Good or Bad News? Hubby Flies North for the Winter!! ~(^_^)~

      ~Hubby napped with Mocha after sending out 45 resumes last week ~

Wow, life truly is like a box of chocolates (from See's candies)....you never know what you're gonna get! I always liked dark chocolate covered almonds from Mission Viejo mall....but very soon....I think our family will be trying a brand new flavor ~ Philly's dark chocolate covered pretzels!

On 9/22, Autumn appeared at our church lobby, ragged and hungry. She became our newest family member!

Life was not easy the past 6 weeks, as hubby searched high and low for job opportunities. These days, it is almost impossible to get a face-to-face interview. Hubby only had 1 face to face since July! Being home in the last 2.5 months, however, we treasured precious moments spent together cooking, walking, chatting, and hanging out together. Since we were married 15+ years ago, he's never had this long of a break! Waiting is the biggest challenge for him, he said. But I know that this is a defining and refining stage for us all, and we are learning to stick together and lean on God, knowing from experience that He gives us the best, always! Patience is so hard (esp. when hubby's previous company insurance ran out last week), but I look back and see how God carried us in his arms as we crossed this uncertain terrain!

When mocha turned 6 mos 1 day (9/29) Sunday, she laid a GREEN egg!!

 

Abbie baked daddy's surprise 44th bday cake with mocha's egg on 10/2!

The following Sunday, hubby sunny-sided-up Mocha's egg! Orange yolk!

Friends and family blessed us tremendously as we shared our (lack of) job situation. Everyone prayed for us and encouraged us with their own tales of job-hunting and lay-off horror stories. The good news is that eventually, if we keep on with persistence, we WILL find a job! Hang on, and let God take the steering wheel!

~ ~ Would our family go from this "BEFORE" Picture ~ ~

..............to THIS picture?............

~ ~ AFTER ~ ~ Let it Snow... PENNSYLVANIA !! ~ ~

After more than a dozen phone interviews (which ended....right there), hubby got called to go to Johnson and Johnson for a face-to-face, 6 hour interview in Pennsylvania! He was very nervous and excited, all rolled into one, because the project is a revolutionary cord blood stem-cell delivery system with hopes to bring vision back to people with macular degeneration.

George took hubby to tour China town!

 

So hubby jumped on the plane on the plane and off to Philly he went. On his birthday eve, he faced a large panel (of genetic scientists, HR, hiring manager) for 6 hours. Our buddy George took him around Philly and the boys had a wonderful 44th bday dinner for dear hubby!

Yummy Cantonese Restaurant in Philly Chinatown

 

To make a long story short, 3 weeks after his interview, we get a phone call. Coincidentally, the donation truck was coming today so I was cleaning out tons of toys and puzzles from Abbie's toy bins and bookshelves upstairs.

Hubby sounded super excited and gave me a thumbs-up gesture as he happily talked with the man who is to be his future boss. They had given him a verbal offer!! YEAY!  We both had mixed feelings for the rest of the day, as we cleaned out clothes from our closet for donation. Part of us were excited about embarking on a new adventure on the East Coast, where we have never lived before! But the other part already started to miss our loved ones!

Happy July Family Reunion and Welcome Baby Christopher!

We also had a back up plan.... See, hubby had interviewed with Medtronics (a heart valve company he worked for in 1995) yesterday, so we had hoped that maybe this local company would offer him the job.



Ok, kids are hungry after 5 hr basketball championship. Happy Bday Grandpa!



 

It was only 2 miles from our church, and he could join us for lunch after our mom's fellowships on Thursdays! Unfortunately, we got a call this afternoon that this position has been filled by another candidate.

The 3 amigos shower together ~ for the 1st time! (Wake up, Autumn!)

But God is good, as we had prayed for a clear direction, not too many options that we didn't know our way. And it looks like Johnson and Johnson is front and center, and it is where God would take us for the next few years!?

Surprisingly, today the orchid which lives in my front porch....blossomed! I know they live indoors usually, but hubby/Caleb are allergic to plants so it thrived the last 6 months outside! I guess the flower is telling me that it can brave cold outdoor temp. and hot sun/wind, so I will definately be able to do the same....in snowy cold Pennsylvania!




My orchid lived in the outdoors since March....and now she's re-blossoming again!

Our plan would be this: Hubby would go first (maybe early November!), and the kids and I would stay until school ends next June. I'm sure that this big change will be challenging at first, but with God and loved ones who pray for us and encourage us....nothing is too difficult! (^_^)

Thank you ALL for your love and faithful prayers the last 3 months! We are determined to move forward with joy, flexibility and faith. I think I need to get myself a BIG Snowsuit and rightfully a nice pair of UGG boots, as I will be shoveling snow probably during this time next year! I feel "Brrrr...." just thinking about it! The weather today is super sunny and 82 degrees!
 


p.s. I remembered how God told Abraham to trust and obey, though the future ahead is unknown. And He would lead His people to the land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:3).....  This time I really know how Abraham feels, going places simply by faith! I have never been to the East Coast (more than 1 week in my life, see NY pix below!) but I am at peace knowing that God is taking me to the Promised Land....filled with... Cheese and Steak (Philly-style)?!?! HUGS....and like a good soap (Soph) opera, this story WILL be continued, I promise!

4 years ago this weekend, we went to visit our buddies Julie & George in New York!

 

 

Who would've known, this year, hubby will be going to their neighborhood very soon!