Life's Unexpected Blessings

How did you get to where you are?  Did you plan your life the way it is this very moment.  Isn't it almost unfathomable how each set of decisions and choices you've made during your lifetime were planned?  That breath you just took, that blink your eyes just fluttered, that sigh you exhaled as you read the text on this page.  Doesn't make you wonder what else the universe is pulling together for you at this moment?

If you are here because you know me, because you found me on Google or via a Facebook share...it is for a reason.  My story is a lengthy one but worth sharing over and over!  

I was raised in Montana by a single mother who worked very hard to care for my two sisters and I.  We have a large family and thank God for them.  Life would be a lot less eventful and less humorous without them.  I do have a dad-no tearful saga here-but he has always loved from a distance.  Growing up in Montana is quite a boring story.  Our home was a two-bedroom with an unfinished basement but it never felt small to us because it was home!  We had a pretty average childhood. I had great friends growing up-nothing too traumatic with the exception of me getting hit by a car in the fourth grade.  But guess what...I SURVIVED!  Did I ruin the ending?  

Middle School and High School seemed like an eternity to me...but as I reflect back now they are so blurred together I barely remember much more than basketball, orchestra, coffee at Cattin's, and cruising 10th Ave S for cuties on the weekend.  I met amazing and incredibly unforgettable people through those activities (many who may be reading this very blog post!). I moved out at 17, finished high school, worked full time, and finally with the persuasion of my dear ol' mom moved away to go to college. 

I had a slight hiccup in the road during college--I call her Jocelyn.  She is my 11 year old daughter.  No fairy tale love story here yet.  Her dad and I knew each other in college-she happened-and I carried on my merry way!  Still working full-time, attending college and raising Jocelyn...I completely had sworn off men (not going the other way-just decided to put a pause on love).  If you were from where we are, you would understand why.  BUT this is where it always hits you.  God always has a plan for you!  Never when you want it-but always on time.  <----Insert husband here------>  Jason and I dated 1.5 years, got married, had Jaxson (now 7) and off he shipped for a year in Korea.  We stayed behind.  So here I was with a 4 year old and a 5 week old---husband gone---and attending not one but TWO universities so that I could graduate as planned.  I did it!  Received my B.A. in Mass Communication and got hired on at the American Red Cross of Montana!  

Here comes the sunny part! We got orders to Florida!  So Jason returns home after a year, we hit the road 36 hours across America and arrive in Florida.  Hated it for nearly 6 months but now the thought of having to leave makes me literally tear up.  We added another baby boy to the equation IMMEDIATELY after we decided to try and if having a baby was "God's Plan" then so be it...well we found out we were pregnant 4 weeks later!  Enter Julius (now 2).  During our time here our children have gone from best friends to mortal enemies (this is ages 1 & 5 to ages 7 & 11).  Some of you parents can totally relate.  We purchased our first home, we went through deployments, elementary and middle schools, and this brings us to now!  Jason is currently in Honduras completing his 365 tour, we sold the house (orders to San Antonio), 3 crazy kids and a mellow mama (this is a slight exaggeration) in a 2 bedroom condo on the beach, working full-time, and running a business from home!  


The crazy part is that it feels like I was that flamboyant little seventh grader just yesterday.  But that is now almost the age of my daughter!  I am looking down the barrel of a 34 year old woman's eye sockets (this being me).  How all these years have floated by--yet we can recall all of it---like never was one moment missed.  I am saddened when I look at pictures...I can put myself back in that exact moment.  The feeling, the smell, each quality of it that made it a "moment."  Would I rewind time if I had the chance?  That's a question I don't quite know the answer to.  

What I can say is this...I am blessed.  Truly and utterly blessed.  I have my health.  I have three talented, humorous, healthy children.  I have a selfless, loving, nurturing, and supportive husband.  I have a business that I absolutely love and I know can change lives and is continuing to alter mine.  I have a job that I adore and bosses that will never be matched in awesomeness.  We own 2 cars that run.  I have a home with heat and a bed to sleep in.  I have food that will sustain my family and keep us nourished.  I have money in the bank and my bills are PAID IN FULL MONTHLY.  

I mean is it even possible for God to outdo this?  Just take each moment and analyze it.  Think about what is right about it and not whats wrong.  Focus on your life and not on others.  Offer your opinion when asked and don't enforce it.  Be someone that others will one day look to and say...."now that ___your name here     , he/she is the most wonderful person I may have ever met."  Be your favorite person starting today!  

Okay chickees...Love you!!! Continue reading and thank you for supporting lil ol' me!