Saturday, November 27, 2010

Friends

It seems to me that lately I have become more aware of just how blessed I am by the wonderful people who surround me. Our family is truly blessed with the most wonderful friends and adopted family.

I know that if you can count your friends on one hand you are pretty darn lucky and I can honestly say that I find myself using both hands these days. I have friends that I talk to every day, friends that I see every week, and friends that I know if I did not talk to them for a year and I called them at 3 in the morning they would pick up the phone and our relationship would start right back where we left off. That is pretty special. 

Good friendships I have found are hard to come by, in fact, I'm not sure that every person knows how to be a good friend or what a real friendship feels like. To me it feels like my favorite sweatshirt that I cannot live without. It is the sweatshirt that is stylish no matter what the current fashion trend happens to be and it always fits, even if you have not seen it in six months or a year. 

One of the hardest parts about being a military spouse at the beginning of my army wife career was being afraid to make any friends. I was always afraid that as soon as I made a friend we would have to pick up and leave, but I have learned over the course of the past year (deployments sure do teach you a lot), that true friendships will travel with you, regardless of what part of the world you end up in.  Thank God for modern technology: skype, email, and free long distance!

To all the wonderful ladies who have become an extended family to us this year, thank you! I love each and every one of you!  To all of my friends who were with me before the deployment, I will continue to lean on you as I always have and I hope you will continue to lean back...I do not want to fall :)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving

This year I have so much to be thankful/grateful for. I am an incredibly blessed individual and I recognize that fact more and more with each passing day.

I have a wonderful husband who returned home to Toddler D and I after a tour in Afghanistan.  He not only came home to us, but he came home to us relatively unscathed, all things considered. God was smiling on our family during his deployment and we are definitely grateful for his return, his health and the twinkle that is starting to return to his eyes.

I have an amazing one year old who is growing and learning more and more with each passing day. I told Sgt D tonight that I thought I would never love anyone as much as I love him...that is until I met Toddler D. She takes my breath away.  I am thankful that I get to experience all of her victories and stumbles with her. It gives me a glimpse into what I must have been like as a child and what a rare gift that has been.  I cannot remember a time in my life where I have laughed as much, clapped as much or cried tears of both joy and sadness, as this past year. Thank you for bringing her into my life.

I am blessed with two of the most giving and generous parents of all time. Not only are they my parents but I count them as two of my best friends and inspirations. This is going to sound really hokey but when I grow up I really want to make them proud.  They gave my family so much this past year and did it completely out of kindness and love, I do not think I could ever repay them.  They have 5 grand kids and I think they make each one feel special.

I am thankful that my husband has a job that allows me to stay home with our baby and raise her the way I am sure most people dream about. I do not worry about being able to put a roof over her head or food on the table because of his job and all that it provides. It may not be glamorous or even popular, but it is good honest work that involves a lot of self-sacrifice.  Thank you Sgt D for all that you do for our little family.

I am grateful for the fact that I live in a country where I have a say in how things are run, and even more grateful for the fact that my opinion matters. That is a gift from the founders of our nation and I am proud to call this place home. 

I am grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. My friends, family and adopted family.  The support of the people in my life helped me survive the last year and I am so thankful for each and every one of you.

This list could go on and on and on. I could list all the simple things like the laughter of Toddler D and the sound of her slow steady breathing over the baby monitor, but if I did that I would be writing straight through Thanksgiving. Instead I will finish this post with a simple prayer: God please continue to shower my family with love and keep us in good health. Amen.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Living with a Toddler

We made it, Baby D is now one year old!!! Not only that but I think we can no longer refer to her as Baby D, from this point forward she will be known as Toddler D.

Let me tell you, life with a toddler is interesting. I feel like she is in a constant state of motion and I am in a constant state of trying to keep up with her. It feels like every weekend we head over to Babies R Us for more baby proofing gear that we never knew we would need...that is until Toddler D figures out how to do something new.

Two weeks ago she learned how to open one of our baby gates (we now keep it LOCKED), last week she taught my friend's fourteen month old how to do it! We had to put safety locks on all the drawers in the crafting room because she can not only open them but she feels that it is vitally important that she go in them EVERY DAY! I think our next purchase will be doorknob locks of some kind as she can reach the doorknobs with the tips of her fingers and she knows that is how you open a door.

She only just turned one but I feel like we are dealing with a two year old. I cannot complain too much because it just means that our baby is SO SMART!

Another thing I have observed since the toddling began is that we are constantly saying several phrases: "You're Okay", "Bonks", and "You've got to watch where you're going". These phrases are said at least 100 times each per day in this house. Not to mention the fact that every day she is covered in more and more bruises from walking into doors and walls. We really need to work on that watching where she is going part!

She is so curious about everything! It is fun to watch her try to figure out why there is a bright patch on the wall when she is playing with a flashlight. She does not know yet that she controls that bright patch, but give her a week and she will have it figured out.

First year pictures will be posted on her picasa page as soon as I get the CD this weekend.

Happy Birthday to our precious little toddler amazon!

Monday, November 08, 2010

Stage Moms

I am not a stage mom. In fact after watching a few episodes of "Toddlers in Tiaras" I have somewhat come to despise stage moms. However, I cannot sit here and write that I did not feel an overwhelming sense of pride and joy in my beautiful baby when she won a photo contest that we entered her in last month.

The contest is called "Cuties in Costume" and it was for a calendar being produced to benefit Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. We only entered her because each entrant got a 10 minute session in their costume with a professional photographer and a free 5x7 picture. I did not for one minute expect that Baby D would be one of the 12 winners, but I am definitely happy that my baby won.

If you would like to see the pictures of the winners please click here. You may have to like the photographers Facebook page to view the pictures, but it is well worth it. The photographer is Shawnie Deutsch and her calendar will be going on sale soon.

This Mama could not be happier right now that her baby won, I can not wait for our 8x7 picture and our copy of the calendar! But I insist that I AM NOT a stage mom!