What A Rollercoaster Ride!!

I know it's not really a secret that our blog has kind of been put on the back burner for the last couple months but today I'm hoping to shed some light on it. It's a story that has both BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS.

I'll start out with the BAD NEWS because that's the type of person I am. It was around 3 weeks ago when our Engineering Dept got and e-mail saying that there was a mandatory meeting the next day and EVERYONE needed to attend. With that e-mail I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that it's not going to be a good meeting, especially when our bosses walk in with the head of Public Relations, our Union Reps, and the first thing they say is, "I'm sorry but this is not a good meeting." They told us that with the economy the way it is our company, BELO has decided that there needs to be layoffs in certain departments and our department is one of those that will be affected. KING did present a separate severance pkg that they came up with to everyone, meaning we could either choose their severance package or the severance package the Union and the company set forth in our contract. They did tell us that they will take volunteers first but that person needs to volunteer by Wednesday, with their last day being Friday. I have to admit that the pkg they created was a pretty nice package for someone that is looking for early retirement but I'm not really looking to retire any time soon. I mean my 401k isn't there yet, unless Kristi and I can live off $20.00 a month. They told us if no one volunteered by Wed, they will go by the union contract that states, If there are layoffs the company will first go by merit, then if everything is equal they will go by seniority and even though I feel I have GREAT merit, I am the low man on the totem pole. I have worked at KING for 5 years and I'm still the lowest guy by 5 years. "NOT GOOD" When I presented this to Kristi we sat down and tried to figure out all our finances, just in case it came down to the whole seniority thing. After a very, very, very hard conversation we decided if I was the one chosen to get laid off we would put our house up for sale, move to Minnesota and start over but with the whole housing market and the economy the way it is we knew this wasn't going to be easy. Plus, I love my current job. It's everything I've wanted and more. It would be an occupation that would be hard to replace but if it came down to it I would just have to buck up and start over. Yes living in Minnesota would get us closer to our ultimate goal and allow us to be closer to my family but we were really hoping to make that big move on our terms and further down the road. We really just didn't want to fold up camp and move and try to find something to make ends meet. After a week of sleepless nights and working everything out. Two people volunteered (THANK YOU GOD!!)and I was able to keep my job. I'm very THANKFUL and HAPPY that everything worked out this way. Kristi and I do believe that everything happens for a reason but we are very grateful that I will be able to continue to do what I LOVE, but as you can imagine the stress on this took it's TOLL on both of us!!! I think it's just absolutely crazy when you are forced to sit down and look at everything you have and try to make a big decision like this especially when it involves moving to a different state and starting completely over.

THE GOOD NEWS.!! Right before Addy's birthday. I was out in the garage staining our doors when Kristi brought Addy out wearing this. SEE PICTURE BELOW!!

THAT'S RIGHT ADDY IS GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!! I can't even begin to tell everyone how hard this has been to keep as a secret from our friends and our family or should I say some of our family. We did go ahead and tell our parents when they were all together at our house for Addy's B-day but we asked them to keep it a secret. (If you guys happen to slip up it's OK, we knew that it might happen. I mean it's very hard to keep a secret like this for a month) Kristi, Addyson and I are very excited and can't wait till he or she is here. The first Ultra Sound and doctors appointment was today. The heartbeat was 170 and everything looks good so far. We will keep you all informed on every appointment and any other news we have during this exciting time.

I hope you now understand why we haven't been the greatest blogger's in the world but this has been a very emotional time for both Kristi and I. I'm glad I have Kristi because it was an extreme roller coaster ride. I mean just in the past month we went from the highest of highs to almost the lowest of lows. I think this has made us both stronger and reassured us no matter what happens we have each other. Although I do have to say that when your dealing with something like the BAD NEWS and also dealing with the emotions of a pregnant woman you definitely face some interesting challenges.

Oh one more thing we're expecting TWINS!!!!