Guys, 2015 was a YEAR. It was a year of trial, heartache, change, growth, surprises, and accomplishment.  It was tough year. SUCH a tough year. Despite that…I thank the Lord for every hard day that we experience. Our family went through A LOT and we survived. We still have leaps and bounds to go but we are on our way, together. (But really if you ask me, I wouldn’t opt to relive 2015 again, ha!)

That year we didn’t have any resolutions or goals to share but instead going into 2016 we chose words to strive to go after with all we had:

Simplicity & Love.

Most of you know that something pretty HUGE happened in September. This guy retired from the Navy.

WHOA.  Life changes ya’ll. Military life was all we had ever known. We always had health insurance, a guaranteed paycheck, became accustomed to a certain lifestyle and had a support system of friends…all to just end.

For months and months, we scrambled. We searched arduously for other avenues to make money, for job opportunities for Andrew…but doors kept closing. I remember through that crazy process of stress and worry and just turning to my poor husband several times and saying that ultimately I just didn’t want to lose “the lifestyle we had become accustomed to” (i.e. He needed to figure this ish out). No pressure – MAJOR wife points!

Gosh was I SO caught up. We both were. So trying to grasp this skewed idea of, “The American Dream” and what we thought we wanted or needed. Trying to “keep up with the Joneses” and attempting to grasp at more and more and more to make us LOOK like we belonged or had it all together or were successful in the eyes of our peers.

I couldn’t pin point exactly when it happened but we know God was working pretty hard to get through to us crazies. After months of heavy emotional discussions and futile efforts on our part…we had enough. We had exhausted our options, finally decided to give in and listen to the plan He had been pushing on our hearts for awhile.

Sell the “stuff”. Invest fully into our business. Live simply. And focus on being together.

We didn’t want to run the rat race anymore…

To be honest it was harder to let go of certain things more than others. We downsized from a 5 bedroom, 2800 square foot house to a 1300 square foot, 2 bedroom apartment. We sold our truck and traded it in for a van we got for half the truck’s selling price. We divested ourselves of a great deal of furniture, clothing and …even video games!

To this day, 3+ years later, our budget is tighter (by almost half of what we were living on before), there isn’t a whole lot of room for extras and that’s MORE THAN ok. We would’ve never guessed that now in a house half the house but quadruple the amount of joy that we would be happier than we’ve ever been.

Our family is together. Honestly, in these close quarters, we can’t get away from each other. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Love, Tianna

It is my heart to empower women to rejoice in their true beauty & gain confidence, unashamedly loving who they are through coaching & the artistry of photography. Will you join me in taking some steps toward positivity? Click here to register for our five-day challenge ‘5 Days to Confidence in Insecurity’ to start your confidence journey through simple but effective steps to overcome some common insecurities.