Monday, February 22, 2010

From Not Much Exciting to A Lot Exciting!

Sometimes life seems like it's moving at a snail's pace. Nothing of great significance is happening and everyday happens like clockwork. Then suddenly EVERYTHING changes and life is completely upside down!
That's how things have seemed here in just a matter of just over a week. And this is no little change. This is massively huge and crazy! And it hasn't been without tons of thinking and prayer. Anyhow, our friends, Jason and Tony, were laid off from their construction job because the job ended. They were both offered jobs in South Carolina and they accepted after trying and not succeeding to find jobs in Canon City. Both Jason and Tony said that they were still looking for more workers and began tempting DJ. And of course, DJ was not too interested considering he has basically vowed to never leave Canon. But they kept mentioning the perks that go along with the job, we became more interested. So I began praying about the decision considering it isn't just a move to another town. It is a move clear across the country! I started gathering as much information as I could because I knew that even though DJ was very skeptical, we couldn't make a decision without any information. With every bit of news I got about the job and the opportunity, I got more excited and sure. I feel as though I've been praying almost constantly for the last week and a half! Pretty soon, DJ came around to the idea of the great things moving away and getting a new job could do!
So that pretty much brings us up to today. We're both very ready to get the ball rolling to go. Of course we're nervous about being so far away from family. And we don't know what a completely different job, town, climate, culture and time zone will feel like, but we are looking forward to the adventure of it. Well, me more than DJ, but I think he's getting more excited about it.
The job DJ will have is called a Rod Man. He'll be holding the stick that the Surveyor looks at through the little thingy. Yes, so descriptive, but that's the best I can do. :) He'll basically just be standing around doing that most of the 60 hours a week he'll be working. He has the potential to learn how to be a surveyor and move up and get more pay. Speaking of pay: He'll be getting about the same amount of money per hour, but they'll be working an extra 20 hours per week. 6-10s. On top of that they will be getting perdiem for everyday they work and if they show up to every shift, they get paid perdiem for the days they're off too. So, in short, we'll be making almost three times what we're getting paid now. It's sure hard to pass up a deal like that. Especially with the prospect of moving up the ladder and getting a pay increase. Plus, you can do Survey work just about anywhere construction is going on.
Other perks:
#1. Our friends will be there with us. If had to move away, you'd sure want to go with someone you knew. They are great friends and will provide awesome support. We'll all need that.
#2. The weather! It's warm! Like right now it's 60 degrees. Seriously. Of course I'll probably be whining when it's super hot and humid. So when that time comes tell me to shut up.
#3. The beach is about 2 hours away. That one is self explanatory.
#4. My uncle, cousins other family are about 3 hours away.
#5. The town we're all looking at is very close to Columbia which has shopping. That one is pretty self explanatory, too.
#6. I'm not qualified to do Massage Therapy in South Carolina. This may not seem like a perk, but I'm stoked! I can be a stay at home mama!
#7. They offer the same program that Colorado Virtual Academy offers here, it's just for South Carolina.
#8. We can do things like get gym memberships and have regularly scheduled activities without major interruption.
#9. When DJ is off he's off. No being on call 24 hours a day. No surprise fires and no two week dispatches. Oh and no more sooty, black nomex to wash all by themselves. Gar, that drives me crazy.
#10. the opportunity to grow closer to my husband and my Lord and my family. As much of a blessing having my parents around to be a Godly influence on my kids is, I really think it will cause DJ and I to step up as parents and spouses and become the people God intended us to be. It's gonna be tough and I'm sure we'll have times when we second guess ourselves. But we know God is pointing us in this direction so we know good things are to come.
The next step? We are waiting to hear from Jason, who will be talking to his boss about getting DJ a job. Supposedly, last Jason knew, they were hiring, so it shouldn't be a problem. But if God doesn't want us there, this is when he can truly close the doors. We're anxiously awaiting the news, so please pray and I'll keep you updated! :)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Not Much Exciting

So I have committed to blogging more often, so since I have a few extra minutes I am making myself blog even though I don't feel like there is much to blog about!
All of us here in the Chess household are beginning to feel better, I think. I think. I don't want to speak too soon, but it seems as though there is end in sight. Jerome got sick first with a nasty sinus infection turned to ear and eye infection and a cough that was so bad he puked several times. Once he got on antibiotics it cleared up quickly. Then Bailey was next with the same junk and since it was a week day that she felt her worst, we made an appointment with the homeopathic doctor in Colorado Springs. He gave us a couple tinctures and some natural cold and flu medicine. It took a little longer to clear up, but she's doing well now. Somewhere in the middle of all that I started feeling yucky, but it wasn't anything too bad so I let it go, but this weekend it all hit me hard. I just got back from the doctor and he thinks I just have allergies, with a little viral infection on top of it, but I'm not so convinced. We'll see. I just have a raspy sore throat and the aches.
On another note, DJ and I started watching Lost in the evenings after the kids go to bed. Our blu-ray player streams Netflix so we can watch any of the "watch it now" movies on our TV rather than the computer. It is much more comfy on the couch rather than the computer chair! We're totally hooked and can't wait to dive into the second season after DJ gets home from his Wild Horse and Burro trip on Friday. We're bummed to be missing the final season on TV starting tonight, but it must be watched in order!
A couple of weeks ago we bought a bunk bed for the kids! It was $100 and came with mattresses and everything, which is a steal! The mattresses are in good shape, but the frame needed some work. So we hauled it down to my parents basement and DJ has been using his creative mind to make it stronger and to build stairs since Bailey will be sleeping on top. I have spent my time painting it white. It looks great! Our next step is to finish building the stairs and to paint them. Then we've got to take it all apart and move it to our house! The kids are excited and I'm excited for them to have more open space in their bedroom.
That's all for now... :)

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