Thursday, July 23, 2015

Goodbye East Bay!


The season of living in the Bay Area has come to an end. It was a wild twenty-five fast months. 
Caleb graduated college and  accepted an amazing job offer. We waited a long time to find out where we were going to be located. It was a little over a month till he started and we had to move that we found out where his job was located at. We jumped in the car and rented the first apartment that accepted us in the good ol' East Bay. 
That first summer was so busy, we were gone for most of it. At the very end of the summer we found out that God had a miracle on the way for us. 

I didn't transfer jobs, or look for a job when we moved. I don't know if people agreed with that decision, but I found it pointless to get a new job only to leave in nine months when my baby came. 
So I took time to myself that season of pregnancy. Really listening to my body if I needed to rest, really listening to my heart if I needed to journal, really listening to Jesus about this new season of becoming a mom. 

I fell in love with my doctors, and the healthcare around me. I feel so blessed to experience all that I did. 

Caleb and I went on a date night every Friday night because we knew life was changing with a baby coming! I learned to cook more meals and experimented with new foods. We came up with traditions that we wanted for our family and for the first time spent Christmas morning all to ourselves. We were isolated from family, and I really enjoyed getting to have my husband all to myself and not sharing him with family and friends all the time. There wasn't any expectations of us being at a gathering or social event because we lived to far away. We really got to grow closer to each other. 

Nathan came along and within his first three weeks of life we moved to a bigger place. 
I got to set up a nursery while holding him. I got to decorate the walls with family pictures. I got to invite people over to meet our son. 

Nathan took his first bath in a bathtub in that bathroom. He ate his first foods in that kitchen. He threw his first fit in that family room. He rolled over and crawled on that carpet. He took his first steps across that family room floor. 
There's a lot of memories in this little condo. 
A lot of "firsts" happened here.  
Every week we went to Target, and the Park, to Moms Group and random little errands. 

Caleb lived most of his time in the Bay at work, on BART, or in the car going to and from work. But I lived every day in these towns; Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and Concord. This has been my home for the past 25 months. I learned back roads and short cuts. I learned that it takes a half hour to go 5 miles. I learned there's only one Starbucks with a drive thru in the whole area! I learned that people aren't so nice. I learned that everything cost more. Everything. I learned that to go into the city and leave the Area you have to pay 5$. I learned that drivers are crazy and yell at me for stopping at a yellow light. I learned that after a red light there will be at least three cars to run the red light (so don't go as soon as it turns green). And as my husband says, BMW drivers around here... Well watch out for them!!! 
Not everything here was perfect, and good, but a lot of freedom, love, bonding, growing up, crying, sporting events and walks happened here. 

I was terrified to move here. A handful of days were really hard. But to think of leaving everything that happened in our lives here makes my jaw quiver. I will miss a lot. Especially the perfect weather every day. 
I am excited for a new season. A cheaper area. New memories and new friends. I have no idea what's in store for us! 
But that excitement has been put on hold as I am grieving leaving an area that I really grew in. 
Countless times I was told I wasn't getting pregnant because of my stress level in Redding. We move, and seven weeks later I was pregnant! That excitement and news really tied my heart to this area. 
To my closest friends,
     I have complained and vented about life here and how ridiculously expensive it is to live here, but as I am spending my second to last night here, rocking in the rocking chair that put my baby to sleep every night, I'm in tears. 

East Bay, you will always have a part of my heart. You took such great care of me and my family. You made us grow in so many areas and I am truly grateful and even surprised that I'm feeling this sadness in my heart. We knew this wasn't our home forever. We guessed at least five years, but two is all we had and I'm grateful for every day. 

XoXo 

Sunday, July 19, 2015

.Birthday Time.



It's my last day being 25. A good ol' quarter of a century, my mid-twenties, not having to be in my upper twenties lol. 


I love my birthday. Every year I get so excited and have a countdown. I love my half birthday because it means my birthday is even closer! I love picking where I eat dinner and know that no one will complain about my choice. I love my pink birthday cake. I love getting my free Starbucks. I love being sang "Happy Birthday"!

This year I've had so many thoughts about my birthday that I've never had before. Maybe it's because tomorrow I will be in my "upper twenties" or maybe it's because my life has been radically changed by becoming a mom that I view things differently. 

Every time this year I was asked "what [I] want for my birthday" I would stumble. I feel so rich. I have an incredible life and I am so richly blessed. 

I find myself praying "thank you" more than praying for "please help me with such and such". 
Life is so special. And I love every year getting to celebrate that I am still on earth and get to live another day. 

Growing up birthdays were a selfish day that I knew I would get whatever I wanted, but this year I feel like I have everything I've ever wanted and none of it is materialistic. My dreams have all come true, and now I just get to live in them every day. 

I feel so incredibly thankful this year. So incredibly blessed, rich, and full. 
Thank you Jesus for my life. I pray I continue to have an attitude of appreciation. 

XoXo