Okay so you can either read the title, take a quick scroll down and say "forget it" or just sit back with a nice drink and read away. This could have been my annual Christmas letter, LOL, but I decided that would be a waste of paper and most people could care less. I know that anyone looking at this now at least has some sort of care to even click on the blog.
Well let me begin with the word "BUSY" which is over used in my books. I know without a shadow of a doubt we are ALL busy, working moms, non-working moms, 2 year olds, 70 year olds, whatever it may be... we are all busy and that is what I like to call LIFE. So my year of "re-capping" doesn't necessarily focus on being busy, but the milestones and life changes that all occurred within the same year and where it has taken us.
So as of ABOUT January 21, 2011 at 9:20 a.m., I get a call from Jeremy saying "Do you think you can get a job in Homewood?". He said it in those terms because I have ALWAYS wanted to come back to work at Homewood and I knew that meant, we were moving. Now it is no secret that my husband is a smart man, but he was a VERY SMART man and knew to never even mention moving, Alabama, or anything until it was time to pack up and GO! So... I knew this was the real deal. I had 5 minutes until my students walked in the door and I was trying to digest this thought knowing I couldn't tell anyone and there was no time to even ask him questions. WOW.... so from that moment 9:20 a.m. on January 21st, my mind, body, hormones (later to be explained), ideas of every project I ever wanted to do, job, house, friends, and everything else went into full blown marathon mode. Unfortunately, it was all moving faster than my "running time" too, LOL.
I could go month by month, but that would be forever so here are the highlights!
Life Change #1: MOVING... I should be able to just stop there because the word MOVE and 9 hours says it all. But... for an OCD person like myself, that means, clean out, garage sale, clean out, garage sale, clean out, reorganize, sell on craig's list, sell on ebay, clean out, reorganize. Yes in that order and in that order about 20 times. By the time June 20th... moving day rolled around, I wondered how in the world we had anything to move because I had gotten rid of it all. I am QUEEN OF SELLING, I don't keep crap. That is my "new saying". Thank God my garage is labeled and organized and I don't own a storage shed because that would have probably just stored up more crap, so luckily I did stay on top of organizing and it wasn't too bad. The other day I actually stopped and thought about everything that took place, the process, the order, etc... and I just shivered thinking... thank GOD that is over. Even though the whole process is over, it just gave me anxiety to think about how much it all had to fall into place, yet it worked out perfectly.
So I won't recap the moving process, here is the post for that process.
(The Big News) However, from that 9:20 a.m. moment, I became quick friends with lots of people at church schools for Charlee Kate and at Homewood Board of Education. I never even sent resumes or called another school system. Talk about God's timing, couldn't have been better.
Life Change #2 CK's School: In the whirlwind of finding the perfect school for Charlee Kate, we visited and called lots, lots, lots. I found the "perfect" one and all worked out, until.... July when I was all settled in my cottage, working at my school in Edgewood and realized I didn't want Charlee Kate at that school 10 minutes away, I wanted her 1 minute from me, 1/2 mile from the house. In the crazy attempt and thought that she might be able to get in the one and only class I had visited at this one particular school, I thought I would call the director and just give it a try. She humored me, very nice, but I know she thought I was a looney. Well... within a week, a family that had been a part of that particular class was moving and there was one opening and it happened to be my first day of school. Now really... you can't tell me God wasn't working on that one too. I was just beside myself excited! So off to her new school it would be!
Life Change #3: ME.. new school, new job, new principal, new coworkers, and new upper grade level when the babies were my passion. I think I had more anxiety than most jobs I ever worked at because this was "IT". This is where I have always wanted to be, where I wanted my kids to go to school, and where we want to stay put. So of course there would be anxiety because I want to love it and pray that it all works out. That is stress when you think about it... remember from day 1 I have said "my long term glasses are on...." So the change of the job started and there again, GOD had it planned out for me, LOVED it, every single bit of it. It was just perfect from the people, the location, and the lessons I would learn along the way. Jeremy's job has been the same, still with Life Fitness and Hammer. He does have some great new contacts/schools/and places, but then there are some he misses I AM SURE! Jeremy would never say it but realistically.... Miami and Orlando are a lot more exciting than Mississippi, LOL. But it is worth it and he is glad to be back home.
