My Grandma Waugh, The Ultimate Role-Model

We just spent a few days in Ohio this past weekend & it was a fun, hard, sad, happy, all the emotions kind of weekend. We got to spend lots of time with Brett's family & we got to spend the afternoon with my Grandma Waugh. 

 

I wasn't prepared for the time we spent with Grandma. She was fine when she was sitting but every time she insisted to get up to help me find something in the kitchen, she could barely breathe & she was super shaky. She wore a BIG smile on her face to mask her pain, but I could see through it. I told her to stay seated & I got her a sandwich, some Tylenol & 7 up. She kept saying her ribs hurt & I knew something wasn't right. We talked like we always do, about life & what we've been up to. She loved seeing Story & Trust & doted upon them & smiled watching them play. She kept saying how pretty Story is & how handsome & big Trust is. I almost forgot about how breathless she was earlier, until she got up when we had to leave. She could barely walk us to the door & she stood at the window, like she always does & waved as we passed by in the car. She was in pain, but she didn't let it show, but I knew.

I bawled as we left. I felt so nervous to leave her. She was NOT doing well & I called my dad and told him what was going on. I said "dad you gotta call the brothers to get her checked out. She is not doing well." I also told him he needed to come see her.

He called the brothers, they called the squad & they took her to the hospital. To everyone's surprise, they discovered she has a blood clot in her lung, probably had a heart attack & has stage 4 cancer that is an aggressive, rapidly moving cancer all throughout her body. The doctors are amazed she's not in much pain & at her cheerful demeanor, despite what she's going through.  What a STRONG lady.

 They just sent her home from the hospital with hospice to make her more comfortable as she walks this tough road. My dad & mom also flew to Ohio to be with her over Christmas. Really grateful they got to see her. I'm also very grateful she has 4 sons local + grandkids that can check on her & keep her company. Makes it a little easier knowing she has support, even though it's hard not being there for her.

My Grandma Waugh is my ultimate mom/grandma role model. She has taught me SO much about motherhood, life & love over the years. 

I remember her telling me about raising 5 boys that she was the 1st one up & the last one to bed. She made homemade meals & homemade bread everyday. She was also the last one to sit down to eat, making sure everyone was taken care of. 

When I'd ask what it was like to raise 5 ornery boys she said wonderful but admitted that some nights she'd cry, but then she'd get up and do it all over again. I told her I only have 2 kids & I feel like that some times! What an amazing mom she is! Even now that her boys are older she would do anything for them. She's there when they need her to this day. 

She is an amazing Grandmother. 

I have only good, warm, loving memories of going to my Grandma Waugh's house. 

Holidays were magical. She cooked the best meals from scratch, spending hours in the kitchen, BUT if a grandkid came in the kitchen, she'd stop what she was doing & smile & acknowledge us or sneak us some food. Her house was festive & full of joy. 

Nothing was off limits for the Grandkids. We'd play with her jewelry, makeup, she'd put curlers in our hair, we'd roller skate in her basement, she had toys & special books we loved. (she still has some that my kids play with & read!) 

She made us fun treats like homemade popped corn, espresso cups of carnation instant coffee (we felt so grown up & probably why I love coffee to this day), she made the most amazing homemade lasagna, cornbread, beans & fried potatoes. She fed us like kings & queens!

We'd sleep in her giant King sized bed with her & watch Walker Texas Ranger until we'd fall asleep. We also watched Murder She Wrote & Matlock! Probably why I love Murder Mysteries today too.

When I got married, she found out Brett my husband doesn't like cooked vegetables and prepared him a HUGE platter of fresh vegetables just for him to eat! She always made us huge meals when we'd come to visit, including her famous mashed potatoes & magical green beans. Cooking is definitely her love language!

I love talking to Grandma. We talk about the problems in the world & always come back to the basic problem of the break down of the family causing pain in people's lives. It makes sense! She is wise.

She's also always been super independent. From the time my Grandfather died when I was 8 years old, she's lived on her own & done really well, still driving & getting her own groceries & getting around town. Even before we came, though she could hardly walk without gasping for air, she went to the grocery to get us food. That woman!! Stubborn in the best of ways. She rarely asks for help for herself & it was only because I told my dad to have his brothers check on her, that she went to the hospital. 

My Grandma Waugh is love in action. She made soup for me & let me lay on her couch & watch TV many times when I was sick (my doctor was down the street from her house). 

