Curveballs in Life

Sometimes life goes the way we plan it to. Most of the time it doesn't.

We are in a phase of life that I can just describe as sheer craziness. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but we have a new path and one that I feel is right and good for our family. Devin accepted a job this week at a country club up north a bit. This is fantastic news because it is just the type of job that he wants to do, plus it is in Utah still, which means that I can continue to do what I have been building for the last few months- which is the Utah Adoption Specialists business. This new job for Devin seems to be a big blessing and I am trying to view it totally that way, because honestly, we have seen very few jobs posted of this type in Utah and we have been looking for years! So, it feels like a big blessing from Heavenly Father and I am first and foremost acknowledging it as such.

Of course there are always worries with every new step we take in life. This job only offers benefits after 1 year, so that means that Devin will need to keep his current job as well in order to maintain benefits. He only needs to work 24 hours a week there for benefits, so three shifts, but still- 3 shifts on top of an already full-time job is a lot! He has done it before, though not for a year. He will hopefully transfer up to a store closer to where we will be so that he can do away with the commute once we move. Also, his start date is March 17, which is VERY soon. I am committed to my internship down here until the end of April, so we are going to have some overlap there. He will be commuting each day, about an hour each way, and then we will have to get childcare for Hallie and Jace during the day for those 5-6 weeks. I'll just have to be home by the time Flor gets off the bus so that we won't have issues there.

We also are getting ready to list our house and look for a new home up near Devin's new job. We have been running around like crazy people trying to get the house in order to list it. We have been re-doing the basement, including painting it, doing baseboards, and getting new carpet. We also need to replace part of a fence in our backyard and re-paint the kitchen and then we will be ready to list the house. It is nerve-wracking doing that too because we want to get some money out of our house, especially given that we have now completely remodeled the whole thing, but we also want/need to sell it quickly. So finding that balance of the right price is going to be tricky, I think.

I am also sad about leaving where we live. It honestly took me years to adjust to our neighborhood and ward. I didn't feel like I quite fit in for a long time, but now the thought of leaving the comfort here and the good people that we have come to truly know and love is hard. I don't do well with change, so I can imagine that it is going to be emotional for me. I hope that we can find a new great neighborhood and a new great ward. I of course worry about schools for Flor (and for Hals who will be starting kindergarten in the fall!) and making sure that we can meet her complex needs.

The other thing that will be weird- at least for a time- is that I won't be working, other than running my business from home. Do you know how weird this will be? I have had a job (like show up to a location type job) since I was 15 years old. I have never been a full-time, stay-at-home mom and that honestly scares me quite a bit because I know myself well enough to know that I am the best mom I can be when I have a little time outside of the home. So...wish me luck (and the kids!) on that one. Luckily, with my business, I will still get to escape in order to visit couple's homes for interviews. So that's a good thing. I'll just coordinate those around Devin's schedule as much as possible.

I do want to find a part-time job again at some point, primarily because I want to work toward my LCSW. I am studying now for the licensure exam (another thing on the list to do!) to become a CSW- a certified social worker.  I can take that anytime and graduate with the license. However, I then need to work 4000 supervised hours in doing clinical work in order to obtain my L- a licensed clinical social worker. This is a big deal because once you have the L, you can practice completely on your own without supervision.  I need supervision as a CSW in order to get the L, and I really do enjoy clinical work, so I will look into that sometime down the road. Right now it is not that pressing. I enjoy so many things in my field that I imagine I will be happy doing anything as long as it is challenging and something I feel that I can contribute to. I have LOVED my internship in the addiction/substance abuse arena and I really didn't even think I was going to like it. I initially chose it for convenience sake only, but I have learned an immense amount and it is an area where I think I would feel comfortable practicing. However, I enjoy all different populations and types of issues, so like I said...whatever comes my way, I think I can be happy doing it. Down the road though... I have to try not to get to eager about that. haha.

We have some things we are working on with Flor too, but I will write more about that at another time (Like there is ever even a guarantee that I will write on the blog at all. I know it has been so hit and miss these days! But just think about how much I may be blogging once I am home more often...I may annoy you to death.)

Anyway, if the two of you who still read my blog would pray for us during this transition time and especially with the sale of our house and keeping sane during the next crazy few months, that would be ever so lovely!