November. Day 1

For the last couple of years I've done 30 days of thankfulness in November. I do it because a few years ago I lost several loved ones in the month of November and it makes this month a little hard for me to deal with. With each year it gets easier. But, I still like to do the thankful posts and share what I am thankful for. 

So to start my 30 days of thankfulness, I'd like to say how thankful I am for the people that made last night a fun and SAFE night for my son. 

Talent has several food allergies. The most severe is peanuts, tree nuts, and fish. Well, during holidays that involve candy, like Halloween and Easter, I am a candy nazi. I don't let him go to just any house. I don't let him go to community events. We have a few places that we know are safe and we only go to those places. 

Lastnight we went to only four houses. We went to my inlaws, my grandparents, his Aunt Boo's, and his Aunt Jenny's. In just four houses my child came home with a full bucket of goodies. My family and friends all asked ahead of time what Talent could have and they all had those things for him. He has a bucket full of suckers, M&M's, twizzlers, raisins, stickers, and bubbles. He had so much stuff! He was so excited to have a bucket full of goodies like all of the kids around him. 

I am not saying I want him to have all kinds if candy and things. I just want him to be able to feel included. I want him to be safe. It is really hard being an allergy mom during these kinds of holidays. People think you are so paranoid. They don't realize that your child could die simply because another child had a peanut candy and touched your candy bowl. 

I'm thankful that my friends and family take Talent's allergies seriously and take extra steps to make sure he is safe. Getting him books, stickers, bubbles, & safe candies that they have cleared through me are all so nice. The fact that they love him enough to want to do these things means so much to me. I'm very thankful to have these people in my life. 

Lessons Learned

Have you ever had a relationship that meant the world to you? I do. I met a man 10 years ago that changed the way that I viewed relationships in a big way. I had been through some good and bad relationships in my 22 years of life. When I met Seth, my whole outlook changed. Something about him captured my attention very quickly. He was beautiful, intriguing, funny, and had a very sweet side that I'm positive most people don't know is there.

After 10 years of being with this wonderful man I have learned so much. I've learned how to enjoy sports....REALLY enjoy sports. When we met I had never seen ESPN on tv in my life. Now I catch myself watching it without my husband home. Before my husband I always said I wouldn't be one of those wives that waited on their husband hand and foot. Now, I make sure to take care of him and make him a drink most nights before he walks through the door. Dinner is ready when he gets home. I bring him refills when he needs it, I pack his lunches for work, and make his breakfasts for the week. I've learned that for me, seeing him truly happy, really does make me happy.

I'm not saying I'm the world's greatest wife. I'm just saying in 10 years, I've seen myself make some changes for the better. Changes I never expected to see myself make. I've learned that loving someone means communicating with them even when it's tough. Telling them the hard truths sometimes. Loving them when they are at their lowest and most unlovable points. Being there for every happy moment. Getting to experience all of life's greatest blessings together.

The last 10 years have been the greatest years of my life. I'm sure that it will only continue to get better in time. I never thought I would find a love like this. I'm so glad I decided to give up searching for love and just trust God to send me someone who would be perfect for me. God knew exactly what I needed. I'm positive he made Seth just for me. I've never been so thankful.

Boys will be boys.....

Tonight we went out to some land that belongs to Seth's best friend and his family. We go out there often and check on it for them. There have been some horses and a donkey abandoned out there for over a year. I have been trying to get the donkey to let me pet him since I first saw him. Tonight I got him to eat out of my hand. He's beautiful. I would bring him home with me if I could.

While we were out there we took a metal target to Seth's best friend, Michael. He had called before we left and asked that we bring it with us if we were going out there. When we drove up he was getting ready to cast a line into the pond. He fished for a little bit. He and Seth talked. Talent and I sat in the truck and watched them. After a little while they decided they would try out one of the guns that Michael had brought with him to shoot.

I watched my husband and his best friend shoot guns for a while. I don't know that I've ever been so happy to see the two of them together. I noticed that they talked and Michael showed Seth a few things about his gun. They talked some more, shot some more, and I saw them both laugh. I love that Michael gets to be home for the next three years.

I'm probably the only crazy wife in the world that would rather her husband be out with his bachelor best friend than be out with his married best friends. But, I know that this best friend is the real deal. I know that this best friend is the kind that loves my husband like a brother and with that, we have developed our own friendship. It makes my heart happy that my husband has such a great friend. It's good to know that when he goes and does guy stuff with Michael he is laughing and having a great time. Everyone deserves to have that one friend that they can just be themselves with.

Just got PAID!!!

I wrote a blog not too terribly long ago about my new business, Rodan + Fields. I have been trying to get the business off the ground and this month I got my first PAYCHECK!!! I am so excited! I know, I know. I have gotten paychecks before. But, never for doing something so simple and that I truly believed in. I am going to do good in this business.

