Identity Expansion

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I am excited for this new start on blogging. I love it and I feel a big pull to do it. I have many friends and family who have been extremely supportive as I have jumped into this unknown territory. To you I say, THANK YOU!

Up until last week I thought I was just your average mom of three kids, married to a wonderful husband living the American Dream. Then I realized that I am not average; I am who I make myself.

So to introduce who I am I will start with the usual, I have a wonderful husband who makes me laugh every single day. He even makes me laugh when I am completely irritated at him or at anyone. We met in our early twenties at a church function. I noticed him, walked over to him and (like any normal girl would do) I complimented the sweater he was wearing. He thanked me then turned and walked away. To this day he swears he was just shy and didn't know what to say. The truth?? I may never know but I still have that sweater I complimented that day. Crazy that you don't know someone one day then all the sudden you are married and have three kids.

The rest of our courtship was not very traditional. With other love interests in our life at the time we spent our time together as friends. I then left to serve a full-time LDS mission in Texas and he was my most faithful writer. Although, I wanted nothing to do with any types of relationships he just kept on writing. I knew it was serious when just a week before I was about to come home he signed his letter with 'love'. To make a long story short, when I got home I asked for space but  instead he swept me off my feet and we were married several months later. Best. Decision. I. Ever. Made.

We've been married a short 6 years and have had 3 kids in that time. 2 boys and 1 girl, ranging from 5 to 1 1/2. Yes, my hands are full. It's not exactly how we planned it but I wouldn't change a single thing. My children bring me so much more joy than I ever thought possible.

Being thrown into marriage and motherhood has changed me in ways I never thought possible. I babysat a lot as a kid and helped with taking care of my younger sisters so I thought I knew exactly what I was doing. No one ever really tells you how challenging taking on new roles is. It's a bit of an identity crisis, at least it was for me. Maybe crisis isn't the best word to use, it's more of an identity expansion.

Let me tell you, my identity has definitely expanded. I went from being a daughter, sister, friend and career woman to being all of that plus a wife, mother, confidant, financial planner and homemaker. It all happened so fast I never took the time to develop each role as it should be.

I thought I was doing just fine until our adventure about 8 months ago then everything changed. Ever since, I have had a strong desire to be a better homemaker because I'm just really not that great at it. I'm not trying to be negative I'm just being honest. I love my kids so deeply and want what is best for them. To give them the best I want to become my best self.

To do that, I have created a vision board. My friend introduced me to the idea and it has been a real game changer. I can become the best version of myself one accomplishment at a time. I owe a special thanks to this friend for getting me back on track. Thank you, Hollie.

I'm sure this is a journey that will never end and I am okay with that. I have had to learn that becoming my best self doesn't have an end point. The people in our lives will always need us in different capacities. Sometimes in ways we can't anticipate. We never know when a curve ball will be thrown or how we will handle that curve ball. My hope is that when those curve balls do come, because they will, that I will be ready to knock them out of the park or take a strike but get back up to bat.

Looking over the past several months I can recognize several great strides in my identity as a homemaker. I plan on sharing those successes with all of you. Simple ideas on ways that I have developed my nest. Feel free to comment and share where you feel appropriate. Thanks for reading.