Giving Thanks

Today, I am thankful.

I am thankful for a God who loves me no matter what I do, where I’ve been, or what I’m going to do. I put Him first here not because it’s always the way I live my life, unfortunately, but to remind me that He’s supposed to be first. I am thankful that He forgives me for being the sinner that I am, and that I am saved by His grace each and every day.

I am thankful for a husband who is not just my husband. He is my best friend on this earth, and he knows me better than anyone else. He may not like me all the time, but I know he loves me and I think we have a pretty good life together.

I am thankful for a daughter who lights up my life like I never imagined. Who keeps us laughing and challenges us in so many ways. Who makes us want to be better.

I am thankful for the rest of my family. Sure, there are some that I wish were in my life that aren’t, but I certainly am grateful for the ones that are around and that I can count on and that can love on my child.

I am thankful for a good job in these hard economic times. I am thankful for good health, good friends, near and far, and for a nice place to call home. I am thankful for my sweet dog, Brandy, and her loving temperament.

I could go on and on, and for that, I am thankful.

Letter From Mom

Dearest Abbie,

I never knew…

That sleeping in now means 7am instead of 10am on Saturdays.

That I would have an instant connection with other moms, suddenly understanding the challenges and joys that go along with having children. And that hearing stories of children who are sick would make me so sad, yet thankful that God has given you good health.

I never knew…

That I would look at other children at stores or restaurants who were misbehaving, and rather than get annoyed or have disapproving thoughts, I’d think to myself, maybe they had a rough night, didn’t get a nap, or are not feeling well.

I never knew…

That I’d be trying to avoid work-related travel and late meetings at all costs so I’d be able to spend more time with you.

I never knew…

That I’d be going around singing Nickelodeon or Elmo songs in my head, even when you weren’t around.

That a Friday night at home with you would be so much more fun than a night out.

I never knew…

That whether we have one more, two more, or no more, I would feel so blessed and thankful that God picked you out, especially for your Daddy and I!

Happy 18 months sweet girl. You have brought so much joy into our lives that I never knew before….

Mom

Good week

I had this last week off, so today is my final day of freedom before heading back to work. It's been a good one overall, but very difficult at times as I had a head cold and Abbie is cutting so many teeth I lost count. She is not sleeping well AT ALL, like it's worse than when she was 2 weeks old, so it's been tough. Thankfully I had family in who helped me tremendously and tended to her in the early morning while I caught up on some sleep. I am really praying this is over soon. I am over teething, I'm sure she is over teething, and I think Wes wants his wife back, instead of the small devil I turn into sometimes when I get just a couple hours of snooze time! But it's been good. We had some professional pics done Wednesday - I will share them as soon as I get the DVD (they turned out fabulous!) and then we celebrated Halloween yesterday and Abbie was the cutest ladybug I've ever seen. She has really started forming sentences this last week too. It completely amazes me to see this little tiny girl talk the way she does! She says "bye-bye Brandy, see you tomorrow", for instance. I mean, really?? And my new favorite is when she tastes something, she says "I like it!!". It sounds like "I yike it!" but it's so darn cute. She counts to ten all the time now, and when she says "ten" she says "YEA Abbie!" because that is what I always do when she is done. Also this week she has become completely attached to her baby doll and blanket, and drags them around everywhere with her, talks to her baby, rocks her, tells her to sleep, etc. She has quite the imagination. When she wants something, she says "uh-huh" and nods real eagerly. Like she will say "Mama, cookie, uh-huh??" and nod like a hundred times. Cracks me up. So if anyone has any advice on teething other than Motrin and teething tablets, I'd love to know. I have read mixed reviews on Orajel, it just seems so temporary. She is cutting her molars and I think her cuspids are on their way in too. Hopefully next time I post this will be done....maybe??!!

Way...Too....Fast....

Lately, I have found myself saying these phrases to people around me:

She is growing up SOO fast!

It seems like she does something different every day!

She comes up with the funniest things to say!

I love this age!

Here are a few examples - Last night, as I was rocking Abbie to sleep she popped up, looked at me (I had my eyes closed because I typically get tired way before her) and she said "Mama, wake up". It was so funny, I have no clue where she got that from, because God knows we have never said "wake up" to her. We've never had to!!

