The Reinforcements
I love how the house smells when dinner is cooking. Spices and meat and vegetables and banana muffins. It smells homey, warm, and inviting–walking inside to a house of good smells just makes me happy, even when the walk has only been to the mailbox for the furniture warehouse flyers and other various junk mail. Afternoons are hard, though. Sophia is grumpy, because she really needs two naps a day, but she only thinks she needs one. I try to keep her entertained for just a few minutes so I can chop the veggies for the salad, but she doesn’t want any part of the activites that usually make her happy. Throwing all the silverware on the floor around the kitchen? Already done. Pulling the cans off of the turntable and leaving tuna in random places around the house? Been there, done that.
I usually feel pretty good about how entertained I keep Sophia. We read books, we go to the park, we take walks, we go on bike rides, we read more books, we listen to music, we dance, we sing, we read more books… we read a lot of books… but somehow, whatever we do is never quite enough to make her give me just a half hour of time to get some dinner cooked. Turns out, I can actually hold her and do a great deal of most things that need doing, so in most cases that is what I do. I’m never entirely sure that it really helps matters though. Sure, she’s reasonably happy if I’m holding her, but if and when I do need to set her down to fix something in the oven or on the stovetop all hell will break loose. It really would be so much easier if she would just accept the fact that when it is time to make dinner, mummy cannot play.
Sophia is on my hip again, one hand wrapped around the shoulder of the arm that holds her, the other hanging onto the neck of my shirt with a grim determination to not be set down. She watches everything I do in the kitchen with a grumpy, stoic expression. Her lips pushed out into a pout, I can just see a foreshadowing of the days that must be coming when she learns to talk. I can almost hear her two-year-old voice complaining in her one-year-old babbles. Outside, I hear the garage door open and close. I can’t help smiling, and breathing a breath of relief. That moment when my Superman gets home feels like the turning moment in a battle, when the reinforcements show up with better guns, ammo, and morale.
Oh yes, I’m sure all of you stay-at-home parents know exactly what I mean. That sweet, blessed, all-powerful moment when the garage door opens, and you are assured that you are not in fact, alone in the world with a person who refuses to talk sense, cries whenever something is wrong and sometimes when nothing is wrong, leaks graham cracker crumbs and cheerios EVERYWHERE, and can singlehandedly undo the work of two hours of folding clothes in two seconds. You can finally take a breath of relief and talk like an adult again.
Plus, I don’t know if it’s just my daughter or all children everywhere, but no matter how grumpy she may have been, when Sophiapea sees her daddy she is all smiles.
He gives me a big hug and a kiss, his arms wrapped tight around both Sophia and me, and lifts us off the floor a little. Sophia’s grumpy little pout is gone. She is grinning, and wrinkling up her nose,as she holds her arms wide out to him. “Sophia, baby!” He scoops her up into his arms, kisses her cheek, and then blows a raspberry on it. “Have you been good today, or have you been a little rat?”
She grins coyly at him, and snuggles up, her head on his shoulder. She’s all like, “Oh, Daddy! I’m so happy to see you! I’ve been a complete angel all day, and smiled like a cherub, and given mommy lots and lots of kisses and smiles, and I haven’t cried at all, and it’s been sunshine, and butterflies, and rainbows, and unicorns all day long!”
“Aw, Sophia, are you giving Daddy hugs? I love you too, babygirl.” He says. He smiles and leans his cheek against Sophia’s fuzzy head. A half second later she sits up straight, her eyebrows lifted, her face serious, and begins babbling baby talk at him.
And just like that, her mood changes. She’s happy. She’ll play with her toys for a little bit, and then we’ll chase her around the house on our hands and knees and tickle her until she giggles. The rest of the evening is fun. Charming. Delightful. Stupendous. We look at Sophia and give ourselves a pat on the back for making such an adorable kid.
Thank heaven for The Reinforcements! 
(I love you, Superman)
Moments in our life
It is getting dark outside. From the couch I can see streaks of orange and pink clouds filing through the blinds that Sophiapea loves to pull back endlessly. She clambers up onto the couch, and then carefully crawls up onto the back of the couch, extends one plump little foot to the window sill, her toes spread wide. I watch, cringing a little and ready to leap to the rescue, but resigned. She will climb.
