042: Goodbye 2012.

2012. 

The year I: 

Became a mama. 

Rode in a C130. 

Held a tutoring job. 

Celebrated my 2nd wedding anniversary.

 Nearly died. 

Discovered strengths I never knew I possessed. 

Started writing again. 

Prayed more fervently than ever before. 

Flew on planes with my baby who didn't cry.

 Made an effort to eat consciously. 

Rekindled my love for photography. 

Drank water, lots and lots of water.

 Learned the value of a dollar. 

Started my 2nd quilt.

 Lost old friends.

 Made new friends. 

Cherished nap time. 

Treasured play time.

 Began to love myself after years of hiding the hate. 

Whew. Big year.

blessings in 2013, sgym

038: After a tragedy...

I have spent the better part of today crying. The news of the senseless shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary has completely broken my heart as a mother, as a teacher, and as a human being.

There is about to be a huge backlash about gun control laws, mental illness, and the safety of our public schools. I want to address just a small part of this and hopefully encourage someone.

Homeschooling is wonderful. I was homeschooled. I am even considering homeschooling my son in the future.

After today, it is important to remember that so many public schools are GOOD, SAFE places for our children. Because of one man's insanity there is going to be a huge backlash against these good schools and great teachers.

I hope people choose to homeschool for anything except for fear. If fear rules our lives, then we wouldn't be living. We would avoid all public places. No malls. No movie theaters. No parks. No might clubs. No farmer's markets. No school plays.

We can't live like that. Instead, we need to be MORE involved in our schools. Know your teachers. Know your child's friends at schools. Know the principals. Know the coaches. Know the custodial staff even. Because tragedy struck this quiet community, it does not necessarily mean that we should pull our children out of public school by the hundreds.

After studying education and being in and out of the public school system myself, I realize everyone's situation is different.

There are so many great reasons to homeschool, I hope no one lets fear be their number one reason.

Hug your precious ones close tonight. There are so many families that can't.

blessings, sgym

035: Thoughts Thursday: Try it.

I am a child of the nineties. My fond memories of school lunch included Dunkaroo's and Mondos. Capri Suns still bring back a flood of happiness. Don't get me started on Lunchables. And then they started making pizza ones too? A can of Dr. Pepper on a hot summer day after running around at the park with my siblings. Sweet tea and Ritz crackers with cheese. Ok. Getting too excited. 

We could say, "You ate that and you're fine."

Who wants to be "fine." Really. Think about it.

Maybe it's just me, but I want excellent. Spectacular. Fantastic.

I also want delicious. Scrumptious. Yummy in my tummy.

I battle allergies, soreness, and exhaustion. I can blame my 7 month old for some of the deprived sleep, but I've always felt tired. I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of thinking feeling "just fine" is fine. For me, it isn't. Not anymore.

I've been thinking about what I eat. I've heard "food is fuel." I've heard "you are what you eat." I've heard "I deserve this." I've heard myself say each of those a few times. Last night my husband told me he wanted to change what we eat too. I think I could have jumped to the moon I was so happy. So, as a family, for our son, for our future as a couple, for our health...

I'm learning. I'm reading. I'm listening.

So, here's the thought I'd share today:

My mom and I are participating in a CSA at Real Food Farms in Brentwood, TN.

This is a shot from when we picked up our half-share yesterday.

There's my food in the distance, growing.

I love that.

blessings, sgym

028: Mama Monday, the First.

Today is, was, mama monday. Today, my baby turned 7 months old. Just 5 months ago I felt like we were NEVER getting out of the rut of feeling sickly and tired, using the nipple shield to nurse, glugging back water every five minutes, and trying to keep myself from spinning into a spiral of self pity and PPD. So, the first mama monday is a reflection day.

1. Breathe.

I kept forgetting that the small(ish) baby sleeping near me while I caught up on my dvr wouldn't be that small forever. I couldn't figure out how to leave him alone and get the household chores done. The laundry was on its third full basket. I was trying to balance both extended families, church, husband, and friend time. It took me time, but I slowly learned to breathe. I've always been a people pleaser. I have a hard time saying NO. So. Stop. Breathe. Kiss your baby's head. They won't be that small much longer.

2. Follow your instincts.

Before my baby was laid on my chest, I knew exactly how I was going to parent. I had all the answers. Everything was figured out. HA. Yes. I'll say it again. HA. Now, I'm following my gut. It's been right 99.9% of the time so far. I know when he needs sleep, food, cuddles, more sleep, and even more food. I can't tell you how. I just know my baby. I hope I can keep with it as he grows. My instincts told me that I MUST breastfeed (and so did my monthly budget). I fell into co-sleeping by accident, did research, and now I think I could even call myself well rested. There are others, but those are the two I can discuss in one sentence.

3. Take a ton of pictures.

One day my little man won't be so little. Cliche. Yes. Don't care. He won't be and I want to remember these short and beautiful times.


