Saturday, July 23, 2011

A Lesson in Life

Becoming a parent has been challenging, fun, painful at times, but most of all it has been my biggest lesson in life. My daughter turns 2 next week and still has so much to learn; how to count, read, talk, love, be a friend, etc. But the truth of the matter is, I have learned so much more from her in the last 2 years and when I look at the world through her eyes, everything seems so much more simpler.

For Alivia, everything is about the now. She doesnt remember crying 5 minutes ago for her bottle or think about what she's going to do after this episode of Barney is over. She doesnt worry about how her feet are outgrowing her current pair of shoes or where her next meal will come from. She finds humor in the tiniest things and wonderment in things like bugs! When she learns something new, she isnt afraid to be proud of it and makes sure that everybody knows the new skill she's developed. Going to bed is something she hates because she doesnt want to miss a thing. She cant understand why mommy and daddy cant play with her when we are paying the bills or even cooking dinner. Bath time is a luxury for her; definitely not a necessity. Playing outside, running, jumping, swimming, singing, dancing - these are things she loves to do and are not considered exercise.

There are so many things that I have learned from my little girl that I could go on forever. I am jealous of how much she just loves life. I wish we all could have that innocence still. Even though I still get stressed, angry, impatient and worried, I can now stop myself and remember that my precious baby girl rarely ever feels these emotions. One day she will and I know my heart will break just a little for her. One day she will have responsibilities and grades and hard days, just like we all do. But for now, her delightful laugh and amazing smile lets me know that life is good and tomorrow is always a new day.

Mommy loves you Alivia Marie Rose

On the Move - Again!

Over the course of my lifetime, I have moved more times than I can count. As a child, my mom and I moved very often and the pattern seemed to follow me into adulthood. Once Derrick and I met, we lived in a motorhome and the moving around continued.

2 years ago and 2 days before Alivia was born, we moved into the apartment we are currently in and in 6 days we will be moving again. This time, I hope and pray we wont be moving for again for a very long time. We have found what we belive the perfect little house for our family. We even have an option to lease to own after the first year. We are very happy to be getting out of our tiny apartment and into a house with a yard for Alivia and Little Bear (our dog).

That being said, it doesnt seem to matter how many times I've done it, moving is a pain in the you-know-what! The packing, cleaning, renting a truck and of course all of the money involved, is a nightmare. This time around, we decided to get rid of anything and everything that we wont be using in the new house. Needless to say, we have donated a ton of stuff and filled up the equivalent of 3 dumpsters of trash. Today we are down to just packing up the rest of what we're taking with us, minus what we need to leave out for the week.

This move is going to be great but the work involved sometimes has me thinking, "Is it really worth it to do it all over again?" Realistically, I know it will be and my family will be much happier. These days, that's all that matters to me :)

Here are some pictures of our new house:


























Friday, July 22, 2011

Welcome One and All!

Well, it's official - I finally have my very first Blog! I know, I am a little behind in doing this but hey, it is what it is :) I guess I chose to start one because, although I like sharing every minute of my life with you on Facebook, I really wanted something that felt a bit more intimate where I could share my thoughts. Not everybody will have access to this so I feel I can be more candid. I am excited to have you be a part of this and to have you follow this along on this journey called Life. Enjoy!