We are at a splash park. Water-drops glisten in the breeze, blowing rainbows in the air. The tradewinds gust and blow the sprinklers waterdrops against my face. I watch Sophia as she ventures beneath the streams of water. Timid at first. Running back to press her soaking wet head against my legs when the wind blows water against her face too. She becomes braver though, right before my eyes. The flow of the sprinklers ebbs, and she splashes in a puddle. When the sprinklers come back on, she runs back to be held, but just seconds later she squirms to be set down, and toddles away from me, towards the water. She picks her feet up carefully, tiny heels spread wide in the awkward precariousness of a child just learning to walk and run. She leans her face into the sprinkler and looks back at me, misty water on her eyelashes, a big grin crinkling her dimples and nose. She will play.
We are walking down the street to the park. Sophia walks right beside me, her pace unsteady. She knows that we are heading to the park and tries to walk faster, faster, faster, until she very nearly loses her balance. I catch her arms and swing her back to her feet, holding her soft little hand snugly in mine. We walk slowly for a while. She cranes her neck to watch each car go past on the road, curiousity plain on every feature of her face. A dog barks and she presses her face against the fence, trying to see it better. A huge leaf on the sidewalk begs to be picked up and she pauses, crouching to carefully retrieve it. “Come, Sophia.” I say. “We’re going to the park. Can you say park?” She grins up at me, and talks some mostly unintelligible baby babble, but she says something that sounds very like ‘park’, and she says it again when I urge her. Her gaze has fixed on the white gate that surrounds the tiny park. She talks some more, her index finger carefully extended and pointing at the park. When we walk through the gate and I push it closed behind us, Sophia runs to the slide, half-squealing, half-giggling. She climbs up it, slipping and sliding in her shoes, only to slide back down when her foot slips near the top. It is a new game for her. She climbs, climbs, climbs, and slips. Then she slides down the slide backwards, on her tummy, laughs at the bottom, and does it all over again.
In the afternoon sweet Sofi becomes slightly less sweet. She is tired, but she will not rest her weary eyes again until bedtime. She follows me around the house, clinging to my leg and making annoyed whining sounds. All I need to do is finish loading the dishwasher, I tell her. It really won’t take too long. I promise. I implore her to just play for a tiny bit longer. She lifts her arms to me, and stands on her tippy-toes, trying to levitate into my arms. Those big brown eyes just melt my heart. Her tiny face looks so distressed, her eyes big and shiny with unshed tears. I can’t do it. I scoop her up into my arms and balance her on one hip while I finish loading the dishwasher. Minutes later, we are in her playroom, sitting on the beanbags against the wall. Sophia is playing with a book, and I take it from her to read it. When I start reading she comes over and sits down in front of me, doing a weird scoot on the floor. When I pull her up onto my lap, s
he settles back against my chest with a contented sigh. I read.
Happy Homemaker Monday
I’m not usually very good at participating in bloghops regularly, as evidenced my my shortlived attempt at the JustWrite linkup events, but I saw this one on my friend Lisa’s blog today and decided to give it a go. I love the idea of bloghops… just painfully bad at remembering to do them regularly!
Anyways, Happy Homemaker Monday is hosted by Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.
The Weather… 81, muggy, and rainy. We’ve had a heat wave the last couple weeks, and though the temperatures don’t really sound that bad, the humidity makes being outdoors brutal. I would say pool day, and give a cheer, but it’s rainy, and who goes to the pool when it’s rainy?! Then again, I guess we’d definitely have the pool to ourselves!
Right now I am… Really looking forward to getting back to my research when I finish this blog post. Brushing up on my American Revolution history for my new novel and LOVING it. Have I mentioned how much I love history lately? I do. I really, really do!
Thinking… I’m thirsty, and a nice mug of coffee sounds good too, but I want to get as much done during the sweet, sweet solitude of naptime, as is humanly possible.
On my Reading Pile… Where to even begin… Currently rereading The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan in an attempt to get through the whole Wheel of Time series before I start in on the latest/last book in the series, which is A Memory of Light. I also have the biography of Madeleine Albright, and Teaching Your Baby to Swim. I have about 6 other books from the library to read, but if we’re being realistic here, I’ll probably be lucky to finish these three by the end of the week.
On my TV… Trying to keep the TV off during the day, which is turning out to be more of an issue than I expected it to be. If I cave and turn it on, I’ll probably watch Dr. Who, maybe Toddlers and Tiaras. When my Superman comes home, we’re watching Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares, and catching up on episodes of The Office, and Parks and Recreation.