She loves babies!! Playing with them, snuggling them, kissing them, smiling at them, she loves her grand babies so well! 

 

 

 

 

She came to the hospital when my kids were born, because she had to see her grand babies, she just couldn't wait! I have a precious photo of her adoringly looking at Story, so sweet!

 

 

She also let us come over when our AC was out & it was 95 degrees. She fed us all kinds of food & spoiled the kids. She is the best! 

 

I've never known someone so supportive &  truly interested & invested in knowing about me and my life! She makes me feel so special when I am there! That is such a gift.

Gosh, I could go on and on. My heart aches that she is so sick. It's hard to think about a day I won't be able to call her & tell her about my kids milestones or an adventure we went on or hear about what hallmark show she's been watching or about my uncles & cousins (she always fills me in on everyone!). She's the link that holds all of our family together.  

Tomorrow, my sister, mom & dad and our families are celebrating Christmas together & we are going to make all of Grandma Waugh's recipes & will make them every year to pass on her memory. Her Green Beans, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, fruit salad & cream pie will always live on through us & I hope to measure up to be even half the woman she is!! 

Love you Grammy Waugh. I love who you are and I am praying for you and with you on this road ahead. 

ADVENTURES W/Heather VLOG - Palomarian Beach 10-10-16

Yesterday was so magical!



My son Trust was off school & my dad was off work, so we decided it was time for an adventure to the beach! My husband surprised us & got off work at the last minute & came with us too!



 We decided to go to one of our favorite secret beaches Palomarian Beach, that you literally have to hike to & slide down a steep incline to get to. Last time we came to this beach we found it by accident looking for a waterfall, but man I am glad we did! There are a bunch of smooth stones & tidepools with sea anemones, urchins, starfish, snails, crabs & all kinds of wild life! The roar of the waves is so loud you have to shout & it lulls your senses & worries of the day. We basked in the warm sun & I found a bunch of treasures along the shore.



I don't know what it is about nature, but it really helps reset my heart & inspires me to get back to the dreams that can lose momentum in the busyness of life. Here in California, life is really lived outdoors & I love it! There is so much to see here & I can't wait to adventure to more places with my family.



Hope you enjoy my cute little VLOG of our day trip!

A Typical day- adventures w/Heather vlog

Sometimes Mom life is a little less than glamorous & sometimes I feel like it's a little less than social media worthy, but this is my life right now & I wanna own it & rock it! These days feel SO long but SO fast at the same time! I know it's just a short season & my kids will be grown up. I know I'll love looking back on what my "typical day" looked like.



If you are rocking mom life right now & feel insignificant, know what you are doing is the most important thing to your kids & family!

When Can't turns to Can

*Deep Breath* This has happened to me before. 

I've questioned whether I can do music because I have a kid. Now I have TWO kids & I live in a new place where no one knows me, & I left behind lots of friends that do music & it's hard. I find myself asking "should I just quit?" 

Before when I was going through the "I've gotta quit music" faze I cried, I mourned, I felt sorry for myself & wrote a song to get through my grief. 😂 Do you think quitting music worked out for me?! Haha 

No, it didn't! In fact, the "I can't" voice in my head was so loud, I started to get stubborn & wanted to prove it wrong. I wanted to dream again, but I was SCARED. 

Being a stay at home mom is a super high calling & I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. To me, I felt like doing music was going to be a distraction from the greater work of raising Trust, but that thinking became a road block & a hindrance. I started to separate myself into categories and boxes & decided ok, if it doesn't fit into my mom box, then I can't do it.

Needless to say, this didn't work out for me very well. I started to break down emotionally. I was pouring out myself to the point of almost punishing myself. Do you get what I mean? Like you give your kid all the veggies & you just get the bread, it's all out of love, but you end up getting sick because you aren't getting what you need. Or like how they tell you on an airplane, "put the air mask on yourself first, then help your kids get theirs on." Because if you are dead, you can't help anyone else.

Lightbulb moment! 

Music to me is my veggies, & not to be cheesy, it's my oxygen. It's how I connect with God through singing to Him my worries & concerns or how I engage through worship. It's how I process my day. It's my journal entry, they just turn out as songs! I am NO GOOD to Trust or Story unless I can take care of my heart. I'm a leaky bucket, I can pour myself out so well but need filled up! 

