Being a full time homemaker...

Well it is hard to believe it is already the middle of January. Seems this fall went very fast. Last year at this time I was choreographing a big spring show and had about 24 dances waiting to be created by me. Lets say ..HIGH STRESS.  I have to admit that I certainly do not miss that stress of what this time of year use to bring us each year where that is concerned. But I do definetly miss my students, I miss teaching them, and I miss being able to express myself through my dance.  Something no one understands unless you have walked in the shoes of a dance studio owner.

 Being home full time has had huge benifits for my kids, I can see it. Although finacially sometimes I feel guilty like I should be working. I can tell the two older kids like me being here more.  Although they are both usually busy with their own things just like a teenagers are, they still know Im here. While Gracie gets me all day long :-).  Sometimes winter days seem to get long when we can not get outside to play, so I have to be creative with play things, but I have also been tossing the idea around of preschool classes for her for the rest of the winter. It would be just two days a week and only 2.5 hours.   I remember Amanda being at the studio and making little friends in her dance classes. But with Gracie, all my friends children are either older , or much younger..I think she needs preschool not only to learn and challenge her, but also a way for us to meet some little people and make new friends! She is a social butterfly, loves kids, plays so good with them, and I just know she would probebly love it. Im really proud of the two older ones...Amanda is in her first play that will be this spring and doing great in school, and Bailey is having fun playing basketball for the highschool...Highschool games are so much fun!

Looking back 2011

Sometimes it seems as if this past year went very slowly and yet so fast. Hard to believe another year is behind us and another awaits us. Our family had alot of blessings, changes, and challenges over this past year. After 16 yrs of Terry having his city engineer position here he accepted a new position in a community that would require him to commute 1.5 hrs there and back each day. These changes were really hard on our family and I won't sugar coat it!  Me running my dance business and him not home until 7 took its toll on us pretty quickly! About 11 months later he was offered another job in a closer community. Now commuting only 45 minutes and getting home by 5 makes this much easier on all of us.

As you probably read earlier last fall I closed my dance business of 12yrs as well. Again one of the hardest decisions I have had to personally make for myself. But now being home full time things are sure much more peaceful around here. I was use to being extremely crazy busy and now life has slowed down quite a bit.  Being here when the two older ones get home from school and home with Gracie is priceless. I am very much available to everyone and I know they all LOVE that!! I also competed in three NPC fitness competitions in the past year. It took alot of training and dedication, but being a goal oriented person my mind was set to try to achieve something such as this. It has truly changed me for the better. I plan to continue in the fitness world and some day receive my Pro-card and also become a certified trainer and help others reach their fullest potential. The support I got from people around me was so important, and the non support of others I just had to try not to let it bother me.

 Also in the past year our kids transferred from Christian school into public school, this was a bit of an adjustment for them both as well. So it seemed we all had changes and our own challenges. But the kids both have made really good and new friends, they are doing great and involved in their school. Bailey is playing bball and Amanda will be in her first play. I have seen them blossom and grow and come out stronger! When you are in challenge life can seem so hard, but when you get through it you see the beautiful rainbow at the end, you learn from them and you grow and become a stronger person!

2012 is here and I'm sure there will be challenges along the way, there always are in life..but it is all in how you handle them, and what you can learn from them that matters. With out some challenges we would not learn to appreciate those small or large blessings that come! God never said he would leave us alone. In fact he walks right by our side every day. And at those time when things get rough he will carry you through it if you need.