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Thursday, August 8, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Counting Down the Months!
In exactly 5 months, Roger will be starting his new job in Fort Wayne! Excited doesn't even begin to describe the feeling! Just two days ago, we were approved to buy a home in Fort Wayne, so now the ball is rolling! Yey! We are hoping for a closing date in early June, so we won't officially start looking at homes until March. Which gives us approximately one month to get our own home ready for sale and start really focusing on what we want in a new house. The realtor for our current home did a walk-thru yesterday and she was very positive! She only had a few minor suggestions for us to make before we put our house on the market, so I am hoping for a quick and effortless sale. I think we've maintained our home fairly well (it could be worse?), I just hope that it is what someone out there is looking for...and that we get a reasonable offer.
Life with Ava has also gotten a lot more interesting in the past week. She now has her first imaginary friend, named Brave Knight. Apparently, she extracted her friend from a "Doc McStuffins" episode about a knight named Sir Kirby. She carries him in her hand and he does all sorts of stuff, like chase dogs and jump into her milk straws. I had no idea he even existed until my mom babysat last week and told me that she was talking and playing with a "Sir Kirby" or a "Brave Knight", depending. At first, I was a little worried and freaked out, but I talked to her preschool teacher, Mrs. K, about it, and she agrees that it is totally normal and that it just means that I have a gifted and imaginitive little one on my hands.
Landon is growing by leaps and bounds. He is still exclusively breastfed, but he had his first solid food last Friday. It was a little crazy, he wasn't sure what to do with a spoon and it was a real feat trying to get him to open his mouth!:) In all honesty, I am sure he eats just fine for a new eater, I have just forgotten what a messy and novel process eating can be for an infant! But he's so cute, I could care less about the mess! His first food was sweet potatoes and then peas. He LOVES peas! Just like his big sister, I bet he's gonna be a big veggie eater:) It's so neat to see him starting to sit up, play with toys, and to see Ava playing with him. She loves him and he loves her! He will just sit and watch her, completely captivated by whatever she is doing. She loves to sit in the pack n' play with him and they play with toys and she pretends she is a baby and keeps him company. They are so sweet together. I really do think that I have been blessed with two of the sweetest children ever! They are my two baby angels and they both fill my days with laughter and joy! I can't get enough of them! Now if my two little angels will allow me to keep this house clean and organized while we are trying to sell it, we will be set!
Life with Ava has also gotten a lot more interesting in the past week. She now has her first imaginary friend, named Brave Knight. Apparently, she extracted her friend from a "Doc McStuffins" episode about a knight named Sir Kirby. She carries him in her hand and he does all sorts of stuff, like chase dogs and jump into her milk straws. I had no idea he even existed until my mom babysat last week and told me that she was talking and playing with a "Sir Kirby" or a "Brave Knight", depending. At first, I was a little worried and freaked out, but I talked to her preschool teacher, Mrs. K, about it, and she agrees that it is totally normal and that it just means that I have a gifted and imaginitive little one on my hands.
Landon is growing by leaps and bounds. He is still exclusively breastfed, but he had his first solid food last Friday. It was a little crazy, he wasn't sure what to do with a spoon and it was a real feat trying to get him to open his mouth!:) In all honesty, I am sure he eats just fine for a new eater, I have just forgotten what a messy and novel process eating can be for an infant! But he's so cute, I could care less about the mess! His first food was sweet potatoes and then peas. He LOVES peas! Just like his big sister, I bet he's gonna be a big veggie eater:) It's so neat to see him starting to sit up, play with toys, and to see Ava playing with him. She loves him and he loves her! He will just sit and watch her, completely captivated by whatever she is doing. She loves to sit in the pack n' play with him and they play with toys and she pretends she is a baby and keeps him company. They are so sweet together. I really do think that I have been blessed with two of the sweetest children ever! They are my two baby angels and they both fill my days with laughter and joy! I can't get enough of them! Now if my two little angels will allow me to keep this house clean and organized while we are trying to sell it, we will be set!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Happy New Year!!