Also, my kids need to see me model doing what my passion is so they can have courage to do their passions one day! To take risks in a way where they say "man, mom really stepped out & trusted God in that thing, & it worked! I can step out too!" 

I saw this happen when I stepped out to make a music video to raise awareness about human trafficking. Trust was 3 & God placed this HUGE burden on my heart for women stuck in Sex Trafficking & a good friend who was a video producer helped me make a $100,000+ music video with the help of a bunch of amazing volunteers, all for free, because they BELIEVED in the cause. They got inspired and ended up taking the project to the next level & made a documentary Short about the realities of sex trafficking in the U.S. 

I guess the biggest lesson I'm learning is to TRUST God in the season He has me in & know He hasn't forgotten me. 

It's easy to feel forgotten as a mom. You put everyone else's needs ahead of your own & at the end of the day you feel so tired & worn out that you're not sure if what you're doing matters or is making an impact. 

I'm not gonna lie, I go all out as a mom. Yummy meals & snacks, activities, fun outings, & a schedule we follow. But... Watching other people's instagram's can make what you are doing seems dumb or less than, even ordinary. It's not a glamorous life.

BUT what if these little lives I'm pouring into are worth every ordinary second. They are learning & growing & changing so fast! It's a long grueling season in some respects, but in other ways it's like a blink!

My son Trust starts kindergarten in a few weeks & I can't believe the amazing little man he is becoming! So sweet, caring and intuitive of people's emotions. He's  Super empathetic. He wants to be a movie Director & Actor one day. What if he becomes a super famous Director that makes world changing movies? We are raising future adults! What an honor! 

I took a step to write down some dreams I have for my music this year. They are smaller dreams but I think it's powerful to write them down & not be scared of them & to ask the Lord SPECIFICALLY what you want. I know my limitations, but with The Lord there are no limitations! I've seen it time & time again & it's fun to watch Him move & open doors!

So dream AND be amazing mommas. We can do both & not lack in either area. Turn that I can't into I can & ask God specifically what you want! He is not scared of your dreams! Let's move some mountains! 

A New Chapter Starts an Old Ends

These last 8 months have been an INSANE ride! We left all we knew, moved across the country from Columbus, Ohio to Lincoln, California. We KNEW God was calling us, so it was easy in that sense, but losing everything financially, Trusting Him with the day to day needs was HARD, humbling & stressful at times. I can honestly say I've grown more in these last 8 months than ever in my life! It's been really GOOD.

The only way we were able to make this huge move was moving in with my sister Amy, Brother in Law Jesse & my nieces Chloe & Emma. Can I just say, How amazing is that to let your in laws live with you for 8 months & not kill each other?! Hahaha! Amy & Jesse are just like that. Their hearts are huge! -- Oh yeah! In that time, my parents had to move in too, so 10 people in one 6 bedroom house... It was a fun/crazy/funny/stressful adventure! We definitely learned a lot about communication & in many ways, it felt like the 1st year of marriage in the sense you learn about all the ways other people like to do things & it's not the way you do things & it's annoying & a learning process! Hahaha! I learned a lot about myself in that situation too. Communal living is like holding a mirror up to your face, it shows all of your imperfections & areas you need to work on, & man there were a lot! -- Again, aren't my brother in law & sister saints?! They'll probably get a special crown in heaven for letting all of us into their home. 😂 they are amazing!

We knew that living with my sister was a temporary thing, but we weren't sure how we were going to afford moving out. We SUPER SAVED over the next few months. Brett has a well paying job & we were still getting benefits from the state during our transition out of the program & they paid for our groceries (hallelujah!!) so we were able to save that money. Also, during that time, we heard from Brett's old job that Ohio messed up on our taxes for the past like 5 or so years and we'd be getting 3,000+ back! We also got another amazing refund back from taxes we were able to save too. We had some other random money come in & we started the search for a house to buy or rent! Our bank account was BETTER than when we moved here! Miraculous stuff!

 We tried looking into buying, but Brett had to be at his job for at least 6 months, so we didn't qualify yet, so we dove into the renting market.  I went in full blown house search mode & man, places are GONE in like a day here. We had our hearts set on a place, but we didn't qualify, & I was giving up, but then a house right around the corner popped up in the same neighborhood as my sister & we literally walked there to look at it! We decided to go for it, & the rental company already had our applications from another house, so we were able to get it quicker! We moved in 3 weeks later & it's been amazing!

