1200 Characters, Really people?!

So, I am new to this whole Blog thing, which is stunning seeing that almost everyone my age has one. So, apparently that "about me" section only gives you so many characters to tell who you are, which is ridiculous. I had to go back three or four times trying to edit stuff out. But what exactly do you take out about yourself? There are things that I had to leave out that I feel are important to know about me, so that is what my first ever blog post is going to be about. The things that just didn't make it to the "about me" section.

I am from a small town in West Tennessee, just north of Memphis. That is where I was born and raised, along with my extended family (3rd and 4th cousins all live within about 10 miles of each other). I was born to a farming family, so I consider myself a county girl. I have a brother who is older, and a twin sister. My mom and dad raised us right, instilling in us values that are vital to who I am today (If you want something, work your butt off to make it happen.) So, at 26 years old, I am into my second year of practicing optometry, my sister is a pharmacist, and my brother is taking over the family farming business.

I am one of the lucky few who love what they do in life. I get to help people everyday. Believe me, the healthcare system in this country is good and bad on a lot of levels, but I love being in the middle of it.
When I got out of optometry school, there just wasn't any job opportunities in the Memphis area, so me, my husband, and my son made the difficult decision to pack up and move to a small town just north of Jackson, MS. It was a very hard adjustment at first (more so for my mom and dad than myself, but that's another story). I spent my entire life just miles away from everyone I knew. I gave up potential scholarships to colleges across the country and stayed in Memphis for Undergrad and Optometry school! But the more we started to venture out and explore the area and make new friends, the more we have grown to like it. Family is a long/short 4 hours away, so we are able to visit when we need, but its still not the same as living half a mile from your parents house (can you say babysitter?). Then, I recieved some great news right before the new year that my sister and her fiance had taken jobs in the area and would be moving down here with us!!!! That has been such a blessing to have my twin sister just 15 mintues away. Someone I can go to lunch with, go shopping with, can watch my son if anything unexpected pops up. You have no idea how happy that made me!

One big worry for us when moving down here would be my son's ability to adapt to a new environment. Ever since I had Kaleb, my mom has been keeping him, by himself, at her house while I commuted back and forth to school everyday. Luckily, Kaleb has really grown at his daycare, and started making new friends and really becoming the social butterfly that we knew he could be. It has also been good to notice that he has not forgotten the family we left behind though. He still prefers his Nana and Pop, or MawMaw and PawPaw, over Mom and Dad when we go visit.

Another worry was for my husband, Paul, and what he was going to do about his job. He had worked his way up pretty far in the food chain at his old job, and really hated to leave it all behind, but we decided as a family, that this job offer in MS was just too good to turn down. So, he quit and moved down with us, hoping to find something new. In an amazing turn of events, his old company actually had an opening for a work-from-home opportunity, and offered it to him. Of course, we jumped on it and haven't looked back. As great as working from home sounds, turns out it is a lot harder and more demanding than it looks. You have to make yourself stay focused and then they kind of expect you to be available 24-7 since you are "at the office". But the benefits definitely outway the downsides!

So here we are, trying to juggle life, love and a two year old! And please don't ask when we are going to have another one!!!! As for us, an only child doesn't sound like that bad of an idea. Can't we just spoil the heck out of this one?! =)