Our new hangout

The Lynnwood Rec center. Only $4.50 for adults and $3.50 for kids to use the pool. This post may sound a little like a paid advertisement...but it ain't.

We have spent hours and hours there just this week. Sam has tons of fun splashing around while Matt and I trade parenting shifts to try out the water slides (which are surprisingly fast!).

If we're not home, chances are this is where we are. Such a fun place!

Why I am a Mom

There is a reason to laugh and make someone else laugh every day.

The rewards are prominent and endless.

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

The everyday lessons of patience, understanding and time management.

The constant reminder that life is fragile and fast.

All the fun activities you can only get away with when you have a child.

(Swings and slides, hello!)

The joy of teaching and seeing your baby learn.

The firmness it adds to any testimony.

Seeing life through "first time" eyes.

The kisses, hugs and "I love you's".

To be able to use and cherish the gift of birth and motherhood
given to us by God.

The timelessness of it all.

Unemployed

Thanks to this wonderfully crappy economy, Matt has really struggled to find work. And thanks to an even more amazingly silly government, Matt was denied unemployment because "he's a student, and therefore unavailable for work."  This is ridiculous, as the MBA program he's enrolled in is designed for people already in their careers who don't want to quit their jobs to attend school full time.  Matt filed an appeal with the State to argue this point, and we pray that it rules in our favor. We are hoping for an answer in the mail today or tomorrow.

Matty asked me the other day what I thought the Lord was trying to teach us with this trial.  Humility, patience and financial preparedness were a few thoughts that came to mind.  We are definitely learning how important these three principles are as we wait for one of these job leads to turn into something.

Matt and I have been blessed with finances sufficient to meet our needs, often with extra for some fun.  We haven't been too good at saving and we were never really concerned with our future. The past few months have definitely taught us to be more aware of the potential instability of income. Doesn't it seem like all things fall apart when you have no money to fix them?

These few months have been an emotional roller coaster, to say the least. Matt has had exciting leads and hopeful interviews that have yet to work out. It's a very frustrating process.  There are so many people in the same situation as us.  My parents have been struggling financially for almost four years now and the unemployment rate is an extremely depressing number.

We are lucky that I am able to bring in some money by picking up extra shifts with Courtney, or through photo shoots that I have been able to book on the few days of sun that we have had. Its not enough, but it keeps us fed and clothed.

Its been hard, as we expected it would be, but we are still so blessed. Its not easy to do, but we thank the Lord for the learning experiences and hardships that we have been given to remind us how truly lucky we are. We hope and pray for some positive changes in the VERY near future, but we know that we will be taken care of until then.

Happenings

Although Matt is still struggling to find a job, we managed to go out to dinner for our anniversary. We dropped Sam off with Papa and Tutu and sat down for dinner at the one place we had a gift card for, Spazzo's.

The food wasn't that great and our waitress probably used meth, but it was so amazing to just sit down, relax and focus on us. Its been a while since it was just the two of us and it was a very refreshing night.

After dinner we headed home and...that's all you need to know. ;)

This weekend turned out to be so beautiful! Although I worked with Courtney and Matt attended school, we did get to enjoy the sun when we got home. Saturday night we played outside at Matt's parents house and then Sunday we flew kites and hiked to the pond. Sam was in heaven. We could really use more sunny days here in Seattle. April was pretty darned miserable.

Sam has been signing a lot lately. Of course my favorite is "I love you."

Looks like the weather report calls for more vitamin D tomorrow so we'll probably be out re-living the weekend, if we're able.