OFFER!

Isaac got his official offer for the job in Youngsville. He may start as early as tomorrow! Crazy work hours--6:00 am to 2:30 pm. But, it may be good since he's decided to start classes in August for the MBA program at NC State (classes on Tues and Thurs evenings).

I can't tell you how good it feels for this to be settled after all this time. Isaac has been such a trooper and has had no less than 30 interviews in the last little bit. I don't know how I'd handle that many interviews, but he did great! The job has a couple downsides to it, but in this job market... we're grateful that he can stay with his current company. He already knows some of the people he is going to work with, and they are really nice, sweet people. Plus, he only officially has to stay in this job for 1 year. So he can move on next summer if another opportunity arises.

On my end, I applied for a project manager position at BB&T yesterday. I had to tell my boss that I was applying. And I was surprised at his response given I'm working on a HUGE project right now. But he handled it very well and was supportive. I am not sure I have much of a chance because there will be lots of good applicants out there. But it felt good to realize that I am ready to move on to another job. If something doesn't come up at BB&T soon I may start looking externally. We'll see!

Waiting on an offer

Isaac got the job in Youngsville. Now we're just waiting for the official offer... you know, how much he'll make, whether they will do grad school tuition reimbursement, etc. It's wonderful to know we're getting an offer, but the past few days have been hard waiting. Isaac is still in the running for a couple other jobs, so we'll see if anything pans out with those. Those jobs might involve a move, so we'll see! : ) More to come when I know more myself!

We spent the weekend with my dad and sisters and their children at the beach. Overall we had a good time. The weather was nice (HOT) and the ocean still felt cool. All the kiddos were amazing in the ocean. Miss Maia (age 6) was so brave! She took her boogie board way out and was fearless in those waves. She got a little mad at me when I told her to come closer to the shore. She had gotten so far out that even I couldn't have gotten her if something happened... But I was really proud of my little people.

My dad and stepmom keep their house way too hot! I think it was 78 degrees the whole time, and I just can't sleep in those conditions. I know, I'm super spoiled. Next time I might bring an air conditioning fund with me... "Here dad. Please take this... I'm buying 74 degrees!" : )

We had a little family drama mixed in to the visit. It was fairly stressful, unfortunately. But we all got through it. It was nice to have the family time... but I almost think individual visits are better some times.

Keep us in your prayers especially this week. We're ready for closure to all this job stuff!

Went well

Isaac's interviews in Youngsville went very well. The strange thing is his work hours would be 6 am to 2:30 pm if he got/took this job. We're still not sure if this is the right fit for him. Or if we would take it just to stay in the area, etc. I guess we can consider that in earnest once he gets an offer. LOL. He also applied for a position in Charlotte in Eaton's truck division. At least that's a little closer than Atlanta! It sounds like another one of his LDP classmates is favored for the Atlanta job. We'll just see if he takes it or not--he is in the Chicago area now and wants to stay. There are so many things up in the air, we just have to wait and see.

I have to make peach-blueberry pies for the beach this weekend. Pie is my dad's absolute favorite, so this is his dad's day gift. You'd be surprised how much it costs to make a homemade pie. I don't know how they sell them at HT for $5 or $6. Oh right, that's because mine are MUCH better. : )

After being able to run for a couple weeks, my Achilles is acting up again. I think I just need to stay under 5 miles or so. Or run every other day. It's frustrating, but I'm working with it. I went to a really tough cycle class last night and it had to have been the equivalent of a 5 or 6 mile run!

I should get to work now. Lord, help me be nice at work today.... even when people test my patience! : ) Love you all.

It's time for letting go...

Have you all heard the song by Steven Curtis Chapman "Miracle of the Moment"? I popped in my cd on the way to work yesterday and it was just what I needed. Here are some of the lyrics:

"It's time for letting go, all of our if onlys,
'cause we don't have a time machine.
And even if we did, would you really want to use it?
Would you really want to go change everything?
‘cause we are who and where and what we are for now
And this is the only moment we can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
Listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss
The miracle of the moment."

There are several things that resonate with me listening to this song. But mostly, I'm just thankful that I can let go and God handle this situation with Isaac's job. Despite the chaos that is going on, I am reasonably calm and know that in some way... this will be worked out for good. I don't want to miss the precious life moments that are happening now, and the many blessings that God has poured out upon us--one another, friends, family, safety, music... the list goes on.

I have more reflecting to do on the part about acceptance and "here and now." But for now, I just want to enjoy today.

Job notes: Isaac wasn't hired for the design engineer position at Eaton. They didn't hire anyone actually. This is pretty disappointing because this was our best option by far. He has a job interview for another job in Youngsville today. And then probably an interview in Atlanta--not sure if he has to drive down there, or if we can do it remotely. Keep us in your prayers. You certainly are in ours.

11th Hour

Okay folks. We're now 9 days from D-day. And we're not even sure what is going to happen on D-day if Isaac's company hasn't found a position for him by then. It's pretty rough, but we're doing our best to get through one day at a time. And trust that God is going to work this out on our behalf. During the benediction at church yesterday, our minister reminded us that God is bigger and more powerful than all the forces in the world that try to act against us. That was a perfect reminder for us right now.

So please, please, please pray for us. And if you feel so led, send Isaac a note of encouragement at isaacmjohnson@eaton.com. It helps so much to know that we aren't in this alone. And that people love us.

