Here is hoping that I will do better at this blog in 2012. I just haven’t been able to find the time when I’ve had the desire to write. Isn’t it the case you can think of things you want to say when you don’t have the time to actually put it down in writing but when you have the time to write there is absolutely no desire to write. This is my challenge, one I will try to overcome. I tried to write in November. I went to log on and couldn’t remember the password, 1st clue that it has been too long since the last post. I went through the steps to retrieve the password. While waiting for the email with the password reset, I started to read others blogs (something else I had not done in many months). Needless to say I filled my writing time with reading. I don’t think it was a waste of time, it was fun to catch up on what I had missed but I did not reach my personal quest that day and now it is two months later.
A ton of changes have happened in my life during the past six months. Most importantly, we moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This area is BEAUTIFUL!! Some people think that this move was a bit rushed, it was not. Things had been happening in our lives to prepare us for this move. I have mentioned before that Jeff and I had been thinking of moving. We just decided it was time to pull the trigger and do it.
While Jeff was going to school for his Master’s degree, I wanted to move and find a better position somewhere where it would allow Jeff to quit his job and only concentrate on school. Some people may not understand this but it was hard watching my husband stay up until the wee hours of the morning doing homework only to get up after a few hours of sleep to go to work for 8-12 hours a day and then repeat day after day. I thought it would help relieve some of the stress and move him away from people who were not supportive and adding to his stress. I wanted to do everything I could to support my husband in his education. Well, my husband is so smart and amazing. I believe why I never found that “better” job back then was that Jeff needed to have those experiences so he could have his success amidst those challenges; to prove that he can do whatever he sets his mind to no matter what! To prove his intelligence to those who didn’t believe he was capable of much in his life. Jeff graduated Suma Cum Laude (aka top of his class) WOO HOO! That great accomplishment came amidst working full-time, providing and caring for a large family, fulfilling church duties and still making time for Saturday Night Date night with me. Oh Yeah, He’s the man! That initial desire to move was over two years ago.
As Jeff came to the end of his course work he began looking for employment which would use his pending degree and his work experience. He enjoyed where he was working; however, future growth with his position was limited and he wouldn’t be able to help as many people as he wanted. It looked as if we might be moving to Ketchikan, Alaska there for a while. We had even received the relocation package. This position did not happen, obviously. The person that Jeff would have been replacing decided to stay in the position. I had already started packing the house by the time that happened. Even though the position fell through, we knew that we would be moving. We had a large house and lots of stuff, that’s usually how it goes when you have as many kids as we do We left the boxes packed and continued on the quest to find our new adventure. We could feel it was right around the corner. As things happen, as I have said in the past, we decided to open our own company. Jeff quit his job and we began Sundancer Solutions in October 2010. I still worked for Bannock County full-time and did Sundancer Solutions part-time.
This is the part that many people don’t know. In February 2011, Jeff and I received a prompting that I should quit my job. I fought that thought with every fiber of my being (not wise). It was the same week where I was told that I had been selected for “Employee of the Month” at work. Why would I leave a job where people cared for me and what I do? I love the people I worked with and I enjoyed going to work. I did struggle with trying to do “it all”. Work, kids, business, church, other activities, etc. When people would say “you have a plate full” I would say “I wouldn’t have it any other way, life would be boring without all of this”. I didn’t quit my job. My boss was awesome, Kristi Klauser. She had known since the Ketchikan position that I would be leaving some day. The other reason I didn’t quit is we were just about to start an upgrade which I had wanted since I started working with the county almost three years earlier. I pushed for the upgrade, how would that look to quit just at the start of it? To me I felt like I would be irresponsible if I did that. So I kept on working for Bannock County. How many of you know what happens when you dismiss a prompting?
The promptings continued. Jeff and I had a meeting with our Bishop regarding a church issue and the Bishop made a comment which coincided with what Jeff and I were trying to decide on; The growth of our business and whether I should leave my job. We had not told anyone about what we were thinking. To anyone who has as many kids as we do, have a start-up business and then thinking of giving up the steady government paycheck, that sounds crazy! But when someone else is receiving inspiration on your behalf to confirm what you are doing – you can’t ignore it. Jeff and I left the church that night and drove to a park to pray about it. The answer was confirmed and I gave my notice two days later. That happened to be my three year anniversary for working with the county. That was a fun, exciting, sad, scary, exhilarating and exhausting day. I had so many mixed emotions but I couldn’t stop smiling. It was sad to think of leaving the wonderful people I worked with but I get to exchange it with working with the most wonderful man I know.
