Well, now that this conversation is all about me now... *fans self*
@katy0990 It is the same as Greek Orthodox -- the term Eastern Orthodox just encompasses all of the different ethnic churches, if that makes sense. So there's Russian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, etc. There's also the Orthodox Church in America -- the church we attended in Las Vegas was OCA but used more Russian-style music (but all in English) and all the Russian Cirque performers in town came for Pascha/Easter...anyway, it's a big ol' mess. But short answer, yes.
@hkom I grew up Mennonite and attended a Mennonite high school, where I met H. He attended Baptist churches growing up, which doesn't fly with the whole Mennonite focus on pacifism. Especially since he joined the military. (It was a tough pill for my parents to swallow, but he went into search and rescue helicopters, so really, it's the best possible outcome.)
We lived the transient military life for the first 4ish years of our marriage, but never really felt attached to any of the nondenominational churches we attended. Being Mennonite, I grew up with a cappella singing from a hymnal, and hated the whole praise-and-worship band scene. #snob
Then, at some point after we moved to Vegas H…did some reading? I don’t even know what prompted him to visit the church we eventually ended up attending. He had a professor in college who was a convert, he read a book… The draw for him was that the Orthodox church is the original, pre-schism apostolic church. He attended a service, and that was pretty much that. He had a bunch of meetings with the priest to get over some of his misgivings, but we made our official conversion through baptism and chrismation in November. (Don’t worry I had some say in this too! But I loved it because of the choir, which we eventually joined, and the incense and otherworldly feel of it. And Pascha/Easter is some.thing.else. Oh and the community was so great.)
I do have to say, right now, post-Vegas we're sort of struggling. There's a tiny mission parish in this town that has been around for 20 years but is really stuck in its ways and isn't growing. Like, there's maybe 15-20 regular attendees. H is trying to push them out of their comfort zone, but like, when one of the members refuses to switch service times because her boyfriend owns a gun store and can't close early? Sigh. They meet every other week, so on the off weeks we try to drive down to the church in Pensacola, but it's just sort of taxing having to commit our entire Sundays to that. But we'll get through this.
Me: 31 | DH: 31
Together since 2003 | Married 2010 TTC #1 January 2016 BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016 Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018 BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
@PensiveCrayon Thanks for sharing! I was raised Catholic, but my mom had some good friends who were Greek Orthodox, so I have attended some of those services, as well. I hope you are able to find a more fulfilling community soon.
How did I miss this thread? I know! I was busy actually cooking dinner and was only love-titting last night. Luckily DH & I talk about future things often, so we're ready!
In 10 years DH will have retired or will be close to it. We'll have more properties paid off to increase our passive income. After this kiddo, I think I'm done being pregnant, so we'll likely adopt when LO is toddling - not sure. Regardless I plan on getting a master's degree or two (DH has three, working on his fourth) while LO is in school - assuming that we don't homeschool. We will have decided on a retirement location, probably in Colorado and we'll build an open-floor-plan modern home full of glass and concrete. We'll be near our best friends, but family will still be in Texas, so we'll probably buy a small plane so we can easily visit different cities on weekends with kid and a dog. DH already plans on attending all of LO's concerts/games/events, and we look forward to creepily chaperoning school dances. I'll continue woodworking and blogging for fun, also cooking a variety of world cuisines. We'll probably take LO on his first international trip around this time, probably Japan again so we can all climb Fuji-san together, and hopefully LO will understand DH & I more as he sees/understands Japanese culture. I think that pre-teenage is a great time for LO to start seeing us as adults, and I want to start with the good influences (he'll have plenty of time to make his own bad decisions ).
NTNP since Dec 2012 | TTC since Jan 2016 Dx: Unspecified IF BFP#1 Nov 2017 • Blighted Ovum + MMC • D&C at nine weeks BFP#2 Apr 2018 • It's a boy! • Born 13 Dec 2018
Tough question! Well... we'll have 2-3 kids, and hopefully be in the same home we're in now. We bought two years ago in a great neighborhood and have dreams of a renovation to double the size of the basement and enclose a back deck which only gets use one season a year. It would be a great sun room! If that renovation can't happen for some reason, the house may not be big enough for 3 kids plus hopefully a pet or two. We'd probably move a bit further out of the city and get some land or a tear down where we could build a dream home.