Favorite Blogpost Last Week… I read an awesome one that somebody linked to on Facebook, about “Things I would Tell my Younger Mommy Self”. I don’t remember exactly where it was though. It was a great article, and really reminded me to enjoy the mommy moments.
Bloghopping (Newly discovered blog)… It’s not exactly a blog, but I’m thrilled to have found it because it is turning out to be a really great resource for my preliminary research. Boston History. Check it out! It’s interactive and fun!
On the Menu for this week…
Diced Chicken on Salad
Meatloaf
Stirfry
Broccoli Soup
On my to-do list…
Air stroller tires, Dinner prep, 1770′s research, vacuum
In the craft basket… Not so crafty lately, unless research/writing/violin practice counts.
Looking Forward to this week… More stroller strides classes, reading, hopefully checking out the State Library downtown!
Looking around the house… My music stand and violin are out, and will hopefully remind me to finish playing when the sweet girl wakes up. Speaking of, I’m beginning to hear baby sounds upstairs.
From the camera…
Sophia woke up at 0430 when my Superman and I got up, refused to go back to sleep, and was so tired by 0830 that she didn’t even wake up when I moved her from the carseat to the stroller for Stroller Strides
Bible Verse… From a sermon yesterday.
John 1:14-17 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Off to accomplish the rest of our day! Have a happy, beautiful Monday!
(Almost) 1 year later: 5 things I wish I knew before Baby
We’re officially into the last month before our sweet Sophiapea turns one. It’s very hard to believe how quickly this year has gone, and I have it on good authority that time will continue to fly by. Everybody has a different experience as a first-time mom, and I’m sure that everybody has a different list of “Things I wish I knew”. That notwithstanding, I hope my little list will help some other new, first-time momma out there.
1) Really appreciate the time that you have left with your husband. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of waiting for the baby, and especially in those last couple weeks of pregnancy when you feel like a swollen platypus the easiest thing to think of is, ‘WHEN will this child get here already?!” The knowledge that you are only weeks away from holding your little darling for the first time is exciting, but just remember that your days of randomly popping out to the movies are numbered, and be very, very greatful for every sweet, quiet moment with your spouse. The moments will be just as sweet after baby, but probably a lot less quiet.
2) BUY MATERNITY CLOTHES. This is a huge one, and I have been regretting NOT doing it for almost a full year now. I didn’t develop much of a bump until around the 3rd trimester, and then it was still pretty manageable as far as bumps go. Believe me when I tell you though–just because you CAN fit into some of your pre-prego clothes does not mean you SHOULD. I wore several of my looser, stretchy tops, and any skirts with elastic in them, right up until the day I delivered. There are several problems with this. Firstly, regardless of whether you think you are stretching them out or not, you are. It’s hard to tell, because you have a bump the size of a watermelon, but all of your shirts are stretching out in the tummy. Those shirts will never look the same again and eleven months after you have the baby, you’ll be frowning at your stretched out wardrobe and wondering why you didn’t just buy maternity clothes. I know if you’re not feeling very good, or feeling particularly platypus-like, clothes shopping can be the last thing you feel like doing, but you won’t regret it in the long run. Also, if you plan on having more than one child, maternity clothes are a really great investment. The few things I did buy, I have saved for our next pregnancy.
3) Trust yourself when it comes to breastfeeding or not breastfeeding. I really wanted to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, but it just didn’t work out. I was upset because everything I read said “you’ll produce more milk if you nurse more/drink this tea/eat this food/ let the baby eat whenever she wants” and my baby was grumpier every evening when she tapped out my milk supply. I am one hundred percent certain that breastfeeding exclusively works for some people, but if you are not one of those people, don’t freak out. We started giving Sophia one bottle of formula in the evening, and PRESTO–happy baby, happy mommy. She didn’t have any nipple confusion, she still breastfed, and life was a lot more pleasant for all three of us. My superman loves the special Sophia-Daddy time of giving her a bottle in the evening, and having a little break is nice for me too. Breastfeeding is one of those things that everybody has an opinion on, and if you try to listen to everybody you won’t get anywhere and you’ll be stressed out. Educate yourself, do your research, but when it comes down to it, do what is best for you and your baby.
