HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy New Year!!!!!!! (that's me shouting it out like everyone does when the clock strikes midnight on NYE!....at least I think that still happens. I'm pretty sure I haven't really celebrated/stayed awake on NYE in the past five years!)

So, anyway, it's a new year.

What? I'm a week behind? Everyone else started a new year over a week ago?

Oh, well, not me...and that's just the way it is! No one is going to tell me when I have to start a new year, wipe the slate clean, get organized, start a diet, right my wrongs, change bad habits, quite cold turkey!!!!!!

I've made it official that from now on I will not start a new year until at least January 8th...it is essential for me to have what I am proclaiming as "Transition Week". This extended year end allows me to gently transition from one holiday to the next at my own pace and not that of others, or the media, or the calendar as far as that goes! It's sort of like tacking on week 53...or better yet, week ZERO!

The end of a year is a very busy time for everyone and the past five years for our family have ended with some events that could be categorized as, well, eventful (ok, some might say stressful, but since I started a new year today I am committing to be more positive!) I tend to have a bit of anxiety around the holidays (some that know me VERY well might say "more than a bit", but I'm staying positive!) and the thought of turning over a new leaf right in the middle of winding up Christmas activities and preparing for Tytus' birthday and all the fun and family and traveling and tonsillectomies (okay, that doesn't happen every year) that is a part of this time of year tends to make my head spin!

From now on there will be no leaf turning until Transition Week is complete!

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I'm looking forward to sharing all of the goals I've set for this new (just now beginning) year!

Flashback Friday!

Since Tytus' birthday was yesterday and we are celebrating it through the weekend, I thought I would dedicate another post to him! This picture was taken the first time I was able to hold him exactly five years ago to the day...barely! It was almost midnight on January 7th, 2006 and I remember it like it was yesterday. I hadn't gotten to hold my baby yet and he was almost two days old, so I convinced Brock to go with me one more time to the NICU before trying to get some sleep (it was a long walk from my room to the NICU and since I had a c-section I wasn't really suppose to be walking that far by myself). When we got there the night nurses had just started their shift and one of them asked me if I wanted to hold him. Of course I said YES! I only had a few minutes to love on him because I was technically not suppose to be holding him yet. We were the only people in the NICU other than the nurses and they were all busy checking on babies and getting organized for the night. Brock and I just sat together and held our first child for the first time...and cried. It was a moment I will never forget and one of my favorite of my life.

Happy 5th Birthday T-Man!

Your twinkling blue eyes...

Your mild temperament and quiet confidence...


Your thoughtfulness and attention to all that is around you...



Your wittiness and creativity...




Your kind heart and sweet spirit...



are just a few of the things that have made the past FIVE years so AWESOME!


Thanks T. for being the blessing that God made you to be.


We love you,
Daddy, Mommy, Beau and Cash