By this point, I'll either be back to work, or if I dream... our side business (short term rentals - we have one currently and are considering turning the room in the basement at our home into a MIL suite that we can also rent) will be providing more than what my salary would and I can manage that while being engaged in the kids' schools, volunteering, etc. If that short term rental mortgage is totally paid off (could be in 10 years!) then it likely would be providing more than my salary would be at work.
And in a dream world, my husband would be able to cut back his work to 75% or 50% time and spend more time with the family. If our properties are paid off, that could totally happen... but we'll see if that's a 10 or 20 year goal...
Also, I love someone else's goal of being extremely fit. I was getting there before pregnancy and then the fatigue wiped me out and I'm just now trying to get back into 4-5 days per week of exercise. I'd love to be one of those moms who is super fit and seems to have all the energy in the world... One can dream, right?! Hahaha.
@omnommer Re: energy, I've recently come to terms with the fact that I'm not that person and won't magically turn into her. Waaaah! But I do plan (not hope! plan!) on getting my fit on once all of the kids are born. Heck, once this one is born, I'm getting back to pre-pregancy weight for real. None of this hanging on to an extra 10 lbs for a year crap.
Me: 31 | DH: 31
Together since 2003 | Married 2010 TTC #1 January 2016 BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016 Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018 BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
@PensiveCrayon Good luck! This is my first so I have no clue how I'm going to be or how stubborn the weight will be when I'm able to get back into my exercise routine. I also plan on getting an exercise routine going and sticking to it - I just have no clue what changes my body/metabolism/everything will have gone through after the kiddo! Re: energy - I doubt I'll be that constantly energized mom, but I can dream. Maybe with coffee. Lol.
@PensiveCrayon Thank you for sharing! I'm sorry you haven't been able to find a church you love at your current location. I hope you find something soon, or the church in your town decides to loosen up
I'm with you on disliking the whole church band thing. H and I are church snobs as well. Both of us are Roman Catholic and were raised in older, more traditional parishes (even though we aren't exactly traditional in our personal lives - ha!). I've never been to a big non-denominational "church" (on purpose ) but some of the newer more suburban Catholic parishes around here are starting to move in the mega-church direction in terms of music and it just doesn't feel right to us. Just the organ and the singer(s), please! My high school would sometimes have the chamber choir do Gregorian chants for mass on holy days of obligation and I looooved it.
@omnommer@PensiveCrayon I actually lost all of my baby weight (and a few more pounds) but my shape was not the same. I also hadn't exercised, which I used to do 4x a week, which is obviously a big reason why, but some people just aren't the same after pregnancy/child birth. I really hope to start exercising after this baby is born because I do truly enjoy it, and like being in shape lol
I love these types of questions & learning about you all!
10 years ago I was about to enter my freshman year of college & I definitely would've said I would hope to be where I am today, if not quite here yet.
10 years from now: Kid wise, I hope to have one (two if our hearts desire) more child after this, so our kids will be 11, 9 & 7ish. Financially, we will just be finishing our mortgage up (YAY!), we will have our 7 yr (currently 3.5 yrs in) investment payments done - those are a second mortgage right now, our current truck paid off and maybe another one. We already live in our forever home which I take for granted everyday - damn I'm so glad we're settled where we are. I'll possibly be still working my same job which is redundant, but super flexible & perfect for being able to take off and run kids to different things. I hope DH isn't traveling as much as he's gone for 3 days/wk right now. Hopefully with us being better off financially, he can swing getting a local job. It makes my heart sad to think of how my mom & dad will be 76 and 73. They're total busy bodies & you'd guess they were 60 at most right now, so I pray that her and my dad keep aging well. Realistically, I won't be this amazing energetic fit mom who runs 8 days a week. I would really like to work on getting back to my comfortable weight and staying active. I never did lose all of my baby weight (Holllla @PensiveCrayon) so I would like to get back to where I feel best. One depressed day a year ago my sister reminded me that I am giving up my body and give myself grace for 5 years so that has helped me to give it some patience.
Basically, just living a simple happy life! DH and I enjoying a bottle of wine on the deck on Friday evening talking about life & appreciating everything we have. I hope we have a wonderful positive relationship and have taken a few trips just for us by then.
