To My Son

My darling Westin,

Today is your first birthday! Everyone warned me this year would fly by, but there was no way for me to prepare for how fast it really did go! You have been a constant joy in my life and I am so thankful I was blessed to become your mommy.

You have taught me more in these twelve short months than I will probably ever teach you in your lifetime. I've learned so much about you, about myself, about life in general, and most importantly, about our Lord.

I've learned that I CAN function on less than a perfect eight hours of straight-through sleep! I've learned it is possible to physically hurt when someone else hurts, and that there is no greater joy than watching your child's delight. I love to watch you learn and discover! You are such a bright little boy and I know the joy of discovery has just begun for you. I hope and pray that you and I have many, many years to discover new things together. You are so active! You love to do things fast, which you get from your Daddy. I know one day soon when you decide to give the walking thing a chance, you're going to be ALWAYS running!

The most important thing you've taught me this year is a deeper understanding of the love our mighty God has for us. There truly is no way to begin to comprehend the depth of the love He had to have for us to be willing to watch His only son suffer and die for us. The last thing I can ever imagine myself doing is giving you up. I can't imagine what kind of a love it would take for me to begin to imagine watching you suffer the way our Lord did, knowing that I could take your suffering away at any time. Westin, our God is so mighty and so faithful. He loves us so deeply and my most earnest desire is that you will choose to serve Him with your precious life and that someday after our life on this earth is over we will be able to spend eternity together, praising our awesome God. I pray that you will grow strong and healthy and that you will have an unquenchable desire for our Lord. I pray that you will never be satisfied with your understanding, but will continue to seek Him and to find Him.

I love you so much, Westin! I'm thankful for every moment of the past year that we've been able to spend together. I wouldn't trade one sleepless night or one colicy day! I'm looking forward to each new phase of your life and each new memory we make together. Happy Birthday, sunshine!

Love,
Mommy

PS-- we're partyin' tomorrow... will post pics & recap...

mama

Sunday was my first mother's day! Last year I missed it by four days :) It was a great day-- I was able to spend it with my little boy and also with my mom and my grandma.

I started thinking yesterday about how being a mom myself has helped me to see things about my own mom I was too quick to take for granted before. I'm so thankful for the relationship I have with her! I feel like I need her now more than ever before... when I don't know how to deal with colic and teething and temper tantrums... and when I'm not sure what to substitute for condensed milk... and when fevers reach 103... I'm so thankful for her wealth of knowledge and her willingness to not laugh at my ignorance! We are such good friends and that means so much to me.

I'm also so thankful for my grandmothers! I have one grandmother who spent most of her growing-up years without a mother. I can't even imagine! My mind won't let me go there... but she's the strongest lady I've ever met and a wonderful grandmother and great-Grandmother to Westin! My other grandmother is currently spending most of her days caring for her mother who has less than 25% of her heart working. The love and the selflessness that she displays day in and day out is unbelievable!

I'm also thankful for my mother-in-law, who is also a beautiful, selfless woman! I'm so thankful for the blessing she is in my life and for the relationship that we have. I'm also thankful for the wonderful mother that she is to my husband and the precious Nana she is to my son!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for surrounding me with such a "great cloud of witnesses." I have such a vast resource of examples to look to when it comes to being a great mother-- which is my constant desire. I have so much to learn, and yet, I can honestly say I am enjoying every step of the journey!

My Dream Job

I started my dream job this week! My job description is as follows:

Volunteer position requiring intense training in breastfeeding, child development, early childhood behavior, and interpersonal/intergenerational group dynamics. There is a strongemphasis on time management

, accounts receivable, accounts payable, tracking inventory, procurement, and cost reduction. I am required to work with no supervision or guidance, to make quick, crucial and often unprecedented decisions regarding policy, to effectively guide the Organization in the most profitable direction, to set and meet my own deadlines, and to successfully foresee, and plan for, possible contingencies which may effect the overall direction and health of the Organization.

I am responsible for overseeing, and providing effective guidance to our Junior Member still in the start-up phase, one Founding Member in the established phase, and one Mascot in the puppy phase. I arrange, and lead, frequent meetings between the founding members to set common goals, and to assess the financial status of the Organization. Additionally, both Founding Members work closely with one another to promote the healthy progress and development of the Junior Member, and the mascots, in accordance with shared goals and objectives.

I arrange and host special events. Special events include, but are not limited to, annual celebrations of the anniversary of each Member’s joining the Organization, Industry-specific networking events, recognition and celebration of Organization milestones, outreach events meant to enhance the Organization’s connection to local non-profits, and casual, impromptu events which improve the Organization’s standing in the community. I also source event venues, and liaise with caterers and other temporary contractors.

I am the official Organization Spokesperson at education planning meetings, as well as with medical and other professionals. This requires that I keep abreast of the educational needs and progress of our Junior Member, track and document

any changes relating to the health and well being of all Organization Members, and remain current on legislation affecting the operations, goals and fiscal health of the Organization. I must take immediate action, when needed, to head-off, or correct, potential and actual educational, health, and legal problems facing individual Members, as well as the Organization as a whole.

I also provide therapeutic services as needed, and kiss many, many boo-boos. (from beyondjane.com)

I am officially a stay-at-home mom! I'm so excited and thankful for this opportunity I've been dreaming of my whole life. It really is my dream job, and I'm excited to perform it to the best of my ability. Please keep us in your prayers as we adjust to a one-salary budget. We know it will present its own challenges, but the rewards will far outweigh the challenges. Thank you, Kreg! I love you!