This house is SO nice! The nicest we've lived in & a one-story & pretty baby proofed which is a blessing to me since Story is into EVERYTHING & climbs everything. The backyard is fenced in & has a really nice patio we play on every morning too. I really feel at home here & my parents moved into the master suite so they have their own space & it helps to share the house payment & utilities every month!

We also got 2 cars! We got a used Acura from someone at church & it's in great condition for Brett to run to work & back. We just got a Brand New Kia Soul for me & the kids & I kind of love it! Haha! We're hoping to have it for a long time & maybe pass it on to Trust one day. 😊

A lot has changed right?! Man, I am so grateful to be settling into this new chapter of life. I really feel like California is feeling more like home! Also, I can't believe Trust is starting Kindergarten in a few weeks! So crazy! Time flies with these kiddies, I'm trying to really enjoy it & do fun things! 

There are still some unknowns about this next chapter health wise. I still need to see an endocrinologist about my thyroid & thyroid nodules, but my insurance has to approve it! I am definitely feeling it these days. I am struggling to get up in the morning & no amount of coffee wakes me up & I am so tired I can fall asleep anywhere. It's really hard some days, especially when you're a mom of two & a wife! You can't just stop doing those things! I felt really depressed yesterday. I am so scared I won't ever feel better. I'm worried I'll have to get surgery & have to take meds my whole life or that the nodules are something serious, that the doctor I get wont hear me out like the doctors I've had before. Ugh! When I let my mind go, it can put me in the grave in a heartbeat! Haha! I am trying my best to take every thought captive. But yesterday I forgot! 😄 today has been better. I got out with the kids, because they got up at the crack of dawn, & it's better to just get up & go to keep my momentum going. We had a blast! We went to the Library to play at the park & they ended up have a Big Truck Story time & A pipe truck demonstration! How cool is that?! Trust had a blast & I got to revel in my awesome mom-ness that I got up & out of the house. Haha! I felt like Jesus was encouraging me, that I could do it! I think I can! 

Trust also went through quite an ordeal there for a second, that we honestly don't know what happened. He was throwing up & sick almost every week & I took him to the doctor like 4 times before they finally decided it probably wasn't a stomach virus but something else. Trust Bravely got his blood drawn twice, & the 1st time his ANA test was abnormal which is a flag for possible autoimmune disease or viral Hepatitis A, & his Hep A test came back borderline, which could be cause from the vaccination he JUST got a few weeks before. We have no idea! So we laid low for a while because viral hepatitis A is a virus that affects your liver & it just has to run its course & you are good, as long as their are no complications. We were going to see a gastroenterologist at that point to see if there was anything else going on, but our insurance couldn't get us in! When we got his blood tested again the ANA came back normal & it appeared to be getting better! So we decided to not go to a specialist since his symptoms were better! Still a scary, frustrating ordeal, all this while we were moving! We also had to cancel his birthday party since he was still not feeling well around that time! It was so sad, but we still had a blast celebrating with just our family! I tried to make it extra special for him. 

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What a crazy story God is writing!! I feel like through it all, we are stronger, wiser & better people because of all we've had to face & we have empathy for those in a similar place! Our roots are going deeper in the Lord & relying on HIS strengths & not our own through the most uncertain of times. He's never failed, not once! We know we can make it through anything we face. 💓

Waiting

Waiting is hard. We are waiting on a few things right now & it can be frustrating because you know that by your own strengths or control you could make something happen, but when it's things that are out of your control, it can be hard & frustrating & scary.

We are in a season of waiting.

Waiting to hear whether we can buy a house, which may not be likely since Brett has only been at his job for 2 months. It's amazing that we can even consider doing this though! Can you believe only a few short months ago we had maybe $20 in our bank account, and now we are above where we were before we left Ohio? Actually, I can't remember a time we had this much money in our savings account, it's pretty miraculous!

I've also been waiting to hear back from a possible rental that is RIGHT around the corner from my sisters house that would be perfect for our family. I went ALL OUT last week looking at 6 or so rentals, applying, then not getting the paperwork in in time & someone else snatching it up before us. The housing market is NUTS out here! They get sold/rented really fast & you have to be willing to sign that day or it's gone.

...I'm also waiting to talk over some ultrasound results from a Thyroid Ultrasound & blood work results with my doctor on Thursday. 

