God's timing is never off...

Well, so I think most people who read my blog know that Ande was laid off from his full time job back in August. That was such a huge hit to us - not only to Ande's self-esteem, but of course to our budget and pretty much our way of life. Fortunately he has been able to receive unemployment for the last 6 months, and has been able to pick up extra hours occasionally at the homeless shelter where he works on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, our budget was still very stretched, and it was only because of Ande's parents that we have been able to keep our house payments paid on time and be able to pay our other bills, too. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)

Over the last 6 months, we have not ceased to be amazed by the kindness and generosity of our friends, family, neighbors, as well as virtual strangers. Any time we've had a need arise, it has been provided for, sometimes without that need having ever been spoken aloud. I have written a few posts about such times, but almost feel like I'm bragging because the amount of times that we have been blessed by others is SO many, and the things we have been blessed with, be it money, time, physical work, or items we were in need of, has been so much. And yet here I sit, just bursting with excitement over yet another occasion where God is supplying our needs.

Part of Ande's old job (the one he was laid off from) was to go to places of business that used his company's service to do maintenance and repair work, plus training and in some cases sales. He had a customer that was local to where we live, and since Ande was the only technician who lived in this part of our state, he was the natural choice when it came to "who to send" to this particular customer. This customer, whom I'll call FAA for short, contacted Ande's former employer about something a few weeks ago, and asked for Ande. They were told he didn't work there anymore. Several of the employees from FAA know Ande's uncle though business dealings with him. So one of the employees contacted Ande's uncle to see what the story was. She then asked Ande's uncle to have Ande contact FAA for a possible job opening. Ande went and interviewed last Friday, and got the call today that they would like him to come in tomorrow to fill out some paperwork and then they want him to actually start work on Thursday!

Did I mention that Ande only has 2 weeks of unemployment left?

Yeah, so God's timing is still perfect, and HOW COOL IS IT THAT THIS JOB "FOUND" HIM - HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO LOOK! Sure, this job won't pay a lot, and it's not going to be a glamorous job - but it's work and it's close to home! Before, Ande was usually driving AT LEAST an hour or more ONE WAY to work EVERY DAY!

The other cool thing is that we received our income tax refund, and I was able to pay several of our bills (house, phone, sewer, electric/gas) ahead a little so that we can relax a little about our finances (and give my in-laws a bit of a break!). Plus, now that I know Ande will have income, I can hopefully continue to pay our bills ahead and have a little "cushion" in case of emergency.

More good news is that Ande has been invited to the New York Amp Show in May. This will be a great opportunity to get Kirby Custom Amplification amps into the public's hands. The NAMM show was pretty cool, but Ande said he really felt like a little fish in a big pond. And since the general public could not attend the show, he didn't really think his amp made the kind of impact it could make at a smaller scale show that IS open to the public. He's still glad he went, and I am, too. Otherwise he may not have received the personal invitation to the amp show. The host of the show actually CALLED OUR HOUSE to invite him!

So...if things are going well at home financially in May, we might get to take a weekend trip to this amp show as a family...but we'll wait and see about that. Right now I'm just looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us next....

Speaking of what God has in store....if you haven't been in a while, check out Nate and Tricia's story. I am still amazed at what God is doing in this family!

New Year, new outlook?

So, it's been a while since I posted last. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. My brother & sister in law will be returning to California tomorrow. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

A little recap-

We opened gifts with the kids Christmas Eve morning, since Bubber & Bug had to go back to their dad's on Christmas Eve, and Nans was going back to her mom's Christmas morning before Bubber & Bug would be back.

You got your tickets?

You know, for the GUN SHOW?!?!


AHH...HBC products - a girl's best friend!!!


A monkey for our monkey!


