Four years ago, my husband was laid-off from a company that he had worked for for 21 years. He was among tens of thousands of employees who had their lives involuntarily redirected as a result of "company B" buying "company A".

We have 4 children who were ages 3-11 at that time. Our oldest 3 children were enrolled in private school and since it was already paid for, they were able to complete their school year.  My husband was in the midst of changing his career when the lay-off took place.

We endured the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies these difficult seasons in life. We were inundated with "advice" and well-meant comments. We chose to keep our family intact and as stable and normal as possible. I stayed home and cared for our children. Yes, we needed the money and benefits but those things paled in comparison to the security and needs of our children. For them, Dad was home more, and our daily life remained for the most part, intact.

We have survived these last four years by unemployment benefits, anonymous financial donors, our church food pantry, a generous doctor and dentist, scholarships, cutting back, doing without, and lots of creativity.

There are times when we wish things had not changed, that we did not have debt, uncertainty and stress. But we would have never had the chance to have our faith grow, feel the love of our community, and deepen our commitment to family.

I can't imagine not allowing my husband to navigate us through the rough seas. He is our hero. I can't imagine abandoning my kids for a paycheck. I can't imagine where our family would be today if we hadn't made "us" the most important thing to preserve.

Today, we are a family that works and educates in the home. We support my husband and the growth of his business. We support his work towards a master's degree so he can continue to pursue his dream job. We pour ourselves into our children and their education. We do without, we save for family fun, we ride our bikes, look forward to hand-me-downs, care for our neighbors, volunteer in our community, borrow movies from the library. Our children happily help with chores and tasks. Each one of our children has found ways to earn their own money by helping neighbors with dog-sitting, dog walking, mowing and yard care.

We look forward to the day when we will get to take care of others as we have been cared for.

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Candace