Jammie Church

Over the last year, I have fallen in love with corporate worship.

For months, we had lazy Sundays of jammie church and coffee.

Honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted to break that trend when our church announced that it would be opening it's doors again.

Sundays had become a routine. 

We would watch the sermon and maybe sing a song.

When I signed up for church the first week that we could attend and I stood with the smaller congregation and listened to the singing of others around me, I sobbed like a baby.

We are meant to worship together. To do church together.

Hearing other sing, even with muffled voices thanks to the masks. 

I knew I needed to be there.

I know I need to be there. With you.

God has been revealing Himself to me this year. I want more and more of Him. I am thankful for those in my life who are seeking Him, pursuing Him with me. I love the church.

Letting Go

Today I moved Charlotte to her own room.

It was time.

But it is so hard to let go.

She is my last baby to sleep in the cradle. The last baby I will roll over and watch sleep next to me.  The last one to wake me with her grunts and wiggles.

We also started putting her in the nursery during church.

I am a firm believer of these small steps of letting go. It makes it easier in the long run. For them. And for us.

While there are days that I am not ready, I know that it is what must be done sooner or later.

And every day she is cooing and smiling more. And feeling more and more like a baby and less like a newborn. Giving me more things to let go of.

Giving You Some Background

My family moved. A lot. Like I am only a few years older than how many places I have lived in my life.

My parents made life fun. They were always doing puppet shows for the neighborhood or letting us have lots of friends over. Their love for Jesus poured out of them and into every aspect of our lives. So,  even though moving was difficult and terrible, they kept Michael and I happy and gave us things to look forward to in each move.

With each move, new people entered our lives. It hurt to say goodbye, but the new people helped it not hurt as bad. I wouldn't know half as many people as I do if we had not moved. 

Moving made our family close. Sometimes we only had each other. And while there are times that I wish we could have been like my husband and only live in a few places, I am grateful for the bond that my family has from moving as often as we did. 

The biggest impact that moving had on me was probably in relationships. Relationships are fragile and distance breaks them. So as I got older I began to build walls around myself to keep myself from truly allowing myself to open up to others. It wasn't until college that I feel like I let some of those walls come down.

As we currently prepare to move, we are considering and weighing all the options that are available to us. I don't want to jump the gun and uproot our family if it is not necessary. But I also want to hopefully stay where we land for the next 25 years. When did I become the adult making these decisions? They are not easy that is for sure.

Mrs. Watson

When I was in the 6th grade I met one of the nicest people I have ever known. I was nervous about starting 6th grade and moving up to the Middle School, but very excited to see my friends and talk about the summer.

Me in Middle School 

One of the first of my teacher's that I met was Mrs. Watson. She taught computer class.

During those first days, I learned where my fingers should sit when typing and where each letter was located. (I still remember the phrases for each row of letters.)

Quickly, I grew a love for computers. My parents usually dropped me off early for school so instead of sitting in the halls or in homeroom doing nothing, I would go to Mrs. Watson's room. I would boot up all the computers with my password which was also a nickname that my friends called me. Then, I would help her set up the room for the day.

Mrs. Watson was the nicest teacher. She was always really sweet and caring. She was so patient which now that I have my own kids, I am amazed at anyone that has this trait. If you didn't get something right away, she would keep teaching you until you finally had your ah-ha moment.

When I was getting ready to graduate and head off to high-school, she wanted to do something special for me to thank me for all the times I helped her. She took me to the mall and bought me a ring with my birthstone. Then, she took me to get Glamour Shots done which was quite the rage then. This day was one of the funnest days I have ever had.

Me in High School wearing the ring

Glamour Shots (Yes, this hair was in style.) 

As I look back and remember her, I am so grateful for her. She made middle school so much more fun and enjoyable for me. I cannot say enough how thankful I am for her as a teacher. Her impact on my life is one of the reasons I desire to work with high school students. I hope to make an impact on them the way she did me.

Grown-Up Shoes

Fact. I do not think of myself as a grown-up. Not sure why.

Maybe it is because I don't want to grow up. (I am indeed a Toys R Us kid.)

Maybe it is because I still like to have fun and in my mind somewhere I think that grown-ups don't have fun.

Maybe it is because being a grown-up means I am not young.

I don't really know.

At what age should I feel grown-up?

I mean I do have a husband, a house, 2 kids, a cat, and a minivan.

And I am almost 30, people.

I had a moment yesterday. A small moment. When I felt like a grown-up.

I bought my first pair of true to life grown-up heels.