So long 2013

Hello 2014! I must say, I'm excited about 2014. First off, I don't really like odd ending numbers (I know, I'm weird). Secondly, I will be a mama to 3 awesome children! Obviously I'm most excited about that. I already know Josiah and Layla will be great with Rocky. Side note: we have been calling him Rocky since I was 10 weeks pregnant because when I showed Josiah a picture of the sonogram and told him that was his baby brother or sister he said, "that's not a baby, that's a rock". So my friend, Jen Joy, suggested we call him Rocky, which we have for almost 5 months. Every day, more than twice a day, Josiah asks how Rocky is doing and if he's laughing when Josiah tickles my belly. He kisses my belly, asks to lay on Rocky, rubs it, scratches it, pats it, hugs it. You name it, he does it. He genuinely cares for his little brother whom he does not know but already loves. Layla, too, expresses interest in Rocky by hugging and kissing my belly. I can't wait to see them in action with Rocky. We have not chosen a name yet. We like about 5 or 6 but just can't decide. I still have 10 more weeks, so maybe when it becomes crunch time we will choose.
Another reason 2014 is going to be so awesome is because I will almost be done with my pre-reqs for nursing school. I honestly can't wait to take Anatomy. I know it will be difficult, but there are so many things that I want to learn about the human body. If you didn't know, my desire is to become a labor and delivery nurse, so I must learn about where everything is! If all goes as planned, I should be done with nursing school in May 2017. I know that sounds far off, but it's really not. The reason it took me so long to actually start with my pre reqs for nursing school is because I knew it would take 5 full years until I could practice nursing, and in my mind I thought 35 was too old to start a new career. At 35 I will have been out of college for 13 years. When I was 18 years old I had no idea what I wanted to become when I "grew up" so I just picked something. And that something turned into a non career of bouncing from job to job trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Then, at 30, I knew what I wanted to be, but it seemed too late. Then I thought, why would I continue to have a job that takes me away from my children that I only half like and am definitely not making a difference in other people's lives? Even if I don't get done with nursing school until I am 37, that still puts me in a career that I will absolutely LOVE for 30 years... nothing compared to the 12 measly years I spent doing work that I didn't love. Anyways, there's that.
2014 will be the last full year Josiah isn't in school every day of the week. He currently goes to school 2 days a week while I work and I love being home with him the other days. I can't imagine not being with him all day long other than the weekends. That's going to be a hard adjustment, I can already tell.
Chris and I haven't made any New Years resolutions yet. We did last year and did pretty well with sticking to them, so this year we are going to think about how we want our family's life to make a difference in our community. So, when we have some, I may or may not write about it.
I will do another blog later this week on how great my children are and some adorable pictures of them, but I've already written enough and am impressed if you got this far.  Cheers to 2014!