Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A New Beginning!

 

Levi is now six months old!


So, I have had four days now with this adorable little boy that I am blessed to call my grandson.  Needless to say I am drunk with love for this precious little man.  

The first night we were here, I got to rock him to sleep and I looked over at my husband, who was looking over at me, and I teared up.   Then he teared up.  What a mess we are.  

But how we love this child--we are just crazy about him.  What a blessing it is to live to see your grandchild and what a blessing to be able to spend some time with him when he lives so far away.  (The reason I am so aware of what a blessing it is to live to see a grandchild, is because I have two in-laws who died young, they never lived to see theirs...)

We aren't the only ones who love this little bebe....his parents do, too.  Since Levi was born, Jamie and Thad have wrestled with whether she should go back to work, and after taking the maximum amount of time allowed for maternity leave--she did return to her job.



 






But it got harder and harder each day.  For one, Jamie's job was in a high-stress environment.  It was a good job and one for which she was able to use her college education, but it was a long commute, almost an hour each way.  

She asked her boss for the ability to work from home and researched how to make it possible.  He said no.


She tried a sitter in her hometown but couldn't stand being so far away from her little newborn boy all day long....which turned out to be eleven hours a day.

She found a very nice daycare ten or fifteen minutes from work and visited him each day on her lunch hour.  But still it hurt so bad to leave him there--her heart was with him and no longer with her work.
She and her husband recently decided that she would take the leap of faith it took to give up a well-paying job in these tough economic times to become a stay at home mom and do the work of her heart: to be Levi's mommy.

It wasn't done without planning:  they have no debt and they worked to build up a rainy day fund.  
So, her last day of work was the day before Christmas eve.  

She is now Levi's full-time mommy.


I have to say that we are so proud of them for their very hard work in being able to make it possible for her to stay home in the first place--and for the tough choice it sometimes can be be to do the right thing, when it's really the hard thing.  Most people would tell her she is nuts to give up what she had.  She doesn't think so and followed her heart.

I don't think they'll ever be sorry.

19 comments:

aimee said...

I applaud your daughter and her husband--I KNOW it was the right decision!
May God bless them.
Aimee

Deanna said...

God bless this little family!
Staying at home is a blessing.

Levi is a beautiful baby.

It is wonderful to be a Grandma!
Have a terrific new year.
d from homehaven

Lynn said...

What a gorgeous, gorgeous grandbaby you are blessed with :) And how wonderful that he will get to have a stay-at-home mommy. Absolutely THE most important job in the world, no matter what our culture tells us. I'll bet you are so very proud of this precious young family.

Villa Maire said...

My daughter did the same, she now
has three precious children. A giant leap of faith !

Valerie said...

Merry Christmas, Joni!

Congrats to your daughter and SIL for taking that leap of faith. It most definitely was the right decision and one that they will never regret.

I love being a stay-at-home mommy. I've done it both ways and I can honestly say staying home has benefited my children in countless ways that I didn't see when I worked outside of the home.

Levi is just precious. Blessings to you this 2011,

Val

Donna said...

God bless her for her bold sacrifice. And Levi is quite a lucky little fella for receiving so much love and devotion!

Kathie Truitt said...

Talk about tearing up - the combination of the music (reminds me of our early years in Mississippi) and you talking about how much you love Levi, and Jaime taking that leap of faith - oh my!

Joni, isn't this the most amazing love? We are so truly blessed.

And Jaime - I am so happy and proud of you. Sweetheart, you made the RIGHT decision and God Bless your husband for his encouragement. Big hugs to you!

Kathie

Kathie Truitt said...

Oh, and if all THAT wasn't enough to make me cry, then that picture of him nearly did me in - he's just beautiful.

Mac n' Janet said...

She made the right choice, there is nothing more precious than time and she'll cherish the days with her son far more than anything the job could have provided.

Jeanette said...

Oh good for her! That is the very best choice she could have made and she won't regret it for a second!

Anonymous said...

Joni,
Levi is beautiful, and I am so happy for him and his family! Good for your daughter! and good for her and her husband making such a wise and loving and planned decision for her to stay at home.
Wonderful.

mary your sis said...

I am so happy for them. There will be hardships and sacrifices, but it'll all work out in the end and it will be so worth it to live a life without regrets! What wise and wonderful parents.

Teresa said...

They won't regret it!
What a beautiful baby boy. Isn't six months just the most perfect age ever? So, so fun.
Can't wait till I have a grandbaby of my own to be a mess over!
Happy New Year, Joni!
Teresa

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

Being a Mommy is a very important job. There may not be alot of money in it but a child needs care from parents. I never felt bad about leaving work. I stayed home with mine for years and homeschooled them as well. They are both adults and doing pretty good! I am so thankful moms' of today make this great choice of staying home...it's a great career! Happy New Year!

LeaderOfTheChickenParade said...

Thank you everyone! It was a very hard decision to make. I had an incredibly good job, but it was just going to work, working, then getting ready to work all over again. Then the weekends were sent trying to keep up with. The house, yard and errands, just seemed like we were running in circles. I am glad that I can now spend time with little man and keep house, and make my husband wonderful dinners like I used before I was so tired. And make Levi all his baby foods. I know it will be hard, but we are those kind of people, we can do it. I am glad I have parents that have taught me the importance of living debt free and saving. It really has made all the difference in the world. And a wonderful loving husband that went along with the saving and wants nothing more than his wife to raise his baby boy!

Shirley said...

She will not regret it - the time passes too quickly when they are little. I left a very lucrative software engineering position after having our second and I didn't look back.

May God richly bless you for your wonderful choice! Levi's adorable!

Unknown said...

First, I love the pictures in this post!

Second, I applaud your daughter and son-in-laws decision!! God put the desire in her heart to be a stay-at-home-mom, as long as she seeks him God will provide all their needs. The world tells us we Moms should work....for what...so we can consume more stuff? They can live on one income, it won't be easy but God will provide. I did, my daughter is, and our son wants his future wife to be a SAHM. Levi will be grown before she knows it and she can always go back to work.
Blessing to you and your family.
And Happy New Year!

Rosemary said...

My daughter made the same decision to stay home with my grandaughter. It is the most important job in the world to be a mom. Bravo to our children for making excellent choices! Your grandbaby is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! You are a beautiful family!