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Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Farewell FHE
This is the last Monday before Josh leaves for COT (Commissioned Officer Training) in Alabama. We are really trying to keep our routine regular and predictable for our kids. So, we had Family Home Evening like we always do. This time we focused the lesson and activities around the military and what Josh might be experiencing at training. We watched one of our favorite Mormon Messages (www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages) Dare To Stand Alone. We went to www.lds.org to look at the tips for military families. They had some great suggestions about how we could keep in touch while Josh is away. We decided that we would have Josh make us a chain of daily messages to be read so that we could count down to his return. The kids and I wrote him small daily notes that he could put in his suitcase and be reminded of home daily. "Pants" (code name for youngest daughter) drew lots of scribbles and had me trace her hand on every page. Josh will have eight notes of a little two year old hand. "Bub" (code name for our son) drew pictures of each member of our family. They all looked pretty much the same to me but he seemed to know who each picture was and Josh will love it. "Bear" (code name for oldest daughter) took more time and was able to write Josh some things that she loves about him. She also drew pictures. I wrote out some of my favorite scriptures and poems for Josh to read. I hope that these messages will make him feel that home is not so far away. I tried not to peek at the links that Josh made for us but I did have to tape them all together. Josh took the time to make personal questions for the kids each day. They will love such a visual reminder of his return home. We think we will be able to converse through Skype while he is gone. This will be a great resource because Bub and Pants don't really talk on the phone. It will be great for all of us to see Josh.
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
From Mr. to Captain
Today Josh received his commission as a United States Air Force Captain. He was sworn in by raising his right hand, standing next to an American Flag. He repeated the oath of office and signed lots of official documents. We were lucky to have support from my mom, Josh's dad, and his grandmother. The recruiter, Master Sargent Grant, told us that Josh has been very professional to work with. He said that Josh's application was submitted past the deadline by mistake. The three applicants from across the entire country were already selected. Josh's application was reviewed at the specific request of Master Sargent Grant and was selected in place of someone else. It makes us feel completely blessed and definitely in awe. We have a lot to be grateful for today.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
The Bittersweet process of moving
The other day I went to help at my son's Kindergarten class. His teacher is my good friend as she is in our ward. It was bittersweet talking with her about the process of our move. When I walked out of the class, I started to wonder why the feelings of loss. I had the distinct impression that my family would be missed. This is because we have involved ourselves in this neighborhood and ward. We have used our talents and skills to help others. We have enjoyed our callings and the associations that they have brought. We have hosted a summer talent show for the neighborhood which has brought laughter and good memories. We have been involved in school and community events. I have taught ballet, yoga, and Zumba in my home, a great convenience for my neighbors. None of these things are extraordinary and many around us are doing the very same things. It is ironic that involving ourselves in our neighborhood and ward is the very thing that makes it so hard to leave. If we were to stay in our homes, never meet anyone, never share any talents or skills, it would be really easy to move on. So even though this time of involvement is adding to heartache now, I would not trade it for the life of a hermit. I will continue to treasure the memories that we have created as we move on to create new ones. This is a picture of our family when we first moved to our Springville home, August, 2009.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
The Lord's hand in all things
I am starting this blog because my family and I are embarking on an adventure. My husband, Josh, has accepted a commission as a Social Worker for the Air Force. Sometime after April 4th, he will be known as Captain Joshua James Turner. I am excited for the uniform!
2013 was a rough year for our family. In December of 2012 Josh lost his job due to budget cuts. We were no strangers to this, the Social Work profession can be unstable and job availability is sometimes based on government grants. Josh has been cut from positions three times in the past. So, he looked for jobs but it was harder this time. The job he found was with an unstable company and he took a substantial pay cut and lost all benefits; insurance, holiday pay, 401 K, retirement. He realized that this job could not be permanent. He started to apply for a position with the Navy. This was actually the third time he had applied for the Navy so we felt good about proceeding again. The application process was long and complicated. It took until August 2013 to be completed and that was when the government sequester happened and all funding for new positions was stopped. Josh was devastated as we had no other back up plan. Two weeks later, his floundering company went bankrupt and Josh was out of a job again.
We were frustrated with the path his career had taken. We are faithful LDS members and we hoped that we were living right and would see blessings. We constantly reminded each other to remain patient and wait on the Lord. One of our biggest blessings at this time was that we were surrounded by family and ward members who were supportive and encouraging. We also had good health, a blessing in that we were not able to afford health insurance.
Eventually, Josh found another job after three months without one. It was not great pay and was 1 hour and 30 min from our home through mass transit. So, this job was not ideal either. Josh continued to look for a better situation for us. It had become difficult on our relationship as Josh and I rarely saw each other due to my yoga teaching schedule and his commute. In October, the Air Force contacted Josh. Looking back, this is the first time I can recognize the Lord's hand in all things. Josh tried to contact the Air Force at the beginning of 2013 but their system had backlogged. He started the application process with the Air Force.
