I'm glad to announce that we have finally bought a house!! We closed on it this past Friday and will be moving in after Christmas! We have been living with Lynn and Pam and are so grateful to them for their hospitality and generosity over this past year. So this blog is a tribute to them; without them we would have been throwing our money away on an overpriced apartment!
We moved in with them a couple of weeks before Max was born. When we came home from the hospital, Pam had transformed our bedroom into a nursery/living room/bedroom and I will be forever grateful to her for that. I can remember leaving the hospital and thinking: "I didn't set anything up for Max!" But when we got home, Pam had washed and folded clothes and put them up for me and had everything I needed at my fingertips. Throughout our year with them, she has washed a countless number of bottles and sippy cups to help me out. And of course, she helps watch Max when I need a break too. I thank God everyday that I have such a great mother in law. I couldn't have hand picked a better one!
Lynn completely spoiled me while we were there. The whole time I was home with Max before I went back to work, I never had to lift a finger. He cooked for me, and tended to my every need. Looking back, I don't know how I would have made it without him. It makes me teary-eyed to think of how he took such good care of me. He has continued to cook for us - I'm going to have to learn how to cook all over again when we move out! Just as Pam is a great mother in law, Lynn is an equally great father in law. He is so loving and kind, and goes out of his way to accommodate us .
Moving out is going to be bittersweet. We're excited to have a place of our own. But a little sad to be leaving Pam and Lynn and all the joy and comfort (and good food) they bring us. Even though this was not
our home in a legal sense, it is, and always will be "home" to us. I hope that one day Max understands how special this last year has been. We will certainly look forward to the many trips to Mamaw and Papaw's house in the future. While we can't wait to make memories in our own house, we will always treasure the memories at our first home together.
Thank you, Lynn and Pam, for sharing your home with us. The love you have shown us over the last year is overwhelming. We could never thank you enough for all you have done!!!
Monday, December 12, 2011
1st Birthday Party!!
Whew!! This weekend was Max's first birthday party and I am pooped but completely overwhelmed by the love that was shown to our baby boy this weekend! We had the party at church and sent out invitations via Facebook (because I'm cheap and didn't want to buy invitations). I just went through clicking the names of our closest friends and relatives and came to a total of 93 people! I couldn't believe that we had 93 people we wanted to share this wonderful occassion with (so glad I didn't actually buy invitations!) Of course, I knew that ALL of those 93 people couldn't be there, but I still wanted to include them. Just another reminder of how blessed and thankful I am to have such great friends and families!
I had received RSVP's from about 15 people so I figured by the time those 15 people bring their spouses and their kids, we would have around 30-40 people there. Counting Tyler, Max, and me, we had 58 people there! We couldn't believe that so many of our friends would take time out of their busy December schedules to celebrate a birthday for a 1 year old! Max was blessed with so many toys that I'm really glad we bought a new house (another blog on this later!) to store all of them in!!
I don't have any pictures of the party to post here yet, but I will post some soon. I was so busy during the party that I hardly had a chance to take any! The ones that we did take were a little blurry so that makes me want a new (good) camera to capture all of these priceless moments (Tyler, if you're reading this, this is your blaringly obvious hint at what I want for Christmas!)
For those of you who made it to the party, I could never tell you how much it meant to us to have you there! I wish I would have been able to visit with each of you more, but I hope you understand! Each of you are so special to us and we are so blessed to have you in our life!!
I had received RSVP's from about 15 people so I figured by the time those 15 people bring their spouses and their kids, we would have around 30-40 people there. Counting Tyler, Max, and me, we had 58 people there! We couldn't believe that so many of our friends would take time out of their busy December schedules to celebrate a birthday for a 1 year old! Max was blessed with so many toys that I'm really glad we bought a new house (another blog on this later!) to store all of them in!!
I don't have any pictures of the party to post here yet, but I will post some soon. I was so busy during the party that I hardly had a chance to take any! The ones that we did take were a little blurry so that makes me want a new (good) camera to capture all of these priceless moments (Tyler, if you're reading this, this is your blaringly obvious hint at what I want for Christmas!)
