One year ago...

It was a year ago today that we found out Todd was going to lose his job.  

I posted a picture that day, that I took from our front step, that described how I felt.

This picture, taken from our new front step, is a pretty good description of how I feel now.

I closed my post (a year ago) with the words, 


"It will be interesting, to say the least, to see where the rest of this year takes us".  


And now, here we are.  We have felt the hand of the Lord throughout this year and I have received confirmation from the spirit that we are where we need to be.  We found the house that was prepared for us. The kids' transition couldn't have gone more smoothly.  We're still getting to know the ward members, but Todd's recent call as Elder's Quorum President should speed up that process :o). 


Life is good.


I have saved a little story for several months that I wanted to post today.


Soon after learning about the fate of Todd's job, we realized we were going to have to try to sell our house.  I knew the chances of selling it were slim, and I also knew that any equity we might have gained by finishing our basement was gone.  We considered refinancing to make our payment lower, but it never felt right.  As I was trying to muddle through our options, my cousin Erin came over one day and gave me a hug.  She has a degree in business (and had classes in marketing) and she left my house saying that she was going to go home to pray, and think about what she could do to help me.  


I have to back up here, and let you know that after we got our new van in 2008, we gave Erin and her husband our old van.  When they finished school and were looking for jobs, I heard about the one in our school district and let them know...and they got it.  When they were looking for a house, I directed them to the one they ended up buying.  She was constantly telling me that they "owed me" (which is crazy because I really didn't do anything...but anyway you get the idea). 


A couple days after Erin had been thinking and praying, she called me to tell me that the only thing she had come up with, was the name Bonnie Kaufman, who was a real estate agent in our area.  I had considered listing our house, but I knew we didn't have any equity so we really couldn't afford to use a realtor.  I put the idea in the back of my mind, and a few weeks later when I was desperate and didn't know what else to do, I called Bonnie Kaufman. 


She didn't paint a rosy picture.  She didn't want to discourage me, but didn't want to lead me on, either.  She told me that in all reality she didn't see our house selling for at least two years.  Still, she agreed to come look at it, and do what she could to help us, so we made an appointment.  At the end of our conversation, I was explaining the location of our house and told her it was the 2nd house North of the power company.  When I said that, she said "You live on the same block as the power company?  I wonder if they would want to buy it?  If I were you, I'd call them and see if they have any interest."


I knew it was a long shot, but I was desperate so I hung up with her, and called the CEO of the power company.  I explained our situation to him, and asked if there was any chance that they might be interested in buying my house.  He said, "Well, I don't know...maybe.  I'll have to bring it up at the next board meeting at the end of the month".  


Two months later, after working out similar "deals" with my neighbors, they called back and offered to buy our house.


The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Even though I didn't think using an agent was our answer, it was the agent who had the answer I was looking for.  And it was my dear cousin, Erin, who led me the solution to our problem.


Erin, you helped me a lot more than I helped you.  I'm so glad for the time we had together in "the middle of nowhere" and so thankful that you were "in tune" and willing to help when I needed it.  


What goes around comes around.