It has been a long time since I’ve posted on here. A lot has happened, a lot of tragic and beautiful things have taken place the last few years. What I continuously learn is life goes on, learning takes place along the way but what doesn’t change is my love for my people. In May 2024, Whitney graduated from nursing school and Russell graduated from high school. I had gotten laid off at the end of April and while I applied endlessly for new jobs I also enjoyed some breathing room to celebrate my family; get Whitney moved to Oklahoma City with her boyfriend and Russell moved to Dallas Baptist University for his freshman year. In two short months I was an empty nester. While I’m getting used to it and blast music all the time to fill the silence I also take time to work on myself and process life.

Empty Nest Probz

When things seem kind of lonely, I think about how we went from a family of five under this roof to just me and Suzy. We lost Brad in November 2021, Carter moved in July 2022 to an apartment with a friend, we lost Shadow in February 2024 and then it was time for Whitney and Russell to go on to their new lives. I thank God for giving me the courage to adopt Suzy, the day after Brad left, because she has been my buddy and keeps me from just talking to just myself. She gives the best hugs and loves sharing my bed. We miss our people, I see it in her eyes when she gets bored of watching me work or relax. We are settling in and staying busy. She gets lots of playdates with Mark’s dog, Piper. They are quite the pair! When Suzy does her annoying barking to get attention, which usually means she wants a treat or to play, Piper bops her on her nose to get her to stop. It is pretty hilarious! They tell secrets, conspire against us, wrestle and get out ALL the toys in our toyboxes. They are cute little besties.

*Do the work you love, my3moons, LLC

Since the job market was dismal at best, I partnered with a former colleague/boss and are ramping up Evercue Consulting evercueconsulting.com, a boutique staffing agency. It has been really busy and even better, really fun! We are working on several positions for a handful of clients while onboarding new clients. I look forward to celebrating a lot of success this year! Reach out if you or someone you know is looking to hire great talent. kim.woods@evercueconsulting.com I’m always happy to help people looking to make a career move as well and have a loyal, talented network from my 14 years in the biz.

My 3 Moons are thriving!

We visited Russell in Dallas in October and had a great time! Jagger and Whitney made the trip from OKC, Carter couldn’t make this one but Jessica and the boys joined us. Russell is getting used to how busy soccer training is plus keeping up with classes. He’s getting a big dose of Jesus there. We had a shocking tragedy in August losing Uncle MB suddenly. My sister and her boys moved back to Kansas from California, it is good to have them close to love on and help in any way I can. It was good to hug Russell’s neck in person after a wild few months. He is so sweet and patient with her boys. He even got invited to a trip to Universal over Spring Break with them. That will be fun for him to go back now that he’s older.

Whitney and Jagger got engaged in early January, we kept the secret for months! Jagger asked for my approval in Dallas then asked the boys and Uncle Kyle for her cute hand in marriage! *cue the tears! I’m so dang proud of those two cutie pies and can’t wait to see them navigate a beautiful life together. HOWEVER, keeping a secret like that from my girl was HARD! Thankfully I have my tight lipped boyfriend to talk about all super secret things with and get it out of my brain. Jagger did a wonderful job designing a ring that incorporates my pear diamond Brad gave me and a gorgeous heart diamond his grandma gave his mom the day he was born. It is a STUNNER and super sentimental. He planned an amazing party with family and lots of friends from all parts of their lives. Whitney has always hated surprises, this one took her breath away in the best way. We’ve started all the planning but I’m just the cheerleader, they are doing a great job getting things checked off.

Carter started a new job recently after being at his first job for 3 1/2 years. He’s loving his young professional life and of course mostly cheering on his teams. I cherish the days I get to see that sweet boy and he LOVES seeing Miss Suzy! Speaking of teams, we had fun watching the Chiefs year, although heart attack inducing, and are proud they made it back to the Super Bowl…didn’t win it this time. Our Jayhawks are on a roller coaster, who knows what will happen the rest of the year but we still love our teams.

Until next time

I hope to express my thoughts on here more. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me and a stress reliever. My mind is clearer than it has been in a long time. While I’m really busy hustling to keep all my balls in the air, I’m feeling very optimistic and full of love and happiness for my precious kids. They make me so happy, I’m calm and zen when we are all together. We have all the plans for a wonderful year getting our girl married. I don’t take anything for granted and let the hard days bounce off rather than get swallowed up by them. Losing Brad was obviously terrible but we grew so much as a family and the kids truly have the concept of being grateful engrained in their lives. I’ve been working on myself and my health. While far from perfect, I’m trying to be a healthier version of myself. I have gotten my weight, muscle tone, blood pressure and diet in pretty good shape. I always need to move my body more so that is always a focus. Some days are better than others, but that is ok.

on to the next…