It's 2013! It's officially the year that Roger and I have been waiting almost a DECADE for, unbelievable, but true. If someone had asked me in 2004, where I would be in the year 2013, I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect life. Roger and I moved to Indianapolis on May 10, 2004, the day after my graduation. I literally went from college campus living, to real life, overnight. Neither of us had a job, but I had graduation money that would pay for rent...$500. For some reason, that seemed like a lot, and just enough to last us the summer. We were crazy. You would have to be crazy to do what we did. We moved onto the northeast side of Indy, knowing nothing about the city whatsoever, into a 450 sq. foot studio apartment. Yes, I said 450 square feet. The first few years in Indy were rough to say the least. We were under a ton of stress, working long days doing terrible work, both exhausted but too young, and probably too stupid, to realize that a good night of sleep would have done us wonders. Regardless of our schedules, we would stay up until all hours of the early morning, watching tv, shopping, doing stuff that I now don't even remember. What did we do in those years? Imagine, these are the days before iphones or Facebook, the Internet was for school, mapping restaurants, and downloading illegal songs. We "hung out", we fought a lot, we imagined a better life for ourselves and would spend hours talking about "I can't wait when...". We didn't have any real friends, we only had each other and we knew it.
So much has changed. A couple of apartments, degrees, jobs, cars and kids later...our "can't wait until 2013", is here. It's exciting and scary. Landon is almost 5 months, just starting to explore his world, giggling and squealing, trying to grab at everything, being as sweet as ever, so I know he won't be affected much by this year. But Ava, this is a huge year for her too. As if last year wasn't enough! ;). In reality, all of our lives are about to change. Big time. I hope, I pray, it was worth the wait. Worth every hour of every excited late night conversation, every hour Roger spent studying, every hour of working that long 30 hour shift, every holiday missed, every late night alone, every obsessive house search, every walk around the block spent dreaming, thinking, "I can't wait until"...I think it will be. And when it's here, what will we do? I suppose we will just have to start dreaming and planning for our next adventure. Isn't that what life is really all about? :)
So much has changed. A couple of apartments, degrees, jobs, cars and kids later...our "can't wait until 2013", is here. It's exciting and scary. Landon is almost 5 months, just starting to explore his world, giggling and squealing, trying to grab at everything, being as sweet as ever, so I know he won't be affected much by this year. But Ava, this is a huge year for her too. As if last year wasn't enough! ;). In reality, all of our lives are about to change. Big time. I hope, I pray, it was worth the wait. Worth every hour of every excited late night conversation, every hour Roger spent studying, every hour of working that long 30 hour shift, every holiday missed, every late night alone, every obsessive house search, every walk around the block spent dreaming, thinking, "I can't wait until"...I think it will be. And when it's here, what will we do? I suppose we will just have to start dreaming and planning for our next adventure. Isn't that what life is really all about? :)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Santa Claus is coming to town and he brought...pull-ups!
This is the first year that Ava actually understands Santa Claus and the idea of Christmas, so I have been living it up! Watching Christmas specials on TV, reading "Jesus" books, we sing songs, we talk about Christmas trees and reindeers and elves. One of her favorite books this month was "The Little Red Elf", a Christmasy take on "The Little Red Hen". She also loves her "Dinosaur Christmas" book, a book where Santa is Santasaurus with his eight "dinodeer". She has a book where there are some Angels and so rather than calling the celestial winged beings "fairies" or "birdies", she now knows that they are Angels. However, I've been to the library several times, and I am having issues finding good toddler books that tell the story of Jesus and the first Christmas. There are a million regarding the Santa theme, but most of the Jesus-focused books are dull and the artwork is very Thomas Kincaide, literally, Thomas Kincaide, the kind of artwork that 80 year old women just LOVE. My toddler, not so much. It kind of makes me sad, but I am going to keep looking for some decent books that explain Christmas, the real Christmas. Why do Jesus-themed toddler books have to be so serious? So artsy and prestine? I mean seriously, my daughter would be much more interested in a stick-figure Jesus with a happy face and a donkey. Can't the story be told without a thousand dollar illustration?
