Team Goodrich Part 1

Hi, thanks for coming back.

I thought it would be helpful before we get too deep into this thing, for me to introduce myself and my people, so those of you who don't know us, can have a bit of context. 

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Tye. Starting a blog is the last thing I ever would've expected myself to do. I am the person who thrives in the comfort zone. I'm perfectly happy taking cute pictures of my kids and keeping all my thoughts to myself (or my husband... he gets the brunt of most of it. Bless his heart). Although, from a young age, I fell in love with writing as a way to create and express all the crazy thoughts running through my head. So, here I am, inviting you into the crazy with me.

In middle school and early high school, I wanted to be a pastry chef and own a bakery. To this day, I absolutely love to cook and bake. My mom is an amazing cook and taught my sisters and I early on in our lives how to follow in her foot steps. Thanks, mama! (My sister at The Elliott Homestead even got a shot at a cooking show on The Food Network!) I knew I would have to choose early on what I wanted to pursue as a career because I did Running Start in high school, which allowed me to graduate high school with my AA degree, thus entering college as an 18-year-old junior, jumping right into my major. 

I remember sitting with my mom, just a confused 16-year-old, contemplating the path I would take and her gently encouraging me, saying, "You should be a teacher. You would make the cutest bulletin boards."

Done. 

That was it. That was the BIG moment when I decided to become a teacher, and quite honestly, could. not. wait. to create all the bulletin boards in my classroom.

I came out of college during the crash of the economy in 2009, which meant no teaching jobs. I subbed every single day in whatever grade level and subject area I could for 3 years. The door finally opened up for me to teach 7th grade Language Arts, Social Studies, and Leadership at the same middle school I went to. It was only a year-long contract, but I was ecstatic. This year of teaching taught me so much about myself and what I wanted to accomplish in my position as a teacher. It also opened up my eyes to how much I truly adore middle schools. Those sweet, awkward souls just needed someone to love them.

This position ultimately lead me to the school I would call home for the next 7 years. I moved up a grade to teach 8th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. The Lord was so good in opening this door for me because it helped me to grow into the woman I am today. I will forever be thankful for the opportunity I was given.

I've stepped away from teaching this year to be a homemaker and play a more active role in my children's lives as things are just getting to be a bit more chaotic and busy around here. This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make and it hurt terribly the day I had to walk that resignation letter into my principal. I never in my wildest dreams would've ever thought the day would come when I'd walk away, but the Lord was very clear that this was the right move for us, and I'm beyond excited for our new adventure.

Along with being in the kitchen, I also have a severe obsession with beautiful fonts and love creating and designing on the computer. I always joked about leaving teaching to just create posters and curriculum full-time. My favorite outfit is a nice pair of jeans and crewneck sweatshirt (fashion is not my forte...) and I still have an insane passion for helping to raise up our youth to be different in this really hard, messy world we live in. I love deeply and avoid conflict at all costs.

This little cutie here is my husband, Ty. Yup. You heard it. We have the same name. Or, boy Ty and girl Tye, as we're often referred to. He wears that same raggedy old hat every day and refuses to buy jeans over $20 because he goes through them so quickly. He keeps me on my toes and laughing daily. In the same way he makes me laugh, he has also made sure that my eye rolls, sarcasm, and "teacher look" stay strong. He always tells me, "If I weren't around, you would get bored!" So very true.

Ty and I had a whirlwind relationship. We first met when I was just 16-years-old and we worked at Red Robin together. I can still remember him walking up to the host stand where I was to check his section in his red shirt, bleach blonde hair, tan skin, and earrings. Whew. What a hottie. We laugh because he remembers telling one of his ex-girlfriends that if he ever got the chance to date me, he would. (Who does that?!) I guess the Lord was working in our hearts, even back then. But, as I always say, God's timing is perfect. If Ty and I had dated back then, our story would've been much different.

I was coming off a couple of absolutely life-crushing relationships when my aunt called me saying, "Okay honey, I work with this guy named Ty and he is a catch. I want to give him your number, but I don't want to waste him on you if you're not ready." 

I knew exactly who she was talking about, so without the slightest hesitation, I said, "YES! Give it to him!" 

After hanging out a few times, we started dating in January 2010, got engaged on my 21st birthday in March, and were married in July. There was no lollygagging for us. When you know, you know, right? As cliché as that sounds, it's true. Neither of us wanted a prolonged engagement because we knew this was it. Through this relationship, we both focused on deepening our relationship with the Lord, wanting to set ourselves, and our marriage, up for success from the start.

Ten years and three beautiful kids later, here we are. 

More in love and stronger than ever. 

What I love most about Ty and learn from him daily, is his ability to see a problem and do something about it. So often, we recognize a problem in our lives, but we remain stagnant, not wanting to do the hard thing, but Ty is all about it. He recognized in his early 20's that he could not drink alcohol responsibly, so he stopped. A few years ago, he saw that social media was contributing to his escapist behavior and taking time away from what really matters, so he deleted it. When our family was really struggling, he had the hard conversation with me about needing to change our formations in our home. He's an all-or-nothing kind of guy, and through that quality, has helped pave a path of success for our family.

Our journey is certainly not unique. We've had good times and some really hard times, but we are a killer team. By working together and within our specific roles, we are able to support the spiritual health of our family. We approach our life, not as individuals, but both giving 100%. Responsibilities in our home do not fall solely on one or the other, but instead those responsibilities are shared. Whenever necessary, we hold each other accountable, and wrestle with some big ideas, thoughts, and dreams often.

We still argue, annoy each other, and struggle being two sinners brought together. In Genesis 2, it literally says that in marriage we become one flesh. Merging two imperfect people together is hard work. It takes daily, intentional practice, and years and year of working at it. 

It's been a blessing to work through this by his side and to be bringing up the next generation together. More on those three cuties next week.

We certainly don't have it figured out yet, but we're practicing and growing every single day.