We have news!

Much to our surprise, we FINALLY heard from manager Shashi around noon today. He called our cell phone, which I had at home with me, and started asking me questions like, "when is your baby due?" and "are you renting or do you own a home?" He then told me he needed to talk to Travis one more time, so I called Travis at work and he was able to borrow a collegues cell phone and call Shashi back. They told him they will be offering him the job! They will send him the official offer next week, so at that time we will look at the numbers and the offer and make our decision. Our hearts are both wanting to take the job, but the money needs to be right to make up for what we would have to pay L-3 back for tuition and we need to recieve peace from the Lord that it is the right decision. I'm just so relieved to have the offer so that there is an actual decision to make, praise the Lord. I got on my knees right after hearing the news and thanked the Lord, both for giving us definite word and for providing this opportunity. If, and hopefully when, Travis accepts this offer, we will have a crazy month ahead of us as we make some big decisions about selling or renting out our townhome, and then buying or renting in Fort Collins. And this all on top of finding a new doctor and getting set up on new insurance before baby Chloe arrives. The Lord has taken us this far and we trust He will carry and guide us the rest of the way too. All I can say is, God is good! I am so humbled by this blessing and so very thankful! And thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for walking with us through this long journey of waiting and hoping and wondering. I just don't know what we'd do without your love, prayers and support! I'll give you our definite decision as soon as we recieve the offer next week. Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you! Grammy and Papa L. will be joining us tonight for a four day visit, we can't wait!
Love, Sarah

Patience

Just when I'm feeling growth and victory in one fruit of the spirit, I'm reminded of my continued lack in another. I guess it's the Lord's way of reminding us that we never cease to need Him. Today was supposed to be the day we found out our answer about Travis's interviews, but as of 6:30pm, we only have news that our wait is going to continue into next week. We're not quite sure what to make of what the manager told Travis tonight, but we're trying not to read into it too much. He told Travis that he is still very much in the running and not to worry. He said that he will call Travis first part of next week. Just when we thought our wait was over, the waiting continues. I think patience will be a life lesson for me, waiting is just so hard! I know this wait has been grueling for many of you as well and I just want to say, thank you for your encouragement and friendship during this time, we don't know what we'd do without you. I won't make another post until we have our answer, which will hopefully be by this coming Wednesday night. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to wait though.
Love, Sarah

Peace

I've found it! No, not some long lost expensive peice of jewelry, but something far more valuable. I've found peace again! It's funny how easily we lose it, only to find it again, right where we left it, in the arms of our Savior. It's been about a month now since we started this journey, waiting to see if these opportunities at HP in Fort Collins might be God's calling us back to CO. And as I sit on what should be the brink of finding out what the answer is, I have finally come to a place of truely accepting and embracing whatever God has for us. I've done so much praying, specifically these past two weeks, and God is answering my prayer. Of course in the beginning, I was praying hard that this would be our ticket to live closer to family, and while God still knows our desire to be back in CO sooner than later, the Holy Spirit has moved my heart to pray for something far more important, for peace, joy, and true contentment in whichever way the Lord works in our lives. Today as I was driving to Walmart to do some shopping, everything finally came together in my heart and mind. I realized that I would never want anything other than GOD'S best for me. And if that so happens to be what my heart desires at this point, great, but if not, I fully trust Him to reveal His good and perfect purposes for us here. As I've thought about the "what if's" of staying here, vs. moving to CO, I realized that I have a lot of unsurrendered fears. I have fears that my children won't have the opportunity to be as close to their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins if we stay here, fears that I won't be able to cope with two young children without the help of my mom's and sister, fears that my kids will enter a school system where they are the minority in faith, and the list goes on. But then I asked myself, where are these fears coming from? Don't I believe that God is with me where ever I am and that He will provide for ALL of my needs, and my families needs, just as He always has and as He promises in His Word? I realized that only the enemy of my soul would have me fear these things and I cannot give Him victory! So please continue to pray with me, that we will be able to fully embrace what the Lord has next for us in our lives, without fear, but rather with confidence that "if God is for us, who can be against us!" Amen. I will keep you posted once we have an answer.

Love, Sarah

Our Little Ham!

Pucker up! Yes, our little peanut LOVES to give kisses, especially to other little kids. We feel we may be in for trouble when the teen years hit if this continues. Travis is already trying to figure out what his weapon of threat and intimidation will be. And now with another little girl on the way, his pappa bear intinct has only grown. I must say my momma bear instinct is just as refined, Lord help the boy who treats my daughters anything but honorable! We had a great mother's day weekend. Emma wrote me a sweet card, complete with scribbles and a little help from Daddy writing her name. Travis's portion of the card was so wonderful, I live for cards like this! We went to church, then to Mimi's Cafe for a late breakfast, it was a very special, relaxing day.