Speaking of Christmas...Ava's first holiday preschool party is this Friday, which just happens to be my birthday! I am actually pretty excited:) I get to make 2 dozen cookies and we are all supposed to show up in our pajamas and apparently Santa Claus is coming for pictures, which will most likely be a disaster with Ava, but she'll at least enjoy the party. Oh yeah, Ava started preschool! She attends Edgewood Preschool Coop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She LOVES it! Like obsessively loves it! On the first day, she painted on a large art easel the entire time and talked about it for DAYS! So much so that I bought her more paints and she now paints at least 5 days out of every week. She also plays with blocks, dolls, dinosaurs, she has made a few ornaments like a glittery pinecone and a cookie cut-out of a star and a candy cane. They "shake their sillies out" and she gets snack time where they pray and listen to a story read by Mrs. K, the preschool teacher. The best part? Oh yeah, I get to be there! Because it's a coop, it's run by the parents and the parents in the 2's class are required to stay with their child during class. It's perfect. Being 2 is hard enough on Ava, she is constantly trying to do things herself, but still wants me right next to her, but she also has this new little brother to compete with, which has turned her into a complete attention hog! She needs Roger and I to be next to her at ALL times, it is exhausting, but I understand that she needs us right now. Adjusting to the new little brother has been a challenge for her, and as he starts requiring more of my attention during the day, I can only guess that it's going to get harder. So the thought of a "drop off and leave" preschool for a 2 year old was not exactly what I thought would help her right now. Interestingly enough, they really don't exist in Indianapolis, so a co-op was the way to go for now and luckily it is less than 10 minutes away!
Also on the homefront, we are dealing with the dreaded potty-training. I really don't want to do it. Potty training makes my ovaries shrivel up and never want to have another child again. But in the past week, Ava has insisted that she go pee in the potty at sporadic times during the day. I don't encourage, and I really don't discourage, I just go along with it because I don't really want to be that mom whose daughter goes to college in diapers, although I wouldn't be totally against that right now either. When she squeals, "Mama, I have to go pee pee in the potty!", my first reaction is, "Oh good, can you just go pee pee in your diaper ??" Is that terrible? I really have no desire to start potty training with her. I hate toilets, I hate restrooms, I hate the thought of my daughter going into a restroom and touching everything within a 5 foot radius. Gross. Just thinking about it gave me temporary hep-C just then. The whole big girl bed thing mixed with potty training has kind of been a disaster. One morning Ava came into our room, completely naked, covered in poo. As you can imagine, I freaked out. Put her straight into the bath, me screaming, "Oh my GoD!" (which by the way, is one of Ava's new sayings...great). I was terrified to look in her bedroom, but there it was, diaper on the floor, poo ground into the carpet. It appeared that Ava had taken off her diaper, poo fell on the floor and so Ava, being the ever vigilant good daughter, took a bunch of baby wipes and attempted to "clean" the poo off the floor. The attempt was obviously a failure. Dozens of baby wipes with one smear of poop were scattered all over the room, poo rubbed into the carpet, poo everywhere. Horrifying. As I scrubbed the poo out of the carpet that morning, I wondered if this was going to become a routine...was this going to be my morning routine? What had become of my life??? Lol! Of course, I can laugh now because I haven't had another morning like that since. I must have traumatized her with my reaction that first morning. But God forbid if I just jinxed myself. Ehhhh... So anyways, Roger ordered some pull-ups since she has become fond of ripping her diapers off so that she can go pee pee in the potty for the fiftieth time. What am I supposed to do with pull-ups? I have no idea? I put them in her room, in a corner, and I am just waiting for them to potty-train my two-year old. Apparently they do that? I don't know.
