Everything I Know, I Learned in Six Months

I don't think there's anything else I need to know to live a successful life. Enjoy.

Confidence is Available (In 5 Easy Steps!)

1. Throw on a pair of pants that's a size too big (you know, the ones you wore RIGHT after you had a baby?). Stretch out the fabric like they do in those Jenny commercials and bam, you lost weight darlin! A while ago, but you did it.
2. Side bangs. The simplest way to let the world know, "I care, but not too much." 
3. Turn up the song Party Rockers. You'll find that you can't help but dance and, might I add, become a Party Rocker yourself. 
4. Buy flowers. Or get your husband to do it for you. Tip: Leaving an empty vase out on the kitchen table works 40% of the time, all the time.
5. Look at that baby you made. She claps! She laughs! You taught her those things, you amazing woman, you. Teacher of the Year. 

Sleep is A Gift

Scientists claim not to understand the real reason we need sleep. That's because they're thinking too hard about the issue. Let me break it down for you:

1. Without a good night of sleep, you'll feel less "yourself" and more "Count Dracula". Nasty sides of yourself which you thought you conquered, turn out to still be a lingering mess. Volcano. Eruption. 
2. Without a good night of sleep, decision-making feels daunting. What cereal do I want to buy?! I don't know! Just pick one for me! This is not good.
3. Without a good night of sleep, it's harder to convince yourself to exercise. That means you can get a little, ahem, hefty. Noted.
4. Without a good night of sleep, you'll have a pile of "outbox" emails which you wrote but never sent. Your husband will become annoyed with you. You will feel silly.

Life is Awesome and Fun

God's grace is redemptive and overwhelming and will pick you up on the worst days and carry you through the best days.

Listening to a baby's giggle is like watching chocolate fondue wrap its sticky little arms around the juiciest strawberry you ever saw. And then eating it.

Redecorating a house can turn it into home. Into stability. Into a mirror reflection of you. And hey, that's not so bad.

Songza exists, so eat that, YouTube.

The really difficult moments - the tunnels we see no light through - come to an end. And then we miss them. I forget what it's like to be strapped to a couch for six hours, learning to nurse a baby and watching her sleep peacefully. In those moments, I was frustrated and exhausted but now I would happily relive them considering I have the knowledge that truly, this too shall pass.

Being a stay at home mom does not mean I'm missing anything out "there". My Aunt is currently foster-parenting an infant and says she enjoys parenting the second time around (her kids are in their teens) because she appreciates the fact that she's really not missing anything in the real world. This is better. In your twenties, you always wonder what if you had deadlines or a boss or a commute, but once you jump on the career train, you realize that bubbly, snotty, crayon-y kids are much more fulfilling. 

There is nothing like a good community. I have found solace and support and love in ways I could never have imagined in our friendship community in our town. Through my Bible study and my church I have made connections with women who have taught me so much and have supported me through some very challenging days. We are all here for each other, holding each other up, and I want and need this kind of community for the rest of my life.

Marriage Is Worth It

Date nights are worth it. Babysitters are worth it. My best memory with John over these past few months was a night that my mom took The Caterpillar for a few hours and we restaurant-hopped: dinner here, dessert there - and then laid ourselves down at the lake underneath the stars and just watched them exist. 

Arguments are worth it. I don't mean "fights", the messy ones with no winner - I mean discussions which lead to conclusions and consensus and bring us together. The ones where you realize what's really going on in your heart and you surface it. They're hard but worth it. And made even better when Mom comes over to hang out with The Caterpillar while we hash the stuff out.

"We did this together". That's worth it. 

Growth is worth it. John and I began a course with a group of other couples called Love After Marriage. It's been amazing to learn together and grow together in spiritual ways we never saw coming. It's taken a lot of brutal honesty and patience but it's also been fun and amazing. One of our favourite "assignments" is to walk and pray together, and it makes a huge difference to pray for one another's families, goals, and life - together.

Prayer is worth it. I'll update a little bit more soon, but every time I find myself praying for John or aspects of his life, I find myself loving him more. This is worth taking the time to pray and making the effort to do it.