Following this 31 days of blog posts I realize I don’t have as much time as I’d like to do this daily, sooooo it’s just gonna have to be when I can. So the 2nd post on this 31 days of blogging is 20 facts about me. This may be really difficult because I really am not sure if I can come up with that many facts about myself that aren’t generic and boring. But, here it goes....
1. I am an extrovert but love to be introverted. Social settings give me life and energy but I really, really enjoy quiet alone time where I don’t have to talk to anyone.
2. I am a penny pincher. I HATE hate hate to spend money. Every time we spend money I’m cringing and counting down the dollars from our bank account even though my husband manages our money, I still hate it. I don’t like debt, I don’t like loans, I don’t like owing money... I guess I’m at a point in my life where I know that no matter what I spend won’t fulfil me so buying STUFF just doesn’t satisfy me.
3. I thrive when my life has routine and structure. Much like a child I enjoy having a schedule and it makes my life less messy and less chaotic if I always know “what’s next”.
4. I have lots of friends but two true best life long friends that I think will never tire of me. I’ve had one best friend for over 10 years and we go months without speaking and when we do, it’s like we never stopped. I have another best friend who I’ve been friends with for 3 years. God brought us together, for sure. I miss them both DEARLY!
5. I used to want 5 kids. Boy, was I crazy. 2 was hard, hard.. but Carson, my sweet ball of chaos, he rocked my world and still does. He’s a 18 month year old ticking time bomb but is ever so sweet and cuddly.
6. I live in Japan. Never in a million years did I think me and my family would ever leave the USA! We really love it here but miss home and can’t wait to get back for good.
7. I love to read. Ever since I was a child I have loved reading. I have a goal of reading 6 books this year. If I read 6 my June, I want to read 6 more by December.
8. Homeschooling is hard. This isn’t really a fact about me, but we homeschool and it’s honest... it’s hard, so hard that I often worry if I’m doing enough. But homeschooling is a blessing and has brought me a lot of joy.
9. I’m a YouTube junkie. I love to watch videos on YouTube whether it be reviewing a products or watching someone do their hair. I just love watching people...
10. I’m 28 years old and I’m recently on a search, hunt, journey, whatever you want to call it, to have healthy skin. I’ve struggled with awful skin ever since having kids and I’m learning how to take care of my skin.
11. I have a heart that is on fire for God more than I ever had before. I’ve always known who God was and was taught about him growing up but to really know him and hear him is different.
12. I believe in women empowerment, i am not into the whole feminism movement. So much that I am pretty sure I worded that wrong. I do not believe women are equal to men, but believe we are everything they aren’t. Men are men and women are women. We are not meant to be equal we are meant to be what they lack and vise versa.
13. Clutter makes me anxious. I have to have a clean home every night before I go to bed. I’m not talking mopped floors, scrubbed toilets, I’m talking everything in it’s place or at least put somewhere.
14. I make my bed every morning.. see 13. :)
15. I co sleep/slept all my kids.. still do. My daughter is sleeping next to me now. :) it’s comforting for all of us... most of the time.. other times it just gets annoying. Haha!
16. I have the worst case of mom gut in a mom I’ve ever known. No. I’m not talking mom pouch from having babies, I’m talking deep feelings about my kids and their safety. When I have an ill feeling or an itch to check on my child I don’t hesitate to do so. In the states I’ve left stores with full buggies because I had that gut feeling that something wasn’t right.. call it paranoid but I call it smart.
17. I can read people very well. I can usually tell when people are being fake verses when they’re being genuine. It’s a blessing and a curse.
18. Im most of the time an open book with my life now, but there are parts of my life I’ve told twice since I’ve been married. Not out of regret or shame just out of moving forward and being content with where I’m at now. Who wants to live in the past ? It’s the reason I am who I am today and where I am today.
19. I believe the devil tried very hard to destroy my life. God has a plan for my life, I feel like I’m one step in the right direction but I hope to be pursuing that path when God calls me because I’m ready.
20. This was harder than I thought. I often don’t think to write a out me or really pick up on random facts about myself so this was interesting. Took some thinking and wondering why is this a fact about me? But this last fact could be that I literally put others before myself. My family especially. I used to do that with friends but I don’t so much anymore. I’m more focused on my service at home.
:)
Monday, January 28, 2019
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Introduction
Since I wrote my last blog post we have been busy.
My husband and I surprised our children to a 3 day trip to Disney Land in Tokyo! It was so fun but very tiring. SO. TIRING. All in all we had lots of fun and made many memories. We got back to Iwakuni Monday night and we all went right to sleep. My youngest, Carson, ended up with a stomach bug and has been throwing up for 24 hours. FUN.
Today has been spent homeschooling and catching throw up. But the purpose of this blog post is to start a 31 day challenge that I saw on Pinterest... the mother of all perfect ideas, right?
