Tender Mercies

Finally, I feel like I can share some very exciting news for our family.
DOUG HAS A NEW JOB!!!!

I do want to say, first of all, that I've been trying very hard to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives and acknowledge that all we have comes from Him and there is no way I can deny that this new development is because of the Lord.

Warning- this is a VERY long post. Feel free to quit reading now.

Many of you know that for quite a while Doug has not been happy in his job. I am happy with his job but not with the amount of money it sends home. Doug has had to work two jobs often and I've always had to work. He's tried and tried to find new jobs but nothing has ever panned out. I have to say that we were both about at the end of our ropes. Well, in Jan, I decided that we needed to fast and pray about what we needed to do. My family joined me in the fast. Sidenote- when Doug wired our house (three years ago) we mentioned that maybe he should become an electrician but never did anything about it. Then again in December when he wired the girls' new room we mentioned it again but thought it probably wouldn't be possible. Anyway, within a day or two after the fast Alesa called me and said that she had seen an ad for a program where they pay a "living wage" to learn to be an electician. I almost counted it out because it was in SLC. But after talking to Doug we decided that he should at least look into it. Well, he had to go to SLC to apply and he was having a hard time getting there. Until the day he came home early in the morning with a car that had broken down on the way to work. He told me he had taken the day off work. We decided that since he had taken the day off work we might as well make the trip to SLC and apply and find out more information.

After the application was accepted and they could see that he had the minimum requirements in school-difficult for Doug since he had to show proof of taking Algebra 1 and he took that in 8th grade- no transcript! :) He had to take an aptitude test and then wait for a letter with the results. The test was given at a certain time and if you were 1 minute late or didn't show up you were immediately eliminated. Well, on the day Doug was suppose to go take the test was one of the worst snow storms of the year. There were 15 car pile-ups, kids stranded at schools, etc.. I just had a sick feeling and finally called Doug (he was already on his way down there) and suggested that maybe he should call and see if there was anyway he could reschedule. Thankfully, they were very nice and told him it would be ok. Leter we found out they had ended up rescheduling the entire test. Doug scored very well on the test and was scheduled for an interview. The whole testing group was told that it could take months after the interview (IF they were granted an interview) to find out if they were accepted and then even longer to be assigned to a job. We had settled in for the wait. But, less than 1 week later Doug received a letter telling him that he had been accepted into the program and that his orientation would be on Thurs. (yesterday). We were so excited but still nervous. We still didn't have a lot of answers and we knew that he would probably be commuting out of the valley everyday for work.

On Tues. a man called from the union and needed to get in touch with Doug immediately. Doug came home on his lunch break and called and found out that there was company who wanted Doug to start work asap. The man couldn't give Doug any details until he passed a drug test. So, he set up an appointment for him that afternoon and said it would take a couple of days to get the results back. Thurs. morning, probably the minute after getting the results, the man called back and told Doug that the job was with a company, right here in our valley! We were so excited! Doug will probably still have to leave the valley and will change companies (most likely) before he is done with the program (it takes 5 years) but for now he gets to stay closer to home! (It will give me time to adjust to his being gone more.)

We were worried that Doug would not be able to go on a family trip that we had been planning for over a year. But it is all working out so that he'll quit one job, use a couple days of vacation, and start the new job the day he gets home. He (and his mom) are actually coming home from the trip a day early but at least he gets to go on the trip!

After the orientation yesterday we found out so many good things about the job. Better retirement, a pension, better insurance (which we don't have to pay any monthly fees). The pay starts almost exactly the same as what he's making now. BUT, he'll get a raise at the first of May and then in a couple more months, then at 1 year and then every six months after that! By the end of the program he should be making at least double what he's making now. Hooray! We won't be millionaires but at least we will be able to pay the bills a little easier. That's really all I ask. The only thing that we don't know about is whether or not he will get any paid vacation and hoidays. I guess that part is up to individual company. I am just trying to come to terms with the fact that for the next few years there may not be much time for family vacations, but that's ok. (We have been really spoiled with this, at Doug's last job he got 24 days off/year. And he had to take the days or lose them.)

BTW, when Doug took the test there were 27 people and only 9 people and the orientation. There was only 1 other person who already had a job. The man doing the orientation congratulated them and said that it is a very competitive process. I am so proud of Doug!

We are looking forward to this new adventure in our lives! I am really hoping that Doug is now starting a career in which he will love and be successful. (Not that he ever complained, he is such a hard worker and just gets up and does his job willingly and happily. We are so grateful for all the blessings that we've received through this and are grateful for our families' love and support.

BTW, after the orientation we got to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory! Yum! Love that place. See our life is full of tender mercies! :)