Hello, again.

Well it’s been a while since I last blogged. I didn’t want to write for the sake of writing nor did I even know what to write about.

So if you’re new here to my little part of the world, welcome!! I’m happy you’re here. Many things have changed since my last time, the biggest being my geographic location. My family and I including my mom moved from Ontario to New Brunswick. For those who don’t know their Canadian geography that’s 2 provinces over. 16 hours away from where we came from. We knew no one but felt called here. Don’t worry there will be more talks about that later.

For now I just wanted to reintroduce myself, let you know I’m here and can’t wait to share more with you.

Until next time,

Jen

A trip of a lifetime, PARIS, FRANCE!

Yep, I got to go to Paris, France. I can’t even type fast enough to tell you how this was such an amazing trip, how a dream came true and how much I cried on the trip! When the pilot said “Welcome to Paris France” I bawled like a baby, I couldn’t make it stop if I tried! I first began to fall in love with Paris when I was in High School. I don’t remember what it was but I wanted to go backpacking to Paris. Due to circumstances it just never happened. Life got busy, mainly I got married, was working full time and had some kids. I have never looked back and thought well, “I wasted those years, I should of traveled but I never let go of the dream to go to Paris.” I wrote a blog a couple of years ago about dreams (You can read it here https://wordpress.com/post/sarookj.wordpress.com/11804 )

Well now fast forward to May 16th, 2018 and I have now just landed in a city I love but have never met. It was like a blind date but I was already in love, head over heels to be honest but yet had never meet this place that I had built up so much in my head. To be honest I was a bit scared that I had made it some big, giant beautiful place that I love, but when I get there what if I don’t think it is what I feel it should be like?! What if it doesn’t live up to my dreams?! What if I’m a bit disappointed by it all?! I never thought that I would hate it but I was worried it wasn’t going to be all that I made it out to be. It’s the day before my 36th birthday and we are boarding the plane. First I’m traveling with one of my best friends so right there it’s going to be a great time. We got our luggage all checked, and now we wait. We walked around the airport, made a phone call to a friend and ate some snacks before getting on the plane. I was a bit worried about the flight, it was the longest flight I have ever been on and my friend doesn’t like to fly. To be honest it was a great flight! We got some good eats, by airplane standards, watched some movies and I slept a broken two hours. Landing was smooth, and now we were in another country.

To be honest the airport was nothing to write home about. Looked no different than the one we left in, other then we couldn’t read the signs now! Oh, and Eiffel towers were everywhere. We managed to get to our Air Bnb apartment, it was SO cute! It was a bit of a journey to get there but once we did, we loved it.  It was very Parisian and every day a fresh market was set up and tore down, the sights and sounds were amazing. Day 1 it was my birthday and we went to the Eiffel and ate the most delicious pasta I have ever had, oh and let me tell you about the Crème brûlée. I’m drooling just thinking about it!

 This is the open air market that was set up everday, it was 4                                                        blocks long!!!!

 

Oh my, this was by far one of the best meals we had!

 

My friend Jen or as we call her, “Tall”. Yes that is really her name, Jen but when 2 of your best friends have the same name as you, you end up with nicknames. So Tall said ” I know you know you’re in Paris BUT it won’t be real until you see the Eiffel Tower”. So we found out how to get there and she was right! I was in awe at this beautiful metal landmark and I couldn’t help but be aware that my mouth may of been hanging open, I was here, IN Paris, dreams DO come true! What kind of tourist would we be if we didn’t enjoy a crepe at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower?! It was full of Nutella, and it was amazing.

 

Day 2 was Notre Dame church, wow that stain glass window is incredible! We walked the Champs-Élysées and seeing the Eiffel Tower at night from a different view. Day 3 was full of fun as well, The Louvre at night, as well at the Montrepasse Tower and of course more food!  Day 4 We also ventured to Versailles and did a river boat tour. Day 5 was a full day of rest, much needed I might add. Day 6 We ventured out to Monet’s Garden, which I can do a whole blog post just about the pure beauty of that place followed by the most amazing pizza at a small restaurant in the area we were living in.

