I'm back!
Wow, it feels good to be back in this space. You'll notice a fresh look to the site as well as a fresh address (mattyewoodcock.com) thanks to the help of my talented friend Emily of Emily Wells Design. Yay! That's fun!
Photo by Rachel Coffey
Since the last time I wrote in this space, I feel like I have become a new person in so many good ways.
When I stopped writing here, it was because I felt the need to retreat a little. Not out of any negative feeling, but more out of solitude. After walking through a miscarriage in March 2016, and then getting pregnant again later that spring, my heart was experiencing so many different things. Sharing publicly didn't feel right, or even possible. It's not that I didn't want to share, I just felt the need to spend time focusing inward and being with my people as we walked through that season. Essentially, it just wasn't the right time, and I listened to that.
I knew the time would come where I would be ready to write and share again, and even now, I don't know exactly what it will look like, but I'm so happy to be back. I've missed writing and connecting here.
Catching Up...
Since I've been on my spontaneous "sabbatical," so much has happened!
2016
We found out in June 2016 that God had given us another baby. We were pregnant! What a joy-filled day that was.
We got to see our baby for the first time in July 2016.
And we found out he was a boy in October!
2017
Our son surprised us with an early arrival on February 2, 2017 (his due date was February 21!), and we named him Fox David Woodcock.
Fox David Woodcock, February 2, 2017
I could spend a lifetime blogging cute photos of him and waxing poetic about our love for him, but I'll spare you...for now. ;)
Well, ok, here's just one...
Fox's first birthday
We know he is the perfect boy for us. God gave us absolutely who we needed in a child, and he lights up our lives.
After having Fox, I experienced postpartum depression and anxiety. It was the hardest, darkest season of my life, which is something that is still hard and sad to say because it was simultaneous to one of the most wonderful seasons of my life, the first year with our son.
I have walked a road of healing, and I am doing so much better now, praise God. I had the honor of sharing my story on my friend, Katie's new podcast, Untethered. If you're interested in what that season looked like and how God sustained us through it, I'd love for you to listen. And, if you or someone you know has walked through anxiety or depression, I hope it will be a source of light and hope.
I tell the fuller version of this story in the podcast, but after going back to work for several months after Fox was born, Woody and I prayerfully made the decision for me to move part-time starting in 2018. My leaders and coworkers were all so supportive of this decision, and it has been a great transition for our family. Not always easy, but it has been the right thing for us.
So, here we are. 2018 has brought a new season of refreshment for our family, and we are so deeply grateful.
As for what's next? There is lots on my mind, and what you can expect to see here in the coming months is, well, who knows! ha! I do have some fun posts planned with party planning ideas, and I'll talk about goals, too.
If there is anything specific you'd like to hear about, let me know!
Thanks for being here, friends. It's good to be back.
xo. Mattye
