Monday, March 19, 2012

Ready to be Steady

A few months ago I went to the eye Dr. and after examining my eyes he told me I was now reaching the "steady" time in life. For a moment I felt a bit dowdy... steady? How boring. But then I breathed a sigh of relief... it felt as though the eye Dr. had just handed me a ticket for smooth sailing for the next 10 years, even if just for my eyes, and I was excited that something would finally become steady!

With my birthday tomorrow I have found myself overrun with thoughts on what the past 10 years have meant to me. Crowded with memories... beloved, despised, painful, joyful... they have made me who I am today.

When I was 22 and struggling with finding my place in the world I was told by a very wise person that the twenties are like a time on a trapeze... instead of knowing and seeing what trapeze you are going to jump to next... you are just left there, hanging hundreds of feet in the air, swinging back and forth, waiting to learn how to find the courage to let go and know that the next thing you feel will be the security of another bar. And then doing the same thing over and over until you reach the other side.

From college, to moving back home, to the career world, to navigating friendships as an "adult", to engagement, to marriage, to learning to become one with another person, to having a baby, to learning to balance this thing called life. I have navigated through choppy waters and many times felt as though I was off course and that the change would never end... as though the learning would never end. But through this learning I have come through to the other side unscathed and stronger for it.

I know one thing is for sure... I am entering my thirties at a very good place in my life.
For the first time I can truly say I know myself... I have discovered confidence and strength that I never knew I possessed and I have seen what God sees... a beautiful creation in myself! I am more in love with my husband then I was when first married and have witnessed what it means to truly love deeply and love unselfishly. I am blessed beyond belief with the precious life God has given me to take care of... Mikayla is my joy, my love, my heart.

Though leaving my twenties is somewhat bittersweet... I am ready! I am ready to take the next step in life. Though it may not exactly be as "steady" as the eye Dr. promised I know that navigating through will be easier because of the confidence I have in myself, in my marriage, in my family and in God.

Bring it On 30!!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Mimi Meow

For the past few months I have being telling Mikayla a bedtime story about the meow family. This particular story stemmed from Mikayla’s love of all things cat - side note: I can’t believe I gave birth to such a cat lover! These stories are about our everyday activities, but instead of using our names I use Daddy Meow, Mommy Meow and Mimi Meow – another side note: Mikayla calls herself Mimi. The past month I started telling the Mimi Meow birthday story and would go through each of the activities the meow family would do to celebrate Mimi Meow’s birthday. Mikayla LOVED this story and memorized it. Along wanting to hear the story constantly, Mikayla would run around saying “Mimi birthday coming” “Mimi birthday March 5th” and she also told me she wanted an “ishe creawm cake” with “duckies” swimming on it.
So here is the story of Mimi Meow’s birthday. 
Mimi meow’s birthday weekend was here and so the Meow family hopped in the car and drove to the mall to begin the celebrations! Why the mall you ask? Well Mimi Meow’s favorite place of all is the mall that has the “horseys” (carousel) “mountain” (fountain) and the “horsey apple” (applesauce she gets to eat with her lunch). 
Having arrived at the mall with a big “HORRAY” from Mimi meow… the meow family headed inside and Mimi meow and Daddy meow took their first ride on the carousel. 

After that ride the meow family grabbed a munchkin doughnut for Mimi meow and then headed down to the fountain. There Daddy meow and Mommy meow enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and Mimi meow ran back and forth throwing coins in the fountain. This lasted twenty minutes since mommy meow brought many pennies. 


Then it was time to play in the kids area and Mimi meow learned to jump into Daddy meow’s arms… something that made mommy meow a little nervous.

Next it was time for the second carousel ride to which Mimi meow replied “HORRAY” and mommy meow got slightly ill. 



By this time in our story the mall was filled by the yelps and screams of little children eating McDonalds for lunch… Mimi meow’s lunch? Rice, beans and avocado (her favorite!) and horsey apple!

Next up? A trip to Build a Bear where Mimi Meow picked out a Cat she named “meow” and an outfit. 

Finally it was time to go on one more carousel ride to which Mikayla replied “all done, home” and the meow family left to go home.
Mikayla loved her day and we were so happy to experience it with her! 

Carrying Meow into the house
Showing Meow her new room












































The next day we had a family party and Mikayla’s favorite gift was her card that saying Happy Birthday in meow.






Monday, March 5, 2012

A Blink

I now understand why the greatest gift on this earth is time. Time flies at an astronomical pace and no matter how hard I may try at times… I cannot stop it. That is why the age old wisdom of “enjoy each moment” continues to ring true and has to be learnt over and over again. You can’t stop time… you can only stop in the moments to enjoy where you are RIGHT now because in a blink it will all be over.  
My baby girl is two today and it feels like only yesterday that I had the amazing experience of bringing her into this world. It was an honor to go through God’s miracle of birth and to witness His glory in such a way.These past two years have been challenging and stretching, but also incredibly rewarding. I am filled with joy each day and awe that I was given such a gift! 
The past year has been especially fun… watching Mikayla turn into a little person right before our eyes. Dhrumil and I are now fluent in “spell-ease” and often find ourselves talking “Mikayla-ease” after she goes to sleep. We are having a blast reliving our childhood through each new experience that Mikayla has. 
I am so blessed to be Mikayla's mom and can't wait to see what this year will bring! :)