Thomas and I used to joke about how we always seem to do things "the hard way."
We did the whole "highschool sweethearts" thing.
That was hard: balancing each other and friends and school and work, when all we wanted was to be together all the time.
Then we did the whole long distance thing:
First through college, then when Thomas went on his mission for two years.
I waited.
DEFINITELY did things the hard way.
We tried the easy way: breaking up and dating while he was gone.
But that didn't last long...
Then we did the wedding the hard way:
Civil ceremony first, then temple sealing.
If you're not Mormon, you probably don't understand.
But waiting that year to be sealed together for eternity was agony.
And suddenly, I realized doing things "the hard way" became less of a joke, and more of a serious thing for us.
Pregnancy.
First, we get pregnant way before we had planned: we were nowhere near financially ready.
Heck, we were still in school and living in his parents basement: doing things the hard way.
But then we lost the baby...because we do things the hard way.
So we move out of the basement, because I need a change and to feel like we were still moving forward with life.
And we start living paycheck to paycheck: ya know, living life the hard way.
And we get pregnant again, when we're broke living paycheck to paycheck. Because, you guessed it, we do things the hard way.
Thomas lost his jobs 4 days after I found out I was pregnant again.
But then he got another job soon after, so for once, we didn't have to do something in too hard of a way...but then he lost that job weeks before Benjamin was born.
Because life just likes to go the hard way for us...
Benjamin is finally born, and he's shipped to the NICU.
But not just that, but then we find out he needs to be transferred to a different hospital.
And I can't go with.
When Thomas came into my room to tell me the news, the first thing we uttered to each other was "always the hard way."
But Benjamin wasn't in the NICU long, and we came home and lived in bliss for a brief while.
But it wasn't long before the burden of money started bearing down on us again, and we went back to firing up the resumes and throwing them out to companies like floats throwing candy to kids at a parade.
I started hunting too, in the hopes that between the two of us something would pop up to help our situation.
We started to get really downhearted, frustrated, and feeling hopeless.
There was talk of us moving back in with one of our parents' once our lease was up in December.
We were getting so tired of doing things the hard way.
I cried. A lot.
Told Thomas how much I would love for life to just be easy for once.
To just throw us a bone.
To make us not work our butts off or stress for something.
But it didn't seem like that was going to happen any time soon.
I was wrong.
Suddenly, there was a silver lining.
A received a call one day on my maternity leave.
I never answer numbers I don't know, but for some reason, I answered this one.
It was a woman from a company named Mackin.
She was calling in regards to the position I had applied for.
I'll be honest: I had no idea what she was talking about.
I had applied for so many that I couldn't remember which ones I had applied for.
But as we talked, I became vaguely aware of the job description and started to remember.
I had a phone interview there on the spot
Passed it!
And scheduled an in-person interview.
I was so giddy with excitement!
Maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel:
this job would pay a chunk more than I was making now, AND my family would get benefits AND it would mean no more 10+ hour work days away from my family.
I went to my first interview and left feeling...disheartened.
I didn't feel like I was what they were looking for.
I, on the other hand, LOVED the company and the position.
But I just didn't feel good about the interview.
BUT I was pleasantly surprised to get a call the next day saying Stephanie loved me and I was going to have a second interview with the director of the company!
My second interview went great.
I felt like we connected well - most of the time we just talked about life, not even the work or company.
And I was right: A week later I was offered the job.
It was a easy decision to make: I took it!
I am going to be a Project Coordinator for Mackin Educational Resources.
I am SO excited for this opportunity.
I will be able to better provide for my new little family, and, more importantly, I will have much more time at home with my family.
My days will start at the same time, except instead of getting home between 6:30 and 7, I will get home just after 4:30.
(Once we move. Our new home is 5 min from my work).
AND I won't have work to do once I'm home from work.
Work stays at work.
This means hours more every day with my little Benjamin.
Plus, more income for my family.
I am ecstatic.
As if this job wasn't a big enough answer to our prayers.
Thomas got a job too!!
Just a few days ago: he'll be a customer service technician with Apple.
