Plans, and the [BiggerBetter] Plan

I have always been one of those girls that had my whole life planned out since I was ten years old. You know the type, right? I spent the first half of my life planning the second half of my life: College-check, job-check, husband-check, kids-check (and believe me I named all the kids too:)) Anyway, I really had myself fooled in to thinking that life was going to turn out just as I planned it. Boy was I wrong, by far!

First, I did go to college where I had always planned, however I did not end of graduating from that University. I am happy with where I earned my degree from and thankful for the experience of both universities (not to mention the amount of money I saved myself in loans by transferring!). That was the 1st of my plans to go awry, but I guess there was a [bigger] plan that went in to action.

Second, I had a much more difficult time finding my first teaching job than I had anticipated. I am not saying that I was one of those kids that got everything I ever wanted, but for the most part things usually just happened in my favor and so I assumed a job would too. To my surprise and disappointment, it didn't. Therefore, I spent my first semester as a college grad substituting and begging interviewing every Principal I came across to give me a job! Once again, my plan was brought to a standstill. I had always planned to teach would not consider any other grade than Kindergarten in a fancy schmancy school where my kids could one day attend, blah, blah, blah. When I did finally find a job, it was teaching Pre-K (yes, I am crazy) and it was in a rural area and not so fancy schmancy. Do I love my school? Yes! Will my children most likely attend there? Probably. Was it exactly as I had planned? Absolutely not.

The list goes on from when and who I would marry, where I would live, what I would have accomplished by such and such age, to how many children I would have and what there first and middle names would be, all down to how many years apart they would be. I thought I had my entire life planned out. Catch the trend here? I thought I had my life planned exactly as it would play out, maybe not on a daily basis but in general. In reality (I sometimes live there, other times not so much) my plans were nothing. It was those [bigger better] plans that kept getting in the way...lucky for me.

When I met my husband, he would become so annoyed (and still does sometimes!) with how much I tried to plan everything. Let me clarify: I am not a daily planner. I couldn't care less if I get a to do list accomplished in a day, vacuuming, dishes, laundry, errands-blah. Do I like lists? Yes! Do I appreciate being able to check off something I have accomplished? Of course! But, daily plans are not my forte. It's the l-o-n-g term planning I am so good at...or not. I love planning parties, showers, weddings, vacations, my life, you know-long term plans:)

I married my husband (greatest guy I have ever known) later than I had planned on being married in a month I had never planned on getting married. And guess what?! It was perfect! Perfect timing, perfect day, perfect ceremony, and perfect party to end the night. Of course I enjoyed the wedding planning, and the day itself but my point is it did not work out as I had always planned it would....it was better!

Once we were married, my mind flew in to high gear planning our future (children!). I can hear KB groaning in the background:) "Won't you just take a break and enjoy life?" Hahaha. This is me enjoying life: plan, plan, plan, plan. Anyway, I had always thought I would be married a year or so and then start thinking about babies. Well, imagine our surprise when 6 months after our nuptials we found out we were expecting!! Was that in the plan?! Uh, no. Was becoming parents the best thing that has ever happened to us? I think I can answer for my man and say hands down greatest thing that has happened in our life thus far was having our little guy in February of 2008.

Okay, so I've hit a couple bumps in the road and things haven't turned out quite according to my plans. Is my life perfect? Nope. But it has been perfectly planned by someone that is not me. There is a bigger plan and obviously a better plan that I could never in a million years dream up myself and yet I am living it.

17 months from the birth of our son, I know that my plans are pretty much null and void. Well, actually I should know this but I am still trying to get back to planning this and that and the other as exactly as I think it should happen. Riiiiiight, as if that has ever worked for me before;) I thought, okay Boston will be 2 in February and then would be a great time to start trying for baby #2. What a perfect plan, right?! Sure.

It wasn't until a few short days ago when I saw this


or this

or these
that I realized, there is no way I could plan a better life than the one I have been given. We have been blessed with another baby!! Is this how I would have planned it? No. Keith? Double No. And yet, we are thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon excited that we are going to be parents for the second time and that Boston is going to be a Big Brother.
As I said, my plans rarely work out. But, something even more wonderful has taken place in a bigger plan that I will not even pretend to understand. It's life, and it's awesome.