Life Change #4 HOUSING: Renting our house and finding the perfect one to rent. Renting a house in Homewood HAS to be one of the hardest things to do. There are plenty for sell but NOT for rent. I felt like I was back in the economy 6 years ago when houses didn't even stay on the market for a week. Jeremy was constantly looking and calling! If anything opened up, it was usually rented within a day so we were constantly out of luck. We decided to take a weekend in May to look around. We looked ALL weekend and were leaving to head back to Tampa with nothing! Literally the last "drive through" resulted in a random sign that had just been placed in the yard, and that was it. We found a house to rent and it has been a perfect location and perfect house so far. Renting has been the best thing to do as well! We have really been able to find out what we want and we already have a pretty good idea where we would live and what we want. We know one thing for sure, we love where we are!!!
Life Change #5: Chemicals: Weird I know but boy I think physical body challenges can sometimes be easier than chemicals ones b/c they are easier to figure out. By the beginning of March I started to feel a little more tired, weird, etc... Several times I even thought I was pregnant bc I felt weird, but just "dismissed it". I knew that I had a lot on my plate with finishing a school year, finding a place to live, moving, and the list goes on.. etc... so I just thought I was maybe crazy. However, as the weeks went on I realized I wasn't crazy, I didn't feel completely great and that "little weird" turned into "a lot weird". Finally I went to the doctor. 5 months later, many of doctor appointments later, millions of viles of blood later (yes now I ask the lab tech how many viles before she takes all my blood)... we figured out how absolutely crazy my hormones what the problems were. My thyroid was low and that was causing a lot of problems. YAY, it was somewhat of an answer and there were some solutions we could try. However, after many many doctors, FINALLY an infertility specialist realized that even though my thyroid was SOMEWHAT normal to an endocrinologist, she was a REPRODUCTIVE endocrinologist and said it was low and I needed supplements. That was the answer we had been looking for. I have had to go through a few rough patches but it is working out. I think I could officially be a thyroid doctor and hormone doctor because I feel like I have become an expert after all my reading and literally 50 tests and blood viles later. WHEW!!! Thank God for my infertility doctor (no worries, as far as pregnancy we are not seeing that as a concern, but I had to go ahead and go to her so she could learn my past). Had I been in Florida to stay during this process, I really may have gone crazy! It wasn't fun at all.... chemical changes are for the BIRDS!!!!
Life Change #6 Surgery: A little minor surgery that I needed/wanted for a LONG time now, finally all the pieces of the puzzle just worked out and I did it. I have now ask Jeremy to go back to school to be an antheisolgist because that is some of the best sleep that I had. LOL, I don't really want to feel "loopy" but for those 2-3 days, it was nice to just sit, sleep, feel good, and be waited on. Surgery isn't quite so bad. Now if I didn't have enough on my plate to start with, I threw surgery into the mix and 2 weeks before I started school. Sometimes I feel like I am superwoman and I can handle anything! I guess I had that thought at the moment, but I made it through it.
Life Change #7 Medical: Doctors, change of doctors, change of medical records, medical history... etc... and for the WHOLE family (including Chloe). This involves a lot of getting used to because you want GOOD ones so you don't have to change again, then transferring everything from dermatologist, to pediatrician, to OB/GYN, to everything in between is enough of a headache for one year, much less added to the rest of the package. However, hopefully this is the last change on those as well! That part was PROBABLY my least favorite thing. I enjoyed moving more than that but that is because moving means throwing out, selling, and reorganizing and I love to do all those things. Gives me a peaceful feeling!! All the above changes involve calls after calls after calls and waiting to find exactly the "perfect" one. Then once you find one, it takes awhile for a new doctor to learn about you and your history No fun!!!
Mystery #8 Projects: Not really a life change, but something that definitely took up a lot of my time: Its called PROJECTS!!! When I got the word we were moving, I think my mind somehow thought of EVERY SINGLE imaginary project that could be done. Clean out, sell, ebay, "invent stuff to be made whether it was a wood guy or my sewing lady", get rid of every piece of furniture that has annoyed me, find new furniture, paint all my furniture or have it painted exactly like I have wanted it, get all new bed stuff (mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows, etc...) BTW... Jeremy and I wondered why we didn't invest in Temperpedic 10 years ago. That is a life change in itself because it is the BEST sleep you can get. The list just goes on and on for all the things we thought of, bought, sold, or did. I just don't know why I thought it all needed to be done before I moved or as soon as I got here, but somehow I thought that and SOMEHOW it got done. Whew.... that was all a second job in itself. In the meantime of doing all these projects I taught some people how to do the projects as well. I think that could have been my real job for sure. Or else becoming an entrepreneur for Tampa. (is that the correct word??) I like to promote my favorite cute little shops and restaurants there I love and that I miss. Probably because I wanted to make sure someone else enjoyed them if I couldn't, LOL. Maybe I am missing a calling. I always said I wanted multiple jobs, but teacher and mommy are keeping me pretty busy!!!
