Front Porch Friday: Turning the Corner

Over the last two years, we have had a lot of stressful events: graduating, David getting a job, moving out of state and farther away from our families, me not getting a job, finding out we were pregnant, looking for a church, me having a difficult time being pregnant, death of a grandparent, having our first child, me finding out I had melanoma, me having panic attacks, me and Jessica staying with my parents while I recovered from treatment, me still not having made any friends my own age, all the while having company in and out of our house...I think you get the idea.

All of that to say that this week marks the point where I think we have finally turned the corner! Obviously there are still some remnants of these stressful events still rolling around in the back of my mind, but the point is that now we are at a point where we can enjoy all of the blessings of the last two years: David having a job he loves, having a lovely home, having a church that we both enjoy attending that emphasizes loving ALL people, having a beautiful, healthy baby girl, me surviving melanoma, me making friends, etc.

Those blessings have always been there, but it has not been until recently that we have really been able to enjoy them because we were so stressed out dealing with life! Ideally I would have preferred to not let stressful events get my down, but it happens to everyone at some point in life. The important thing is that you learn from the experience and realize, "God took care of use when ___, and He will take care of us now."

To leave us on a positive note, I would like to share with you some of the signs I have seen this week that we are turning the corner:

1) I have gained 5 lbs in the last week and a half! (I lost a lot of weight when I found out that I had cancer and while we were dealing with family conflict.)

2) I have friends!!!!! Last night I went out with 3 moms in my neighborhood for pedicures and dinner!!!! (It had been a couple years since I had done something like that!) We also looked into signing up for dance classes to fulfill some childhood dreams!

3) Jessica and I got out and went to swimming lessons! We have been doing swimming lessons for a while now, but it is only within the last couple months that I have really been getting outside and being physically active again!

This is a picture of Jessica and me in our new swimsuits! Mine blocks UVA and UVB rays!

4) David and I have always said that we preferred going through all of the stress of the last two years together as opposed to not being together, but we have really enjoyed sharing the last week and a half together!

Feel free to share what has been going on at your "Front Porch" this week!