...in all things love: a shock!

One Thursday morning at the end of June, Nate called me about thirty minutes after he had left to go to work, to tell me that he had some good news and some bad news. Anticipation and a bit of fear caught my throat. "What"? I said. "I was laid off of my work this morning" he said. My heart sank. "But" he said, "I have three months severance pay". Even though the shock of hearing this news was hard for me, I was lifted by hearing the tepid optimism and hope in his voice. Even though I knew he wasn't excited to hear that he had lost his job, I knew he was relieved and grateful that he had given it his all while he was there. Later we found out that Goldman's stocks had halved in its second quarter, leaving them the option of having to lay off some of their newer workers to cut costs. I'm grateful though that we are not stressed about money since we are out of debt, have a little money saved up, food storage :), and have been paying our tithing. In times of crisis, it is so good to feel that things will be okay, that we have been prepared for this time, that we have incredibly supportive family and friends, and that this gives us a chance to reflect on all of our blessings. Nate is looking for a new job and taking another look at the future. Does this justify my hopes for a new President in November? Yes it does :). Nate says that he's doing his part to help the Romney campaign right now, by being unemployed.

Although leaving our lovely apartment and wonderful ward and frends in Salt Lake was difficult for both of us, we are grateful forever, for that wonderful chapter of our lives that we had together. That is where we began our lives. Now we have a chance to build on that. We are grateful to be living now in my parent's 'big' apartment. Mason is grateful that he gets his own room, and doesn't have to sleep in the dining room anymore :). I hope we can stay in touch with some of our dear friends there. We will always cherish those memories that we had in the Avenues.