Mom working, Dad at home

The mom working, dad at home arrangement has been in effect for 6 months now. My Husband and I think about all we went through to get to this place. He says, "I wish we would of done this sooner," thinking that we could have avoided all the pain and hardship of the last couple of years.

Unfortunately, pain and hardship are sometimes a tool God uses to shape our hearts and minds for the future. God needed to turn a successful (dare I say) Prima donna sales person into a stay-at-home dad and his wife, who ALWAYS wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, into a working mom. It took 4 years, cost $140,000 and was very painful, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it.

How did we get here?

Flashback to 2003. My husband and I are living in Sacramento. I'm pregnant with our First and hate my job. I am SO ready to be a stay-at-home mom. The company that my Husband had made so much money working for was now bankrupt. We need to cut expenses in order to live on Husbands new income. Our biggest expense (other than the mortgage) is $1000 a month to BMW for 2 leased cars. When my husband's lease comes up, I insists that he get rid of his car for something more affordable (which is apparently an Audi).

In January of 2004 our First is born. My husband and I talk about moving to Washington state. Housing is less expensive, and my brother lives there. My husband is not sure if this is the right move for our family. One morning at his Men's Bible Study he asks the guys to pray about the decision to move. Something like "God, if you want me to move to Washington, give me a sign." Husband goes to work and is laid off, that morning. I'm not kidding. So this is our sign. God wants us to move to Washington.

We sell our house and a piece of property we owned in a gated community. We find a wonderful house in Vancouver. In June of 2004 we move. We have a nice nest egg to live on because we sold our house for twice what we paid for it and made a handsome profit on the property.
Husband starts looking for work. His last two jobs were in telecom, which he has come to hate. He is being selective about what he applies for. He has several promising interviews, but no job offers. This is unusual for him, he is used to getting the jobs he wants.

By March, I decide to see if Kelly Services can place me in a temp job until something comes along for my Husband. They place me with a company that needs someone 10 hours a week for bookkeeping. Oh, almost forgot, I'm now pregnant with our second. One of those not really planned, not really prevented pregnancies.

In July 2005, baby #2 is born. I'm still at my temp job. Husband is still looking for work. We think he might have an easier time getting a job if he had his college degree, also it seems that having a year of no employment on your resume is undesirable. By enrolling in classes he can fill the gap on his resume.

You may be thinking "This isn't going according to plan. God gave you a sign. Why would he send you to Washington if there is no work."

I know! I thought the same thing, many times. But when I ignore the lack of work and diminishing money I realize that Washington is a great place for us. I am a happier person. I am more pleasant to be around. All the nasty, me-first, competitive tendencies that I had in California are gone. And besides, we only spent $40,000 of our savings in the first year.
It was worth the investment.

To Be Continued.......