I am Giving You a Gift

Wow. September 30. That is the last time I have done a post. I remember why I started a blog last spring. We had just moved and I was lonely. I had things to say and no one to tell them to. I felt like a stranger in a familiar place. I was going through a transition and to cope I wrote. Josie's adoption was going nowhere. To cope, I wrote. We were the first to move to our housing development. We were the only ones living in the neighborhood. No neighbors is not a good thing for this stay at home mom. Quite frankly, blog entries helped to fill my day.

I have to say I am in a much better place now. Some new friends have been made. I have a few people that will listen to what I have to say, most of the time. We have a lot of new neighbors now. Most of them from Bosnia - I have learned a lot from them. And I hope they have learned from me as well. Josie's adoption has been finalized. We are still needing to file for naturalization/citizenship/alien relative, etc. But, the adoption has been finalized. No more dealing with Haiti.

This fall I joined a Newcomers group. A group of ladies of all ages who are new to the Des Moines area meet every Tuesday AM for some social time, learning time, sharing and praying time, and a lesson. It was pretty cool. Kind of like a support group. There were people who moved here from Texas, the Middle East, the Virgin Islands, Delaware, Colorado, Pennsylvania, etc. Some were single, some were grandmas, some had teenagers, some had preschoolers. I absolutely loved the diversity. This group met a need. I had a name. I was heard. I got to share part of my story.

I was a pretty busy lady before we moved. Mom of four, home school group teacher, part time children's ministry assistant, piano teacher, MOPS co-coordinator, worship team member, etc. After moving I dropped everything (except mom of four). I have had the opportunity to reinvent myself. I thought about changing my name and dying my hair purple. That may still happen. Instead I signed up for a 10 week fitness challenge. That 10 weeks has turned into almost 6 months now. I am even working part time as a cardio kickboxing and resistance bands instructor! Who knew? I have made some good friends while kicking and punching things. Doesn't hurt that I have dropped 20 pounds either! I also have been hired as one of the children's ministry assistants at our church (no shocker there). I will be working with the 2.5-3 year olds. So fun! More importantly I am part of a team. I am looking forward to working with these talented ladies.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I no longer feel the need to blog like I did before. I will post updates as I feel led. I just gave you all a gift. A gift of time. Because you won't be reading my blog as much, you are free to do other things. Enjoy!

Shelly