Job Hunting

When I started my job at APA, I thought I'd be there for a good long while. I absolutely love my job and the kids I teach. And by no means is my job in jeopardy, but it kills me to think of taking my sweet little boy to daycare every day and letting someone else raise him. We have less than 4 months until he will be here in our arms, and even less time than that until I need to resign my contract for next year, or give them my notice of leaving. With Jeff still in school, my income is necessary to be able to have what we need to pay all of our bills. I've spent weeks trying to brainstorm different things I can do to be a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom so my time can be devoted to my baby. 

I've spent countless hours searching for and applying for various positions for online job opportunities--which includes researching them to find out if they really are legit. And I've come up empty-handed so far. I've recently started thinking out of the box to come up with different things that I can possibly do in order to be able to still bring in some money to help with the bills, but be able to stay home with Jackson as well. Besides, me being able to stay at home will save on not only daycare costs, but gas and car maintenance as well.

We both know that the timing of this baby coming to us was what the Lord wants right now, even if it's not exactly what we had planned on. And we are both very excited to be parents. (I absolutely love watching Jeff with my growing belly--the way he kisses it, talks to it, anxiously waits to feel those little kicks, simply laying his head on it, cuddling it as we fall asleep at night. He bought little Jackson his first "gift" last night--a pack'n'play/ bassinett--and was so excited to do so. I know he is going to be an AMAZING father.) Sure, we are scared to death at the thought of raising a son. But we also feel blessed that we were chosen to be parents to this special child I am carrying. And if the Lord wants to send us a baby, we know that He will bless us with everything we need to take care of him.

I have faith that everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to. We are being very blessed right now financially. Our tax return is much bigger than either of us anticipated, and will more than cover the costs of having a baby and purchasing what we need for him. Jeff should be getting enough money in federal aid for school to pay for most of his remaining 3 semesters. We are surviving just fine with half of my income going into our savings account, and I'll be getting that through August (the joys of being a teacher and getting paid for 3 months of no work). 

In every single one of my prayers, I ask that a door will be opened to me that will allow me to be able to stay home, that my will is the Lord's will. And I feel peace that everything is going according to the Lord's plan for our little family. We have been striving to follow the Spirit in everything that we are doing and all of the decisions that we are making right now (including hunting for a new apartment because our lease is up in 2 1/2 months and we can't fit another person, no matter how small, in our current place.).

That being said, if anyone reading this has any suggestions for me in looking for a job to help supplement our income (because we really are mostly living off what Jeff makes), we would greatly appreciate anything and everything to help us come to a decision in the very near future as we are preparing to welcome our son to this world.