Changes and Finally Getting Caught Up!!!

     A few months ago, Joey lost his job with Janus.  He is working at T Rowe Price again.  The loss of a job is such a hard, hard thing to deal with.  I only work part time, so when Joey came home with the news I was absolutely devastated.  I got very concerned and worried about what our future held.  I have heard so many horror stories about people losing jobs and looking forever and finding nothing.  To say I was scared would be an understatement. 
    Joey was much more calm about the whole thing.  He was very smart, and left T Rowe Price on very good terms.  He is still very good friends with a lot of the people he worked with.  He called them up and told him his situation.  They immediately wanted him to come back.  What a blessing that was!!!
      As some time has passed since we found out, I have had more time to calm down and really take a look at our situation.  Joey started that job in January 2012.  He took the position because he felt that it offered great opportunities and the pay was really good. He commuted each day back and forth to Denver.  He dealt with horrendous traffic daily.  He would often leave at 5:00 a.m. and not get home until 6:00 p.m.  He would come home exhausted.  I felt so bad for the kids.  They hardly ever saw him.  He was gone before they woke up and would only get to see him about an hour or two each night.  At times I felt like a single mom.  Joey is amazing about helping me around the house and with the kids.  However, when he is at work, he can't be of much help.  It was really taking a toll on all of us.  I would often ask myself if it was all worth it.   
     I know that God has a plan, and some times his plan doesn't make sense.  I now think that this was definitely part of God's plan and he actually blessed us.  Part of Joey working in Denver meant a move for us.  He didn't want to make that commute forever nor should he.  We were all set to move to Castle Rock.  For whatever reason, our house would  not sell.  We had it on the market for 6 months and it never sold.  I was okay with moving to Castle Rock mainly because the schools are amazing.  However, I was devastated about moving away from family and friends.  I am extremely close with my family and hated the thought of not being able to see them several times a week.  We would still be close, but I knew it wouldn't be the same.  I was most upset about the fact that Dawson and Ashlyn wouldn't grow up seeing their cousins all the time. 
     Now that some time has passed, I have seen what a blessing this really is.  I am so happy that we didn't sell our house and move already.  Joey can now go back to working normal hours.  His work is only minutes away and we get to see him again!  Words can not describe how much that means to all of us.  The time he worked at Janus was definitely the hardest on all of us.  T Rowe Price is a great company to work for.  Joey is an awesome employee as evidenced by how quickly the wanted him to come back.  We have so many close friends that have worked their for a long time.  It's a stable job and company to work for.  I know that God has great plans for him and he will do wonderful at T Rowe or anywhere that he goes. 
      We decided to still sell our house.  We have lived here for 5 years.  We bought this house as a starter house and only planned to stay about 3-4 years.  When we bought it, we really didn't pay attention to the schools because we assumed we would be gone by then.  Well, time has crept up on us.  Ashlyn starts kindergarten next year and it is of up most importance to us that she goes to a good school.  I used to work in the district that we live in and I am not impressed at all.  I have done extensive research, and I do not want her going to the school we live by.  We also want something a little bigger and that will suit the needs we have now a little better. It is so exhausting having a house on the market with two small children!!! We had a ton of showings, which basically entailed cleaning our house thoroughly 4-5 times a week.  We relisted the house in the beginning of January.  While we were in Disney World, we got 2 different offers on our house.  We decided to go with one and it looks like we will be closing in late March.  We have now begun looking for a new house and it is the most stressful thing I have dealt with in a very long time.  I hate making decisions and there are so many big ones to make with purchasing a home.  There is also a MAJOR shortage of homes on the market that meet out price criteria.  I am really starting to think we will be homeless come late March. 
    We are looking to move further north in town where the school districts are better.  The bonus is that we will be closer to Joey's work and probably  to my sister and her family.  I am so excited for this move.  I feel so good about this move, so differently then I felt about Castle Rock.  I know that God has put us right where we need to be and I couldn't be happier about that!  
    With birthdays, our Disney trip, and house hunting I have been extremely busy the last few weeks.  I have a ton of vacation posts that I will be posting in the next few days.  I will get back into a blogging grove again!!!