Words just can't describe how blessed I feel today. I look back on 2010 and think, Wow...what a wonderful year! With the new arrival of baby girl Tia, I became a new mom and enjoyed all the blessings and surprises that comes along with motherhood. I've been able to watch Tia grow from a tiny 6 lb 8 oz baby to an almost 20 lb one year old. I have laughed, cried, been more worried that I can describe, and the most thankful I've ever been in my entire life. She is a true miracle and I love that I get to be her mom! Of course, we all know that I'm married to the perfect man for me. Chris has not only been an amazing husband (as always), but he has really proven that he is meant to be a father. He stands out from the crowd on fatherhood and I am not just saying that...I have heard numerous people say the very same thing from family and friends to nurses and teachers. I can attest that it is very true. Chris is an amazing father. There was a point when I thought he was even more exited about my pregnancy that I was and for me, that was hard to think that anyone could be more excited. He talked to my belly every night, he was there for every sonogram, he wanted a piece of every decision made. From the moment Tia was born to today, he has stepped up and done his fair share of duties when it comes to parenting. I have had a crazy busy year and Chris has been there to care for Tia and know what she needs. I can honestly say that we both have our touch in certain areas and his is truly putting her to bed. I used to love rocking her to bed, but now that she's grown a bit, he is the go-to person for bedtime. I love that! We have helped and taught each other about parenting but the best thing is that we've grown closer because of it. We made a pact when we got pregnant. That Chris and Angie would be #1 and our kids would be #2. Of course, we will love our kids to no end, but we will not let our kids come between us in our marriage. We will make decisions together, be on the same page with parenting views, and talk about things with each other. I have seen many friends go through marriages where the kids put a wedge between the mom and dad and only because it seems natural to do anything you can for your kids...not even realizing how it affects your marriage. Of course, it is always easier said than done, but our pact is going strong and although my love for Tia is greater than I could have ever imagined, I want it to impact my love for Chris in a positive and nurturing way. So we will strive to uphold our pact for all of our kids (wink wink) and ensure our foundation of our marriage is strong so our kids can have a happy home. Chris and I are both from divorced families and I think we both can agree that we don't mind it at all. We are who we are because of our family growing up and we both feel that you live life one time and should ensure you make it right whether that is getting divorced or working through things. I am divorced and had it not been for marrying my ex, I would have never met Chris. I believe everything happens for a reason and I thank God every day that my life is the way it is by design.
Chris and I worked hard to get our house on the market this year and it has been up for over 4 months now. We have so many showings to count and all have the same result, 'home is like a show home, but not a fan of the backyard'. We've been told we are doing everything right and the right buyer will come along at some point. What makes it difficult is keeping the house clean every day with a baby around. We have our house in show condition meaning, we have glass tables, iron wine racks, glass, and really an un-baby proofed house. We do have a play gate for Tia so she has room to play with her toys, but we have done our best to keep the house as tidy as we can for our over 40 showings. Today, we may have a breakthrough and I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that it may be the person we've been waiting for. The girl scheduled to see the house today is for the second time and is a very serious buyer. She had two houses she has settled on and needs daddy's approval, so she is bringing him buy later today. If all goes well, we may have an offer! But even if she isn't the right one, I have a good feeling it will be sooner than later and our persistence will pay off. The reason we want to move is first and foremost, location. I work in Chesterfield and my commute with dropping Tia off at school is about an hour and 15 minutes on a good day and longer when traffic is horrible. By the time we get home at night it is 6:30pm or 7pm and we feed, bath, and play with Tia and put her to bed. It will be 8pm or so by that time and often we forget to eat. I have to go to bed pretty early so I can get up at 5:30am to get the day started and me and Tia out the door. It would be nice to get some more time with my family back. The other reason is that we are an expanding family and soon (we hope), we'll need more room. Our 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home is perfect for us right now and if we could just pick it up and move it to a better location, we would...but for the long term, we need a slightly bigger home. Soon enough and hopefully some time in 2011, we'll have the house sold and onto another place to call home.
