Blockbuster Interview!

Today I finally went to an interview for a part time job, it was at the blockbuster a few blocks from our house. It went very well, I thought. The store manager is a young guy and really loves what he does. He described the job as not really work. He said you work at the register and talk to people about movies and then in your free time organize the shelves... sounds pretty nice! He said the time always goes very fast and he regularly asks his employees whether they feel like they are working, to which they always so, "Oh no. This is fun!" So it definitely sounds like a good job. He said he is going to do a background check and call my references and he will get back to me in a few days if I get the job. I know he is interviewing others, so I hope I stood out somehow. Before I left I told him that I was energetic, knowledgeable about movies, quick to learn and pick things up, and I love working with people, so I could all but guarantee him that I would be just right for the job. Hopefully he believed me :-). It will also help that I will get really good reviews from my references. We will see! I humbly submit to God's will :-).

Looking Up

Last night was wonderful. The evening started with me getting a call from Blockbuster for a job interview on Friday. Then I realized there was an extra thursday this month (I budget for 4 week months and therefore get a bonus every month with 5 weeks) which will be just enough to get us through. And then we went to bed and got an absolutely wonderful night's sleep! I went to bed at 10:30pm and did not wake up once until 4am! So I am definitely feeling better today.

God is so good to us :-)

I am hoping and praying that everything will work out and I will get this job. This is the plan:

1. Get a part time job
2. Pay off debt
3. Put something in the Savings account
4. Have another baby
5. Move to our own place! (after Hannah's mother returns from China)
6. Have another baby
7. Have another baby
8. Have another baby
9. Have another baby
10. Have another baby

Tired, Annoyed, Grumpy

I am just so down right now I can not describe. I feel exhausted and grumpy and stressed and it is all manifesting itself through anger. I am holding myself back with everything I have in me... but I am just flaming angry at everything! I was looking for a work order today and just flew off the handle and thoughtlessly slammed my fist down on my desk making a shockingly loud noise... just loud enough to wake me out of my thoughtless/pointless fury. I just wish I had my second job, I wish we had enough money to pay this month's bills, I need sleep, I wish we had our own apartment, I am sick of my nose burning and running, and I am hungry. I don't even know why I am hungry! I keep eating full meals, but I am just starving!!! Aaaaaaaaaah! I just hope I snap out of this soon. As of this moment I am absolutely miserable.

I just had to get that out.

Tired

Riley Joy has been fighting an ear infection and a cold over the last few days. Hannah and I (especially Hannah) have been losing much sleep and it is definitely making its mark. I think Hannah is better at covering it up, but I have been quite a grump. Work has been very grueling recently which does not help. Everybody is waiting on something from me but as of yet I can not seem to catch up. I guess this is just what happens at this time of year... we always have a lot of catching up to do on jobs to have them ready for the big Christmas services. I have Walker, Texas Ranger on right now so I think I am going to sit back and watch it until we head to bed. I hope Riley sleeps better tonight...

Hit By A Car... Or At Least Almost

We decided to walk to the grocery store after I got home from work this evening (4 mile round trip). It was a gorgeous evening, like most here at this time of year. Riley was wearing her new purple had Nana made her yesterday and some new mittens. Hannah was wearing a sweatshirt and I had my favorite flannel shirt on. Along the way there was a sprinkler spraying water across the sidewalk, but as we watched it we realized it was moving! So we quickly ran and made it past just in time to avoid getting soaked. But our most adrenaline pumping moment was when we were crossing an intersection. We stopped as we hit the corner and saw an SUV on our left coming to a stop at the stop sign. It came to a complete stop. I looked to my right and saw many cars moving through the intersection so we started crossing. We were halfway through the first lane when the SUV started moving! I was pushing Riley Joy in the stroller and she was mostly past it, but I was right in the middle and Hannah was right behing me. It moved pretty quickly into us but right as it started to push my leg I started banging on the hood going, "Woa! Woa!" It was a lady driving and she instantly stopped and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her hands came to her mouth and she was in total shock but as we started moving again she called out, "Oh, I am so sorry! Are you ok?" Hannah burst into tears and I could just let out a "humph!" and motion towards our baby. I wanted her to know what she could have done. When we were safely on the sidewalk Hannah took Riley Joy out the stroller and held her and cried while I hugged the both. The woman just sat there in shock until we were a little ways away. It was quite an experience. I don't know exactly whether I could count this as being "hit" by a car, because though it put pressure against my leg, I ended up hitting it far harder than it hit me :-). But praise the Lord we are safe. Now I must go to bed, Hannah is waiting and told me she wants to cuddle before she falls asleep.

Today

Today has gone pretty well, though I must admit, it started off pretty rough. We decided to visit Calvary Chapel in Quakertown this morning. So we packed up and got there a couple minutes before the service was scheduled to start. We entered the building but there was no one there to greet us or tell us what to do. So we shuffled past some talking people and went into the auditorium. The morning worship music started and we sang along. We both took turns holding Riley Joy. Then while Hannah had her, the pastor (I think it was him) came up to her and said, "We don't allow kids in the service." She asked if he was alright with her at least having Riley Joy in during the worship and he said that should be ok. What! No children AT ALL in the service! Well, we did not want to make a big deal about it so Hannah took her into the nursery (where she had been directed to leave Riley Joy) and there was no one in there with the babies! There was a little girl that kept coming and going but she said herself that she was not in charge of the babies. Hannah was not about to leave Riley Joy alone in any nursery regardless, but the point is that they tell us we are not allowed to have our baby (even if she is quiet) in with us during the service but then do not have anyone in the baby nursery?!?!?! Hannah stayed in there for a while but could not stand it so she got me and we left. You might say we shook the dust off our shoes from that church. It was really sad. Lets see, wasn't there a story in the Bible about adults telling people to take their children away because they might be distracting... oh yeah! That was where Jesus rebuked them and said, "Let the little children come unto me." It hurt to be told that by that church and dampened our spirits quite a bit. Riley Joy had not even been making any noise. It felt like they said to us, "Your daughter is not welcome here." That hurts alot and I am trying my darndest to not be angry about it... but it still hurts. And I think that attitude toward our beautiful little daughter was about the opposite of the attitude Jesus would have had toward her in that situation. But if our daughter is not welcome, then we are not welcome, and I know we will definitely not be returning to that church.

What Is A Conscience?

Excerpt from The Book On Leadership by John MacArthur, pp. 78-79.

"The conscience is a built-in warning system that signals us when something we have done is wrong. The conscience is to our souls what pain sensors are to our bodies: it inflicts distress, in the form of guilt, whenever we violate what our hearts tell us is right.

The conscience bears witness to the reality that some knowledge of God's moral law is inscribed on every human heart from creation (Romans 2:15). Both the Greek word for "conscience" (suneidesis) and the Latin root from which the English term is derived have to do with self-knowledge--specifically, a moral self-awareness. That capacity for moral reflection is an essential aspect of what Scripture means when it says we are made in the image of God. Our sensitivity to personal guilt is therefore a fundamental trait of our humanness that distinguishes us from animals. To try to suppress the conscience is in effect to diminish one's own humanity."

World's Longest Bug Discovered in Borneo!

This is too cool! Yes, it is a walking stick.