How is everyone??? I miss being here all the time, but life is SOOOO busy. A little update on us, since I can't remember when I was even here last: Ha! Troy started a new career as a fire fighter as of January. He is going to school and working on-call through a local firehouse for experience. He is still 'technically' unemployed...still collecting his unemployment, but we are trusting this new route that God has him on. I'm nervous and excited to see where we are led. He has a lot of work ahead of him. It has been an adjustment, but we are handling it nicely so far. I am back to working the day shift, which is going really well. I am home with both my boys at night, and with Troy when he is not on call or in school. Troy stays home with Aiden during the day, and Tanner when he's not in school. Tanner will be starting speech therapy at school...he has had a stutter since he was 3, but this year it got worse (he notices it more and is now becoming more aware, making him more nervous, thus making him stutter more). We are hoping the therapy will help him. He was given a part in a play at school, but turned it down because he didn't want people to tease him about it if he started to stutter. I am praying that he can overcome this, and if he can't, at least learn to control it more through the things they will teach him. Other than that though, he is doing really well in school. He goes to an advanced math group twice a week and his stuttering doesn't seem to stop him from being social. He still LOVES to socialize. lol He has also started taking piano lessons, which he is LOVING! Aiden is still a stinker. He will be 3 next weekend. He refuses to potty train, and it is getting irritating. This summer we plan to have a potty party outside and just let him run around naked. LOL On a positive note, he's a smart little cookie. He knows his ABC's, shapes, numberals, can trace his name, etc. Thankfully Troy does a great job with him during the day at home. Some of the things that come out of his mouth make me laugh so hard that I cry. He certainly is entertaining. I am continuing to write songs still and sing at church, a lot. lol I haven't gotten to the recording process yet though...life is just too busy that it has dropped on the priority list right now. Myself and some fellow bandmates though are putting on a concert/night of worship at church next weekend...I can't wait! In all, God is good...very good. It certainly has been a roller coaster, but we are confident that He will provide. I hope this finds everyone well!!! Here is a recent pic of the boys while visiting daddy's fire station.
Hey, it's great to hear from you!!! Your guys are sure getting big! Faythe was stubborn about potty training, but going bare-bottomed really made a world of difference. Wow!!! Firefighting!!! That sounds exciting! My cousin's husband is a fire fighter; I'll pray that he has LOTS of boring days, sitting around the station with NO runs!
Wow...your boys are getting so big! Has it really been that long since we all celebrated Aiden's birth? Whoa! So, glad you are reaping the blessings after all your trials. I pray you are showered with them!
Hey, Jen glad to see you back again. Yes, life does get busy and we have to pick what is more important to do. I hope they can help Tanner if not maybe he will become a singer like Mel Tillis. Because he stutter all the time too. Can't wait to hear more music. Let me know if you have anymore record.
Your boys are so big and so cute. I hope you husband loves his new job. My husband retired from the local volunteer fire dept. with 20 years of service and so did my brother in law. Best of luck to you all. Beth
Troy LOVES this new career path that he is on. It will take a lot of work and schooling for him to get where he wants to be, but we are trying to keep our eyes on the prize. After this year he will legally be certified to find a full-time FF job, but a lot of fire houses like you to be certified as a paramedic too so he will have to continue on to do that. In the fall, one of our local (about an hour away) cities will be recruiting for their fire academy. He wants to apply there to see what happens. Once you make it through the fire academy they place you at a fire house full-time...they also pay you through the academy. We shall see where God takes us. It's been an interesting ride for sure. He went from sitting behind a desk crunching numbers, to THIS! LOL He's always been a physical laboring kind of guy, so I'm really not surprised he's doing this. However, being that we both have had to be employed to make ends meet, this is really the only way that he would have been able to do this (him losing his job and being on unemployment). God certainly works in mysterious ways.
Jackie, as much as I'd like for him to not get into any dangerous situations, the only way he gets paid is if he goes out on calls. LOL SO, we pray for LOTS of calls!
OH! I didn't realize that! It's probably different for different departments. I think you summed it up when you said, "Troy LOVES this new carreer path that he is on." When HE'S happy, life at home is so much more happy! And what more can a wife ask for, than a husband who is content in his job?
Exactly! He really does love it, so I am trying to be as supportive as possible. I love seeing him happy to go out to work, even if it pays peanuts at the moment. lol The way most fire stations/cities work around here is a bit different than some other stations. Usually you have to get hired either as a volunteer or paid on call (what Troy is) first, then they sponsor you to go to school. He was actually HAPPY to go back to school...something I never thought he'd be happy about being he has 8 years of college behind him already.:lol: But because it's something he is really enjoying, he is happy and content about it. The fire station that hired Troy is about 30 minutes away, so he is considered an 'out of towner'. Because of that, he has to stay at the station for his shifts (2 times a week, 6pm-6am)...but it works out to his advantage because he is getting a LOT more experience than the average individual. He actually got hired in our town too (which means he would have just worn a pager at home), but they weren't offering to pay for as much schooling as the station he is at. The station he is at is offering to pay for his full associates degree if he wants it. So, even though he can't stay home with a pager and he is basically at the station working for free until he goes out on a call...he is getting more out of it in the long run. THE BIG PLUS is that he doesn't have to claim any of it on his unemployment because it's a civil service job! God is good.
