Hey Mister, What's Your Dream?

Orrin Woodward’s RESOLVED 13 Resolutions for LIFE book states, “It’s only with a mind that understands, a heart that generates passion, and a disciplined will to follow through, that change is generated inside a person.”  The following is an amazing testimony of a couple who has united their mind, heart, and will towards achieving their dreams.  
"Welcome to Hollywood!  Everybody has a dream!  What's your dream?  What's your dream?  Hey mister, What's your dream?"  As the opening line to Pretty Woman (one of my favorite movies) points out, we all have dreams.  Usually dreams don't come true without sacrifice.  Sacrifice can be defined as short term loss in return for a greater power gain.  Sacrifice in the oldest records was that of human lives and animals.  The more valuable the offering, generally, the more highly the sacrifice is regarded but the more difficult to make. 
When my dream was to become an Architect, I had to leave my family and friends to go to college.  I am very shy, so this was difficult for me.  Growing up I was taught to go after what I wanted and I could do anything.  My parents wanted a better future for me than what they had.  When I was very young, they owned a health foods store.  At some point the store was not doing well, and their finances went south.  They lost their store and the house.  I was too young to understand what was happening.  They pushed on and on to provide for my sister and I, making sacrifices along the way that mine can't even compare to.
A dream I always had growing up was to have a family.  Ryan and I met during college.  A year after I graduated we got married, we got a house, then we got a dog and a cat all within the same year.  We both had good jobs, we worked on our house, and we enjoyed playing tennis.  Five years later we had a beautiful baby girl.  A lot of people asked me if I would stay home or go back to work. It wasn't something I really considered because I just figured I would go back to work.  How would we make it on 1 income? What kind of sacrifices would we have to make on 1 income?  What would people think of me if I "quit" on my dream of becoming an Architect? 
So, I went back to work full time.  I was juggling home, family, work and trying to become an Architect by taking 7 exams.  At this time (about 3 years ago) we were approached with TEAM by our good friends Ryan & Sarah.  They asked me if I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  I quickly answered "no".  I thought, "what are they talking about?  How am I supposed to be an Architect if I stay at home?"  We declined what they were offering.
A few years later we had another beautiful baby girl.  I honestly considered staying at home this time.  With the cost of daycare and rising gas prices, I questioned if it really made sense for me to continue to work.  Plus, by now my dream of becoming an Architect had been put on the back burner.  However, I went back to work full time again juggling everything.  Since then, I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off!  We rush to get out the door in the morning, I rush around at work to get as much as possible done so that I don't have to work any over time, I rush to pick the girls up at daycare, we rush to get dinner on the table, and we rush to get them to bed.  This is our daily routine.  I started to think "I'm going to have a heart attack before they even graduate from high school."
This stressful busy life that society says makes us successful is just unhealthy.  The worst part is that our only family time is on the weekends.  We also started to go backwards in our finances.  All of this was affecting our relationships.  Ryan and I became short with each other, with our girls, and our patience was always running thin.
What a perfect time for Ryan and Sarah to re-approach us about LIFE!  I was interested, but wasn't sure we could make it work.  Ryan & Sarah told me I would have to make sacrifices.  I thought "why should I have to make sacrifices?"  They were gracious enough to accept me where I was.  Fortunately we don't have to offer the lives of our kids or animals to become part of LIFE!  I could tell my husband Ryan wanted this, so I agreed.  I would hear people on CD's talk about living your priorities.  I realized how backwards my thinking had become.  If my family was my priority, why wasn't I making it my priority?  We did need to change. 
My new dream is to be a stay at home mom.  I have to make sacrifices, but they are worth it.  Believe in your dreams.  Thank you Ryan & Sarah Fronick, Brandon & Kristina Brazier, and Chris & Marcia Robinson for believing in us!
Please share your LIFE "Dreams and Sacrifices" story and post to FB.