Starting the new year off with a BANG......

...........and that is not a good bang. We got some bad news this week. Ike went in to work on Thursday and found out he was getting laid off with a few other guys. I guess the company lost a few contracts and needed to temporarily downsize until things picked up. It was a total shock and totaly weird because Ike had just gotten a raise. So, we have officially experienced the effects of this bad economy. Ike did get a little bit of extra pay, so we have a little time to get him another job, but we are not waiting. His company did tell him that he would be one of the first calls for rehire when the economy picks up, but who knows when that will be!

All I can say is THANK HEAVEN I have a full time job that pays fairly well. If I didn't have a degree and a descent job we would be up a creek right now. The ironic thing is that I just took Ike and Dane off of my employer's insurance policy (they were both going to be covered through Ike's job). Now they will have to be on cobra until we can price out another plan. Oh yeah, and did I mention we were in the process of trying to get pregnant?? Not good in this situation...so am I?? Well, we will have to wait and see during the next two weeks because this month's window of babymaking has come and gone...nothing we can do about it now.

So, what are we to do??? Well, we have been thinking the past few days about this and Ike has really wanted to go back and finish his teaching credential so he can coach/teach high school, so we are thinking this may just be the gentle push we needed to get that done before he gets any older. Right now, we are looking to find him a temporary job that can pay the bills until my school year is over. Then, we will likely move back to California so I can find a full time job while Ike goes back to finish his teaching credential. We have found intern programs there where you get hired by a school district for a slightly lower salary, then finish your schooling at the same time. We are looking at Cal State Fullerton's program and maybe a few others. Plus, it doesn't seem too expensive, so we may be able to do it without student loans. The good thing about going back to Cali to do this is that I can make 10-12K more a year teaching there, which is HUGE. With the cost of living about the same in Vegas and Cali right now, why wouldn't we go??

I guess the only thing that might change that is if I find out next week that I am pregnant...then we have to rethink the whole thing, but let's not think about that too much yet!

So we would appreciate your prayers to help us figure it all out. (or if anyone knows of any job possibilities, don't hold back) I know it will, it is just a matter of how it will work. We have alreay realized a few tiny miracles that have happened that have prepared us for this, but didn't know it until now (getting my better job, not buying a house, only renting until June, etc).

Anyway, this is way longer than I expected, but it has been a little stressfull this week and writing can be good therapy!

On a much lighter note....I LOVE Vegas in the winter time. We have had the most beautiful week! It has been in the 60s all week and it is supposed to continue like this next week as well. Today we took advantage and went to the park up the street. There were tons of people there, and one very peculiar person. If you look at the first pic below, you will see a strange person at the top of the slide. After a few glances (and hearing the voice) we realized it is a she-man! It was so funny. This man turned woman had breasts and a very manly jaw, adam's apple, and deeper voice. You could tell that people couldn't stop staring at him (i mean her) even though they tried! So, enjoy the laughs...you probably need it after this depressing post! (click on the picture to make it really big, then you will see the details I am talking about) Happy New Year!!