Hello hello! I hope this finds you well and that you’re enjoying this first week of September so far. Hadley was so excited to tell me after school yesterday that “It’s a new month, Mommy! September! September has nine letters!” Little does she know that September kicks off her mommy’s favorite season. Like so many people, I love fall so much and look forward to all of the fun that kicks up this time of year.
Today’s post is my 3rd annual reintroduction post that ends the same way it has in the past: with a prompt for you, my reader!
Finding a new blog can feel odd sometimes because you have to play so much catch up to understand the author, so in case you’re new(ish) around here, here’s the Cliffs Notes version of me.
My name is Erica DeSpain, and I’ve been married for almost eight years to my husband Jamie. He is the smartest, wittiest, most easy going, incredibly handsome dude I’ve ever met. We are so different but at the same time somehow a perfect match. I adore him.
We have two fabulous daughters, and we are pretty darn sure that our family is complete. 🙂 Hadley is almost five (which is the most insane thing in the world and blows my mind daily) and Sadie turned two in April.
They are completely obsessed with each other, but also so very different. We’ve truly learned lately that you can only shape a kid so much, and that they were born with their own little unique personalities that shine through early. Jamie and I love parenting them together. It would be hard for me to come up with a list of things that bring me more joy than seeing him be with our girls. He’s definitely the favorite parent, and I’m cool with that for now. 😉
2018 has been our year of major transition. In March, Jamie served his last day in the Army as an active duty office, and in June he picked back up (as planned) as an Army Reservist. We never thought we’d get out of the Army, but it’s been one of the best decisions our family has ever made. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable saying that aloud (both online and in person) because I know (I really, really know!) the grass definitely isn’t greener on the other side for everyone (you will never find me advising everyone to get out of the Army – no way), but every family has a different calling and path, and we know that our next chapter was away from the active duty side of things.
In March, we sold our semi-fixer upper in Manhattan, Kansas (Go Cats!) and moved to Madison, Alabama, which is my hometown. We wanted to move to Madison for so many reasons, but one of them revolved around how many opportunities there are here for families who are former service members. The cost of living is crazy low, the area is booming like you wouldn’t believe, and most of the people I love are right here where I want them. 🙂 We both believe we couldn’t have picked a better place to relocate.
We built a home we plan to raise our babes in, and the last six months have been full of figuring out new insurance, getting used to Jamie’s new job and schedule, picking back up with old friends (who continued to stay very dear to me the last decade or so), while also making a bunch of new ones.
We only spent about two months finding a new church, and we found one that we know without a shadow of a doubt is where we are supposed to be. This was something we wanted to hit the ground doing immediately when we moved here, and it was so neat to see how God pointed us to and assured us of where the right one was.
Before I became a stay-at-home mom, I was a middle school and high school English teacher and cheer coach. I also spent a year traveling the country speaking in school assemblies telling the story of Rachel Scott, Columbine’s first tragic victim.
Some of my very favorite things to do (in no particular order) are workout at Orangetheory, have friends and family over to our home to hang and eat (I love to feed people – haha), watch anything related to The Bachelor franchise, daydream and plan our next family trip, go to bed early, spend time with my mom doing anything, lounge on a quiet morning with my family, listen to worship music, and blog blog blog.
Welcome!!
And just like in years past…
I would so love if you would humor me and tell me who you are. It’s totally fine (for real) that most of you do not comment here routinely (I don’t comment on most blogs that I read), but I would so love if you would this one time. 🙂
In the comments section below, please tell me a little bit about you.
Maybe include:
- where you live
- what brings you to my site occasionally to read my blog
- if you’re married and have children
- and what your favorite flavor of ice cream is (mine specifically is a Heath Bar blizzard from DQ).
Y’all were soooo good about participating last year and it made me so stupidly happy, you have no idea. I love knowing who is reading my words and how I can use this site to serve (and maybe encourage, humor, or inspire?) you better, so please tell me who you are! Even if you commented last year, please share again!
Love you guys!!! xoxox
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo