Twisting and Turning and Coming Alive

It took me 11 days to get bored after Josie started school.

So much of my days had been spent on her education.  Planning, preparing, executing.  We ended our homeschool journey so abruptly that I had no idea what to expect.  I joked that I was looking forward to eating midday ice cream on the couch while enjoying my new found unscheduled time, but in reality I knew I was going to need to find a place for that focus to go.

On day 12 I told Andrew I wanted to find a job.

Since financially I don't need to work, I decided to be super picky.  I didn't want to put Gabe in daycare.  I wanted to be home for Summer Break.  I wanted to use the skills I have and feel good about my work.

Andrew and I talked and talked (it's our new thing, we talk.  A lot.) and finally, over some delicious Spaghetti Factory pasta, he said, "let's just make you your own boss."

Which is something I had never thought of and another reason I'm glad I have him around.

Three days later my company was well on it's way to being official.

The website is almost done and I just filed our Articles of Incorporation.  Within the week I had my first two clients and two more scheduled to interview next week.  I'm offering a pretty big variety of virtual services; administrative, bookkeeping, social media management.  All things I love doing and, bonus, can do from our new home office.

My goal right now is 5 clients, at about 25 hours a week.  When Gabe starts school in the Fall, I'm hoping to take it full time.  In the next year, I'd like to be busy enough to have to bring on help.

I'm excited.

As soon as the idea was out of Andrew's mouth I felt myself start to come alive.  Parts of my brain I forgot existed perked up.  I love that Andrew and I can do it together and I love that I can still be with the kids when I need to be.

Every part of my life feels very on purpose.

My parenting, my job, my marriage.  None of it is on autopilot and I love it.  I love the intentional focus it's taking to take each step forward.  I love that out of some of my darkest days there's a bright ray of hope and newness shining in.

I'm twisting and turning and stretching and it feels like growth.

And because I can't post without some pictures, here's a random assortment of our past couple weeks.

 the sunsets here are out of this world.  

i ran out in a questionable state to snag this one the other day.

we celebrated our boy at the loudest pizza place this side of the mississippi.

if you're in town, organ stop pizza is a must do. 

daily bike rides with my road warrior to check out the bird life.

please note them all exiting the vicinity. 

it shouldn't need to be a goal to eat, but eating breakfast is on my list for 2015. 

neighborhood kids after school and all weekend.

i love the steady stream of coming and going.  our neighborhood is such a perfect fit for us. 

my grandma (and bailey) have landed in arizona and we are soaking her up.

we bike to our dates now.  it feels like living in a vacation ad.

this one was this past week and our town is super bowl central.  

there were bands on every corner and the streets were packed.   

does your town have a cupcake atm?

don't be fooled, i'm not a cupcake girl.  i had yogurt from the shop next door. 

another favorite breakfast.

flip fried eggs with whatever i can find in the fridge. 

 someone tell me he'll always look at me like this.