My Prayer was Answered

I realize it's been a ridiculously LONG time since I updated our blog! The last time I posted was right after Blakeley was born so as you can imagine, so much has happened since then! Babies grow and change so fast...it blows my mind that my angel is almost 10 months old. She truly is the joy of our lives and I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father entrusted her to us! Since my last post, I was able to "retire" from Verizon Wireless where I worked for 9 years (it felt like forever) to become a stay at home Mommy!

It truly was a leap of faith for us to make the decision for me to stay home since I was making good money and we were unsure how we could make it work financially on just one income. After 9 years, I had an actual career and had worked my way up quite a bit. My title was "Consultant- Business Sales Operations." (Can't you just hear the "ooohs" and "ahhhhs?") That's basically the level of management minus the babysitting of other employees. Anyway, we couldn't possibly understand how we would be able to manage financially on only one income with the lifestyle that we were living. I prayed and prayed during my entire pregnancy because I knew I was going to want to stay home with my little baby. I couldn't even imagine having to leave her to go back to work. I knew it would break my heart if I had to. So I prayed & prayed, hoping that my begging and pleading would be answered in the way that I hoped. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the great blessings that awaited us and the incredible way my prayers would be answered.

On numerous occassions I felt like I received confirmation that I was supposed to stay home. The most profound reassurance that I remember receiving was during ward conference on 5.24.09. Our Stake President, Pres. Patrick was speaking about tithing. You know how sometimes someone is speaking about something and you receive incredible revelation, however, it has nothing to do with what the speaker is talking about? This was one of those times. Referring to paying tithing, he said, "Take the step in the dark and you will be provided for." At that exact moment, I totally felt the spirit and I knew that everything would work out and that this is what I was supposed to do. It also makes me think of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that I really like that is found in the movie, "The Secret." It says, "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

So now we had the confirmation that I was supposed to stay home but we still didn't know the logistics of it. Like, when I should put in my notice or how it was going to work financially. And what the heck we were going to do about health insurance since all of our benefits were through my job (and this was a really stressful factor for me). When Blakeley was about a month old, I remember telling Tyson, "I refuse to go back to work." I kind of laughed as I said it because I was half serious, half kidding...I think we just both knew we needed to make it happen. We knew we would have to sacrifice a little bit so we decided to get rid of my fabulous Nissan 350Z sports car. It's funny how your perspective changes with impending parenthood...as much as I loved that car because it was so fun to drive & I could easily speed around super slow drivers (pet peeve- slow drivers- ick), it was an easy decision and one I have never even slightly regretted.

To make a longer story shorter (since this is already long), as my maternity leave was about to end, I found out that I was getting laid off! OK so this news to most people would be extremely devastating and stressful. I may be the only person on the planet who has ever been happy to lose their job. I can honestly say that when I heard the news, I was elated & that it became the third best day of my ENTIRE life. (After my wedding day and Blakeley's birth, of course). I could not have planned it any better. And can you believe the timing of it all? Umm, hello...that is SO NOT A COINCIDENCE!!! My prayers were being answered in a way that was such a testimony builder of faith and prayer. Words cannot express the overwhelming joy and happiness I felt. I had planned on putting in my notice and not returning to work which would have left me with no monetary benefits whatsoever. With the lay off, I got a nice severance package as well as continued health benefits. We were able to pay off a lot of credit card debt which set us up nicely for the future with one income.

On top of that, Tyson was then approached with a job offer in Texas where he would do the same position of Regional Manager for Cellular Sales (selling Verizon Wireless) but have the potential to make more money. We prayed about it & we both received confirmation that it was the right thing to do. When I received the confirmation that we should move, I was driving in the car and the thought came to me, "There's no reason not to..." and I felt the overwhelming, powerful feeling of the Spirit that confirmed to me it was the right decision. How grateful I am for these profound experiences that build my faith and belief that there is a Heavenly Father who loves us and is looking upon us with tender care. He knows our inner-most desires and wants us to be happy.

On 10.29.09 we packed up our cars and little Blakeley (who was so great during the journey!) and made the 22 hour drive to Austin, TX where we stayed with friends for a month until we found a house. We made our permanent home in San Antonio, TX where we have since been fellowshipped nicely into our new ward. Our new ward is quite bigger than our last ward and there are a ton of younger families. We LOVED our last ward though so it's been a bit of an adjustment but we are liking our new ward more and more as the weeks go by. I was called as Young Women's Secretary which I was really happy about since I was in Young Womens in my last ward and was missing it. There is a big difference though-- my last ward had five YW and this ward has 40! Yes, I will repeat...40 girls! Can you believe it?! Tyson was called as Assistant Executive Secretary and is learning the ropes for that important role.

As you can imagine, such huge changes all relatively at the same time has been quite an adjustment! I had a baby, exchanged the corporate world for my divine role as a mother, moved halfway across the country, changed wards at church, left all of my friends behind, etc, etc...

While it has not been easy, I'm so grateful to Tyson who works so incredibly hard to provide for us so that I can stay home and raise our daughter. I'm so grateful for his patience with me as I cope with everyday life the best way I can as I adapt to my new world.

Life is good. I am lucky. There is beauty in everyday.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day! I love being a Mommy.