I had a lot of support from those close to me. Some were so excited for the adventure, some sad to see me leave, some questioned if I really wanted to do this. One woman was so funny when she asked if I was sure about this. I told her “ yes, my husband and I work well together and things are good between us”. She explained, “exactly, things are good with your husband, don’t you want to keep it that way” Some people cant work with their spouse. I am lucky, I can. I had many people who said “I wish I could do the same thing”. I heard that the most actually. Some people actually spread rumors about Jeff and I and my leaving the county, stating that Jeff was making so much money and that was why I left. Nothing could be further from the truth, We did this knowing we had not replaced my income yet. We took this leap of faith to build our company and have the freedom to do what was needed to do that. The steady government paycheck was also a reason why I didn’t quit when we first started being prompted. It did not make sense, on paper, to reduce our income dramatically when we have so many kids. It did make sense, when we had that peace that everything would work out. It was truly a leap of faith.
Later in May, Jeff and I went to Coeur d’Alene to be at a conference. This would provide visibility for our company. The feelings that we had as we drove to Coeur d’Alene was amazing. We left that conference later that week knowing that this is where we were to be. We came back to CDA in June for a business/house hunting trip. We needed to know where it was that we would be able to build our business best. We knew that we needed to be closer to an airport for our company to succeed. Prior to the conference in CDA we had been considering the Salt Lake area. Salt Lake did not feel like the area for us. When we found the place which would work for us, we jumped on it and moved two weeks later. That is the part which people seem like we made this decision quickly. This move had actually been in the works for about two years because we needed to be prepared to make the move when the opportunity presented itself. We moved here by mid July because we had a training planned for July in CDA already and we didn’t want to make several trips back and forth to do the training and then go back to Chubbuck to pack just to go back to CDA. We felt it would be more efficient and cost-effective to make the move prior to the training and eliminate several costly trips back and forth.
I am glad to say that the business is steadily progressing. I love the people that I am meeting and working with at the Tribes. I truly believe in what Jeff is doing. For those who don’t know what our business does, Jeff is a Health Care Administrator Consultant and works with Native American Tribes to assist them with Medicare Like Rate repricing and Contract Health Management. He has literally taught tribes to realize greater than 10 MILLION dollars in health care cost savings over the last year. Those cost savings allow the Tribes to provide better and additional health care to Native Americans. My mother is part Native American and thus, so am I. However, If the Medicare Modernization act had been around when my mom was growing up, things would have been so different for her and her family. My mom had many health concerns and my grandfather would have to sell a cow, pig, horse, etc when my mom or grandmother would have to be in the hospital. My grandfather eventually lost his farm due to his health challenges/costs. That never would have happened had this process been in place. I don’t know how many people can say that they are willing to do whatever is needed to support their spouse in their occupation, I can. I gave up the best job I had ever had to do this full-time, and who knew but this is now the best job I have ever had. I fully believe in what our company does. It not only helps fellow Native Americans to have better health care, but the education my husband provides assists so many great CHS employees to succeed in their own positions. How cool is that!!?!
Some people have asked us if we miss our family, as only four of the children are here with us in CDA. I tell anyone who asks the honest truth. Yes, we miss all of them. But those members of our family who were in our life in Chubbuck are still in our lives here either by living with us or visiting us on college breaks, telephone, texting, email or skype. As I told Kire when we were leaving, “just look at it as you are going away to college, only we are the ones who are leaving for you to do that”. It has been a growth opportunity for all of us. I am so grateful that God answers prayers and places opportunities and events in our lives which help us prepare for even greater opportunities. I am so grateful that God is very patient with me and didn't let me miss out on this opportunity because I was hesitant.
Well that is it for now. As I adjust to my new work and life schedules I will try to make more time for this blog journal. I hope everyone has a wonderful new year filled with endless opportunities.
