When it rains it pours...

I always start to worry a bit when things are getting too perfect...I wonder when the rain will start...

A few weeks ago, I got a surprise phone call from my husband. I excitedly answered the phone in my "sexy voice" to mark the special occasion, it turns out he was calling with bad news.

For some reason his security clearance was denied (we still don't know why and neither does the company he works for.) Now it has to go through a secondary appeals process that can take anywhere from 2 months to 2 years (or longer)...

This is scary for 2 reasons:  If it doesn't go through one of two things will happen he could be reassigned to a non-secured site (if there is room- Jeff isn't even sure they even exist but someone at work told him its a possibility) or he will be fired....If Jeff lost his job in 2 months we would be in a lot of trouble financially...stuck in a lease we can't afford and without medical insurance...and with one baby to take care of and another one on the way- the job, the insurance that comes with it, and the money it brings is invaluable.  The second reason this is scary is that we could end up being in limbo for up to 2 years...Jeff is already going crazy...he needs to work! He hates sitting in a warehouse all day with nothing to do but play video games, be on Facebook, and watch shows on Hulu....I know a lot of people would consider it a dream job, but my man is what my definition of a true spiritual being is- he wants to work, he wants to be useful. He HATES wasting his time...

So of course, after hearing that we've had to re-evaluate our budget a bit and we've had to have some serious discussions about what is next...if he doesn't have his clearance by the end of the year (when our lease is up) do we stay in the Henderson/Vegas area and keep waiting, or does Jeff need to start looking for other jobs in October or November so that we have a confirmed job to move for at the start of the  year again?

This was already a lot to take in...and then the car....oh the car...

Sophie was my grandpa's baby. It was the first brand new car he'd ever purchased off a lot. When my grandparents found out that I had moved off campus year before I graduated and that I had no transportation they offered her to me and I accepted with a very grateful heart.

Now...she's 22 years old- for a car of her age she's holding up well, but we've found that there is a lot that needs to be done...a week before the bad news from work, we spent $400 to get the fuel filter replaced and a tune up. Turns out she still had the 22 year old factory spark plugs. The mechanic had no idea how she was firing up and we believed the problems we were having with her were solved...fast forward to the week of the bad news...we'd gone to the temple on Saturday and received a lot of answers about what we were to do about our current predicament. We picked the little diva up at my friend's house (her oldest daughter babysat for us- it was a huge blessing) and later that evening went out to get formula so we wouldn't have to buy it on Sunday....

Well...remember that friend that was supervising as her oldest daughter babysat? Well, she and her dear sweet husband ended up going above and beyond the call of duty of friendship that night...

Sophie wouldn't start! We thought we'd fixed that problem the week before- but no...here we were, with a screaming little diva in the backseat (it was WAY past her bedtime) and the car wouldn't start. Jeff looked like he wanted to cry...all he could say was, "We can't afford this."  I reminded him that technically we could since we'd put all his extra paycheck into savings. We said a prayer asking for the car to start, but if it wouldn't, that the repairs would be inexpensive and that we would be able to afford it.  Well...the car still wouldn't start...

I pulled out my phone and followed a prompting...Call Melissa....

Her husband was already on his way out to drop off a Redbox movie. He came and picked us up and when we reached a tow truck agency about coming to pick the car up, he offered to drive Jeff back so he wouldn't sit there waiting for them.

Well..that tow truck agency ended up causing the next big trial of the night...apparently, they didn't have the resources to handle our tow so they outsourced it, but made it seem like they were the ones handling it.  Finally...after waiting for 4 hours (it was 12:30 AM by the way) my husband had given up. I took his phone- I was not giving up! A) they had our credit card number, and I wasn't about to be charged for a service we didn't receive and B) I was PISSED and felt like biting off a few heads. A tow that we were told was supposed to be 45 minutes away shouldn't have taken 4 HOURS!

I called...I was mean...but I will say I was exhausted but unable to sleep because of the stress of the situation. Jeff had given in to exhaustion and had fallen asleep a few hours before. I definitely scared the dispatcher, I even surprised myself with my level of sass and spite...He finally admitted that they had outsourced the tow and gave me the number to call the other company they had sent it to...

