Wordless Wednesday

April 2025

Lets Get Up to Speed

So, I’m going to try to pick up where I left off before the chaos, and give a few life updates. We've created a pretty good daily routine, I'm fully adjusted to being back at work, summer is just about over, and we’re moving right along.

April 2025

1. April: My second nephew arrived!! And he is perfect. We went down to visit and I got to love on him A LOT. Our babysitter was a huge blessing to us during April as well. She came to our house to watch little man, do household chores while I couldn’t, and helped me to move around/stretch as a form of physical therapy. We had numerous conversations about faith, God, and I even had a few crying sessions with her. Truly, I am so grateful for her kindness. At the end of April, my employer asked if I could be released to work remotely. I asked my doctor, and he said that would be fine, but not to overdo anything.
2. May: Emery wrapped up her freshman year! I cannot believe it. I mean, I can, but also, it makes me sad. She passed all of her end-of-year exams. Now we’re looking into dual credit for next year as well as a real estate program. She was also confirmed in the Catholic church. And was recognized at the Athletic Banquet before school was let out for the summer. I returned to work in person on May 19. We slowly got back into a routine. Baby boy was still waking up frequently, BUT for shorter periods. Most nights anyway.
3. June: We made the first “long trip” with our baby boy. It was just over 3 hours, and he did really well! Much better than he had on any previous (shorter) trips. So, it’s safe to say that he was getting used to his car seat. Then, Emery, little man, and I spent a weekend with my brother and his family for their anniversary. I got to love on so many kiddos at once!  It was wonderful, and I say this with ALL of the love in my heart, "They are rockstars for having three kids." LOL! It is such a handful to have a lot of littles. At the end of the day, I was in awe of how they do it. But I quickly realized that I would not be able to handle it full-time myself. Any little bit of "Well, maybe I'm not done with having kids yet," ideas that I had left in me went right out the window. Two for me is good. Then, a few days after that trip, we went up to Denton for my brother-in-law’s wedding!
4. July: Our babysitter went out of town on vacation, so we had to find alternative care. Thankfully, the daycare our son would later be attending full-time allowed us to bring him in as a drop-in for the week. I was so grateful for that, BUT it was a rough one. There were a lot of tears - from both him and me. And there were days when I wished I could quit my job and stay at home with him until he was off at kindergarten. Unfortunately, that’s not a possibility. So, I just prayed my way through each day. When our babysitter returned from her travels, we were so excited! The first day back, little man was so happy. He reached for her and hugged her the minute he was in her arms. All smiles and no tears. Unfortunately, that was short-lived. She had gotten hurt while traveling, and while she tried her best, her doctor informed her that she was not allowed to lift anything and would be going through PT. So, I had to scramble to find another sitter after that week. And y’all…that is so scary. Vetting individuals, doing home visits, and praying that you’re entrusting your child to a good person…it’s a lot. Thankfully, the person we found was amazing, and our little man took to her very easily.
5. Present: We’ve done the majority of our back-to-school shopping. We’ve attended the athletics meetings. And soon we will have meet-the-teacher meeting night. Emery’s schedule is going to be packed, but she says she’s ready. And honestly, I think we are, too. Our little dude officially started daycare this month, and as expected, he’s struggled. I’ve struggled and questioned my career, over and over. I’ve even started a Program Management course in hopes that I can look into jobs that would allow me to work from home. All around, it’s been rough. I’m praying that things smooth out as the weeks go by, though.

During all of this, Corey has been making incredible strides in his new job! He’s dedicating himself to learning new skills and striving to be the best worker. It's been inspiring to see him dive headfirst into a career field he previously knew nothing about and thrive in it. His hard work is paying off, too. He's now on a fast track to working solo, much sooner than we anticipated. We're hoping that once he's officially out of his shadowing/apprenticeship phase, he'll receive a well-deserved pay increase.

And finally, I had my yearly evaluation back in June and received a high rating. I acknowledged that I wasn’t able to do as much as I had the previous year due to being out on medical leave. Twice. However, both of my bosses stated that they knew it was out of my control, AND despite my absence, they felt I achieved a lot. They said I added a lot of value to the team, and one even mentioned that it was very much felt when I was gone. He said something along the lines of, “There was so much disorganization while you were out. Times when I was unproductive because I couldn’t count on someone else to get things done the way I can when you’re here, so I had to take it on myself.” He’s also the one who encouraged me to request a “Compensation Equity Pay Study” from HR. And can you guess what the findings were? I was way underpaid. So, it was recommended that I be brought up to the same level as my peers.

Now, it seems like the year is flying. While some months dragged, others were gone in the blink of an eye. Emery and I are still working through our PTSD. People can usually tell when we start to get anxiety on longer drives. Especially in larger cities, and as the sun is going down. Emery has also stopped asking if she can drive places. This has really bummed me out because she used to be so excited. On the rare occasion that she does ask to drive down our road, I try to encourage her to go a bit further, but she usually shuts that down. And since we have plenty of time before she is set to take her test, I’m not pushing it. We’ll get through it eventually. Anyway, that about catches us up. Here’s to a wonderful start to the school year. To some easy days. And to some peace.

Wordless Wednesday

4.3.25: 1 Day post-op, my hair was a mess, & peep the glued glasses