Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Jared's new job

It's been such a crazy month but I really wanted to remember how excited we were for this change. The thing that we wanted to have happen for years has happened! Jared got a new job!!!

He has been ready for a change for a while, but the way the job market was we couldn't find the right fit and it was so competitive in the areas he was interested in. On top of that with his psychology degree there wasn't much he was qualified for in that field without a Master's degree. So we've just kind of been biding our time as to what to do. We were looking at all kinds of options, National Guard, Going back to school to get a master's although he wasn't sure what he really wanted to get a master's in which is why we didn't do that, Police academy to become a police officer, human resources, etc. etc. But nothing ever worked out.

We were getting really discouraged because of some jobs we thought for sure he would get and didn't and then out of the blue this job at his current employer came up. He applied for it, interviewed a couple days later and heard back only a couple hours after his interview that he got the job! It was a whirlwind how quickly it happened, and I know that many many prayer's on our behalf helped make it possible.

For the first time in over five years Jared will no longer be working graveyards, and for the first time in our entire marriage neither of us is working graveyards. It's like we're newlyweds all over again! We get to have dinner as a family every night, he's home on Saturday's to help me around the house and with the kids, he will get major holiday's off, much more PTO then he had, and all around it will just be sooo much better than it has been! Already it has been such an amazing change in the small and simple things that you take for granted: I've been able to go grocery shopping without the kids, we have been able to make our bed every morning (we bought a new bedspread!), and he can help me pick up or drop off the kids at preschool or my parents. Life is infinitely better and I'm so grateful!


Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Christmas 2017

This was our first Christmas since we have been married that we didn't have to see all the family on Christmas day and instead split the holidays this year...and it was AMAZING! So much less stressful then trying to see both families on Christmas Day.

Christmas eve: Christmas Pajamas!


Watching The Polar Express:

Christmas eve tradition dinner: Homemade PIZZA!



Santa has left the building!

Santa cookies - sprinkles were Hilton's insistence idea

Christmas MORNING! Graham's one present he wouldn't put down was this VTech garbage truck - and sippy of course :)

Opening Santa's present: a much anticipated Wall-e toy!

And an EVE!

The after-destruction:


Christmas morning breakfast: Egg's Benedict (YUM!)

Then at Grandma and Grandpa's house Hilton and Graham got to try out their awesome present!

Monday, January 01, 2018

Be Meteors not Planets

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist. -Jack London

Happy New Years! How is it already 2018 already? I feel like just yesterday it was 2016 and I was having Graham and Hilton was only 2 years old still. Why is time going so fast?? (insert sobbing face here)

Last year I tried to make a New Year's resolution for every aspect of life: kids, husband, financial, physical etc. etc. and it was WAY too much. Even though I only had 6-7 goals I forgot them and just never kept up with them. So this year I'm doing one blanket goal to try and motivate myself.
 
'Take the bull by the horns'
 
I find myself in life in general hesitating and hemming-and-hawing over even minor decisions and its something my anxiety feeds off of. And so I'm going to stop the hesitating (or work on stopping it) and be more decisive and less worried about what people will think about my decisions.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now. -Goethe
 
 

 Additionally, above is our family theme for 2018: Look Forward with Steadfastness. We're praying for some changes and blessings in 2018 that we've been working towards for a long time and I'm hoping they come together, but if not we will continue to 'Look forward with Steadfastness' for the next blessing to come our way.

 
And because our kids are just so cute...some Christmas Eve photos
(not pictured is Jared napping on the couch)



Happy 2018!