When we had our rest day,  I went out and got us some breakfast and lunch,  croissants and a baguette sandwich, cause I mean what else would one eat in Paris?! We just chilled in our apartment and watched Netflix all day, it was needed and amazing! We also went to the War Museum in Paris and ate some more. We ate a lot, but man did we walk it off, who knew Paris has so many stairs!!!!! There was one last visit to the Eiffel Tower, one more delicious dinner and an early bed time because we headed to London, England the next day. Seven days in Paris was a dream, I often look back at the pictures to make sure I’m in them, because it just seems like a dream that I just haven’t woken up from yet.

Until next time, keep on Exploring Life.

With love,

Jen

What I have learned from the man in the woods part 2

Well thanks for coming back, I have been so absent from the blog not because I don’t enjoy blogging but simply cause I didn’t put it as a priority in my life. SO that is going to change! Well here is part 2 of what I learned from my weekend in the woods with my Dad. If you missed part 1 here is the link https://wordpress.com/post/sarookj.wordpress.com/11981

 

My time with my Dad was something that I will look forward to again this year. What I learned was that, yes I can unplug and just enjoy the surroundings that are around me. It was amazing listening to my Dad talk about when He was growing up and listening to Him talk about his life at this cottage He calls home. It was awesome to listen to Him tell me to just relax, sleep in as long as possible, Ok! It was nice to wake up and my Dad had already made coffee and was outside cleaning up and had already feed the deer. It was cool and rainy while I was there, we still took walks and the rain didn’t bother us. We wandered around and he showed me some of his friends places and the Beaver dam that I had heard Him talk about for a while. It was nice to put an actual view to what I have heard Him speak about for a few years. It was nice to just watch Him enjoy telling me things and showing me around. It was nice to watch Him in His element and the pride He has in His tiny place in the woods. I really enjoyed waking up and walking around, hearing the birds and watching the deer that came to his place a couple times a day. It was peaceful taking my coffee to the covered bridge and watching the ever so slow stream go by. It was nice to just be and watch and absorb and exhale.

I went there at at time when things where out of sorts, upside down and when I found myself crying most of the drive up asking God “why am I in this season?!” I felt very alone, unsure of where relationships where heading and where I felt like my life was imploding back home. I felt like these few short days away, where there was no form of communication other then with my Dad who I felt I hardly knew, to a place I had only heard of was exactly what I needed. God knew I needed it. I had heard of time where people would say I just need to get away and clear my head, I would think, why?! I got it. I got away and cleared my head. I came back more connected with my Dad, and with a clearer view of life back home. What did I learn when I was away?

I learned that its not about “stuff” my Dad lives a very simple life, in a very simple place but I believe He is the happiest I have seen him in years. I learned its important to carve out time for yourself doing what you love. My Dad loves being out in the woods, with his deers and putting around the cottage, I enjoyed taking time to colour in my adult colouring books, I need to do that more. I learned that its not only ok to unplug but you won’t die doing it. You really don’t miss much by unplugging. There would be NO way I could catch up on my Facebook timeline for the 4 days I was away. Guess what? No one said did you see…blah blah blah, I really didn’t miss much. If it was that important then a few people knew how to get a hold of me if need be. I also learned that I do have stuff in common with my Dad and when given the time I can learn from Him. I also learned that God is full of surprises. I learned that my Dad reads his Bible daily  and that he feels a peace and calmness that comes upon Him when he does. I learned to take time out for those that have gone before you because one day they won’t be there and you won’t get the chance to ask them. I also learned, don’t be scared to ask. What is the worst they say, “I don’t want to talk about it!” So you move on, and continue the conversation. Who do you need to let into your life that may of caused pain to you in the past? Of course this comes with boundaries and wisdom as to who that person may be. Life is short and we need to let God move so we need to get out of the way and stop trying to avoid those God given chances to connect with others.

 

Until next time,

Jen

 

 

 

 

 

 

A weekend in the woods with a man I hardly know.

It sounds weird doesn’t it, the choice to spend a weekend in the woods with a man I hardly knew?! Well it’s true I did. It was back in October. I made the drive alone, 5.5 hours away from home, to a place I knew only a little bit about growing up to meet up with Him. The plan was to stay in the city, but I knew how much He loved his little place in the woods. After only a couple of days in the city, I insisted we go to the cottage in the woods. He reminded me that it’s 4.4 km in the woods with no cell reception, no one really around at the base of a mountain. I said I’m excited to see it! Inside I was actually a bit scared to be honest. NO contact with the outside world?! Just him and I in this cottage…While fear ran through my mind, I have never been alone with this man for at least 30 years, what will we talk about? What if there is awkward silence? What if I just hate it and want to go home? Did I mention, what will we talk about?!

Let me give you some history, so that you can understand why I was so nervous to spend time alone with this man in the woods, who is my Dad. My Mom and Dad meet when they were very young, and then when they were not that much older, decided to get married. My mom was 18 and my dad 20 at the time. A year later I was born, and at the time my mom was 19 and 5 days later turned 20. Needless to say, I am to this day, the best birthday gift she has ever received.. Shortly after I was born, things began to change for them. Just like his parents, my Dad got into drinking, and would become violent and miserable. He would go on hunting trips and return whenever He wanted.  They tried to make things work again once my sister came along but by then, my Dad was in deep into drinking and drugs. We moved many times cause of the type of people my dad was in “business” with. From a young age I remember watching my Dad deal drugs, get violent, make and break plans and then one day, he just disappeared. The lifestyle of moving around a lot continued for many years and even included a whole city change when I was 10 years old.

One day I was visiting my Grandmother and She had some company that was over, some family from the Ottawa area. I really feel like this was a moment I will never forget, it was a cool summer day and my 2nd cousin and I were sitting outside on my Grandmothers large swing with the woven plastic cushions. My Cousin said to me “we went to Uncle Mark’s for dinner. Whitney is SO nice and a great cook and the baby is super cute” well uncle Mark was my Dad. I don’t remember acting shocked but I said, Mark as in my Dad?! Keep in mind, He feel off the face of the earth, 6 years ago. My own Grandmother swore up and down to my Mom that She had no idea where Her son, my Dad was. I remember being so hurt, shocked, and yet excited.  As soon as my Mom picked us up She knew something wasn’t right. I told Her what I was told and well, my Grandma got a call and not long after that my Dad called my Mom. It was true He was living in the Ottawa area with Whitney and they had a little Baby. By now I am in grade 8, because life at that age isn’t confusing enough! He ended up coming back to Hamilton for a visit and brought Whitney and the Baby for my Sister and I to meet. After that meeting in the winter, my Mom and Her husband at the time took us to their place and let us stay for a week. My Mom and Her husband stayed in the area for a few days before heading back home to make sure we were ok and comfortable. My sister and I ended up making the journey to our Dad’s for years to come in the winter and summer, but I had never been alone with him. I do have some memories of time with my Dad, doing puzzles, cooking him fake food, and playing in parks but there was always someone else there. My Sister then once I got married, my husband and kids, when we would e visiting him. This was a big step for me, but I knew God had my back.

Part 2 will talk about what it was like being alone with my Dad, and what I learned from him while I was there.

The first picture was after a walk we took in the city, and my Dad explaining to me about the mushrooms that where growing in the park. The 2nd one is of the deer at the cottage that come 2 times a day for apples, Mama and Jr.

 

Until next time,

 

Jen

 

 

 

 

 

When a dream comes true!!! Part 2 of reminders

If you are new to following me, welcome!!! I want to share a post that I put out in April 2015, because it all ties back to now. You can read it here…. 

 

So as you can tell by that one, a dream is coming true. In May I get to go to…….PARIS, FRANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have had time to process this, but my excitement has not wavered. It has been a dream for as long as I can remember. Even now to talk about it just seems crazy and unreal. It likely won’t be until I am on the airplane that it will hit me, I”M GOING TO PARIS. I imagine it will be like when I was 30 and went to Disney World for the 1st time. Tears and disbelief that I was actually there, and not watching a movie or dreaming in any way. One of the best parts is, I get to go with one of my best friends. That’s right a girls trip to Paris, good thing we don’t drink because that sounds like a trailer for a chick flick gone bad where we end up in jail.

