Thanksgiving Holiday

This has been a lovely Thanksgiving holiday weekend. On Thanksgiving we went over to Bryan & Lisa's for a yummy meal and a nice time hanging out. We ate turkey and stuffing and broccoli cheese and green beans and lots of other yummy stuff!

The beautiful Thanksgiving table setting!

Our intrepid hosts, Bryan & Lisa.

My hair is growing out...it's actually longer but my head was down a bit. (This photo is for you, mom.)

Friday I did absolutely nothing while TJ was at work...unless reading and watching the Avatar and Hallmark movies count as something!

Saturday we drove down south of Albany to visit my friend Birdie. She lives in Mexico but is currently in the states with her family getting some feeding therapy for their daughter (see one of my earlier posts). They are staying at her mom's out in the country...it was lovely.
Their friend from Chile was visiting also and made us all a very yummy lunch! We visited all afternoon and played a new game called Go For It. It was a hoot!

Birdie & Son...her kids are absolutely adorable!

Our New Truck

Since we were married 2 years ago we have been a one car family. The first year and a half it was quite easy because we lived right by the commuter train. TJ drove to work and I took the train, because both my jobs I had during that time were right at train stations.

When we moved here last April we learned we were in the public transportation "no service" zone. It's this very rare circle in the metro area that has no transportation service...I think the closest bus is about 7 miles away? It was ok though because TJ's job was right on the way to my work. I adjusted my hours a bit and would drop him off my way to work and pick him up on my way home. It was nice to carpool and have a chance to spend some time together winding down from work.

TJ has a new job now (a wonderfully excellent job I may add) and it is completely impossible to carpool. I am a schemer and can come up with all sorts of fascinating ways to make something work out that otherwise wouldn't, but this is out of my realm! Ben & Katie let us use their truck the first week so TJ could get to work, and today we purchased a truck!!

Our new truck is a 1994 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 from Wilsonville Chevrolet. It's very blue, has an extended cab and a cab cover. I told TJ that now we can go camping and not need a tent! He was certainly not as excited about that idea as I was, but I believe knows he is doomed to go camping next summer! :) Tee hee!

In a nutshell the truck buying experience was one of the best we've had. They didn't try to rip us off, they found a good loan after our original loan fell through (who knew they didn't like older trucks!) and overall we were quite impressed.

It's going to be strange being a two car family now. It will sure be nice though not to have to borrow a truck when we need one, and to be able to help people move now...because once you have a truck you will help people move! Since it's an extended cab we'll also be able to transport at least six people, possibly 8 if they squeeze!

Here are a few photos of the new truck...

TJ and Anthony, the car salesman who is also a mechanic.

We praise God for his graciousness to us and for working out the details on this purchase. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Blessings Overflow...

Just when we thought there couldn't possibly be more blessings coming our way, more came!

1. TJ took his tools into work today to get his area ready for his first day tomorrow, and found out he's starting at $1/hr more than he thought, with an even better chance of a $2 raise on Friday!

2. He also found out that his job will let him take a half hour for lunch and leave a half hour early- so now he can finish school this quarter! He'll leave work at 4:30. School starts at 5:00, so he'll probably still be late, but not horribly late.

3. We will be able to purchase the truck we saw this weekend! Our first bank we thought our loan was approved at denied us because of the age/mileage of the truck, but the dealership found another credit union who approved us with our original terms. We'll pick up the truck on Friday after we get off work!

The only hard thing that we've dealt with lately is my headache. You know the "song that never ends...it just goes on and on my friend." Well, I have the headache that never ends. I think it's been about 6 days now, sometimes better and sometimes much worse, but always there. I've been taking lots of ibuprofen and aspirin, but I think tomorrow I will go drug free and hope that helps? It's not a migraine either, which is odd because my headaches usually are. Ah well, if that's the only negative in our lives I'll take it! :D

Blessings Abound!

Friday we learned TJ got the job of his dreams! But the blessings didn't end there.

