The Waiting Game

It has been a while since I've posted...mainly because not much has changed. We've settled into this new "lifestyle" (if that's what you call it) of Ryan leaving every Monday morning and flying to Ohio for the week. He usually returns late Friday night and stays with us for Saturday and Sunday...only to repeat the whole ordeal again the following Monday. After only two weeks of this, I'm already feeling the monotony. I have gained such respect for those who are single parents, realizing the incredible amount of support that I am missing out on by not having my husband home during the week. I've even seen differences in Lauren and how not having a "daddy" around really affects her. I can't quite play Prince Charming as well as he does, nor am I as good of a wrestler.

Our house has now been on the market for several weeks with no solid offers to speak of. We have people walking through it regularly, but everyone seems to say the same thing...they need a 4th bedroom or bonus room for an office/scrapbooking/workspace. With a growing number of homes listing each week, Sherwood is quickly becoming one of the more saturated cities in the real estate market. The odds are clearly not in our favor.

But, I know He has much to teach both of us through this time - already, we are learning to cherish the moments that we do get as a complete family unit. Hugs and kisses are a little longer and more frequent when you know it has to last you for a whole week. And things that used to seem a "chore" to do are now a joy because I have the chance to serve my husband! Still, all of the challenges of our situation seem to be piling on top of each other and causing me to ponder: Is the Lord testing my patience, endurance, and faith in His plan? When Ryan got the job offer, I was so ready to move. Ready to start a new life and grow our family. Ready to have a great adventure and see what God would do. But, now all He seems to be asking of me is to wait...which is, surprisingly, much more difficult than up and moving across the country (or so it seems).

So, knowing that God is in the business of building my character and teaching me to rely on Him more and more, I am left with just one thing to do - seek Him out daily, ask what He is trying to show me through this experience and pray for the strength to not just "survive" but to live each day purposefully for Him...believing that His timing is the best and remembering His incredible faithfulness.

"He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." (John 10:3-5)

HUGE Answer to Prayer

You all must have been on your knees on my behalf, because the Lord answered the cry of my heart yesterday! As I mentioned in the last blog, I have been struggling to find the right christian preschool for Lauren in NC. I had put in calls to 4 of them that were in the right area and that we could afford. I only heard back from 2 - one was a full-day program, which is not what I was wanting...and the other was too far of a drive and not a long enough program. The other 2 schools, I had left numerous messages with and never heard anything back. I decided to give them one more try on Thursday morning. I finally got through to both of them. One said that they were completely full for the fall 2007 school year. BUT, the last school I spoke to (which had been my first choice all along) told me that I had been leaving messages for the wrong person and that's probably why I never heard back. They were able to connect me with the preschool director and when I asked her if there were any spots for the 3-year-old preschool class, she said, "Oh, I don't think so...I'm pretty sure we are full. But, let me double check. (long pause...) I can't believe this, but we actually have 1 spot available. Wait, let me make sure that's right. (another long pause...) Yes, we have one opening."

I was so thrilled I almost started crying! I knew that God was saving that one spot for Lauren and that was where He wanted her to be. The great thing about this school is that she can continue on there after preschool and through to 8th grade (if we stay in NC that long). They are a member of ACSI and have a 4-star rating (you can check out their website ~ http://www.garrchristian.com/). It will be about a 30-minute drive for me, but she'll only be attending 2 days a week, so I can definitely handle that. I just want to thank all of you who were praying for me, because He heard and answered - GOD IS SO GOOD!!

Moving Update

I have a feeling I'll be posting several blogs with this same title! :) Well, now that Ryan has officially accepted his job, we have been tasked with figuring out all the details. The confusing part of this situation is that the department that Ryan will be working with is currently located in Fairlawn, OH. Their office will be moving to Huntersville, NC in late August/early September. So, that complicates things a bit. We have agreed that his first day of work will be April 9th. He will fly out that morning to OH and work his first week...and then fly home Friday evening to spend the weekend with us. This "commuting" will continue until we sell our house. Once our house sale is finalized, the movers will come and pack everything up and ship it to NC. We will pack just a few suitcases with what we need and join Ryan in OH. We will stay with him there for up to 60 days in a Residence Inn. During that time, we will be furiously house-hunting in NC and hopefully, we can find something quickly. Once we close on our house there, Lauren and I will move in and Ryan will continue "commuting" from OH to NC. It is not an ideal situation, by any means, but we will still have our weekends together (I have to look on the bright side!).

So, our house went up for sale today and someone is walking through it as I write this! We are hoping it will sell quickly and that we can get what we are asking for it. If you know anyone who is looking for a home in Sherwood, please send them our way! Here's a picture of what it looks like:













I have also had the joy of calling around to Christian preschools in NC this week and asking if any of them have openings in their 3-year-old classrooms for this fall. I had Lauren all signed up with a wonderful preschool in West Linn and now I am scrambling to find something back there. It is so hard to make these decisions without being able to go there in person to see the school, meet the teacher, etc. I am just having to trust that the Lord will lead us to the right one and that she can get in.

That's all for now - I'll post another update as soon as I can!

How It All Began

This whole crazy process began on November 27, 2006, when Ryan found out he was getting laid off from Gerber Legendary Blades. They were downsizing and he was one of the "lucky ones" who was let go and given a severance package. At that time, we saw it as a blessing...Christmas was just around the corner and this would be like an extended vacation, right? So, before he began focusing on looking for work, we enjoyed some great family time together and celebrated the holidays. After New Years, however, the search began. He had dozens of interviews and sent applications to countless firms in Portland and Vancouver. But, each one with the same result - they weren't ready to hire anyone at this time, he was over or under-qualified in that particular field, they couldn't match his previous salary, etc, etc. We began to wonder what the Lord was doing and where He wanted us to be. After much prayer and deliberation, we decided to broaden the job search out of state...and we were amazed at what we found!

It seemed like all of the great job opportunities were in every state but Oregon. Ryan got connected with several recruiters, who all had companies that were interested in talking to him. He was flown to California, Washington, Arizona, Florida and Ohio for interviews. It finally began to narrow down to three - Florida, Arizona and North Carolina. We continued to pray and even began looking online at those areas. The more that time went by, the more we felt comfortable with the idea of moving away. The Lord slowly poured peace into our hearts and we were able to completely let go and give Him control to take us wherever He wanted. Now, we just had to see who made an offer first. :) We were leaning towards North Carolina as our preference, because it was such a nice community and a great place for young families...plus it didn't have the desert heat of Arizona or the hurricanes of Florida.

The Lord answered our prayers on Monday, March 20th! Ryan was in Ohio for a final round of interviews with Rubbermaid and, while he was there, they offered him a job! Two days later, Armor Holdings in Arizona sent in their offer, but we already knew that God's hand was leading us to North Carolina. Things have moved quickly since then...Rubbermaid flew us out to Huntersville, NC (which is where Ryan's office will be) to take a look at the area, find the neighborhoods we liked and get a feel for things. It was 80 degrees and beautiful - we fell in love with it instantly! Below is a picture of Lake Norman, a huge man-made lake in Huntersville, and Birkdale Village, a quaint shopping area right by Ryan's new office: