Well, here we are again, getting ready to take on another move, a new city/state (kind of...we lived in Syracuse 9 years ago, so it isn't completely new), packing, unpacking and adjusting. I really don't mind moving...it helps make you clean out closets, purge and have a garage sale (which I do all of those things often anyway...I HATE CLUTTER). This move is a little different being that we own our house here and Josiah will experience his first move that he has friends he will have to part from (he was only 9 weeks old when we moved here). He loves his little friends and asks daily (more like 10 times a day) who can come over to play, if we can go to someone else's house or if we can meet someone at the park! Poor child is majorly going to miss his little friends and I will too!!! I love all of the children he has developed relationships with (and I love their mommies too). This will be a tough place to leave! We love it here...and most of why we love it is the people we know and love. Ironically, more than half of those friends are moving as well at some point in the near future. Regardless if our friends are Clarksville residence of life or friends we have had the privilege of spending Army life with we will miss each and every one of them!!!
Tonight I spent some time putting Josiah's old clothes in space saver bags (and by the way, they actually work). We are trying to cut our rubbermaid storage in half because we are downsizing a lot to move to NY, but I can't bring myself to get rid of his baby/toddler clothes. I hope that we use them again someday on another sweet and precious boy (maybe Jeremiah or Titus or whatever other name we love). As I was going through his newborn clothes I had so many memories go through my mind (and some were spoken to Josh as he is collecting his Army gear to turn into Ft. Campbell). I must have said 100 times while doing this "Man, I honestly cannot remember Josiah EVER being that SMALL." or "How did Josiah ever fit into this?" I loved the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in!! So cute! I just put it up to my nose hoping to smell the sweet baby we were (and still are) blessed to have. They just smelled like laundry detergent, but the memory of him in those clothes are still very strong in my head and heart!!!!!!! I found tiny, tiny little socks - I am not sure they ever fit his chunky monkey feet, but we put them on him anyway. I found sweet little hats and the swaddle blanket we have pictures of him in at the hospital. All of those precious little nightgowns that he wore those first few weeks and many, many more cute outfits that made him even cuter than he was. I am so glad to have those memories in my heart still after 3 and a half years. (I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it). Josiah has grown into such an amazing little boy!! A boy that Josh and I were just talking about tonight...how he has become so silly!! He does the silliest things that sometimes drive us nuts, but always makes us laugh!! Like tonight in the car, I was telling Josh how he asks questions all day long. He wants an itinerary the moment he wakes up of what we are doing that day...and then before going to bed he wants one of what the next day will bring "after I eat breakfast...what are we going to do?" So, I was telling Josh all day long he asks things like that (I am not complaining, because I love having conversations with him)...I was giving an example like "what are we going to eat?" From the back seat, Josiah says "Mommy, we already ate dinner!!" LOL. I had no clue he was even listening to me...Josh and I just cracked up!!!
So, although I am kind of sick of going through our house and reorganizing before the packers come (and if you are a military family you know that it doesn't matter what you do the movers are still going to pack it in a disorganized fashion and you will end up redoing all of it on the other end of the move), I have really enjoyed going through his things especially and reliving his little life!!! I love remembering him in those clothes and shoes...memories of things we did while he had a particular outfit on. I hope to never forget those memories!! We are blessed to have him...and as the time goes on that we only have him, it makes me even more grateful for his little life!!! It makes me realize just how miraculous a baby/child is!!! I have hope and faith that he won't be our only child, but if he is the LORD BLESSED US WITH HIM AND THAT IS MORE THAN WE EVEN DESERVE!!! I can promise you one thing....there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank the Lord for him and Josh being in my life!!!!!!!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
My "WHY"
So, as many of you have probably read on my facebook page...I have joined Thirty-One. I am super excited about this new little "business" in my life. After talking with Summer (my team director), and when I say talking to...I mean I probably drove her crazy with all of my questions before officially signing up. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing and I am a planner...probably too much of a planner! I have prayed about it, researched it, talked with others who either have done it or who have purchased their products in the past, and I have probably driven Josh crazy by talking about all of the things on my mind about it. He is the best husband though...he listened to my fears about failing at it, talked to me about my reasons for wanting to do it and just encouraged me along the way without making the decision for me...I am married to a wonderful man!!!
Let me first start by saying, I never would have imagined I would sign up for this (or any other consultant position). I just would have always made the excuse that I don't love talking in front of people or that I didn't have the time. I think I have come to a point in my life that I need something like this. I LOVE my life!! I am a very BLESSED woman.....way more blessed than I deserve to be! I have done a lot of reflecting on my life lately...the person I have become. As many of you know, Josh and I experienced two miscarriages in 2011. They were harder on me than I would have ever imagined a miscarriage could be! I have learned that you don't take a life for granted...and I am forever grateful for the Lord blessing us with Josiah 3 years ago! I realize now that getting pregnant and keeping a pregnancy isn't as easy for some...even though it was easy the first time...it hasn't been since. I haven't been dwelling over it, but it is something I think about often!!! I am grateful to the Lord for these times because I have definitely grown as a person and I pray that it has made me a better wife and mother. I know that I can sympathize so much more now with those that experience loss!!!