I remember not that long ago sitting in my living room staring at a metal Eiffel tower (that sits on my coffee table to this day) and her and I talking about how we would one day go to Paris. How we would create fun memories there and just enjoy our time taking in the sites and sounds of the city. How we wouldn’t rush but rather take time and just be present. Not to live the trip behind a lens of a camera or be super strict with a schedule. Rather sit on the lawn of the Parc du Champ de Mars with cheese, baguette and journals and just take it all in. Now don’t get me wrong we will see things, lots of things like Monet’s garden, the Louvre, the Eiffel tower both day and night and Notre Dame.

 

All this to say, YES dreams do come true! I can’t lie and say I didn’t cry when I was told that a dream I have had since I was a teen was coming to pass. Because for me there have been many dreams that have YET to be realized that I have held onto, and this was a big one. I am so thankful for the God I love and serve because He is able to go above and beyond what I could of imagined would happen. Ephesians 3:20 mentions this when Paul writes “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” This is just the beginning of what is to come, I can feel it. Some of those other dreams, well the Phantom of the Opera is one, its coming to Toronto in June, who knows what God has up his sleeves to make that one happen! I also have a dream to go to South Africa on a missions trip. I dream to see my Husband and I travel full time as our jobs in a ministry setting. Not every dream is just handed to you to fulfill, there is work involved. Saving money, prayer and speaking about those dreams to people who will encourage you in them and yes sometimes they are handed to you to just enjoy. So many dreams and a big God who can make it all happen. Now sometimes we have dreams and we let them die, well I say, resurrect them, bring them to a place where you can see what your dreaming about. Put reminders as encouragement and motivation around your place. That friend that I’m going with, Her and I would sit around and talk about the smell of the fresh bakery in the morning and the look of the Eiffel tower at night, get the idea? We spoke as those it already was happening, when in reality it looked like it wouldn’t for at least 20 years. Don’t ever let your dreams die because they where placed there for a reason by a God who loves you intimately, even before you know Him.

Until next time,

 

Jen

 

Reminders…Part 1

I wanted to repost this blog cause there will be a follow up to this post that originally was written and published in 2015. Cant wait to fill you in!!!!!

 

I’m a big fan of dreaming!!! I dream one day where we won’t have to save for a simple thing but just have the money. I dream big dreams, like going to Paris France. I have other big dreams of places but if I had to only choose one, Paris is what I dream of. I have figured out how much it will cost to go, I have reminders in my house and a Pintrest board. These reminders keep my dream alive and fresh.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

You may say what does a trip have to do with that scripture?! Well the truth is that I without a doubt know God is going to provide the trip. I don’t know how, or when but I believe. It may come in the way of a friend saying come along I have paid for you (I dream of my reaction, my excitement and the adventure we would have). Maybe an inheritance that causes us to afford it or maybe just maybe God has other plans as to how I will get there. I believe, just like having scripture around the house speaks to your spirit, having visual reminders around also speaks to your spirit. Mine leaps when I see reminders all around.

There is one other picture we keep around our house. That little boy in a candy shop reminds us that God is faithful and loves to give great gifts. So I go boldly before God and say, however you wish it to come I shall receive. God loves to love on us and bless us when we are faithful to Him.

This picture hangs in our living room.

Psalms 37:4 NLT
Take delight in the lord , and he will give you your heart’s desires.

This hangs on our fridge.

What are the reminders you keep around about a dream you have??

A gift that keeps on giving this year.

This holiday season was extra special or many reasons but one of the big reasons was my husband didn’t have to work on Christmas day!!! It was only the 2nd time in 6 years, Hospital life! This year I decided to go out of my comfort zone and make a gift. I had seen it on many Pintrest pins, the 365 Jar. I thought at first it would be a challenge to make but I had lots of time before Christmas so it should be a breeze, hahahahhahahaha, famous last words! So if you don’t know what a 365 Jar is, it is a Jar ( duh) that you fill with 365 different papers. You have 5 different colours which each represent a topic. So I did white for Bible scriptures, blue for memories, teal for words of encouragement, pink for quotes about love and yellow was things I love about him. Doesn’t sound so bad does it?, until you do the math. Each colour topic has to have 73 papers with it. SO 73 things I love about him, 73 memories etc. It was hard towards the end cause I felt like I was running out of memories or like I was repeating love quotes. Thankfully there are over 100 scriptures about love!

