Update On The Life Of The Gauthier's

Life has been quite swamped lately and a lot has been going on.

As far as school goes, I love it. Fashion projects slowly seem to be consuming my life but I enjoy being creative, designing posters and whatever else we are assigned. Every assignment seems to interest me whether it be a makeover, career interview, etc. My professors are still wonderful and I have somewhat of a relationship with each one. I am gradually making new friends and meeting new people.

Work has been great. I could not have gotten hired at a better job. I may be getting paid minimum wage, but it is just enough for a wife who is also attending school. I get plenty of hours, anywhere ranging from 20-25 a week. I love my manager. She is young and we have a lot in common. I feel like we are usually on the same page about things and I feel comfortable around her. Most of the sales associates have left or will probably be leaving soon which just means Heavenly Couture gets a fresh new group of girls. It’s exciting and I love the environment. It’s in the downtown/beach setting where we usually stay pretty steady. Our merchandise is all under $15 so it is affordable for everyone. We typically get women of all ages, even the younger teenage girls. So really our merchandise is ideal for all females. It is by far the easiest job I’ve ever had yet it’s still the one I love most. I love the people I work with, the clients who come into our store, the style of our clothes & accessories…etc. I love it all.

John’s deployment is never-changing. One day the USMC wants him to deploy and the next they don’t want anything to interfere with his recovery from surgery. I think they have finally decided to make him a combat replacement, which I view positively yet also negatively as well. The good side of it is that they are planning on him going to Afghanistan so he will stay in the mailroom for now. The down part is that if someone gets injured or killed, then John has to leave immediately to take their place in combat. What if he has to leave on Thanksgiving? What if he has to leave on Christmas Eve and miss Christmas Day and New Years? Those are my concerns. I just pray for his safety and for God to take care of us. But whatever happens I know happens for a reason and we can get through it. We have already been through so much together. If he deploys, then it will be just extra money for us to help us survive in the expensive state of California. And if he doesn’t deploy, then that just means we get to cherish more time together.

As far as my side of the family goes, things haven’t gotten much better. Things are slowly progressing but honestly I see my relationship with them as a roller coaster ride. Constantly up and then the next day we are just back down again. I can’t keep up with it because it’s so unpredictable. I’m still praying that God will heal their hearts and lead them back to me. I hope that time with help settle things because I just want a positive relationship. I want to be able to act like a family and talk like we love each other. Please keep us in your prayers.

Blessed With Good Professors

Yesterday was a stressful day for me. I woke up, already assuming that it would be a horrible day and there was no way around it. John and I had just realized that we had no money at all for my books. I instantly began freaking out because after a first day in all of my classes, I found out that I had homework and needed books and art supplies for next week. I began to panic because even by the next pay day, we wouldn't have the money. And not only that but we also found out yesterday morning that John would have to have hernia surgery on this upcoming Monday, the day that I have 2 classes. School just started! Do you know how horrible and irresponsible I am going to look?! My mind began to race and think negatively about maybe the professors would make me drop their class and then I would have to completely drop out of school the beginning of my first semester and then I would have to work full-time and so on and so forth. I quickly tried to brush everything off and quit thinking. As usual, I was thinking too much. I drove over to the school and walked inside from the hot, miserable heat.

My first professor that I was going to visit was my U.S. History Since 1876 professor. On the first day, he seemed pretty cool. He told us that we wouldn't be having any tests or quizzes in the course and our final wouldn't even be graded. He would only be giving us one because he had to. Classtime would only involve the students asking him questions. Seemed easy enough. So I was keeping my fingers crossed as I walked along the hallway, hoping everything would go smoothly. Eventually, I found room 311 and I immediately told him my situation about how my husband and I just moved here, he is a Marine and money is a bit tight right now. He immediately handed me 2 out of the 3 main books that was on his syllabus. "The one on top I just handed you I will need by the end of the semester but the one on the bottom I will need back whenever you are able to purchase it. The third book you will eventually need to buy." I immediately thanked him. I then told him that I may not be able to attend class on Monday because of my husband's surgery. "Do you want me to bring you a note confirming I was at the hospital during classtime?" "Nah, no need. Here's your homework that will be due in a couple weeks." Wow, my first one was down and I was already so relieved. I began thinking that maybe meeting with my other professors wouldn't be so bad afterall.

So I walked to my next professor's office who is teaching me 2 classes this semester: Fashion Image & Intro To Fashion Careers. She seemed super nice on the first day of each class so I was hoping that she too would be understanding with my situation. So I walked in and her eyes lit up. "Well, hello Katie, how are you?" I immediately felt more comfortable and at ease. So I opened up and told her what was going on. "I completely understand. Let's see what we can do." So after going through our options, she handed me my Fashion Image workbook and told me that I could use it for the whole semester if I needed to and that I could just write on sticky notes or write in pencil. I was thrilled. She decided she was going to type up and print off a loan form for me to sign, simply stating that I was borrowing the book until the end of the semester and that I should turn it in once the course is over. "The other book for your Intro To Fashion Careers class we won't be using for a little while so don't worry about it." So I then started explaining how I may not be able to be in class on Monday and she said not to worry about a thing. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to print off the loan form." So she left her office and it wasn't just a few minutes later that I heard her talking with someone else in the hallway. She opened up the door and my other professor appeared. "I hear you're having trouble getting your books? We have them in the library or you could even read Chapter 1 at Barnes & Noble if you needed to. I'm pretty sure they have that book there. And the art supplies? We have plenty so until you are able to buy them, don't worry about it." Whew. I was speechless.

After a surprisingly successful day, I drove home with a smile on my face and not a worry in my mind. I knew that everything would be okay and that the true one I needed to thank was God because I couldn't have made it through without Him. I considered that maybe it wasn't out of luck that got me through the day but that God had blessed me with these professors this semester. I took a deep breath. Now that I was shocked to see that the day had ended up well, I began thinking of what the rest of the semester would turn out like.