Dreams

I always wanted to be a mom. When I was younger I wanted to be a mom so badly that I'd ask other moms what it was like to have a baby. I was referring to the beauty of holding a newborn and cuddling and swaddling and smelling that newborn baby smell, but I they took me literally and proceeded to describe the pain and uncomfortableness of childbirth. Rather than deter me from having a family, they just convinced me to go a different route.

I decided when I was very young that I'd only adopt, because, let's face it- I'm a wimp! And since I was adopting, I would gather children from all over the world and have a little United Nations growing up in my house, ready to change the world. Since I was adopting I could have as many children as I wanted and not worry about how old I was getting.

And then I grew up and found out how expensive it was to adopt.

Back to plan "Pain." By then I was determined to have a family of my own, no matter what (besides, I had heard about a little miracle called, "epidural"), so my eternal companion and I started making plans.

Since I am a very impatient person I considered my 6 months of waiting to be torture!

That year in 1999 I dressed up as a pregnant woman for Halloween, without knowing I truly was.  Early the next month I began to wonder... Finally my dreams were realized when I took that tiny test and the little plastic wand of wonder told me I was a mother.

Me. A mother. Something I had planned on being since before I can remember. When teachers would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I'd tell them I wanted to be a mom. And when they would ask again, I'd tell them emphatically that I meant it- I didn't want a "career," I wanted to be a mom. They looked at me as if I were crazy.

And on the day I found out I was a mom I confirmed their suspicions. Few people of our acquaintance had to wait very long before they found out that our little family would be expanding. I told everyone I came across, everyone we chanced to meet, including the lady serving us at Red Robbin.  I was naive enough at just 8 weeks along to believe I would carry this precious child full term and, blessed as I was, I did.

My darling, precious, straight-from-God's-arms daughter was born on the day I told her to come (so obedient already!).  July 4th, from that moment on, had an additional reason to celebrate.  Dubbed "Sparkles" by the hospital staff for her beautiful eyes that seemed to take in the wonder around her, and her calm, temperate nature that rarely led her to cry, this wonderful daughter of God has grown into a beautiful young woman.  I am so blessed to be her mother.  She teaches me so much and sets such a wonderful example of love, patience, kindness, generosity, faith, and determination.  Her talents of art are amazing and I hope she continues to foster her love for creating.

Our family is blessed to have such a beautiful spirit in our home.  Thank you, Becky, for joining us 13 years ago and fulfilling my dream then, and so many since.  I love you so much!

Mom

James - Am I allergic to anything?
Me - I don't think so.
James - I wish I was allergic to potatoes.

I'm pretty sure this kid could drink chocolate milk for the rest of his life and live happily ever after.

Resolutions

I have tried so many times to rejuvenate myself in the journal writing process, but I just can't seem to get into a groove. Hopefully this attempt will not be the last entry I make on this blog for another year!

UPDATES:
We moved our family to AZ this summer.  About this time last year Sean came home from working at Bellflower HS in CA and said, "Ok, I'm ready to move."  Just a little over a month of teaching students with no desire to learn, living in homes where the parents don't care where they are at any point of the day (let alone school) started breaking his heart.  Most of the students in his classes were only there because they were too young for the alternative high school.  Wearing ankle bracelets, talking about immoral behavior when they should have been listening to the lesson, fighting and brawling in his classroom...
I digress.  At that point I was researching houses in AZ and had fallen in love with a house in San Tan Valley in Johnson Ranch - 45 W Saddle Way.  It was beautiful, with a sparkling pool, mini golf putt-putt area, nicely painted interior, with room enough for our whole family... It was like a dream house.  It had been on the market for 3 months already so we decided to take a trip in December to check it out.
When we got there it was one of the first houses we saw that weekend.  We loved it as much in person as we did online, so we placed an offer...
It had just sold.  I was so disappointed!  5 months on the market only to sell (literally) the day before we saw it?  Well, let the search continue.
Over the next three months we visited AZ two more times to house-hunt and sold 11 more houses simply by putting offers on them.  Those realtors should share some of their commission!  It was becoming more and more frustrating and I started to panic, so on our third trip out we got really serious, visiting over 20 houses that one weekend alone.  Finally we found the perfect house for us.  We placed our offer mid-March, closed in late April, and prepared to move our family.
At that point we also had to sell our home in CA, so we fixed up the yard, cleaned the inside, removed as much personal items and bulk as possible, and put it up for sale.  Within 3 weeks it was sold.  We were SO blessed!  In this recession for a house to sell at asking price, which is a tad over market, is unheard of.  We truly felt the hand of the Lord in the entire experience.
In late June, after school was out, we moved our family from our 900 sq ft Bellflower home to our 2,500+ sq ft San Tan Valley home.  It was amazing how nice it was to spread out and breathe!  One of the best perks?  AC!!!  Our wall unit in CA barely cooled down our front room, and the cool air NEVER reached the bedrooms.  Having central air is SUCH a blessing.  I am so grateful the Lord saw our needs and rewarded my 6 years of patience. :)
Let me take a moment here and truly share my appreciation for the blessings the Lord has poured out on us.  Who would have guessed we'd qualify to purchase a new home in another state while still owning a home in CA off a teacher's salary?  Then sell our house for the price we needed to break even on our loan during a recession?  All in a 6 month period?!  But wait!  There's more! (Haha, totally feeling like a game show announcer right now.)
Sean was still working in CA teaching summer school and staying at his parents' house while the kids and I were unpacking the house and getting ready for school to start (poor kids- they about a month of summer vacation before having to start school again because in AZ school runs from late July-May 31st, as opposed to CA's Sept 1- June 20th). He came home to visit twice, one of which was July 4th weekend.  We celebrated Becky's birthday together on Thursday, and then on Friday he was hard at work helping to put things together - beds, etc.  That morning he got a call from American Leadership Academy asking if he'd be interested in interviewing.  He had never applied - they had his name from a member of our new ward who found out Sean was job hunting.  Since Sean happened to be in town, he went in that day to interview.  After about a 20 min mini lesson they offered him the job.  We were floored!  Who ever heard of offering someone a job after just 20 minutes of introduction and before even seeing his/her resume or at least calling references??  Again, the hand of the Lord was in every part of our adventure this summer.  I know He has a plan for our family in Arizona.  I'm grateful he has blessed us and continues to do so.  I know He will care for us as long as we do our part.
This entire situation has induced me to restart my journal writing and blogging.  I am determined to share with my family the blessings that come through faithful obedience and trust in the Lord.  I am grateful He watches over us, for it is nice to know I can let some things be and a loving Heavenly Father will guide me and my family. :)

Alex is SUPER excited to be in our new home :)