My love language is gifts, so I find it super fun and easy to buy gifts for others. (If you haven’t heard of the 5 Love Languages Google it, they also have one for kids) My husband on the other hand is physical affection and words of encouragement. So I knew this gift would just hit him in the emotions, and it did! I got the reaction I was expecting, tears! I know, how mean of me to expect tears but sometimes that’s how I measure how “good” a gift is. So for Mark to have his own jar I knew would mean a lot to him. A whole year of words that mean something to him. Each day it’s super fun to see what one gets pulled out of the jar. Some we share with the kids and others not so much because those memories are better kept just between us. I tried to make it as much of “me” as possible by throwing in some funny things and just as much of him by putting in super mushy things.

I had to dig deep to make sure this project got completed. When it came to memories it was super fun to go and look at old photos, Facebook posts and memories from our times together. 14 years is a lot of memories to try and record. It was fun to relive in my memory some of the old memories such as our 1st house. How excited I was to sleep in our 1st house that we bought together that I insisted we sleep on our hardwood floors the night before we moved all our furniture into the house. It wasn’t a great sleep but its a special memory we have. Telling him 73 reasons why I love him, such as, now this is very me…kills bugs!!!! Scriptures to encourage him like Lamentations 3:22-26 and my favorite love quotes. This one I laughed at and he felt the need to share with a close friend who is sensitive like him. “I might not be your 1st kiss, 1st love or 1st date but I want to be your last everything”. Thanks to Pintrest for that one! I just laugh when he reads it but it truly warms his heart. Its funny thought, cause I love Nicholas Sparks films, the girly of the girly films but to live it out, not so much.

 

I am so happy that I choose to take on this challenge because it’s easy to buy a gift, but one that is made especially from such a big project I feel speaks way more to the receiver. This gift I know will be something that He will treasure for years to come. It is a type of gift that our kids will remember in years to come. It is a type of gift that on hard days it will be a light in the darkness. The type of gift that goes beyond this year.  So with the start of a New Year, Birthdays come up and we all know how quickly Christmas can creep up, start thinking about a gift that goes beyond a store and dig a little deeper. I’m already thinking of this years gift!

That’s what 365 papers all written out look like. I seen 3 am, 2 days in a row to make sure it got completed. It was a photo finish!

 

Until next time,

 

Jen

We are Homeschooling!! Part 2

So in my previous post I began to tell you how we got to where we are now, Homeschooling. It has been a journey. When I first felt that question pop into my head, why not Homeschooling? to now, it has been 2 years. I began to do research on my own and I knew I would have to present my case (so to speak) to my husband because, to be honest, this was coming out of left field! I began to get excited about setting up our house for Homeschooling in a room on the 2 second floor and all the fun possibilities that could be. Now, thankfully our kids were in an amazing private school, so there was no need right away to act on this, yet another reason it comes out of nowhere! I spoke with Mark about what I felt God was saying, and well, his reaction was one of less then impressed with the idea.  I left it with him and spoke with that friend who I wasn’t so supportive towards. I wanted to tell her how I was feeling and get some input from her. It was now 6 months later and a new school year was fast approaching. I wanted to know what its like to Homeschool, and she suggested we do more research and wait. Gather more information to see if its something I really wanted to do, and Mark and I needed to be on the same page. Well I was discouraged but understood where she was coming from, the timing wasn’t the greatest and it would be rushed.  Mark and I were on board late in the summer, as in August! We were scared, excited and a bit nervous but we knew that this is what we wanted to do, so we decided to jump both feet in and Homeschool this year.

 

We are using an online based curriculum from http://elementaryplanet.com. It has made life easier because I am a planner in many ways but would have no a clue what to use, curriculum wise. It lays it all out and we just help them along the way. Now, we do utilize some paperwork as well. Such as printing for Cole and cursive writing for Kennedy. They also have offline projects to do and sheets we print off to help them along the way. The program isn’t perfect but for the most part it is working for us. Maybe next year we move back to text books and paper, who knows. Really that has been the best part, flexibility! I’m not a huge fan of every day, day in and day out schedules. I get bored of them and find them less then exciting. Now don’t get me wrong, we do have a daily schedule we follow but some days we have field trips with our Homeschooling group or we go out and help my Grandma. If the kids are done early we can go visit family or go to the park, if they’re not done early, well you can image how that goes. Each day is different and brings about its joys and challenges.

