Unexpected Blessing

When I was single people used to tell me "The One" would come along when I least expected it.  I didn't believe them, but at a low point in my life, in God's perfect timing,  I met my husband.

My youngest is currently in preschool three mornings a week and will be starting Kindergarten in August, 2014.  From the time we were dating my husband and I agreed on the importance of Mom staying home while the kids were young.  During those early talks (since we started dating at 26 and 36 our conversations on our first few dates sounded more like job interviews talking about everything from money management to disciplining kids) we had talked about Mom working outside of the home once the youngest went to Kindergarten.  (Both of our moms did that)

Once I quit my last job with a paycheck in 2006 to stay home with our oldest I had presumed I'd be heading back to work eventually.  I studied education, but know I don't want to teach full time.  Though it's not necessarily something I want to do, I've long thought that substituting would be the perfect fit for me, where I could have flexible hours and have the same schedule as my kids.

As our youngest has grown my husband and I have talked about my future employment status at length.  As far as my husband is concerned he would be ok if I didn't go back to work because we both think it's important that I'm the one who takes the kids to school, pick them up and is home with them after school.  (We don't have bus service in our neighborhood so someone would have to take them to and from school every day). We also knew that, with most jobs, we would have to scramble for child care on days the kids had early release or school breaks.  When my oldest was in Kindergarten last year I realized how much I enjoyed volunteering in his classroom and seeing what was happening at school with my own eyes so being able to continue that through the years became important as well.

Because I do most of our day-to-day money management I have often wished there was a way for me to bring in some extra income while still being fully available to my family.  Since 2009 I have been a consultant with Thirty-One Gifts, but I haven't been able to do turn that into a steady source of income without taking away from family time in the evenings or weekends.

I wasn't looking for a job last week, but when a friend texted me a few days ago asking me if I'd be interested in working for the same company she does by doing social media marketing from home 10-15 hours a week it became something that felt like the perfect fit.  After talking to my husband, praying about it, and talking to a few other friends who work from home while caring for young kids I decided to persue the position.  I submitted my resume and a writing sample to the owner of the company yesterday afternoon and she offered me the position.  I will start training Friday morning.

This is all very sudden, but it feels absolutely right.  For quite a while I have looked at my friend (who is now my co-worker) and thought "I would love to do what she's doing".  I'm obviously very familiar with social media and have long been fascinated by marketing.  I love to write and started this blog because of that love.

This new adventure will allow me to combine many of the things I enjoy while bringing in an income and not taking away from my responsibilities to my family! It's a win/win/win situation that could only come from God!

I'm praising God for this opportunity and am very excited about seeing where this leads . . .