Two thousand eighteen is off to a running start, and I am finally sitting down to reflect on the past year. It is so easy to simply jump into a new year full speed ahead and not look back...but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that taking time to reflect on the past year, remembering God's goodness through all of the changes, and documenting the journey is so life giving. I encourage you to do the same if you haven't already, however that may look!
----------
As if two job changes and an international family adventure within the final few months of 2017 weren't enough excitement, God had one more thing coming... Charlotte had been asking for a "baby" a few months before Christmas. Thinking she wanted a baby doll, we suggested she ask Santa Claus for the kind she wanted. With a serious face, her response was, "No, I mean a REAL baby! Just like Baby Adeline!" We told her she needed to ask God about that one... and she did! Little did we know, Charlotte's prayer had already been answered --- and we soon discovered that our family would be expanding in 2018! (This brought an entire new dimension of adventure of our world travels... with two toddlers and now a pregnant momma!) Now, with J.J. moving out of his home office, we have more space for a third child... and with my part time work schedule, I feel more prepared to take on the adjustments that will come with having three children ages 3 and under!
Two thousand seventeen was a year that will be remembered
around the world for heartbreaking tragedy and arising triumph, devastating division
and resilient unity, and many situations in between. However, despite the ups
and downs this past year brought, we continue to stand amazed at the one constant in
our lives – the goodness and faithfulness of God!
At the beginning of 2017, the word we felt led to focus on
for our family was “intentional.” This encompassed everything from
our decision to join The Health Club and pursue new fitness routines to our
restructuring of our weekly schedules to allow for regular date nights and
his/hers “free nights”. We focused on simplifying our calendars and clearing
household clutter to allow for more intentional time together as a family
without so many distractions around us. Our journey of being intentional as a
family will always be an ongoing pursuit, but 2017 brought clarity to so
many areas of our lives as we focused on defining our priorities! We praise God
for his grace in all of these areas as we learned from trial and error.
Charlotte Ann really embraced her role as a big sister and also
enjoyed attending a Children’s Day Out program 4 days per week, a learning
environment that she thrived in. She made many new friends in her class and
improved her sharing skills J
She looked forward to being “line leader” whenever possible and came home
nearly every day singing a new song, as well as memorizing the Lord’s Prayer
and Pledge of Allegiance. Charlotte turned 3 in August and mastered riding her new balance bike. Growing like a weed, she is already wearing 5T clothes and continues to keep us on our toes with her
boundless energy, incredible memory, and extroverted love of singing, people,
and outdoor adventures.
Adeline Grace blossomed as the baby of the family, and she
absolutely adores her big sister. She has the sweetest personality and was mostly content to snuggle and be worn in her baby carrier wherever we went. Her first word was
“Momma,” (!!!) though her vocabulary quickly expanded to include all names of her
family members, favorite animals, and favorite foods. She loves to sleep and is
the easiest child ever to put to bed! She turned one in November and took her first steps shortly thereafter, though very cautiously. She continues to light up our lives with her gentle demeanor, deep blue eyes, and curiosity about the world around her.
For JJ and I, it turned out to be another year of change and answered prayers in our job situations. For the
past 3 years, JJ worked from home, which was a huge blessing during this season
for our young family. He truly kept things running around our household, as I was gone for 10 hours each workday. While he was happy to prioritize our family life, his
professional goals were not being met, and he desired a position that would
utilize his specialized training. He began to consider pursuing further education and expanding his career to include other areas of healthcare, but God quickly closed the door on this option...and we were honestly left feeling confused - but assured that the best was yet to come.
In the meantime, I was continuing to love my role as a pediatric clinical pharmacist working in oncology and stem cell transplant at The Children’s Hospital; however, I constantly felt the pull of wanting to spend more time at home with the girls. After much prayer, an opportunity became available for me to transition to a part time role, while continuing to work in my exact same position! This was a huge decision for our family, as we were faced with a choice to cut my salary in half... but we took a leap of faith and decided to go for it. We knew we would have to make some tough decisions in order to continue staying on track with our financial goals (i.e., aggressively paying off student loans and our house) and making some changes in childcare, but we felt a peace that everything would work out. As it turned out, this decision has truly been the best of both worlds for me – staying current in a career that I love, while being able to savor more moments at home with my growing girls!
Our next pursuit was to plan an end of the year trip to Thailand as a family, to visit my sister and her family. However, JJ's vacation request was denied by his employer, and we were again feeling discouraged. After much discussion and prayer, it was decided that the girls and I (and my mother!) should go ahead and make the trip without him. So, both girls got their first passports and embarked on the journey of a lifetime with their Momma and Mimi – a trip around the world to visit their Aunt Lauren, Uncle Gib, and Park cousins in Thailand! While the Parks had visited the U.S. early in 2017, it was our turn to explore their world and make the trek around the globe. The trip was absolutely incredible, and we loved experiencing a new culture with our family and seeing the beautiful country of Thailand. [We only wished JJ and Didi could have joined us!]
Just before our trip, God had begun to reveal his next plans for J.J. when he was contacted out of the blue by an amazing Oklahoma pharmacy organization that recruited him for a new job... a job that was a culmination
of all of his previous pharmacy experience! As Clinical Director at his new job, he is now able to use his past experience and specialized training in community pharmacy, his passion for patient care, his management skills from previously running a specialty pharmacy, and his understanding of insurance contracting! He started this new adventure the day after his girls
left for Thailand, and continues to feel that his current role was a divine
match. In hindsight, we can now clearly see why the door was closed for J.J. to pursue another career field, why he was denied vacation time for the Thailand trip, and that this big promotion was truly the answer to so many prayers.
As we reflected on the year this past New Years' Eve, J.J. and I shook our heads in disbelief at the whirlwind of events that had just occurred. Laying in bed that night, we pondered out loud what our "word" for 2018 would be... And suddenly, I spontaneously started laughing...and couldn't stop. I literally laughed until tears were running down my face, and J.J. said, "Maybe this is a sign that 2018 will be a year of JOY!" We are fully embracing and believing for this, as we focus on the year ahead. We are moving into 2018 with great expectations - and literally counting our blessings as we look forward to welcoming Baby Girl #3 in June. The goodness of God continues to shine brightly in our lives, through the times of uncertainty and the revelations of breakthrough.
We wish you a wonderful JOY-filled 2018, and we would love to hear what things you are hoping and believing for this year!
Cheers,
Team Peek
Comments
Post a Comment