One year ago...

I've been reflecting today on how much our lives have changed in the past year. One year ago today I was teaching kindergarten at Faulkner Academy. Mike had just finished up five years of working at New Horizons and was beginning work as a therapist in Kokomo. And unbeknownst to us, Abraham was being knit together in my womb.

God has provided for our little family in numerous ways since last August. Here are just a few.

1. Mike has a job where he is respected and treated as a professional. He is enjoying his work as a therapist working with adolescent boys. We were challenged in April when he was laid off for a short time, but we were blessed when he was called back to work after only 12 hours of being unemployed. An added bonus is that he was called back with full-time status, allowing him to take advantage of the benefits and insurance, which has given me the freedom to stay home with Abraham.

2. I was able to return to work at Marion Community Schools. After a rather tumultuous beginning to the 2008-2009 school year in Marion, it became apparent that they had reduced the number of teachers by a few too many. I was able to return to MCS and teach kindergarten at Southeast Elementary School with a great group of teachers. It was a difficult decision to leave the charter school, but I knew that I wanted to be in a place where I had adequate resources and support to educate my students. We also knew that we wanted to start a family, and MCS offered great insurance and an accumulation of my sick days that would allow us to do so! What we didn't know was that we would be adding to our little family before the end of that school year!

3. We have been immeasurably blessed with the birth of our dear little son, Abraham. Becoming parents is better than we ever had imagined. Mike and I have now ventured together down a new path of parenting, and we are enjoying it so much! I am loving being a mommy, and enjoying learning new skills like cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and babywearing. :)

4. We have seen several dear friends and family members start new lives together. My cousin Claire and her husband Aaron in December, our friends Joel and Meredith in June, my baby sister Rebekah and her husband Josh also in June, and our friend Roberto will marry his beautiful bride Maryjo in just a few more days! We are so blessed to be able witness and be a part of these joyous unions. Congratulations, dear ones!

5. My sister Jennifer and her husband Matt also added Samuel to their family one week after Abraham was born. We look forward to seeing our boys grow and change and become friends throughout the coming years!

To sum it all up, I would not have believed you if you had told me a year ago today that I would be a stay-at-home-momma with my sweet son Abraham. While I do miss school and my students and I worry about if we will be okay financially, we are trusting God to provide for us and I am cherishing this time of being a full-time mommy.

Here is the "wow, a lot can happen in a year" cake. You knew there had to be a cake, right?