God Is Good – All The Time

Well, there’s been lots happening around here the last few months that haven’t quite made it on blogosphere.  I just didn’t really think you’d want to read about all our problems. Haha.  But I’ve been feeling this week that I put everything else out there, why not be vulnerable with the junk in our lives too.  So here it all is.  No pictures, just a boring text post.  But I want to document this life stage.  The good, the bad, and the ugly – and how God has been good through it all. 

So it all started a little after Ellie arrived. William hadn’t been feeling hot, well for almost a year, but it started to get pretty bad and after some demands requests from me, he went to the doctor.  After a few procedures, he officially got diagnosed with Ulcerative Pancolitis.   The bad is that this is a disease he will have forever and will be on prescription drugs and a special pro-biotic for the rest of this life.  The good is he’s not dying.  So we were just getting this all hammered out, when BAM, we found out we were losing our health insurance.  With about a 2 weeks notice. 

William doesn’t have health insurance through his small office and we were lucky enough to have qualified for state insurance.  But thanks to new legislation that passed, we no longer qualified.   So we started the scramble.  Getting prices and wondering where this extra $400-$500 was going to come from each month.  I mean, that’s more than our grocery budget!  And then worse news, William started getting denied because he has a pre-existing condition.  Health Alliance informed him it’s up there with cancer on their lists, automatically denied.  So we prayed.  And I had a little more faith than my budget-keeping, bill-paying hubby.  And in this last week, this is all the stuff that has happened:

• William’s boss gave him a small pay raise to help off-set the cost of insurance since the office can’t afford to have it’s own health insurance.
• William's boss encouraged him to get licensed and offered him some incentives to help this happen.
• I put some advertising on my blog, which you may have noticed. Thanks for clicking on a link if it actually appeals to you! :) I can see how blogs with huge followings can do it for a full time job!
• We qualified for WIC food assistance.  Yes, that took some humility to write.  And yes, it’s a very humbling process to apply and even use the vouchers at the store.  But God is teaching me a lot through it.  Maybe I’ll write more on this later.  Anyone need some extra milk?   Seriously it’s the one thing we get way too much of.
• I had posted an ad on Craigslist about doing some babysitting again.  I got a few responses but nothing that felt like a good fit.  Until I heard from Carrie!  Tomorrow I will introduce you to our new  “once a week family member,” Sam.  He’s an absolute doll and I’m really hoping this is a wonderful situation for all involved!
• Scott, our investor/money guy needed someone to do some data entry for him.  FROM HOME.  He knew we were in a bit of a tight spot so he offered it to me.  Yes, I’m a little worried about where I’m going to find the time, but am so so thankful for the little extra that will help my insurance to be covered.  You know, just in case I want to have another baby.  Haha, not pregnant.  Just making sure you were still awake.

Wow, thank you God.  So there you have it.  Some of the stuff going on at our place.  We’d still love some prayers for complete healing for William.  And for all the transitions of taking on a new kiddo, trying to work a little from home, and still be the kind of momma I want to be.

Bella

No, this post isn't about this sweet little girl, Bella, although I could write and write about how great her and her mom are!It's about my new job. That's right folks, as of today, I'm a working woman again. A few weeks ago, Laura emailed me saying they were looking for someone at Bella for about 10 hours a week (well, technically 14 one week, 7 the next). It's an adorable little boutique that just moved to a new store on Neil St. I met with Jennifer, my boss and she was super sweet! I went home and really went back and forth about it. This was a really hard decision for me. I was most likely going to have to sub on Thursdays and Fridays (when my mom was free) and I was DREADING this decision. Not because of the kiddos, but my fear was that I would get into a classroom where I didn't have a break, and therefore couldn't pump. I'm not willing to sacrifice all the hard work we've done so far with breastfeeding. But Jennifer said that it would be no problem for me to leave the floor once or twice a shift to pump and there's a cute bathroom to do it in, along with a fridge for storage! So I'm working every Wednesday and every other Friday from 1-8. Ahh, that seems likes a long time, but my mom's going to watch him from that 1-5 time and then William will be home with him. It's totally doable. I can pump. A little extra money. A good reason to shower and wear "real" clothes. And maybe no subbing (I'll have to see how I feel about that every other Friday). I did cry on the way to training today, but everyone survived and my mom loved having time with her grandbaby. Laura was a great trainer and we had some good conversations along the way!

Speaking of the other Bella's mom, Michelle. . .she bought Owen these adorable shoes from See Kai Run. He's actually going to wear them to church this weekend. Aren't they precious?
Well, here's the problem. I'm working to actually bring a little more money into our house. But this job could be dangerous. Thankfully, I don't have a girl. Seriously. We carry Daily Tea, Sweet Petunia, Mimi and Maggie, Baby Lulu and so much more. My entire paycheck would go towards those stinkin' cute bows, dresses, and oh those winter coats. It will be seriously hard for me not one off those pink and brown over the top coats, just to stash away for a *hopefully* future girl. I digress. So all in all, thanks to Owen being Owen, I won't lose my whole paycheck!