December

I love December. I love the brisk cold air mixed with the smell of burning firewood. I love snuggling under a blanket with a big cup of hot chocolate. I love the smell of our Christmas tree just after we brought it home from the tree farm. I love celebrating the birth of our savior with my very own precious miracles. I always say that I love Christmas…well I do…but most of all, I love December. Now that summer is almost here, I long for the feeling that December brings to me. Ya see…Bella was born in December…right at the very beginning of the month. She made her grand entrance into my life on the 1^st. What a beautiful way to start a month off. I was so scared….scared of her…scared of myself….scared of what I would never be anymore. I would never be just Monica…I would never be able to sleep again…I would never be “single”…I would never stop worrying. How in the world was I going to be a mom? One minute I’m me, the next minute…I’m lost. I had to do this all by myself. But. I was never alone…I always had my dad. When everyone else looked down on me…he didn’t. When everyone else ran away from it all…he was there. It wasn’t as scary as I thought. At 11:00 A.M that Wednesday morning…everything changed. I held her….oh how I held her. I breathed her in…I cradled her so close…so warm…so soft. She fit ever so perfectly in my arm…her rosebud mouth puckering and her dark eyes searching for me. In that very moment, I became everything I was ever supposed to be. A beginning and an ending to a life….my life. Mine. She was mine. My life. This was it! My journey started that day. It has sure been hard at times, but it has sure been amazing. Bella is five years old now. Five sweet, beautiful years have passed. She is exactly as I always imagined her to be. Sassy, smart, beautiful, and hard headed. She has an amazing heart and free spirit. When you meet her…you love her. A mother has to endure so much. The worry, the heartbreak, the late nights… A mother…it’s all I have ever wanted to be. Now my first born…my sweet memories…my big girl…is going to kindergarten. I am having a tougher time with this than I thought I would. I have found myself psychotically watching her sleep and crying because I miss her already. Sometimes I think about leaving Chris all snug in our bed just to go and cuddle my baby girl while she sleeps. Is that healthy? Haha. Maybe. Or maybe not…who cares. There won’t be too many more years that I will get to do that. I think I may just take advantage of it while I can. The years just come and go…leaving us wondering were they ever real. Take advantage of that late night or early morning…it’s God’s gift to you. :)

Messy

I have been trying hard to get over my fear of messes...:) REALLY hard. So...we decided it is definitely time to let/help Gavin use a spoon by himself. He did get VERY messy, but it was so wonderful to watch.




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A boat ride to remember...

We decided it was time to take the boat out on the water. See....we haven't taken it out since summer before last. It was TIME. What is the point of having a boat if you don't ever take it on the water? - you might ask. It was a complicated summer last year...I had just had Gavin that March, and there just aren't too many people to leave a little bitty baby with...so we just decided not to. :) This summer was going to be quite different. Was? Yes...was... Ya see...we were out on the water (it was BEAUTIFUL), the kids were loving it. The boat was acting funny, but we just thought it was because it needed some small tuning up...we could handle that when we got back home. Well...we were wrong. :( We were probably out on the lake for about 2 hours before we decided it was time to head back. The guys (Chris and Alex) worked on getting the boat loaded and tied down when they noticed some milky white goop coming from the boat. UH OH... Yeah...it was everywhere in the engine. So now...we have to get that dang boat fixed before we can take it out again. But it was fun while it lasted. Wanna see?

Outside

"Outside" is our new favorite word here in the Eastham house. We spend TONS of time outside. Gavin is such a "boy"...he LOVES to get dirty and climb and run. We just love watching it. Bella is getting so much better about getting dirty...she doesn't cry as much. She is very helpful with Gavin too. She even helps him walk up and down the hill in the backyard. :) It's just amazing seeing a big sister help her baby brother.

We visited Garvan Gardens today! It was beautiful!!! Everyone needs to make time to visit this Spring and Summer. The kids loved it, and it was the perfect weather for it. :) I took my camera and got a couple of GREAT pictures of the kids.