I don't know why the title came to my head that way, but I really like it :)
So here are some of the things Phil and I have discussed:
1) Where we are going to live after school
2) What to do about his job situation
3) How we'll get along if he doesn't get the fellowship
The answers we have come up with are:
1) We have always talked about how we need to get out of Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice place with mostly decent people. However, there are just too many things we have problems with aside from the desire to live somewhere else. We have also always agreed that, wherever we go, we do not want to start completely over. What I mean by this is, we want to know someone in the general area already instead of just starting completely from scratch. We had talked about Denver several times, but somehow our attention was shifted to Kansas City, Missouri. You see, most of my dad's family still lives there, it's halfway between my parents (for now) and Phil's parents and it's home to our favorite baseball team (don't hate!) :) Even though the job market for Phil is a bit more limited, we have discussed that this is where we want to end up so we will be moving there regardless of Phil's job situation. If I need to work a little bit when we first move and have Phil take a part-time job or something, then that's what we'll do. The Lord will provide and he will make sure we get by. It's exciting having a specific destination in mind. Plus, now I can start looking at the cost of housing, how much we'll need to save up for a down payment, cost of living, taxes, school districts, etc. It's times like this it's actually good to be a planner :D
2) Phil has obviously been pretty burned out lately so we have decided that he will be giving his 4 week notice (ridiculous right?!) at work on July 1st. It apparently has to be 4 weeks so they can hire someone and have Phil train them. Ugh... whatever. I have noticed that, ever since we came to this solution, Phil is much more chipper than usual. He usually just dragged around the apartment before his shifts. Now, he still complains a little, but definitely not to the point he used to. I think having an end in sight has really helped him.
3) According to Phil's adviser, he will probably find out about the fellowship ON the 15th. Great..... I still think he has it in the bag, but we did talk about if he doesn't get it what we can do. We are cutting back on groceries, (which we actually eat really well and mostly fresh foods which is amazing for 2 married college students), eating out, etc. If we end up needing some more money, we can figure something out. We also have a plan to pay off most of our credit cards which will be nice as well :D So, it's been kinda uncomfortably close to bad financially for us lately, but we've survived and I think we will continue to revise our strategy and come out on top!
In other news, I never got to tell you that my uncle is doing much better! He's not completely out of the woods, but he is no longer in crucial days, they've moved him to a regular room at the hospital and he is starting to do well with his physical therapy to get his arm working well again. My parents went home Friday or Saturday (I don't remember which day) and felt good about everything which made me relax as well.
If you could keep the Austin family in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it. My boss' mom passed away yesterday from colon cancer. His mom, Mary Lee, was such a wonderful and sweet woman. She and my mom became good friends when my mom first started at Central because Mary Lee helped out in the office sometimes. Mary Lee never complained about anything and when my mom visited her in early May, she wasn't worried about dying, but she cried because she didn't want to hurt her husband. How sweet is that? She even apologized for complaining one time during some chemo treatment. I'm still amazed at that! However, my favorite story about her is the time she helped me. The first Sunday I was in church after my mom left, (the 2nd Sunday of her absence since I was out of town that first time), I could hardly keep my head up in church. Everything reminded me that she was gone and I was teary-eyed most of the service. After the service was over, I went silently to the choir room to put up my music and robe. Mary Lee walked into the room, found me, and without saying a word, she hugged me for a few moments. When she pulled away, she put my face in her hands and smiled before turning to leave. She didn't even have to say anything because I knew what she meant. I'm glad she is no longer in pain and I hope she knows how much she is loved and will be missed by so many many people.
Peace to you,
"Fireflies" by Faith Hill
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