Changes - some good, some not so good

Changes are being made around here. Slowly but surely things are getting accomplished. Caden's room is painted, and Michael has started on the floor. Once that is done, he can move back in and finally have his own room after almost 2 yrs of sleeping in the girls' room. Michael tore out our front porch step and cement patio and laid a new concrete step and path. We still have to figure out what we want on the porch itself. Right now, it is tiled, and we will probably do something similar. We also have to do some landscaping, but it looks good.
Michael's job at Agco is beginning to shift some. Layoffs have been going on for awhile now, but recently major stuff is happening. Michael is off for a total of 10 weeks before the end of the year. He is currently off for 3 weeks this month, then 2 in Sept. and finally the 5 weeks right before Christmas. He will also have a shortened work week for the rest of the year. We are trying to budget carefully since all 5 kids' b-days and Christmas are coming up quickly. We are trusting in God to pull us through as always. It's quite amazing how things just seem to work out, and even though it's sometimes a struggle, we usually come out ok in the end. Thankfully, God has given our roofing company some great business to keep Michael busy while he is off.

Finally, I've been itching to go back to Cali to see Mia. It would be great to be there for her 1st birthday in Sept. I feel so guilty going alone since the boys and Michael would also like to go. Been looking at flights, and it's so expensive. Not sure what we will do. It's only money, right? Easy to say, but hard to do. Anyway, I've been praying for some guidance with this. I really struggle with being apart from my loved ones. If I could, I would spend every last dime just so we could all be together. With that being said, I also have to consider the well-being of my family and our financial stability. So, yes, I'm basically waiting for some cash to fall from the sky!???

Peace