Speaking of Christmas...Ava's first holiday preschool party is this Friday, which just happens to be my birthday! I am actually pretty excited:) I get to make 2 dozen cookies and we are all supposed to show up in our pajamas and apparently Santa Claus is coming for pictures, which will most likely be a disaster with Ava, but she'll at least enjoy the party. Oh yeah, Ava started preschool! She attends Edgewood Preschool Coop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She LOVES it! Like obsessively loves it! On the first day, she painted on a large art easel the entire time and talked about it for DAYS! So much so that I bought her more paints and she now paints at least 5 days out of every week. She also plays with blocks, dolls, dinosaurs, she has made a few ornaments like a glittery pinecone and a cookie cut-out of a star and a candy cane. They "shake their sillies out" and she gets snack time where they pray and listen to a story read by Mrs. K, the preschool teacher. The best part? Oh yeah, I get to be there! Because it's a coop, it's run by the parents and the parents in the 2's class are required to stay with their child during class. It's perfect. Being 2 is hard enough on Ava, she is constantly trying to do things herself, but still wants me right next to her, but she also has this new little brother to compete with, which has turned her into a complete attention hog! She needs Roger and I to be next to her at ALL times, it is exhausting, but I understand that she needs us right now. Adjusting to the new little brother has been a challenge for her, and as he starts requiring more of my attention during the day, I can only guess that it's going to get harder. So the thought of a "drop off and leave" preschool for a 2 year old was not exactly what I thought would help her right now. Interestingly enough, they really don't exist in Indianapolis, so a co-op was the way to go for now and luckily it is less than 10 minutes away!
Also on the homefront, we are dealing with the dreaded potty-training. I really don't want to do it. Potty training makes my ovaries shrivel up and never want to have another child again. But in the past week, Ava has insisted that she go pee in the potty at sporadic times during the day. I don't encourage, and I really don't discourage, I just go along with it because I don't really want to be that mom whose daughter goes to college in diapers, although I wouldn't be totally against that right now either. When she squeals, "Mama, I have to go pee pee in the potty!", my first reaction is, "Oh good, can you just go pee pee in your diaper ??" Is that terrible? I really have no desire to start potty training with her. I hate toilets, I hate restrooms, I hate the thought of my daughter going into a restroom and touching everything within a 5 foot radius. Gross. Just thinking about it gave me temporary hep-C just then. The whole big girl bed thing mixed with potty training has kind of been a disaster. One morning Ava came into our room, completely naked, covered in poo. As you can imagine, I freaked out. Put her straight into the bath, me screaming, "Oh my GoD!" (which by the way, is one of Ava's new sayings...great). I was terrified to look in her bedroom, but there it was, diaper on the floor, poo ground into the carpet. It appeared that Ava had taken off her diaper, poo fell on the floor and so Ava, being the ever vigilant good daughter, took a bunch of baby wipes and attempted to "clean" the poo off the floor. The attempt was obviously a failure. Dozens of baby wipes with one smear of poop were scattered all over the room, poo rubbed into the carpet, poo everywhere. Horrifying. As I scrubbed the poo out of the carpet that morning, I wondered if this was going to become a routine...was this going to be my morning routine? What had become of my life??? Lol! Of course, I can laugh now because I haven't had another morning like that since. I must have traumatized her with my reaction that first morning. But God forbid if I just jinxed myself. Ehhhh... So anyways, Roger ordered some pull-ups since she has become fond of ripping her diapers off so that she can go pee pee in the potty for the fiftieth time. What am I supposed to do with pull-ups? I have no idea? I put them in her room, in a corner, and I am just waiting for them to potty-train my two-year old. Apparently they do that? I don't know.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Mommy of a "Big Girl":)
So this past Friday was Ava's first night in a "big girl bed". Roger and I bought a bed rail and he and Ava worked together to attach it to her reconfigured crib. She absolutely loved it! In fact, she wanted to just lie in it, completely avoiding her bedtime routine. It was so cute:) So here we on a Monday, and so far, so good! She stays in her bed until she falls asleep and she WAS being good about staying in her bed in the morning. This morning being the exception. Roger went to work at 6:30, and he woke her up. I changed her diaper and told her that it was still night-night time and that she needed to go back to sleep. I went back to bed and pulled the covers over my head at 6:40. At approximately 7:30, I heard a shrill and panicked scream, "Daaadddy! Where are you? Dadddy, Dadddy!!!" and she came bursting into our bedroom running around our bed screaming for Roger. Ughh...so we will see what she does tomorrow morning, who knows, maybe this morning was a one time thing? It's just so weird now, being the mom of a crazy, smart two-year old. She just turned two and she knows her colors, shapes (even hexagon, octagon, and oval!), ABC's, she can count to 14, tell stories, recount events, and repeat everything she hears! I would like to take some credit because I taught her most of it (mom brag), but I can't take any credit for how effortlessly she has made it all look. She is absolutely amazing!