The first challenge is an introduction post... so I thought, cool, why not? No one reads my blog anyways, lol so it is just fun for me.
I am Katherine. I am a wife of 10 years and a mom to 3 children. I got married young and started having babies at 20. Life has gone by so fast since my first son was born. I can't believe he is almost 9. CRAZY. Getting married young was a blessing not only because it was marriage, but because my husband saw something in me that literally NO ONE saw. Not anyone from his family, at least. But 10 years later, we're here and still crazy about each other.
When we got married I was a high school drop out and always said my wedding was my prom. We right away moved to Virginia Beach, VA because my husband is in the Navy. Yes, I am a PROUD freakin' military wife, but not one of THOSE wives, if you get what I am saying. Anyways.
Being a mom changed me and I immediately straightened up my act. Getting married blessed me and put me on a better path, but when I became a mom, my whole mindset changed. I got my GED and just recently (december 2018) got my bachelors degree. :) I homeschool our two older kids and am just trying to keep my youngest alive. The boy is a wrecking ball. We began homeschooling 1 year ago! It's hard, but very rewarding. I taught my son multiplication, division, taught my daughter to write and read. It's been amazing. My kids are SO smart and I didn't realize HOW smart until I became their teacher. I love it so much and will have a very hard time if we ever decide to go the public school route again.
Clearly, my family is what makes me who I am. I have always dreamed of having a husband and having children. I wanted 5 kids, but my last baby has sealed the deal that he is my last. WHEW! It is a bittersweet feeling knowing that I am DONE. No more babies in my belly, no more deliveries, no more newborn smells.. hmmmm.... it's very nostalgic thinking about it all. I definitely enjoy having babies and giving birth. But, I've got all I can handle right now.
What makes me who I am is my family, but what resides deeper in my heart is what makes me so passionate about being who I am.
1. I go against the grain. I try my hardest to never be a "follower". It is not always a bad thing, but I always find myself being the odd ball because I refuse to conform to society.
2. I am sensitive. I have feelings. I am human. My husband often tells me that I wear my heart on my sleeve. He's right, I do. I don't always see that as a bad thing but when I am hurt or mad or even sad, my face tells is right away.
3. I am a child of God. Remember when I said I go against the grain? Well, yeah... I am very old school and my values and morals are biblical. Today's society does not always reflect biblical or old school values ( and that's okay ) but I try to always make my stand with what the bible says. I have a heart that is on fire for God and it is engraved in my heart to keep him first and to seek him through anything.
4. I am sarcastic, funny, and enjoy laughter. My husband and I are very outgoing lively people. We are loud and enjoy being social! He is more outgoing than I am, and I am thankful because he will talk to anyone. I often give all the hard conversations to him to have with people! hahah!
I can't think of anything else that makes up who I am. My family, God, feelings, morals and values... literally me. Oh, and coffee.
I have a few hobbies:
-I have a weird obsession with cool, cute coffee cups. I wont just buy one any where. It has to have meaning for me. I also have an obsession with coffee.....
-I love to read. I haven't been able to read for 4 years because I was busy getting a degree and the last thing I wanted to do was sit in bed and read MORE. So now that I have my degree I read.. a lot. I read to my kids every day and I read myself to sleep almost every night.
-Being a homeschool mom my hobby is always bettering our homeschool curriculum. Crafts, worksheets, paintings, what ever the case may be.
-Decorating used to be a huge hobby of mine but since living in Japan my options are not like in the states.
-I love to work out. Exercising is so enjoyable to me. It's almost my favorite up there with reading. I enjoy it a lot. Running is my go to. Even though I have to bring 3 kids a long and they whine the whole time.... I still enjoy it.
-Writing is also a hobby. I love to write. I enjoy getting whatever is on my mind on paper (or in this case, blog).
Well, that is all I can think about now. I am currently on a dairy free journey, so that and homeschool may be what make up this page. Oh and of course my heart. lol
My husband and I surprised our children to a 3 day trip to Disney Land in Tokyo! It was so fun but very tiring. SO. TIRING. All in all we had lots of fun and made many memories. We got back to Iwakuni Monday night and we all went right to sleep. My youngest, Carson, ended up with a stomach bug and has been throwing up for 24 hours. FUN.
Today has been spent homeschooling and catching throw up. But the purpose of this blog post is to start a 31 day challenge that I saw on Pinterest... the mother of all perfect ideas, right?
The first challenge is an introduction post... so I thought, cool, why not? No one reads my blog anyways, lol so it is just fun for me.
I am Katherine. I am a wife of 10 years and a mom to 3 children. I got married young and started having babies at 20. Life has gone by so fast since my first son was born. I can't believe he is almost 9. CRAZY. Getting married young was a blessing not only because it was marriage, but because my husband saw something in me that literally NO ONE saw. Not anyone from his family, at least. But 10 years later, we're here and still crazy about each other.
