A World of Changes...

Hello all... well I'm pretty sure all of you now know that Dean took the job with Turner Brothers and on Sunday he left, and is now up in Pennsylvania. He'll be working there, we're thinking for the next 8-10 months. While he is up there, Jax and I will be holding the fort down in Nashville and I will continue working for the next few months until we can go up there with him. We are learning new details as we get them, so for the first project, it's all a guessing game. (For those that didn't know, Dean will be working as a QC Lead on QC Operations Team. What he is working for is a crane and rigging company that helps with the erection of Windmills, and other various things. Vito, Jaxon's Godfather works for Turner Brothers, and has been in the business for years now, and extended the opportunity to Dean. It's a contractor for the major companies that are putting up all the windmill farms around the states. With that, we would be moving project to project, state to state).

The good news is, is I will be able to stay with Jax once I quit here at Unum. It's actually sad because I'll be leaving my family here at work, however, the one thing I know for certain I can do better than anything, is raise my family!!!! I'll be a stay at home mom, and Dean will be the working man. I'll still have a job ahead of me. Once we find out where the next project is, it then becomes my job to hunt for housing, recreational things, moving, etc... So noneoftheless, I'll still have a job, just with the luxury of having Jax in tow.

Another thing with this move, is that I'll have free time once we are situated and will be able to visit more often than I do now. We are very excited about this job opportunity for Dean and the future it holds for us. If all goes well, and Dean does a great job - which we know he will... this could possibly be the company Dean retires with. With the economy in the state that it's in, and the fact that renewable energy is taking a precedence over any other projects going on in our country, it's a great foot in the door and opens a whole bunch more down the road!

Along with all this excitement comes some down falls too. Dean is going to be working anywhere from 60-90+ hours a week for starters... I know! That is going to be Dean's challenge. My challenges are going to be working full time (either 60-90 days - pending Dean's benefit start date), being a single mom, taking care of the house, the bills, the animals, etc, etc... I am very blessed to have help from so many friends and family, and I will definitely be taking anyone up on additional help! =) For the first two weeks, Sharon, Dean's mom will be staying with us and watching Jax while I am at work. We've called several daycare centers, and they are not willing to take him short time, and if they would, they would still charge me the full price and full month even if I were to take a week off to see Dean. August 13-15, I will be in TX hopefully winning a singing competition, and then I'll be back home and working for a week before Jax and I plan to go up and see Daddy!!!! The hardest part of our new journey is going to be Jaxon's feelings, and reaction to everything. It's day two that Dean's been gone, and so far, Jax is just a little confused as to why he hasn't seen Daddy, but hasn't been upset. Once he figures out what is going on, and that he won't see Daddy every day, then we'll have an issue, but so far so good! We've got lots of picture books with Jax and Dad everywhere, as well as a very sweet and funny video Dean recorded for Jax to watch to hopefully cheer him up! We also plan, with Dean's first paycheck, to buy a good computer for him that has a camera/video and then one for us at home to use with Skype or some other video broadcast so that Dean doesn't miss too much!

It might be a rough few years living the "military life", but we figured this would be the best time now while we have babies (pets included), to make the jump, and set ourselves up for the future. Once we have kid(s) in school, then we will reevaluate our situation and see if it's feasible to keep moving, and stay in the same spot. Cherie and Vito have been living this life for a few years together now... Since Dean is being mentored by Vito - at least we won't be moving to a bunch of new towns alone. We're hoping that the jobs Vito get's called on, he will take Dean with him... therefore when he get the news of a new project date, I will have experienced help in playing our next move... It will also be comforting to not walk into a new city knowing that Dean will be working a lot of hours, and for me, not knowing a soul, I'll have Cherie there with me. (BTW - most of these towns are podunk, out in the middle of nowhere, lol - so she will very much be a nice thing to have around!) All in all, we are soooo excited about this opportunity and the future it holds for us.

I will be a lot more needy I am sure in the next few months, so if I call on you as family and friends for support, please do. I'll need a lot of lifting, motivating and reassurance during this time.

We Love you all - and are so happy to share this news with you!

Xoxox
Shylah, Dean, Jax (and the farm)