Good News! (I think...)

Well, it's been a while since we've updated this blog. The main reason is because my mother has been hounding me to add new pictures of Emily, and we have yet to take any new pictures of her. We can't find the memory card for our camera, and while it has a decent amount of internal memory, the lost card still works as a good enough excuse for us to be lazy. Actually, part of it is that her nails grow at an astounding 1/2 inch per day and her face is constantly scratched up because of it and we have a deep respect (fear) for The Department of Health and Welfare. I promise new pictures of Emily next post.

It's a good thing that we put away that money from our tax return because Mike is still unemployed. Mike was so worried that he began a fast. That very day, Bro. Pond in our ward offered him some work. Unfortunately, it's not a job that Mike can do regularly due to his back problems. Bro. Pond is a plumber and Mike can't handle the lifting and digging for very long. However, Bro. Pond allowed him to work with him for a couple of days while he found something more permanent. Shortly after, he was hired at an outsourcing company to work customer service on an HP account. The day after he was hired, they called him back and told him that they were no longer hiring for that position. He lost the job before he even started. However, they told him that they had 2 other jobs available that they could interview him for. Both pay better than the job he was initially offered. One of them is a tech support help desk job and the other, which has the same title but pays more, is more of an IT position. They told him that he is well qualified for either. He interviews for the first of the two tomorrow and has yet to hear more about the second or to set up an interview for it. I'm thinking it may be an internal promotion type thing, and maybe that's why he hasn't heard from them. More help from Bro. Pond came in the form of his son-in-law's company. Consequently, he's in our ward also. (we have the best ward!) He and his wife own a company that sells commercial playground equipment to schools and businesses and such. They need a receptionist/web developer. They have already offered the position to Mike and he can start immediately. The downside is that they don't pay extremely well and there's really no chance of advancement. The wage is somewhere in the $9/hr area with a commission based on how well the company does that month. They told him it would come to around the high end of $10-$11/hr. This is less than he was making at T-Mobile when we were still just squeaking by. The upside is good hours and a friendlier environment. He'd also be able to bike to work. He'll probably take the job if he isn't given a better offer at EDS tomorrow. Either way, we can breathe a little easier now knowing that Mike will be going back to work soon.

Joseph got me hooked on drawing. I'm still not very good. I've never been a very good artist, but in the past couple of weeks, I've turned out some of the best stuff I've ever managed to draw. I've put it aside for a while, however. I ran out of erasers and sharp pencils. So until we buy a pencil sharpener and a (rather large) eraser, my new hobby will have to wait. Unlike Joseph who uses Photoshop or some other program of that sort to draw, I can't seem to make the computer work for me. I get frustrated when it doesn't do what I want it to. I think maybe I need to go over some tutorials or something to figure it out.

We were planning a short trip this weekend to celebrate our anniversary and Mike's new job, (the one that ended before it began) but now we're not entirely sure if we'll be able to make the trip anymore. It all depends on what job he takes and when they want him to start. I sure hope we can make something work out. We haven't taken a trip since... well, so long that I don't remember. Even if it's just a weekend away, it would be worth it. If we do take a trip, I'm sure we'll be updating the blog with lots of new pictures of the kids!

Speaking of the kids, they're doing great! Emily is such a joy. I just can't even express how much happiness she brings into our home. At a time when Mike and I have been so depressed and worried, her smiles and giggles and coos are all that have kept us going some days. Lately, she's gotten to be rather cranky and has been shoving her fist in her mouth and biting down. We think she must be teething. I'm so amazed at how quickly she's growing up. And yet, at church yesterday, I was in the mother's room with her and saw several other girls from another ward with their babies. They were all about the same length, maybe a little taller than Emily, and about twice as big around. Two of the mothers were apparently friends who had their babies around the same time. One was born in late February and the other in mid March. Here I was with Emily who was born in early December. It reminded me that she's still so much smaller than the other babies her age. I guess I shouldn't complain too much about her growing up.

Hyrum is potty trained!! I know that's probably not something any of you care about, but Mike and I are so thrilled that I had to post it here! He even sleeps through the night in regular underwear without any accidents! We're so very proud. Even more than we are proud, we are relieved. We just cut our diaper changes in half and reclaimed an extra few stink-free minutes of our day! All it took was a few new pairs of Cars underwear, and he decided that he didn't want to have any more accidents. He loves the movie Cars.

I really can't think of anything else.. I suspect that we'll be updating again soonish, so I'll just tag on anything else that I've forgotten on the next blog. Check back soon for more pictures of the cutest kids ever! (no, I'm not bias)