Life Change #9 BEING HOME: Getting used to be being back "home". Yes that means being back in Bama, having family to help out when we really need it but also when we just need a break, Alabama games more easily accessible, running up lots of hills and mountains (no more just flat, flat land), southern food and southern people (that was easy to get used to), and the new area. This also meant a new "kind of house", closets not as big, but bigger yards, etc... I know this was because we were living in Homewood where the houses are super old, but I had a closet in Tampa with all wooden shelfs that Jeremy put up for me. I decided how I wanted it organized and I loved it. So one would think I would have had a super hard time with leaving it because we all know I love organization, especially when it comes to my closet. However, I have totally surprised myself and Jeremy with not even thinking twice about it. I love the character of the old houses... I still think South Tampa/Hyde Park would have been a very favorite place of mine to live for this reason. This "life change" was probably one of the easier ones because we lived in Birmingham and came back so much after we moved that we have transitioned quite well.
#9 (and a half) and another new school: If you have even sort of kept up with our blog you have seen the craziness we have been through with Charlee Kate's school. Each school and each situation seems perfect, then one was too far away and I didn't want to drive it, then the one she attended was perfect but they were closing down, so NOW we are at the best of the best and not going anywhere. At least we hope so!!! It has actually been an easy process and God has opened so many doors so as things change and move, that is just what we do. We are super excited that she is where she is though! It's still in the bubble, that is all that matters.
Life Change #10 Baby: As if we didn't have enough to think about... .what is the next question that EVERYONE wants to know??? When are you having another baby? No I am not pregnant, if so, I think you could put me in the "insane" category, but we aren't getting any younger so that thought needs to be moved to the front of my brain for future reference. Still not sure when that timing is going to be, but the fact that we need to be thinking about it, does give me a little anxiety. Not because I am going to have 2 kids, but because this could possiblybe my LAST child. I am not supposed to be that old for that thought!!!! Maybe there will be a baby in the near future as things are still settling down a little bit. I am sure God has that worked out perfectly, just has he did every other blessing in our life.
So, do we have plenty to thank God for this year? Absolutely positively yes!!!! I keep thinking "what did we do to deserve all of these blessings?" Even as we are here, he continues to unfold his plan for our lives here in Birmingham, I mean HOME, and he continues to guide our pathway of what is meant to be. We have a few things we ponder and think about for our future, then I just stop worrying, knowing that God has a HUGE plan for us!!! Again, I don't think ANY and I mean ANY of this could have been possible without the past 6 years in Florida. That taught me more than I could ever post about, but if I continue to post in the next 5-10 years to come, I am sure there will be a "Florida lesson" that pops up from time to time, something I learned and something that made me a better person. I miss all those people I met along the way and so thankful for the friends that were put in my pathway in Florida... It all started with Ashley (who makes me laugh even when we are 11 hours away... and knows me like we have been friends since childhood), Karen (my long lost Asian sister), Matt (my long lost brother who would love Bama but is always MIA), Heather (the one who brought "the south" to Florida when I needed that southern friend desperately), and Jacki and Susan who both should live in Bama because they are just like my southern friends! I miss you all, but I am so thankful that the 6 years I was in Florida, God put you in my path.
Here are to 2 more months of blessings in the year 2011 and I look forward to every day, every week, every month of opportunities to see what God has in store for us! It was a journey for 6 years, but YES we are back HOME! Living a dream! I will welcome a much more relaxed 2012.
As a friend and I were talking about being home she said the BEST saying/quote, WHATEVER you want to call it that I have heard in awhile. She said.... Being back home is so exciting and so wonderful, but that doesn't always mean it will ALWAYS be easier. That is so true and I do have to remind myself and others of that!!!! Have a fabulous weekend! I feel like at this point I should say "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"
None of these pictures were the best. Blurry for some strange reason and she was totally looking the other way, but its all I had. At least it is something for today : ) The flats came off soon after and the UGGS went on.
Friday night we had a neighborhood Halloween Party. It was COLD outside, so she had to be bundled up. She played in the jumpies all night long. She had a blast. There are so many kids on our street and so many little girls just LOVE to take care of her! We had a lot of fun!
Oh she has to be able to put her shoes on by herself! We bought these last year and I love them! They fit her now and she loves to wear them. Thank goodness because I love flats, especially crewcuts so now she can wear them! YAY!
Check out this pose with the pumpkin? No smile, just loving on the pumpkin. I got one though!