Ahhh, this smile is the most beautiful site I see every day. It beats the most glorious sunset and tops the most exotic flower. I'm just so amazed every time I look at her what a beautiful gift my little Emma Grace is from above. She may be entering some terrible twos, but it's astounding how a parents unconditional love superceeds all that. One minute, I'm ready to scream in frustration and the next, I'm cuddling and kissing that same source of frustration. Motherhood is such rollarcoaster sometimes, but it reminds me of how the Lord must feel for us. One minute, he's so saddened and frustrated by the choices we are making, and the next, he is catching us in His vast arms of forgiveness, Grace, and comfort, moving us through to His best for us.

Just a little reflection on how much my baby has grown over the past two years. Oh how I cherish the days when I held her as such a small bundle in my arms. I'm already saying they grow up too fast and she's not even two yet! Thanks for your continued prayers for patience for us this week as we await the final word on Travis's interviews. We've recieved great peace about it since last week and feel that with the Lord's help, we are truely ready to recieve whatever the answer is, trusting in His best for us.
Sarah

Update

Okay, so Travis finally got the call tonight from the manager of the group he's hoping to join and we now have... NEUTRAL news! He told Travis that they have one more candidate to look at and then they will let him know next week. AHHH!!!! more waiting! But se la vi. At least we still have hope. I'm really going to have to be creative this next week to keep my mind busy, so will Travis. Thanks again for praying, as I've said before, I'll keep you posted.
Love, Sarah

Still Waiting...

Well, still no phone call about whether or not Travis got the job he's hoping for. I'd be lying if I said this wait isn't killing us, but what can we do. Travis really thought they would call last night, but now he's second guessing what the manager said on the phone Tuesday night. He thinks he may have said, "I'll call you in the next couple nights" instead of "I'll call you tomorrow night". He was so busy trying to say the right things, confirming that the manager recieved his transcripts over email, that he wasn't paying great attention to what the manager was saying. I get a little more doubtful with each passing day, but at this point, I'd much rather hear the news we don't want to hear than not know anything. I'm fully trusting that the Lord will carry us through and give us joy in whatever the news is. It's just this waiting, hoping, and wondering that feels so aimless. Please continue to pray for us as we wait for yet another day. I promise, I will let you all know just as soon as we have our answer. Thanks for letting me share this stressful time in our lives with you all. Sharing the burden with those who love us really seems to help.
Sarah

24 weeks pregnant!

Can you believe it! Already 24 weeks pregnant! It's been fun for me to look at the pictures of my growing belly side by side to see the "progress". It's truely amazing to me how fast these little ones grow inside us. Little Chloe, as you can see from my pregnancy tracker up at the top of the page, is weighing over a pound at this point and is just about a foot long. Technically, she could survive if born this week, but we don't even want to go there. I've told her she's to stay put until at least 38 weeks, but we'll see if I'm still singing that tune when I reach 36 weeks in the heat of summer. Still no word on either job interview, but don't worry, I'll get on here right away and post as soon as we know anything. Thanks for the continued prayers.
Love, Sarah

Second Interview

Hello everyone,
Thank you for praying for Travis today if you did, we really appreciate it. I just talked to him, he's on his way to the airport, and he feels the interview went well. They said they would let him know within 24-48 hours either way on this one. He's supposed to hear about the first interview some time today or tomorrow. It's out of his hands now, now we just wait and trust. I'll post again as soon as we know anything about either position. In the mean time, you can continue to pray for us, both for patience, and that our hearts would be prepared to hear the news, whatever that news is, and that we would be able to rest in God's plan for us, finding joy and contentment in that plan knowing that it is good. Thanks again for everything.
Love, Sarah

A tribute to preemies and those who love them!

