Much like ogres and onions, my house is in layers right now. We spent last weekend painting Rory’s room, so his stuff is literally spread throughout the rest of the house. We still aren’t finished painting and we have since decided to tear out the carpet and redo the floor.

Then last night we tore out the back wall of the kitchen to complete a plumbing project.

In the meantime, I’m busy growing a human and the countdown is now less than 100 days until he makes his debut. Is this real life?!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about order and chaos. For the past eight months (and probably more), Brad and I have been in a state of constant change and motion. Whether it was transitioning into a new job, settling into a new home, or preparing to welcome a new life, there has been a lot of chaos. I know with 100% certainty that I cannot walk away from this season of my life unchanged. So what have I learned? How have all of these things changed me? I think it all boils down to this: gratitude. I believe you have to choose joy and keep choosing it. All of the things happening in my life right now are exciting and my joy is complete. But it wasn’t always that way. There was a long period of waiting and I hate the unknown. But during those times, we chose to be grateful for the things we were sure of – like friends, and family, and each other. I recently read a quote that put it all in perspective.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”