I've been feeling REALLY exhausted lately. Like not just tired from a bad nights sleep, but like your whole body feels heavy & no matter how much coffee you drink you feel like you could fall asleep where you are sitting, tired. I've also had a bunch of friends come up to me & say "you seem to be losing weight, are you feeling ok?" & I didn't really think much about it until 3 people said the same thing. I got my scale out & sure enough I'm down below my prepregnancy weight, maybe even high school weight! I also noticed a lump on my neck on my thyroid. I thought it was a swollen lymph node that would just kind of go away, but it never did & kept getting bigger. I've been noticing my anxiety levels have been higher too & that I'd get ravishingly hungry & very shaky throughout the day no matter how much I'd eat! And I eat A LOT.

..So a friend of mine from church urged me to get into the doctor which I DREADED doing because we are still on Medi-Cal and they have you jump through major hoops a lot of times to even get in to see a doctor. & sure enough I got the major run around & thank God Story took an epic long nap because it took an hour & a half just to find a doctor that would take me. Gratefully I got an amazing doctor who spent like 30 or so minutes going over my medical history & she felt my thyroid & heard me out about how I had hyperthyroidism before after having Trust & she scheduled me an Ultrasound & bloodwork right away! I felt really grateful to be heard & that I'd soon be getting answers for all these strange symptoms I'd been having.

When I went to the Ultrasound appointment it was SUPER early in the morning & I hadn't had any coffee, yet I felt jittery & anxious. The ultrasound technician spent a lot of time on the right side of my thyroid & as I looked at the black & white screen I saw what looked like a bunch of black spots. She keep stopping & measuring & I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. My mom has thyroid nodules & has to be checked every once & a while to see if there is any change, so I kind of knew that was probably what they were, but it still freaked me out! I got my blood drawn after that & they literally took 6 viles of blood. I felt woozy & worried. 

I told my family about the whole ordeal but tried not to jump to conclusions because you know maybe the black spots were part of the thyroid or something? I'm no doctor!

A few days later I got some of the labs back & my thyroid levels were High on some & low on others, so all I know is something isn't right. Then I got the ultrasound results back & sure enough there were many nodules that were weird medical words like Mural, palpable abnormality, complex, separated cysts, something foci etc , & I have a cystic goiter. Sounds appetizing, I know.

Lots of weird words that when you look them up on google, scary words like Cancer pop up in the related topics. 

So I've been waiting. 

Am I good at waiting? Not really. Am I trying to be good at waiting & more importantly TRUSTING that God has me in the palm of His hands that no matter what I face (or don't face) I won't be alone? Yes. I am trying my hardest! I had one raw day where I let myself "go there" for a second, but the next day I felt the Lord call me out & say "Ok, now get back to living." I want to be better at truly living.  

Hold my kids tight, spending a little extra time putting them to bed, kissing my husband passionately, giving what I have to those who need it more than I do, getting a haircut I've always wanted to try, singing at the top of my lungs in the car because I can & cherishing every moment I GET to be alive. Life is so fleeting.

 I'm not saying I think I'm going to die, even if it was cancer, thyroid cancer is the best cancer to get because it is slow growing & you can remove your thyroid & be fine. I'm just saying it really makes you consider what is important in life when you go through something like this! Wakes you up in a way. 

So I wait. In the silence. In the uncertainty. I'm willing to learn the lesson life is throwing at me & be better for it. 

 

What we are made of

I've been wanting to post for a while, but it's been hard to put into words all that we've been experiencing! So much good & so much hard. I find life is always a combo of good & hard. That the trials really PROVE your faith is real & show you what you're made of, you know?

Ok so, we had a really good plan right?! We had money in savings + our house was basically sold before we moved + it didn't cost a dime to move all of our stuff across the country + we had a place to live to transition.. Everything was GREAT! We stepped out of the comfort of our lives, literally sold everything we had and made the leap. 

OUR plan unraveled quickly though, when 2 days before closing the sale on our house fell through, and the $10,000+ we were counting on to be our safety net, was gone in an instant. We had to put our house back on the market & keep paying the mortgage, even though our cash flow was dwindling & there was NO income coming in. Months later the house finally sold again, but we only made $1,800 on it after everything was said & done. It came at the most perfect timing too! 