On a more upbeat note--we're off to the beach this Friday. My dad invited myself and my sister's a their families for the weekend. (Chris is too far on the west coast--darn!) We're going to squeeze into the beach house with air mattresses and sleeping bags, and enjoy time together. This is really precious to me, and I can tell my dad is ecstatic about it. My step mom is in Europe on a cruise, so it will be like old times. (Don't get me wrong--I love my step mom. She's good to my dad!) Can't wait to see my 2 nieces and nephew enjoy one another's company.

Have a good week everyone.

Another Interview

Please pray for Isaac today. He has another interview at Eaton's Youngsville plant (about 30 minutes from our house b/c of all the red lights!). He's interviewing from 1 to 5 this afternoon.

I have to say that the stress of the job search/uncertainty has been weighing on me--and surely it's much more difficult for Isaac. We're both ready for some resolution and we're praying that it will come in the next couple weeks.

I did a key word search on HOPE in the Bible this morning (biblegateway.com) and I came up with a few very encouraging verses:

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 62:5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

Psalm 119:116 Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.

I know I need God's strength to sustain us now. He is faithful and he will care for us and provide for our needs. I just need to focus on that instead of how I can use my own strength. This is too much for me to handle. And I'm incredibly lucky because I have someone who has promised to carry my burdens. Thank you Jesus.

Picnic

We had a nice weekend. I finally got over my sinus/ear infection. And we really enjoyed the class picnic with our Sunday school class. We had a great turn out, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Of course we had a ton of food... but we got to share that with my sister's family this evening. So that was nice as well.

Here is a picture from the class picnic. We have lots of young couples starting families, and a good number of singles as well. It makes for a nice dynamic. Everyone is so friendly and loving.


Here is a nice picture of our Sunday school teacher Jenny holding one of the newest members of our class, baby Clara:

In other news, Isaac is off to Fayetteville tomorrow for a day full of interviews. He is interviewing for a production supervisor position there. We aren't thrilled about the commute, potentially a little over an hour each way. But it is a job with his current company. We're still waiting for his sccond interview to be scheduled for the design engineer position in Youngsville (about 30 minutes from our condo). We're hoping it gets scheduled soon since he would prefer that position. But we'll see. Please pray for us as we go through the next couple weeks. Isaac's anxiety level is naturally pretty high and I just want him to feel as comforted and confident as possible.

Have a great week!

Updates

It's been a busy week this week. I've been fighting some type of sinus/stuffy head/clogged ears thing (plus my nymph nodes in my left arm pit are killing me). But it's been a good and productive week.

Isaac had a phone screen for a design engineer position in Youngsville, NC (about 30 minutes from our house). It went well, and he's going to have a second interview at some point. It's kind of weird, but his manager will be in California. So we'll have to see if he will fly in to interview Isaac--or what. The production line just moved from Ca. to Youngsville, so I wouldn't be surprised if he flies in to interview Isaac (instead of vice versa). And Isaac's old boss from Fayetteville called this week. He has a first shift supervisor position open. This is less than ideal since Fayetteville is 1 hour away. But it would be do-able in the interim since jobs are at such a premium. Our hope is that the Youngsville position works out since that's more of the career direction Isaac wants to take. But we're trusting that God will show us the right path for us.

I have to say we are happy to have some good news on Isaac's job front. It's been really stressful and disheartening for Isaac especially. But he is handling it with all the grace he can.

Part of my dept got moved into IT (Information Technology) while I was in France. I knew it was coming. And for now, I don't anticipate any changes with my position. Fortunately, I had a very successful project wrap up in Greenville, SC. So that helps a lot. My guess is that they would like to combine imaging systems within the Bank for efficiency purposes. But I think mine will stick around b/c it's so tied to the business. We'll see

So, we're spending the night at the church tonight to host the 4 homeless families that are living at the church this week. We feel lucky to be able to serve our community in some small way. Tomorrow we're hosting a picnic for our Sunday school class. And then Sunday we'll probably crash.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Back from France

We had such a good trip! France was completely beautiful, and we mostly had gorgeous weather. It was a lot warmer in Nice than I thought it would be (mid 80's when we were expecting around 70 degrees).

Here is a great picture Isaac took of the Eiffel Tower. It was such an amazing tower. It's hard to imagine how tall it is till you see it in person. We walked all over Paris and would turn a corner and exclaim, "There it is!" I climbed to the 1st level, and Isaac continued to the 2nd. It was the end of a 12 hour day of sight seeing and I was tired. So I enjoyed the view of the city from the 1st level while Isaac continued
up anther 350 stairs.After we spent 3 days in Paris, we flew to Nice to stay in a tiny town right outside the city. We stayed in a 13th century B&B high in the hills above the Mediterrean. We could still see the ocean from our bedroom window. It was beautiful! We had dinner twice at this great little French restaurant near our B&B. It was by far the best food we had in France.
The Mediterrean coast was incredible! The water was so blue--ranging from sapphire to light blue and green in some places. Gorgeous! We took a long bus ride along the coast and really got a feel for how curvy the land is. We saw tons of boats and yachts. I had no idea we would see so many.
And finally, we made it to the French Open on our last day in France. We stood in line for hours to get tickets, but the match was incredible. Ouannes, a Frenchmen, beat out Safin in 5 sets with 3 tie breakers. The match was over 4 1/2 hours! AMAZING.


We finally made it to our hotel about 11 pm that night... and were up early the next morning trekking back to the airport to head back to NC. We had an interesting experience RUNNING to our gate in New York to make our plane... but we made it!

Now we're home sweet home. We are so thankful for our trip, but happy to be back in our own bed.