Changes

I have struggled to put my recent thoughts to writing. Matt and I have met some very big changes in the last week. As we have been engulfed in these recent events, we have realized so many blessings that have been setting us up for this since last year.

In February 2009, we were excited when our construction loan went through. We were FINALLY going to have a house of our own. Matt was amazing as he worked day in and day out to excavate, build, and finish this beautiful home. Of the many decisions he made while building our home, there was one decision I thought (at the time) very odd. When the concrete crew was pouring our driveway, Matt had them pour an RV pad on the side of our garage. I remember telling him there was No Way that was going to happen.

With thoughts of a backyard of our very own, no more apartment managers telling us No and the desire we had had since we were married, we had so much fun in May 2008 taking our government stimulus check to a local breeder and selecting our new puppy. We chose a male Yellow Lab because the breed was known as a calm, affectionate family dog. We named him Wrigley.

We moved into our house in July 2008.

Matt applied for and was accepted into the Fast Grad program which allowed him to attend school full-time in his off-track. He was only two semesters away from graduation at that point, so he worked hard during the fall and winter semesters and graduated in April 2009.

He was applying to as many companies he could. He kept in contact with a local company called HK. We have a family friend who works for them, as well as a friend whose dad works for them, and they were able to give Matt the names of the right people to contact about a job. Over the course of the next ten weeks, Matt was in constant contact with three individuals in the company. It was to the point that I was starting to think it was a lost cause and with each new phone call Matt made to them, I was certain he was just annoying them and driving himself away from the possibility of being hired.

Last Wednesday, Matt made a call to David - the one who had posted the position. David told him that he didn't know why the company was not giving him the clear to hire someone. He said he had just e-mailed his boss with some names of people he wanted to hire and had asked again if he could do it. Matt got off the call with more confusion and uncertainty about the situation.
An hour later, David called back and offered Matt the job! Without a formal interview! Because he had been in such good contact with him, David had been able to "interview" Matt over the phone all along and knew he wanted to hire him.

The job is in Yellowstone. Matt needs to live up there in an RV camper during the week and will come home on the weekends. I still don't really know the details of his job, but I know he's going to be working in the job trailer on paperwork instead of laboring on the jobsite. The job is scheduled to close for the winter on November 20 of this year. He will be temporarily laid off at that point until March 1 of next year when the second half of the job will resume.

Can you see the blessings now?

• I have a house because I needed to have a dog who would protect me and keep me company during the long and lonely weekdays without my husband home.
• That dog has been keenly aware of our impending situation this week. We could without a doubt tell that he sensed something was happening. Matt and I were both more emotional and suddenly very busy as we got everything ready for the start of this job. Since he is still very much a puppy, he would much rather I play with him than cuddle him. Matt left yesterday, and so far Wrigley has kept still twice while I cried into his furry head.
• This one goes back farther than one year - when we first moved out here four years ago, we knew no one. The first couple to invite us for dinner became some of our dearest friends. He turns out to be the son of one of the HK employees Matt had been in contact with. Thank you Mike and Andrea! We love you!
• We bought a RV camper this weekend for Matt to live in during the week in Yellowstone. We now have a place to park it when the job is suspended for the winter.
• The most recent blessing: my neighbors. They invited me for a barbecue with a few other couples from our ward yesterday. Matt left for Yellowstone at 3:30 and the barbecue wasn't until 7:00. I kept myself occupied on the computer until it was time to go. Being with friends until 10:00 was SOOOO wonderful. It was truly what I needed last night. It helped me deal with my first night alone because I wasn't dwelling on it all evening. Thank you, Cody and Derek! I can't even express my appreciation for that!
  

I know I'm leaving out so many other blessings. I know Heavenly Father has guided our steps to lead us to where we are. I know this will be a GREAT learning opportunity for Matt. I know this will be a HUGE growing experience for me. At the same time, I'm struggling. I'm sad. I haven't stopped crying since he was hired. I'm lonely because Wrigley doesn't talk back. It's 7:00 and I haven't eaten dinner because I've never liked cooking just for myself. I knew this post was going to be difficult to write - and I was right - I'm a sobbing mess right now. But I wanted to put my thoughts into writing to keep you updated, express my gratitude for our blessings, and document this event for however I decide to preserve it. I know this turned into a LONG update, so if you made it this far I not only congratulate you - I thank you!