I closed my eyes for just a second and when I opened them an entire year had passed.
Well, that's how it feels anyway.
Shamefully, I neglected this blog this past year. So much has changed from a year ago, that I always felt I couldn't just "pick up where I left off" ... it needed some segue, so I procrastinated. (What else is new?)
So here I am to try and pick back up, ready for a New Year.
In 2011, we moved to Virginia from North Carolina. We now live with David's grandmother (we help her with the cooking and cleaning and such :)) in the house that David's parents own. We have been so blessed with this living arrangement because we have been unsuccessful with selling or renting our North Carolina house.
In 2011, we joined the church that David went to as a youth - the church that took him to World Changers back in 2000 when we met :) ... It is such a wonderful place to worship God without feeling like it has become a duty, rather it is a delight. I have joined the choir, and ensemble, and help lead the Preschool choir. The girls are enjoying their classes as well. Carissa loves preschool choir, Sunday school, and Mission Friends. And David is a member of the Hand Bell choir. We very much enjoy our young marrieds' Sunday school class, and have made wonderful new friends. Such a blessing!
In 2011, David FINALLY got a job with his degree - making about what we were both making combined in 2010. He enjoys his job and is currently studying to work on getting certifications so he can continue to move up in his field! What an answer to prayers!
In 2011, I developed a love (and discovered a talent) for sewing! I started out with sewing (and selling) cloth diapers! I learned a lot from that experience! Biggest lesson was that if I am going to run a WAHM business, I have to make it fit my family - not make my family fit my business. I began by taking custom orders, only to realize how huge the demand was! I absolutely could not keep up! My poor children and the condition of my home were neglected miserably, and I was so stressed trying to get all the diapers finished in a timely manner for customers. On top of all of that, I hit a few bumps along the way with the functionality of the diapers that I had to fix and ended up replacing diapers. Yow! Can you say OVERWHELMED? I had to take a huge step back. I attempted to get caught up and then create a stock. I had a lot of people anxious for me to "reopen" so I set a date for them, only I wasn't ready in time. I worked round the clock and stressed myself out to get a decent stock made (and still didn't finish what I'd hoped to), and half of what I did finish sold almost immediately. But whenever I pushed myself to make a lot of diapers to meet a deadline, I crashed and burned and the idea of sewing more diapers did not appeal to me. So I took another step back, and have pretty much just set that business aside - temporarily. I started sewing other things for fun to rekindle my love of creating. I have decided that I do not want to limit myself to just sewing cloth diapers. I want to be able to enjoy making a variety of items - at my own pace. So now I plan to SLOWLY work on building a "boutique" of sorts - and I will open ONLY when I am completely satisfied with my available stock, and have my patterns and kinks worked out. (Check out my sewing blog for the latest on my projects:
Sewtastic Fun )
In 2011, I became a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. While I thoroughly enjoy my sewing businesses, I have to put in a lot of time to make much of a profit right now. Some pieces of the puzzle came together and this opportunity opened up for me. I really enjoy this! It has been slow going for me as of yet (but I truly don't want to burn out on something else on my plate). I am working on getting things organized and ready to make the most of 2012 - and hopefully start having consistent events so that I can start adding to our family's income.
In 2011, we celebrated Kathryn's 1st Birthday and Carissa's 3rd birthday! My how they are growing up SO quickly!!! Both of them are extremely talkative - really ... I don't have any idea where they could have picked that up ;) .... Hmm. They are super sisters. They truly love each other and are always thinking of the other. I will have to post future blogs to highlight their development and personalities because I could write a lot about them! They are my pride and joy for sure! :)
In 2011, God had taught me one major lesson: I need to stop trying to leave the season of life God has me in, because He has me here for a reason. Instead, I need to step back and see Him at work. I have seen countless accounts of God showing me the reason we are where we are. This was not what we had planned by any means, and it was not the best of circumstances that headed us down this path. But all of 2010, I ignored what I knew in my gut God was telling me to do, and I was miserable. Allowing Him to take the reigns and just trusting that He will provide has proven to be the best thing ever. Our life is 100x better this year than it was last year, and I owe Him all the praise! I know we are still on a journey. But I feel my trust, my faith, and my patience have all grown a lot in the last year! I know God has big things in store for us! And I am anxiously looking forward to all that 2012 has in store for us!! :)
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
