This Time Last Year

This time last year Tom was without a job, therefore we were technically without income because at the time I worked a teeny, tiny part time job. 

Well, all I can say is, "THANK GOODNESS WE LIVE BY A BUDGET!!" and "THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND."

When Tom found out in December 2010 that he was going to lose his job in January 2011, the first thing we did was pull out the budget.  We could look at where all our money was going and make cuts accordingly. 

Of course the first thing I had to do was break up with my housekeeper and my hair dresser.  That was painful.  I've developed relationships with these folks over the years and was going to miss them.  (Of course, the first thing I did when Tom got his next job was to immediately call these folks and get back on their schedules!) 

Next I cancelled piano lessons for the kids.  I don't think they were to sad about that.  Caroline had received a guitar for Christmas, so we had to put off guitar lessons, too. 

Then we looked at every other category in the budget and sliced and diced.  I knew we were going to be fine.  God would provide.  (I blogged about our budget at the beginning of my blog.  Look back and see all of our categories.  It's amazing how much money we spend.)

January 21, 2011 was Tom's last day at work.  We had a celebration that day.  We thanked God for the job that he had given Tom and then looked forward to how He (God) would work in the months to come.  The girls made the cake that's shown above.

At this time, Tom had not had time to really start the job hunt.  He was so busy wrapping up the last job.  He's dedicated like that.  What a great guy.  Didn't want to leave the last guys in the lurch.  I'm sure he didn't feel too much like celebrating, but we tried to look at the good side.

Next post will be about living during the job search.  What did we do about housekeeping that we usually didn't do?  All I can say is that my kids really learned what a blessing Miss Yelena was in their lives.