I bet you have noticed a lot of changes over the last year or so, and I would like to share with you how and why these changes came about. You see Jimmy and I went away together in September, and we were both at a crossroads in our professional lives. Jimmy was being placed into a different role at work that really shook both of us up. We actually got mad at God and we had a lot of emotions to work through, but we are all good with God now. 

As we talked about what was next for the both of us, like we always do when we go on vacation, there was something I had been afraid to talk to Jimmy about. God had called me earlier in the year to change my patterns, my behaviors and find a way to ease the stress of our family lives.  I had a feeling that God was calling me to do something different with my business, something risky, but to me it was something meaningful and I’m passionate about. I knew everything that I was learning, I had to share with other moms and maybe make just a little impact in their lives.

This seriously was one of the hardest things to do…telling Jimmy I really felt like God was calling me to help moms. I know it sounds crazy, but I had only been a mom a short time. I didn’t give birth to a baby and watch them grow up. I became a mom overnight to three kids. What did I know about being a mom? 

As we talked, Jimmy said to me, “look at everything you have done these past 4 months or so. Look at the daily routine you implemented for the family. Look at how much time and money meal planning and meal prep has saved our family. Yes it took you time to learn and figure out what really worked. You are no longer making breakfast for 5 everyday and packing lunches for school is a breeze now. You now know what everyone is eating for all meals, including what I take for lunch and dinner for work. You implemented easy systems for us to maintain our home and our home is always cleaned. You created space, not only decluttering the home, you declutter our lives. Look at how far JJ has come. He’s thriving not being on ADHD medicine, because of how you meal plan and created space for him in all areas of his life. You have created a balance that works for our family and yourself. Jimmy said, Yes! I can see why you feel the nudge from God to help moms. You have done so much for our family and have helped these kids grow in so many ways. You’re also not stressed out. This is something you need and other moms need it too.”

See I was always taking kids to appointments, trying to put a healthy dinner on the table, clean the house, clean the kids room, do laundry, take kids to more appointments, help with homework, workout, etc….  And then it hit me, I didn’t enjoy being in my kitchen anymore because I was just exhausted. God was nudging me to make changes. I knew I needed a way to get some time back into my day, so that’s why I start implemented simple routines. I found a balance from all of the tasks to do the things I enjoy, which is spending time with my family, and spending time in my kitchen. Jimmy always makes sure I get a little time for myself and holds me accountable too.

I’m no longer exhausted. I enjoy my days, whether it’s taking the kids to an appointment, cooking dinner, doing school work, working, going on a date with Jimmy or simply having time with the kids. Our life is fuller even with less chaos and stuff in our lives. While I love being in the kitchen I don’t spend countless hours in the kitchen, there are days I might be in it a total of 30 minutes. And I’m good with that, but there are also days when we hang out in the kitchen cooking and baking because it’s what we want to do.

So that’s it, that is my reasoning for the change. I needed to do something different to control that chaos of life before it broke me. And now, I want to share with you what I learned and how it has helped me and our family so much over the past several months. So much so that we are now homeschooling (yes you read that right we are homeschooling our three) but still able to manage the time for family, fun, myself and run a business.

If you want to know more about our adoption story, click here.

Thanks for reading, thanks for understanding and here is to a new chapter in our lives while we work to still make a difference in yours.

Love,

Billie-Jo