New beginnings

Before I reflect on some big changes for our family, I have to share a conversation Andrew, Ceilidh, and Graeme had this morning. Ceilidh has been telling Andrew he needed to shave his beard for a few days now. She started talking about it again this morning, and Graeme pipes up with, "No Ho Ho Dada, shave that beard!" Graeme was literally telling him that he wasn't Santa, therefore he didn't need a beard! haha Ceilidh was trying to boost his self-esteem when she said, "Yea, you don't have a Santa belly either Dada!" This is one of my favorite things about having children. You NEVER know what is going to come out of their mouth!

We have had quite a few "big life" decisions to make the last couple of years. Some of my favorite attributes that Andrew possesses, are his faithfulness and work ethic. He is one of the hardest workers I know, never shying away from responsibility. He has a loyalty to anything he is doing, almost to a fault. There have been many days in our past that I have been legitimately worried about his health, but he was determined to go to work or class.

I write all this to say how incredibly proud of him I am for having to make yet another "big life" decision that was really difficult. Andrew is 40 minutes into his last school day ever (unless God has plans we can not see AT ALL! ha) He recently accepted a position at Moore County's DSS starting in two weeks. Some might not think this is a big deal, as he did go to school to change professions. And that would be accurate. The big deal though, is this whole application/writing sample/interview process literally started back in May. He was really hoping to have made a clean break with the school and be working at DSS before the school year started. Obviously that didn't happen. Though he was completely transparent and fully disclosing with administration starting back in May, even keeping them updated throughout the summer; it goes against every grain in his body to "break" his commitment to the school after the school year has begun. (That was an awesome run-on sentence, btw! ha) We have had conversation after conversation about this, and whether he wanted to do this or not. And though a few of those conversations were "tense" at times and not always in agreement, I am completely in awe of his integrity and faithfulness. Many people wouldn't think twice about leaving a job for any reason, and definitely would not have informed administration months before it happening.

Though it was a difficult decision (commitment wise) to make, it was the right one for our family and his career. Andrew does work hard, and he is good at what he does. County level EC administration actually told him in a "check-out" meeting yesterday, that they hadn't seen paperwork like his in a long time. I hope DSS knows what they are getting. If they don't know now, they will soon. I love you Andrew, and I am so grateful for you and your willingness to make the "hard" decisions for our family!