I'm practicing my PR skills! I created this one using Canva and it was really easy. It's not the right size, but it sure is pretty.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Once upon a time, there was a blog. Started by a wife and music therapist who longed to be a mom, the blog was a place of processing, sharing, community, and love. There came a blog fellowship, and even a blogging community called Held: A Hannah's Prayer Ministry. When the children came, the blog fell away, since parenting understandably took over my life.

Almost 11 years ago our first child came to us by adoption. Just a year later came a brother and we were done with babies. I went back to work part-time as an independent contractor with a local music therapy business when the boys were in a Mother's Day Out program, and promptly became shocked to be pregnant again at age 41. "I ruined our family," I cried to my husband one evening, and that turned out to be false. God's plans are not our own! (Isaiah 55:9)

That little baby girl turned five years old in June, and we began to prepare for kindergarten. This will be our one year when our three children are all in the same school!

I planned to go back to my contract after the summer, but I recently found that it would be discontinued. The school district for which I subcontracted chose to go another way with providing music therapy services. I am so pleased that they will continue to provide music therapy, and was actually not disappointed at all that I would no longer be providing services for them. I had ideas!

I do love a good reinvent, I always have. I used to love to move, the bigger the move the better! New areas, new friends, new surroundings, and new understanding of the world and of my Creator and how He made me. I've lived some really fun lifetimes, and here comes a new one!

Last week, Oak Song Music Therapy and Consulting Services was born! It's a leap of faith, as right now it's just little old me trying to start getting things going, with a whole lot of music therapy experience, but no clients, no marketing materials, and little to no business know-how. Sounds like a recipe for excitement to me!

My prayers are that I would be smack dab in the center of God's will for life and business; that I would develop a satisfying client base and a beautiful website where I can share information and ideas; and that I would honor God in the process and get to know Him deeper. It would be so easy to keep my faith to myself and become overwhelmed with developing a business, but this is my new baby and I've got to be a good parent. This includes honoring God and His precepts in parenting it.

Eleven years later, there is to be a blog started by a mom who desired to start a music therapy business and brand. Until then, I will use this place to share my thoughts and feelings about this new venture. I've realized that aspects of my personality that I was starting to think looked a lot like ADHD were really more a result of parenting requiring short bursts of attention. I don't think I've focused on anything but changing diapers, breaking up spats, and feeding children snacks for the past 11 years!

Back to business. I am honored that you might join me.

Hi, Whitney!

I have this friend, I'll call her "Whitney," because that's her name. I think it's always a good idea to call people by their correct name.

Whitney and I love bagels. I don't eat many bagels these days because now I'm more than 10 years older than when she and I first met and my body does not like carbs. (Let me clarify, I like carbs, my belly does not like carbs.) My now 9-year-old son loves bagels, too, so I'll eat one whenever I can as a show of solidarity with my middle child.

Once I was at Einstein Brother's Bagels in Austin, Texas before classes for a masters degree in music and human learning from The University of Texas at Austin. Then twice I was there, and I kept seeing the same lovely face. The third time, Whitney and I introduced ourselves and a long-term friendship was born.

I was keeping this blog as an infertility and adoption blog in those days, and Whitney was probably my biggest encourager. When she was pregnant, I was a little envious, but she was so gracious about it, and I think we had adopted our oldest son by then so the sting wasn't as painful as it had once been. At Whitney's baby shower for her first son, I was about 8 weeks pregnant with said middle child and got to tell her so. It was sweet.

Time passed, we each had two boys by then, and even though I had moved, we kept up. Then when I was suddenly, shockingly pregnant with our youngest, a daughter, and I looked for a doula, I couldn't resist hiring one that was a childhood friend of Whitney's. (Also at her baby shower was a music therapist mutual friend who I see regularly at Central Texas Music Therapy Association meetings, but I digress.) The last time Whitney and I saw each other was when Jenna was just a few months old and dear Whitney drove over an hour in San Antonio traffic to come visit. Hopefully we will remedy that since all of our five children will be in school as of August 28.

I am pretty sure nobody remembers this blog much anymore, the infertility posts dried up as we had children and got into full-fledged parenting mode, but I'm guessing Whitney remembers. Hence, my post.

Hi, Whitney!

Love,

Your faithful friend,

Amy

Mercies

I have never been a morning person. Understatement. There have been times this has been more painful than others.

When I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. every day to jump into a cold indoor pool when it was zero degrees Fahrenheit outside.

When I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. every day to jump into a cold outdoor pool when it was zero degrees Celsius outside.

When I was going through a divorce and woke up every morning in a drab dorm room in Topeka, Kansas feeling broken but had to go to work and be a people-person. Truthfully, I would go into my office and lie down on the floor and weep. That was a hard time.

Still, when the alarm goes off and it's still dark outside I sometimes flash back to those times and do feel grateful that I am getting up to a cute 2-year-old and a nice hot cup of coffee.

I'm bleary-eyed as I type this morning - I stayed up too late last night as usual - and what I meant to do was open my Bible to spend some time with God. His word states that we are to give us our firstfuits. I'm not sure that means exhausted, going-through-the-motions-before-coffee thing or a give Him our best thing. He deserves it.

__________________________________

The above was written three years ago when I had a 2-year-old to wake up to. I've gotten better at the morning thing, by the grace of God, and in one week I'll be up bright and early to take that girl to kindergarten. "God is close to the brokenhearted," Psalm 34:18.

I have hastily posted this one in preparation for a new adventure. Stay tuned.