Right now, Roger and Ava have taken off to the mall. I am so exhausted, going to the mall was the last thing that I wanted to do, so I am here with my sleeping baby, typing away. Today also marks day something or other that I haven't been on Facebook! How freeing...except I do still think about it as soon as one of the kids is sleeping. So what did I do today to replace my addiction? I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen a bit, went outside so that Ava could play in the snow, made a salad, nursed a baby, played with Ava some more, started reading a self-help book...basically acted like a very boring 30-something with two little ones. How did that happen? I don't know. But I am okay with it. I hope it stays this way for awhile. I like it.
Right now, Roger and Ava have taken off to the mall. I am so exhausted, going to the mall was the last thing that I wanted to do, so I am here with my sleeping baby, typing away. Today also marks day something or other that I haven't been on Facebook! How freeing...except I do still think about it as soon as one of the kids is sleeping. So what did I do today to replace my addiction? I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen a bit, went outside so that Ava could play in the snow, made a salad, nursed a baby, played with Ava some more, started reading a self-help book...basically acted like a very boring 30-something with two little ones. How did that happen? I don't know. But I am okay with it. I hope it stays this way for awhile. I like it.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Saying G'bye to Facebook, Temporarily?
The title says it all. I think that I am done with Facebook, at least temporarily. I find myself on it too often, with no real reason. The status updates are rarely insightful or significant in any way and I find myself just wasting away my free time, hour after hour. Currently, both children are asleep, and I've spent an hour, just perusing my Facebook, refreshing the page every so often, just to read somebody else's insignificant rant about nothing. I mean seriously, does anybody ever think of anything original, ever? Apparently not. And since I am not any different, and I have nothing original to say either, why bother? Maybe I'll spend more time blogging, maybe I'll spend my new free time cleaning the house (probably not), watching a new TV show (one addiction for another?) or reading a book (what a "novel" idea, lol), whatever it is, it will not include reading about "Sally's" crappy morning at the gym, what "Joe" ate for breakfast, or how much "Billy" hates Republicans. It's called TMI, and I kind of think that a lot of us are suffering from TMI Overload Disease mixed with delusions of grandeur. The mundane information overload is addictive and makes you believe that any and every thought that pops into your own head is worthy of an important exclamation to the world. When in reality, ehhh...not so much.
Monday, November 5, 2012
On Raising Adults...
I just got finished reading another goopy mom article about what parents hope to instill in their ever-angelic brood. It really got me thinking. Most articles state the obvious, the general, the vague. Things like, be courageous, be respectful, be kind. But after teaching in a high school for a few years, I know that those types of suggestions are rarely followed. So what if my husband and I were to die today? What is it that we want our children to know? We have a son and a daughter, and the world will most likely continue to be a very challenging, dangerous, immoral, self-centered place. So what are the ideals that we want our children to have? Of course, courage, respectfulness, kindness are in there, but how do you communicate these ideals very specifically with a young man or a young woman when the world muddles up these ideals with gray areas and exceptions?
I am going to take my best shot at this and sum up in precise measures, what it means to be a good person. Time tested solutions to most, if not all, of the problems and tough decisions in life.
1. Find a Church that you like, and go there. Go there as often as possible. Take part in the community that the Church provides, take advantage of what the Church has to offer, and make sure that you find something of value to offer to the Church, whether it be time, talent, money or perspective. Because no matter where you are in the world, what your age, what your life experience, or how much money you make, you will always be welcome there, and there you will always find Hope.
