Rachael and I have both been working out of the home since we graduated from college. I became a stay at home mom in June when my third child was born. This is new, uncharted territory for me. I feel like right now the one person that gets me better than anyone is Rachael because she's going through the same things I am (even though we have amazingly wonderful family and friends who are also super supportive). We laugh with each other, we cry together, we give each other advice. She sends me texts like "What's crackalackin'?" and I fumble back something incoherent because auto correct on my phone makes me sound illiterate. One day we're really going to go on The Amazing Race together.
I thought I'd explain my version of the name of our blog, because the name means a lot to us. First off, we're sisters, so that part makes sense, but maybe you're asking "What about the Becoming part?" Do you ever think about the word Becoming? I think about it a lot and what it means to me. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13:13 it says "And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." These three words: faith, hope and charity are more than just words. Here's what I've discovered for myself: I can't do anything without faith, first. It's the starting point. Faith leads to action and gives us something to hope for. As we add to our faith more faith and more hope we gain charity--the Pure Love of Jesus Christ. In other words we become as Christ is, because we have learned to Love like Him and Be like Him. That is what I strive to become the most--like Christ. As we become like Jesus Christ, we become our very best selves. We are on a journey to Become. We are becoming better sisters, moms, wives, friends, teachers, musicians, designers, engineers, citizens homemakers, organizers--all sorts of good things.
There's a beautiful painting by James Christensen called "The Responsible Woman."
Do you see how much this woman is doing? She's got a broom, a dog, keys, sewing thread, a baby, a clock, candles, and instrument and all sorts of things, and she carries a candle to light the way for her family. But do you also see the tree below and that her foot is barely above it? That's how I feel a lot--barely passing tree tops. I admit, some days I don't even achieve that, but you know what? That's how we all are. That's how we are Becoming. We have to choose what's important to us and then do that and we'll make it just fine.
So here's Rachael, my racketeering partner.
Hi, I'm the younger sister and other half to this racketeering band, although we're not actually associated with organized crime in anyway. I think we heard that word on some 20/20 or 60 Minute special when we were kids and thought it was a funny term for serious law offenders and adopted it ever since. (Sarah: it was some late night comedy thing, actually.) Sarah mentioned we are so different, yet alike in many ways. When we were younger I often felt we were in competition, but now that we've both grown up and have turned into wives and moms, I feel we are closer than ever. It's been great to be pregnant at the same time, mostly because I had someone to ask all my "Is it normal if...?" questions. She's the first person I called when I wasn't sure if my water had broke or not. We live far away from each other and have to make an effort to stay connected. We now share in many of the same experiences and I'm excited to share that with anyone who comes across this blog. I'm lucky to be the younger sister because it means Sarah has ventured becoming a wife, mom, and a SAHM (Sarah: Stay At Home Mom--I didn't know this abbreviation so I'm adding it for anyone like me) first and I've been able to glean from her experiences.
Which brings me to that word, "Becoming," and why I was so keen on adding it to our blog title. I think of myself as constantly evolving, not in the I-came-from-a-monkey-and-now-I'm-an-intelligent-being-Darwinistic sort of way. I mean that as I improve myself in any aspect and am realizing my own potential, I'm actually becoming what I'm supposed to be. Back in my college days, I often thought that some of my youthful choices had kept me from being who I was supposed to be by that point in my life. By not reaching every goal or success by a certain time, I was never going to be who I was meant to have been and somehow was turned into someone else. When I started dating my incredible husband I realized I was exactly who I was supposed to be and going exactly where I was supposed to go. I also realized "becoming" who I wanted and needed to be wasn't about arriving at a single finishing point but continuing to develop.
Who I am today is going to change, and that's exciting to me. Right now I'm a sister, daughter, wife, new mom to a tiny and perfect baby girl, the favorite aunt, interior designer, DIY-er, laundry Nazi, a major Vampire Diaries fan, and more. Some of those will change, hopefully I'll become a better baker, an awesome party host, maybe a hockey mom, and one day winner of the Amazing Race. But becoming a mother has been the most incredible experience and during pregnancy, with all it's glory, I felt like I was becoming something holy, fulfilling my divine role and growing into my eternal potential. As Sarah mentioned, becoming like our Savior Jesus Christ, and in turn like God, our Father, is my ultimate aspiration.
James Christensen's painting of "The Responsible Woman" can be daunting to look at, seeing all the expectations that can be put on a woman; but I find the image is also inspiring. Look at all her talents and accomplishments. She has to prioritize and I love that she looks ahead, ignoring the fact that she's just clipped the tree in an effort to stay afloat. I also love that she holds her child in front near to her heart, where family should be. She leads the way with a candle, which seems like only a little bit of light. Sometimes life is that way, we only have a little light ahead of us, but we trudge on anyway. All the things in life can weigh us down, but they don't have to stop us from becoming who we need to be. Maybe I'd ditch the broom, oh and the dog (don't tell my husband), but all the other items this woman carries are things she's accomplished or has attempted on her journey to become who she is and who she is divinely meant to be. That's why we wanted to start this blog, to share all the things we carry, try our hand at, or things we have to do whether we want to or not. And as Sarah mentioned, we want to share things other things that we like; crafts, remedies, recipes, family adventures, and life's twists and turns that undoubtedly bring spiritual growth.
