Have I told you lately...

 Avery swimming in the lake

 Probably my new favorite picture of her

 Mr. Smartypants

After dinner with my parents

I know people say it all the time, but I really mean it- I am blessed! In no way does that mean that my life is perfect or without hiccups. In fact, if you know me, then you know that there are things I struggle with, and things I'm trying to improve about myself. But none of that changes the fact that I have a blessed life. I have an amazing husband who loves and knows me like no one else, and a healthy daughter who changes and makes me laugh every day! There are many more things in my life that I am thankful for including my relationship with God, family and friends. I'm smiling as I write this post :)

The last few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind! John passed his last and final board exam...PRAISE THE LORD!!! It's been a massive time commitment to study for this test, and he's been working towards this last exam for three years now! My parents are in town, and we've had a lovely visit! I always love and appreciate my family, but I especially feel those emotions when they are down here because it makes me miss having family around to spend time with. Things at work are going really well, and I think there is something like three weeks left til the end of the school year (I'm not into countdowns, so I may be way off)! I'm really looking forward to this summer when my little family can spend some much needed family time together without studying being on everyone's mind! I have a few things in my mind I'd like to do: lots of beach and pool trips, strawberry picking, trips to the zoo, and fishing. We're going up to NY to visit family the end of July for a week, and I'm excited to bring Avery to fun places John and I both remember fondly as children.

Have I told you lately I feel blessed? I'm sure you feel blessed in an area of your life. What is it? I'd love to hear :)

You better recognize...

A friend of mine stole this idea from her friend, and I'm stealing it from her. It's important to recognize the people in your life who have made an impact, shaped who you are, and except you including all your ugly flaws. I'm especially reflective of the ladies in my life today with it being Mother's Day.

In no particular order:

 Kristi: You're the first person I left Avery with and you cared for her like your own. Because of that- you are so special to me!

 Jess: You're the most non-judgmental person I know. Accepting and caring just touches the surface of your personality.

 Claire: Opposites in basically every single way. I never thought I could like, nay LOVE my opposite as much as I love you. Motherhood is so much more fun because of you.

 Wendy: Was it really 22 years ago that we started making up Michael Jackson dances in your pool? I love my awkward years with you.

 Danielle: You have a strength and independence that is admirable. I'm hoping it'll rub off on me someday. 

Angela: You're my grounded, 'ain't gonna give up' friend. Nothing shakes you, and I've learned a lot from how you handle life's lemons. You make more than lemonade...you throw a lemon pie in there, too!

 Michele: You've been my 2nd mother since having Avery and I don't know what I would have done without you the first few months! I so value our conversations and special friendship.

 Me and Danielle

 Me and Angela

 Me and Kristi

 Me and Claire

 Me, Wendy and Avery

Me and Michele

 Me and Jess

Hot Mamas

I have the pleasure of knowing some wonderful mothers! None of them are perfect, or even pretend to be- but each does their best to be an awesome mom to their child(ren). The moms I invited have each had an impact on me in some way.

Not everyone knew each other (or at least very well), so I made a little mixer game for us to play. It was called, 'Find a Mother Who...' Examples of the questions are, 'Find a mother who got less than 6 hrs of sleep last night', 'Find a mother who has been thrown up on in public', 'Find a mother who's family lives the furthest away from Virginia' and so on.

It made me so happy to see so many great moms in one room. I kind of wish we could combine forces and write a book or something!

I made a banner of pictures of each mother and her child(ren) hanging and asked the moms to take a picture of someone they don't know well/speak to often so they could pray for that mother, send them an encouraging email, or just think of them on their way to work. Motherhood aint easy, ya'll!

 Some of the ladies hanging out.

 Playing the mixer.

 Our game.

The banner I made.

Never alone in my thoughts...

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” ~Sophia Loren


I saw this quote, and really liked it! For those of you who are mothers (of any age), don't you agree? I find myself thinking of Avery all the time. It doesn't matter if I'm at work, playing with her, or watching a movie while she is napping. That little girl has found a way to crawl into every corner of my mind. And I don't mind a bit!

Next weekend I am hosting a Mother's Day brunch, and have invited 16 ladies to celebrate the honor of motherhood. Some of the women have grown children, and some have newborn babies! Some are mothers of multiples, and some have grandchildren- I love the wide range of mothers in my life and the unique impact they've each had on me.

I'm hoping that the brunch will be a special time of fellowship, and recognition of a special honor that God has blessed us with. And it doesn't hurt that there will be some yummy food, too :)

Run Leah, run!

I ran a mile yesterday without stopping, and set a PR- under 10 minutes. 9.40 to be exact! I know for most this is not a big deal, but for this girl- it's HUGE! I hate running (always have, even when I was stick skinny in middle/high school), and probably always will. My asthma makes it hard to enjoy running, since 0.5 miles in I can barely breath. I'm going to keep working at it. I put on Facebook yesterday that I wanted to give a shout out to Jay Z, Rhianna, and Destiny's Child (I listened to them while running at the gym yesterday), and of course Jesus! I hope people got that I was making it sound like a speech at the Grammy's or something. You've always gotta thank Jesus!

I have been really disciplined with my workouts the last month, and have seen a difference, too! My clothes are loser, my body feels firmer, and I have more stamina while doing my workouts. I have a long way to go, but I'll be the first to say that I'm proud of myself! I want to lose more weight, and enjoy my body before I get pregnant again. I'm not when that will be, but the thought of gaining 30-40 pounds and carrying around another big belly makes me cringe right now.

Countdown

I've never been much of a countdown person. I didn't have one while I was engaged. I didn't have one when I was pregnant with Avery, and I don't have one now that I've made the decision to not return to work next year. A part of me gets excited when I hear how many days left til something, and then another part of me gets anxious, and stressed!

There are 7 more weeks til the end of the school year, and I'm pretty stoked about it! I cannot wait to be home with Avery, be productive in my home, go to the gym in the morning rather than after a long day at work, and there's a laundry list of other reasons.

However, I am not going to work the next 7 weeks with all of that on my mind. Rather, I am going to work with excitement, effort, and with a good work effort. I refuse to 'check out to lunch', just because I know I won't be returning next year. At times it will be hard, but my Dutrow staff has been amazing this year- and I need to return the favor...especially these last 7 weeks.

Decision

I am so excited that John and I made the decision for me to be a stay at home mom again next year!! It's a decision that we've been talking a lot about, and praying about for months now and both feel it's the right decision for us, and Avery. People have very different opinions and thoughts about working moms, and stay at home moms. Sometimes people think they are helping by throwing their opinions and thoughts at me about my decision. You're not making things easier, or enlightening me. Some people think I'll get bored staying at home, some people have said I will regret this decision, some people think I'll get sick of Avery...

I have really appreciated those who have offered to pray for me while making my decision, and those who have said they would support me either way.

Our childcare situation this year has been a roller coaster and it’s not looking much better for next year. We've been juggling numerous sitters this year, and it has been a very overwhelming stressful issue. I have absolutely LOVED being an Interventionist, and Dutrow has been an awesome school to work at- but without having family in the area to fall back on, working full-time just won’t work for now. I am going to explore maybe working part-time like I did last Spring (I worked about 12 hrs a week for a few months), but definitely nothing full-time.

I feel so grateful for the opportunity to try a new job, and work at a new school. I can honestly say it has been the best year of teaching I've had over the last 7 years, but I have really missed being home with Avery, and feel strongly it's where I need to be.

So bring on lots of diaper changes, potty training, a messy kitchen, trips to the park, doctor visits, and playdates!! A new chapter begins...