A Few Thank Yous on Thanksgiving

A Few Thank Yous on Thanksgiving

Dear God,
Thank You so much for giving me what I have always wanted -- a family of my very own. Thank You for not answering prayers that would have led me down a different path, had they been answered. Thank You for disciplining me, molding me, believing in me, and loving me. God, thank You for always being there for me when I have no idea what I am doing and thank You for putting things in perspective when I put a little too much of a focus on myself. Lord, you are so patient with me. You are merciful and You are just. You are exactly what I need every day, every minute, every moment of my existence. I am so thankful for You.
Love always,
Anna


Dear Andrew,
You are my most wonderful, beautiful, and amazing person. You have a kind and gentle heart like no other. If I could only describe you with one word, it would be "humble." Your loving acts do not produce recognition because you do not boast ... you do not tell. I have never heard a hateful word part from your lips. You are quiet and sweet and caring and I am so blessed to know you like no other. You are the type of person that I aspire to be like. I hope that as the years go by, I will take on more and more of the characteristics that make you so special to me. Perhaps a better word to describe you with is "Christian." Yes, I know that you are not perfect and yes, I know that you are a sinner just like me and everyone else ... but you try very hard to model yourself after Christ and that is evident. I love you so much, Andrew. I do not say thank you often enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the rest of my life. I love you forever, my sweet Andrew.
Love always,
Anna

Dear Sprout,
Buddy, Mommy loves you so much. Thank you for making my dreams come true. When I held you in my arms for the first time, you stared right at me and would not take your eyes off of mine. Thank you for that. You are so young, but man have you made me grow up! Because of you, my perspective has changed dramatically. I want to be a mommy that you can look up to and trust 100%. I do not want to tell you to behave one way and then go off and do my own thing, regardless of what I just told you. I want to act wisely, say only kind things, and think in a more loving way than I ever have before. I want to do my part to make the world a little better ... because I wanted it to be a better place for you. Know that you will always be my most wonderful and special little blessing.
Love always,
Mommy

Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you for loving me and believing in me as I grow. Thank you for understanding that I am not perfect. Thank you for you willingness to walk alongside me as I figure out exactly how to be an adult. I love you -- always have and always will.
Love always,
Me

Son

"Son"

Soft and Sweet

Whispy locks

Sideways smile

Cotton Socks

Long fingers

For little hands

Long lashes

For a little man

Dimpled chin

Cheeks, pale pink

Quizzical Expression

One who thinks

Answer to prayer

From One above

Parents in awe

Wordless love

My Favorite Time of Year!

Guess what a week from today is! Yes, THANKSGIVING! I love, love, love this holiday for many reasons. I love the holiday itself and the history behind it. I love the family time that comes along with Thanksgiving ... and I love that Christmas music starts playing on the radio! Yes, a week from today means that Christmas is on its way.

Christmas time is very special to me and to my family. Before I go on with this blog, I want to make it clear that in this household this day is special because Christmas celebrates our saviour, Jesus Christ. He is the "reason for the season." However, we also love all of the neat and wonderful things that give Christmas some of its extra celebration sparkles. We love cutting down our very own tree and decorating it (rather meagerly) with whatever we have available to us. We love making attempts at Christmas cookies. We love star lightings and candle lightings and caroling. And, last year, we loved making our very own Christmas card -- complete with me and Andrew and a cat and a chicken and my pregnant belly all dressed up in a tacky red sweater with a bow on it!

This year, we are putting some extra thought into our card. You see, now we are a family of three. I know that we are going to save our card forever and ever ... and I also know that so many people are so excited to get a picture of our little one in the mail. Fortunately, Shutterfly has so many cards for us to choose from. There are simple cards that draw your eye to one beautiful picture -- this would be Andrew's type of card. And, for people like me that can have that "more is more" mentality, there are cards where you can put bunches of pictures! Yes, I so think that simple is beautiful ... but I am so indecisive when it comes to that kind of stuff. Yay for lots of pictures so I can use all of the photos I like! There are cards that have cool, muted colors that remind you of snowflake filled winters and hot cocoa with marshmallows. If you're more of a festive yipee! person, you can choose bright red and green gold-trimmed cards as well. Yes, there are pages and pages! Which card should I choose? Help me out, friends! Go to www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards. Our family would like your assistance in helping us choose the perfect card for this year.

Thank you! We'll be coming soon to a mailbox near you :-)

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

In a few days, it will be your birthday. To many, maybe even to you, November 19ths are merely days that come once a year. However, to me, it is one of my very favorite holidays. November 19^th is worth celebrating – it is the birthday of my hero, my dad. This year, I have wondered what to get you. I am not sure what you want that you do not already have. And, knowing you, if I asked you would tell me that you don’t need anything. So this year I have decided to write you a note to let you know how much you mean to me. I know that you already know how much I love you, but sometimes it’s nice to have a tangible reminder of such sentiments.

I cannot remember too much from my early years. However, my earliest memories have you in them. In fact, I remember having a white bib with navy lettering and a navy border that said I that I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. I remember looking at that bib a few years after I wore it and asking what it said. I did not know what a lawyer was but I knew I wanted to be a lawyer because that’s what you were … and I wanted to be just like you. Did you know that I wanted to be a lawyer for years and years for that fact alone? Since then, I have decided that law is not the career path for me … but that does not negate the fact that I still want to be like you in many ways.