I first got a job after I smashed my mom's car tail light by backing into a neighbor's mailbox and my dad told me I had to earn money to pay for it. That was when I was 16 and I've been working pretty much ever since. (Sarah: My first time driving after I got my license I too backed into a neighbor's mailbox, but the only damage was my immense guilt and embarrassment for doing it!) Until now. Now I get to be home with my precious baby girl and have the support of my wonderful husband to be a SAHM. It may be that we have tighten the purse strings a bit, so I hope to share some ideas on this blog about how to be frugal, even when you have expensive taste.
Hi, I'm the younger sister and other half to this racketeering band, although we're not actually associated with organized crime in anyway. I think we heard that word on some 20/20 or 60 Minute special when we were kids and thought it was a funny term for serious law offenders and adopted it ever since. (Sarah: it was some late night comedy thing, actually.) Sarah mentioned we are so different, yet alike in many ways. When we were younger I often felt we were in competition, but now that we've both grown up and have turned into wives and moms, I feel we are closer than ever. It's been great to be pregnant at the same time, mostly because I had someone to ask all my "Is it normal if...?" questions. She's the first person I called when I wasn't sure if my water had broke or not. We live far away from each other and have to make an effort to stay connected. We now share in many of the same experiences and I'm excited to share that with anyone who comes across this blog. I'm lucky to be the younger sister because it means Sarah has ventured becoming a wife, mom, and a SAHM (Sarah: Stay At Home Mom--I didn't know this abbreviation so I'm adding it for anyone like me) first and I've been able to glean from her experiences.
Which brings me to that word, "Becoming," and why I was so keen on adding it to our blog title. I think of myself as constantly evolving, not in the I-came-from-a-monkey-and-now-I'm-an-intelligent-being-Darwinistic sort of way. I mean that as I improve myself in any aspect and am realizing my own potential, I'm actually becoming what I'm supposed to be. Back in my college days, I often thought that some of my youthful choices had kept me from being who I was supposed to be by that point in my life. By not reaching every goal or success by a certain time, I was never going to be who I was meant to have been and somehow was turned into someone else. When I started dating my incredible husband I realized I was exactly who I was supposed to be and going exactly where I was supposed to go. I also realized "becoming" who I wanted and needed to be wasn't about arriving at a single finishing point but continuing to develop.
Who I am today is going to change, and that's exciting to me. Right now I'm a sister, daughter, wife, new mom to a tiny and perfect baby girl, the favorite aunt, interior designer, DIY-er, laundry Nazi, a major Vampire Diaries fan, and more. Some of those will change, hopefully I'll become a better baker, an awesome party host, maybe a hockey mom, and one day winner of the Amazing Race. But becoming a mother has been the most incredible experience and during pregnancy, with all it's glory, I felt like I was becoming something holy, fulfilling my divine role and growing into my eternal potential. As Sarah mentioned, becoming like our Savior Jesus Christ, and in turn like God, our Father, is my ultimate aspiration.
James Christensen's painting of "The Responsible Woman" can be daunting to look at, seeing all the expectations that can be put on a woman; but I find the image is also inspiring. Look at all her talents and accomplishments. She has to prioritize and I love that she looks ahead, ignoring the fact that she's just clipped the tree in an effort to stay afloat. I also love that she holds her child in front near to her heart, where family should be. She leads the way with a candle, which seems like only a little bit of light. Sometimes life is that way, we only have a little light ahead of us, but we trudge on anyway. All the things in life can weigh us down, but they don't have to stop us from becoming who we need to be. Maybe I'd ditch the broom, oh and the dog (don't tell my husband), but all the other items this woman carries are things she's accomplished or has attempted on her journey to become who she is and who she is divinely meant to be. That's why we wanted to start this blog, to share all the things we carry, try our hand at, or things we have to do whether we want to or not. And as Sarah mentioned, we want to share things other things that we like; crafts, remedies, recipes, family adventures, and life's twists and turns that undoubtedly bring spiritual growth.
I first got a job after I smashed my mom's car tail light by backing into a neighbor's mailbox and my dad told me I had to earn money to pay for it. That was when I was 16 and I've been working pretty much ever since. (Sarah: My first time driving after I got my license I too backed into a neighbor's mailbox, but the only damage was my immense guilt and embarrassment for doing it!) Until now. Now I get to be home with my precious baby girl and have the support of my wonderful husband to be a SAHM. It may be that we have tighten the purse strings a bit, so I hope to share some ideas on this blog about how to be frugal, even when you have expensive taste.
We're not perfect and don't pretend to be. Becoming is a process. We're going to share music, interior design, things to be a better wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, woman, natural remedies for random things, food (must always have food), things that go great for us, as well as things we learn the hard way, humorous things our kids say, and crafts we do (Rachael is wayyyy better at the design/decorating/craft thing than I am). We want this blog to cover anything and everything we find worth sharing. Hopefully you enjoy it as we share the things that we are Becoming!
-Sarah and Rachael
