July 22nd & The RUMORS!

This is an entry I had written in my journal but never posted it.

July 22nd, 2009:

Have you ever sat down, taken a deep look at your life and wondered, "What the hell happened?" That has been one of my thoughts quite often lately.

Even so, I have to remind myself of how incredibly blessed we are. Truly, we have so many things to be thankful for. Most importantly, we have each other. We are blessed with family, friends, an income, and the basic necessities. We may not have all of the extra things we would like; however, we have what is important. For that, I am thankful. We are thankful!

Things have been difficult for our family over the past year. With the help of family, friends, thoughts and prayers, and faith we have continued to push through it. Has it been easy? Definitely not. It surely has been a humbling experience and one that is certainly not over yet. The ride continues. The ups and downs keep coming our way. There are times I want nothing more than to push the "stop" button, especially when we are on the up side of things. It is then; however, that I realize that in order to get to the top, you have to climb from the bottom. This is life and life will continue on like that until the day we cease to exist. It is what builds character. It is what makes us who we are.

Next month, Tim and I will celebrate another milestone in our journey, eighteen years of being together. It doesn't seem possible. Two months later, we will celebrate our fourteenth wedding anniversary.

The past few days I have done a great deal of thinking. I am reminded that this isn't where I would have expected to be nor is it where I would have chosen to be when starting our lives together. However, HERE WE ARE! Thankfully, our journey together is far from over!

The silver lining to this is no matter what I may have planned for my life, the ultimate plan was decided long before I ever thought of one. The path that we are following may have taken us by surprise but it was planned all along by Him and He isn't surprised by this path one bit. I truly believe that!

Is it one I would have chosen? Nope! Even though I can't see the end result or why I was sent down this path rather than a different one, I know that there is always a reason. In time, and certainly not my time, the reasons will be revealed. I have learned this lesson more than once in my life.

It appears that over the next few months, our family will go through another series of changes. We have taken the time to sit down with each of the children and discussed the options we have been given. We wanted to be sure the kids knew that their opinion was important to us and more importantly, mattered! This journey included them as well. We want to be sure that they take with them what is important after all of this is over. Life is not easy. Things are not just handed to you. You must make sacrifices and work hard to achieve your goals and dreams. More importantly, the love of those around you will help you through anything you face!

I am certain that with these changes will come more ups and downs. Our hope is that along the way, we can remain focused on the goal that we are trying to accomplish. We are choosing to make what we believe are the best decisions for our family. That is truly who it is about, US.

We realize that not everyone will agree with what we believe is best. That is fine. We are all entitled to our opinions. We don't ask for you to agree with us. The decisions we make for our family are for the seven of us. All we ask for is your unconditional support and encouragement as we continue down this journey.

I'll share more details when I have them...

Count your blessings,
Becky

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Post from Monday July 27th, 2009

The Rumors:

I have been approached by a few people within the past week to inquire about the "rumors" that have been flying around town. First, let me express just how much I love "rumors" (NOT!!) Even so, they tend to spread around a small town faster than a forest fire on a windy day.

Thank you to those of you who came forward and talked directly to us about what you were "told" or "hearing" before you went on to spread things even further.

Here are the facts:

NO, we are NOT being evicted!!!!

About a month ago, we were approached by some dear friends who knew we were thinking about moving. We were trying to figure out how we could do what we had to do and still achieve our ultimate goals.

Goal: Save enough money to purchase a home we can call OURS.

When the offer was presented to us, we really didn't think they were serious! We were quickly informed that they were indeed serious and the consideration began. It took a few weeks for us to finally decide what we were going to do. Believe me, the rumors started long before we ever made a decision!

So...

Yes, we are moving.

Yes, Tim is still laid off.

Yes, this is a decision based 90% on financial reasons.

Yes, we are moving to Stockbridge.

Yes, Tim still intends and desires to stay on the Fire Department he has devoted the past twelve years to.

Yes, we all understand "what we are doing?"

Yes, we have talked in great depth with the children about how they feel.

Yes, the children will be attending another school district.

Yes, they were given a choice in their schooling.

Yes, the kids chose what school they wanted to attend.

Yes, we made this decision as a family after a great deal of thought.

No, we don't have a date yet. It will be later this fall.

This post was to dispel the rumors that are flying around town like leaves on a windy day.

If you have questions, PLEASE ask.