The Job!!

Derek was laid off about 9 months ago and his severance runs out August 21. He has had no luck finding a job. We focused in on Sacramento as our ideal location and have really felt that is where we should be. But there are basically no jobs there so we looked both there and here. He went in for an interview with PG&E (the electric company in Sacramento) a couple of weeks ago. He had applied for 2 positions and the interview for the first job went really well. They told him he was a very strong candidate and that if he didn't get that particular job, there was the other job he had applied for that he would be a strong candidate for as well.

Last week the guy from the second job called and asked for references. On Monday we heard from some of Derek's past coworkers that PG&E was calling them for references on the second job he applied for. We were trying not to get too excited because he hadn't even gone in for an interview yet. On Tuesday the guy called to talk to him. He took the call upstairs and the kids were downstairs running and playing (in Arizona they have to use the house as their playground since they can't go outside). I kept telling them to please keep it down. Finally I told Kendall that daddy was on the phone talking to the guy about the electricity job. She said "Oh." Then she said "Just a minute" and she walked over to the couch, knelt down, folded her arms and started saying a little prayer. Then Presley went over next to her and started to do what she was doing. There was some giggling involved, but finally she said "I have to pray because daddy is talking to him RIGHT NOW." Then Derek came down the stairs and I whispered for him to look around the corner at Kendall praying for him. But then he told me that the phone call didn't go well. They asked him about systems that he hadn't worked on before (though he could learn them) and that the guy said he would let him know if he wanted to bring him in for an interview. He said it didn't sound like he was even going to get another interview. He was so bummed because not only was it a job, but it was a job that he really wanted and thought he would enjoy.

The next day, Thursday morning, I went to the dentist and on my way home Derek called. He said he was having a bad day and needed to talk to me and asked how close I was to home. The plan was for him to take the kids to Landon's OT appointment and he should have already been there. I figured he must really be having a rough day. He has had some rough days here and there. He was laid off 9 months ago in the worst economy in our lifetime, his severance was running out in less than a month, and we have 4 small kids to feed, so I figured today was just one of those days. I pulled into the driveway and he was out in the garage. He told me he needed a hug, hugged me and then whispered "We just need to pack everything up. I GOT THE JOB!!!" WHAT!!!! I was in shock. We were jumping up and down and crying. I felt like I did when I made it for cheerleader in high school. I was in total disbelief! The rest of the day we just paced around the house because we couldn't sit still. We went to the China Buffet restaurant, the same one we went to when we found out he was getting laid off 9 months ago. His new job starts just 11 days before his severance runs out. There will be no break in our income!! It was the best day of our lives, except our wedding and birth and gotcha days of our kids of course. :)

Then yesterday reality set in! How in the heck are we going to pack up this house, find a place to rent, and move in just 3 weeks!! His new job starts on August 10. Hopefully somehow we can buy a house very soon. We have had one very big miracle and still need one more!! We know that is where we should be and it will all work out somehow. It has been an incredible and stressful past 9 months. We have another month of stress and then hopefully we will start to feel some normalcy in our lives.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We have had so many people praying for us. We know there are so many out there that are still in great need during this time. We are so grateful for what we have and are thankful for what we have gone through. It has made us even more faithful. We know Heavenly Father cares so much for each one of us and he truly does answer prayers (especially those of little children) and blesses his children in His perfect timing.

Changes

About a month ago Derek took Carson on a church Father/Son campout. Kendall and I (and the babies) went to the store to get some munchies for our Girl's Night. We were looking at the candy and on the other side of the aisle were the magazines. Kendall spied "Tiger Beat" and her eyes got really big! She picked it up and was totally engrossed. Could she buy it? Absolutely!! When we got home she sat down and starting reading. She loved reading about all of the details of her favorite Disney Channel stars. Just last night on our way to the fireworks she was reading her beloved Tiger Beat in the car. She said "Did you know that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens are engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(with a squeal of delight)" Nope, I didn't know that. She said "It says so right here in this magazine!" I guess it must be true!!

It is sad to see our little girl grow up, but it is also really fun. I love that I can have a real conversation with her about real things. She is my favorite tv buddy when we watch House Hunters. We went shopping the other day and I was trying on clothes and she said "No mom, that doesn't look like your style."

Our family dynamics are also starting to shift. Just recently my sister-in-law announced that she was pregnant. Everytime she announced this in the past, we followed her lead shortly (not because we were following her, it just ended up that way). This time I had absolutely no desire to be in her shoes!! As our kids are getting older, we are starting to experience more freedom. We had a rough go with our newborns and were "held up" inside our home longer than most are. Though our 2-year-olds are definitely a lot of work, it really is getting easier. I was a nanny for 10 years before I had my own kids. I don't even want to try to calculate how many diapers I've changed!! I'm have been elated each time over the past year that we got rid of baby stuff: Exersaucer, high chair, bottles!! Wooo Hoooo!! If we ever do add more children to our family (a VERY long time from now), they will come to us potty trained (we hope!!) and ready for school!

We have other changes happening too. Derek is still looking for a job. We really want to move to Sacramento and feel that that would be the best fit for our family. The economy is bad there too, but Derek had an interview on Thursday. It went really well, but we are trying not to get our hopes up. So I ask your thoughts and prayers to be with us. We know that if this is the job meant for us, he will get it. It's times like these when we really do rely on our faith to pull us through.

Homemade peanut butter cups!!

I found a great recipe for homemade peanut butter cups. As you can tell, Presley LOVES them!! Here's the recipe I found at http://www.cdkitchen.com/

Ingredients:
12 paper muffin cups
1 (12-ounce) pkg. milk chocolate chips
1 cup reduced-fat peanut butter (I didn't have this so I used Skippy Natural pb)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Cut the top half off of the muffin cups so that they are shallower.

Pour the chocolate chips into a glass bowl and melt them in the microwave: Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes. Stir the chips gently, and let them sit for a minute or so. If the chocolate needs more melting, microwave those chippies again at half power for 30 seconds. Stir gently. Continue the process, stirring gently as you go. But be very careful not to overcook the chocolate or it'll seize up on you.

Using a teaspoon, spoon a portion of the chocolate into the middle of a muffin cup. Draw the chocolate up the edges of the cup with the back of the spoon. Coat the entire inside of the muffin cup with chocolate and place it into a muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining muffin cups and then put the whole muffin tin in the refrigerator so that the chocolate hardens.

Combine the reduced-fat peanut butter, powdered sugar and salt in a medium bowl. When the chocolate in the muffin cups has hardened, pop the sweetened peanut butter into the microwave oven on full power for 1 minute. This will soften up the peanut butter so that it easily flows into the cups. Spoon a small portion of peanut butter into each of the chocolate-coated cups. Leave room at the top for an additional layer of chocolate, which we'll add later. Pop the candy back in the refrigerator to harden the peanut butter. This should take an hour or so.

When the peanut butter filling has hardened, re-melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on half power for 30 to 60 seconds. Use a teaspoon to spread a layer of chocolate over the top of each candy. Chill the candy once again to set up the chocolate. Finally, remember to take the paper off the outside of the peanut butter cups before eating them.

I kept this in the refrigerator because they seemed to melt very quickly. Of course I do live in Arizona!! They were excellent!!