The Air Force was able to use Josh's information from the Navy so this sped the process along. His application went into review in December 2013. Early in January, Josh got more bad news. He was told that his application was not processed before the deadline and he would not be considered for hiring. He was very depressed by this news. Enter the Lord's hand in all things #2. The recruiter said that he would "pull some strings" to get the application reviewed because he felt it had been submitted in time. We were back to the waiting game. A few days later, the recruiter told Josh that his application was being reviewed. Josh had not been so excited in a long time.
In the meantime, Josh had been serving as the Young Men's President in our ward. This is a demanding calling and took him away from our little family a lot. He started out in the calling with fire and vigor for the work but had lost that fire during his period of joblessness. On January 12th, Josh was released from the calling. Our Bishop told him that he felt Josh needed to spend more time with his family. We wondered about the timing of this; he was not released this last summer when he was jobless, he was released now when he did at least have a job. Now I recognize the Lord's hand in all things for the third time.
On January 17th, Josh received the call that he had been offered the commission with the US Air Force, to serve on Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He was thrilled and we went to the temple that night to converse with the Lord. We both felt calm and secure in the decision to take the job. We have since found out that when Josh's application was submitted, the other applications had already been processed and jobs assigned. The recruiter truly did pull some strings and Josh was offered a position that had been slated for someone else. The Lord's hand in all things #3.
When I look back at 2013, I do not focus on the hard times that we had. I remember the blessings of money that was left on our door step anonymously, dinners brought over during my yoga training, the health of our family, family support both monetarily and emotionally, and the faith of a husband who refused to give up. The Lord is really watching out for us even if we do not recognize it at the time. I am grateful that we will not be embarking upon this journey alone. We will had the Lord at our side.
2013 was a rough year for our family. In December of 2012 Josh lost his job due to budget cuts. We were no strangers to this, the Social Work profession can be unstable and job availability is sometimes based on government grants. Josh has been cut from positions three times in the past. So, he looked for jobs but it was harder this time. The job he found was with an unstable company and he took a substantial pay cut and lost all benefits; insurance, holiday pay, 401 K, retirement. He realized that this job could not be permanent. He started to apply for a position with the Navy. This was actually the third time he had applied for the Navy so we felt good about proceeding again. The application process was long and complicated. It took until August 2013 to be completed and that was when the government sequester happened and all funding for new positions was stopped. Josh was devastated as we had no other back up plan. Two weeks later, his floundering company went bankrupt and Josh was out of a job again.
We were frustrated with the path his career had taken. We are faithful LDS members and we hoped that we were living right and would see blessings. We constantly reminded each other to remain patient and wait on the Lord. One of our biggest blessings at this time was that we were surrounded by family and ward members who were supportive and encouraging. We also had good health, a blessing in that we were not able to afford health insurance.
Eventually, Josh found another job after three months without one. It was not great pay and was 1 hour and 30 min from our home through mass transit. So, this job was not ideal either. Josh continued to look for a better situation for us. It had become difficult on our relationship as Josh and I rarely saw each other due to my yoga teaching schedule and his commute. In October, the Air Force contacted Josh. Looking back, this is the first time I can recognize the Lord's hand in all things. Josh tried to contact the Air Force at the beginning of 2013 but their system had backlogged. He started the application process with the Air Force.
The Air Force was able to use Josh's information from the Navy so this sped the process along. His application went into review in December 2013. Early in January, Josh got more bad news. He was told that his application was not processed before the deadline and he would not be considered for hiring. He was very depressed by this news. Enter the Lord's hand in all things #2. The recruiter said that he would "pull some strings" to get the application reviewed because he felt it had been submitted in time. We were back to the waiting game. A few days later, the recruiter told Josh that his application was being reviewed. Josh had not been so excited in a long time.
In the meantime, Josh had been serving as the Young Men's President in our ward. This is a demanding calling and took him away from our little family a lot. He started out in the calling with fire and vigor for the work but had lost that fire during his period of joblessness. On January 12th, Josh was released from the calling. Our Bishop told him that he felt Josh needed to spend more time with his family. We wondered about the timing of this; he was not released this last summer when he was jobless, he was released now when he did at least have a job. Now I recognize the Lord's hand in all things for the third time.
On January 17th, Josh received the call that he had been offered the commission with the US Air Force, to serve on Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He was thrilled and we went to the temple that night to converse with the Lord. We both felt calm and secure in the decision to take the job. We have since found out that when Josh's application was submitted, the other applications had already been processed and jobs assigned. The recruiter truly did pull some strings and Josh was offered a position that had been slated for someone else. The Lord's hand in all things #3.
When I look back at 2013, I do not focus on the hard times that we had. I remember the blessings of money that was left on our door step anonymously, dinners brought over during my yoga training, the health of our family, family support both monetarily and emotionally, and the faith of a husband who refused to give up. The Lord is really watching out for us even if we do not recognize it at the time. I am grateful that we will not be embarking upon this journey alone. We will had the Lord at our side.
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