Staring down at a new season pt2

Come September my little guy goes to school and I re-enter the workforce. I know the 1st day of school will be emotional but what happenes the days and weeks to follow is what scares, worries and makes my heart sad and excited. I am thankful that I will be able to make money, work with adults and know my kids education is top notch. That makes it easier but its the days that my kids are sick and I won’t be the one to comfort them like I could before, the school trips that I will have to coordinate in a new way and face the reality that I won’t be able to go on every trip like before. I won’t be the one to greet them after school, but they will be in the care of someone else. I won’t be the 1st one who gets to hear about their highs and lows for the day, to be the homework enforcer or at the dinner table every night.

With all these changes comes a peace, I will admit along with lots of tears, knowing just like before when I worked full time God takes care of it all. I knew at some point this season would end but, it seemed to creep up on me. Don’t get me wrong I am very excited about going to work! It will be nice to have to get all dolled up, meet new people, develop new relationships and contribute financially to our household. I am excited to plan a family vacation for next year, to be able to give more to people in need, to pay down debt and to feel less of a burden when an expense comes up. I will say though, I wouldn’t change what has happened in the last 4 years. We have learned alot about each other, what we can live without and overall God is in control and life really is better with less!!! I know it will be a transition for all of us but I know God has called us into a new season.

Now that I’m staring down at a new time it makes me really realize that the days are long but the years are short. We often say before we know it they will be off in college and getting married and wow is that ever true! It seems like just yesterday we where planning the arrival of our 2nd child and now he is off to school in 6 weeks and turning 4! My oldest I feel is 7 going on 17 but I’m finding joy even in the girl drama. As kids we can’t wait to be teenagers, teenagers can’t wait to be adults, adults can’t wait to get married and have kids(if that’s your desire) and then as adults we want it all back. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and feel I didn’t let me kids interrupt me cause I was so busy being an adult that I missed building Legos, playing dolls, colouring or playing in the park. I want to soak it all in cause just like that newborn baby smell it all goes away one day, too quickly. Enjoy today, live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

Making memories and sand castles at the beach!

Walking to school to pick up his sister.

Starting down at a new season.pt1

Relief, tears, and alot of how is this going to work?! is what goes on in my mind during the day. See this month marks exactly 4 years ago I said good bye to my job and Hello full time motherhood. I entered into this season with high hopes, fantasy like dreams and alot of unknowns. I only really raised my first kid for a year then most of it was done by amazing babysitters. I was a part time Mom but a full time employee. The second one rolls around and now I’m the one who has full responsibility. How I wish I had the first one full time to raise cause nothing could prepare me for him. I am so very thankful for this season thou, I have grown as a Mom, Wife and Woman. I have learned patience in a new way, its ok to be the Mom in WalMart with a screaming child and a sick kid can only be healed by prayer and lots of cuggles(that’s what we call cuddles in this house) from a Mama.

Now it’s time to move on. My reality has been for 4 years, if I can find childcare to hang out with my friends during the week at a cottage, I’m free, or I don’t want to put on clothes today, PJ day would be claimed for the day! I knew as the school year drew to a close this was my last summer of “freedom” and I planned on making the most of it. I feel we have had a great summer so far, park time, hikes, sleepovers at Nana and Papa’s house…oh how I love summer days! I’m planning a beach day this week because we can! I just find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact it’s almost 1/2 over!!!

A simple project that means alot

Ahhh gotta love a girls weekend away!! This was the 3rd year we have done this. Pack up hit the road, saying good bye to loved ones for a few short days but, those days carry us thru our year.

The 1st year, it was a small group of us. The point of getting away was for developing a closer relationship with Jesus, each other and ourselves. The 1st one was in Collingwood in a beautiful condo. We had an amazing meal watched a movie and the next day spent time praying for each other and writing cards of encouragement for each other. Little did I know the impact this would have!

I know for myself when I would feel down on myself I would look back on these cards we all wrote for one another that where encouraging, that where the opposite of how I felt. So the next year while in a beautiful cottage surrounded by woods these cards got filled out again. This year we stepped it up and got the girls to write only words of encouragement for one another before we left. While there we got  to write a second set of cards for each other with only scriptures. The point of this simple activity, is that we can’t always have someone beside us speaking life when we feel down but, these cards can do that when God seems so far away, no one is around and you need a pick me up. I want to encourage you, get your friends together, grab a pack of index cards and start building each other up, you don’t know the jam they may come up against in a year where that card will be life giving.

Friendship is key

Oh how I love my friends!! They make me laugh, pray for me, encourage me and we have a lot of fun together. See I only had 1 good friend growing up. We meet in grade 6 when I became new to the school and we became inseparable until grade 11 when we went our own ways. Then when I moved out from home I meet my 1st friend as an adult. She was my boss and while we didn’t hit it off right away, we ended up becoming great friends. Sadly as life would have it, we grew apart.

Today I have friends who share the same vision in life, who seem to “get me”. I am great at making friends, always have been. I think it may have to do with the insane amount of moving I have done. So making friends is easy, its the keeping them I found hard. Now I have some friends that I have know for 8 years. We have seen each other thru the ups and downs of marriage, miscarriages, babies being born,the joy and pain in life and friends coming to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

See, life is about the type of friends that can see you cry, be angry, frustrated and joyful sometimes all in one conversation and not think you’re crazy! Life is so much sweeter with friends. I want to encourage you to make friends. We all started out as strangers and our lives crossed paths, so you never know where your life long best friend will come from. Be open and expect God to bring along your friends who get you, no matter what and don’t believe the lie that you don’t need friends because that is the furthest thing from the truth!