Big Changes!!

Big changes in our house...We have worked really hard, we have prayed really hard...and now, I can quit my job and stay home to take care of my family full time.

God has truly blessed us for this to be able to happen right now. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, but we had to pay off a few bills first. So, we did that. Then, John had to get comfortable with the idea. And he's there now. He occasionally has a bout of anxiety, but, I would imagine, that's normal.

It will be a pretty big change. We won't have the money to "play" as much as we did before. Don't get me wrong, we won't be poverty stricken...John has a great job that pays him well enough that we can pay our bills with ease and have a little extra. But we will have to be careful about what we spend our "extra" on.

Several people have told me that they are surprised I am quitting because I worked so hard during nursing school. I know they are just nicely trying to say, "You were crazy (really crazy) during school trying to make an A, why are you giving it up?" Well, I have a desire in my heart to be at home for my kids after school and cook my family dinner every night. I want to have dinner on the table when John gets home at 5:30 (I really should've been a wife and mother in the 1950s). I want to take my kids to school every day and pick them up. I want to drive them around to their activities (within reason, Katie!!). I want to do laundry! Yes, I said it. I want to scrub my kitchen floors with a toothbrush (see, I'm still crazy!). I want to actually be able to focus on my kids and John when they walk in the door. I truly want to know how their day was and I want to be able to hear them when they tell me. I don't want to be distracted by something else I need to take care of at work tomorrow or thinking I only have this many hours before I need to get to bed and I've got all these things to do.

I want my house to be a haven when John and the kids get home. I don't want them to dread coming home because it's chaos and I'm stressed (and you know, if Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy). And right now, I feel like that's what it is. I am not balancing work and home. I don't know how single parents do it. When John is traveling and I'm a single parent, physically and emotionally, it's more than I can take. And I know he'll be home at the end of the week. And I don't have to worry about money. Even if he's traveling, I still get his paycheck. Wow, single parents....you have my respect!

God has placed this desire on my heart. I haven't always had it. I have peace about this situation. And I KNOW that's from God, cause I'm a worrier through and through.

I am hoping to have a flex position at the hospital that allows me to work maybe one day a week. This way, I won't lose my skills as a nurse. I really like being a nurse. I love being able to make a difference in people's lives and enjoy the medical side of it also. It will also give us a little bit of play money (that makes John feel a little better). But, I can work when it's convenient for my family. And it'll get me out of the house occasionally.

Hope everyone has a merry Christmas! And remember Jesus. He is the reason for all the goodness in our lives and he gives the BEST gifts!