@PensiveCrayon I have July/Aug/Sept in mind for the third one so I can have maternity leave in the fall and still avoid our busy season in the spring. How does that fit into your schedule?
@PensiveCrayon & @temmetime Why not have June babies? As I card-carrying-super Gemini I highly endorse June as a birthmonth because it's 200 percent fabulous.
NTNP since Dec 2012 | TTC since Jan 2016 Dx: Unspecified IF BFP#1 Nov 2017 • Blighted Ovum + MMC • D&C at nine weeks BFP#2 Apr 2018 • It's a boy! • Born 13 Dec 2018
@PensiveCrayon & @temmetime Why not have June babies? As I card-carrying-super Gemini I highly endorse June as a birthmonth because it's 200 percent fabulous.
I agree. My daughter was born 6/6. Way better to not be pregnant in summer!
I love all your answers! Some of you with in investment properties....I envy your foresight. Definitely did not think ahead on that one, but it's not too late, right?
In 10 years, SO will be close to retirement, we will have this one kiddo and MAYBE another since SO is convinced only children turn into crazies.... We will have maybe 1 dog instead of our current 3 (I'm tearing up thinking that our for furbabies will be gone by then!) so traveling/vacations should be easier. We plan to still be in our current (new house), maybe adding an addition with another living space and bedroom. We plan to have an RV, fifth wheel, or small winnebago so we can have a home away from home and can go freely wherever we choose. Currently SO travels all over the world for work, and we also plan on going back to some of his most favorite places and sharing that culture with the kiddo(s).
Re: GTKY: In 10 Years
Well, now that this conversation is all about me now... *fans self*
@katy0990 It is the same as Greek Orthodox -- the term Eastern Orthodox just encompasses all of the different ethnic churches, if that makes sense. So there's Russian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, etc. There's also the Orthodox Church in America -- the church we attended in Las Vegas was OCA but used more Russian-style music (but all in English) and all the Russian Cirque performers in town came for Pascha/Easter...anyway, it's a big ol' mess. But short answer, yes.
@hkom I grew up Mennonite and attended a Mennonite high school, where I met H. He attended Baptist churches growing up, which doesn't fly with the whole Mennonite focus on pacifism. Especially since he joined the military. (It was a tough pill for my parents to swallow, but he went into search and rescue helicopters, so really, it's the best possible outcome.)
We lived the transient military life for the first 4ish years of our marriage, but never really felt attached to any of the nondenominational churches we attended. Being Mennonite, I grew up with a cappella singing from a hymnal, and hated the whole praise-and-worship band scene. #snob
Then, at some point after we moved to Vegas H…did some reading? I don’t even know what prompted him to visit the church we eventually ended up attending. He had a professor in college who was a convert, he read a book… The draw for him was that the Orthodox church is the original, pre-schism apostolic church. He attended a service, and that was pretty much that. He had a bunch of meetings with the priest to get over some of his misgivings, but we made our official conversion through baptism and chrismation in November. (Don’t worry I had some say in this too! But I loved it because of the choir, which we eventually joined, and the incense and otherworldly feel of it. And Pascha/Easter is some.thing.else. Oh and the community was so great.)
I do have to say, right now, post-Vegas we're sort of struggling. There's a tiny mission parish in this town that has been around for 20 years but is really stuck in its ways and isn't growing. Like, there's maybe 15-20 regular attendees. H is trying to push them out of their comfort zone, but like, when one of the members refuses to switch service times because her boyfriend owns a gun store and can't close early? Sigh. They meet every other week, so on the off weeks we try to drive down to the church in Pensacola, but it's just sort of taxing having to commit our entire Sundays to that. But we'll get through this.
