Brock started a new job on Monday. Such a happy, happy day!
Back in April, Brock was put to "half-time" at his previous place of employment. He worked for that company for over 5 years, but there just wasn't enough business to keep anyone at a full-time status. He mostly hovered around 20 hours for the first few months, but the last little while was pretty hairy. There were many weeks where he only had 5-8 hours of work. A little hard to support a family on those kind of hours, to be sure. Brock started looking for a new job quite aggressively as soon as he received the news back in April. He turned in many resumes, contacted many people, and filled out many applications. How many interviews did he score from April to September, you might ask? One. Yep, one. And that company decided to put off on hiring anyway.
Heavenly Father definitely watches out for us, even if the blessings don't come exactly as we want. Though we prayed like crazy every day, multiple times a day, that Brock would get a new job quickly, that just wasn't what His plan had in store for us. However, He did not just leave us in the dust. We have been so, so blessed during this time of financial struggle. We have always felt the importance of following the council of the prophets, and have stocked up on food storage. We also received quite a bit more on our tax returns than we were planning on, so our savings was nice and totally there for us when we needed it most. Thankfully, we have been able to pay all our bills, and have had plenty of food to eat, though by looking at the money coming in, you would wonder how that was possible.
We have also been the grateful recipients of the kindness and generosity of others. It is truly humbling to think about all the answers to prayers we have received through the inspired acts of His angels here on earth. So many of you have been those angels, and words will never be able to express how we feel about you. "Thank You" seems so trite. Hopefully we can be in tune to the promptings of the Spirit, and be that angel for someone else. Thank Heaven for family and friends-who-may-as-well-be-family!
I have learned much about patience, faith, and miracles. Yes, miracles do happen still today. We have seen them during this trial. If God would have taken the trial away from us when we first asked him to, we would have missed out on the incredible opportunity to witness, and be a part of those miracles. God allows us to learn and grow, and though we all have to deal with different difficulties in order to get where He wants us, He NEVER leaves us alone. He provides a way for us to be strengthened in our trials that we may bear them instead of being crushed by them. I absolutely KNOW this to be true. He loves us. Always. No. Matter. What.
At the beginning of the month, just as I was having a nervous breakdown about our financial situation, and wondering how much longer we could possibly hold on to the fraying knot at the end of our rope, Brock was blessed with a slew of interviews. They seemed to be coming out of nowhere. One in particular was obtained through a friend, who immediately thought of Brock when a job opening became available at his place of employment. This just "happened" to be at a company that Brock had previously looked into, and really wanted to work for. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, three interviews later, he had a new job. It took one week. Yep, one.
I totally cried when he got off that phone call. Cried like a baby. I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to be reminded in my life that Heavenly Father is in charge. When we allow Him to take the reigns, He gives us EXACTLY what we need to succeed in this life, and reap the rewards in the life to come. Father really does know best.
Seriously ENORMOUS bull: Big Red. We had a hard time getting a good picture with the front end...
Dane wanted to touch all the animals, though he was a little unsure about them. Inquisitive, yet cautious. 
Lizzy and Michael with Daner. They'll be such great parents to their own little boy who will be coming in less than a month! Love having friends for Dane!
I saw this huge tractor on our way out of the fair, and just had to get a picture of Dane sitting in the wheel. He was not really sure what he thought about that idea at first, but we finally scored a DARLING picture of him. (After, may I add, the huge crowd gathered around to watch the whole production.)
