Sunday, July 06, 2008

Subtitles

I've never been so discombobulated and un-together in my entire life. I'm a control freak whose spinning out of control. Oh so slowly but hopefully surely, things are falling into place and I'll be together and with it again soon.

Background

Little brother has been living with our mother for the four years since our dad died. Long story short is that, bless her heart, she's not fit to mother and ant farm. I've prayed for his safety, well-being, and strength for four years and he's finally getting out of there. Praise the Lord! God has taught me (yet another) lesson. I tried to make this happen on my will and my time for four years. I was just driving back from a long weekend out of town and whaddaya know it just happened. There is not doubt that it was orchestrated by God. I know he's not brought His plan this far to unravel now and that He is totally taking care of us.

Court

Our court hearing is this Thursday (7.10). While I know God is in control and His plan will be carried out, please still keep us in your prayers. I know God wants the best for Little Brother but that doesn't mean I know how He plans to do it. Even if things go as smoothly as possible it's still a bumpy road. Please specifically pray for Little Brothers emotions as he's feeling so many different things. Please pray that he will get to stay with us and for a smooth transition as he moves into school here. Lastly pray against dragging this whole situation out. There is a strong possibility we'll be in and out of court until he is 18, but we are strongly praying against that. He needs to feel stability, comfort, and a bit of normalcy.

Hilton Head

Hilton Head was fabulous! We stayed in beachside condos and spent some great time on the beach and at the pool. It was a such a refreshing getaway and good for all of us. We ate at this fabulous little whole in the wall joint one night where I had some of the best seafood my little mouth as ever tasted. There is nothing quite like fresh seaside food at fresh seaside prices. Our combo meal which included crabcake, shrimp, fish, oysters, and scallops (lots of each!) was only $15 and included two sides. That mean anywhere else would have been $30 for half of it and not nearly as tasty as the seaside. We also had a large pot of boiled shrimp one day. Yummy!

I have some great pictures but of course they're not uploaded.

The New Job

Good grief getting back into the swing of working is killing me! Especially with the funky schedule I now have. In short, it blows! However I'm lucky to have a job and a pretty good job at that. I have friends who were laid off around the time I was (a few in the same field) and they currently have no prospects. I have continued to look for possibilities and options but simply put, there are none! I was hoping to drag my unemployment out through the summer but again, Praise the Lord! that I found a job when I did because our expenses have shot up with a fourteen year old. Our grocery budget has doubled, we had to buy him clothes, we're paying for a lawyer, yada yada yada. While I'd have liked to lived the life of leisure all summer and even with Little Brother here it would have been nice to be off and spend time with him but I'm very thankful that I'm gainfully employed.

The new job is pretty fun. Remember the yoga pant search? That's the job I got! I'm the Director of a premier children's fitness facility. The program offers gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, and sport skills training. I'm currently training on the program and curriculum. Next month I'll be traveling for more of the management side of the training and my facility will open this fall. I'll be the Director or the whole shebang with only a regional director over me and thus responsible for hiring, training, programming, customer service, marketing, advertising, image, teaching, etc. Wow! The hours are long and I was mislead about some of the days, but all in all I have a job so I'm just trying to deal with it for the time being. I do have to wear ugly polo shirts (polo shirts, even the cute girly cut ones, just aren't attractive on me) but I do get to wear yoga pants or athletic shorts every day. Plus I've been able to dust off my old tap shoes and flap and maxi ford away!

I recently learned that unemployment in my part of the state is up 1% from this past April. Wow! Recently several companies have downsized, restructured, and shut down all together. So again, I'm very thankful to have a job.

The Lawyer

While expensive, our lawyer is another God send. He's a friend of a friends brother. Technically I guess it could be said he's a friends brother but since the girl really annoys me and I only socialize with her in the event we're with the mutual friend we'll just say that. Anyway, he's a fabulous Christian man (nothing like the sister I don't care for) and even prayed with us when we met him. He gave us a bit of a discount on the hourly rate because he said he likes to see people do the right thing. While still expensive, it could be worse. Again, pray that this will not be a long drawn out process as our purse strings can only handle so much. We have a little savings but we'd like to see it continue too grow rather than be rapidly depleted.

