Will It Ever End?

****DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN UPBEAT UPDATE****

This has officially been the worst 12 months of my entire life. This past year has been terribly hard for both Mike and I and just when we thought the end was in sight, when we thought we could shake off the dust and put on our dancing shoes the rug gets pulled out from underneath us AGAIN.

If you've been reading/following our story for any amount of time you will know that Mike was laid off last March; yes, as in a year ago. He has tried to find every type of work from industry related jobs to pumping gas and delivering pizza - with no success. As a family we have taken refuge with my parents, hoping it would be a short term solution. That was back in November and it's now February. Yeesh.

Mike was blessed with an incredible job offer back in December and we've been waiting and praying for it to come to fruition. Every where we turn there is a road block - another mountain, if you will. Our prayer is and will continue to be "LORD MOVE THE MOUNTAINS IN OUR LIFE".

With a written job offer in hand Mike went to the Montana border crossing to get his work permit approved and it was denied because the person who wrote it did a poor job and the job description did not line up with the work permit category. Mike was under the impression that if that was corrected he could reapply, so that's what happened. The company re-wrote some stuff and Mike went to a different crossing. That officer was even more mad at him and accused him of trying to trick him, of falsifying documents and threatened to deport him!! ARGH! Both Immigration Officers insisted that obtaining an LMO (labor market opinion) was the only way to go. DO NOT COME BACK AND TRY TO GET A WORK PERMIT BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE 2 STRIKES AGAINST YOU! Ok, point made.

Mike asks the employer to obtain the LMO. Some genius in HR simply says no. Why not? It doesn't cost anything, it is not difficult, and there is no penalty if you apply and it is denied. This is the fastest way to get Mike actually working at his job. The final answer is no. Thank goodness for the grace of God because the hiring manager says that he doesn't need anyone for the position immediately, so if Mike can get his permanent residency, the job is still his. Bad news: residency takes a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 18!!

This is why I haven't written for some time now. One: I do not have anything really positive to report, and two: I've been so emotional about it all that I haven't been in the frame of mind to write any of it down.

And the hits keep on coming. We are in a rock and a hard spot now because there are 2 ways to apply for the residency - from inside Canada or outside Canada. Inside is faster, but while it is being processed Mike cannot leave the country or his application will be void and there's $500 (that we don't have to spare in the first place) down the drain. So if he were to receive another offer for work in the US or overseas (yes at this point we are considering working ANY WHERE), then he would have to choose between a job or residency. Also, there is no appeal if you apply from inside and will be asked to leave if denied. You can still visit and re-apply from outside Canada and pay again. So what do we choose? To apply from inside hoping for the best or look at how our last year has gone and hedge our bets and plan for the worst case scenario???

Please don't misunderstand me. I am generally a happy go-lucky type of person who can roll with the punches, just not the sucker punches. I am really not this pessimistic all the time, not even 40% of the time. This has just been the worst year EVER.

On top of everything else I believe that I am suffering on some level from post partum depression and that doesn't make anything easier to deal with. I will confirm this with my doctor on Feb 18th, and hopefully get some really great drugs that will help me keep my chin above water for a little while longer.

With all the job disaster, residency etc I am pretty much being forced back to work to feed and diaper my babies. My parents have been great but this is past the point of ridiculous. We are two healthy, educated 30-something adults... we NEED to work. Forget all the frills (scrapbooking, xbox), we need food, shelter, clothing. So in preparation to head back into the working world after my 3 year retirement I am getting my hair cut and colored (at the hair school, because it costs WAY less) on Tuesday morning. I am such a huge believer in the fact that you only get one chance to make a great first impression, and hair especially for a woman, plays a major role in that. After my hair appointment [as long as I still have hair and it looks nice] I will be heading out to put out more applications and to follow up on the ones I have already done online. Thankfully I have an interview on Wednesday morning, so we'll see how that turns out. If nothing else it will help me brush up on my interviewing skills.

Returning to work means that I will have to stop nursing Heidi and switch to bottle feeding which is frustrating and, of course, more expensive. **SIGH** Like I said at the beginning, will it ever end??

I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God answers ALL prayers. The answer isn't always yes though and we are learning to walk through that. This is what James was talking about. If you haven't read Job or James, take a gander and then let God know how grateful you are for all your blessings. I am very grateful that we were able to make it up to Canada for my parents to help us out, otherwise I truly believe that we wouldn't be far from being homeless. I am definitely grateful for that and thankful that our kids are so little that they will never remember this terrible year.

I hope the last few posts haven't scared off any readers. Both Mike and I believe in living very honest and open lives, even when it hurts. Many thanks again for your loving prayers & support, no matter where you are.

xoxoxo
The Burnetts

P.S. - HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!