When we got married I was a high school drop out and always said my wedding was my prom. We right away moved to Virginia Beach, VA because my husband is in the Navy. Yes, I am a PROUD freakin' military wife, but not one of THOSE wives, if you get what I am saying. Anyways.
Being a mom changed me and I immediately straightened up my act. Getting married blessed me and put me on a better path, but when I became a mom, my whole mindset changed. I got my GED and just recently (december 2018) got my bachelors degree. :) I homeschool our two older kids and am just trying to keep my youngest alive. The boy is a wrecking ball. We began homeschooling 1 year ago! It's hard, but very rewarding. I taught my son multiplication, division, taught my daughter to write and read. It's been amazing. My kids are SO smart and I didn't realize HOW smart until I became their teacher. I love it so much and will have a very hard time if we ever decide to go the public school route again.
Clearly, my family is what makes me who I am. I have always dreamed of having a husband and having children. I wanted 5 kids, but my last baby has sealed the deal that he is my last. WHEW! It is a bittersweet feeling knowing that I am DONE. No more babies in my belly, no more deliveries, no more newborn smells.. hmmmm.... it's very nostalgic thinking about it all. I definitely enjoy having babies and giving birth. But, I've got all I can handle right now.
What makes me who I am is my family, but what resides deeper in my heart is what makes me so passionate about being who I am.
1. I go against the grain. I try my hardest to never be a "follower". It is not always a bad thing, but I always find myself being the odd ball because I refuse to conform to society.
2. I am sensitive. I have feelings. I am human. My husband often tells me that I wear my heart on my sleeve. He's right, I do. I don't always see that as a bad thing but when I am hurt or mad or even sad, my face tells is right away.
3. I am a child of God. Remember when I said I go against the grain? Well, yeah... I am very old school and my values and morals are biblical. Today's society does not always reflect biblical or old school values ( and that's okay ) but I try to always make my stand with what the bible says. I have a heart that is on fire for God and it is engraved in my heart to keep him first and to seek him through anything.
4. I am sarcastic, funny, and enjoy laughter. My husband and I are very outgoing lively people. We are loud and enjoy being social! He is more outgoing than I am, and I am thankful because he will talk to anyone. I often give all the hard conversations to him to have with people! hahah!
I can't think of anything else that makes up who I am. My family, God, feelings, morals and values... literally me. Oh, and coffee.
I have a few hobbies:
-I have a weird obsession with cool, cute coffee cups. I wont just buy one any where. It has to have meaning for me. I also have an obsession with coffee.....
-I love to read. I haven't been able to read for 4 years because I was busy getting a degree and the last thing I wanted to do was sit in bed and read MORE. So now that I have my degree I read.. a lot. I read to my kids every day and I read myself to sleep almost every night.
-Being a homeschool mom my hobby is always bettering our homeschool curriculum. Crafts, worksheets, paintings, what ever the case may be.
-Decorating used to be a huge hobby of mine but since living in Japan my options are not like in the states.
-I love to work out. Exercising is so enjoyable to me. It's almost my favorite up there with reading. I enjoy it a lot. Running is my go to. Even though I have to bring 3 kids a long and they whine the whole time.... I still enjoy it.
-Writing is also a hobby. I love to write. I enjoy getting whatever is on my mind on paper (or in this case, blog).
Well, that is all I can think about now. I am currently on a dairy free journey, so that and homeschool may be what make up this page. Oh and of course my heart. lol
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
GROWTH
Once again, I am on the blogging train. It is something I have always loved doing! I love love to write and share my struggles with people so they do not feel so alone in this life of military moves, motherhood, or just being a certain type of somebody.
Everyone has their own "world" that they live in, and a lot of the time we only see the filtered, edited picture with a beautiful description under the picture. We lead lives based off what we might think social media will "LIKE" or "LOVE".
Well, I lived that life too.
For starters, I am a mother of THREE lively children. They are all LOUD, energetic, and full of life. The apples did not fall far from the tree because their dad and I are quit the same. We are loud, energetic ( a little less these days), and full of life (coffee in my case).
So, I lived that life of 'here's a picture of my kids (who were just fighting) but I made them sit lovingly as if our day has been wonderful'.
Don't get me wrong those pictures will be great to have when they're older but what I am saying is, is that we as a social media loving generation like to share things and compare our lives to the lady who has over a million followers (don't know her from a can of paint) but I try to duplicate her fancy photo. It's not wrong, but our perception of her reality is not her reality. Her house may be prettier than mine and her kids might behave better than mine, but the difference is that she may get paid for these elaborate posts about the outfits they're all wearing. Now, I love photos and enjoy insta-stalking these lovely women, but if I stalk to much I start to compare.
COMPARISON is the THEIF of JOY!