Church

We joined our church. This may not be a big deal to some but I've never been a member of a church. We've jumped in head first getting involved with the youth (for obvious reasons) and it's introduced us to a lot of people. We're even youth leaders now and absolutely love the youth pastor and his wife. Hubs and I have met them for a dinner dates and we plan on getting together with them more often. It's so nice to have a couple friend nearby finally. They also have a precious new baby girl that I love to get my hands on.

We're more faithful in attendance now that Little Brother's only friends here are through church and because we want to set a good example for him. It's nice not to make excuses for sleeping in and to also have a place where we feel like we fit in and can have the church family that we've craved. While I miss the worship of our previous church (very contemporary whereas our new church is very formal) I know this is the place for us. The previous church was just far too large to get a niche (about 4,000 people compared to our new church at 400).

Rather Neat

Remember my little bridal session last fall where I played in the fountain? (Certainly you do as I made all of you show your pretty selves too and the pictures are all of this here blog to prove how lovely you were!). Well anyway, my pictures were featured on a local style show in my region. Isn't that neat? My friend was watching TV one day and saw my images. She texted me to let me know and later I received an email from my wedding photographer saying she's used my photos for the show and her interview. I'd post the link but in the interest of trying to stay a bit anonymous, I won't. Besides you've seen the pictures so you get it.

Private vs. Public

I was just about too make my blog public again as I'd changed names and location information enough to where I felt safe for a random user to find me. However in light of recent custody events I feel it much safer to continue being private. Being private is kind of a pain as I miss my old traffic and also find it a pain to visit private blogs since they don't show up in my reader. (Don't worry, I still visit you lovely ladies!)

The End

I feel as if I should have much more to say and I've composed many a blog post in my head but with no time to actually write it out. Just getting into the swing of working (and working a lot at that) and then dealing with a teenager of the evening has taken it's toll. I want to do things with and for Little Brother in the evening hours because I know he must be bored all day, well when he's not sleeping that is. I'm usually exhausted when I fall into bed and my wonderful husband and I haven't gotten to spend much time together at all. We're making a big effort, starting this week, to spend weekly dates together. We really need it and especially in the midst of all these changes and the stress that's been added to our lives. Do you know how hard it is to um, be intimate, with a fourteen year old in the house? Geesh!

Lastly please pray for us as we navigate through this that we will be good parents and won't forget about our relationship in the midst of all this busyness. We definately need to put each other first rather than last. Pray for hubs as he's in school this summer as well. We're hopeful that we'll have mellowed out by fall and he can take two classes as we've planned and if so then in December he will graduate with his MBA! Woot!

Oh, and Hubs got a laptop last week so we're a two computer family again. Yippie!

7 comments:

Zoe D. said...

WOW! So you have absolutely NOTHING going on right now I see. What an unbelievable person you are to take on such a challenge. I will be praying for all of you:)

Kelley said...

I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about you and that I hope that everything goes well on Thursday. Good luck with everything.

Platinum Rose said...

My thoughts and prayers are with you!!! Especially on the 10th. Glad to see you back to blogging again, I've missed you!

♥B said...

I am so glad you are back blogging! I have missed you!

I will be keeping you all in my prayers and hope everything works out. We know it will, God has a plan!

Jenny said...

I have missed you, Girl!

I truly hope the court date is scheduled very soon so you can all have some resolution, and I truly hope that it's in your favor. I think it's amazing that you are taking care of your brother and pulling him into your lives so completely - I'm sure it means the world to him to have you as a sister!

So glad your vacation was what the doctor ordered. I'm in need of one myself but with Jay still unemployed, I don't think that will happen for some time. Know that images of the beach and seafood (although I don't enjoy it as you do) are in my head which will have to do for now. But beach pictures will help even more!!

Your new job sounds like lots of fun, despite the long hours! I think you'll be feeling in control on the work-front very soon!

Congratulations on finding a church home and a place to feel truly welcome and cared for! It's gotta be the support and encouragement you and your family needs, especially now. That's really great!

Don't stay away that long ever again - please, please, please!!

Emily said...

Yay! Your back, I was getting worried about you. I am glad to hear things are going pretty good so far with Little Brother. God has a plan and it all works out when its the right time.

Congrats on the new job. Your job sounds like it would be exciting minus the long hours. At least you can wear comfortable clothes and be relaxed while working. Thats always a plus!

I will remember to pray for you and your family. Good luck with everything! :)

Swistle said...

I soooooo wish there was a way to make private blogs show up in a reader! I have three private blogs I read, and I never remember to visit them. Sigh. I miss so much news!