I love the parent that you are. Dad, you even went to Brownie Girl Scouts with me! When I was in first grade, you and I went on a Mother/Daughter Girl Scout camp out. Mom was pregnant, and I was too young to attend by myself. Back then, I did not think twice about the fact that you made corn husk dolls, butter, and aprons with me and other girls and their mommies. Now I know how very blessed I am to have grown up with a father who would be in my life no matter what … even if that meant singing Kumbaya around a camp fire.

Dad, you did big things with me. We went on overnight field trips together. All of the boys wanted you to be their chaperone. They all knew that you were fun and kind. Shy me made lots of friends because my dad was the coolest! In fact, it got to the point where the teacher had to draw names out of a hat because of your popularity. I could not have been any prouder.

You instilled a love of music in me. You have always loved getting drawn into stories embodied by poignant Broadway tunes. When we listened to songs in the car, you’d tell me about the show that it was written for … the actor that sang it … the composer who wrote it. I used to love my pop quizzes – I scored well because I always listened when you had something to say. Many nights, we would just sit in the car and listen to a song finish before we got out and went inside; Sometimes, we’d pull into the driveway before all of a show’s tunes had been played … and then the car would go into reverse and we’d drive down the beach for a few blocks in order to finish the sequence of tunes. It was the perfect way to end a day.

Speaking of musicals, we attended many shows together. Rain or shine, we went to the theater on Friday nights. Do you remember when that tropical storm hit us while “Ragtime” was playing? Royal Palms and power lines littered our street. You could not get your car onto our street because of all the road blocks. However, nothing would get in the way of us seeing that show together. We walked in the rain and climbed over debris – and basically had a private viewing of one our most favorite musicals ever!

In school, I was quite the academic. I think the biggest reason for my success was the fact that you believed in me. Dad, you were always so proud of me and you made me know that I could do it – so I did. In high school and in college I always knew that you were proud of me. And, if I ever forgot, your friends were always there to remind me of that fact.

I have so many fond memories of you. Walks on the beach … watching the Macy’s Day Parade … feeding the birds … watching 60 Minutes … riding bikes … double movies … going to the zoo and to Disney World … drinking root beer on the boardwalk … listening to stories that you told me about your dad … watching a Maryland / Florida game … going to Costco … Burn’s Steakhouse … the boat … the birth of a child of my own… And I cherish every single one of them.

About one year ago, I found out that the child I was carrying way a boy. It was so easy for Andrew and I to name him “Alan,” as Alan is the name of two of the most important people in our lives. And now, here I am typing this letter with a little six month old Alan Wade on my lap. Like you, he is sweet and funny and on the bald side. I hope that he will embody the traits that I so love about you.

Dad, on this November 19^th, I hope that you have the most wonderful birthday yet. I hope that you get to see two movies in a row, have a wonderful birthday dinner, and then have strawberry short cake for dessert. I hope that you unwrap presents that will simultaneously make you smile and touch your heart. And when it’s time for you to go to bed, I hope that you know that you have meant so much to so many people for 63 years and that you will continue to do just that for years to come. Happy birthday. God bless you. Thank you. I love you, Dad.

Love always,

Anna

Something Special

Today I had my first real day off of school since I started working again. Usually, on my days off, I love to get out and do something special. To me, staying inside all day is a bit boring. Well, I guess that's how I used to be. You see, today I did nothing special. I stayed in bed for a long, long time. Me and baby snuggled half-asleep through the morning news, Rachael Ray, Doctor Oz, and The Price is Right. Occasionally we would get up for a sip of herbal tea or milk, but that was about it. Yes, the day slipped by. Me ... and baby ... and Andrew ... lazily loving each other in a little blue cottage. And now, at the end of the day, I realize that I have learned something new. Sometimes "nothing specials" are the most special things of all.

Us

I love my husband and my son. They are the best in the whole world! We have fun together.

Here we are ... the bee keepers and their extra-special bee, "Budro."

Thank you, Shane Greene, for the picture!

Hi Baby

Dear Sprout,

Well, you here you are beside me, asleep. Just a few moments ago you were a wide-eyed wild man! I think that you were extra happy to see me today. I am always so happy to see you. I am pretty tired and I need a good night's sleep. But, at the same time, I so wish that I had more day time hours with you. To tell you the truth, when you wake up in the middle of the night, part of me is kind of thrilled! (Shhh! :-) ). I just love holding you and loving you and watching you smile at me. You really have given me a new found love for the p.m. hours. At night time, I can dedicate myself to you 100% ... I don't have anything else to do ... no work, no phone calls, no chores ... just you. So, my little baby, if you decide that you do not want to sleep through the night I don't mind. Sometimes a baby just needs his mommy! And, to tell you the truth, sometimes a mommy just needs her baby, too. I love you, little boy. Sweet dreams! Know that when you wake up, I will be more than happy to rock you in my arms until you fall asleep once more.

Love always,
Mommy