Unemployed...

Well, today was a day for endings and new beginnings.

Today was my last day at work. No more answering the phone 'Stasz Chiropractic, this is Katie' (well, I can't guarantee I won't accidentally do it...I did the the other night on my cell phone when my mom called and Heather and Jon were here...talk about an embarrassing 'pregnant' moment! At least it was a good laugh!)

It would have been 3 years next month that I would have worked at Stasz Chiropractic. I had the blessing of working with great people and having wonderful patients! I will really miss seeing some of my regular patients, but feel confident that my replacement, Missy, will take good care of them!

Below are a few pictures from the day!

Lunch at Las Lomas

We actually saw a patient of ours at Las Lomas, who was nice enough to take the picture for us!

The office crew!
Brenda, me, Missy (my replacement) & Robin

Mark, my boss & Me

Deedra (massage therapist that works out of our office) & me

It seems a little surreal that my time at Stasz Chiropractic is over. It definitely makes having this baby much more of a reality! (Not that the swollen belly and the foot constantly jabbing out my side hasn't contributed!)

I have had some mixed reactions when telling people that I don't plan to work after this baby. Mostly have been positive and encouraging, but there have been a few that make comments like 'oh, after a year or so, you will be dying to leave your kids and work again', or 'you will eventually need that feeling of accomplishment and productivity and making money' or ' you will need to do something for yourself'.

I truly believe that working or not working when having kids comes down to a personal choice for each woman (and some women have no choice but to work). As for me, staying home with my kids was put on my heart quite some time ago...I know it is God's will for my life.

In the last few years, whenever I brought the matter of working, or having a career in prayer to God, I always get the same question from Him that my heart has to answer "Do I want 'quantity' or 'quality' out of this life?" If I worked, the only thing it would really do for us is provide us with more money, to buy more stuff. For me, that isn't a good enough reason for me to work. I get so much joy being home for my husband, making him lunch and helping him break up his work day, and being here for him when he comes home from work (which is why I liked working at Stasz Chiro, b/c it allowed me to still do that).

My mom was a full time stay-at-home mom when I was growing up, and I had a lot of security as a kid knowing my mom was there all the time, and I value the sacrifices she made so much more the older I get. I want to give that to my kids too!

Now I am not naive and going pretend that I know exactly how I am gonna feel, nor do I think that being a stay-at-home wife and mom is gonna be easy. Let's face it, I am going from working part-time where I get compensated, to working full time with lots of over time, no breaks or vacations and with no monetary compensation. And it scares me somewhat to have kids 9 hours away from family, who I can't call when I just need a little break. And of course, I have had some anxiety over how we are gonna raise kids in today's society on only 1 income. But each time I pick these burdens up, I force myself to lay them back down at the feet of Jesus and trust that if I am doing His will, He will provide for us. He hasn't failed me yet!

I am also so blessed to be married to my best friend. Shane is an amazing husband, and a constant support and encouragement to me. I know I can always depend on him! And I am very thankful to him for working so hard to make it possible for me to stay at home!

And for those times that I feel the need to do something for myself...I have been blessed with a sewing machine, where I can let my creative juices flow!

Well, there you have it...this has turned into a 'very pregnant' woman's rambling who is suffering from insomnia. I started this post last night before I went to bed, then picked back up at 4am when I couldn't fall back asleep!

So to end this post, I just want to say thanks to those I worked with at Stasz Chiropractic, I really enjoyed working with you and will miss you all! You all have been a blessing in my life more than you know!

Good night...or rather, Good morning!