Changes

Last week, I gave my two weeks at work and will be staying home to take care of the house, Walt, and Grissom! While we were so thankful for the provision of my job, it was very stressful and many co-workers came to work sick and would keep passing around illnesses. That made it even more stressful. I had no energy to come home and take care of the home after all the stress of on the phone. I would come home to recover from the stress and spend many weekend afternoons in bed fighting off illnesses. All of this, of course, doesn't help the efforts of trying to conceive!

My heart's desire is to be a good wife, caretaker of the home and hopefully one day, a mother. We also want to travel to see our friends and family and having enough paid time off accrued was getting to be a challenge especially with all the illnesses!

Please pray that we are wise in our planning and use the resources God has given us wisely! Thanks!

Last Day

Today was my last day at work. It was bittersweet. I was cleaning out my desk all week last week but there is always still so much left over after 2+ years in the same desk.

My co-workers surprised me by taking me out to lunch. They told me at 10:53am that they were taking me out to lunch and we were leaving at 11:00am. I had to laugh but went along with it! They didn't tell Walt until a couple hours before so it was news to him too! It was a good time and it was a cute Mexican place in a house. The chicken fajitas were yummy and are now my second favorite fajitas in Texas!

Tomorrow, I get to start staying home and my week is already filling up with several errands and tasks. Getting your house ready to sell and preparing to move 1100 miles will do that to you!

Prayer Request

There is a new program for the housing portion of the relocation for federal government employees in Congress right now. Please pray that it is quickly signed and that it is good news for us! We are waiting until May 21st to sign our relocation packet so we'll be included in the new program. The program should be finalized within a week.

Congratulations!

We took a week of vacation this week and Helen, Ed, and Jim came to TX on Saturday! (Helen was my maid of honor, Jim was Walt's best man and Ed is Helen's husband.) We are having a great time and are sorry to see them go tomorrow! It's been a whirlwind long weekend and we haven't stopped laughing!

As if this week couldn't get better with being off of work and friends visiting, Walt got the official call today when we were on the way to a full day of shopping! He has been approved for the promotion and they have all agreed on a start date of June 9th!

In less than 4 weeks, we'll be in AZ!

Congratulations, Walt!

We're moving to...

PHOENIX!

We are so excited for what God has in store for us! I will write more later this week in chronological order of the past few days including God's amazing answer to my (Sarah's) prayer about last week. He is so faithful!

Walt was selected for the Phoenix promotion but it has to go through regional and national approvals so it will be around 8 weeks before we get the official offer. Please pray that goes smoothly but we are so thankful to know it's coming! Walt will probably start his new job in late June.

Thank you Lord for Your perfect timing and provision!

Update on promotions

The second place called today for a 2nd interview! It is tomorrow (Friday) at 10am.

It is uncommon for them to request a 2nd interview which could mean they had a lot of qualified candidates. Everyone we've talked to that has got promoted to this position had only one interview so this is very different! But it is a blessing that he is to the final round. He also had to do another essay question. (in addition to the laborious application packet that had close to a dozen essays.)

Walt said that based on things said in the interviews, he was the first one to apply for the second place but the last person for the first place. The first place made their decision a couple days after Walt's interview but there are so many levels of national approval that he has to wait for to find out.

This second interview will by no means speed up the process for the second place...just resets the clock for this location on our side because we know they haven't even made a decision!

As of tomorrow, our wait will be set back to zero for the second one and 5 weeks for the first one.

Another Home Run!

Walt's interview yesterday with the second possible location for the promotion went very well!

Tomorrow is 4 weeks since the first location's interview.

It could take up to 7 or 8 weeks for yesterday's decision so we are trying to remain patient. We are grateful we have jobs now but can't wait to hear the outcome!

In the meantime, Walt has a 4-day weekend to watch March Madness! I am taking off tomorrow so I am excited for my 3-day weekend! (not to watch b-ball!)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Walt got a call for an interview for the second promotion he's applied for! It is set for Wednesday at 2pm. Please pray for this opportunity. While we would prefer the first opportunity, we certainly don't want to blow off this possibility!

It will be 4 weeks on Friday since Walt's interview with the first promotion. Please pray for us while we wait. Another guy got promoted after waiting 7 weeks after his interview!

Progression on 2nd Application

Yesterday, Walt got the letter that stated he was qualified for the second promotion he applied for and the application was sent on. So that was good! We are still praying for the promotion he already interviewed for: 2.2 weeks down...at least 1.8 weeks left to wait! We are thankful that the second application process is not going as fast as the first one...this is a huge blessing as we'd like to hear back from this one first!

Hopefully we'll have some good news by Easter!

"Home Run, Baby!"

Those are the words Walt exclaimed when he walked out of his office after the interview. (We work together.) Needless to say, the interview went well. He said it was very conversational and he is confident that if he doesn't get the job, it's not because of a bad interview. This makes the wait a little easier. It's in God's hands now!

Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to pray while we wait!

The interviewer said he will make his decision within the week and then it has to go through central office and all the ruckus of approvals.

While three weeks is "quick" to hear back, three months is not unheard of!

Interview!

We had a fabulous start to our three-day weekend!