4) Do things with your baby. This kind of goes in tandem with my first point. Having a baby absolutely does not mean that you have to stop going out and doing things. Yes, you may have to prepare more. Yes, some things may be more difficult. Ultimately, however, you will enjoy yourself more outside, doing whatever it is you love to do. Take your baby to the beach, the park, the museum, the store, the library, hiking… everything! I feel like society has tried to discourage parents from doing things with their children because “oh, the baby is crying–it might bother somebody”. Within reason, yes–of course you try to avoid letting your child be a brat in public, but everybody knows that babies make noise. That doesn’t mean that you have to go crazy of cabin fever until your child is old enough to be told to be quiet. It is harder to do some things with a baby–we’ve had to improvise and change some of our habits, but we ALWAYS enjoy ourselves more when we choose to go out.
5) Celebrate bedtime. For real, people, bedtime is the most awesome time in the world. I love playing with my sweet girl all day long, but when that clock strikes seven, she goes to bed, and my Superman and I dance gleefully around the room. And then we eat ice cream, because, as all children suspect, that’s what parents do when they put the kids to bed
Sophia- This time last year
Sophia now: 11+ months old
Mother of a Climber
We’re convinced Sophiapea will be a rock climber… Or possibly a gymnast or parachutist. The child has no fear of heights, no concept of gravity, and only knows one direction–UP!
I’m sure other mothers experience this, but I realized about 2 seconds ago that the questions I was asking myself were crazy. Enjoy.
~ I need to take a shower.
~ If I bring Sophia in the bathroom with me she will climb into the tub.
~ I’d really like to shave my legs without worrying about dripping shaving cream in her eye.
~ I could leave her in the playroom.
~ No I couldn’t, she’d crawl off the back of the couch and kill herself.
~ I could leave her in my bedroom pulling clothes out of drawers.
~ That makes a huge mess, and she’d pinch her fingers in the drawer, IF she didn’t crawl onto, fall off the bed, and kill herself.
~ I could turn on a TV show (I know it’s bad, but I reeeeeeally want to take a shower sans baby)
~ no I couldn’t. She would crawl on the back of the couch, climb onto the counter, probably fall off, and either break a bone, or get into the cupboard with the cleaning supplies.
At this point I am literally left with one option that doesnt involve endangering her in some way. I can put her in her crib where she will cry and cry and hate me forever. I just hate doing that.
How do you other mamas out there deal with climber babies?
Should I just reconcile myself to the baby-shower?
Funny Life
It’s okay. I’m alive. My free-time is currently sucked up by a college course and my sweet Sophiapea, but I’m hoping to be back to regular blogging in exactly T – 13 days–at which point I will be done with my college course.
I have a bunch of funny Sophia stories saved up for blog posts and updates on our low-carb/gluten-free lifestyle.
The online college experience has been incredibly frustrating for me. I’ll probably have a post about it in the near future, because sometimes a girl just needs to vent… but not today.
At any rate, there’s light at the end of the tunnel that is school, and hopefully the end of the tunnel will see my life turned normal again. I miss writing. Oh, school has plenty of writing, but it’s depressing to be limited to research papers with no less than 5 sources, no more than 20 pages, strictly APA formatting. I love writing, not churning out whatever nonsense I know will get me a good grade. (Incidentally, it may be hogwash, but I do get good grades, which should be a good thing–except that if you passed kindergarten, you’re pretty much guaranteed to pass these classes.)
Unfortunately, the “to-fold” laundry is threatening to utterly engulf my laundry room right now, and so, by necessity, the rest of the afternoon has been slated for laundry.
It’s okay if you grimaced.
I died a little inside when I realized I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Cheers.
Happy Thursday, everybody.
Bathroom Break
Have you seen this picture floating around the internet? I keep seeing it pop up, and I’m getting concerned because I’m pretty sure it means that my bathroom mirror is actually one way window and somebody took that picture from the other side. I’m sure you agree that’s disturbing on a multitude of levels.
Seriously though, that could have been my house. And those fingers might as well have been Sophiapea’s. What you can’t see in the picture is the child screaming and crying because–shocker here–you CLOSED the DOOR!
After several sessions of that, Sophiapea and I compromised. Our bathroom is so tiny that I can block the door with my foot so that there’s just a crack. Then we play peekaboo. Granted, its not a perfect situation, but she’s not standing by me trying to flush the toilet or play with the toilet brush (ewwwwww).
