Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Joel's Business

Joel did the vanity and the medicine cabinets
Beautiful laundry room door!
(Did the framing, not the tiling)
(Different height for each person)

Ella's birthday marked the "1 year" for a not only her first year of life, but also the first full year of Joel running his own business! It was actually Joel's last day of work when I called him to tell him he needed to come to the hospital, as they needed to deliver Ella. It was frightening to step out and no longer have the consistency of being an employee. I am SO proud of my husband. We thought the first year would be mostly filled with small, odd jobs here and there...mostly just surviving. He knew from day one that it might take doing those jobs for a while to work up to doing what he loves. He loves remodel work, especially with clients who have the desire to not only have things done, but done exceptionally well, allowing Joel to use his skills in carpentry and woodworking. How silly we were to not know that if the Lord is truly behind us on this, he will bless it.
We randomly met a realtor at an open house who has been passing his name around all over town. Most of the homes Joel has worked on were sold by this realtor, and we are so blessed by the clients she has passed along to Joel. He is great at remodeling, and even better at the details. I'm not sure how many people I know who LOVE what they do, and I'm so thankful my husband is able to enjoy each day, and the new challenges it brings.
We have been blessed to meet a lot of new faces around Lancaster City. One of the greatest blessings to Joel's business was a man named Albert. He rode up on his bike one day, explained that he was laid off and not able to find any work. He said he knew construction, and could do practically anything...so Joel decided to give him a chance. Joel came home stunned by all that Albert new. Joel told him he couldn't promise steady hours, but when he was needed, Joel called him. The two of them ended up working together almost daily, and a friendship developed. Albert wasn't perfect. He had his weaknesses, which sometimes caused him to miss a day of work here or there, but he was genuine, and enjoyed spending his days with Joel as much as Joel enjoyed working with Albert. He wasn't always the easiest person to love, but I'm so proud of Joel for investing time into Albert. I know Albert taught Joel a lot as well. Albert decided a few months ago to move to Colorado. We are SO excited for him to get a fresh start in a new town with his lady friend :) Albert is missed! Joel has another friend working with him now, but I know Joel misses his buddy.
All of this to say, I'm so proud of my hubby. He has not only been able to provide for our family, but he finds joy in what he does, and that blesses our family just as much. I have wanted to post a few pictures of some of his projects for a while now, so here they are! Thanks for letting me brag for a bit :)

1 comment:

Shirley said...

So glad to hear that you will have time to blog again! Great work, Joel! I love the laundry room sliding door. John did something similar in our old house and it was my *favorite* thing in the remodel that we did. Great job, Joel, for giving Albert a chance, too. God does the same thing :)