Gratitude

I titled this entry "Gratitude" because that is what I have been feeling a lot of lately. I'll warn you that this is kind of long and just a bunch of my recent thoughts....

I love the Church. No matter where you go, it soon feels like home because of the people you meet. Ever since we have moved to Concord, we have been so blessed by so many people. It is a little overwhelming leaving home, family, and friends behind to start "brand new" The people we have met so far have made this transition easier that I thought it would be.
First off was the day we moved in. We arrived in Concord around 5:30 and Brad had a mission buddy, his wife, and a friend meet us at our complex to help us unpack. We unpacked that truck in 20 minutes. About at that time our new bishop (who is an old family friend: another tender mercy) texted us and said he just drove by and saw our orange moving truck. We knew in advance that their family had 2 birthday parties to throw that day and couldn't help us move in, but about 10 minutes later he knocked on the door with goodies in hand. He was out buying some tacos for the party and bought a few extra just for us. (They were amazing, by the way.) The next morning when we went to church, we were greeted immediately by a friendly gentleman who said, "You must be Brad and Lauren Hardcastle!". Talk about feeling welcome! That day our records were read in and we met a lot of very nice and friendly people. One lady even asked if I needed any food since we hadn't gone to the store yet. Apparently she still buys like the kids are at home, but they're not ;) It was cute!

Another major stress in my life post-move has been finding a job. Ugh. I hate it. I have gone to three temp agencies and felt absolutely hopeless of finding that "dream job". Luckily for me, the Church came to the rescue again! I went to the LDS Employment Office about three weeks ago, right when we moved. They called me about a job soon after and I applied. Brother Searle (from the office) called me last Friday to see what I had heard, and I told him I hadn't heard anything. He encouraged me to call the office and follow-up on my application. Once I expressed my interest to the office manager, she asked me to come in for an interview- and I did on Tuesday!
I just got the call this morning that I have been offered the job! Talk about a weight off of my shoulders! I will be a Receptionist & Notary for David A. Nearon Law Offices. He is an Estate Attorney- and better than that- he is LDS. I felt so comfortable in my interview and could tell this would be a great place to work. He went to BYU, which is where he met his wife, he teaches early morning Seminary before coming into the office, and his Dad (who also works in the office) just left on an 18 month assignment from the church to figure out some legal issues with missionaries and visas in Russia. This guy is a good guy and will be a great boss.

I don't start for another three weeks, but that again is a blessing in disguise. I can now fly down to Escondido next week to help my mom as she has shoulder surgery on Friday. I wasn't going to go if I was still in the middle of the "job hunt" or if I had already started working. Now I can go and help my family!

I have a lot to be grateful for right now.