Hello everyone! I am so honored and excited to be a new contributor with Waco Moms Blog. My husband Josh and I welcomed our first child, Beckett, in the early morning hours of Black Friday 2018. As soon as we found out we would welcome him around Thanksgiving, I just asked him if he would let mommy have a proper Thanksgiving dinner before he arrived. He did, but only by a few hours! Our sweet boy has kept us on our toes ever since.
I thought I had everything all figured out and had all the answers already for being a mommy. I grew up with toddlers running around and worked in daycares with infants. I was ready and excited for sure, but prepared for all the crazy that comes with being a mommy? No way! It feels like our life has been turned upside down and we are bursting at the seams in our house with all the baby stuff, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I am excited to share my experience as a new mother with all of you and learn from you as well. We are a very environmentally conscious family, which we have found is not easy to do with a newborn. I’ll be sharing some ways we found we could continue living this way without a lot of extra effort and I’ll also share some ‘hacks’ for making daily life with a newborn easier.
My husband Josh and I moved to Waco four years ago from Virginia in January 2015. We both graduated from the same small college in Virginia where we were both collegiate athletes (Josh played baseball and I played soccer). We knew each other through mutual friends, but really did not become friends ourselves until we both worked at our alma mater post-graduation. We spent a lot of time together and our love grew out of that wonderful friendship. He’s been my best friend for seven years and will be my best friend forever.
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since we moved to Waco. During that time, we got engaged, got married, and now have our first little one. Josh works at Baylor University and we take walks a lot over the bridge from the law school to McLane Stadium. We were taking a walk one August night in 2015 and in the middle of the bridge, Josh got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I still love how much thought he put into the bridge being such a symbol in our relationship crossing from one chapter to the next.
With so much joy has come some struggle too. It took me a few months to find a job when we first moved to Waco and I was so overjoyed when I finally found my dream job. Ultimately, it just simply was not a good fit. Fast forward three years and now I love my role as a Park Ranger, but the path to get here has certainly not been a straight one; it has had many uphill climbs followed by jumping off cliffs not knowing where the bottom might be.
My grandfather passed away in June 2017. He was a forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry before I was born, and my love for the outdoors comes from him. My goal every day is to honor him by sharing my love and knowledge of nature with park visitors just like he did with me.
In addition to being a working mom, I’m also a student in a Wilderness Management program. Trying to juggle work, school, volunteer opportunities, and family has definitely had its challenges, but it’s also rewarding to know that everything I’m doing is making our family that much better. I look forward to sharing with you and learning from all the mommas out there!
