Slight Complication

Here is the same post I put on UgandaSurvey for those of you who just read this one. It is kind of important for our lives all around right now.

Back when we first decided to go to Uganda for a survey trip we had a few hurdles to overcome. One was clearing the amount of leave with both of Billy's jobs. His full time job said we could take up to 6 weeks of unpaid vacation and the apartment he manages said it was no problem. Then his boss moved on to other work and it took Cascadia a few months to replace him and then another month before Billy's new boss came along to introduce himself. Billy again mentioned the trip to make sure that everything was taken care of as the previous boss had indicated. We found out last night that Cascadia decided to deny his request for a leave of absense saying that the amount of time was too much. They are giving us two weeks after we get back to be out. We are praying that this knowledge is not going to cause us to worry while we are on our trip. The situation has potential to be irritating because we were originally going to only take 2 weeks for this trip, but since both jobs gave the go ahead we planned it for a month, and they told us about the problem when we are supposed to leave in a little over a week.

There are a few blessings that can come out of this: we have two weeks after we come back, we don't have to get out right now. We have no washer and dryer right now, so maybe our new place will come with them. I was planning on getting a part time job when we came back to help more with bills anyway.

We are determined not to let Satan bring us down, we are ok with this decision and the new posiblities that lay ahead. Please keep our living situation in your prayers.

Today I should be inducted into "the stupid things parents do" hall of fame. I know a lot of parents are guilty of this, but in the day and age of cell phones it should not be that big of a deal anymore. So I take Jacob with me to Winco today to get a few thing like milk and such. We get to the truck (the car window is broken and will not roll up, so we have been using the truck on rainy days) I strap Jake in first as always. He sees the keys jingling and says "keys!" so I hand them over while I unload the groceries at his feet.I finish putting the groceries in and lock and close the door. "Oh my goodness! I just locked Jacob in the truck with the keys!" I stand there for a minute hoping that I had forgotten to lock his door before I closed it, no such luck. I had nothing in my pockets except for a buck and the reciept (if a bum came up asking for money he would have been in luck!). A couple was sitting in their car a few spots away and I ask them if they have a cell I can use to call Billy. I make the call and realize I have the only set of keys that you can use for the Honda. Billy has to walk to the Pump house hoping that he can borrow someones vehicle to come open our door for us. Meanwhile Jacob realizes something is wrong, he is hungry and tired and I am just staring at him through the window, he starts sobbing and screaming. As I am standing here next to the truck singing to Jacob through the closed window several people walked by me, including the guy who gathers the carts, and not a single person stops to ask me if everything is alright! There was really nothing that could have been done at that point, I had already made my phone call, but not a single person even noticed that I was obviously stranded in the parking lot. I was so upset, standing there listening to my baby crying his little guts out and not a single person cared enough to stop what they were doing to offer assistance. It was an emotional time for me and it certainly would have been nice if someone would have shown a little empathy. Aside from the people I borrowed a call from no one cared. Billy eventually came driving up in the church van and unlocked the door (about 40 minutes after I locked it in the first place). Jacob was so worn out by the crying that he laid down and hasn't got up yet (he's napping at home right now).

Ok, moral of the story: don't lock your kid in the car with the keys. More importantly, I hope that if someone looks as though they need some help, and it is a public place where you are in a position to help them, please do! I know I will. I have faith that probably most people I know would be the sort to stop as well, too bad there aren't more people like that around here!

This tragic story happend only a few weeks after Jacob ran out into the street and almost got hit by a car. I really need to brush up on some parenting skills or something my child aparently isn't all that safe with me!

The Alphabet According to Jacob

A
B
C
E
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
blahblahblah
coo
R
SSSSSSSSS
T
OO
B
dub
XSSSS
Y
Z

Now I know my ABC lalala with me!