Blessings, Blessings; An Update!

It's time for an update!! A lot has been going on in our lives lately and I'm sorry for not posting more frequently...things have just been SO busy it seems!! It's definitely time to update though; big things have happened for both Mark and I!

The big news for Mark is that he is officially registered for classes at Cornerstone University, a Christian college nearby, and will be starting this September!! For those of you who didn't know, with the wonderful economy we have...especially in Michigan right now...Mark got laid off from his job at Duncan Aviation a few months ago. Since then, it has been a really testing time for us of how we will react and how much we REALLY trust in God, considering I'm not working either and am just in school. God is so good though and has never ceased to provide; we laughed the first few weeks Mark was laid off because checks were showing up in the mailbox that were totally unexpected-God DOES provide!! We have leaned on the fact that God's will is better than ours and that He will take care of us. Well, He definitely has because in this time, Mark decided to follow a calling that he's been feeling for quite awhile now and he is going to go into the ministry! He had debated originally between something with youth or counseling...he kept saying, "I know the direction...I know I'm supposed to go into the ministry....I just don't know the path yet." Unless he feels like God's steering him in the other direction though, for now, he is going to pursue counsling. He will be majoring in psychology and minoring in theology with hopes of a job as a crisis counselor at a church after graduation. He just registered for classes, will be starting September 9th and we are so excited for what is to come!! I'm so proud of him for pursuing this; it was time for a change and when prompted with the question of what to use the Montgomery GI bill for, he could think of nothing better to use it for than to put it towards the ministry. He had been feeling like he came away with so many good values and core skills I guess you could say from the Navy, but no job that could really help right now in this economy...he felt like was far too specialized and with the aviation field not doing well, that wasn't looking so good for him. So - off to college he's goin!!!

As for me, a couple months ago, I was home from school with the flu and was checking out local salons online to see what all is around here. I made a list of my top 5 or so and went to school the next day. Well, I was working the front desk at school and we have a guy there who manages the desk. His girlfriend called and asked that I have him give her a call back at HQ. My ears perked up because this was #1 on my list of favorites! So, I asked him if she worked there and his response was, "Yes, but my sister is co-owner!" Well, I worked the desk with him for the next week and at the end of the week he offered to introduce me to his sister if I would like. I ended up interviewing with her and the other owner and I couldn't have asked for a better interview. They offered me the opportunity to come in and shadow some of the girls to see how the salon runs and I took them up on that on a Friday that I had off and that also went really well. After that, just to be sure, I went to some other salons in the area to be sure that HQ was my best bet. Hands down from everything I found, HQ is the place to be in this area. I went in about 2 weeks ago because a former classmate is interning there and she needed models. When I got there, I met with the owner again and spoke with her for a bit and as we started talking she said "When you graduate from school we are planning on hiring you on here." She followed this up with telling me that they already have me signed up for a class at the end of August that is about a week and a half long in Ohio!! Education is huge after school - at school, you learn the very basics and what makes a great stylist is the education after school....well HQ is BIG, BIG, BIG on schooling. The fact that they already have me signed up for a class was a very big deal to me. There will be several classes at the salon I'll be a part of, several weekend trip kind of things and then some bigger classes in New York City and Vegas too! So, I am set to graduate late July and then Mark and I have a trip scheduled for our anniversary to Myrtle Beach early August. I'll then be starting mid-August and I go to my first class late August!! If you want to check it out, there website is: http://www.hqsalonandspa.com/

So, that's what's happening in the lives of Mark & Danielle! We are so excited for the months to come, while also trying not to rush our summer away!! Please pray for us though that we will remain faithful, that God will continue to give us a peace in these months ahead until I'm working and until the unemployment checks start showing up, and that the excitement for what's to come wouldn't drown out these next couple months and make school and unemployment all the more miserable!! :) Thanks everybody for your support! I'll try to get better at posting more often....I'll try! :)