Enceinte de 25 semaines (25 Weeks Pregnant)

Head to heels, Gabe now measures about 13 1/2 inches and is still a pound and a half — not much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. His hands are now fully developed, although the nerve connections to the hands have a long way to go. Exploring the structures inside my uterus may become his prime entertainment, along with hearing Fox in Socks on a daily basis (my fave book to read to Stella). I forgot to say last wk that Gabe is currently head down, but there's still room in there for him to turn around.

Joel and I spent the night in Milwaukee Monday night and were there all day Tuesday for "A Look at Agency," an all-day meeting giving TONS of info about becoming an agent - the approval process, compensation, question-answer session with 2 newer agents, and expectations. It was cool, overwhelming, stressful, and depressing all at the same time. The day showed us that we are in the perfect position to go into agency with Joel and I growing up in State Farm families in a SF-dominated town, my dad being an agent, Joel having worked for corporate, his currently working for my dad, and my getting licensed soon and eventually working for my dad. The only thing that would make it better would be being rich.

We definitely are aware of how horribly hard we'll have to work to do well the first year to be offered a contract. I am prepared (at least in knowledge) for this being the hardest year of my life thus far: having 2 children, not making much money, Joel being gone often for training, moving and knowing NO ONE, and opening a business. Never before have we needed to rely on God and have faith in His plan for us as we are needing to now. It's SO easy to get down, but we have to keep our perspectives in check. As we said when we decided to move: We believe God made us to live our lives to the fullest. I would wonder if things are always comfortable and easy, would we really be listening to God and obeying Him? We feel that this is a huge test of our faith and obedience. There is no turning back. My parents didn't raise a quitter. I've basically never quit anything in my life. Maybe it's determination, maybe it's pride - maybe both. BUT, there's no turning back. Unless we're rejected, there will be no stalling. I also refuse to live a life of fear - fear of change, fear of risk, fear of the unknown. My parents always told me that I could do or be anything. My parents moving here and starting a new business at age 40 and my sister, Renee, have been such examples of getting out of their comfort zones in order to really experience life and obey God. Renee moved to LA all by herself a year after graduating college. She took classes to become Special Ed. certified. After a few yrs of doing that, she decided to start her Master's in Counseling and is currently in her 2nd yr. I still think that there are many things people can do with their lives and still be living within God's will, BUT I think there are clear times when God is calling you to do something, and you can either ignore Him and stay with what's comfortable out of fear, OR you can trust His omnipotence and plan for your life, no matter how hard it may be along the way. In summary, no matter how many tears we may shed out of loneliness, stress, and fear, we ultimately do not think that God will have led us this far for nothing. We know God will not desert us.

Here's what the process is looking like for us: Joel turned in his autobiography last week. We have to have a financial analysis done to make sure that we are financially ready to do this. It requires a potential $20-30,000 of investment. He has to create a business plan to present to a panel in a couple weeks (2/9). He'll meet with a couple AFEs (Area Field Executives) to discuss it first. He'll have an official interview at the end of February. Then, he'll know if he's approved and in the pool. We'll then have access to current openings across the country, which will help us decide where we want to live. Then, training would start shortly thereafter. Because Joel is already licensed and working in an agent's office, his training will likely be shorter, so we don't know exactly what that will look like. We do know that most trainee agents are appointed Jan 1 or Aug 1, and sometimes Apr 1. It depends mainly on when the agent is retiring. I think we've decided (more Joel) that we'll probably be staying in the mid west in order to be closer to family, but we'd like to be in a warmer climate than WI (FOR SURE) and central IL. We've been thinking about the St. Louis suburbs, but we need to do a lot more research.

I only have 1 wk, 2 days left of the maternity leave. It feels like I've been there a LONG time. I have my insurance classes 2/17-2/20 and then 3/17-3/20. It's recommended to test w/in 10 days of taking the classes, so that time period probably won't be fun. I hope Joel'll be ready to be the teacher. He'll probably enjoy being able to teach me what he knows when I'm forced to be a captive audience:)

Please pray for us as we continue this journey of having 2 children and starting a business!