The whole crew- from left to right...
Puckey, Bubber, Nans, Bug, and The Jib

Christmas Eve night we went to my mom's, because my aunt who usually hosts our family on Christmas Eve fell and broke her leg. (We've all told her that she didn't have to break her leg to keep from having to host us all...she could have just said she didn't want to...LOL) So while we were at my mom's, Bubber started acting up, so I made him go sit in the other room. A few minutes later, I went out where he was, and told him that if he was ready to apologize to me, he could get up. Bubber just sat there biting his fingernail and ignoring me. That's when I noticed my stepdad in the kitchen watching us. So he pipes up with, "What did he do, Julie?" in a very antagonistic tone. I said, "He was backtalking me". My stepdad then rolled his eyes and turned around in a huff. This is the same guy who encouraged my ex husband to call Child Protective Services on me a few years ago when I spanked Bubber for getting caught forging my signature TWICE at school, plus lying about the whereabouts of his report card. Yeah, he's a real piece of work! So anyway, Bubber spent the rest of our time there sitting in the chair because he refused to apologize (or even speak) to me. But, then when we got home, Bubber came up and wanted to hug me...yep, he's all about acting up in front of my mom and stepdad so that he gets in trouble, and I am OF COURSE the bad guy in the whole thing...but when we get home he's all sweet and agreeable. It drives me nuts!! Fortunately, God has really worked in my heart about the whole thing with my stepdad and Bubber's behavior, so I can stay really calm during situations like that. (Well, at least on the surface. I pretty much wanted to deck my stepdad, but what good would that have really done?) At least I had a nice visit with my grandparents, two uncles, an aunt, and my sister & her family!!


Puckey & Great-Grandma


My niece wearing her brother's football helmet

Christmas day was unusual. We went to my inlaws and cleaned out their upstairs bedroom and attic. I got quite a laugh when I ran across some love letters that Ande's ex had written him YEARS ago....my new word is now "Schmeeky" (That's how she signed the letters!) I was totally cracking up reading them. Ande, on the other hand, didn't seem to find as much humor in the situation. We also found this:


Yes, folks, that's right. An alligator purse, complete with tiny alligator. It's sorta creepy, if you ask me.

My brother and sister in law arrived from California on the 28th, and we got to meet our youngest niece for the first time (she's 8 months old). Puckey and our other niece, who is 4 months younger than her, had a blast in the snow.... It was cute, because it was the first time our nieces had seen snow!


Tracy, Ben, and baby


Girls getting pulled by Ben & chased by Bubber


OOPS! They took a spill off of the sled!


Good times, good times!!

So, New Year's Eve was spent with Ande's family. It was chaotic, but fun. There were 11 children there under the age of 4 (9 of them were 2 and under). I think my favorite part of the day was right when we arrived - one of Ande's cousins shouted to me "You're HOT! I'd date ya!" I guess spending the extra time on my hair was worth it?!? She's a silly girl.

Saturday Ande and I started on the bowling league we signed up for with our church. We had a great time! It's a mixed doubles league, and we ended up partnered with some people from another church. Our team lost, but I bowled pretty decent (well, for ME anyway) with a 138, 132, and 117. Okay, so I'm not a very good bowler, but I had a good time!!! (Added bonus, I beat Ande!!)

Today I stayed home from church and took care of the Jib, who caught a cold from her CA cousins. Poor baby.


Poor Jib!!

So, Ande's heading to CA on the 16th for the NAMM show. It's a pretty big deal in the music industry. Ande built an amp that will be displayed by one of his suppliers. Here's the amp (plus a SWEET guitar that a good friend of ours built).

You can also check out our website (it's not much, but it's there), and the website of our luthier friend. He makes some beautiful guitars!!!

We're pretty excited about this opportunity - not just anyone can get into this show!! So, he's going out there and staying with his brother & his family (the ones who are here now). It's so awesome that the show is not terribly far from where they live! This could be a major turning point for us, if there is a lot of interest shown in this amp.

So, back to the title of this post...it's a new year, and I "resolve" to have a new outlook! God has really blessed our family this year, and even with the "bad" stuff, we've still got it so much better than some. And the best part of it all is that we have a great family and body of friends who are right here with us, cheering us on!! I want to be more, do more, love more, laugh more, praise more, LIVE MORE!!