In the spirit of my "ton of pictures" mantra, here is Mal. Newborn through 7 months:

 newborn.

---

one month.

---

two months.

---

three months.

---

four months.

---

five months.

---

six months.

---

seven months.

---

If you're caught in the cyclical depression of early motherhood; breathe, follow your instincts, and take a TON of pictures. You will be out of it soon enough.
Try to enjoy it, love.

blessings, sgym

023: No, Let Me Sum Up...

To try and call the past few months "busy" would be an understatement. There was a trip to Nashville, Cage taking test after test, the holidays, over 50 hours spent in the car, and nearly running out of money more than once. Needless to say, it was a very exciting time. And, exciting times sometimes pull me away from blogging at all. I'd love to write more often, but I'm afraid my life is just going to get even MORE busy. It looks like we're moving back to Nashville in early March. We still have NO idea where we're going to live, but we're putting it in God's hands while diligently searching for apartment complexes that would be equidistant from Cage's work and the church we'd like to attend. They're about an hour apart, so living half-way between them would be very good for us. Since that's the Brentwood/Franklin area... we're pretty much out of luck. This is why we don't rely on luck but the goodness of our Lord, hallejuah and amen. Haha, I'm having to hold a mini-church service over this issue because it's seriously stressing me out. So, what else is coming up for us? Uhhhhhhh... Birthdays! Cage and I are turning 24 on Feb 22 and Mar 6th, respectively. I've been working out under an incentive program here at the base in Biloxi. Basically I'm working out 4 days or 5 days a week from Jan 13th to Feb 28th. I don't think I'll win any prizes, but I lost 3 lbs in the first week and 2 inches in my waist by the second week. Soooo, maybe it's working? My goal is less to lose weight and more to get in shape. I want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs (or two) and NOT be so winded I'm having to sit down and rest for 10 minutes. Lots of pictures from the holidays and other adventures are sure to come. I've just got to upload them and then I'll get them to ya, no worries.

So yeah. Laundry is calling out my name.

blessings, sgym

021: Mississippi. Home.

It's weird to me that I'm not living in Tennessee. I've lived there my whole life. Now, I'm not a shut-in that's never stepped foot outside a 100 mile radius of my hometown... but LIVING somewhere other than Tennessee is still weird to me. Mississippi is a mixture of new, exciting, and humidity that makes you want to cry because your make-up is sweating off and your hair is sticking to the sides of your face. That might be a dramatic interpretation of the humidity here, but it's true. I will never complain about Nashville's humidity as long as I live. I do find that I'm enjoying being in the heat though. It's a reminder of the fact I live within walking distance of the beach. I get to see my husband everyday. It's for only two hours a day but, I get him the entire weekend. I spend my time in my apartment making it into a home. I spend my time outside of our home with my new friend, Emily. I have to say, having a friend down here has been absolutely wonderful. We've been exploring the surrounding towns and relaxing at different coffee shops. I have ambitions for my time down here, but I haven't figured out which plan to put into motion first. I guess you'll be the first to find out.

That's all I have to say for now. Blessings.
sgym

020: Well. It's here.

Moving time. It's 7:13am. I've been up for over an hour. My car is packed. My parents' van is packed.

I'm out.

Goodbye until next time, Nashville.
Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone.

