Mainiac or Mainer?

I have been thinking long and hard about whether or not to start a blog to track our journey/adventure as we make the move from Georgia to Maine... it has already been a crazy year but I am more of a journal writer. I have always found joy in journaling - there is something about re-reading your deepest thoughts and remembering where you've come from, especially when it is written in your own handwriting. For some reason that makes reading it intensely personal and real, but I think I will give blogging a try... mainly because so many people ask how things are for us and I never remember the funny details or things that happen in any given day. So, here goes: our blog about relocating to Maine, growing our family, being adventurous, and knowing that we are where God wants us to be...

Where we are: Houlton, Maine

Why we are here: Daniel is following his dream

Where we have been: In December '08 Daniel began the academy in New Mexico and we were apart for 5 months while he was in training. Emalee and I joined him in May '09 in El Paso, TX for his southern border training. We soon discovered in June that we were pregnant with our 2nd child who would be due in February. In December Emalee and I (7.5 months pregnant by this time) moved back to Georgia and lived with my parents while we waited for Eston Daniel to be born. Daniel joined us for his birth (February 10, 2010) and packed up all of our belongings and drove to Maine 11 days after he was born. We joined him here on April 6...

It has been almost 1 year since I left my job in Rome to become a stay-at-home mother... something I never thought I would do. The time has absolutely flown by. I've always been a goal-oriented person and quite focused on the next thing down the road. It is obvious to me that staying at home is the most important job I have ever had. Don't get me wrong, I loved what I did in Rome. I felt like my career was relevant and I was using my skills and talents in a position that was made just for me. I took my daughter to daycare each day and spent the evenings and weekends marveling at how fast she was growing up and how much I was missing, but I still felt like it was the right path for us. Then Daniel came home one day in November and said that he had finally gotten the job offer that we had been waiting for - on the northern border. Now it was time to take a leap of faith and support my husband. I have never regretted that decision.

I have learned so much about love in the past year and a half. I have learned just how strong my marriage is and how much I completely adore my husband. The months and weeks that we have spent apart have shown me that when we are not together I feel incomplete. I feel like we are more in touch with each other now than I did when we lived in Georgia. When he was working in Dalton and I was working in Rome it was truly (as he called it) a rat race. We saw each other at night and spent our weekends trying to be a family but had little time to connect. We were living separate lives, truly. Now our marriage is stronger and we are focused on our future together as a family. We have an amazing daughter and a brand new baby boy... and a new adventure in a new place.

I have also learned just how much I enjoy spending time with Emalee. I know everyone believes their children are simply remarkable, but I know that my daughter is. She amazes me each day with her insight and for a 3 year old she is more resilient than I give her credit. She has packed up her treasures 3 times in the past year and moved with us and has held it together much better than I have.

One more thing has happened. I have fallen for another guy. He came into my life on February 10 and I will never be the same. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband. I love Emalee more than I could ever imagine. My son, though... he is special in his own sweet way. Eston had my heart when I heard his heartbeat and felt him move for the first time. The first time I saw his face I was in awe... and the first time our eyes met I fell completely in love. I've heard that sons love their mothers in a completely different way than daughters and found this to be absolutely true. His smile lights up my day and makes it easier to get going sometimes. And while it is very frustrating that he only wants me sometimes, deep down that feels pretty good.

OK... I have gone on much longer than I thought I would for my first post. I guess that comes from the lack of adult conversation during any given day, but that is a topic for another day. Right now I need to get the kids dressed and head to the grocery store. Truly parenthood is the most important job I have ever had. Funny how I was missing out on that when I was working all the time. Funny how it took moving across the country for my concept of "home" to become real to me. Home isn't where you keep your things. It isn't a building. Home isn't necessarily having your friends and family geographically close-by. Home is where your love is. Everything else is just "stuff".