“I’m really sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go.” -my old boss.

Warning: Vulnerability in the post ahead. I was fired. Unceremoniously let go from a job I had held for nearly 2.5 years; the job that I moved from Washington, DC to Nashville for. Was it my dream job? Was I passionate about it? Negative. But it was a job nonetheless, one that I put my best effort into. Out of all of the jobs I’ve held in the past 10 years, I’ve never NOT been liked, so being sat down to have a chat about my performance within a month of starting certainly set the tone of this small company. Unfortunately, the relationship between my boss and myself didn’t improve over the 2 years I was there. It just kind of…was.

Now here I sat, less than 7 weeks after returning to work after having baby Harper and I was being let go, for no real reason in particular. “Not following company procedure” is what he said, but in reality if someone is looking for any reason to fire you, they’re going to find one. So there I was, thoughts racing in my head and tears welling in my eyes. I was the breadwinner of our household; I had just had a baby, how were we going to make it?

God. And an incredibly supportive husband. That’s how.

Thus, Harp & Olive came to be.  I had the idea for the name “Harp & Olive” when I was pregnant. “Harp” coming from Harper’s name, and “Olive” for our Riley Oliver. Little did I know that within weeks of being fired and building a website (thankfully I have experience in that realm) that the photography and videography gigs would slowly begin rolling in. God’s pretty amazing, isn’t he? This experience is surely testing my faith, but I am remaining positive and know that there is something greater planned than I could imagine. And definitely something greater than sitting in a windowless office of a job I hated everyday.

Two and a half months after being let go, I feel like I am starting to finally get my self-confidence back (it dissipated rather drastically throughout the course of working in said-windowless-office). I get to do work I love, and God has continued to provide for us each month. It’s amazing how He continually provides and meets our needs, and it’s allowing me to stay home with our kids, something I NEVER dreamed of doing (I’m a working woman, ya know?).

Being a stay at home/work at home mom is much different than I ever expected. It’s HARD. It’s long days and little sleep as I try to grow Harp & Olive while keeping up with a 5 year old and a 6 month old. (Nevermind the laundry that’s piled up and dishes that need to be put away, sorry husband.) But I am loving it. Exhausted, and completely surviving off coffee at the moment, but loving it. I’m taking a huge leap and having total faith that God will continue to provide for my little family. Just as He always has.