As nice as that system is, I’m afraid Sophia has discovered a loop hole. She realized that with the crack I leave for the peekaboo-please-don’t-freak-out-I’m-just-in-the-bathroom game, she can reach the toilet paper. And oh boy can she reach that toilet paper. She’ll happily unspool a couple of yards and then just sit outside the bathroom door tearing it into tiny shreds… And eating it. Which brings me to my next problem.
Even though I can block the door with my foot, I can’t reach out into the hallway and confiscate the apparently delicious tissue paper. And of course, the child senses that I’m about to clean the tissue paper out of her mouth, so she refuses any cajoling to come just a little closer. Today, she managed to escalate that even farther. While i was in the bathroom, she completely ignored the usual peekaboo game and went straight for the kitchen, where she pulled some disgusting piece of dirt or dried food out of one of those crevices that you just can’t.quite.get with a broom. Apparently she realized that I couldn’t get to her when I was in the bathroom. “Yayyyy, snack time!” Um, no. She hates when I pry her little mouth open and a scoop out the nastiness too. I know. Gross, Sophiapea. Just gross.
Low Carb Lifestyle–Take #2
This January began like any other January. We woke up on the 2nd, feeling sluggish and bloated from the holiday season, and pretty much instantly vowed that it was time to get back to healthier eating patterns. Last year around this time, we went on the Atkins diet, determined to drop the pounds that had creeped up on us in our first year of life in Hawaii. It worked really well for about a month. Then my Superman had to go to Guam for 6 weeks and the diet fell to pieces. We went back on a low-carb diet when he returned, but fell back off the wagon in April when Sophiapea joined us. Our trip back to Kentucky to visit was a diet-wrecker like no other. It was basically the end of June before we returned to our healthier lifestyle. Even at our worst, we honestly don’t do that badly.
I cook all of our meals, because going out to eat is ridiculously expensive even for just two people. I don’t know whether it’s just Hawaii, or everywhere, but in general, it costs at least $40 for both of us to eat out. 40 x 7 =280 and that’s just for one meal a day. When we first got to the island we went through a phase where we ate out several times per week, but after realizing how much that was setting us back for food that wasn’t even that great for us, we completely changed our tactics.
Because groceries are so expensive here, I still have to spend about $200 every 2 weeks in groceries. I find that ridiculous, coming from Kentucky where grocery prices are easily half what they are here.
Anyways, digression aside… last year we started out on a low carb diet but gradually kept adding carbs back into our diet without really thinking about it. Believe me when I say, I LOVE my carbs. I’ve never really had an issue with them either, as long as I maintain a pretty strict portion control regimen. On the other hand, my Superman does not react well to carbs. I personally think he is at least mildly allergic to wheat or gluten, but with no proof we’re kind of flying blind.
All that is just a far too elaborate background to what we’re doing. This year, we have resolved that instead of yo-yoing back and forth between doing the Induction phase of Atkins and falling completely off the wagon, we’re going to try to adopt a plan that will work for us year round–Something that is healthy enough that we’ll feel good, but not so strict we stick to it for 6 weeks and then go on a binge.
We will be sticking to a low-carb diet, however, instead of eating meats and salads incessently, I’m going be focusing on adding some other foods to our diets. Since I love breads and desserts so much, I’ve been doing some research about how to convert some good old favorites to low carb versions. It has been a pleasant surprise to learn how many options there are for low carb diets.
Here is our plan, as it stands now.
Breakfasts: Coffee, eggs, greek yogurt, apples or other low-sugar fruit, Oatmeal (for Sophia–she’s little enough that she still needs a reasonable amount of carbs in her diet). Besides this, we really aren’t huge breakfast people. I usually eat an apple with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter with my coffee. Josh will eat 4-6 eggs, or just have a big cup of coffee.
Lunch: Leftovers (for Josh), Avocados, Boiled Eggs, string cheese, apples (can you tell we like apples?)
Dinner: A main meat dish (no breading or gravy though), huge salads, fruit and yogurt for dessert.
This is just the baseline. Our goal is to eat right 95% of the time, but not limit ourselves so much that we hate life. If that means we eat bread with our hamburgers one night out of the week, or order a pizza once a month, it’s fine. Mainly, we’re working to make this a lifestyle that we don’t stop every time we have a holiday or go on vacation.
