6 years

6 years ago from right now, I was marrying my best friend! That day neither one of us could have ever imagined all that God had in store for us. There have been lots of highs and lows, but, thankfully we had each other through it all!

June 4, 2005 - Wedding Day - Carteret St. UMC, Beaufort, South Carolina

June 4, 2006 - 1st Anniversary - Waikiki, Hawaii

June 4, 2007 - 2nd Anniversary - Honolulu, Hawaii

June 4, 2008 - 3rd Anniversary - Yosemite National Park, California

June 4, 2009 - 4th Anniversary - Mackinac Island, Michigan

June 4, 2010 - 5th Anniversary - Pacific Rim, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Military life definitely has a ton of pros and cons, but I really feel like it has been wonderful for our marriage. Whenever we move somewhere new, and neither of us know anyone, or where anything is, (or in the case of Hawaii how to pronounce the words!), we have to rely completely on each other. JT is the only person that can fully relate to what it is that I am going through since he is going through it too, and we "get through" it together! I am so thankful that no matter how many moves we have to do or wherever the military may send us, that I always get to move with my best friend! I don't know what the next 50 or 60 (yikes, that is a LOOOONNNNG time! and we will be ancient!) years holds in store for us, but I know that as long as we have each other we can get through anything! I love you JT!! Happy Anniversary Honey!!

To work or not to work? (that is the question)

This is probably the same question that all moms struggle with at some point!

I hadn't planned on being a stay-at-home mom. I worked full time until the day before I was induced (41 weeks), and the plan was for me to come back after an 8 week maternity leave. We had a spot reserved (with deposit paid!) at a great childcare facility. It was close to my work & it was close to our house. Well, as everyone knows, things don't always go according to your plans...

The week prior to me going back to work, I went in to have a meeting with my boss. I thought we were going to square away my returning hours, as well as discuss my need for pumping breaks, etc. I was laid off at that meeting instead.

Being a new mom is a HUGE change to your life, and a hard enough adjustment. But losing my job on top of all those other new mommy hormonal emotions was a lot to handle! I was angry, I was hurt, and I wondered why they chose to "get rid of" me. I'd be lying if I didn't say that it was really hard for me. At first, I resented my new "job" a little and really took for granted this gift of time with my new son. Every time we'd have a rough day, I couldn't help but think "uggghh, I could be at work right now..." Now, looking back, I really regret that. I feel so guilty for ever thinking those things because time is so precious and it goes by way too fast! :(

Fast forward...CJ is now almost 17 months. I now can honestly say that I really cherish the time that we get to spend together everyday. I now know that God's plan for our family, yet again, was perfect. Was it hard going from DINKs (dual income no kids) to a single income with a baby? Absolutely! Are there still days I miss having adult conversations? Of course! But, overall I wouldn't change a thing!

With the upcoming move, there are going to be lots of changes (understatement of the century!). And one of the things I've been wrestling with is whether or not to go back to work once we get settled. There are lots of pros and cons, and unknowns that make it a tough decision. I'm not sure yet what the future holds, but either way, I know I'll be "working"! ;)

Bears at the Zoo

One thing we've enjoyed doing this spring (on days that aren't FREEZING or RAINING which are hard to come by here!) is going to the zoo!!

The Toledo Zoo has a great Polar Bear exhibit and the bear is really cute!

But I think that this bear might be cuter!!! :)

CJ really enjoyed getting to see the bears (and all the other animals too)!! We can't wait to take him to the San Diego Zoo!!

Late Mother's Day Recap

My Mother's Day post is late for a couple of reasons.

1) It has been crazy busy around here with guests and activities and move preparations (see previous post)

2) After going through infertility, it is hard to adequately sum up all the emotions and thoughts that accompany this holiday for me.

First of all, I am SOOO incredibly thankful to be a Mom to the sweetest little boy, CJ. I can't imagine my life without him in it, and am so thankful that God allowed me to be his Momma!!

My heart still aches for all my blog friends that are still waiting for their blessings!! The pain of wanting a baby is still fresh to me, and I remember how "Mother's Day" was a hurtful reminder of what I couldn't/didn't yet have. I pray every night for God to reveal His plan for the families of everyone still waiting!!

JT's Mom was here on Mother's Day this year, so CJ & JT surprised the Mommas in their lives with pedicures and a dinner out!

We had a really great time getting pampered together! I got blue toes, and "Nana" got red toes. :)

After the relaxing pedi's, we went out to dinner downtown at The Melting Pot!! What a yummy treat that was!!

I think you can tell that I enjoyed it! :)

Busy, Busy!

We've had visitors for the past two weeks, which has been busy but a great time! JT's Mom was able to come up for his graduation and got to spend lots of quality time with her youngest grandchild CJ.

CJ & "Nana" had lots of fun together:

Gallup Park

Playing

Hands on Museum

Backyard

Exploration Zone Class

Then the following week my parents came. They really wanted to see us (who are we kidding?, they wanted to see their only grandchild, CJ!) before the big move since it will take us some time to get moved, settled in and ready for visitors!

CJ enjoyed his time with "Oma & "Grandpa":

Touch a Truck Event

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park

Detroit Tigers Baseball Game (CJ's first MLB game)

Gallup Park

Hands on Museum

Now that we know we won't be having any more visitors, it is time to get down to business getting ready for the move. Last night JT and I spent about 4 hours in our basement sorting through stuff to donate, stuff to sell online, stuff to sell at our yardsale and of course stuff to TRASH! That is one really good thing about "having" to move every 3 years, is that it forces you to go through your stuff, and "clean up" what you have! Speaking of which, I better get back to work while CJ is napping...

It's really happening!

Here it is, 2:30am and I can't sleep. Too many thoughts swirling around in my head...

The movers came this morning (yesterday morning at this point) and surveyed how much stuff we have. That way they get an estimate for how many boxes/days/men they need to do our move. That is when it REALLY hit me for the first time.

This is REALLY happening. We REALLY are going to be moving in 5 weeks. Holy cow. Until today, I've kept up my Scarlett O'Hara attitude: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow" pretty successfully...But I can't keep putting it off! I better come to terms with it quick, because I only have a month left to say goodbye.

As weird as it sounds (even to me!) I feel sadder about moving away from Michigan than I did 3 years ago when we were moving away from Hawaii. Don't get me wrong, I won't miss the winter weather. AT ALL! But there were so many wonderful things here that I will miss! I'll post a list another day when it's not the middle of the night and I can actually think coherently...but overall this Michigan Chapter of our life was a big one. JT & I changed and grew so much in these 3 years. We went through infertility here and had our sweet baby CJ here.

I feel like I have about 50,000 things I need to get done before we move. And realistically with a VERY active little toddler, I know that they are just not all going to get done. So I need to work on prioritizing, and stop wasting time. Hmmm....blogging wasn't exactly on my to do list...oh well, "tomorrow is another day."

Con-"Grad"-ulations

Today I am so proud of my hubby!! After 3 years of hard work, and hours and hours of writing and research on a thesis, and seeing countless patients, JT graduated from the University of Michigan with a Masters in Restorative Dentistry!! Yes, he is an over-acheiver...the "Dr." wasn't enough, he had to get a masters too! Ha ha! Good work honey!! His Mom was able to come up from SC to be here! What a special day for our family!! :)