2. Pray often. Your father and I have not always been very diligent about prayer, but when we have needed the Lord, we have prayed, and the Lord has NEVER let us down. I am not kidding, the Lord will come through, for you too. It may take weeks, it may take decades, but pray often and pray thoughtfully, and He will always have your back.
3. Shut off the media. This is something that your father and I never had to deal with growing up. The constant barrage of TV channels, reality shows, newsfeeds, Twitters, Facebooking, Youtubing, is truly mind numbing. Remember that technology and media is an escape, it is not reality. Whenever you begin to think that your life is an online persona, turn it off. It is as addictive as it is fake. It can ruin your real life relationships, shelter you from others, and redirect your destiny in negative ways. Your life is not your computer or a television show. This may be hard to believe as a teenager and young adult. But remember, your life begins when you tune out and turn off. Trust us.
4. Remember that you are beautiful miracle! Not to be vain or narcissistic. But, when that nasty girl calls you a name in high school, when somebody stands you up or breaks your heart in college, when that jerk of a boss fires you, or a professor, or a boyfriend, or a best friend tells you that you're not enough, remember that you are amazing and wonderful beyond compare! When people treat you like dirt, and they will, remember that I prayed for years to bring you both into this world! Remember that God made you perfectly and that He has counted every hair on your beautiful head. And you, my beautiful baby, you are enough. Walk away from anyone that treats you as less than, because you are a miracle and a beautiful blessing.
5. Marry for love. When things get rough and the "ish" hits the fan, love is the only thing that will get you through it.
6. Respect and protect the integrity of everyone. It is very easy to respect the smart guy, strong guy, rich guy, but the true measure of humanity is the ability to treat even the least among us with integrity and respect. Animals, children, elderly, the immigrant, the poor and the disabled, they all have value, they all deserve to have a voice. You may be their voice someday if you choose, and sometimes you may be chosen to be their voice. Accept that responsibility with great care and judgment and pray for guidance along the way.
7. Don't do drugs, don't smoke. Don't drink until you are legally allowed to do so, and even then, watch yourself and know your own limits. Not only do drugs and alcohol hurt you and eventually kill you, but they hurt the people around you.
8. Clean up after yourself. Clean up after others.
9. Stay away from credit cards and save, save, save! You will be so glad that you did.
10. Take care of your health. We could just say, eat well and exercise, but it goes deeper than this. When you're healthy physically, mentally and emotionally, your day runs smoother, you feel better about yourself, you have more energy, you have a better life, period. So get involved in sports, dance, theater, choir, whatever you want to do and of course, learn to cook! Not being able to cook is a huge regret of mine, and it is one of the reasons that I have unfortunately spent many years eating packaged and processed foods. So take a cooking class or two and take care of yourself!
11. Landon, never hit a woman. Be a gentleman. Always treat women with the utmost respect and care.
12. Ava, if a man hits you, he is not a man. Leave him immediately and never look back.
13. Be faithful to your family. When you are single, be faithful to your mother, father, siblings, your cousins, your aunts and uncles. Show up for holidays, ask them about their lives, take care to let them know that you love them. When you are married, put your spouse first. Stay true to your spouse, be faithful to your spouse, forever.
14. Don't allow yourself to be exposed to the wrong people, things, or ideas. Be wary of who you call friend. Whether it be a coworker, significant other, or just someone you meet at a party. Understand that not every person is rational or good, some people are bad, plain and simple. Don't get caught up in groups that spread hate against anyone, don't get caught up in exclusivity, violence or verbal abuse towards anyone or anything. Some ideas are like bad rotten seeds, once they are planted, they take root and grow out of your control, taking over your life and your perspective on the world. They rot you in turn, from the inside out. Stay true to who you are and guard your heart as you would guard your own family and home.
15. Know that no matter how many times you make mistakes, you can always come home. We will always love you, unconditionally, no matter what.
Love,
Mom
I am going to take my best shot at this and sum up in precise measures, what it means to be a good person. Time tested solutions to most, if not all, of the problems and tough decisions in life.
