Latest photo shoot

We did our last photo shoot probably until Will turns 2 last weekend.  Please check them out.  They turned out great!  Jason Pendley does such excellent work.

http://www.jasonpendley.com/Clients/WIll-Dolan/9981498_BkaM6

Start with picture 121 :)

Getting ready for Christmas

I am officially unemployed and a full time mom.  I will start a temporary job at the church in January and hope to do some bookkeeping jobs on the side in the future, but we will see what God has planned. 

This week our number one agenda is to celebrate Christmas.  I think I am almost done with the Christmas shopping, so we can spend time at home together.  We are getting so excited.

Here is a pic of Will playing with tissue paper last week.  I think he is getting ready. :)

A Change of Heart

I have 6 days left at HA&W.  I have been working there for over 10 years.  I am almost in shock as the final day draws nearer.  My heart is filled with joy and there are moments of nervousness.  I think the most shocking part is how much my heart has changed since Will was born.  I can say, with complete honesty, that I never thought I would leave my job without another job lined up or something else planned.  I always have a plan, but this time I have peace.  Everyone has asked, are you pregnant?  Did something happen at work that caused this?  The answer to both is no.  I believe quitting my job has been something on my heart for a while now.  However, there were several catalysts that brought me to this place. 

The 1st was Will.  Without my son, I probably wouldn't be re-evaluating the way I live my life and asking myself if my daily life really matches my core values.  The 2nd was North Point.  There were many Sundays this year where I felt that prick in my heart and knew it was time to quit my job.  I kept pushing back that voice though.  The 3rd was the Whisper talk that Bill Hybels http://www.northpoint.org/15years did at the 15 year NPCC celebration.  This talk inspired me.  I sat there the whole time thinking I need to quit my job.  The last was the Mom's group I am in with Karen Stubbs.  There were two things from this group that prompted my decision.  One thing was the more we talked about honesty and teaching this to our children, the more dishonest I felt in my job.  I realized I was not being honest if I lead my boss and co-workers to believe that I want to be a partner in a CPA firm.  Partner was once something I aspired to and now I think the greatest title I could ever hold is that of Mom.  The other thing from group was something Karen said about teaching our children to listen to the Holy Spirit. When our children come to us and share about something that they think God has told them to do and you know it matches scripture, we should affirm them and help them understand the voice of the Holy Spirit from a young age.  That thought made me start thinking about what I had been doing this year.  It seemed like the Holy Spirit had been telling me over and over to quit my job, but I just kept ignoring it. 

Now I'm listening.  It is honestly awkward for me to write that I have made this decision because it is something I think God wants me to do.  I mean "what if I misunderstood God?"  Well, that is a risk I am willing to take.  The bottom line is that God has changed my heart!  That part is certain.  I am not the woman I was before my son was born.  I do think I will still work in some capacity.  I may have my own bookkeeping business, or another part time job.  I believe God has equipped me to be able to understand Accounting and he can use that in some way to help provide for my family and bring me joy.  For now, I am just so excited to be doing something that I know he wants me to do.  I can't wait to see where this road leads.  It is very strange, but very exciting.  Thanks for reading!

Favorite birthday pic

Will's birthday was back in September and this is my favorite pic from his day.  He loved his chair that we purchased him.  Attached is my favorite pic from his special day.  There are more pics on facebook than I could put here, but it was a very fun day.  I cannot believe how grown up my son is.

Change is a coming

So I am going to make our blog only viewable by people who register, that gives me a little more ease in terms of our privacy.  I hope to give more updates soon. 

Celebrating our anniversary

Recently Geremy and I went away for our anniversary to a cabin for the weekend.  We were celebrating 7 years.  We had the bright idea of bringing our dog and Will.  About noon on Saturday, Geremy started getting really sick (103 temperature sick).  We spent the rest of the weekend fighting allergies and then headed back home.  We had a wonderful time, but think we might do our anniversary trip without Will and Blue next year. :)  Here are few fun pics!

Finally an update...

Whew....The Dolans have been busy!  What a year it has been so far.  Will turns 8 months old this Sunday.  Geremy is in the middle of switching jobs at the church.  I have recently cut back my hours to only working 24 hours (3 days) a week.  Geremy is back in school and will be working towards finishing his professional counseling degree.  That is just a little of why we have not had time to update our blog in so long.

Will is more fun every day.  I know for sure that I love him more every day.  He says "da da" all the time.  He can pick puffs up with his hands and feed them to himself.  He is a great sleeper.  He goes down about 7:00 like clock work and starts waking up around 6:00 every morning.  Although 6:00 is so early, we are hopeful that it will work out in the future.  Will is almost crawling, but not quite yet.  He would love to crawl, and walk, he just loves to go, but we are enjoying this stage and certainly not rushing the next.  He has 4 teeth and is a phenomenal eater.  We are so grateful every day for Will.

That is it for now.  I hope to update more often.  Here are some recent pics.