Home.

I used to be obsessed with American Idol.  I watched every season, cringed throughout each "Hollywood Week" and lived for the extravagant finale.  I stopped watching when Paula & Simon left the show and they started to recruit people like Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.  I'm sorry but JLo belongs on the block & Steven...just no.  Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks are some of my favorites from past seasons.  They're all such powerhouses with very distinct music styles.   One of the seasons that I didn't watch a man named Phillip Phillips won.  I remember hearing about it and just thinking, "Weird name."  Eventually, I heard his single "Home" and fell in love.  It was so catchy and so very different from any other Idol winner.  His sound is kind of folksy/blues-y/soft rock.  I bought his cd and was not disappointed in the least.  I honestly love every track and it stayed in my car for a solid two months.  But, no matter how many times I listened to the cd his single "Home" continued to be my favorite.  (bear with me, I'm getting to the point, I promise.)

I left my job of three years this past May to start a new adventure somewhere else.  At the time, I had planned on working there throughout the fall as well as in the summer.  However, the plans for the fall fell through and I was left job hunting again for the fall.  My previous employer graciously took me back, and I start this Wednesday.  To be quite honest, this past few weeks have been very emotional and hard for me.  I felt like I took a step forward only to take five steps back.  Slowly, but surely I'm coming to terms with everything.  As some of you may know, Chris and I are in the midst of starting a charity for children overseas.  It's time-consuming and a lot of hard work.  Trying to balance that, his school, both of our full-time jobs and managing a somewhat normal household is proving to be hard.  But, it's what we signed up for.  We're not there yet, but you can be dang sure that we're on our way.  And, while we're in this season of our life I'm so incredibly grateful to have my family and friends rooting for us.

(Here's the point!) 

All that to say the song "Home" means so much to me right now.  Consider it our theme song to each other in this season of our life.  Part of my birthday gift from Chris were tickets to the John Mayer/Phillip Phillips concert.  (We really just went for Phillip)  He put on such an amaaazing show.  He has such heart & passion when he performs.  He saved "Home" for last and I am not ashamed to tell you that I cried throughout the entire song.  Happy tears. Hopeful tears.  It was such a special moment, I can't even begin to explain it.  If you're going through a tough time right now, I promise it will get better.  It's for a season, and most likely for a reason.  Beauty & growth will come from it.

-Katie