Three Trees

This is from one of Carter's favorite stories from school this past year. He loved the fact that the trees had no idea how important they were, but they ended up being 3 of the most important trees ever. And it helps me to remember that God has a plan... it may seem like things are all discombobulated, but it's still a part of his plan for me. :)

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They
were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree
 said, 'Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be
 filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be
 decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the
 beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship.
 I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to
 the corners of the world Everyone will feel safe in me
 because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the
 tallest and straightest Tree in the forest. People will see
 me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think
 of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching.
 I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will
 always remember me.'

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come
 true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one
 came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong
 tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a
 carpenter, 'and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy
 , because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a
 treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a
 strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.'
 The second tree was happy Because he knew he was on his way
 to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was
 frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his
 dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, 'I
 don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this
 one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made
 into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn
 and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed
 for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat.
 His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had
 come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in
 the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
 Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave
 birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box
 that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he
 could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would
 have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event
 and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made
 from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to
 sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm
 arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to
 keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He
 stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time,
 the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its
 boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried
 through the streets as the people mocked the man who was
 carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed
 to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a
 hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was
 strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as
 close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been
 crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be
 going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If
 you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way
 they had imagined.

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just
 know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are
 always best

the working mother

I've always thought the term "working mother" was redundant. I attempted going back to work after the birth of my first child, my daughter, Harley, when she was about 7 months old. My body was even better than it had been before I conceived her, so when my manager from Hooters asked me to come back, I was anxious to get out of the house. This lasted for one day. After being at work a mere 3 hours, I called my grandmother and asked her to please go pick the baby up from daycare and bring her to me, and she did. As soon as she got there, I sat in the bathroom nursing my beautiful baby girl and decided then that I couldn't do it. We didn't exactly need the money, and no amount was worth this feeling that I had in the pit of my stomach. It just felt wrong to me.
Two years later, my ex husband and I decided we should start trying for second child. We desperately wanted a boy and twenty minutes later I was pregnant with Carter. By the time he was a year old, my husband and I were separating and I was working 3 jobs. I was back at Hooters, working at Merle Norman, and working as a personal trainer. I was exhausted. Not to mention, I missed out on so much with my children. All I wanted was to be with them all the time. Then we were divorced and I went through a really rough time emotionally. I was confused about who I was, where I was going, and what I should do next. Now, five years later, I have another child. Another son. I've heard it said a hundred thousand times that God will not give you something that you cannot handle. I firmly believe that God brought Braydon to me to keep me from losing my mind when Harley and Carter left in December. Had it not been for him, I would have most definitely gone into a serious depression being away from my children. But, I didn't have a choice. I had to be "mommy". I couldn't cry all day. I had a baby to feed, change, play with, read to... I had "work" to do.
I've never gotten paid for this job. This is what makes it both the most rewarding and least rewarding job, simultaneously. I have always loved staying at home with my children. I don't want to miss out on anything. I love changing diapers, getting up in the night to feed them, going for walks around the neighborhood, reading Horton Hears a Who over and over and over, watching Little Einsteins, dancing in the living room to Hall & Oates... all before noon. I love my life as a mommy. I also recognize that in these economic times, it is almost impossible for a family to get by without both parents working outside of the home. So, I got a job.
It's a job that I adore. It's perfect for me. It combines three of the things that I love most: photography, babies, and sales. I'm going to be really good at it, and I'll have the potential to make a lot of money doing it. But, herein lies the problem- a mother works. A stay at home mother works harder than probably any person on the planet. You don't have "time off"... well, except for me. The past couple of weeks, I've forced my "time off" by getting my grandmother to watch the baby for a couple of hours so I could go to a friend's house. But, most mothers don't even get to do that. Like I said, I forced it. But, even working outside of the home, I'm finding that I'm still expected to do all that was expected of me before I got this job.
My daughter once told me "Mommy I know why God made women to be Mommies... because Daddies couldn't handle it". Boy, was she right.