Saturday morning we took our car and Ben's truck up to Vancouver. Our friend Donna previously worked with a lady named Deb. Deb is getting married in a few weeks and is working on combining her household with her soon-to-be husband's household. We drove up to bring home a lawn mower & table. We did not end up getting the table, but amazingly, here is what we came home with:

• a self-propelled mower
• two benches for our current table that match it almost perfectly
• two lamps
• plastic shelving we'll use in our basement
• a beautiful rug
• a dirt devil vacuum broom
  
• an antique stool (just like the one I grew up with!)
• wicker drawers
• a indoor/outdoor propane heater (with 4 cans of propane)
• a bag of charcoal for our grill
• three folding chairs
  
• and probably the hugest blessing of all...2 GARBAGE BAGS OF FOOD!!

Now, you may be saying to yourself at this point, "that is a random collection of things!" But almost all of these things were on our list of things to eventually purchase. We like to have people over and never have quite enough seating, so because we have the benches and folding chairs we've expanded our actual chairs by 7! We'll certainly use the heater since this is a rather chilly house, and had been pondering getting a rug in the future. We had been planning to save up for shelving for the basement, and the other items will fit well too.

I have to say though that the food was one of the largest blessings especially coming off these months of layoff. We have been in survival mode and only buying just enough groceries to get us by. I've been using up our "stocked up" supplies and well. Here are the before & after pictures:

BEFORE...


AFTER!

We will eat everything too, it's all so yummy!!!

In the afternoon we found a store that will later help us grow garden starters inside and can help us with some of our outdoor gardening too!

We left the garden place and went down to Wilsonville Chevrolet to browse around their lot and think we may have found a truck. It is a 1994 Chevy 1500 extended cab with a cab cover (I forget the real name) that can also be removed. It was previously owned by only two people and though it has 158,000 miles on it is in good condition. We had been pre-approved a few months ago for the amount through our bank, and are just waiting for the business week to begin to work out the details. They are holding it for us.

We are feeling overwhelmingly blessed at this point. I think the feeling is so hard to describe- it's been a challenging few months as TJ searched for work and we tried to make wise financial decisions. It's sort of like holding our breath for two months and now completely exhaling! I'm sure in time we will balance out. :)

Though this verse is taken a bit out of context, I think it does fit here:
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11)

Thank-you all for your prayers and words of encouragement! I hope your faith is increased by walking with us through our journey!

And the answer is...

YES!

Here is a recap of our day Friday:

• 7:30 AM: TJ drops me off at work.

• 8:00 AM: TJ calls Stark Street to ask what the verdict is. Manager says TJ is in the top two but the manager has not decided which person to hire yet and asks TJ to call back at 1:00 PM.

• 9:30 AM: I text TJ from work asking if he's heard anything yet. He calls and tells me the latest.

• 1:00 PM: TJ calls the manager back. The manager tells him he's been chosen for the spot...but it isn't final yet. Manager needs to speak with GM & owners to make certain he can still hire someone for this spot and asks TJ to call back at 4:00 PM. TJ calls and updates me.

• 2:30 PM: TJ calls me at work and says he has just heard back from the manager, and in a sad voice tells me he'll still be taking me to work on Monday, then pauses for dramatic effect, and follows with "becuase I don't start till Tuesday!" This is followed by much rejoicing that I imagine half the upper floor at the museum heard along with lots of sighs of relief and prayers of thanks!!

TJ picked me up from work at 3:30 and we went to Ben & Katie's to pick up their truck to use Saturday morning. They are also letting TJ use their truck until we can secure a second vehicle (thank-you Ben & Katie!!) because it will not be possible for us to carpool to the new job.

We feel so blessed to serve such an amazing God who would open this door for us and listen to our prayers. Thank-you to everyone who prayed with us through this journey. Praise God and rejoice with us!!

Here is the link to the location TJ will be working at: http://www.starkstreet.com/pages/maphours/viewlocation/842/stark-street-lawn-garden-sherwood.aspx

Waiting

It is Thursday evening and the theme at our home is "waiting." I know that soon we'll hear whether or not TJ gets the job, but I think this time of waiting is the hardest. There is a verse on waiting I was thinking about and when I went searching for it found lots of "waiting" verses. It reminds me there is a larger picture than whether TJ gets this job or a different one. Here are some verses related to waiting...though you'll have to go to the passage for the full context.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Ps 5:3

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Ps 27:14

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. Ps 33:20

I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God. Ps 38:15

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. Ps 130:5

Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. Pr 8:34

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Is 26:8

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:21

Interview...and waiting...

