Sudden Detour!

Well, most of you that know me, and know me well, know that I like to plan things ahead of time and stick to the plan. Not sticking to the plan can cause a lot of excitement and stress for me.(One of my downfalls!) Since Audrey was born Robert and I have planned for me to get a job when all the kids were in school full time. So this school year I have been mentally preparing for this coming fall. Audrey starts kindergarten in the fall. The "plan" has been for me to get a job then. On many occasions Robert and I have discussed what I should do. Where should I work? The hardest part of it all was to try and find a job that would allow me to be off in the summer and at Christmas so I can still be a mom to my children. This was starting to cause a little concern on my part. Where would I find a job like that? When we lived in Oregon I worked for JC Penney Portrait Studio. They are owned by Lifetouch. Lifetouch is the company who goes to all the schools and does the school pictures. As soon as I had thought about this fact I began to wonder if Lifetouch would give that kind of schedule since they do school pictures. Hey if kids aren't in school than how can they do school pics right?
I finally voice this thought to Robert. Photography has been a huge passion of mine and I love every minute of it. He began to think that should work as well. No sooner than I told Robert about it he suggested I start looking into it for this coming fall. (This was in November) I told he was nuts to think I need to call now. He said that I could just call and ask when they start hiring for the fall and just go from there. Several times I was going to just call and it would slip my mind or I had things I was doing. Finally last week I decided to just make it a priority and call. Now, "Who should I call and what is their number?" was the first thought. So I got on the internet and typed in Lifetouch and found the corporate number. I called and explained my situation and what I was looking for. The lady on the other end told me that the territories hiring for themselves and she gave me the Anchorage phone number. I thought, Wow that was easy enough. So again I pick up the phone and call the number given to me. This is when things started to in a different direction all too quickly. I once again explained my situation and said I wasn't sure who I should talk to. The lady on the phone started talking so fast with excitement and said can you please hold on a minute. She came back to phone after having explained who I was and what I had called about to the territory director. She told me he was highly interested in me and could he call me later that day. Of course I said sure! My mind started to run a thousands different directions. "I wasn't wanting to start now!" is all I could say and she said just talk with Al when he calls. So later that day the phone rang and it was Al! The firs thing he said was, "Can you come into the office for an interview tomorrow morning at 10am?" All I remember was I started to stutter a bit and I quickly regained my composure and set the interview up. By now I am beginning to think what have I done here? I began to "panic" a little. Robert and I discussed it we thought that at least I could go interview and just see what it had to offer and if nothing else just ask them if I could start in the fall. So that I did. The interview went so smooth. Almost seemed too smooth! I explained my situation right away and how I was looking for a job in the fall not now. We laughed about it and said lets continue with the interview and go from there. I finished the interview and waited to hear from them. Tuesday they called and offered me the job. It all came down to my photography experience. They were wanting me because of my past experience and the fact that I was Lifetouch employee before. To wrap this up for now I will be starting this Tuesday with training. Audrey will be starting school in the K-4 program. She will actually get to be in Gregory's class. The K-4 and K-5 are combined. Audrey is thrilled. The best part of it all is that I get the summer and Christmas break off. Where else can you find a job that works so well with the school schedule. Also, if I would have waited til the fall then I would have had to start training in July, right in the middle of the summer. This way I will have the training I need and can start when school starts. I am so excited about this new opportunity but am struggling with the separation from Audrey. I know this is the best and right decision but it didn't fit my initial plan. It is hard to see my baby growing up so fast. Anyway, that is the big news for now. All along this has felt like a sudden detour but in reality the Lord was beginning to work out several details without me even asking him to. He knew what he was doing and now I am thanking him for guiding us through to this point. The kids think it is great that I may be taking their school pictures! Pray for this mommy as she puts her baby in school for the first time Tuesday!