The promotion that Walt mailed his application packet on Saturday has already been processed and he was called personally by the potential future boss this afternoon to set up an interview! (In the past, he's been called by an admin assistant!) Praise the Lord!

His interview is Friday (2/22) at 2pm!

We feel a huge peace about this opportunity but ask that you pray with us! We want to be open to what the Lord wants and not get too excited about what WE think would be best!

Thank you!

When it rains, it pours!

After we decided for me to stay home, Walt has had new promotional opportunities sent to him WEEKLY by his boss' boss. He applied for the one I mentioned earlier this week and now he is applying for another one. Please pray for us as we use discernment in which to apply for. We are trying to apply for any area that we can reasonably afford. We had to pass San Diego up...impossible to live on his income alone there! (Average house price is $750,000!)

We are trying to be open to God's leading and where He wants us to be.

Thanks!

New Opportunity

Since making the decision for me to stay home in October, we are now looking at each opportunity for promotion for Walt and praying about it.

We have felt led for Walt to apply for a promotion out of state and we mailed off his application packet yesterday. (No, it's not back to Nebraska...Not yet! That's in our long term plan, Lord willing.) We would appreciate your prayers during this process as this is application #3 in the past year!

The government is notorious for being slow about hiring/officially announcing so this will take a few months to know if he will get the promotion or not! We keep learning that patience is a virtue! We promise to keep you posted!

Love you all!
Sarah

God is so faithful!

It's really simple but I am still in awe of how effective prayer is!

Thank you for praying!

Today at 11am, Walt got an email about LEAD. He was not selected.

We are a little bummed as we've had several pieces of discouraging news this year but are still hopeful to get some good news soon!! It is nice to have closure on this issue! (It was a 3 month process from application to selection notification.)

Still waiting on LEAD...

Some of you may remember us asking for prayer for Walt's interview for the LEAD program. He was told he would find out mid-to-late July and he has still not heard back yet. (It is August, right?) No news is good news for right now!

Please pray that we would find out soon!

(More details about this can be found in some posts that you can short cut to by clicking the Work label right below this post near the comments link.)

Walt's Interview for LEAD

Walt went through the interview for the LEAD program (see yesterday's post) today and didn't feel like he did really well. Please pray that it was better than he thought. He feels down about it.

Praise and Prayer Request for Walt (LEAD)

Happy Sunday! We had a wonderful time at church today as it was reiterated that God is Everlasting! His holiness, His glory, His wisdom, His goodness...all everlasting no matter how life goes!!

Praise God!
Walt applied and made it to the second round of the national VA Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Program! He won't toot his own horn but I will! He was the only one in his division of his region (half of TX) that made it to the second round this year.

The first round was a 5 essay application.
The second round is an interview which he has tomorrow, Monday, June 25, at 3pm!

Please pray for him as he prepares for this interview and during the interview.

If he is selected to be a part of this program, he will be on the fast track to management learning VA specific information as well as being able to include it on his resume. Even if he is not selected, making it to the second round is quite an honor and looks good as he applies for promotions within the VA!

-Sarah

One Workplace???

It has been almost two years since we moved to Texas. I think there is something to be said for God only giving us enough light on our path for the next step or two because if He would have switched on the light to show us the whole "room," I would have went running!

There is so much I want to write about what is going on in our lives that I don't know where to begin!

I will start with work for right now.

Walt enjoys his job at the VA as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. It is the same position he had in Omaha but he works for a larger regional office and is learning how the VA works from a different part of the country. It has been a blessing to see him happy with work again.

After a couple unsatisfactory jobs, we decided to look for a fun job for me with less stress especially since we were trying to start a family.

So I applied at Old Navy and didn't hear back for several months until they needed temp help for the holidays (insane!!) in 2005 but loved it and was offered to stay permanently. Shortly after that, I was asked if I wanted to be a part of the shipping and receiving team. (receiving the boxes off the delivery truck and putting the new clothing out) This was so much better than folding clothes or standing in the fitting room all day! Then I was asked to be a part of the markdown team. (running around the store scanning everything twice a month to see what had been marked down...talk about finding all the bargains!!!)

While definitely not part of my career plan, I truly enjoyed this job and was content. We still had no success in the trying to conceive and I soon desired a full-time position with better pay.

After praying about it, Walt called me one day and told me that one of his co-workers asked if I would be interested in the temp job at their office. Walt was surprised when I was excited about it. I decided to apply and was hired.

So since April 2006, we have worked together in the same office. People eyes get really big when they hear this and even bigger when I tell them that Walt's office and my cubicle are not more than 10 feet apart. His office just happens to be the closest office to the temp cubicle. Walt and I have the same boss and I do tasks and projects for him and the other eight voc rehab counselors. I've been asked if its weird doing thing for Walt at work and without thinking, I replied, "well, I do things for him at home but at least here I get paid for it!"

We really enjoy working together and miss each other when one has a doctor appt or when Walt is out in the field for work. We save lots of money on gas while carpooling to work everyday!

We are blessed that while my job is a temp job, I have a contract until September 30, 2008, free health insurance (no premiums), and received 2 weeks vacation after working there for a year. Those were bonuses we weren't expecting! Plus, my favorite perk- all the government holidays paid! (You know you love them, Christy!)

That's it for now!
I promise all the posts won't be this long!

-Sarah