Blessed Beyond Measure

Dropping N off in the morning is so much fun now! She stomps in every day. Ms. G refers to her as her little billy goat. N loves it! She is now walking into school on her own- Jeffy in one hand and Baby (equipped with carrier and "wawa") in the other hand. She knows exactly where the room is and takes me right to it every time. She walks into the room and always announces her presence and then immediately starts telling Ms. G a story. Who knows what the stories are about, but they are so captivating you feel like you were right there whenever it happened. Ms. G loves the stories too! She always shows me her artwork around the room and points out her favorite toys. Then she will take a small interest in whatever I brought for breakfast. All the while dancing or singing the entire time. I love seeing her happy. My mornings are ALWAYS full of blessings. Life is so sweet when you get to start your day off with a smile!

I kept hearing about a walk to benefit The American Cancer Society- specifically for breast cancer- on our local Christian music radio station. Every time I heard the announcement, I thought to myself that I should do that. I finally signed up and can't wait to be a part of it. Nixon and I are going to be walking in memory of my beautiful sister-in-law, Karen Gorka Hammerschmidt. We lost her this summer to breast cancer. Breast cancer is such a terrible disease- so we are doing what we can to make sure the cure is on the way!

N is LOVING school. Every morning when we arrive she insists on walking into the school on her own. She stomps in like a little billy goat. Then she runs in, excited to see Ms. G. Yesterday, Ms. G was sitting in a rocking chair and N jumped up into her lap and started telling her about her weekend with Nana and Papa. "Unc Ter" even got added into conversations yesterday. They had quite a time this weekend. At first she was a little shy, but having cajun snack mix opened her right up. She jumped into his lap and proceeded to give her baby sign for more. He loved sharing with her and she had a blast in his lap. That was the beginning of lots of fun for the two of them. Nana and Papa gave us a newborn Cabbage Patch doll- complete with it's own carrier and bottle. N has played with her non-stop since then. We feed it, rock it, sleep with it. We even went to school with it today. She insisted. N is growing up so fast- where did the time go?? What a great way to spend life. Lov...

There were tears this morning. I hate those tears. Those big blue eyes look at you with such sadness and brimming with those big, wet tears, just waiting to pour down her cheeks. I just wanted to hug her forever. I checked the webcam shortly after I left though and she was fine of course. Much worse for me than it is for her! I tried a new bible study last night at our new church. Mixed emotions about it. It is hard to keep N up so far past her bedtime. Especially when I see how tired she was this morning as a result. The one good thing was that her daddy was able to pick her and spend some time loving on her. She needs that daddy time here lately. She misses him so much during football season. We all do! Even the boys- who have probably devoured the wonderful breakfast I packed for N this morning, seeing as how I left it on the back porch when we left. Whew! Feels like Monday.

The first day of school rocked! N loved it all. She came home telling me all about school. She loved Ms. Gi Gi. She loved the dance and music class, the bunnies, the ball. I heard tons of stories in her own little language. She danced and sang the entire way home. Ms. G said that she is the biggest eater she has ever had- THREE lunches! That's our girl! She was just precious sharing her first day with me. Ok, a little tougher today. N had the strong face on this morning. The one where she wants to cry, but won't because she is being so strong. We were the first ones there and she was a little nervous. The webcam is down right now, so I can't check on her. I can't wait to see how she is doing!

We started our new school today. N is such a trooper. She screamed and clapped when we pulled up in the parking lot. "School" she yelled. She walked in with that sweet, shy grin on her face. She was filled with excitement with all of the new toys in the room. She took to Ms. G right away. With her sweet personality though, who wouldn't! I immediately sat her down at the snack table and let her begin breakfast. The other children began to arrive and N was eager to meet them. Jessica, a little girl quite a bit younger than N, came in like she owned the place. She is just learning to walk and toddled over to the table where N was eating. Apparantly Jessica is an eater like N. She plopped down in N's lap and started eating her snacks. I thought, N has met her match with this one. What a cutie! I have spent half of my day watching her on the school's webcam. What an awesome first day of school!

As I look out onto the sea of faces in front of me, I realize that they are each the greatest joy in someone's life. Although the years have faded the giggles and altered the eternal sunshine of their souls, they are still the precious baby of some lucky parent. There was once a first step, first smile, first laugh, first word. A book full of firsts and filled with pictures to tell the fairytale. I once just saw students filling my chairs. But time, and motherhood, has shown me that each chair is filled with the light of someone's soul- Be it a mother, grandmother, father, grandfather, or just a friend. This child is the product of a proud parent, sent to me with the best love one could provide for them. Sent to me with the trust that I will love them they way they want me to. I know this because as a mom, that is what I want for the love of my life. To be loved and cherished the way I would if she were with me all day. So I will love and I will cherish. And I will trust that a...