Oopsie.
Talk about Life HAPPENING! 2018 went by in an instant.
Here's a quick run down:
April :
My parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary, and got to see so many friends and family at their celebration, hosted by all their kids and kids-in-law. :) And the grandkids, who did an awesome job helping out and evening providing some entertainment! Damion and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary! If memory serves me correctly, one of us was sick (again). That made us 0/4 in how we planned on celebrating our wedding anniversaries. :)
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| Yummy Cupcakes from the party! |
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| My youngest niece wearing my Mom's wedding dress! Hello 1978! :) |
May :
Most of the month was pretty chill for us. I worked on my oil business a bit, and visited friends and family when I could. Near the end of the month, Damion had a small accident at work and got burned on his arm. Thankfully, his beard saved his face from being harmed.. but the beard sacrificed itself to make that happen. So, his three-and-a-half year beard had to go. It was nice seeing his face again, though. ;o) <3
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| My Friend and their sweet new puppy, Pippa! It's been a year since they picked her up, and she's GINORMOUS now! <3 |
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| My display at an Oil Class I taught for my Sister's friends at church. |
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| Leaving Urgent Care |
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| Goodbye for now, Beard. Hello, Handsome! <3 |
June :
Both of us have June birthdays, so we spent some time celebrating one another. Delicious steak dinner for his birthday, and he spoiled me with lots of fun goodies and gifts and a from-scratch cake for my birthday. Over Father's Day Weekend, while his parents were visiting, Damion also was baptized at our church. Though its been years since he gave his life to Christ, this was his first time being baptized as a Believer.
Later in the month, Damion's mom had some unexpected and complicated medical issues. So, I drove up to Baltimore to be with her at Johns Hopkins while they treated and cared for her.
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| My Sweet Hubby spoiled me for my 39th Birthday. |
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| Molinda's Family send her this fun gift basket while she was at Johns Hopkins. Making the balloon her new necktie was her idea. Haha! |
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| When she was allowed out of bed, she wanted to look over the city. We were pretty high up, so the view was pretty incredible! |
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| Patient Aide Selfie! I got to watch (sorta, from the other side) my first spinal tap! |
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| <3 Thankful for the leadership and love from Central Baptist Church. |
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| We are so happy that Damion's parents got to be with us that weekend! |
July :
We started the month focused on my Mother-In-Law's care, but did manage to get away for a couple of days to Williamsburg to rest. Our minds were greatly distracted while we were there, but we did get to drive around to see some sights and take some time to rest together. About a week or so later, things really changed in our home, though.
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| Williamsburg, VA |
On July 10, we welcomed our first Foster Care placement into our home. The sweetest little 3 month old baby girl. <3 Sweet Girl came to our home that evening, and our hearts melted. She came to my arms, I carried her to the living room, and she and I laughed at one another for a good solid two minutes. <3 <3
Needless to say... the next 114 days were pretty much all about her! I jumped head first into Motherhood, as best as I knew how, and I loved every moment. Not every moment was easy, but it was worth it. She was worth it. She still is, even though we don't get to see her any more.
I wrote this to her two days after she left our home in November:
"For 114 days and nights, we got to watch you grow and learn. We fell in love with you right away, and your shy grin turned into full belly laughs within days. Your tight squeezes where you nearly pulled every hair out of my head were painful, but the sweetest little gifts. How precious to see you experience rolling over, sitting up, trying foods, and reaching milestone after milestone! We will forever be grateful for the books we read, the songs we sang, and the goodnight kisses.
We will continue to pray that you heart will soften as you grow, and that Jesus would steal all of your affections. We pray for your continued reconciliation with family, that your little body would grow strong, and that your joy and happy smile will be a catalyst for peace.
Thank you so much to our friends and family who took you into their hearts as well, right away. Instant connections with friends, showered with love and gifts by family, and sweet gifts of playtime with other children that we love so much.
We will miss you so much."
I don't mean to be so vague about her life and family, but that is her story to share. I can say that while I have been so blessed to know and love other foster families in our lives, experiencing this first hand was more than I ever could have imagined. The immediate ways she made me worry, the deep ache that happened every time she went to sleep at night, knowing that I had to wait for HOURS to see her again... watching my Husband become a Daddy with every ounce of love and fervor that he could... God blessed us so much. She will forever be our first baby, and I am so thankful. <3
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| From the very first night, she slept all night long in her crib! |
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| I loved our mornings together in the quiet of the house. |
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| She enjoyed books right away, too! |
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| This girl was a CHAMP at all her doctors' visits! |
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| She was SUPER excited when it was time to start trying foods! It only took her until her third bite to get the hang of the spoon. |
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| This was our last weekend together. We took her to the beach for a couple of days with my family. |
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| The best squish-face-kisser ever! <3 |
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| This exactly describes how anxious she was to MOVE! As soon as she master turning over, nap times ended with her attempts to escape the crib. <3 |
Needless to say, the rest of our Summer and Fall went by quickly. We traveled a couple of times with her, to see my family in Hickory and a trip to the beach. In late September, she also got to tag along on a work weekend for me. My oil team got together for some training in Greensboro. That was really fun! Damion's mom traveled here to see us and help with her whenever she could, too. We would have no idea how special that would be until later.
In mid-November, I went to work at a new job outside the home. I work in the Office at a local ServPro franchise that friends of ours own. Administration isn't new to me, but this field of work is, and I love it! (I still love my job all these months later... looking forward to many more!)
We stayed home for Thanksgiving and enjoyed making a (much too) big meal for our house. For Christmas, we visited my family in Hickory, then drove down to Louisiana for the week. It's such a long haul down there, so we were grateful that our employers provided that time off work for us to see family.
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| My Nieces and Nephews playing around at Christmas. |
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| Enjoying the calm of Christmas vacation in Louisiana. |
My Aunt Lora was able to spend New Year's Eve with us, so it was a chill evening at home. :)
We moved into February with ease, and even though it RAINED SO MUCH all Winter long, we were excited to see the Spring coming. I even got flowers delivered to work for Valentine's Day. <3
And then, March 2019 came. And once again, our lives were altered forever...