When I called the other company. They blamed the first company. Apparently, the number had been given incorrectly (or taken incorrectly) to call us to let us know that  driver was being sent to the location and the first company didn't answer their phone when the second company called...at this point, I was irritated and didn't care who was to blame. I cut the dispatcher for the second company off mid-sentence and said, "Okay- now you have the RIGHT number. Can we please get a tow now?" I had to go through the even more irritating steps as she took our information again about where the car was "Didn't the other company give you this info when they handed the tow off." The dispatcher said that she wasn't the one that had taken the info down and whoever did hadn't completely filled out the form...UGH...she promised us a tow in 45 minutes (I wasn't about to hold my breath...) I texted my dear friends that had been up waiting to take Jeff back to Target to meet the tow truck to tell them what was up. I told them to go ahead and take a power nap because I wasn't holding out much hope..

Well...an hour and a half later...we finally got a call that the tow truck was on its way...6 HOURS...6 HOURS we'd waited...

The next morning, a very sleepy Jeff walked to the mechanic's shop around the corner where we'd towed it and had them fix it...we are very lucky that this shop is not only inexpensive, but VERY honest. Jeff told them that we thought it was the fuel pump and they gave him a quote to fix that, but about an hour later we were called and told it wasn't the fuel pump, it was the starter and were given a new quote...we are lucky, a lot of other auto shops would have replaced the fuel pump and when that didn't work, they would have called and said, "Well, you owe us for a new fuel pump, but after that we found out it wasn't the fuel pump, it was the starter...so your bill is now $700..." Not these guys...yes, the starter was a more expensive fix...but at least they were honest and didn't replace parts that were functioning perfectly.

Well..another almost $400 later, we now have a functioning car again...and have started another new debate about whether or not we should buy a new car and sell Sophie to a family looking for a car for their high school student or a family that can only afford Sophie and the transportation she has to offer...but that also requires new revisions of the budget, and, if we stick to Jeff's new budget (and with a new baby on the way, I'm not 100% convinced its feasible, but I'm willing to try...) we should have $12,000 saved by the end of the year...enough for a move and a down payment on a house where ever we move to...

Fast forward to this week...because bad things happen in threes, right?  I closed my computer down and went to reboot it...and it wouldn't start up...I tried all night to fix it (good thing I was already up with food poisoning...yuck!) but to no avail...Jeff took it to work and tried to fix it, but with no luck. A friend at work thought he could fix it, but it turns out that it will cost almost as much to fix it as it would to get a new laptop...

So...I guess Jeff gets his wish. He's been wanting a new laptop for a while. I told him he could have the new one and I'd take his old one (even though I hate it! I can't type on this stupid thing very well. It isn't a full sized keyboard and I'm always hitting the wrong button! This blog may not make it seem that way, but it really is annoying.)

I'm also sad because my novel that I had been writing for the last 4 years is on my stupid, broken laptop, the novel I only had 3 chapters left to write of, the novel I was hoping to send to publishers this year...along with all the pictures I have of Faith from the time she was born, her baby book that I had been procrastinating printing off, and my copies of my engagement pictures...

I guess that will teach me to back up...

But, I've decided not to have a pity party...when it rains it pours, right? Well...it may pour but when it rains and pours it also refreshes everything and makes it new, the rain brings new life...

So...these trials, as difficult as they've been (and some continue to be) will bring a new life, a better life. I have faith in that.

Sometimes we have to deal with a series of really crappy events so that we can appreciate the new and wonderful things that are headed our way.

We ask for friends and family, if they feel so inclined to pray for us and possibly fast if they're up to it. We're asking that people pray that either Jeff's clearance will go through or that we will be sustained in this job through to the end of the year so we can be out of our lease and so that the birth of baby #2 will already have happened and have been taken care of through our insurance company. We know that we will find the right job and place if this job and this place aren't where we belong. We have faith that God will guide us as long as we're doing all we can in the meantime to find the path for ourselves.

Faith is to hope for things that aren't seen, or so I'm told, so while we can't see what the future will bring for our little family, we have hope that if we're doing everything we can to be righteous and follow the commandments that God has laid out, that we will have a blessed and wonderful future, that we will find where God needs us to be.

Bad things happen, but, if you know where to turn, they aren't so bad.

God has been so good to us, and in spite of the struggles we may be called to face in order for His will to come to pass, if we keep looking around us, we will be able to see that he is still there, blessing us, and helping us through. He will not leave us without comfort.

I love you all, I thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to me that I have a little family of friends out there in the world who care about me and my little family. Thank you for being so wonderful.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!