This past year (2018) will forever be etched in my mind as 'Hardest Year of My Life'. Not because I have compared my life to instagram moms.. but because my reality. We moved to Japan in March and literally DOVE into our new life here. I think we dove to avoid the emotions of sorrow and sadness for our "past life" at our last duty station. Once we moved here my husband deployed in May... This brought out all the feelings we had been covering for so long since our move. I wont go into much detail but I spent at least one night every other week at the ER that summer for a child who had swimmers ear in BOTH ears, possible broken bones, you name it we were there for it. Luckily, no one broke a bone except me that summer, but I didn't have time to go to the ER for myself so I toughed through the pain of a broken toe and just let it heal.
I have learned that when God made Eve for Adam as a helper and said IT WAS GOOD, he meant that. It was good, SO GOOD, in fact I would tell my children that almost every day! "God made Daddy for me and me for Daddy." My season of motherhood was SO intense and rough, that I look back and wonder how I made it out of that "first" season of this duty station. (Lucky me, we have 3 more of these seasons)
For me, 2018 was a year of growth. A year of me learning what it REALLY meant to be a strong woman, what it really meant to learn on God, what it meant to be a military wife, a single mother while still being married, and more importantly how to cope with raw, tough emotion. I made friends, I lost friends, I was closest to God I had ever felt, I was angry at God, I was a child crying for her mom, and I was a mother being cried too, all in all it has been TOUGH.
I don't write all this to get a clap emoji or to preach, but to remind myself that social media is not reality. It is a snap-shot of a single second in someone's life. Going through those hard times I didn't have TIME to compare myself to other moms and their perfect worlds on social media. I was to busy making sure my world kept going round. Comparing my world to other's worlds only leaves us feeling inadequate. 2018 made sure I felt that way on my own, but GOD got me through, GOD made me adequate because he led me to Ryan which led me to this life.
Everyone has their own "world" that they live in, and a lot of the time we only see the filtered, edited picture with a beautiful description under the picture. We lead lives based off what we might think social media will "LIKE" or "LOVE".
Well, I lived that life too.
For starters, I am a mother of THREE lively children. They are all LOUD, energetic, and full of life. The apples did not fall far from the tree because their dad and I are quit the same. We are loud, energetic ( a little less these days), and full of life (coffee in my case).
So, I lived that life of 'here's a picture of my kids (who were just fighting) but I made them sit lovingly as if our day has been wonderful'.
Don't get me wrong those pictures will be great to have when they're older but what I am saying is, is that we as a social media loving generation like to share things and compare our lives to the lady who has over a million followers (don't know her from a can of paint) but I try to duplicate her fancy photo. It's not wrong, but our perception of her reality is not her reality. Her house may be prettier than mine and her kids might behave better than mine, but the difference is that she may get paid for these elaborate posts about the outfits they're all wearing. Now, I love photos and enjoy insta-stalking these lovely women, but if I stalk to much I start to compare.
COMPARISON is the THEIF of JOY!
This past year (2018) will forever be etched in my mind as 'Hardest Year of My Life'. Not because I have compared my life to instagram moms.. but because my reality. We moved to Japan in March and literally DOVE into our new life here. I think we dove to avoid the emotions of sorrow and sadness for our "past life" at our last duty station. Once we moved here my husband deployed in May... This brought out all the feelings we had been covering for so long since our move. I wont go into much detail but I spent at least one night every other week at the ER that summer for a child who had swimmers ear in BOTH ears, possible broken bones, you name it we were there for it. Luckily, no one broke a bone except me that summer, but I didn't have time to go to the ER for myself so I toughed through the pain of a broken toe and just let it heal.
I have learned that when God made Eve for Adam as a helper and said IT WAS GOOD, he meant that. It was good, SO GOOD, in fact I would tell my children that almost every day! "God made Daddy for me and me for Daddy." My season of motherhood was SO intense and rough, that I look back and wonder how I made it out of that "first" season of this duty station. (Lucky me, we have 3 more of these seasons)
For me, 2018 was a year of growth. A year of me learning what it REALLY meant to be a strong woman, what it really meant to learn on God, what it meant to be a military wife, a single mother while still being married, and more importantly how to cope with raw, tough emotion. I made friends, I lost friends, I was closest to God I had ever felt, I was angry at God, I was a child crying for her mom, and I was a mother being cried too, all in all it has been TOUGH.
I don't write all this to get a clap emoji or to preach, but to remind myself that social media is not reality. It is a snap-shot of a single second in someone's life. Going through those hard times I didn't have TIME to compare myself to other moms and their perfect worlds on social media. I was to busy making sure my world kept going round. Comparing my world to other's worlds only leaves us feeling inadequate. 2018 made sure I felt that way on my own, but GOD got me through, GOD made me adequate because he led me to Ryan which led me to this life.
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