Florida 2012

I NEVER tire of this view. EVER. The beach is unquestionably my favorite place on earth. Praise the Lord my parents take us every year. :) This year was our second time to go since we have been married and I'm not quite sure who was more excited about going--me or Daniel. We had such a wonderful time! Of course it went by WAY too fast---I feel like I blinked and the week was completely over! We got some much needed "recharging" time with mom and dad and Hannah, ate some great food, watched the Olympics while eating cake and ice cream (like every night), enjoyed the sand and the ocean, and OH YEAH...and we had a flat tire! Apparently, it's our goal to do something every year to make it more memorable---last year Daniel lost his wedding ring in the ocean (and by a miracle, found it) and this year we had to get a new tire. Lol. Things happen. All in all, it was an absolutely fantastic week and we can't wait til next year!

Here is some documentation of the memories we made :)

the New J.O.B.

My new J.O.B.

Let's just say God knew what He was doing...as always. I absolutely LOVE it. Aside from all the overwhelming-ness and learning new things, which just comes with new-job territory, it's fabulous.

I work at a clinic called Advanced Foot and Ankle. It consists of two doctors, male and female, who happen to be married...but she goes by a different last name. Weird, I know. I also work under an Office Manager, April, who I instantly clicked with, and we also have a receptionist at our main office named Lindsey.  I am one of the medical assistants for the female (Dr. Dorsett), which is also a great example of divine providence. Not that Dr. Sanders (the male) isn't just as nice or welcoming, but he is more of a workaholic. This is what my typical day looks like working for her:

* I come in at 8:45 AM.
*We see our first patient at 9:15 AM
*We see ONE patient every 15 minutes until we break for lunch around noon
*We have lunch until we see our next patient at 1:30 PM (this allows for travel to other locations)
*Again, we see a patient every 15 minutes--our last one is seen at 4:30 PM
*We close everything up and I leave at the latest by 5:00 PM
*BONUS: on Fridays I leave by 3:00 PM

Is this not the greatest work schedule ever?! Time absolutely flies by! As I mentioned above, we also have different office locations--four to be exact. So I travel to different ones throughout the week--which is paid travel time. I love this aspect too because it gives me variety throughout my day and my week. Dr. Dorsett is very nice and has a fun sense of humor, except for when she gets into "doctor mode." She has two young girls so that is why she wants to see her last patient at 4:30, no exceptions. Again, AWESOME.

The reason I say this is because Dr. Sanders definitely has a busier schedule. Where we see ONE patient every 15 minutes, he might see 2 or 3 in that span of time. And he doesn't always see his last patient at 4:30. Sometimes his medical assistants don't finish until 6:00 PM or after. Again, the Lord definitely knows what He is doing.

I'm able to do what I love, and still be off work in time to come home and cook dinner for my hunk of a man...maybe even squeeze in a workout class. PLUS, the best part....are you ready?

***I DON'T HAVE TO WORK WEEKENDS OR NIGHTS OR HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!****

Can I get a Hallelujah! Yep, God definitely knows what He is doing. It is absolutely perfect. I get to wear scrubs again (another Hallelujah), I have an awesome laid-back work place, I get along great with my co-workers and the doctor I work for, and I am bringing in more income and benefits will come later. WOW. I'm just completely humbled and utterly grateful for this wonderful turn of events.

Now, Daniel's job that I posted on FB about....it fell through. (shocked faces can commence). We got the call on a Thursday that they wanted to hire him, he went and met with them on Friday---had a few issues to work out concerning what they would pay him, and the next Wednesday they called and basically said they changed their minds. To say I was mad was probably an understatement. Now that it has been a week, and I've been on vacation, we feel a little better. Ultimately, if they didn't want him, we would rather know NOW than get 2 weeks into it and then they change their minds. But, now we are back to square one with him looking for other employment. (The tutoring company doesn't think he will get to tutor this fall because of new laws or something or other...). Please be in prayer that he can find the perfect thing that would work with his school schedule and also provide adequate income for our family.

