chuck is such a hard working, good and honest employee that I pray he finds the job that will bring him contentment and fulfillment. I am praying that God's Will be done not ours. He is supposed to meet again on Monday with the man who could be his supervisor. So I will keep you posted on that development.

I am learning to be calm and actually embrace this quiet time in my life. I can honestly say my new granddaughter-to-be is bringing me so much joy that who has time to be stressed?