Goodbye '09... Hello 2010!!

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the past year lately and with this brand new year in front of us, I'd like to share some of my thoughts.

It's safe to say that 2009 was not our favorite year by any means, and when I say not our favorite, I mean that Steve was ready to burn our old calendar on the 31st. It was a rough year for us and some family members for sure. Here's a little run down of the past year.

The not so good:

- Steve left his job at Arizona Mail Order for the "dream" job at Funtasticks. It offered everything we wanted in a job and we were thrilled. We all know how that ended as it was a disastrous situation and he resigned a week later. What a trial of our faith! For something to feel so right and be so exciting to end up being so bad. It was a very scary situation.

- Unfortunately Steve has yet to find a job. These are rough times for a lot of people and there are so many looking for work, it makes it difficult to find a job right now. He was offered a job about 6 weeks ago and although it was a job and would've probably worked out, after much prayer and going to the temple we received the answer that it wasn't the right job for Steve. Yet another trial of our faith.

- Unless we get a good job offer in the next couple of weeks, we are looking to sell our house. A pretty tough decision but with our future still so uncertain, we are willing to do what we need to lessen the financial strain on our families.

The good:

- Preston!! He is always our "good" in any situation. We got to watch his grow from newborn to little boy this year and it has been amazing. Even with the hard times we've had, he is always #1 on our list when we start to count our blessings. He has so much energy and spunk that always keeps us on our toes. We know we have a lot of adventures ahead of us with him in our lives (ie. him just figuring out how to undo the cabinet child locks! fun times!). He really brings so much joy into our home and I cannot wait to see him continue to learn and grow in the new year.

- I was able to get a part time job in August and still work there. It's at a little neighborhood day care and I get to bring Preston for free. I've gone from working with the preschool kids to the babies and I love it! It's a great environment for me and Preston and although the pay isn't great, I am grateful that I am employed and that I can do a little bit to help our family.

- Although Steve is not employed quite yet, he (we) are grateful that he has had interest from companies and a few interviews along the way. They are great learning experiences and we're grateful because something is always better than nothing! We are also grateful for the friends and family that have offered him help and advice or have referred him to certain companies or positions. We have really been able to see and feel the support of love of our friends and family as they have rallied around Steve to help him find a new job.

- Our Families! We already knew that we had amazing families, but wow, what 2009 has shown us more than ever is how truly blessed we are to have the families that we have. They have all done so much to show their love, support, and compassion in our family's time of need. Obviously we are grateful for the financial support that we have received but the emotional support and the love that we feel from them has been so special and so precious to us. I'm not sure how we'll ever be able to show our true gratitude to all of them.

- My love for my Heavenly Father. This trial of Steve's unemployment and how it all went down, really shook my faith. I hate to admit that but it did. I was definitely questioning fairness in life, but I quickly realized that I am in no position to do that and that I had the wrong attitude about it all. I was very worried, scared, and down on most days about our uncertain future, which was really easy to do because it is a scary situation that we find ourselves in. Of course I always pray that Steve will find a new job soon, but instead of instantly blessing him with a job, Heavenly Father has blessed me with peace. I'm not sure how He does it, but for the past 6 weeks or so I have felt so much peace in my life. Even with all the uncertainty, I have faith and trust in the Lord that things will be ok. I'm not sure what his definition of ok is (hopefully it's not us living out of our car!) but I know that He will take care of us. It has been such an amazing blessing to have that peace because I know that if I was left to rely on just myself I would be stressed out, depressed mess, but I'm not because of the love of my Heavenly Father. I know that this has been a growing time for both of us, and although it's difficult I'm grateful for the faith that I've gained and for the lessons I've learned. That's not to say we're not ready for this chapter of our lives to end, like tomorrow!!

Yes, 2009 was a hard year but we still came out of it better for it. We are very excited, anxious, and hopeful for what 2010 has in store for us! Happy New Year to everyone!