All of you know that I have the best friends any girl can ever ask for. I moved around a lot when I was younger and so it was a bit hard to have solid friends through childhood, because of college I have three of the most amazing girls who are still close with me today, and then when I moved to St. Louis I had to find new friends. It has taken about 10 years to really find the girls who have been there through it all and have stood by me through thick and thin. I am truly blessed for you girls and you all know who you are!!! Of course, I do have to say that Lisa, my BFF, has really been there for me the past couple years and of course she knows why I'm so grateful, my life is much better because she is in it. I do have to give a shout out to Lisa and Leslie for really surprising me earlier this year. I have really never been surprised with anything in my entire life - I blame myself! But they pulled something off earlier this year and I smile every day thinking about it! Thanks girls - you two rock! Of course, there are about 5 or 6 other girls that I rely on. Some who I get to see all the time and others who I talk to once in a blue moon but we are close as ever. Thank you girls for another wonderful year! Needless to say, Chris knows where he stands and I love our friendship.
When I came back from maternity leave, I really decided to dive into my work life. I have always been a go-getter in the business arena and have excelled in all of my positions. After working for A.G. Edwards for 5 years and Spartech for 3, I landed at Technology Partners, Inc. where I've been for almost 5 years now. I love what I do, I love the people work with, and the people I work for. I wanted to be with a company I believe in and have the ability to be creative, as well as have decision making power and I'm able to wear many hats at work. This year I've focused on my Marketing Manager and Corporate Communications Manager roles, but seasonally I have been the Hiring Manager for 4 years now. Earlier this year, I gave up my Tech Support Manager role to focus on other things and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being needed in so many different areas and am looking forward to continuing my growth at Technology Partners. I did score my very own private office fully furnished with a brand new desk, credenza, and filing cabinet. I was also able to attend the Women's Business Enterprise National On other work related endeavors, I signed up as an independent consultant for Thirty-One Gifts in May. I came across the faith based company through Tia's daycare and I fell in love with the products. I initially signed up to get the discounts, but some how started selling and made almost $5000 in extra cash for our family. It was a nice bonus to our savings for a few extra hours a week of time. I have met so many wonderful girls through Thirty-One and have a lot of fun. Professionally, I signed up for several organizations including the National Association of Professional Women. In June, I became the first President of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of Professional Women. I have been working hard to launch this chapter and with several monthly meetings under our belt and our Board of Director elections in January, we are off to a great start. I've always been an entrepreneurial spirit and my first official business is the Halloween Bus Party. Even though it is a party event, I made it a Limited Liability Company in 2003 and celebrated 10 years of successful events in 2009. With the arrival of Tia, I felt my urge to focus on family more than the social events and sold the Halloween Bus Party to another person. I did not attend the HBP 2010, but was happy to hear it was another success by the new owner and organizer.
There is so much more that happened in 2010 and for all of it, I am grateful for the new experiences, fun times, and good people. I am looking forward to a great 2011 and I wish everyone a safe New Year's Eve and wonderful beginning to another year!
