I AM GRATITUDE!

Children's Museum Day

Best Feeling Ever!

 Uh Oh! Got caught in the t.p.

Miss Independent wanted to feed herself...and the floor : )

Baby Girl is obsessed with "Choo Choos!" So we had to ride one and she waved at every single person she could see : )

This past Spring, I really thought the Lord wanted me to go back to work. I had to work one additional year to receive my full license as a School Counselor before 2013. I didn't worry about it at all, because I really thought that if He wanted me to have a job, He'd give it to me. Well, I only received one job interview and unfortunately I didn't get it.

It really began to impact my self-worth as a human being. But we all know that this ecomony really...SUCKS! And it's really hard to get a job because it seems like everyone is fighting for the same job. Well, I started to worry....

"What am I going to do if I lose my license" I'd ask The Hubs?

I called the Department of Education and they told me that if it expired and somebody wanted to hire me, then they'd have to apply for an extension on my license.

"Who's gonna wanna hire someone who's license has expired and who's work experience says, "Changed Diapers, Bathed and Fed Child blah blah blah blah blah."

I had a very bad attitude about it all; to the point where I started getting jealous of all those people out there with work. But very recently, the Lord has been working diligently on my heart.

As my husband says, "You are so blessed Kim. Not many women get to stay home and watch their kids grow up."

That really hit home for me. And then there are days I just am amazed at Baby Girl and how wonderful she is. Just like yesterday, when she reached her arms up to me and hugged my neck. I can't tell you how amazing that felt. And now's she's giving us kisses...such a sweet girl. So I sucked it up and apologized to God for my disgraceful attitude and my worrisome thoughts.

As I always preached to my students when I was a School Counselor, "Have gratitude." I remember one child specially yelling at me one day, "I am gratitude! I am gratitude!"

Well, if that little one can be gratitude, then so can I. I'll shout it to the roof tops, "I AM GRATITUDE!"

And because I have made a conscious effort to thank the Lord for this blessed job, each day has been more beautiful than the last. No more worries about what will happen when my license expires because right now, God has given me the "Parent License." And I'm gonna enjoy each moment with her...and the new baby : )

Just a year a half ago, she was 7 lb 6 oz...so tiny. She's grown so big so fast. Sometimes I can't even remember what she looked like as an infant! But these really are the best years and I'll never get them back. So thank you God for allowing me to watch my baby grow up. Oh yeah, and when I do apply for... as what some people call, "A Real Job," I'll describe my duties as follows:

1. Compassion: Wiped hundreds of tears from my little one's eyes.
2. Endurance: Spent many sleepless nights holding my little one during teething, sickness, bad dreams, etc.
3. Love: Unconditonally loved a tiny human being by diapering, feeding, bathing, hugging and tickling every single day.
4. Education: Taught my little one how to be kind, how to speak, how to crawl, and how to walk.
5. Sacrifice: I gave it all up for my family. Sometimes cooking three meals a day, sometimes folding laundry late into the evening hours, sometimes reading the same book twenty times, and yes, sometimes giving up time for myself, so that my child and husband felt like they mattered.