The Thirty-One company is a Christian based business...that I love first of all! It is based on the Proverbs 31 wife...and I have read that chapter in Proverbs so many times and think to myself.. "wow, I have a long way to go to be a Proverbs 31 woman!" I feel as though if you don't think that about yourself maybe you have some more examining to do! I don't look at that chapter and think.."Man, I will never live up to that." Instead, I think..."wow...thank you, Lord, for giving me a guideline written right there in the Bible on how to be a wife and a mother." So, in my daily life that is what my goal is...to be a woman/wife/mother like the one found in Proverbs. My relationship with the Lord comes first and then Josh and Josiah!!! I will never be the wife and mother that I am called to be if I don't put the Lord first...but then I will also never be the wife and mother I am supposed to be if I don't take care of myself as well!! This is my WHY...Thirty-One wants to know your "Why Story." Why would you want to be apart of this company...I want to do it because I feel like right now in my life I need something for me. That sounds completely selfish and I am not meaning it in a selfish way at all!! I feel like maybe I need a way of getting my mind off of the losses we experienced last year (not to forget about them completely), but maybe to be able to link up and start relationships with other mothers who have gone through similar situations. Maybe I can be an encouragement to them and them to me! Another reason is because I think it is important for Josh and Josiah to have father/son time. Because I stay at home with him, Josh is very rarely alone with him. It just works out that way...Josh works long days and when he gets home we have our normal night schedule of dinner, bath and bed all within an hour or 2 of him getting home. Then on the weekends, we love doing things as a family, so they rarely get one on one time...and I know how important that is for them (especially now that Josiah is getting older...he craves and longs for man time with his daddy). With me leading a party a couple of times a month he will get that time...without me (the hovering mom, telling them to be gentle while wrestling...lol). Also, with moving to NY it will give me a great opportunity to meet other woman and make growing relationships with people that I may not have met without Thirty-One. Josh will be going to school there, so we both feel as though this would be the perfect time to start...he will have more of a set schedule with classes so I can plan parties when it is most convenient for our family (versus being stressed out making sure he would be home on time for me to leave - which would be the case if he weren't in school). Josh has been 100% supportive in this and I love him for it, because I know for a fact that if he didn't think it was something I should do, he would tell me!!! He is awesome.
These are just a few reasons we decided it would be a great opportunity to join Thirty-One...and what woman doesn't love a great, new bag? I know I do!! I have always loved bags!!!
Let me first start by saying, I never would have imagined I would sign up for this (or any other consultant position). I just would have always made the excuse that I don't love talking in front of people or that I didn't have the time. I think I have come to a point in my life that I need something like this. I LOVE my life!! I am a very BLESSED woman.....way more blessed than I deserve to be! I have done a lot of reflecting on my life lately...the person I have become. As many of you know, Josh and I experienced two miscarriages in 2011. They were harder on me than I would have ever imagined a miscarriage could be! I have learned that you don't take a life for granted...and I am forever grateful for the Lord blessing us with Josiah 3 years ago! I realize now that getting pregnant and keeping a pregnancy isn't as easy for some...even though it was easy the first time...it hasn't been since. I haven't been dwelling over it, but it is something I think about often!!! I am grateful to the Lord for these times because I have definitely grown as a person and I pray that it has made me a better wife and mother. I know that I can sympathize so much more now with those that experience loss!!!
The Thirty-One company is a Christian based business...that I love first of all! It is based on the Proverbs 31 wife...and I have read that chapter in Proverbs so many times and think to myself.. "wow, I have a long way to go to be a Proverbs 31 woman!" I feel as though if you don't think that about yourself maybe you have some more examining to do! I don't look at that chapter and think.."Man, I will never live up to that." Instead, I think..."wow...thank you, Lord, for giving me a guideline written right there in the Bible on how to be a wife and a mother." So, in my daily life that is what my goal is...to be a woman/wife/mother like the one found in Proverbs. My relationship with the Lord comes first and then Josh and Josiah!!! I will never be the wife and mother that I am called to be if I don't put the Lord first...but then I will also never be the wife and mother I am supposed to be if I don't take care of myself as well!! This is my WHY...Thirty-One wants to know your "Why Story." Why would you want to be apart of this company...I want to do it because I feel like right now in my life I need something for me. That sounds completely selfish and I am not meaning it in a selfish way at all!! I feel like maybe I need a way of getting my mind off of the losses we experienced last year (not to forget about them completely), but maybe to be able to link up and start relationships with other mothers who have gone through similar situations. Maybe I can be an encouragement to them and them to me! Another reason is because I think it is important for Josh and Josiah to have father/son time. Because I stay at home with him, Josh is very rarely alone with him. It just works out that way...Josh works long days and when he gets home we have our normal night schedule of dinner, bath and bed all within an hour or 2 of him getting home. Then on the weekends, we love doing things as a family, so they rarely get one on one time...and I know how important that is for them (especially now that Josiah is getting older...he craves and longs for man time with his daddy). With me leading a party a couple of times a month he will get that time...without me (the hovering mom, telling them to be gentle while wrestling...lol). Also, with moving to NY it will give me a great opportunity to meet other woman and make growing relationships with people that I may not have met without Thirty-One. Josh will be going to school there, so we both feel as though this would be the perfect time to start...he will have more of a set schedule with classes so I can plan parties when it is most convenient for our family (versus being stressed out making sure he would be home on time for me to leave - which would be the case if he weren't in school). Josh has been 100% supportive in this and I love him for it, because I know for a fact that if he didn't think it was something I should do, he would tell me!!! He is awesome.
These are just a few reasons we decided it would be a great opportunity to join Thirty-One...and what woman doesn't love a great, new bag? I know I do!! I have always loved bags!!!
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