Hello Spring!

After a winter that never seemed to want to end, I am welcoming some nice weather with open arms. Though, I must give a shout out to my fellow Canadians who are suffering through a snow storm. In April. Seriously? Yeah, I don't miss the snow.

Before I carry on, I'll give a shout out to Chanda. Her Blog inspired me to write again, so be sure to check it out! Chanda's Blog!

I last wrote in February and holy smokes a lot has changed since then. Okay, not a tremendous amount but we did move! After years of struggling and all that, we were finally in a position to move into a nicer home. Though, considering the amount of tax money I now owe, I wish we had waited until the Fall. ha. Ouch.

Seriously, I love my job. I am truly blessed to have it but I was a fish out of water when it came to what I had to do for taxes and such. According to the USA I am self-employed and with that comes a hell of a lot of taxes! I will know better for next year - that's for damn sure. The only thing that makes me nervous is that I am still a temporary resident and have an interview some time this fall. The very last thing I want to do is owe the IRS money so I need to pay that off ASAP. I did have money saved, I just didn't realize how MUCH I would need! Oy Vey.

In other news, okay I don't really have any other news. ha. So I'll just tell you more about the house and my relationship/family. I am really proud of Chad. Like really proud. I know I probably don't tell him as often as I should but he's done a 180 since the Fall. While we still have our moments, I think as a unit we're stronger than ever.

I am going to share a personal story now. I waiver about sharing personal stuff online do some things that occurred in the past but this really is a testament and shows not only growth as individuals but growth as a family unit.

The story may not mean much to anyone reading it, or maybe it actually will resonate - I don't know. One of my struggles in this new life has been that I am financially responsible. I pay my bills first, have fun second. I also consider myself empathetic to people and try my best to be a better person every day. I suck sometimes. I mess up. I can be a total bitch on wheels. But I do feel I have a good grasp on who I want to be and definitely who I do NOT want to be. So I tend to preach. It's up to the individual if they listen to me or not. I like to call myself Dr Phillete.

Haven - my step daughter, has had a bumpy life. Both her and Chad have had to overcome obstacles I would not wish on anyone. She is incredibly intelligent, talented and creative but she has some deep seeded emotional scars and she doesn't necessarily have the emotional maturity that she should. With that said, she has come light years in the past year and a half. She was having a moment a couple weeks back while she was out to town with her Dad. When they got back, he was irritated and asked me to talk to her. Naturally, I had no idea what to say but I went to her room and began doing what I do best. Ramble.

Here's the good part of the story. Chad comes into the room. First he apologizes to Haven for getting upset with her and explained his feelings (Wow! Go Dad!) Then Haven apologized back for behaving the way she did, etc., Here's the big one. He not only validated her feelings but told her she got it honestly (From him) but that he has come a long way in the last few months and (I quote) "It's because of that woman sitting right there, so you ought to listen to her. She knows what she's talking about."

Stop my heart and call me dead! Needless to say I looked down into the pillow to hold back the tears. That moment just ... it made everything worth it. As a wife, a mother, a friend. It just made me feel like I actually matter and make a difference in these people's lives. What an incredible feeling.

We have come a long way and we now, as a unit, make better decisions. Bills get paid first (mostly lol) and we're doing better. That's why were were able to provide a nicer, newer home for our family. All because Chad believed in me and I never gave up. I accepted him family as my own and together we strive to always excel - as a unit. It's a good feeling :) He is patient with me and has shown me love in ways I never imagined I'd receive. Life is Good.

Here's some pics of the kids bedrooms!  Haven has a new lamp that looks totally cool in her room. I just haven't gotten a good photo of it yet.