Ammon and Lauren Hedin: June 2011

While finishing up school I often dreamed of this summer. I envisioned a summer full of relaxation, plenty of job offers for Ammon, and of course lots of anticipation for a new addition to the family. Well, things never quite happen exactly the way I expect them to...

The Downside:

1) While I often (probably too much) enjoy relaxation time during the day, my dreams are still filled with college course and overdue assignments. Try writing a paper for a pressing, nonexistent assignment in your sleep...so frustrating!

2) So far no job offers have come, which has left us with some hard decisions. Fortunately, Ammon is able to keep his current job, which is far more enjoyable and has a slightly better pay rate than working at McDonald's. We keep hunting and applying and hunting and applying... but often end up feeling hopeless. Looking for a job is much more work than the work itself would be. Anyone need a structural engineer?

3) We have been feeling the harsh reality of no longer receiving pell grants to supplement our income. It's downright depressing sometimes to realize how slowly our savings will be building for a while, and what we have saved is likely to disappear when the baby comes in October.

4) Since we both have graduated, we are no longer qualified to live in campus housing. For a stressful couple of months we debated where we should live. We knew it would probably be best to stay in Logan where at least Ammon has a job, but all the comparably priced apartments looked very scary, smelled very scary, or wanted at least a year lease. Hopeful that a job offer would come any day, we didn't want to be stuck paying for two separate apartments.

Despite all the difficult uncertainties, we are being blessed.

The Upside:

1) We were finally able to find an apartment that was reasonably priced and work out a month to month contract with the landlords. It is a two story (no more worrying about the neighbors wanting to kill us over squeaky floors) townhouse style apartment (with air conditioning!!) in the height of seventies fashion. We are moving sometime between June 15th and the 30th

2) Our little baby is healthy, strong and now frequently kicking throughout the day. Ammon thinks that he felt him move for the first time last night.

3) Ammon has been helping Ammon's parents remodel their basement each weekend in West Jordan so that his grandpa can eventually live with them. I love every minute of the remodeling process, though I often have to force myself to stay away from the action for the baby's sake. All my pretend expertise from all those times watching HGTV is finally being put to use! Well, actually Ammon is the one that seems to know everything, I just nag him to triple check everything so he doesn't mess it up. I can't wait until we have our own place one day and I can put him to work again. :)

4) Though it's not always fun, I appreciate being forced to really budget again. I love sitting down with Ammon and figuring out a plan together. It is really empowering. What a blessing to leave school without any debt and work to live within our means (however small they may be at this point)!

I don't know how long we will be living in limbo waiting for a job offer, but I know that we will learn a lot from how we handle the wait. My new personal goal is to try and perfect my homemaking skills while staying in our budget. (D&C 109: 8-9: My new mission statement). Hopefully I can establish some productive routines by the time the baby comes. Any suggestions, especially for cheap, healthy, preferably easy meals would be greatly appreciated.