For those of you who made it to the party, I could never tell you how much it meant to us to have you there! I wish I would have been able to visit with each of you more, but I hope you understand! Each of you are so special to us and we are so blessed to have you in our life!!
"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A YEAR TO REMEMBER
First of all, I want to say 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!' to our sweet Max. It's so crazy to think that I have a ONE YEAR OLD! I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday...
I can remember telling my mom that I felt "different" the day before Max actually entered the world, but couldn't exactly pin point what it was. Then the contractions started. When I told Tyler I thought I was having contractions, he denied it and said it was the footlong hot dog I'd had from Dairy Dart earlier that day. I went upstairs and was surprisingly calm, even though I knew my life was about to change in a BIG way! Of course the contractions never let up and after staying up all night, Tyler finally accepted that we may need to go to the hospital. I didn't even have a bag packed. Even though I was almost two weeks past my due date, I didn't have a bag packed. That's just how I roll.
When we got to the hospital, they checked to see if I was dilated. I just knew that I had to be at least 5 or 6 cm. Wrong. 1 cm. 1 CM?!?! After the horrible, painful contractions I had been experiencing for about 13 hours now, I was only 1 cm?!!! I was so discouraged. At this point, the contractions were awful. I hadn't slept at all and everytime one would come I had to throw up. It was not fun. About 2 or 3 hours later, the nurse came in to check again and I was at 5 cm. At that point, she said the most magical words: "Let's get you an epidural. I never saw that HUGE needle they shoved in my spine, but after the pain of the needle, I never felt another thing until that night! I'll spare the gross details but we finally met our little man at 3:49 pm on December 8, 2010.
He was absolutely perfect and it was love at first sight. They put him in my arms and I swear it was like he was looking into my soul. We couldn't take our eyes off of each other. I was taking in each and every wrinkle, hair, and birth mark on his body. I was his mother and he was my perfect baby boy. It still makes me cry to think about that day and all the emotion I was feeling. Tyler and I didn't have a clue what we were doing (and still don't) but there is one thing we know: we still love our Max just as much as we did the moment we met him. We thank God for him every day. We thank God for the plans He has for Max and the blessings He will pour out on him throughout his life.
Happy Birthday Max! We're so glad God chose us to be your parents!!!
I can remember telling my mom that I felt "different" the day before Max actually entered the world, but couldn't exactly pin point what it was. Then the contractions started. When I told Tyler I thought I was having contractions, he denied it and said it was the footlong hot dog I'd had from Dairy Dart earlier that day. I went upstairs and was surprisingly calm, even though I knew my life was about to change in a BIG way! Of course the contractions never let up and after staying up all night, Tyler finally accepted that we may need to go to the hospital. I didn't even have a bag packed. Even though I was almost two weeks past my due date, I didn't have a bag packed. That's just how I roll.
When we got to the hospital, they checked to see if I was dilated. I just knew that I had to be at least 5 or 6 cm. Wrong. 1 cm. 1 CM?!?! After the horrible, painful contractions I had been experiencing for about 13 hours now, I was only 1 cm?!!! I was so discouraged. At this point, the contractions were awful. I hadn't slept at all and everytime one would come I had to throw up. It was not fun. About 2 or 3 hours later, the nurse came in to check again and I was at 5 cm. At that point, she said the most magical words: "Let's get you an epidural. I never saw that HUGE needle they shoved in my spine, but after the pain of the needle, I never felt another thing until that night! I'll spare the gross details but we finally met our little man at 3:49 pm on December 8, 2010.
He was absolutely perfect and it was love at first sight. They put him in my arms and I swear it was like he was looking into my soul. We couldn't take our eyes off of each other. I was taking in each and every wrinkle, hair, and birth mark on his body. I was his mother and he was my perfect baby boy. It still makes me cry to think about that day and all the emotion I was feeling. Tyler and I didn't have a clue what we were doing (and still don't) but there is one thing we know: we still love our Max just as much as we did the moment we met him. We thank God for him every day. We thank God for the plans He has for Max and the blessings He will pour out on him throughout his life.
Happy Birthday Max! We're so glad God chose us to be your parents!!!
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