Life as Mom

Have you ever met a woman who's only goal in life was to become a stay at home mom? Maybe you yourself are one of those women. Well I have a confession; I use to think those kind of women were crazy. I certainly didn't understand their aspirations. Me? Sure, I wanted to have a family some day, but my dreams were lined out by degrees. You know the ones...Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate.

My thoughts didn't even shift drastically while I was pregnant. I planned out how I would stay home for three months and then find a good daycare and return to work and school promptly. I was on a schedule, you know. I knew I would love my little one, I just didn't really understand what that meant.

When I met Brooke everything changed. Did I still want to be a therapist? Yes, but my top priority became being a mom. Now don't shoot me, but I must admit that the prior me would often wince when hearing of a friend or colleague who was putting her career "on hold" to be a mom. There was (sadly) a quiet voice inside of me that would proclaim, "what a shame" when a situation like that would arise. The true shame, of course, was in me not understanding the beauty of motherhood.

I never imagined myself as a stay at home mom or as someone who would arrange my job and whole life around a baby, but that's who I am now and I LOVE IT. I wouldn't want my life any other way. I can honestly say, after completing a Bachelors and being half way through a Masters, those accomplishments pale in comparison to both the challenges and rewards of being a mom. God willing, I will one day complete my Masters and even Doctorate, but only if I can also raise healthy and happy children. It's not the most glamorous career to be cleaning up spit up and changing diapers multiple times a day, but one intoxicating smile from the light of my life and I'm motivated to do whatever it takes to keep those smiles coming.

Father's Day Weekend

I would say the weekend was an A, possibly an A+. On Sunday not only did Thomas get to celebrate his first official Father's Day, but Brooke also hit the 10 month marker. I can't believe how fast time is flying! We celebrated with a trip to DQ so Brooke could hang out with her Grandpas. I had the most amazing blizzard- French Silk in chocolate soft serve. I tried to retain some dignity by ordering a small but fate caught up with me when the lady accidentally made me a medium. I knew I would not be able to stop until the whole thing was gone, and I was right. 1330 calories later I was full of ice cream and happy to be enjoying the day with my wonderful family.

A Simple Prayer

Dear Father,

Help me to understand the strength of your love. Help me to relay the message of your relevance and truth to others. Help me to be as patient with others as you are with me. Help me read your word every single day. Help me to not see only what I don't have when I look at others, but to be thankful for all that I've been given instead. Help me to not take a single moment I have with my family for granted.

Don't let me get caught up in wanting a nice house or designer jeans. Keep me safe from calorie counting and obsessive work outs. Keep my eyes focused solely on heaven. Bind my wandering heart to you. Keep what is really important in the forefront of my mind. Forgive the sin in my life that has driven nails into your son's hands. Help me to love like you love. use me as a tool for you while I am here on this earth.

Amen

More Than We Can See

Why do you suppose writers write books about made up lands and far away things? Why do producers make movies about other worlds and impossible possibilities? What's more, why do the rest of us read these books and see these movies time and time again?

Some theorists say we use these forms of entertainment as an escape, a way out of the every day grind. I have a different idea. I think we imagine, write about, watch, and dream of things outside of our visual realm because deep down we know there is more out there than just what meets the eye.

Our minds may not be aware of it, but our hearts know there is more. That's why we cannot get away from questions about the afterlife, about God, about things that seem unreal. In our heart of hearts, we know they are real. We know there is more than we can see on this plane of reality.

Just because we don't understand something does not mean it doesn't exist. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too far out there, but then my heart reminds me that there is no such thing.

Kitchen Makeover

I'm on a summer break for the next month from classes and I conveniently got decorating fever. I wanted to change some things in the house but didn't have much of a budget to work with. Luckily I'm super thrifty and a little creative, so I was able to take on landscaping, makeover the kitchen and the office, and add a few small touches to the bedroom.

First came my desire to turn the kitchen into a beach. Don't worry, I know it's not really a beach but I did get my inspiration for the decor from summer time. The result is a kitchen with a cottage/summer/beachy feel.

The before; a dark and drab kitchen.





The after; much brighter!






I got this table and 4 chairs on craigslist for 45$. I sanded and painted the table white and put a sealant on it and voila...perfect beach theme table! I also found these place mats at a flea market and paid 3$ for the set...don't worry. I washed them before putting them on the table.




We already had this light but I thought it went with the theme well.



Other small beachy touches.






Shout out to my Tom Tom whom I could not have done all this without. He is such a hard worker!Check back for pictures of the office makeover and our bedroom updates.
Hope you like our beachy kitchen!