So perhaps you’ve noticed I’ve been much quieter than usual. Way back in June I mentioned that I would be making changes like rebranding without changing names. As you may have seen, that still hasn’t yet happened. In an effort to try to fix some of my medical issues, I was trying different things. Unfortunately, we still haven’t yet found a solution that has helped long-term (particularly for the cervicogenic headaches). Some solutions helped temporarily, but often things got worse before they got better. Throw in my amazing trip to Blogger Bash, fun trips to Cedar Point and my health issues, and I had been spending far less time on the computer.
Unfortunately, the past couple of months have proven to be even more difficult. Now is not the time for details, but I can say many things are changing right now as I’m walking through the hardest trial of my life. God is so good, and I truly feel Him and see Him walking with me through this trial. He is my rock and my strength and He will make beauty from this mess. And so, I forge ahead in faith. Faith that I can still offer something through this ministry that is my blog. Faith that I will now have something more to add to my book.
I called my blog Pea of Sweetness because it was a nickname I gave to my daughter. The rebrand is still going to happen in a way to make things look less “babyish,” and I will be embracing that *I* am Pea of Sweetness. I am the daughter of the King. He is blessing me in ways that make it more real to me what a loving Father he truly is. I still plan to use the tagline I didn’t mention in the previous post. It is “Growing with my family on God’s vine.” It’s still very relevant. Just as God is a loving Father to me, He is a loving Father to my kids as well.
The next few months will continue to bring challenges, but I will continue to move forward in confidence. God is lending me strength I never knew I could have. I am trusting God. He loves me, and He won’t let me fall. I’m his Pea of Sweetness.
Goals for 2016
I’m finally getting around to share my goals for 2016! I think it’s going to be a great year! Of course, one of my main goals is covered in my Word for 2016 – Contentment. I’ve learned the power of the written goals, though, and I’ve found sharing them with others helps you stay accountable!
Personal Goals for 2016
- Better time management. This was my top goal last year, and I still haven’t gotten it down. I’d like to really get a schedule set. Again, I must acknowledge there is room for grace because with three special needs children, a husband with a disability, and my own medical issues, days often don’t go as planned. In fact, last year my health issues were intense. I’m praying for a better year – particularly now that they know the cause of my headaches. I need to recognize and leverage the “good days.”
- I want to continue to spend more time in God’s word and have more quiet time with Him. I still feel like I need to work on this – for so many reasons. How can I be a vessel to spread His Word if I’m not listening to it?
- Continue to strive for better health including pursuing answers and solutions for my health issues, using my essential oils and supplements regularly, get adequate sleep, drink more water and work out regularly.
- Continue to work on being efficient. I have Sensory Processing Disorder so being efficient is challenging for me. I get overwhelmed and overstimulated so it’s like having a short attention span yet a need for perfection. It can be overwhelming!
- Get the house more organized. We still have a few unpacked boxes. *Sigh* I just want to get all the things we’re not using out and everything else organized better.
- Continue having regular date nights with my husband as well as making sure I make time for him. As a mom and blogger with health issues, I do have limited time, but it is so very important to give that time to him.
- Lose weight. I’m going to be talking more about my health and fitness goals and starting my “Wellness Wednesday” link-ups!
- Have a successful homeschool year – whatever that may look like for us. I’d like to get into a schedule that works well for us (we’re just starting our new homeschool year, so we still have some time to find our groove), plan more field trips and more hands-on projects.
- Do more. OK, that sounds pretty generic. With my health issues this year, I didn’t really do much at all. I’d like to get out of the house more and get involved in things I’m passionate about.
Professional Goals for 2016
- Last year was rough. I’d like to really grow Pea of Sweetness this year. I’m definitely happy with my decision to sell Deals of Sweetness so I can not only focus on getting more content here on Pea of Sweetness, but so I can also bring it back to what it used to be. I want Pea of Sweetness to be a whole reflection of me, and dividing my interest between two similar blogs was taking a toll. I can’t wait to bring new, fresh content to Pea of Sweetness this year!
- Stop comparing. (I really covered this in my Word for 2016. It’s why I chose contentment.) I shouldn’t be comparing my growth to others. I have to trust that Pea of Sweetness is exactly where God wants it to be right now. It is reaching the people He wants it to reach at this time. It’s not about being popular or “big” – it’s about being open to His Will.
- Create a schedule that makes sense for me given my other responsibilities – and stick to it.
- Create a solid editorial calendar and plan for all of my websites and perfect the pages, design, and content of each. I also want to really get Sweetness Sisters Media going and offer support for bloggers and start promoting all of our services like helping others get a blog started with a nice theme/blog design as well!
- Additionally, get Nerdy Household up and started. Yes, I said I don’t want to divide interest, but this is a fun site my husband and I will be working on together. Plus, it’s not really dividing interest because gaming, anime, etc., although it is a big part of me, doesn’t really fit well here on Pea of Sweetness.
- Go through and fix old posts – create pinnable images if there isn’t one, edit any text if necessary, set a featured image if needed, etc.
- Finish my book and look into publishing information.
What are your goals for 2016?
We Made It! Our Moving Adventure
I didn’t have a chance to post my “Merry Christmas!” message on here, but I do hope you had a blessed Christmas! So we finally made it to Ohio. We arrived on Christmas Eve. If you saw my announcement about moving you may be thinking it took a little longer than you’d expect. You would be right! I’m pretty sure most moves don’t go as planned, but this one was particularly an adventure – not the good kind of adventure, though! The good news is, though, we made it! We finished unloading the truck today and are excited for our new adventure – the good kind of adventure!