1. Find a Church that you like, and go there. Go there as often as possible. Take part in the community that the Church provides, take advantage of what the Church has to offer, and make sure that you find something of value to offer to the Church, whether it be time, talent, money or perspective. Because no matter where you are in the world, what your age, what your life experience, or how much money you make, you will always be welcome there, and there you will always find Hope.
2. Pray often. Your father and I have not always been very diligent about prayer, but when we have needed the Lord, we have prayed, and the Lord has NEVER let us down. I am not kidding, the Lord will come through, for you too. It may take weeks, it may take decades, but pray often and pray thoughtfully, and He will always have your back.
3. Shut off the media. This is something that your father and I never had to deal with growing up. The constant barrage of TV channels, reality shows, newsfeeds, Twitters, Facebooking, Youtubing, is truly mind numbing. Remember that technology and media is an escape, it is not reality. Whenever you begin to think that your life is an online persona, turn it off. It is as addictive as it is fake. It can ruin your real life relationships, shelter you from others, and redirect your destiny in negative ways. Your life is not your computer or a television show. This may be hard to believe as a teenager and young adult. But remember, your life begins when you tune out and turn off. Trust us.
4. Remember that you are beautiful miracle! Not to be vain or narcissistic. But, when that nasty girl calls you a name in high school, when somebody stands you up or breaks your heart in college, when that jerk of a boss fires you, or a professor, or a boyfriend, or a best friend tells you that you're not enough, remember that you are amazing and wonderful beyond compare! When people treat you like dirt, and they will, remember that I prayed for years to bring you both into this world! Remember that God made you perfectly and that He has counted every hair on your beautiful head. And you, my beautiful baby, you are enough. Walk away from anyone that treats you as less than, because you are a miracle and a beautiful blessing.
5. Marry for love. When things get rough and the "ish" hits the fan, love is the only thing that will get you through it.
6. Respect and protect the integrity of everyone. It is very easy to respect the smart guy, strong guy, rich guy, but the true measure of humanity is the ability to treat even the least among us with integrity and respect. Animals, children, elderly, the immigrant, the poor and the disabled, they all have value, they all deserve to have a voice. You may be their voice someday if you choose, and sometimes you may be chosen to be their voice. Accept that responsibility with great care and judgment and pray for guidance along the way.
7. Don't do drugs, don't smoke. Don't drink until you are legally allowed to do so, and even then, watch yourself and know your own limits. Not only do drugs and alcohol hurt you and eventually kill you, but they hurt the people around you.
8. Clean up after yourself. Clean up after others.
9. Stay away from credit cards and save, save, save! You will be so glad that you did.
10. Take care of your health. We could just say, eat well and exercise, but it goes deeper than this. When you're healthy physically, mentally and emotionally, your day runs smoother, you feel better about yourself, you have more energy, you have a better life, period. So get involved in sports, dance, theater, choir, whatever you want to do and of course, learn to cook! Not being able to cook is a huge regret of mine, and it is one of the reasons that I have unfortunately spent many years eating packaged and processed foods. So take a cooking class or two and take care of yourself!
11. Landon, never hit a woman. Be a gentleman. Always treat women with the utmost respect and care.
12. Ava, if a man hits you, he is not a man. Leave him immediately and never look back.
13. Be faithful to your family. When you are single, be faithful to your mother, father, siblings, your cousins, your aunts and uncles. Show up for holidays, ask them about their lives, take care to let them know that you love them. When you are married, put your spouse first. Stay true to your spouse, be faithful to your spouse, forever.
14. Don't allow yourself to be exposed to the wrong people, things, or ideas. Be wary of who you call friend. Whether it be a coworker, significant other, or just someone you meet at a party. Understand that not every person is rational or good, some people are bad, plain and simple. Don't get caught up in groups that spread hate against anyone, don't get caught up in exclusivity, violence or verbal abuse towards anyone or anything. Some ideas are like bad rotten seeds, once they are planted, they take root and grow out of your control, taking over your life and your perspective on the world. They rot you in turn, from the inside out. Stay true to who you are and guard your heart as you would guard your own family and home.
15. Know that no matter how many times you make mistakes, you can always come home. We will always love you, unconditionally, no matter what.
Love,
Mom
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