Bittersweet Day...

Today is what I like to call one super huge bittersweet day! It is my last day "off" with the kids - I head to my new job on Monday and I have been anxiously awaiting/dreading this day for the past 130 days. Yes, I am thankful for the opportunity and this next chapter and the blessings that have been afforded us because of it (including what appears to be a lot less extra hours and stress like at my less job, but time will tell), but I would give anything to get to stay home with E & M. I am super emotional about it and have only cried about two thirty times so far. It is SO.MUCH.HARDER. this time.

I'm not gonna lie; it has been tough. I've been stressed, mad, felt like the maid, gotten cabin fever, been exhausted and I could go on and on. But I loved the special times...cuddling over Dinosaur Train and Sesame Street in the mornings. Taking walks. Hanging out in tents. Baking cookies. Making boats out of boxes. Digging in dried pasta. Coloring pictures. Reading books. Teaching them new things (they know some colors, most animals, can say many new words, etc.) Getting E & M kisses throughout the day and hearing them yell "mama" as we play. Things like these are what I will miss the most and I am jealous of everyone who gets to take care of them when I just want it to be me. I hope one day soon my dream can come true.

So pray for me...this weekend. And, Monday...And, next week. Because I am really, really sad to leave them. Who knew getting laid off would be such a huge blessing?!?

A few lot of pictures of the memories we made...

I love them so.so.so. much!

Starting the week off with an [officially] answered prayer!

After prayers upon prayers for the right opportunity to present itself, it is official - I again have a job!

Jason and I have been praying that I wouldn't get a lot of calls; just the one where I should begin the next chapter of my career. I received a few calls, but nothing all that appealing and certainly nothing that I had a good feeling about...until this company and this position.

I applied for a Director of Marketing position back in mid-October - at a reputable, growing company in Harrisburg and didn't hear a word. Until about 6 weeks later. I have spent 10 plus hours being interviewed and interviewing them. Things were definitely progressing positively and on Friday, I received a call from the company's HR Dept. that the individual I would report to wanted her to call and let me know that I would be receiving a job offer today. You follow that?

I got that call about an hour ago. I am excited to start this new journey; there will be challenges, but it also appears quite a bit of opportunity. God blessed us with quite a bit more money salary-wise and room for more with two additional comp plans. I will be able to begin hiring a team immediately and have plenty to tackle from Day 1. Sounds pretty good to me.

So, this week, I will be wrapping up some freelance work and prepping to re-enter the workforce. This new position might actually be easier than my 4 month job as a SAHM. Not that I would trade it for the world; being laid off proved to be a tremendous blessing for countless reasons, but it was not a simple transition. Through a conversation with my dad, I told him how ironic it was that pretty much the moment Jason and I committed to becoming debt-free, that I lost my job. He told me that God has a sense of humor...and obviously a bigger purpose.

I will miss being home with Eli and Kenna immensely, but the additional funds came at a time when we are working hard to pay off debt, so that maybe one day, I can be with them full-time, do the whole classroom mom thing, etc. Looking forward to that.

I feel relieved. And, now...about that call to bring my cleaning lady back. Yeah, I gotta go handle that :).

Thanks for praying us through this phase. We appreciate it.

So Far, So Good...

Goodness, the days just fly by. Life with twin toddlers certainly keeps me on my toes. I am exhausted at the end of most all days haha. We "cook" in Kenna's kitchen in the playroom, play with dinosaurs, build with blocks, race the new dump trucks, front loaders and fire trucks, go for tricycle rides, love on annoy the pups, camp out in their new tents, read lots of books, race cars on Eli's new speedway toy, attempt to do some crafts occasionally and play in the basement with their outside toys we moved indoors for the winter, just to name a few. That, as well as cooking, cleaning [on a side note: I CANNOT wait to call my cleaning lady and have her come back ASAP! Praise Jesus in Heaven for the sanity she brings to my house and my neat freak tendencies.], disciplining, laundry, attempting to begin potty training...oh yeah, and search for a job and do some freelance work in between. Sheesh, it's no wonder I get tired sometimes :).

2011 has been good to the Peryea's so far, though. Sure, we're just a  mere 12 days in so far, but we are having fun and creating memories we'll continue to cherish. I've even taken a small step back from obsessive cleaning to focus more on enjoying the small things and creating memories with them...living with purpose, you know?!? 

This post would get much too long to go into huge detail about everything we've done so far in addition to the day-to-day action, so I'll bullet a few and include some pictures. 

• Spent NYD at my parent's house and then paid a visit that evening to Gram & Papa's house to play, even got to pay a visit to the tractor.
• Living room day "camping" with the kids. Funniest evening with all the giggles from E & M. They had a blast with their new Christmas present and were so tired by bedtime.
• Went shopping with my mom and the kids at 125 Shops in Lewisburg; a country decorator's dream come tree. I got so many super cute things for around the house for a really reasonable price. You know, because I don't have a job and get really stressed about cash flow. It was so nice to get out of the house for the day.
• Spending time with friends in our Small Group we started in the fall of last year; this group has been a blessing to us all.
• E & M went to their friend Hailey's 3rd birthday party; they really had so much fun and cried the whole way to the car when it was time to leave.
• Took E & M to the PA Farm Show with my parents, Bradley, Seth, Danielle & Carter. It was so cute to see how excited the kids got seeing all the animals. They still get a glimmer in their eyes when you ask them about all the animals. LOVE it!
• Spent an evening with our friends Pam & Curtis & their boys eating some yummy food, watching football and playing.
• Enjoyed a girl's night out with my friends Pam & Kirsten; so good to get out with girlfriends and just have a great time. The guys watched the kids football while we were gone :).
• Continued on the job search journey - had a final interview this week; praying that I get it, but trusting God's will for the perfect position for this next chapter of my career.
• Went sledding with 3 or 4 inches of snow today. E & M kept staring out the windows basically begging us to take them outside. A lot of fun, but the wind was slightly brutal.

Hope you are having a great 2011 so far! 

XOXO

Pictures...as promised!

Here are quite a few pictures from all of our Christmas celebrations the past two weeks. It was so much fun having two toddlers around ~ sure made things fun and extra exciting. It was so special to see their excitement.

Seeing the tree and presents for the first time.

Opening presents with mommy

Just love this shot of M

Very excited ~ love it!

E & M Love.Love.Love. their new basketballs from daddy. 

Opening some of E's new Tonka trucks

Christmas with my family

Bradley opening a present from us

E opening a tractor; he immediately began making the sounds of one. ADORABLE!

D, Seth & Carter. It will be VERY interesting next year with 3 kids running around :).

Mom & Dad opening one of their gifts from us ~ a grand kid memories box that Jason handmade (it is gorgeous...I am biased, I know, but it really is.)

CHEESE!

M with her new Dyson so she can help mommy, which she happily does already.

Christmas celebration with Jason's family. E & M with Uncle Zach & Aunt Melissa.

Just staring at some of the presents.

E digging right in.

New bikes from grammy & gramps

Little Helpers