Also, another prayer request is for direction and wisdom concerning our future---we are in prayer about where God would have us go once he finishes up and graduates with his Master's degree in May. This time in our lives is all about newness and change and we are doing our best to embrace it.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings

I am so embarassed....i literally have not written a blogpost in 5 months! There IS an explanation for that, BUT there is fun news to share! :)  So, if you're in a hurry, here is the jist of this post: I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB IN MY FIELD! Praise the Lord, He is so faithful!

Ok, now if you have time to continue, read on.

 I haven't written a blogpost since February---life was pretty rough and honestly I was too depressed to write anything. I was working two jobs, both of which were high-stress and caused me to be on my feet for hours on end, and a lot of days I was working double shifts with Apple in the morning and then waitressing at Macaroni Grill at night. Needless to say, life was not at it's most enjoyable. But I did what I had to do to provide for my family. Since February, I have had probably 7ish interviews all around Louisville and I kept getting the whole, "Thanks for taking the time and interest in us, but there was someone else who was more qualified. We hope you'll continue to apply for other positions." SO FRUSTRATING! It kept getting my hopes up that this was finally going to be it and I would be delivered from my current situation...and everytime my hopes got dashed and I would be this emotional roller-coaster.

Finally, one Sunday in late May/early June, God got my attention. Our pastor, Dr. Hamilton, was preaching from Jeremiah--talking about the Israelites and their idols. And he said something that grabbed my attention. To paraphrase, he said, "Idols are not necessarily tangible things and they are not necessarily always bad things. The way to know if you have an idol in your life is to examine your heart and tell yourself, ok....is there something I'm hoping for that I don't think I could be TRULY happy without obtaining it for myself?" And it was like a brick hit me on top of the head! I had been idolizing finding a full-time job---I wasn't going to be happy without it. And at that point, my attitude changed. I wasn't seeing that God had ALREADY blessed me with TWO jobs! Maybe not jobs in my field or jobs that I enjoyed, but at least I was bringing in income. And I know deep down that God has a plan for me that's even more perfect that I can ever imagine.

Literally, THAT WEEK I got 3 interviews for 3 different places. I interviewed at the Seminary for a secretarial position, I interviewed at a local dental office for a receptionist position, and I interviewed at Advanced Foot and Ankle Clinic for a Medical Assistant position. Secretly, I was hoping for the medical assistant (duh). I mean, it let me use my degree I went to four years of school for, it was Monday-Friday with no weekends (hallelujah!) or holidays, and not to mention the office manager who interviewed me was awesome! She and I instantly clicked and I knew I would love to work with her. What was even better is she told me they were hoping to fill the position by the end of that week! Well, obviously that didn't happen---she called me the next week saying the 2 doctors decided to take a two week vacation and then she would be on vacation the week after...so everything was put on hold for a whole month! Well, in that month, the Seminary informed me they had found someone else to fill the position I interviewed for, the dental office was also on hold due to family vacations and the like, and I got to go on vacation with some of my family as well.

I got the call yesterday morning (Monday, July 16th) from the office manager at Advanced Foot and Ankle, saying that while she had been away on vacation, two members of their staff had suddenly had to quit. So, this expedited the process of hiring me (yay!). She actually OFFERED me the positon at 10:15 AM yesterday morning, asking if I could start immediately in 2 weeks! This completely floored me! I was under the impression she would call me yesterday, probably say the doctors wanted to interview me and the other candidates before making any final decisions, and then probably have an answer by the end of this week. But man was I wrong!! I was absolutely THRILLED! I had to turn in my 2 weeks notice at both places yesterday (which I have never done before and is not fun at all, but they were so great about it) and I start to work on Monday, July 30th! I'm still kind of in shock and can't believe it's really happening!

I will truly miss the people I work with at Apple and Macaroni Grill---they made work fun! And I know that what I have learned about business and about myself by working at these places will carry with me wherever I go for the rest of my life.

God is good. God keep His promises. God is faithful. He never left me or forsake me--even when I was depressed and had doubts. His plan is better than my own and for that I am grateful. Thank you to everyone who has been in prayer for me and Daniel over this past year (already!) we have lived in Louisville. You will never know how much we appreciate it! And it obviously works because the Lord has heard our prayers and answered them with the perfect job for me! :)