Birthday Reflections

     It is birthday season around our home.  Three of us share the month of October for our birthdays, so needless to say that it is a busy (and expensive) month.  Of course, I had the pleasure of starting the season off and I must say that it was a blessed day. There were plenty of Happy Birthday greetings, breakfast in bed, lovely presents, and a trip to my favorite restaurant, Cheesecake Factory, with my hubby and some good friends.  I felt blessed through out the day, but I also used the day to reflect on the many ways that I have been truly blessed throughout my years of life.  God has given me so much ranging from salvation to my health and strength to my wonderful hubby. As I reflect on those things, I can't help but wonder if I am doing enough with my blessings.  Am I giving enough in a way that is pleasing to God?  Am I reaching out to the hurting and the lost in a way that is pleasing to God?  Am I living a life as a "living sacrifice" as God would have me to do?  With these questions, I pray and reflect and know what I need to work on.  After all, I am here for his glory.  As I welcome a new perspective into my life, I also welcome a new addition to the family for my birthday!

2nd Anniversary Reflections



   As Mr. Awesome and I recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary of wedded bliss, I could not help but to reflect on the things that I have learned and the ways that I have grown through our 2nd year.  Two simple terms that I used to describe our first year was "love" and "adjustment" and I must say that it has been no different for the 2nd year.  The following is a sum of how I have developed as a wife and mother figure.
*  Love.  With each day, I have fallen more and more in love with Mr. Awesome.  I am so thankful
    for the person that he is and the leader that he is for our family.
* God's Plans. The biggest lesson that I learned during our 2nd year is that we can make all of the
      plans that we want to, but it is God's plans that prevail and we must leave our hearts open to
      the assignments that he gives us. This has been the biggest struggle for me as it has shown me
      that I have not fully turned my plans over to God.
* Delegation.   As the lady of the house, the self-inflicted feeling that I needed to wear the big red 
     "S" on my chest was making me feel that I needed to take care of all 2600 sq ft of our living 
     space.  I was blessed to receive some much needed advice from 2 fellow wives/mothers who let
     me know that I needed to delegate some chores and house details to the ones in our home who will
     one day be wives and mothers themselves.
* Letting go of the minor details.  Naturally I am what my husband calls a passive Type A
     personality and I thrive on details and my schedule calendar.  Being married and raising my
     Bonus daughter and niece has helped me to realize that although it is very important to keep a
     prompt schedule and pay attention to details, it is also important to live in the moment.  I have to
     relax a little more and not worry as much about the small stuff.
* The Capacity To Love.  When we added our niece onto the equation at a time where I was still 
     trying to get a handle on mothering, I was not sure if I had what it would take to love another
     child while I was still learning to love my Bonus daughter, but God put in my heart what I
     needed.

    Although this list is not all emcompassing, these are some of the major things that I have learned.  I am thankful for our two years of wedded bliss and I look forward to our 3rd year and all that it has in store. Although we are not perfect, it is important to realize that marriage is made up two imperfect people and a perfect God.
 

It's Our Anniversary !!

    It is hard to believe that just two years ago, Mr. Awesome and I were exchanging vows.  It has been a very exciting, uncertain, blissful, stressful, and overall blessed time.  On the day that we were married, I could not imagine my heart being more full of love, but it is.  Last year we took a cruise to celebrate our first year anniversary and this year we took a trip back to Washington, D.C. where it "officially" began for us.  There we stayed for a couple of days and had dinner at the place that we had our first date, Georgia Browns.   Take a brief look at our trip.

Mr. Awesome is doing all of the driving as he usually does ;-).

Going into our hotel room

 

Wow, a jacuzzi!!  However, the jacuzzi experience was not nearly as romantic as it appears to be in the movies.  It was not what we thought.

 

 

 

Just Being Silly

 

 

 

We found this place and fell in love with the food.  They have a lot of fresh foods that are actually healthy.

 

Mr. Awesome had the Chicken Pita and Potato Salad

 

This was my first time trying a salad with Tabouli in it.  It was so yummy that I ordered it again the next day.

