SUYL: New Mommy Link- Up

Hi there! If you are visiting from "Kelly's Korner"...welcome to my blog!!! If you are a reader of my blog already, "SUYL" means "Show us your life" and "Kelly's Korner" is a wonderful blog written by an amazing lady! LOL...I don't want to lose you;-) I never knew how much my life would actually change once I became "Mommy" to Anya Violet. My hubby and I had been together for 11 years prior to little miss, and now it's hard to even remember life before her. A friend recently asked me, "What did you and Josh do together before Anya?" And honestly it was hard for me to respond. I couldn't remember. It was as if it had been years and years of life with Anya, but in reality we have only been parents for a year. We did go on many spontaneous dates, vacations to Florida, and I was a teacher full time. Married life prior to Anya was great, but now it's so much more fulfilling.

Lately I've been reflecting a lot on how thankful to God I am that He has given me my miracle baby AND He has provided a way for me to be a stay at home mommy (SAHM) for her. There is no career in the world that is more fulfilling, more joyful, more rewarding than what I get to do!!!! I am so blessed to be able to make her breakfast every morning, read her stories before nap, change and wash those dirty cloth diapers, and capture every new milestone on camera. Not only that, but God is allowing me to use my giftedness to serve my husband as a housewife. I find so much joy in making him special treats to take to work, make homemade meals, and keep up with our home.

Being a SAHM has also allowed me to get more involved at church and become more connected to my other SAHM friends. I'm able to serve at our church's monthly women's ministry where we strive to meet new women and help them get connected/ build relationships. (I can't imagine doing this Mommy thing alone, which is why I'm involved with this ministry). I've also met many other new friends through my women's Bible study on Tuesday mornings....it's been great!

Yes our family has to make sacrifices to make the whole "SAHM" work. We are living with no cable TV (we watch hulu.com shows and our $20 in-home antenna picks up local channels), pay as you go cell phones (cell phones for emergency and skype on ipods for use when near Wi-fi), and camping-only vacations. I can't even begin to tell you how living more old-fashioned has improved our marriage and family dynamic. Life could not be any better!