Our New Journey

I know that it has been a while since I've updated our family's events. There is much to be said and a lot that has happened since my last post.

In June, David and I felt very strongly that it was time to move. We weren't sure as to why, but wanted to act on the prompting. After praying and receiving such a strong impression that this was the right decision for us, we started planning and getting things ready for this big process. We were unsure of how we were going to move all of our belongings and family because of the expense that it takes to move. We were unsure of where we were going to move. Through this process, we have learned that we need to do as much as we can within our power to make things happen and to leave the rest in the Lord's hands. This move has helped us to have greater faith in our Heavenly Father because He has taken care of all the unknowns.

David started putting in applications all over the southern regions of the lower 48. We originally were hoping to move to Alabama, but the Lord has different plans than our own sometimes.

By the end of June, the beginning of July, we were approved for the military to move our belongings, our car, and our family to our state of choice. This was truly a blessing from our Heavenly Father. When David was medically retired from the military, we had declined our last move with the military because we had decided to stay in Alaska. So for the military to agree to move our family was just Heavenly Father's way of telling us that He was still in control and taking care of us.
We had to make quick decisions where our stuff and car were going to end up and when our family was going to move because the military was only willing to move us until September. After that, we were on our own.

So we decided that the kids and I would fly to Georgia at the end of July and stay with my sister. David would stay behind until he found a job. He had decided that if he hadn't found a job by August 12, then he would fly to Georgia anyway and continue to look when he got there. We had decided that we would have our stuff shipped to Newnan, Georgia, because we had to make a decision and felt that would be a good place to live.

July came and the kids and I flew to Georgia. The kids started school and were doing well. Steven even got to start Pre-k! David flew in on August 12 and still didn't have a job, but we still had faith that something would happen soon.

We decided that we needed to go ahead and start looking for a place to live, even without having a job. We also decided that we were going to live in the Carrollton Ward area, instead of Newnan, because it felt like another good and right decision for our family. When we had made this decision, the next Sunday (which was David's first Sunday in Georgia) David was called as a Seminary Teacher! He would team teach with another person, but he would teach only on Thursdays and Fridays.
So we started looking in the paper for homes that would be fit for our family size. We looked for a while and saw some really nice homes, but didn't really find one that we were completely comfortable with until we looked at a home in Temple, Ga. When we looked at this home, we both felt at peace and felt like this was a good home for us. But we still didn't have a job and really wanted to put in an application to rent the home. Once again, we made a decision that we would go ahead and fill out the application and pray that if it was meant to be, Heavenly Father would make it possible. We were blessed once again to be able to find a home and that the owner's were ok with us not having a job and were willing to work with us. So we scheduled a day for our household stuff to be taken to our new home in the beginning of September. Our girls had to move again to another school, but have done really well in adjusting. Unfortunately, Steven wasn't able to go to Pre-k at this school, but that's ok.

Everyday, we were praying that David would get a job soon. We were falling behind on obligations to our bills and were getting really worried about that, but at the same time had great faith that the Lord was still looking out for us and preparing a job for us. David made it a full time job just to look for jobs and turn in applications. It was a very discouraging process. We felt like if he didn't get a job with his Batchelor Degree, that he could fall back on being an LPN. We learned, though, that the Georgia Department of Nursing would not grant him a nursing license because they didn't feel that the training and schooling he went through in the Army was an accredited program. This was crazy and absurd to us, but we have put that behind us and just know that everything happens for a reason.

Sometime in October, David received a phone call from someone in California, who was representing a company based in Atlanta, that wanted to do a phone interview. He was excited to be able to finally have an interview. After the interview, they told him that someone should be contacting him by that next Thursday and if he hadn't heard anything by then to give them a call back. Well Thursday came and went and David called but it ended up being a bad phone number. So we assumed that they didn't want to hire him for the job. About 2 weeks later, he gets another call and they want him to come in to the downtown Atlanta office for an interview. Boy was he excited! Long story short, after about 4 interviews over a month and half time, David was offered the job to come and work for them and tomorrow will be his first day! WE are very excited!

This move had been stressful, it has even been discouraging at times, but through the whole thing, our faith has been strengthened. We can say without hesitation that our Heavenly Father knows who we are and that He watches over and us and knows our needs. He has taken care of every little detail. We are forever grateful to Him for His tender mercies and grace He has shown to us. We are grateful to be closer to family and pray that we may continue to grow closer to them as we grow closer to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We are also grateful for the angels that He has put in our path that helped lighten our burdens and make things more pleasant for us. We pray that we may someday be able to pay it forward to someone else.

I know this is a long post, but I wanted to be able to share our experience with those that care for us. We love you and are grateful for you!