 

In May of 2010, we had our first date here and had to come back to relive the experience.

 

 

Before our feast.

 

 

 

He practically ordered the same meal that he did during our first time here.

 

And so did I ;-).

This is one of the sights that we saw near all of the monuments.  I couldn't get good pictures because we were not walking.

 

 

My homemade Edible Arrangements.  I think that I will just order one the next time, LOL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letting Yourself Go

     During the time that Mr. Awesome and I were engaged, someone said something to me that I thought was interesting.  I was wearing a pair of grey colored, suede, high-heeled boots that I really liked and this individual looked over to me and asked me why I was wearing the boots.  Her response to asking that question was that she felt  I shouldn't be wearing those types of shoes due to the fact that I was no longer on the market.  I found this baffling and wondered why she felt that I needed to change my style of shoes, let alone style of dress, just because I was getting married.  Does the fact that I was going to be walking down the aisle mean that I needed to switch my appearance to a more frumpy look?

     Unfortunately, she was not the only one who tried to push that mindset onto me.  I have heard different things suggesting the fact that since I am married now, it no longer matters how I look or keep myself.  I could not disagree more.  I do not consider myself a fashionista, but I do have a healthy sense of how I keep my appearance, for myself and for my husband.     The way that I put effort into keeping myself up before marriage should be the same amount of effort  that I put in after the wedding vows.  Now, I must admit that the hustle and bustle of daily tasks (especially with the children) has made it a bit more difficult to keep things up and I can now understand how some wives and mothers do find it easier just to throw on a pair of sweats.  However,  does that give us a right to let things go?  I have re-prioritized a few things so that I can continue to take care of things the way that I did prior to the I Do.  I know that there are many wives who feel that once the ring goes on, the husband should accept (without question) the scraggly robe with the hole in it and the granny panties that cover the entire back, but is that right?  Just as we want him to continue to do the things that he did to attract us, we should be willing to do the same.  Now am I saying that we should not be comfortable in our own home?  No, but we can still be comfortable while adding a nice attractive flair to it.  Don't our husband's deserve that?  Yes, sometimes I do not get out of my workout clothes before Mr. Awesome comes home and sometimes my hair is "in progress", but I do try to  give him a pleasing site when he comes through the door.    Sometimes, the schedule gets full and it is not always easy, but I feel that investing in myself is beneficial.....................  On the flip side , I have never experienced how it is to try to keep from letting yourself go when there is a little one who constantly showers you with every body fluid possible and robs you of a personal nap.  Hhhhhmmm.
    

      

Rest and Reflection

    
 
     When I married Mr. Awesome, I became an instant mother to my Bonus Daughter. Within a year we gained custody of our niece who was coming from an "interesting" situation.  Needless to say, children was always a factor within our relationship. As glad as I am to be able to be a mother figure to these two young girls, I can't deny the fact that it has been very difficult trying to adjust to it all. As it is with parenting, there have been good moments and there have been times when I felt a need to temporarily escape the responsibilities of it. And just recently, I had been feeling overwhelmed.  My Mother-in-Law requested to have her grandchildren visit for a portion of the summer and I was happy and relieved for a couple of reasons. It gave the children a chance to visit with their "Amma" and it gave Mr. Awesome and I some special connection time with each other. I must say that the time that we spent was very special and it gave me a chance to unwind from all of the adjustments that were happening. I was able to turn off the great balancing wheel and focus solely on our relationship. Although Mr. Awesome and I make sure that we have time to connect and have "couple only" time, this was a refreshing version of  long date night. 

     With this time, I was able to rediscover some things.  I was able to rediscover the art of just being, just being a wife.  It was nice to be able to lavish undivided attention on my husband, as he did with me.  It was nice being able to just be in each other's presence while feeling those butterflies that were felt during our courtship.  It was so nice looking at the man that I married nearly two years ago while falling even more deeply in love with him.  It was so nice to be able to act like a pair of lovers without any care in the world. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Although it was a few weeks, I am so thankful for that much needed time.  Don't get me wrong, as we were basking in the "just us" time, I did miss the girls and my heart melted every time I would talk to them over the phone.  Now that they are home, I am glad that they are back.  However, I am even more glad that there was that time to rest and be rejuvenated, because I am able to be a more patient and loving parent to them. It's a good thing, because cheer season is back in full swing.  Let's Go Hornets!!  
 

