Friday, Friends & Finances

My posts are a little out of order. I can't sit at the computer for long periods of time with this back pain, but I'm doin' the best I can! Friday was my hubby's final day of work here in BG. He was released early in the afternoon, so we ate dinner as a family and then I went to Clarksville to meet up w/ Jen. (Don't mind his expression, he hates having his pic taken!)

Jen and I attended a 3 hr coupon seminar together (we stepped in a couple minutes late, which might seem like my fault since I had a 90 min drive, right? But it was local gal Jen that was running behind--how ironic! No biggie, it was mellow and started a few minutes behind schedule anyhow.) Oh, and many of us won little door prizes, and Jen won the most geeked-out door prize: a 'Trapper Keeper'-esque binder to organize her coupon stash! I think it was a little too geeked-out for her 'cuz she sent me home with it instead!


Then I completely ruined her efforts of healthy eating by suggesting we use a BOGO coupon at Baskin Robbins (totally selfish of me 'cuz we don't have one near our home in BG!) She obliged and we snacked and chatted. It was "Good Times", as Jen might say. Looking forward to more of these times. Our kids (especially the boys) are very close in age, so I see kiddie play dates and shared babysitting for Big People Dates in our future!

We miss all of our TN friends and can't wait to spend time with each of them, so we are getting more and more excited about moving back to Clarksville. That joy had been a little overshadowed for a while by some stressful decision-making, but we believe we're on a productive track. Chris had to choose between two employers, each offering competitive pay in order to convince my guy to work for them. Many people would find this flattering--and Chris did--but he also found it stressful. See, one job offer would be working for/with someone who means a lot to him, and that's the job he ultimately had to turn down. He spent time in the Word and in prayer, and he sought counsel (Proverbs 15:22, 18:15, 19:20, etc). It wasn't an easy decision, but there are no regrets. Sure, there's disappointment that everything can't work out to a happily-ever-after status, but not regret. I'm proud of my husband for seeking the Lord in making the 'right' choice rather than just accepting the 'easy' choice--
he's such a good leader for our family!

Chris starts his new position the end of next week, so my guy's home for 5 whole days with his family! It's amazing! While there's much to do, we're actually just doing some major relaxing. This is partly 'cuz Chris deserves the down-time, and partly 'cuz my back is totally jacked up with a knot the size of a ping pong ball, plus the area around the right side of my rib cage is swollen & sore. We had to cancel a cookout with dear friends Milla and Thia this weekend because of the discomfort, but hopefully we'll reschedule soon. Still, my baby-daddy is home for 5 whole days and the kids and I are going to just soak it in! It's almost like a homebound mini-vacay!

***Update:
Actually Chris was home Saturday and today, he'll work tomorrow, then be off Tuesday and Wednesday. So 4 days off out of 5...still, that's not bad! A little break plus a couple bucks that will really come in handy during our big transition! (If you don't know, Chris has transferred within his company to another location and stepped down from management to FT employee status in order to have more family time and take classes online. In doing so, he's taken a pay cut as well. It's going to require sacrifices, but the Lord has made clear what He requires of us to serve Him, and we believe He'll continue to supply for each need we have.) So far Chris has enjoyed a little extra sleep and a lot of fun with the kids!