I'm BAAAAAAACK ;)

Isn't life crazy?
We all think that, once we get married and pop those kiddos out, our problems are so personalized. Then you have a mommy's night out and realized you could have all set your Fitbit to peeling the food off the floor for the seventh time in an hour on a Tuesday night.
Since I last blogged, my stats have definitely changed;

1. Matt and I are about to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary! Go US. And I mean celebrate. We have already booked a tiny FL vacation and I am drooling.
2. Our kidlets are growing like weeds and are now 8, almost 4, and 18 mos. We have two  in the "Terrible Two's"....I mean, wait, what? Yeah, you just read their ages. I digress...
3. In April of 2014, we scarily placed our tiny little labor-of-love house on the market and crossed our fingers. It was a precarious ride, but GOD and God alone sold our precious house and let us buy a ginormous one to house our little family.  Are we blessed? More than we deserve.
4. A new member of our family joined in December of 2014. His name is Churchill and he is seriously the most devastatingly handsome golden retriever you have ever laid eyes on. He a tank, seriously, 4 mos old and weighing in at 50 lbs already. EEEEEEK.
5. (*Spoiler: this is my fave part of the post) MATT AND I JUST GRADUATED FROM AN INTENSE 8 WEEK COUNSELING PROGRAM. Were we getting divorced? Nope.

Then why did we go to counseling? Two main reasons: My husband is a cop and our second son is strong-willed.
Oh, please know I am not dogging divorce. I, myself, have been divorced. My oldest son is from my previous relationship. When those things happened, my earth shattered and God revealed things to me that I would have never found without the depravity that divorce brings with it. Matt and I are not perfect. I am the strong-willed spouse, and he is the chill cucumber. He busts his hump at work and sees bad ALL THE TIME. I am a dental hygienist and mommy. I am task oriented, always making lists, re-arranging the furniture... you get where I am going with this.
About 6 months ago, my husband was directly involved with an ambushed shooting on a friend/coworker and I felt the trauma leak from him. Even being a cop, he had developed a comfortability at work, and that was all stripped from him overnight. I can't even imagine what it did to his comrade.
We have our own sets of issues that run on a cycle, to be sure. Things got more intense after the shooting, though. Matt needed to detox, and I wasn't helping.  I am seriously blessed in that he tells me what happens at work when that isn't the norm for most LEO (law enforcement officer) marriages. But that rut, that cycle, was unbreakable. We started asking around church for counseling suggestions and the office and friends directed us to The Potters House in Easley.


OH. WOW...
That was God-ordained. The owner has the gift of counsel. He listened, but was firm. He gave us advice that was straightforward, prayed with us, and set us on an 8 week Bible Study that changed US. That "one-person" US that the minister declares you when you seal your wedding vows. He also helped us see consistency issues that were our fault with how we were dealing with our son. It was raw, it was humbling. It was totally necessary.


So, tonight, what are YOUR issues? The ones that make you blush and your stomach turn when you think about them in private?
Guess what? You're not alone.


I have skeletons, and so do you . The perfect part is that God knew about them a long time ago, and they don't surprise Him. He made you to walk into this EXACT moment and find the key elemental parts of you that He created for HIS glory.


It's scary to think about standing up and passing through your nightmare. It takes guts and humility. But when you get to the other side of THAT valley, the view is gorgeous.


Goodnight and God Bless,
Sarah Beth