They encourage us in this business to make a vision board and write down our reason WHY we are doing this. I'd like to share my story of why....my vision board is simple.

I have used Rodan + Fields products for 18 years. In 1995 a little product line called ProActiv came out. I was a freshman in high school. I started getting a little bit of acne and my Mom bought me ProActiv. I LOVED this stuff. I never stopped using it. But, when I had my son, Talent, two years ago, I realized my skin had changed. Let's be honest, my whole body changed. But I really started to notice that this sweet little bundle I had brought home was taking a toll on the way my skin looked. I wasn't getting much sleep so I had dark circles under my eyes. I was exhausted and it showed, even my skin looked sleepy, if that is even possible. So, I started the search for eye creams and anti age products.

Sometime around the first part of this year I started noticing a friend of mine was posting stuff about the R+F brand on her personal facebook page. I would look at it and go on. Finally I sent her a message and asked for some information. I went to the fairgrounds to a seminar they had going down there and she did a demo on me with a machine that R+F sells. She also gave me a few samples and I fell in love. I had found my new skincare line. I then discovered that this could become a business venture. So I asked some more questions.

I saw an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an amazing business and I took it. In doing this, I saw a chance to become the Mom I want to be. My "why" is simply to be the Mom that is there for every single thing my child does. I want to be at every ball game, awards ceremony, field trip, and class party for as long as he wants me there. I want to be able to be home with him when he is sick. I want to be able to take him out of school for his birthday to have a special lunch with me. I want to make an effort to be that Mom that is so present that it borders embarrassing. I just don't want to miss a thing. With Rodan + Fields I have been given that chance.

So, today when I got a notification that I had received my first "check", I was reminded that this is a business. That I truly am my own boss. That with a little effort I can make a lasting business out of this and I can be that Mom that I want to be so badly. I am blessed to be a part of Rodan + Fields Dermatologists. I couldn't have found a better company to be a part of.

If you are looking for a change, whether it's a change in your current occupation or a change in your skin, Rodan + Fields may be exactly what you are looking for. I'd love to introduce you to the wonderful products and the amazing business model. It truly is one of the most amazing and giving companies I've ever seen.

Caution: Read at your own risk!

Lately I have been seeing a lot of Facebook chatter about abortion and how Christians are doing pickets at clinics and concerts and all kinds of places. Most of these posts and reposts are from my "Christian" friends. It truly makes my stomach turn. 

Here is why. I have a friend who was raped. I know the struggles she has to face on a daily basis and she didn't have a baby from that situation. But if she had gotten pregnant I can't even imagine how much worse this would be for her. It is a situation that you can't even begin to comprehend unless you have been in it. And just from the struggles I've watched my friend go through, I don't think having a baby from that would have been good. Not just because she has nightmares still 15 years later, but because I can't even begin to imagine how you would feel joy over that kind of pregnancy. 

See all of these people think that because it is a baby, a human life, this is a no brainer. It's an easy thing to say "just give it up for adoption" and in a perfect world, that would be great. But, we aren't in a perfect world. And you can't put yourself in these ladies' shoes. You can't even begin to imagine the pain and heartbreak they carry around on a daily basis. 

I just wish the people that post these things would stop and think about their words. I wish they would truly think about how they would feel if they had their body violated in a way that they had no control over. I wish they would stop and actually have a conversation with one of these women who has been a victim of rape. See the pain in their eyes and hear the hurt in their voice. Then tell me that they don't deserve a choice in what happens to their bodies. Someone already told them once they didn't have a choice what happened to their bodies. What these people are doing by forcing their views and judgement is not much different in my opinion. 

We are supposed to be Christians who love as Christ loved. When we go around and point fingers at those that are doing things that we don't agree with we aren't showing love. We are showing an ugly side of being human. We don't make people want to be Christians by shoving our views down their throats. It just doesn't work. 

Now you may wonder, am I pro choice or pro life. I am actually both in a sense. I think a woman who sleeps around and gets pregnant shouldn't have the choice to abort because she made the choice to sleep around. Poor decisions do not make a good enough argument for me to justify aborting a child. Learn what safe sex is or don't sleep around. It's pretty simple. You don't get an abortion because you were careless and stupid. But I think those who were raped and put in a situation not of there making should have a say in what happens to their bodies. Someone already stripped them of their rights and dignity. They've lost enough already. Don't take this choice away from them. They have to live in this aftermath for the rest of their life. Don't make it so impossible for them that they give up on themselves and end their life. Because that does happen. They don't know how to cope. And healing takes time. 

Basically, be kind. Be loving as Christ would have you to be. We are all going to be judged some day. So you might as well stop judging people and start loving them.