Tonight at the Outback, we were leaving and Wes got her out of the high chair, and the next thing we knew she had her shirt off, and her belly was just hanging out. Never done that before.

And this week she learned how to OPEN the doors in our house. Craziness.

So in short, there is never a dull moment in our house. Wes and I constantly find ourselves laughing out loud at her and she just brings so much joy into our lives. I did miss her 17-month update on the 13th, yep, one more month and she'll be halfway through ANOTHER year!

We love her.

Early Morning Update

Greetings! It's Sunday morning, and Abbie and I are the only ones up. It's still dark outside, meaning she woke up WAAYYY too early, but such is the norm these days. She is sleeping better overall though, which is a good thing.

I just wanted to post a quick update to say that things are going good around here. I really like my new position w/ Eaton, and more importantly Abbie has adjusted well to being back at Pam's. I did quickly forget how hard it is to do things in the evenings, like um, make dinner for instance, but I just bought a Slow Cooker cookbook yesterday so I plan on using it all winter! Let's see, what else. Oh, October has brought my 32nd bday already, which ended up being a great one(see Wes and I before my bday dinner above) and then some of my family from VA came in. Then at the end of this month, my family from Florida is coming up for a week! Oh, and I purchased Abbie's Halloween costume already too. It is the CUTEST ladybug (or bebug, as she says) costumer you've ever seen. Yay for Cracker Barrel. Lastly, stay tuned for some professional pictures coming soon! Well, that might be a little premature, but we are having them done the last week of October. Here is my little ballerina...

Hard

Hard. That's what this week will be for me, no doubt. See, in case you haven't heard, I am entering the outside working world again, starting Thursday. In some small ways, I am excited, partially because I knew I would have to do it sometime, and partially because job hunting sucks. Sorry, it just does. So anyways, notice I say "small" ways. Because in every other possible way, I want to stay home with Abbie and raise her and be here with her all the time. But one thing I do know is this - when I am working outside the home, I do not take the time with her for granted. I do not lose patience with her nearly as easily, and I truly do cherish each minute. Please know that I am not saying this about other Mom's, I am speaking of myself here. So in that way, maybe it's not all bad. I still really believe that for me a mix of outside work and being at home is ideal, but as I've said before, we aren't quite there yet. So for now, I will be content with the situation given to me, because as a friend reminded me this morning, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. For now, I will be satisfied.

And on a lighter note, I MUST get some drawer locks today. As I was writing this post, Abbie has retrieved a lighter, some neosporin lip balm, and as I type this she has matches in her hands. (She is in Wes's fishing desk). Gotta run!!

A little bit of this and that

Do you ever write blogs in your head? Like have one planned out, title, pictures, and everything, and then just never get around to it? Well, that's what I've been doing for weeks now, and of course now that I am getting around to it, I don't have anything planned to write! Oh well.

I feel like the past few weeks have flown by. The three of us took a trip to San Antonio to meet up with some friends from Salt Lake City, and then Labor Day Abbie and I flew down to FL to stay with my family. Both trips were wonderful and a nice escape from reality. I'll share some pictures below. As we already knew, Abbie is obsessed w/ water so our FL trip was right up her alley, with the beach, the pool, and the splash park. She absolutely loved it!

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we moved back to NC. These friends in the picture above were the ones that got us through some hard times out there, when we felt lonely and homesick (me especially) and we did things with them on a regular basis. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you'll recognize them!

It's been two months today that I have been out of work. I am enjoying being at home w/ Abbie more than I can express. I really truly love it. Of course, it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but I feel like whatever time I get to spend with her is worth it when all is said and done. I promise you that if I thought we could work it out where we wouldn't have to sell everything we own and have me not go back to work, we would!

I don't know if it's her age or not, but I really enjoy my days with her, but the nights are what is hard. She fights going to sleep like crazy sometimes, and the fact that she has TONS of teeth coming in AND a sinus infection right now probably aren't helping. But man, my patience has truly been tested with that lately. Oh, and one last thing, if anyone has any words of advice on weaning a 16-month old, could you leave it in the comments? I really think I am ready. I really don't think Abbie is. It might be tough. Do you think it's worth it? Or should I just wait til she is done? I mean, I don't want to nurse her til she is 4, ya know? I just am not sure what to do right now.