Missoula, Montana

Most of you have heard by now that we went up to Missoula, Montana at the beginning of this month.  Well, let me explain a bit.  

Remember how Paul lost his job back in March?  Well he has been applying for jobs all over the place.  We weren't having too much luck with local jobs, so he started looking out of the state.  This company in MT called on my birthday--kind of ironic because I was born in MT.  Anyway, they called and wanted us to come up that week to interview in person.  That was Monday, so we left on Wednesday to drive up there.  We left Glenn with my parents and then drove the rest of the way.  We packed a suitcase for Glenn and he just looked so cute!  

A little traveler. :D

The drive up was pretty good.  The roads were clear and it was pretty.  We knew we were getting close to the MT border, so I found the camera.  Well I was eating an apple and talking with Paul--and I about missed it!  We laughed and said that it would be a funny picture to put on our blog.  So here it is!

We got to Missoula around 5:30ish, if I remember right.  We were fighting traffic, so we went to the hotel first before getting something for dinner.  Later on we got some Subway--and realized that there was no sales tax--that was nice.  Then we found a park to sit and eat.  This was our view.

 

 

It was a nice trail along the river.  We saw lots of people using the trail and even some using the water--although I'm pretty sure it was ice cold!

 

  

This was also at the park.  Kind of random, but cool.

 

So the next day we went to the interview.  We really liked the people and the company seemed like a good one.  We went to lunch with some people that Paul may have been working with if he accepted the job.  We had a good time.  Then one of them took us around the city to see some of their projects they've done and to get a feel for the city.  

Well, to be honest, we weren't that impressed with Missoula.  There were some issues that we didn't really like.  On our way home after the interview and all that, we made a list of Pro's and Con's.  Again, we liked the company, but we didn't like the city it was in.  But we said that we would think about it more and pray.  

On our way home we realized that we would be traveling close to Paul's brother's house.  So we decided to make a small detour to go visit him and his family.  Giovanna wasn't home, but we were able to see Allen and Sammy.  Allen invited us to stay for dinner--he had made a pork roast and mashed potatoes.  It was nice to visit for a couple of hours.  As we were about to leave, Allen requested a few pictures that we could put on our blog.  Sure!  So here they are!

 

 

 

 

 

The next day they called Paul to tell him they wanted to extend a job offer to him.  That was Friday, so on Monday we got an email from them with the offer.  They wanted us to decide by the 12th.  Well that day came and we hadn't decided yet.  We were hoping to see if another company might extend an offer to Paul.  But that didn't happen.  So yesterday we had to finally make our decision and let them know.

We said no.  

Now I know some may wonder why--in this economy, beggars can't be choosers.  But we thought it over--and over and over.  And we prayed.  We thought some more.  We talked with lots of people.  And we looked at the numbers and what it would mean for our family.  If Paul took the job, we would've been separated--he up there and Glenn and I down here.  We didn't want that.  We both felt like that wasn't good for our family.  There were other factors as well, but we decided that it just didn't make sense for us to take that job.  

So we are still looking.  We feel okay, but please keep us in your prayers.