TTC #1 January 2016
BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016
Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018
BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
In 10 years DH will have retired or will be close to it. We'll have more properties paid off to increase our passive income. After this kiddo, I think I'm done being pregnant, so we'll likely adopt when LO is toddling - not sure. Regardless I plan on getting a master's degree or two (DH has three, working on his fourth) while LO is in school - assuming that we don't homeschool. We will have decided on a retirement location, probably in Colorado and we'll build an open-floor-plan modern home full of glass and concrete. We'll be near our best friends, but family will still be in Texas, so we'll probably buy a small plane so we can easily visit different cities on weekends with kid and a dog. DH already plans on attending all of LO's concerts/games/events, and we look forward to creepily chaperoning school dances. I'll continue woodworking and blogging for fun, also cooking a variety of world cuisines. We'll probably take LO on his first international trip around this time, probably Japan again so we can all climb Fuji-san together, and hopefully LO will understand DH & I more as he sees/understands Japanese culture. I think that pre-teenage is a great time for LO to start seeing us as adults, and I want to start with the good influences (he'll have plenty of time to make his own bad decisions
Dx: Unspecified IF
BFP#1 Nov 2017 • Blighted Ovum + MMC • D&C at nine weeks
BFP#2 Apr 2018 • It's a boy! • Born 13 Dec 2018
By this point, I'll either be back to work, or if I dream... our side business (short term rentals - we have one currently and are considering turning the room in the basement at our home into a MIL suite that we can also rent) will be providing more than what my salary would and I can manage that while being engaged in the kids' schools, volunteering, etc. If that short term rental mortgage is totally paid off (could be in 10 years!) then it likely would be providing more than my salary would be at work.
And in a dream world, my husband would be able to cut back his work to 75% or 50% time and spend more time with the family. If our properties are paid off, that could totally happen... but we'll see if that's a 10 or 20 year goal...
Also, I love someone else's goal of being extremely fit. I was getting there before pregnancy and then the fatigue wiped me out and I'm just now trying to get back into 4-5 days per week of exercise. I'd love to be one of those moms who is super fit and seems to have all the energy in the world... One can dream, right?! Hahaha.
TTC #1 January 2016
BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016
Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018
BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
I'm with you on disliking the whole church band thing. H and I are church snobs as well. Both of us are Roman Catholic and were raised in older, more traditional parishes (even though we aren't exactly traditional in our personal lives - ha!). I've never been to a big non-denominational "church" (on purpose
Nope. He's going to be alive and kicking well into his 90s. I refuse to believe anything different.
10 years ago I was about to enter my freshman year of college & I definitely would've said I would hope to be where I am today, if not quite here yet.
10 years from now: Kid wise, I hope to have one (two if our hearts desire) more child after this, so our kids will be 11, 9 & 7ish. Financially, we will just be finishing our mortgage up (YAY!), we will have our 7 yr (currently 3.5 yrs in) investment payments done - those are a second mortgage right now, our current truck paid off and maybe another one. We already live in our forever home which I take for granted everyday - damn I'm so glad we're settled where we are. I'll possibly be still working my same job which is redundant, but super flexible & perfect for being able to take off and run kids to different things. I hope DH isn't traveling as much as he's gone for 3 days/wk right now. Hopefully with us being better off financially, he can swing getting a local job.
It makes my heart sad to think of how my mom & dad will be 76 and 73. They're total busy bodies & you'd guess they were 60 at most right now, so I pray that her and my dad keep aging well.
Realistically, I won't be this amazing energetic fit mom who runs 8 days a week. I would really like to work on getting back to my comfortable weight and staying active. I never did lose all of my baby weight (Holllla @PensiveCrayon) so I would like to get back to where I feel best. One depressed day a year ago my sister reminded me that I am giving up my body and give myself grace for 5 years so that has helped me to give it some patience.
Basically, just living a simple happy life! DH and I enjoying a bottle of wine on the deck on Friday evening talking about life & appreciating everything we have. I hope we have a wonderful positive relationship and have taken a few trips just for us by then.
DS: 12/20/16
EDD: 11/29/18
TTC #1 January 2016
BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016
Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018
BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
DS: 12/20/16
EDD: 11/29/18
Dx: Unspecified IF
BFP#1 Nov 2017 • Blighted Ovum + MMC • D&C at nine weeks
BFP#2 Apr 2018 • It's a boy! • Born 13 Dec 2018
In 10 years, SO will be close to retirement, we will have this one kiddo and MAYBE another since SO is convinced only children turn into crazies.... We will have maybe 1 dog instead of our current 3 (I'm tearing up thinking that our for furbabies will be gone by then!) so traveling/vacations should be easier. We plan to still be in our current (new house), maybe adding an addition with another living space and bedroom. We plan to have an RV, fifth wheel, or small winnebago so we can have a home away from home and can go freely wherever we choose. Currently SO travels all over the world for work, and we also plan on going back to some of his most favorite places and sharing that culture with the kiddo(s).