One thing is for sure – the weather was totally against us. I said we were leaving on the 21st, but we didn’t. The day we got the moving truck it rained – ALL DAY. We got a few things on, but just a few. It gave us an opportunity to spend more time with our families before we left, though I am sad I didn’t get to see my grandma because she was in the hospital and not feeling up to company.
We did get to see my other family, and while we’re visiting our youngest, who had a cold at the time, started coughing so hard it made him sick to his stomach. I feared he wouldn’t be well enough for the move, but it was just a one time thing!
Upon returning to the house to load more stuff on to the truck so we could at least leave the next day, we discover our dog had gotten out, and I had to go find her. She’s not typically a runner, but since we weren’t home she decided not to go back. *Sigh*
We still weren’t finished that night, so we woke up and got right to work. It took much longer than I imagined finishing up all the little stuff and picking up and vacuuming the floors. Finally, though we’d be on our way!
It was almost dinner time when we left, so we talked about a more realistic goal for where we’d stop for the night because originally we planned on only one stop in Tennessee. We knew we’d have to stop in Arkansas but were hopeful we could drive straight through from there.
My husband’s alarm didn’t go off, so we left much later than expected, but we were off again! It was raining – and raining and raining and raining. By the time it was getting dark visibility wasn’t ideal. Since I fought a migraine the day before and was fighting fatigue that day, we just decided it would be best to stop again – in Tennessee where we planned to stop the first time! I felt like we’d never make it!
I bathed the dog and cat at the hotel because even though our cat did much better than I expected he still made a mess on himself, and the dog just plain smelled! Ha! So we had clean pets and a chance to get more sleep, though it was probably the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed, but this post is long enough, so I’ll spare the details. 😉
We didn’t need our alarm that morning as the cat decided to knock the gerbil cage off the table, and we startled out of bed to see the damage. Our daughter amazingly caught both gerbils (who were now loose) in one snatch. Phew!
It was super early, but if we wanted to get there at a decent time, we figured we might as well leave. It was Christmas Eve, so we wanted to see our family!
Off we went in the gloomy, rainy weather. We heard it might be snowing up in Ohio that night, so we were hoping to get there before the snow. There never was any snow, but it was gloomy, windy, and rainy the whole way there. The WHOLE WAY. It was terrible. Plus my husband, who was ahead of me in the moving truck, discovered our headlights weren’t working in automatic mode. I’m sure this is because you cannot move without some type of vehicle issue.
I was fighting my fatigue again, a headache, and a stomach ache surely brought on by the stress, so we had to make frequent stops. At this point I wasn’t even sure we’d make it there at a decent time that night – if at all! I just kept praying and praying that we’d be able to get through the final stretch.
We did! We arrived on Christmas Eve just before dinner. We walked in to the sweetest surprise – a Christmas tree with decorations and some goodies under the tree to welcome us to our new home. It was such an amazing blessing. We were finally home – and just in time for Christmas!
I have been trying to catch up on blog posts to discover my computer has malware, and I was going to have to get rid of it first. Plus our internet won’t be connected until Tuesday, but I’m here posting from my phone. I cleared the malware, so I should be “back” soon. In the meantime we’re working on putting things behind us and starting our new adventure. We had amazing help with unloading the truck today, got to the store for some winter gear, and got a few basics for the house. We are so ready to settle in to our home.
It seems most moves have at least something that doesn’t go as planned. Have you ever had a move that went as planned or one like ours that was a bit of a disaster?
Where Am I?
You may have noticed I’ve been posting less. I usually post at least daily with the exception of a day off here and there, but a couple of days in a row? What gives? If you read my posts regularly, you’re probably aware of the fact that we got evicted from our last home. We have been trying to make it on the income from my blogs and my husband’s VA disability, and with high rent, we were struggling.
We were blessed to find a place to go in time (thanks to our amazing friends!) because for a while I wasn’t sure what we were going to do! The donations I received through the campaign helped us move. We wouldn’t have been able to even get a moving truck without it! It was a really stressful experience. We didn’t even get everything out of the house in time because moving stuff with just my husband and I who both have physical challenges was quite overwhelming.
Shortly after the incident, though, Social Security finally approved my husband’s case and I really feel like a huge weight has been lifted. It was a hard experience, but I’m filled with so much hope that we can just move forward.
Transitioning has been hard, though. I shared some tips for Homeschooling During a Move, and honestly, I don’t know how we would have made the homeschool transition without them! It may have been an unexpected move, but having moved before really helped me prepare!
The not so smooth part is obviously the fact that our kids have a hard time with transitions due to their special needs. It has been hard. To top it off, my health problems are at their peak. The migraines have been unbearable even with my usual essential oils and homeopathic remedies that usually help. For the record, migraines and computer screens don’t get along.
For that reason, I’m also wrapping up this post because I have a little headache, and I don’t want it to get out of hand! I’ve had pleurisy (again – I seriously get it all the time!) for the past few days as well, so I need extra rest. I hope to catch up on some more posts tomorrow, but I wanted to assure you, I’m still around – just not as much as usual! 🙂
Here are some things that will be coming up this week:
- I will be rolling out my 2014 Holiday Gift Guide!
- I will also be sharing information for those that would like to have a product or service featured in my gift guide! Would you like more details? Please feel free to Contact Me for details.
- I’ll be sharing more great reviews and giveaways (including the start of those that will be included in my Holiday Gift Guide!). I might have to double up on a few because of the unexpected break, so please bear with me as things will be crazy busy!
- I will be sharing a new post with our latest giveaway winners.
In the meantime, be sure to check out my guest posts!
I shared both the challenges and blessings of parenting special needs children with a chronic condition on Beautiful in His Time.
I shared tips for teaching history to hands-on learners on The Homeschool Post.
Be sure to check them out and show some love – and check out other posts there as well! I know you’ll be blessed!
I hope to start connecting regularly again soon!