In that crazy time, we asked Questions we have never asked before like: how are we going to buy groceries? How are we going to get diapers? How am I going to buy deodorant? Filled our minds.. We had a choice to make...Would we Trust God would provide or panic & question His goodness? We decided to choose to TRUST GOD. 

Let me tell you... When you decide to not look at your circumstances & look at God, crazy things can happen!! I prayed one week for diapers & we desperately needed shampoo & deodorant & other care products and Brett heard about an organization called The Lighthouse that helps families that are in need, and well, we were definitely in need!! We maybe had $20 to our name at that point, so I lowered my pride & made an appointment. I met & talked with the sweetest guy named Daryl. We talked about our situation & he gave me a pack of diapers & at the last minute said "is there anything else you need?" I hesitated because I felt embarrassed about needed care products but just asked if they had shampoo or anything like that. He smiled and assured me not to be embarrassed & that that's what they were there for and handed me a gift card to target! I held back tears, & thanked him over & over for his help. I prayed & God provided specifically what we needed! I'm not joking guys, I got all I needed at Target & it was the exact amount I needed! Daryl also helped me get a new car seat for Story since she was using Trust's old seat that was actually expired! God really came through.. But it really took me stepping out of my comfort zone & allowing others to see into our situation.

In that time too, Brett submitted OVER 50 applications & resumes & kept getting rejection after rejection letter. He would be filling out Applications for 6+ hours a day but nothing was happening. It was grueling & it was really hard on Brett..

We finally decided to lower our pride again & go get some help with job searching & food. We scheduled a meeting with Placer County's Work Program & also their food assistance program. We walked in feeling lower than low. We literally had JUST qualified that day, after paying another mortgage payment. If we would have come in a day sooner, the money in our account would have been more than what is eligible to get help. It couldn't have been timed more perfectly. 

Brett did the job readiness program that was basically like having a full time job, on top of job searching & interviewing! It was INTENSE. Plus, at the end he had to intern for free for a company so we could qualify for benefits. He worked his butt off. It was humiliating at times, but he did it! Plus, he encouraged many people in his classes & had tons of favor from all the job counselors & teachers. They could see how qualified he was and they bragged on him constantly! 

He ended up getting an interview of a job with an up and coming insurance company, where he'd help with social media & marketing. He told me before the job popped up he felt like God asked him "what do you want to do?", Brett replied "I really want to use my creativity & photography & marketing degree, with pay that will support my family." & sure enough, he got the job interview, wrote a solid plan for the company about what he would do to help market the company & he nailed it! He got the job & was offered MORE than what his end salary was at his last job with pay increases in the future, has weekends off, is home by 5 & is exactly what he asked God for! 

On top of all that, we filed our taxes & it looks like because of having Story & other things we'll be getting back almost the exact amount we thought we'd be getting on our house the 1st time we thought it was sold! Now that is cool! All that we lost, is being recovered.

 That is the adventure of following Jesus into the unknown. He KNOWS even when we don't, we just have to be obedient & go where He's leading.

Through all of this we've been digging in deep at our new church Jesus Culture Sacramento. Week after week, we'd cry as we'd sing songs like Miracles that says "I believe in you, you're the God of miracles!" & Songs like No Longer Slaves that says "I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God" -- Trusting God is surrendering everything you think you know & see. It's not giving into fear that so quickly ensnares your thoughts. It's saying "God, even though I can't see what's in front of me, I know you have me every step of the way." 

I also have the amazing opportunity to be on the Rooted Book Launch Team & got an advanced copy of the book Rooted, by our pastor Banning Liebscher, coming out in May. The timing of this book has been incredible. Banning talks about how God uses situations to help develop our root system, to strengthen us so we are ready & strong when we do the thing God is calling us to do. I feel like our old root system was weak & that through these situations of learning to trust, to let down our pride & basically start from scratch, has helped strengthen us & grow us in ways we couldn't imagine AND in such a short time! I feel like we've grown more in this season than any other in so many ways. 

We are truly learning to THRIVE & be content in all situations. I've learned Money is just money. The important stuff in life has nothing to do with money!! We have been on SO many BIG adventures since moving here that have cost us nothing but gas! We pack a lunch & GO & create memories that last. I wouldn't trade those memories for the world. 

Life is GOOD. I'm learning to find joy even when life is hard. There is so much to be thankful for, even when it looks like things are falling apart, hold onto hope!