Work Work Work

Hello there!
The last time I posted here was back in August, and even that post was tardy. You can see all the progress that was made during the week of cleaning out last summer. There are lots of pictures on the Facebook page. I'm in the pre-planning stages of a Clean Out Week, Part 2 right now, so stay tuned.

But, there is actual news to share today! (It's somewhat dated by this point, but it hasn't yet been shared here.)
You may recall that my mom's employment status has been part of the struggle throughout this project. She had several promising job interviews but, for one reason or another, nothing seemed to pan out. She eventually took at job at the Rescue Mission downtown. It was pretty much long hours on her feet for minimal pay. It was, however, a job. She was able to get back into the swing of going to work. And better than that, she was helping people in ministry. She started working there towards the end of the summer of last year. She continued the job search and going to interviews. Again, we got very hopeful for a couple places, but she ultimately continued to get turned down.
Until: dun dun dun...

As an early Christmas present, my mom was offered a leadership position at a nearby dialysis clinic! My mom has been in nursing since the 80's, but never in dialysis. This would prove to be a new challenge for her. She finished December at the mission and resumed her nursing career (after about a 3 year hiatus) in January. She was guaranteed plenty of training time, an offer she would willingly take. She had to start by first learning the tech position. She wasn't too fond of that. She had a large book that she studied nightly. For a while, I would quiz her every night as she went through each step of her new job. After many stressful days, she seemed to begin getting the hang of it. She has now moved into her actual RN position! Part of the reason I've waited so long to post anything about this job is that she was initially so uncertain about her place there. Gradually, though, her confidence has been growing. She's getting to know her regular patients and is enjoying good rapport with her coworkers. This isn't exactly the job she had planned on, but thank God it opened up for her and she is doing well there. Miraculously, she has been able to work 12+ hour shifts without her joints giving her too much grief. And to top it off, she usually has to wake up by 3:30 in the morning to be there when the clinic opens, but she's been on time so far! (If you are familiar with my mom's punctuality and knee track record, you see God's grace at work here.)

So, that's the update for now. We appreciate your prayers and encouraging words. We hope to offer the same to you. The basement doesn't look exactly like the latest pictures suggest. Men from the church tore out the carpet for us a few months ago. (Hallelujah! no more moldy carpet!) We're on the fence about the best way to repair the issues that led to the mold in the first place. I really hope we get that going soon, though, so we can fix the walls and actually get back to using the basement!
Hopefully, I'll have more progress to share soon. Thanks for stopping by!