Community Voices for Health

By: Rachel Ventura

Life is good. This past year has been pretty amazing. If I had to describe my life at this very moment in one word, it would be “Blessed.” I literally have never been happier with my life, in my life. I have a wonderful, loving husband who is also my best friend and two adorable, sweet, healthy children. I’ve been through a lot in my 30 years and I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve so many blessings, but I am beyond thankful for each and every one of them.

A year ago I started working at Care.com. I absolutely love being a work at home Mom! It is so awesome. I love that I am able to be home with the kids AND bring home a paycheck. I am so thankful to be a part of such a great company. This job helps me feel connected with the world outside of my home, even though I am still in my home, and lets me have adult conversations throughout the day. And no one even has to know I am usually still in my jammies while I do it!

We also welcomed our little buddy into the world this past May!! Justin is a blessing on so many levels. He has completed our family. Every day with Lauren and Justin is a little slice of Heaven. I am so head over heels in love with both of them. Sometimes I don’t know how my heart beats because there is so much love for these two little cherubs. They are both characters and so funny and I just love them to pieces! At times, life can be crazy, busy, and stressful, but I would not change a thing. I am enjoying every second of every day, even the occasionally not-so-good moments.

I’ve also been getting into shape, which feels great! When I got pregnant with Justin, I was 10 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant with Lauren. My goal was to get down to my first pre-pregnancy weight. I am more than happy to say, that with eating less and healthier (I highly suggest using the app MyFitnessPal), and doing Zumba, I am currently 8 pounds less than my goal!! I have never, in my entire life, felt better about myself. Not only because of my weight, but I just feel…like myself. I’m not even sure how to explain it. I am far from perfect, that’s for sure, but this is who I am and I am more than ok with that. Yes, I have stretch marks, my hair is a little frizzy, I have the occasional break out on my face…but I feel relaxed and strong in my own skin. Something I don’t think I have ever been. Ever. I wouldn’t say that I’m confident, I never have been and I don’t think I ever will be, but I am comfortable with myself. And that is seriously a blessing. I feel that somehow, becoming a Mom for the second time, did this to me.

To top it all off, I have never been more in love with my husband. He is truly my everything. From the very first time I saw him, I knew that he was the one. I’ll never forget the story a friend of his told me after we got engaged. Way, way back, when Victor and I were only 19 years old and were “dating,” years before our official relationship even started, I drove through the McDonald’s parking lot, past Victor and a couple of his friends sitting in his car (real romantic, huh?). After I drove by, Victor said to his friends, “I’m going to marry that girl.” Every time I think of that story, I smile. We’ve definitely had our ups and downs and everywhere in between, but God blessed the broken road, that’s for sure. He’s been my best friend for the past 7 years but we have never been closer. Our love is stronger than ever.

And now, becoming a Mommy Blogger is icing on the cake. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to share my experiences, triumphs, and struggles as a Mom. I also look forward to learning as much as I can from the other amazing Mommy Bloggers each week. This is such a wonderful forum for us to give and take from, and I thank Signature Healthcare for making it possible! And I thank you, the readers, for coming along on this journey with me!