by Hope
Well, sorry I’ve been AWOL, but I’m not sure I have stopped to breathe the last couple of weeks and no end in site for this week either. But I didn’t want to miss another week so pardon the list but this is what has happened over the last couple of weeks:
- My parents were here for their annual visit and it was GREAT! No tension and they were super supportive of our current situation doing a bit of extra Christmas for the kids since I wouldn’t be able too. They also gave me a little money to put to bills after seeing my itemized list of where I was at financially. I had asked them not to come, not sure if I could handle the stress, but in the end, I’m glad they did.
- Little Gymnast competed in his local meet and did FANTASTIC, bringing home 2nd on floor and 8th all around. There were 150 kids competing in his session, so pretty big deal.
- Princess is in the midst of basketball season now that volleyball has ended, and her choir sang in 7 performances at our church this weekend for over 8000 guests. Super busy.
- Twins are both working almost full time over this break (we finished the semester the first week of December and will go back the middle of January.) They are also continuing studies for English, Geometry and AP Psych, not to mention getting ready for robotics competition at the end of January. So while it’s a little less hectic…not much!
- No more word on the job front for me as far as full time goes. But I am looking forward to starting my new part time job the first week of January, it’s all scheduled for me to travel for training.
- Amazingly, I have been picking up piecemeal work left and right, keeping me on my toes doing an assortment of computer support, training and website work.
Life is good. As of tonight, I have enough to cover all my bills for December – woot, woot!
And I have to tell you my faith has made a HUGE difference this past month. I have really focused on staying focused on being grateful, living by faith and trusting that God has a plan for us. I have never been through rougher financial times but to be honest, I’ve never felt so secure that we are being looked out for, and that is truly a blessing.
My stories of how and whom has provided for us would blow your mind. I won’t be buying any Christmas presents this year. I am very grateful for what my parents have provided and some of our community members are also contributing to make this special for the kids.
I will write more soon, but just wanted to get a note out to you and let you know how we are doing. Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas season. We are truly celebrating the many, many blessings that we have every day.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Hope, what a wonderful update. I have been thinking of you and your family. Glad it is all working out and best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Hope – so glad you’re staying positive and hopeful – I love your attitude and faith!
Two things caught my attention and they may be personal so feel free to ignore. First of all, if you asked your parents not to come and they came anyway, does that mean that don’t respect your boundaries? And also, why did they see an itemized list of your finances? I hope I’m just reading too much into those comments, but they did raise some red flags that your parents (Dad maybe?) are still trying to control you. I would hate for your dad to use money to try and control you!
OK – enough of that negativity…..I think you and the kids are doing great and I’m hoping for a wonderful 2016 for you all! Thanks for sharing your journey!
Hope, you’re doing so great. What a difference since the toilet paper fiasco! Here you are handling a job loss with grace and calm.