Welcome to Beautiful Chaotic!
In high school, I was certain that I would never get married, and even more certain that I would NEVER have children. Certain in the way only the young can be, before life outside of our academic halls brings the realization that maybe we don't have the whole world figured out...... I planned to study biology in college, and fully expected to find my 30-something self in some remote corner of the world studying some obscure species of animal, single and childless. God had other plans.
Superman is my wonderful, handsome, oh-so-patient husband. He is my best friend, and probably the only person who could put up with me for the rest of our lives. We met at the end of my sophomore year of college, and somehow he managed to convince me that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get married. In '99, we did just that. I was now 22 and married. So much for being certain.
Mad Scientist is my 9 1/2 year old son. He was the baby that changed my life. Superman and I had decided we weren't having children, that we would focus on our careers instead. I was in my dream job at a captive breeding facility for endangered canids. I got to work hands on with some of the rarest species of wolves on the planet. Two of them had gone extinct in the wild, and only survived due to efforts by our facility and others like it. I wasn't in a remote corner of the world, but I was working with the animals I'd loved and had wanted to study my whole life. My view of my self-worth was completely caught up in my accomplishments, and I simply couldn't imagine anything more rewarding than my career. I had plans to work towards my masters and doctorate once Superman finished his degree. God had other plans.
Sparkly Princess is my 7 year old daughter. We had just bought our first home, and we had decided that Mad Scientist being an only child might not be a bad idea. God had other plans.
One month before Sparkly Princess was born, I did something that would have completely horrified my high school self - I resigned my position to become a stay at home mom. The allure of my career had started to dissipate the second I held Mad Scientist in my arms, and Princess' arrival vaporized the last thoughts of anything ranking higher in importance than being a mother. Still, homeschooling wasn't even on my radar yet. God had other plans. (Sensing a theme here, anyone?)
So here I am, a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother. It's the hardest job I've ever done. Lifting 40lb feed bags and capturing large predators for vet checks wasn't nearly as exhausting. It wasn't nearly as rewarding, either.
Mad Scientist looks like a mini-me of his Daddy, but he's my kindred left-brain spirit. He was speaking before he was one, had full sentences before he was two, and has been demanding the full, logical explanation of everything ever since. No "The sky is blue because God made it that way" answers for him! Legos are his favorite pastime. He simply amazes me with his ability to see something, either in a picture or simply in his head, and be able to create a Lego version of it.
Sparkly Princess is God's optimistic answer to a pessimistic Mommy. She's like a little ray of sunshine living in our house. Scientist has been known to complain in exasperation, "Why is she always so HAPPY!!" Her favorite color is pink, preferably in sparkles, feathers, glitter, and tutus. If allowed she would spend every day in the prettiest, girliest princess dress she could find........and then go dig in the dirt for worms to bring in and introduce to their brethren in her terrarium. Along with the snails, slugs, and pill bugs. Oh, and she is completely right-brained. More proof that God has a sense of humor.
Every day I'm grateful that God chose to lead me down the path He had for me, instead of letting me wander down my own. It's a path that has certainly had it's fair share of potholes (mostly ones I dug myself), but it is one I would travel again in a heartbeat. I have no preconceived certainties about where He'll take me next. I do know that wherever it is, I'll be infinitely happier there than anywhere else.
I plan to blog about:
- Family life
- Homeschooling
- Our walk in faith
- Natural health
- Our beginning attempts to gain healing and fitness through a primal lifestyle like that found in Mark Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint"
- Gardening in small spaces
- Whatever else has caught my attention or gets me on my soapbox
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