Today, May 8th, 2006 marks my full 24th week of pregnancy. Reaching this milestone, I can't help but think of my sister and good friend Crystal, who in the week ahead, would be facing one of the scariest moments of their lives. It's hard for me to emagine giving birth to a tiny one pound baby, but that's exactly what they were forced to do as their bodies went into preterm labor that couldn't be stopped. These tiny little boys, oblivious to what was happening, made their entrance into the world over three months too soon. A decade or two ago, they could not have been saved. But praise the Lord for willing them to be born in this day and age when He was able to work through medical technology to save their fragile lives. And I have no doubt that those lives have such great purpose! They have already been used in countless ways to draw others closer to God and have been the greatest single blessings in their parent's lives. Never again will I take a single week of pregnancy for grantid. Every remaining week that I have to keep little Chloe safe and in the most ideal place for her to grow will be celebrated with the utmost humility and gratitude to our Creator. I would also like to bring your attention to a wonderful agency called March of Dimes. They are always raising funds and awareness for the research going on into the causes and prevention of preterm labor and birth. Tayden and Noah, I love you! And Amber and Crystal, you are my heros!
Love, Sarah

Today's interview

I just heard from Travis and he feels today's interview went very well as far as he could tell. They're always careful not to give you much feedback and keep their demeanors neutral, but he feels he did his best and is now focusing on preparing for Monday's interview. Thanks for praying for him today, your prayers were felt. Now we just need prayer for patience, patience, patience, I think especially for me. We're hoping to know either way on both positions by end of next week, that's what we're praying for anyway. We hope you all have a nice weekend and I'll be in touch again on Monday.
Sarah

Pray

Well, today is the day for Travis's first interview with HP. He arrived in Fort Collins safe last night and hopefully was able to get a good night's rest for his interview today. The interviewing process begins at 9:00am today, and then for the other position at 9:00am on Monday, so if you would like, please joint me at 9:00am both today and Monday to pray for him. Pray for calm nerves, peace, and confidence as he goes in and that he would be able to articulate his knowledge and thoughts in an impressive manor when answering questions. He will also be writing some code on the spot, so also pray that the "code genius" in his brain would come out at those times :) He's supposed to call me today and let me know how this first interview goes, so I'll try to post again tonight to fill you in. Thanks so much!
Love, Sarah

Interviews

Hello Friends!
Well, we have an official plan for Travis's upcoming interviews. He will fly out tomorrow evening, then interview for the first position on Friday. He will then have the weekend to rest up and study for the second interview on Monday. He will fly home Monday night. Please pray for him as he goes into these interviews, that he would have a sense of peace and confidence that the Lord will give him the words and knowledge and will provide the right offer should that be His plan. Thank you in advance for you love and support as we await the results of these interviews.
Love, Sarah

News!

Hello everyone,
No fancy pictures or graphics for this post. Just some recent happenings in our lives that we'd love your prayers for. Several weeks ago, Travis applied for two positions at HP in Fort Collins, after which he vowed, "no more applying for jobs for at least a year so we can enjoy living in our new house for awhile before trying again". Well, as irony would have it, he recieved calls on BOTH positions! After completing phone interivews for both positions, we now have news that they are flying him out for second round interviews for BOTH positions this week! The first position he probably wouldn't take even if offered, it's just not the direction he wants to take his career. But the other one, he's very hopeful about as it really fits his interests. Not only that, but he's recieved very positive feedback from the phone interviews for the position and feels he nailed them unlike he's done in any other interview. He will fly out this Thursday night and interview for the first position on Friday. Then hopefully they will schedule the second interivew for Monday so he can get it all taken care of in one trip, but we'll find out the specifics today. To be honest, it has been a bag of mixed emotions as we anticipate this possible life change. While we can't help but be excited about the possibility of living closer to family, especially with Chloe's birth just around the corner. Colorado is where we would like to settle for a long period of time, so the thought that "settling" could be in our near future is such a blessed thought. But at the same time, we were feeling a little melancholy at the thought of leaving Salt Lake as we talked about it in a car ride the other night. It brought me to tears to think of how much I have loved our life here. As hard as it has been living away from family, the Lord has stretched us and grown us and drawn us to Himself here in ways that we wouldn't trade for anything. We have become a tight knit little family of three and have learned to depend on the Lord for everything in a way we never had before. He has blessed us tremendously with a church family and wonderful friends, and we feel our marriage has taken strong root here as we've established healthy indenpendence as a family. But we know that change is inevitable in life and if we are seeking God's guidance at every turn, we have to trust that He will carry us through each change. So the prayers we are asking for, first and formost, are for God's wisdom and guidance should Travis be offered this job at HP. Above all, we want to listen to Him as we make this decision and not get caught up in our own desires ignoring His plan in the situation. Secondly, we need prayer for patience and peace as we wait for news of an offer (or not). And thirdly, we need prayer that if Travis is not offered this job, that we would find contentment, peace, and joy in staying here for as long as the Lord would have us here, ready to embrace the ways He plans to work in and through us next. I thank you all so much for letting me share our lives so candidly with you and for praying for us as you feel led. I have always worn my heart on my sleeve, I believe that vulnerability is the key to growth, so I thank you for always letting me be vulnerable with you.
Always, Sarah