So. Much. Good. Stuff!

This year has been all manner of insanity.  I keep making the joke that every bit of healthcare chaos has been thrown at me to ensure we don't have to pay more than our deductible.

Thus far, I've had three surgeries (unrelated to labor/delivery), two of which were emergencies completed right before I gave birth to Luca.

I birthed Luca, then went in for my 3rd surgery the day after.  I'm efficient like that.

I spent February-April in agonizing pain as I healed from those three surgical procedures PLUS labor and delivery.  Like I said... I'm efficient like that.  

May brought some amazing stuff that I detailed in a previous entry.  Nate's 1st Communion, Nico's 2nd birthday, Luca's Baptism, Chris' swim across the Tiber... just so many blessings.

June rolls around and I get a cancer diagnosis.  Okay, no big deal, we got this.  Chris and I rearrange some expected plans for the summer, and we get it taken care of.  I now have two fancy pin-point tattoos from the radiation, and after being shot by lasers for a few weeks, I rang the bell.  Still feeling a certain way about that, but that's another entry for another time.

I used my maternity time to not only heal from what felt like a tsunami of EVERYTHING, but to tackle some side projects that have been nibbling at me.  I mentioned previously that I had organized and published two children's books, two self-help journals, and am almost finished a 3rd children's book and about 2/3rds of the way through a more adult project.  The journals are doing surprisingly well.  

Each book was originally a project to help me get better acquainted with the publishing process for various formats.  I learn by doing, so to figure out the publishing process, I simply went out and did it.  I say "simply," but it was actually quite the learning curve!  That said, it's been entertaining and I'm able to leave my boys with something they can look back on with a smile.  The children's books are stories I've been telling them since they were little.  Nate is especially excited to do a book signing for "his book."  

I've also somehow fallen into consulting work.  While on maternity leave, I had several colleagues reach out and ask for help with various things.  My husband and brother have been telling me for years to start a consulting business, and it somehow happened all by itself.  I'm in the final stages of making it official with an LLC, but I'm already three clients in with two more looking to onboard in the coming weeks.  God is good!  I'm able to set my own hours and take on work I WANT to do.  It's thus far been fantastic!

Finally, Chris and I landed the house of our dreams this past week.  We'd been talking since before he moved home from Kansas about moving out of state.  He knew I wouldn't leave until Vince graduated 8th grade due to all the work I put in getting his IEP in place.  Now that Vince is in 8th grade, we began looking in earnest. Chris' mom had a health scare last year that bumped up our timeline even more.  We want to move her in with us so that she's not by herself.  Our tiny house (which I have adored these last 5 years) suddenly became untenable, especially since we added two more kids to the roost!

So we've been poking around trying to figure out our next move.  We were talking as far away as TX at one point, but nothing really felt right.  Until last week.  Last week, God parted the clouds and BOOM.  We found the perfect house in the perfect town with the perfect schools and the perfect EVERYTHING.  We prayed to
St. Joseph and asked all our friends and family to pray along, too (because let's be real... this market is INSANE).  By the grace of God, we were the winning bidder.  We settle next month, but won't actually move in until the spring since we want the boys to finish out their school year and the new house is an hour away.

It'll be a little tough juggling three houses (ours, his mom's, and the new one), but again... God always provides a way and I'm not worried about how He's gonna do it this time.  

My beloved "other mother" said to me today, "Gina, I'm so impressed with how you always trust God so faithfully. You do it without question."

I laughed and said, "Well of course!  He's never let me down, why wouldn't I trust Him?"  It's not hard for me to trust God.  That's like suggesting it's hard for me to stand up and walk.  I stand up and walk because I trust my body to move as I want it to.  I stand up and walk because I know there is firm ground beneath me.  

I trust God because He's always done what was best for me and has always made the impossible happen.  It doesn't even cross my mind that He'd fail because it's just not possible.

God is good, folks.  Even amidst chaos, God is good.  Just hold onto Him.  He's got you.