Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thankful for today

I am thankful for today, November 24. That means that I have survived yet another year on this planet. :) I am thankful and proud to announce that I am 31 years old today. I am not ashamed of my age, I am proud of it. I have come a long way, especially in the last 10 years, both personally and spiritually.

So here's to my birthday! I hope you have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I will. :)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Thankful for Juliana

Wow, I have three kids! Every day that sinks in a little bit more. I thought we were done at two. :)
Yes, Juliana was truly a surprise. I was petrified at first...not ready for a baby, overwhelmed at the thought of trying to take care of three, how was this going to work? Now, 6 weeks later, I cannot imagine her not being here.
She is already beginning to show her little personality. Not a high-maintenance princess like her sister, but definitely has her needs. She studies everyone and likes to snuggle...when she's in the mood! She isn't completely resistant to change, but doesn't like it too much. She is our little angel and I am thankful everyday that God decided that we needed another beautiful baby in our life.



We do make pretty kids...if I do say so myself.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Thankful for Aaliyah

"What's your name?"

"Aaliyah Gabrielle Princess!"



And she is. She is our princess. To be honest, I wasn't too excited about having a girl. Ray would rub my belly and talk about how spoiled she was going to be and how she would be his princess. I could only think about what happens when that spoiled little princess turns 13 (I was a middle school teacher, after all). What I didn't realize was how much having a girl would change me. I wanted to wear pretty clothes and look nice. I wanted my hair to look good. I cared about my appearance and wanted to wear....wait for it....PINK! *gasp*
*side note - before having a girl, I wouldn't be caught dead in pink and much preferred my blue jeans and t-shirts to "fashionable" clothes. I didn't care what people thought of my appearance, including my husband.

Aaliyah is our princess and my tomboy all wrapped up into one. She loves attention. She loves life. Give her happy music and she is content to dance all day long. She is the girl who wants to dress up in her pretty dresses and glitter shoes then go in the backyard and dig for worms in the dirt. She loves to color you pretty pictures (that are really just scribbles, but you get the point) and snuggle after her nap. She's hyper-sensitive to the moods that some music creates and will cry if it's too sad. She is silly and loves her brother with every fiber of her being.
She and I had a love/hate relationship at first. She loved to scream and I didn't like her very much. Despite our rough start, I feel more connected to her than I ever thought possible. My love for her runs deeper than I could have imagined. I am thankful for my baby doll...she will never know how much she changed me for the better.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Thankful for Kyler

So, I haven't been too good at keeping up with the thankful posts for the month. Something about having 3 kids, a dog, a husband, and a house to run...

Speaking of kids, I thought I'd post about how thankful I am for our three beautiful children that God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to bless us with.

Kyler is our only boy. I never thought in a million years that I would only have one boy! I was all psyched up to have a house full of boys when we got married. He is 5 years old going on 15! He is so smart and creative (he knew how to work the DVD player at 9 months old!). He tests my limits with the way he thinks. He can always find a loophole and a way out of something I have told him to do. He can sit down with a box of K'nex and spend a good hour or two just figuring out different things to create and making up a story to go with each creation. He loves his family and friends so much. He is sensitive but loves to wrestle with daddy. He remembers things I never thought he would (which is great becuase he remembers who his great-grandma was) and forgets things when it's convenient (male thing). :) I love him with all my heart and he will always be special to me. After all, he did make me a mommy!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wow, has it really been that long??

So sorry to the three people who actually read this blog! I haven't posted since the summer for good reason. Well, partly b/c I was lazy, but mostly b/c life just gets in the way sometimes. I need an outlet again for my feelings and a place to vent and share life, so I'm back up and running. Let's see...what has happened since I last posted.
Oh, yeah.
I HAD A BABY!!!



Juliana Isaias was born on Oct. 11 @ 4:54 am. She was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 1/2 in. It was a quick labor and I had her all natural (and almost without the doctor...again). She is now 5 1/2 weeks old and beautiful. She is more of a snuggler than Aaliyah was, but not near as much as Kyler was. Her brother and sister love her so much that they can't seem to keep their hands off her, which bugs me to high heaven! There isn't much jealousy at all and I am thankful for that. We were worried that Aaliyah would have serious problems if we had another girl, but she has adjusted great. We are slowly getting back into a routine around here and I hope to have Juliana on a semi-predictable schedule soon.
What else is going on, you may ask? Well, in August we moved into a nice little house not far from where we were living before. It's smaller, but works great for us. I'm already looking around for projects to do in the spring. :)
We have also started dabbling in photography...and by "we" I mean my husband. I'm learning a little bit from what he's telling me from classes, websites, books, and discussions with other photographers. We will just have to see where it goes, but so far it's looking promising.
I'm on maternity leave from Walmart and looking to get back in the classroom in the fall, God willing. If His plan is to keep me at home, I'm up for that, too (as long as I can start singing again somewhere).
That's all I can think of for now. I have a Thanksgiving-type post mulling around in my head so maybe I'll get that down before next year! ;)

Have a wonderfully blessed fall day!