Catching Up…

I sure had a lot of catching up to do today on the blog.  I apologize for the lack of posting – I’m sure you’ve been holding your breath.  Ha ha!  Things have been super busy with work, getting ready for baby, working at my church, and trying to make it to as many events as I can before life changes.  I’ve been a little stressed out trying to balance it all, but I’m also trying to keep a positive outlook.  For one thing, there is so much I don’t know about being a mom and raising a child, but instead of allowing myself to get carried away with my worries, I’m trying to remember how blessed we are that God chose us to be Haidyn’s parents and that He’ll give us everything we need to be the best parents we can be.  I also know that there are so many people out there for us to lean on, and I need to get better about asking for advice and help when I need it. 

I’ve also been really overwhelmed at work trying to manage everything that needs to be done for my students plus all the extra things that come along with being a teacher plus expectations I put on myself to be the best teacher.  I’ve had a few burst-into-tears moments thinking about how to juggle it all, especially when I think about adding another person to the mix, but I’m learning to let go and only take on the things that are important to me.  Like today…I totally said “No” to a committee that I had originally signed up for!!  Go me!  When the chair person asked in an email if we were all still interested, I took the opportunity to bow out gracefully.  This is a very difficult concept for me, but I feel like that door was opened so I could walk away and make a better choice for my family.  And Jonathan gave me a fist-pump to show his support of my new ways!  I love him for that.

The other part of life that has been hectic is working with the children’s ministry at my church.  I absolutely love little kids and have always had a desire to work in children’s ministry, so this has been a really neat opportunity for me.  Since April I have been in charge of our nursery – kids from 6 months to 4 years.  We are a small church, so our nursery is one room with all the kiddos in it.  Sounds fun and exciting, right?!?  I schedule the volunteers for nursery, write the lesson plans, and get all the materials together.  While I love serving others this way, it can become a little much at times.  Luckily there are wonderful people who have offered to help while I’m out on maternity leave, and I’m hoping that a few others might want to help out in new ways to share the load.  I just can’t imagine turning my back on this opportunity when it’s always been on my heart to serve children.  I keep thinking about the orphanage I visited in Africa and how I wanted to do so much more for those kids than I was able to while I was there…so this is like my little Africa close to home.  There are kids here in St. Louis who need to be loved on, and I feel grateful for the chance to be someone to love on them.

I’m not writing all this to get pity or for anyone to feel sorry for me, because I know that I am blessed in so many ways and my life is so full at this point.  I don’t want any of it to change!  I just know that there must be lots of people out there who are working on balancing life, and maybe you have some great words of wisdom for me…especially about balancing a baby and family when there are other demands on your time.  I know we are all on this journey together, so if I have a big “Ah-ha” moment about how to make it all work, I’ll be sure to let you all know. :)  Have a great week, everyone!