Chris and I worked hard to get our house on the market this year and it has been up for over 4 months now. We have so many showings to count and all have the same result, 'home is like a show home, but not a fan of the backyard'. We've been told we are doing everything right and the right buyer will come along at some point. What makes it difficult is keeping the house clean every day with a baby around. We have our house in show condition meaning, we have glass tables, iron wine racks, glass, and really an un-baby proofed house. We do have a play gate for Tia so she has room to play with her toys, but we have done our best to keep the house as tidy as we can for our over 40 showings. Today, we may have a breakthrough and I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that it may be the person we've been waiting for. The girl scheduled to see the house today is for the second time and is a very serious buyer. She had two houses she has settled on and needs daddy's approval, so she is bringing him buy later today. If all goes well, we may have an offer! But even if she isn't the right one, I have a good feeling it will be sooner than later and our persistence will pay off. The reason we want to move is first and foremost, location. I work in Chesterfield and my commute with dropping Tia off at school is about an hour and 15 minutes on a good day and longer when traffic is horrible. By the time we get home at night it is 6:30pm or 7pm and we feed, bath, and play with Tia and put her to bed. It will be 8pm or so by that time and often we forget to eat. I have to go to bed pretty early so I can get up at 5:30am to get the day started and me and Tia out the door. It would be nice to get some more time with my family back. The other reason is that we are an expanding family and soon (we hope), we'll need more room. Our 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home is perfect for us right now and if we could just pick it up and move it to a better location, we would...but for the long term, we need a slightly bigger home. Soon enough and hopefully some time in 2011, we'll have the house sold and onto another place to call home.
All of you know that I have the best friends any girl can ever ask for. I moved around a lot when I was younger and so it was a bit hard to have solid friends through childhood, because of college I have three of the most amazing girls who are still close with me today, and then when I moved to St. Louis I had to find new friends. It has taken about 10 years to really find the girls who have been there through it all and have stood by me through thick and thin. I am truly blessed for you girls and you all know who you are!!! Of course, I do have to say that Lisa, my BFF, has really been there for me the past couple years and of course she knows why I'm so grateful, my life is much better because she is in it. I do have to give a shout out to Lisa and Leslie for really surprising me earlier this year. I have really never been surprised with anything in my entire life - I blame myself! But they pulled something off earlier this year and I smile every day thinking about it! Thanks girls - you two rock! Of course, there are about 5 or 6 other girls that I rely on. Some who I get to see all the time and others who I talk to once in a blue moon but we are close as ever. Thank you girls for another wonderful year! Needless to say, Chris knows where he stands and I love our friendship.
When I came back from maternity leave, I really decided to dive into my work life. I have always been a go-getter in the business arena and have excelled in all of my positions. After working for A.G. Edwards for 5 years and Spartech for 3, I landed at Technology Partners, Inc. where I've been for almost 5 years now. I love what I do, I love the people work with, and the people I work for. I wanted to be with a company I believe in and have the ability to be creative, as well as have decision making power and I'm able to wear many hats at work. This year I've focused on my Marketing Manager and Corporate Communications Manager roles, but seasonally I have been the Hiring Manager for 4 years now. Earlier this year, I gave up my Tech Support Manager role to focus on other things and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being needed in so many different areas and am looking forward to continuing my growth at Technology Partners. I did score my very own private office fully furnished with a brand new desk, credenza, and filing cabinet. I was also able to attend the Women's Business Enterprise National On other work related endeavors, I signed up as an independent consultant for Thirty-One Gifts in May. I came across the faith based company through Tia's daycare and I fell in love with the products. I initially signed up to get the discounts, but some how started selling and made almost $5000 in extra cash for our family. It was a nice bonus to our savings for a few extra hours a week of time. I have met so many wonderful girls through Thirty-One and have a lot of fun. Professionally, I signed up for several organizations including the National Association of Professional Women. In June, I became the first President of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of Professional Women. I have been working hard to launch this chapter and with several monthly meetings under our belt and our Board of Director elections in January, we are off to a great start. I've always been an entrepreneurial spirit and my first official business is the Halloween Bus Party. Even though it is a party event, I made it a Limited Liability Company in 2003 and celebrated 10 years of successful events in 2009. With the arrival of Tia, I felt my urge to focus on family more than the social events and sold the Halloween Bus Party to another person. I did not attend the HBP 2010, but was happy to hear it was another success by the new owner and organizer.
There is so much more that happened in 2010 and for all of it, I am grateful for the new experiences, fun times, and good people. I am looking forward to a great 2011 and I wish everyone a safe New Year's Eve and wonderful beginning to another year!
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