Feelin' Good

Maybe I've been watching too much t.v. lately but when I think about writing this post, I can't seem to get the Weight Watchers commercial song out of my head. You know, the remix of Feeling Good Jennifer Hudson sings. "It's a new day, it's a new dawn, it's a new life...and I'm feelin' good!" Yes, the days that I miss my family & friends so much it literally hurts my heart are more frequent than I anticipated but, for the most part, I am "feelin' good. " God has laid out some pretty amazing opportunities very clearly for me. As a few of my nearest & dearest already know, Donald's company didn't exactly follow through with all of the monetary promises they made when he took the job. So up until about a month ago, I was (being forced) to consider the possibility of going back to work. Doing my best to justify and even convince myself it was right, God would NOT let me get peace about it. I had an interview for a GREAT job lined up and full-time childcare in place. But, literally 2 hours before the interview, I cancelled. The peace finally came when the giant knot in my stomach released & I again submitted to God's call* to stay at home with my children. During this time I was reading the book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. (If you haven't read it, READ it!) Making a long story short, that book encouraged me to start praying for the impossible: a job where I didn't have to leave my children. Crazy, right? I'll spare the nitty gritty details but about a week later, I was at our new church meeting with the Children's Director about teaching at the Parent's Morning Out/Preschool program. What an answer to prayer! Even in the midst of my doubt, the Lord provided exactly what I prayed. This job is 3 mornings a week; Coco & Sebastian will go (to their respective classes) with me; it follows the school calendar year so I'll have plenty of breaks to make trips to Tennessee! So, beginning in September, I will start my official tenure as a (assistant) teacher in the 2 year old class. It seems as if I am following in both my mother's and my sister's footsteps. And I know from watching their experiences it is not an easy job and that most days I'll go home exhausted needing to nap with my kiddos. But I am so, so, so excited about this new adventure and can't wait to get started.

Here's part 2 of the story. This summer I will be a stay-at-home mom moonlighting as a bookseller at the adorable children's bookstore on LWR Main Street, Little Bookworms. I joke that this is really a "for me" job because it's just too much fun to call work! I worked my second shift yesterday and loved every minute of it. It feels so much like being back at the freckled frog which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I work very few hours a week but on the days I leave before Donald gets home, we landed the dream babysitter. Our next door neighbor walks over & plays with the kids to bridge the hour gap. Coco & Sebastian LOVE Leah! She is a super sweet high school girl and her mom is home to help if needed. I couldn't have orchestrated anything more perfect if I had planned for a year. God gets all the credit for this one too.

He is far better to us than we deserve but we sure are grateful and will always give Him the glory. As our blog is titled, we have truly been Blessed Beyond Measure and for now The Parr Family is feelin' good!

*Let me elaborate that I fully believe all moms are created perfectly and God's blueprint for my family looks a lot different than His blueprint for your family. Being a stay-at-home mom is as much a calling as being a working mother and is in no way better or more righteous. I know this can be a sensitive subject for some mommies and I don't want to project any judgment. God bless the working mothers reading this because I honestly don't know how you do it all!