TJ had his interview today at 1:00. It went well and they said he is at the top of the list and should know by the end of this week or beginning of next if he gets it. Just based on the personal reference he got from the father of one of our bible study folks the manager wants to hire him, but he has to sell him now to the GM and two owners. He'd like to hire him based on his experience and knowledge base of course, but character counts for a lot too. TJ was sent out of the interview today with a skills and knowledge test that he'll take back tomorrow, then once they get that the manager will present him as a candidate.

He was so exceptionally nervous going into the interview today, and I was ok, but now I'm completely nervous...he's so close, and yet it could still go either way! I don't think I could want this job for him any more than I do, and I don't think he could want it anymore than he does. Everything he has learned researching the company online, has heard through personal references and heard at his interview just confirm that this is really exactly the kind of job he would love doing and could be happy at long term. The pay is great and they would even pay for him to do further training which would certainly satisfy his desire to keep learning. And the manager sounds like he's looking for people of integrity, which would be great. TJ's had to work with some real bums before (co-workers & bosses) which is hard when he would much rather work with honest hard workers like he is!

Please pray with us that he will get this job, and that the Lord is glorified whether he gets the job or not!

Cheryl's Soup

I believe those who are able to make soup are geniuses- because making soup scares me. But I can make one soup and it is my favorite! Here's my recipe (which may have originally come from one of Adele's magazines?):

1 head bok choy
1 pkg firm tofu
handful mushrooms
fresh ground pepper
2 pkgs ramen noodles (yup, the cheap ones)

Chop up the bok choy and put it in a saucepan with a little water. Add cubed tofu, mushrooms and pepper and bring to a boil. Boil until everything is semi-smushy. Add the ramen noodles (but not the seasoning packet). Once the ramen noodles are cooked (2 minutes?) the soup is ready!

TJ likes this soup too but picks out the tofu and adds the seasoning packet. It is pretty bland but is super easy to digest, and quick to fix when not feeling well. And I think it's tasty!

All I Want for Christmas...

A few days ago we were discussing the upcoming holiday season and I asked TJ what he wanted for Christmas. His reply, "a job!"

Long story short, TJ will have an opportunity to interview with Stark Street Lawn & Garden in Sherwood this coming Tuesday at 1:00 pm! This is truly his dream job and one (barring layoffs) he would stay at practically forever. He would be a mechanic working on small engines. If he could pick one job of the many jobs he has applied for this last month and a half it would be this one, hands down! As an added bonus, this business is a certified John Deere dealership too. :) Please pray with us that the seemingly impossible will happen: he will be hired for this job! As God has provided us with this beautiful home, we pray he will provide TJ this amazing job.

November is Here!

I'm learning the truth that life does begin moving faster the more years we are on the earth. I feel like summer was just here and there was so much to do, and now we're quickly coming to Thanksgiving!

This week Donna & Lisa came over Wednesday. We had spaghetti & garlic bread then Lisa & Donna fixed rice krispie treats while I tried my hand at blueberry muffins. It was fun, though TJ was not thrilled at the disastrous mess in the kitchen he cleaned up Thursday!

I was supposed to go out Thursday night to hang out with the ladies in our Bible study but instead left work early to come home and spend the evening on the couch due to a flair up of my "perfectly healthy" body's digestive troubles. Fortunately the rough day was just that this time - a day - and I made it through the whole day of work Friday, which was good because Friday night we had friends over!

Kris & Andrea & little Rubye and Ben & Katie came over. We had a little potluck and a nice relaxing evening together. Rubye wore a ladybug costume that was quite adorable! We all thanked baby K for waiting to be born another day so we could all hang out! Our Halloween tradition is to watch The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (the gory one with Johnny Depp). Ben & Katie stayed to watch it with us but said at the end that once was enough for them! :D

Today is Satuday and TJ & I are taking a day off...resting, relaxing and enjoying the view from our front window of a wheat field sprouting green. TJ is watching the Gaither's on RVD TV and I'm poking around online. No leads as of today on his job search, and that certainly not from any lack of trying on his part. The Lord knows all we need and just when we need it and we continue to lean upon this truth!