My Boys and Me

I finally have some quiet time to type this blog entry. I didn’t want to type it until I could really put thought into what I wanted to say. It is such an ENORMOUS blessing to Mike and I (third probably to finding each other, and having our boys), so, don’t take the length of time it took me to type this (2 weeks) as my lack of appreciation or excitement. I am SO thankful and SO excited! I also realized yesterday that not everyone is on Face book (where I announced the news, but didn’t go into much detail). My brother’s girlfriend read yesterday’s blog and was very confused as to why I said I would be sad to leave our friends in Charleston. 

So, after 6 years of college, 4 years obtaining law enforcement experience and 18 months of praying, hoping, and a roller coaster of emotions that so often included feeling discouraged, and impatient, Mike’s 13 year DREAM has finally come true. He was hired by the Federal Government and starts his new job Dec 7^th! It has truly taken me a couple weeks to process it all. I was elated, then (selfishly) stressed by it all and have finally decided that if I’ve learned anything from this whole process, it has been that having patience CAN and DOES pay off and that I need to have it more often.  It was such a LONG 18 months, that we’d sorta just given up hope and assumed it wasn’t meant to be……OH YES IT WAS! J Mike received the good news last Thursday and I don’t think I have ever seen him so happy. One phone call changed him- he is so much more relaxed (knowing he no longer has to work EVERY day), excited (to finally be able to spend his days doing what he truly wants to be doing and went to school to do) and deserves everything good he is feeling more than anyone I know. Don’t get me wrong, he has enjoyed working for the Police Department. The experience he has gained will be so useful in the future and the friendships we’ve made will last a lifetime, but he has always strived for more. He wanted more professionally and more for our family. I am SO proud of him. He was chosen out of over 55,000 applicants. How cool is THAT! J

Let me share with you a few amazing little “hints” from God that have really assured us God knows what he is doing and is behind all of this:

1. If you recall, back in May, I typed this in one of my blog entries (this was during one of our moments of discouragement that happened to GIVE us encouragement):  As cheesy as it is, I found a verse to a particular song that is so fitting for how Mike and I are feeling  lately. Can you guess what recent movie its from (hint- I saw it with Braeden)?
“Caterpillar in the tree, how you wonder who you’ll be, can’t go far, but you can always dream. Wish you may and wish you might, don’t you worry hold on tight, I promise you that there will come a day- Butterfly fly away!”The Friday before Mike received the good news, I was in Barnes and Noble with a friend of mine and saw a mug that had this verse printed on it:       “and just when the caterpillar thought it was all over, there came a butterfly!” J

Mike and I had clearly thought that this dream was “over” and that it wasn’t going to happen. After all, shamefully, I barely prayed about it anymore and really wasn’t thinking about the possibilities either.

2. The Thursday he got the call, I was driving to work and for some reason had started thinking about it all. I looked up, and in front of me was a car with a VA license plate! Everything stayed on my mind the majority of the morning at work. I was doing some filing and I thought it would be a perfect time to pray. I simply told God that I was sorry that I seemed to lose faith easily and that I was more faithful with prayer when I wanted something. I prayed that God would allow to happen what he felt was best for our family and even if it wasn’t what we wanted to hear to PLEASE allow us to receive an answer so we could move on with our lives. A little over an hour later, Mike got the news and it WAS what we wanted to hear! WOW WOW WOW! I get choked up every time I think about it all.    So, what does all this mean? Naturally (as much as we’ve hoped and prayed and WANT this), its still very bittersweet and overwhelming. There is no doubt in our minds that this is the right decision and the very best thing for Mike and for our future as a family, but there are many things about it all that brings sadness. We know God will walk with us through all of it and provide a peace during the MANY times we anticipate something this huge to provide a mixture of emotions.  Mike will be heading to VA Dec 6^th. He will be there until Feb 22 (ya, this is one of those things that will create many emotions). We will see him at least once or twice during this time. THEN, he will go to the Federal Training