So far it is going really well. We’re both enjoying the food we’re eating, and feel like this is a plan we’ll be able to maintain. I guess we’ll see about that. Anyways, that’s our goal for this year. We want to be healthier, and feel better about the food we’re eating all of the time. Wish us luck!
2013, here we come
Let me just begin by saying that I fully realize we’re halfway through January now and technically the window for the “NEW YEARS” post is long closed. It doesn’t bode well for the rest of the year that we’re only fifteen days in, and I’m already fifteen days behind. There’s no nice way out of this hole either. We still have our Christmas tree up. Yep, that’s how bad it is. At this point I’ve seriously considered trying to just move the Christmas tree out of the way and leave it up until next year. Unfortunately, I keep remembering that’s a no-go because by Christmas time next year all of our stuff will probably be packed up and in whatever limbo the Navy decides to put it in until we get to our next command. So if we are in Hawaii still at Christmas time, we’ll be sitting around on bean bags or loaner furniture, and there won’t be any Christmas decorations at all. If you ask me, that’s even sadder than the fact that the Christmas tree is still up.
The last three weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We had family out over Christmas and New Years, and spent every day either at the beach or seeing some of the sites around Hawaii. On top of all that, I finally started my online courses again and have been madly studying in every bit of spare time I can wrangle.
There’s this funny thing about 9 month olds–particularly my own very mobile, noisy, messy, mischievous model–they require attention. Not just the passing five minutes of attention you might give a dog in an hour if you had things you really needed to do, but at least 55 minutes of that hour. Don’t try to kid yourself that you still have 5 minutes left out of the hour either, because unless you don’t mind using the bathroom with a pair of googly eyes staring at you, and sticky little hands pulling on your knees to stand up, you’re going to use 3 of those five minutes sitting in the bathroom with the door closed, talking reassuringly through the door to your wailing 9-month-old. If she stops crying promptly when you open the door, then you might have 2 minutes to whip your computer out and attempt to log in. That last part is pretty iffy though.
I joke about it alot but I completely love and adore my daughter. I love watching her grow and learn things every day. The things she does completely crack me up. Yesterday, I forgot to close the bathroom door, and when I turned around she was sitting in a pile of shredded toilet paper with the biggest, happiest grin on her face. I couldn’t help it–I just laughed and got the camera. I’m really worried for the day when she does something legitimately bad, but hopelessly funny, because I’ll most likely just bust up laughing and whip out the camera. She might be a brat and I might be a horrible mother, but at least we’ll have fun doing it.
I have 5 goals for the new year.
1) Write more. I’m not necessarily promising to write more on my blog, although I would like to at least start writing regular book reviews. I’ve reached the point where I realize I can’t do everything. Right now, I want to focus on trying to finish another novel before we move or I get prego again. I realize that with an increasingly mobile baby that’s unlikely, but that’s what I want to focus on.
2) Read more. Not just fiction either, though I do love it. I want to specifically work on increasing my knowledge of US history.
3) See more. This is most likely our last year in Hawaii, so I want to focus on enjoying all that Oahu has to offer with my Superman and Sophiapea. We really want to visit at least one more of the Hawaiian islands before we leave, too.
4) Exercise more. I’m really happy with how fit I’ve become since starting Stroller Strides in June, however, I want to begin working on my own exercise routine so that I maintain my fitness at our next command, even if there isn’t a Stroller Strides.
5) Live in the moment. It’s really easy to get caught up thinking and planning our life in the future, especially with a move coming up, and not knowing exactly where we’re going or how certain logistics will work out, but I want to focus on enjoying every single second I have in the present with the love of my life and our sweet baby girl.
Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. ~ Matthew 6: 30-34
December 7th
Most people remember December 7th as the ‘day that will live in infamy’–the day that marked our entry into the second world war. Living in Hawaii and being able to see the historical sites is very humbling and inspiring.
December 7th is something more special for me though.
December 7th, 2010 is the day I married my Superman. I am so very thankful for him, and for the life we share.
He is my Superman–the finest man I know, my true love, and my best friend. There is no one better in the world for me and I am so very, very, grateful that God gave us each other. This life we have together is the sweetest, and the best. Through God’s grace I know that we will not only enjoy the good times, but that we can weather any storm together. Hand in hand and side by side, living out our happily ever after.
I’m not sure where the last two years went, but they have been the most wonderful, blessed years of my life.
I’ll hold your hand, forever, Petey. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live.
12-07-2010
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 corinthians 13:7-8
