My Husband

Good Morning! I am finding that with summer being in full swing, I have less and less time to post! I long for the time, and think often about posting, but run out of time in the day! Day starts between 6 and 7 am and ends between 11pm and 12 am. So, very looooooooong! I expect to be able to post more after summer, though.

Today, I would like to post about my Dear Husband. As I have noted before, he started school in March at ITT Technical Institute for Computer Engineering and Electronics Technology. The Lord then blessed him with a wonderful job that we feel we (as well as other close family and friends -- you know who you are; and thanks does not begin to describe our appreciativeness) had been prayerfully interceeding for for the past 3 1/2 years. He is installing dishes for Dish Network. He loves the job, and thinks that he could stay there a long time. He does not look at it as "just a job" but really enjoys the work. I enjoy hearing of his experiences, although I don't really understand what he's talking about. This is a very physically demanding job and he is just learning the tricks of the trade. Sometimes he doesn't get home from work until 7 or after. Well, school starts at 5:45 three nights a week. Right now, he has to work mandatory 6 days a week, and his days off rotate. Not that much fun for our family. More on that later. After talking with eachother, and seeking wise guideance, (thank you Brian) Curt and I have made a decision that he will step down from school for 6 months until he learns his job and can do it more efficiently. It is scary, and I am apprehensive about what people may say, but as our dear friend, Brian said, its not like my DH is 18 years old and deciding to quit school just because of a job. People, if you don't know me IRL, then you don't know the poverty that my family has lived in. DH and I feel like right now is the time to get the job down pat and make the money. I feel guilty for that. Like we don't deserve it or something, but I know that is just the enemy, Satan. I also feel guilty for the swell of pride that comes up in me when I look outside my living room window and see my DH work truck parked outside. It makes me so happy. I am proud of him that he was blessed by God with a better job than just McDonald's. Some of you may understand what it is like to have a husband who cannot get a decent job to provide for his family. It destroys a man. Believe me, people. I watched it happen in my own household. I cannot describe the sadness and opression that used to hang over my husband. It will crush the spirit every time. It will keep them down. Not only have we been blessed with that, but this job will provide more abundantly than that. I'm not saying we're gonna be rich, by any means, but let's say it will be a decent amount more than the state assistance we were getting -- was under $500 per month. I have to say, I AM proud of my husband. Is that bad? I know the Bible says not to be proud. Maybe today, when DH gets home, I will take a picture of him by his truck and post it.

Now, for the heart of why I'm posting about him. I had to explain/catch up any of you who didn't know what was going on. The dynamics of the Baker household have DRAMATICALLY changed since he started working on his own. (Been working for the company about a month now, but got truck last Friday and since then has been working on his own). Some good things that have changed: I have become even more dependant upon the Lord Jesus Christ for support since DH is gone A LOT!!! I realize that even though I would toss up "one-line" prayers throughout the day that that just isn't enough. God actually wants to ANSWER those one line prayers. And now instead of me feeling like I am just sending up pleas to Him for help, I feel like I am in a TRUE RELATIONSHIP with Him! Isn't that AWESOME!?! I feel like the relationship is balanced and goes both ways. In other words, healthy. Yes, I have many things I need to work on, but I realize God knows about them and yet still loves me and accepts me. Regardless. That I have known for years, but it has very recently become personal to me. Its like it was in my head, but now it is finally in my heart. And it feels so wonderful to be loved like that! Another good thing that has changed, is that I have learned to become more patient with my children. I am in the process of learning how to balance my housework with spending time with them. Still needs some improvement, but this is doing much better. Only a couple of bad things, but really more of an adjustment: The kids and I hardly ever see DH. This is especially hard on me, considering my DH is also my very best friend. Do each of you have that close of a relationship with your husband/wife? I pray so. It's incredible! So one blessing we did have during our time of poverty was that we were always around eachother. Yes, we fought. But DH and I are quite good at working things through. So as you can imagine, going from having him home nearly constantly to having him gone 15 hours a week for school, then to have him gone 60 hours a week for work on top of the 15 hours for school has been gut-wrenching hard on me! On my emotions, mostly. On the one hand, I am ecstatic about the job, but on the other hand, I MISS HIM! I Liked having him home. We never run out of things to talk or joke about. Today, he told me that he has been missing me, too. This is a happy adjustment period, and one that I'm not used to. I think it's safe to say that most marriages start out with both spouses working. We have never had that. And I only worked for just over a year right after we got married, so I am VERY used to having him around to talk to. Just pray that I will not get too discouraged, especially when it hits 6pm and I start getting anxious about him coming home, when it may be several hours still.
Ok. I want to share with everyone the note I found on Sunday morning. I will preface it by saying that I packed DH a lunch before I went to bed Saturday night. He had already went to bed. I left him a note thanking him for installing our a/c unit that my parents had bought us and the kids and I picked up earlier in the day. DH had had a work day from H***, and it was almost 8:30 by the time he got home. His day started at 7, he had 2 appointments, and he didn't even get to the second one. But still, I meekly asked him if he could install it. I thought all you had to do was stick it in the hole in the wall and then plug it in. Boy, was I wrong. I didn't know the thing had to be put together first, and then mounted. Oops! But still, DH loves me and the kids so much. He took a deep breath and came out of it 2 1/2 hours later with it purring like a kitten and blowing cool air on me! Did it take him that long because that's how long it takes, or because he had a lousy day and he was tired, I don't know.Yes! It was then that he said he hadn't eaten anything ALL DAY! I felt aweful! Dreadful! (He ran down to BK). I do know that my husband sacrificed eating and a little bit of sleep so that we could sit in comfort one day sooner (rather than having us wait till Sunday night) just so he could work outside and sweat! So, anyways, when I woke up, I found a post-it note and this is what it said:
Thank you for taking care of the kids. You do a great job; better than I could. Thanks for the: -Lunch -Doing Dishes -Note -picking up the a/c -Time -Shopping -Love -Help. Thanks. Love U
I will treasure it always! I have read and reread it many times since Sunday. It makes me feel good. (smile).