Tradesies

We've been doing a lot of trading around here lately, literally and figuratively.  I'll start with a very concrete example.

 WE USED TO:

RIDE AROUND IN STYLE IN DADDY'S BEAUTIFUL TRUCK

WE LOVED MATT'S TOYOTA TUNDRA AND HAD MANY FUN FAMILY ADVENTURES IN THIS SWEET RIDE.

Which is why we were all very sad to part with it.  We were so impressed with Daddy's selflessness when he started fixing it up a few weeks before Hannah was born.  Mommy told him NOT to sell it, that it was 100% his decision.  I thought we could part with it later if we had to, that it would still hold our little family.  I didn't want him to resent us and I knew a good truck comes in handy for all the moving we'll have to do over the next little while.  I knew Matt LOVED his truck--he keeps it immaculate besides looking so darn handsome in it.

                         

But Matt put on a brave face (Madi just couldn't) and posted the truck on KSL after getting it in tip-top condition.  It was sold within a few short days and we got just what we wanted out of it!

SO NOW:

We are the proud owners of a MINI VAN! We were very patient and Matt really did his homework.  We took a few trips down to Salt Lake and went as far south as Lindon on the van hunt, narrowing the contestants down.   

Madi is a HUGE fan of the big-girl view out the windows and she feels like a real little person now!

Our new ride.  An older Honda Odyssey in great shape!  We feel like we hit the jack-pot with this lucky find.  I sure thought I'd never get soooo excited about a mini-van, but hey...these times they are a'changin.

Madi loves the DVD player and Mom is sooooo happy it can captivate her attention and appease this little wiggle worm.

I started thinking about all the tradesies in our life.  Our marriage started off with another Matt sacrifice.
He traded this:

... his beloved motorcycle...

For this:

My beloved wedding ring.

To be a stay-at-home Mommy I TRADED THIS:

Just a random picture of a classroom from Google, but I choose it especially because my favorite part of the teaching day was reading aloud to my adorable students.

FOR THIS:

Hands-down the biggest and best trades of my life!

Now don't get me wrong...Matt, Madison, and baby Hannah are the greatest blessings and biggest joys of my life.  For many long, lonely years I prayed my guts out for the opportunity to be a wife and mother.  I was just beginning to make peace with my single status when my world turned topsy-turvy from upside down to right-side up in dramatic fashion.  I was married just a few days after my 30th birthday, Madison joined our family before I turned 31, and Hannah joined us just days before I turned 32.  Life really started MOVING for me...and QUICKLY!

I stopped teaching when Madi was born and thought I'd never look back.  I was making a trade for something I had wanted all my life--full time mommyhood.  I didn't think I'd struggle with the transition even though I had LOVED being a teacher for almost a decade of my life.  My lot in life had been to love everyone elses' beautiful children--my many classes of super students and precious nieces and nephews.  I figured that if I could manage 24 + first graders everyday, my OWN sweet little baby, would be a breeze.  HA!  This mommy thing continually kicks my trash and rocks my world on a daily basis!  I could never go back to life without Matt, Madi, and Hannah.  But I wish I could go back to my single self  and tell that footloose and fancy-free gal to RELAX and ENJOY the selfish splendors that only complete and total independence can bring. Life was lonely but ooooooh, it had some real perks:  traveling, spending money--my own, hard-earned money--on anything I wanted (expensive hair products, gym pass, unlimited gas to get in my car and just DRIVE whenever I wanted, unlimited Diet Pepsi, me, me, ME!), sleeping when I wanted, etc, etc.  Teachers aren't known for rolling in the dough, but looking back, I was pretty rich!  My car was payed off, I lived in beautiful apartments, I could travel at the drop of a hat...life was okay!  Now that I know how rich and full and complete life can be shared with people who love me and whom I love unconditionally, I could never go back to being a lone lady.  But I wish my single self had known how lucky and blessed she was even when she thought she was completely forgotten.  How quickly life can change and you can get everything you ever wanted, with all the daunting responsibility and overwhelming selflessness it requires!

I TRADED THIS:

*I had never been on an airplane until I was 20 years old headed to Jerusalem for a study abroad experience.  This opened up a whole new world to me and over the next single years I squoze in every traveling adventure I could including--Jerusalem, Petra, Egypt, China (for 4 months of student teaching and traveling the country), the Bahamas, Hawaii, and lots of roadtrips in the U.S. to places like Florida, Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, and a "Sisterpalooza" Roadtrip to beat all roadtrips with Jill and Jodi touring the entire west coast in David and Ronni's minivan.

FOR THIS:

Logan River Trail just minutes from our house--favorite walk

Logan City Libary--Weekly Visitors

So grateful for the many parks within walking distance of our apartment.

Willow Park Zoo--we stroll over and visit the monkeys and billions of birdies almost everyday

Now a trip to Wal-Mart or Sam's is a real treat.

And Sonic, ten whole miles up the street, seems as exotic as the beaches of Hawaii!

Our trips may not be as glamorous as they used to.  My world has admittedly gotten smaller--usually confined to our apartment and neighborhood.  My life has changed wonderfully and drastically over the last three years.  Tons and tons of tradesies.  I am so eternally grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who directs our paths and helps us trade wonderful things for even better ones!  Like my eloquent big sister Kellie put it,

"It's no wonder we'd do anything for these kiddos of ours...just look at what you're doing now! We give everything we've got and their welfare is so wrapped around our hearts that we'll sacrifice everything for these pint sized miracles. Mostly our sanity by the time it's all said and done!"       

Life is crazy and wonderful and constantly changing.  I'm so grateful for the happy trades in life.  Some may seem like downgrades (like a terrific Tundra for a less-than-flashy mini-van).  Some are completely heaven- sent (like a husband and girlies). . .  but still take a little getting used to.