Why I chose to give up half our income

So since, my hiatus from blogging, several topics have came and gone that I could write about. However, as we are 11 weeks away from starting a new family adventure. I will start with this one.

Currently, I’m sitting at home because the roads were too icy for me to get out and go to work this morning. We weren’t sure if daycare would be open, so we decided I would stay home with sweet O today. I have enjoyed it. I am so blessed to be this little girls mommy. We have danced around the living room, played puzzles, and watched movies. I got to do all of this while playing catch up on my much neglected house.

The dishes have been piling up for a week now,  we have been living out of laundry baskets, and there were very few places to actually sit. That is just the surface. I can’t remember the last time I dusted or swept (besides when company was coming over). It was bad (like, I’m not letting you past my front porch bad).Today, it is still not great, but much better than what it has been. We are also in the process of moving rooms around and painting to get ready for little miss #2 to get here.

Which leads us to…

Why I chose to give up half our income.

YES.

I said it.

Half our income.

Yes, we still have debt.

I am a terrible working mom. I cannot be wife, mother, housekeeper, taxi-driver, errand getter, budget keeper, and working nurse. I applaud those who can. I cannot. I am not built that way.

I spent four years and put our family in a whole lot of debt to receive my RN degree. Now TWO years out of school, I’m ready to put it on hold. With a four year old, and a newborn on the way. I folded. I’m giving up some hats. Mostly my RN hat. I still plan to work some PRN (as needed) hours. But… BYE BYE 36 hour weeks. BYE BYE 9-10 hour days that start before the sun even rises. 

You see, I can’t work and take care of my family the way God has called me to. The weight of that crushes me sometimes. I feel like a failure. Plenty of women work and take care of their family. I am just not one of them. God didn’t make me that way, and that is okay. Thankfully, I have a husband that is understanding. That sees the difference in our home life since I started working full-time.

The house was much cleaner, things were much more organized when all I had to do was go to class a few days out of the week and take care of our family.

So right now, in this stage of life. We have decided that our family is priority. It more important for me to stay home and raise our little ones. Guide them. It is more important for me to be able to be the homemaker, so my husband has a place to come home from work and relax, not stress because the house is a disaster.

So I am choosing to give up literally half our income. (Yes, my husband agrees, but if I were to say, I’ll continue working, he would gladly say yes to that as well). So yes, while I have my husbands blessing and support to stay at home, I know this puts a burden on him as he transitions to sole provider for our family.

We are giving up being debt free within a 2-3 years. We will still strive to be debt free within 5-7 years, but without the second income it will take longer. We are giving up the comfort of a cushy budget. We are giving up the stress of who will take off work to stay home with sick children. We are giving up the stress of a house that is neglected.  We are giving up societies version of what a successful family looks like.

We are gaining time with our children on weekends, that usually is spent playing catch up. We are gaining faith in our creator as we trust him to guide us through this. We are gaining security in knowing that our children will be well looked after day after day, growing in what we believe to be right. We are gaining becoming the family that God has called us to be.

I know that not everyone is called to be stay at home mom. However, truly from the bottom of my heart, I know that is my calling, It is who I am made to be. Every fiber of my being is made for this job.

Yes, we are giving up a lot. 

We are gaining so much more.