Valentine's Day 2017
It is amazing to me how drastically your life can take a very unexpected path in just a single moment. A fitness friend of mine lost her husband in a tragic accident a couple weeks ago. They were High School sweethearts and had 4 beautiful children the same age as my boys. I lived right along with her as I enjoyed her inspirational facebook posts as a working mother of 4 who runs marathons with her husband. I admired her, and I admire her even more now that she inspires me to move forward even when tragedy happens. Her posts now are just as inspiring--if not more so--than they were before the accident.
And so I reflect on that as I share this journey of ours. We can move forward with faith, or we can get "stuck". The choice is entirely ours to make. It is my experience, that surrounding yourself with positive, encouraging people, living the way our Heavenly Father intended, and embracing paths that keep you moving forward are how we see the miracles within the trials. Feeling stuck is where the adversary wants you, and nothing good can ever come from that. I know what it is like to feel stuck--to not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will not live there anymore. That was my journey 10 years ago. It is not my path now.
As we move forward...
*I am living my dream to build a name for myself as a fitness and nutrition professional and have a successful practice in a field that I love. I've met some incredible families and people along the way, and I'm super grateful they trust me in their journey into wellness. This is a path that is divinely appointed for me to gain faith in myself, and I'm getting there.
*We are preparing to sell our home of 11 years. The house where we brought our babies home. The house where we built our marriage. The house that I bought as a single woman just starting out in my career. Again, it is by divine design that we move forward. It is time, and I trust that our next adventure will fall into place just when we need it to.
*Aiden has completed 3 years of therapy for autism. This is yet another big change for our family, but it feels right to have completed this stage of his journey. We are in the process of hiring a tutor for him. School has proven to be a significant challenge, and he needs 1:1 help with math, reading, and taking tests. Aiden is easily distracted and loses his focus when things aren't important to him (school). On the other hand, he can sit for hours and put together a Lego set on his own.
*Aiden is now 9 years old and is showing more assertiveness in standing up for himself with his brother's (no more "mom Avery (age2) did ________.") That also means a shift in parenting on my end, which is hard to navigate, because it is uncharacteristic of Aiden to hit/show aggression. I'm curious what hormone changes will do to his behavior patterns!
*Aiden tried a new food today! I made peanut butter/chickpea/honey/chocolate "cookies" today, and we ate the dough before I baked them. Aiden had no idea what was in them, so he actually tried it! He had 3 large spoonfuls (I was so excited) before he started to gag. Excitement gone. Tonight for dinner he ate real bacon crumbles, whole grain croutons, and parmesan cheese. That is the best I can do to provide "balanced" meals for him. If I wasn't a Dietitian, I would be seeing one! The blessing in that struggle is I feel uniquely qualified to help other families navigate sensory problems related to foods.
So we move forward with hopes that Spring/Summer brings a new home for our family, a tutor for Aiden, and more faith in the miracles I know are waiting for our family!