 

Remember how I said I don’t edit my blog cause my grammar is awful, well I feel like I’m back in school because Kennedy is in Grade 5 and heavy into grammar in her English work…..borrrrring. I mean you need to learn it sweet girl 😉 Thankfully my husband Mark and I are a team and where I lack He picks up the slack. Some days I just want to yell I DON’T KNOW FIGURE IT OUT! but instead I breathe, sit down, and try to figure it out together. I’m not ashamed to say to her, I don’t get it lets Google it. Even less ashamed to say, wait to ask Daddy when He gets home. Both kids have adjusted well to being home and doing school online. It amazes me to see Cole learning words and spelling!!! He is rocking his program and loving it! Math is totally his thing for sure! Kennedy has had some struggles but it is nice to be able to cheer her on, encourage her and support her to be all she can be. She is doing amazing as well and has taken a liking to cooking, and I’m ok with that. Homeschooling just isn’t about books, its about learning thru experiences. Bringing the books to life, if you will. I look forward to sharing more of our journey, the great and not so great parts because that’s life, not every day is amazing but you can find amazing things in every day.

An afternoon at the local park, chatting with Great Grandma, PJ days and baking cookies. Which is basically, gym, social studies, learning to rest and math. Because Homeschooling is all about life long learning.

 

 

Until next time,

 

Jen

We decided to Homeschool! Part 1

Well, I’m back at it! I have not been on here much. I just felt I needed a break and as you can tell we have made some big life changes. I look forward to sharing all that’s going on in our life right now and what is to come. Have a great day and enjoy.

 

I find it so funny, as the words ” I will never….” roll off my tongue, I almost feel like God is saying, “Oh yeah? Wait and see what I have in store for you!” Now, the times that I have said that phrase, and God makes the opposite happen, it has ALWAYS been a blessing! So when I say what I did, it is in no way a mean or malaise type of thing, but one of love and I have a “sense of feeling” humor. So as you can guess, Homeschooling was “one of those times”. In fact a friend of mine started homeschooling many years ago and I wasn’t supportive or encouraging at all, just the opposite! Now here I am 8 years later, homeschooling!

 

It was a journey to get here. It wasn’t some deep desire in my heart to do this. It wasn’t a dream that I had and felt the need to do it. It wasn’t even something I could see myself doing to be honest.  Having kids has taught me that as humans we are selfish. They expect us to do everything for them from the day they are born, and depending how you raise them, hopefully not their whole life. Then we become adults, still selfish at times, well most of the time. I wouldn’t consider myself overly selfish but the thought of homeschooling made me realize how selfish I can be. How would I do what I want to do during the day when they would be home all the time?! What about “Free time” during the day to have coffee with my husband,  hang with friends,  nap, do what I want to do!? Well, here I am, homeschooling. Free time is limited but I am OK with it. How we got here, well only God can make that happen! I was working full time with great people but with a commute and job I didn’t love. I was putting away stock at work when all of a sudden I had this question pop in my head, “why not Homeschool???”….. I looked around to make sure no one was around as I began to think and daydream about such things. I thought maybe it was the stress I was under, because there is no way God you’re asking me to do this, cause i said I would nev……er oh boy!

I didn’t go running home telling my husband with great joy and excitement hey I think we should Homeschool, because to be honest I felt like such a hypocrite. All those years ago being, well, mean to be honest, and now here I was thinking about it?! I began to read blogs, Pintrest ideas, and speak to other Moms I know who do. I felt scared but excited but worried about what will people think?! I don’t feel like I fit  “Homeschooling Mom” mold so to speak. I am not soft spoken, Suzy Homemaker, Martha Stewart, Bill Nye the Science Guy type person. My personality fits more of the corporate world. I’m great with people and sales, not so much at math, science and english. I don’t edit my own blog cause my grammar is well, really bad lol.  I will share in part 2 how we got here and what life is like now, 4 months in. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

These pictures are from a field trip we took to Westfield Heritage Village.

 

Unitl next time,

 

Jen

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.