    
      

Daddy , A Daughter's First Love

     This past Father's Day, I gladly celebrated it with my bonus daughter and niece as we doted on and lavished Mr. Awesome with lots of appreciation for his role in our lives and to let him know how much we love him.  Although we celebrated him on this day, I could not help but to reminisce of my own father who passed away over eight years ago.  I wished very much that I could call him and tell him that I am very thankful that he was in my life and that he never left my brother or I to wonder where he was or if he was coming home.  The older that I get and the more people that I meet in life who suffer from wounds that stem from an absent father,  I realize how blessed I was to have him as a dad.  He was not perfect and neither was our life, but I stand thankful for always being able to say that I had an active father in my life.


     As they say, a dad is his daughter's first love.  He is the one who gives her a standard of what a man, father, and husband should look like.  He is the one who helps to validate the beauty within her.  He is her first example of what a man's protection should be, what his provisions for his family should be, and what his leadership of the family should be.  He is the umbrella of safety for her until she grows up and is joined to a husband of her own.  I did see a great deal of these things while growing into a young lady.  I witnessed seeing how a man leads his family, faithfully provides for, and how he protects his family.  Concerning the protection aspect of it alone, I really believed that God spared me from experiencing abuse that did happen within my family tree, because of my dad's rugged, tough, and protective demeanor.  Not too many people crossed him the wrong way.  I remember being a teenager at my first job and there was a guy who was picking on me for some unknown reason.  I called home because I was upset and before I could hang up the phone, my dad (and brother)  were standing at the front counter of the restaurant while pointing at the guy.  I don't know what was said to that guy in the corner of that restaurant that evening, but he never bothered me again.

     With all of the positive examples that I did get from my father, there was one thing in particular that I felt that I did lack, the emotional connection. Because of this, I sometimes doubted his love for me and looked for the emotional connection in the wrong places as I was coming of age.  However,  my doubts were extinguished as we were able to spend quality time alone before he passed away.  It was during this time that I felt that emotional connection with him only to realize that it was there all along.

     I wish that I could tell my father how much his presence in my life had blessed me, but for now I am thankful for the good standards that I had been given by him.  As I look at Mr. Awesome, I realized that he fits the good examples that my dad did set for me.  He is the priest, provider, and protector of our home and is thriving in his God-given role.  I feel very proud to be his wife and as I look at the example that he is giving my bonus daughter and niece, I am assured that their husbands will have to be great men of God too. 

Family Vacation!!

      This year, we decided to take a family vacation to visit Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Orlando.  I hadn't been since I was a senior in high school, so this trip was a treat.  We went with some great friends and between the adults and the children, we had a blast.  One of the things that made this pricey trip become priceless was the look on the children's faces when we arrived (although the older ones found out before the trip) .  Take a glimpse at some of the things that we did.

Grabbing Snacks Before Heading To Magic Kingdom



Waiting At The Disney Bus Stop Before Heading To Magic Kingdom

They Are Already Feeling The Florida Heat As Soon As We Got In The Park



Our Niece Learning The Hokey Pokey (Or Is She Teaching Him?? :) )



Bonus Daughter Having A Chuckle While I Am Trying To Figure Out Why Dumbo Is Trying To Harm Us



All Smiles Before Going To Epcot

It Takes A Strong Person To Hold The Epcot Sphere Up

Good Times In Epcot



And Then The Flood Came



A "Move Set" At Hollywood Studios



 

It Looks Like A Real City Doesn't It? (At Hollywood Studios)



There were other places that we did visit that I did not capture with the lens, but the time that we had was very nice.  However, with all that we did and with all that we saw and experienced, I would have to say that my favorite spot was this private pool located right outside of the family room of the villa that we stayed in :-).