An update on our lives

I thought maybe I'd share a picture-less update on where we're at right now with life. My 3 year contract is up in May. I really can not believe we've almost been here that long. Over the last 6 months or more we've been all over the map of what our plans were. From moving to a camper to buying a house here to moving to Utah immediately to whatever. I alluded a couple times of some job searching in the last few months. We had a couple interviews in Utah over Christmas and I had that interview in Vegas last month. I actually got offered all of them. We turned down the two Utah ones - we've still just got too much loans to feel like we can take that much of a pay cut. Vegas was very promising. It seemed like a great job and we were loving the idea of moving to Vegas for a lot of different reasons. We had all but said yes to them and were thinking of moving in the summer after Tanner hit his 3 year mark. But then my boss and the CEO of the hospital said they'd make it worth it to me to stay. We just lost one of our good, big time ER docs who covered almost half of the month. That hurts. And the other PA that worked kind of "opposite" me has her last day in a couple of weeks. It's not a good time to be losing people. Luckily they like me and were willing to match the Vegas offer. We just can't say no to that. Tanner has a great job here and he loves it and I really like my job too. My schedule is gonna be a little different. We are gonna try and have me work almost the full first two weeks of the month and then pretty much off the last half. I'll get to work with two doctors I really like and trust and who know what they are doing, instead of a slew of random, non ER docs from who knows where that don't know the computer system or don't work very fast, etc. So that part is good. And I'll only be doing 10 hour shifts those first two weeks and then maybe pick up a couple more 12 hr shifts. We'll see how that goes over the next few months. 

Bad parts of staying are we don't love the trailer and Williston really just isn't where I want to raise my family and build roots. But we feel like if we can sacrifice and stay up here 2-3 more years, we will be completely out of debt with a great nest egg. It just will be better for the long run and our futures, etc. And with oil prices dropping and a lot of people in the oil field losing their jobs, we feel very blessed to both have very stable jobs, despite what happens to the price of oil. 

There are sometimes I get really sad about thinking about staying here longer. I miss so much about home and being by family and I feel sad our families miss out on so much of Harvey.  Then I wonder if the great money is worth it. But then really I think this place has been such a great blessing to us for becoming  free of debt. And it's not forever. And we really don't hate it here. So. That's where we are at. Here. In Williston for another short little stint and hopefully we don't go crazy in our trailer :) Haha. Good news is our drug dealing, gun stealing, miserable neighbors are gone for good!  It is really nice to not be constantly stressing, wondering, trying to decide what the heck we are going to do. We've got our plan and we really do feel pretty good about it. Soooo - if people need to visit anywhere around here - Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, International Peace Gardens, etc etc - do so in the next couple years - we'll meet you there!