He'll be making more than me, still able to work from home, also gets benefits, and Apple provides him with a phone, computer, and internet service.
Benjamin gets to stay home with him still!
Can you say awesome?
Can you say miracle?
Technically, he's not hired yet.
He's been offered the job, and we have to wait for his background check to clear, but that shouldn't be a problem!
Oh goodness, I can finally see the bright shiny light at the end of the tunnel.
I thank the Lord every night for answering our prayers and blessing us with these wonderful opportunities after months of struggles and worries.
It's such a relief, such a burden off our shoulders.
It's proof to me that the Lord hears our prayers and answers them in His own time.
He always has a plan.
And everything always happens for a reason.
Sometimes, we have to do things the hard way to understand the joy and blessing of when things go the right way.
And I can't go with.
When Thomas came into my room to tell me the news, the first thing we uttered to each other was "always the hard way."
But Benjamin wasn't in the NICU long, and we came home and lived in bliss for a brief while.
But it wasn't long before the burden of money started bearing down on us again, and we went back to firing up the resumes and throwing them out to companies like floats throwing candy to kids at a parade.
I started hunting too, in the hopes that between the two of us something would pop up to help our situation.
We started to get really downhearted, frustrated, and feeling hopeless.
There was talk of us moving back in with one of our parents' once our lease was up in December.
We were getting so tired of doing things the hard way.
I cried. A lot.
Told Thomas how much I would love for life to just be easy for once.
To just throw us a bone.
To make us not work our butts off or stress for something.
But it didn't seem like that was going to happen any time soon.
I was wrong.
Suddenly, there was a silver lining.
A received a call one day on my maternity leave.
I never answer numbers I don't know, but for some reason, I answered this one.
It was a woman from a company named Mackin.
She was calling in regards to the position I had applied for.
I'll be honest: I had no idea what she was talking about.
I had applied for so many that I couldn't remember which ones I had applied for.
But as we talked, I became vaguely aware of the job description and started to remember.
I had a phone interview there on the spot
Passed it!
And scheduled an in-person interview.
I was so giddy with excitement!
Maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel:
this job would pay a chunk more than I was making now, AND my family would get benefits AND it would mean no more 10+ hour work days away from my family.
I went to my first interview and left feeling...disheartened.
I didn't feel like I was what they were looking for.
I, on the other hand, LOVED the company and the position.
But I just didn't feel good about the interview.
BUT I was pleasantly surprised to get a call the next day saying Stephanie loved me and I was going to have a second interview with the director of the company!
My second interview went great.
I felt like we connected well - most of the time we just talked about life, not even the work or company.
And I was right: A week later I was offered the job.
It was a easy decision to make: I took it!
I am going to be a Project Coordinator for Mackin Educational Resources.
I am SO excited for this opportunity.
I will be able to better provide for my new little family, and, more importantly, I will have much more time at home with my family.
My days will start at the same time, except instead of getting home between 6:30 and 7, I will get home just after 4:30.
(Once we move. Our new home is 5 min from my work).
AND I won't have work to do once I'm home from work.
Work stays at work.
This means hours more every day with my little Benjamin.
Plus, more income for my family.
I am ecstatic.
As if this job wasn't a big enough answer to our prayers.
Thomas got a job too!!
Just a few days ago: he'll be a customer service technician with Apple.
He'll be making more than me, still able to work from home, also gets benefits, and Apple provides him with a phone, computer, and internet service.
Benjamin gets to stay home with him still!
Can you say awesome?
Can you say miracle?
Technically, he's not hired yet.
He's been offered the job, and we have to wait for his background check to clear, but that shouldn't be a problem!
Oh goodness, I can finally see the bright shiny light at the end of the tunnel.
I thank the Lord every night for answering our prayers and blessing us with these wonderful opportunities after months of struggles and worries.
It's such a relief, such a burden off our shoulders.
It's proof to me that the Lord hears our prayers and answers them in His own time.
He always has a plan.
And everything always happens for a reason.
Sometimes, we have to do things the hard way to understand the joy and blessing of when things go the right way.
