1.31.2008

Happy Birthday, Natalie!!

How can it be that in three short years she has changed from this....


to this....



It is so hard for me to believe that she is three. My little girl is growing up. I am so thankful for the person that she is growing into. She is kind, compassionate, and empathetic beyond her years. She is sweet, she is loving!! She is smart. She loves to be tickled. She loves to be read to. She loves to sing. Everyone is her friend. She is outgoing. She loves people. I am so proud of her.

One of her most favorite things to do lately is for her to be Mommy and I am Big Natalie. She makes lunch for Big Natalie, tucks her into bed, gives her kisses, she "carries" me around the house (she holds onto my knee while I walk). When I am Big Natalie, Kim is Big Natalie's Daddy. She has it all down. Often I am greeted in the morning with "Good morning, Big Natalie!" Funny, funny, funny.

I love you, sweet girl! Happy Birthday!!

1.30.2008

Welcome Home, Wes!!

In the midst of a week that has been tragically sad for several of my friends it is so nice to have some good news to share and to celebrate.

Our dear friend, Wes, is home from war. He had been away from his wife and two sweet little boys for over a year, far too long!!

Wes's wife was my roommate in college and one of my dearest friends. I have been so proud of her this year!! She has shown amazing strength and dedication to her family. She has shown me first hand how much sacrifice all military families make. I am so thankful to the Hite family and all the families who sacrifice so much for us.

Welcome home, Wes!! We can't wait to see you guys!! "Melting Pot" here we come!!

1.26.2008

MIckey Mouse Birthday


Natalie's birthday is not until Thursday but we had her party today. I can't believe my baby is almost 3!


Cake made Mommie.




Getting ready for the party.



Everyone needs ears!




I wonder what her wish was.....

1.19.2008

Our house!


Kim, Natalie and I went to Winston-Salem at the beginning of the week to start looking for a house. Well, we started and ended. Everything worked out so well. We found a home that we love, in our price range, in the area that we wanted and we found a seller that was glad to wait to close until May. Perfect! The seller even threw in the pool table to sweeten the deal, everyone is invited for a party!!!

1.08.2008

Grocery Store Alone

For those of you, mainly my two wonderful roomies from college, who have to go through months of single-parenting please disregard the whining.

I got to go to the grocery store today by myself! It was great! Kim was home this afternoon and Natalie wanted to stay with him. Who am I to stop that daddy-daughter time?

I hopped out of the car, all by myself, so much easier. Picked out one of the small carts to push instead of the cart/spaceship and started my stroll through the store.

I quickly decided that it is probably better that I usually have Natalie with me to keep me distracted. With my mind to myself it wanders way too much...

  • Oh, that watermelon looks really yummy, but will we eat it before we go out of town, probably not, it will just go bad, maybe next time, look, pineapple!!
  • That mom looks really tired!!
  • (While watching the obviously new mom with her baby and mother in tow struggling through the store saying sternly to her mother, "You need to keep moving!!" Baby cries! "Did we get enough? We can come back tomorrow!") She needs a hug, Honey, you will make it, I promise!
  • Why are there whoopie cushions in the grocery store?
  • Jeans and heels in the grocery store? Is that really necessary? You are just trying to make the rest of us look bad.
  • Ben and Jerry's is a lot easier to pass up when you are not pregnant!
  • If I wasn't still buying wipes for my almost 3 year old then I would use that money on Ben and Jerry's.

My mind is a scary place and that is just a sampling.

Spring??

Natalie and I have spent hours outside the past couple if days. It has been great! Lots of running and jumping and playing. Too bad it will be gone tomorrow....

Weird weather like this always freaks me out...

1.01.2008

Me and my gal

After a long week of travel and celebration (which I promise to write more about later, we had a great time!) Natalie and I had a pajama day today. We stayed in our jammies all day!! It was wonderful. There was a lot that had to be done around the house to get "normal" life going again and I spent a lot of the day doing that stuff. Natalie had a great time playing with her new toys and games. We also got to spend a lot of time together playing which was very fun and something that often gets lost on days when we are running from here to there.

Pajama days are good for my soul! Not so much the being in jammies all day but the not going anywhere. The spending good time with my girl, caring for my house and family. I really love taking the time to do those things. the question I am asking myself now is, should I have a weekly or biweekly pajama day scheduled for us? That would probably lose the whole point.