blessings.
sgym

017: Graduation

I cannot express how ecstatic I was this past weekend. Only if you've gone through something of this level of separation from your spouse, can you understand how incredible it is to see them again. From what I can tell, Cage had an adventure. He said multiple times that it was incredibly difficult, but he never really complained about the experience. Yeah, he said it sucked... but he wasn't whining. I am so impressed by his positive attitude throughout this entire process that it really has lifted my own spirits. The weekend was busy, but very fun. I picked up Cage's sisters from the airport around midnight and we were finally in bed and sleeping by 1:30am. We were up at 6am, the Airman's Run at 8am, and the Coin Ceremony at 11am. Because of bad weather, each training squadron did their own coin ceremonies at their headquarters. Cage had the rest of the day free to be with us, of course, his priority was eating! We hit up Burger King and then went to the bowling alley on base. After that we just wasted time at the mini malls and had some dinner before returning Cage to his training squadron. The girls and I then hit up Target and Ross for Cage's snack and swim suits for the pool the next day. We were up (again!) at 6am the next morning for the Graduation Parade. It would have been rained out and held in the training squadron headquarters again, except there was 4 Star General in attendance! His niece was graduating! How cool is that!? So, they did the parade in their ABUs (the camo outfits) which apparently has NEVER happened before. It was really cool, and since Cage was in the band flight, he got to play his trumpet and march around all important like with the brass and bugle corps. We then had to wait, while everyone else got to go to their Airman, while the band put up their instruments. After they were dismissed, we walked over to his dorm to see it. It was very interesting to say the least, and I will probably NEVER complain about my lodgings in college after seeing where Cage had to live for almost 2 months! We left Cage there to change into his blues, and went to get the car. I think I walked almost 4 miles throughout this past weekend. We drove back, picked up Cage, and went to Taco Bell for lunch. We went back to the hotel, had some alone time, went swimming with his sisters, watched hours of TV, took naps, talked to family on the phone... Basically, an awesome day. We went to dinner at a Chile's down the street and I was a little wary of the part of town we were in, but I did feel safer since Cage was with us! We had Cage back on time to walk over to his dorm, and the girls and I went back to the hotel and passed out! The next day we got to sleep in until 8am! I woke up at 6:45am and couldn't fall back asleep! But we were there on time to pick up Cage for our San Antonio adventure! We hit up Lulu's Bakery and Cafe, which was featured on the Travel Channel's Man VS. Food, and enjoyed their 3lb. cinnamon roll! After we had gorged, I drove around to find a parking garage, which was incredibly stressful, and finally parked the car. We walked through downtown until we found the Alamo, which was beautiful, and we then walked down the RiverWalk for a while. I have to admit, it was way too hot to be outside for much longer, so we retreated into the Mall! We decided to watch a movie with the small amount of time we had remaining. Cage hasn't seen ANY of the summer movies yet, so we thought it was a great idea! We watched The Karate Kid because of Cage's great love for Jackie Chan. After the movie, we were cutting it close to get the sisters to the airport on time, but we made it and their flight left without a hitch (as far as I know!). Cage and I had some alone time and got to talk through a lot of the changes coming up for our family in the next month. I had Cage back on time at the dorm and packed up my hotel room while watching Disney Channel for hours and hours. I did fall asleep, eventually. It was difficult being alone in that room and knowing that the next day was going to be the last time I see Cage for a while. Sunday was wonderful. Cage was restricted to base, so we ran the last few errands he needed to do before packing for Biloxi. We had some of his wingmen join us for an excursion to the BX and later for church. Church was such an incredible experience. The chapel was filled with 0-weekers to just graduated Airmen and their families. That many people in camo, with their arms wrapped around each other, some of them crying... It was powerful. After that, Cage and I ate a late lunch and I took him back to the dorm. Watching him walk away was, to date, one of the hardest things I've done in my life. I've already been able to text him a LOT, since the plane landed in Nashville... but I'm unsure of when I will get to see him again. I should be able to live in Biloxi and be near him, but both of us are unsure of when we will actually get to live together. If Cage and I were able to stay strong through just under two months of no more communication than 5 phone calls and 10 letters (I sent him 40+ letters)... we can make it through anything.

And, naturally, here are some pictures from the adventure!

013: Lucky Number?

Hoping that 13 is my lucky number since I'm driving 10 hours tomorrow to Owasso, Oklahoma to my Uncle's house for two weeks! Well, the second week is their church's youth camp, but still. Oklahoma. Two weeks. This is going to be such an awesome break up in the time that I'm waiting to see Cage again. I am really glad my Mom suggested it. I have received 5 letters and 1 phone call from Cage. I cannot wait for Sunday, because I have the chance again to talk to him. I know this sounds selfish, but I hope he calls ME! He has the option to call anyone, really. I can't lie, I'm living for the chance to hear his voice. So much of our relationship has been developed over the phone (since we spent two years at different universities) that it's the most natural thing in the world for us to talk or text. I don't look down on this form of communication.

Other plans... Hoping that my new sisters will be able to come to Cage's graduation with me in July. I'll be there Wednesday afternoon through Sunday evening, and I'd rather not spend the night times by myself. If we were to split a car and hotel... I think it would be crazy fun. What else can I ramble about... well, actually. I'm going to leave this post as is. Instead, I'm going to work on letter 21 for Cage that I will put in the mail in the AM before we leave for OK.

Goodnight all. Give your loved one a big hug, you never know when the next time may be.

sgym

011: Finding It Difficult.

For those of you who don't know, Cage is in San Antonio for training. He'll be there through his graduation on July 9th. He left this past Tuesday and I have to admit, I've been a robot. I would say I've been a mess, that I've been crying all the time every day, and that I mope around the house all day. Except, that wouldn't be true. I've been hanging out with Cage's family, tonight I'm having dinner with a friend and I've got a Starbucks date set up with another friend. I call myself a robot, simply because I'm trying incredibly hard to keep a brave face in all of this. This is probably the only time I will admit (to anyone outside of Cage and family) that I'm legitimately feeling pain in my chest from missing Cage. Just keep us in your prayers. We need strength and patience... and for time to pass by really REALLY quickly!

And what's a post by me if it doesn't have pictures? HA. No kind of post at all!

This is one photo from my bridal portrait session with Andy Morris of andycam productions.

It's rather random, but I love it. :) And, here are a few from our Honeymoon in Disney World.

010: We Are Nashville.

004: Hello Again, Dearest.

*brushes off the cobwebs*

Hello all. I'm not sure if anyone even checks this thing, but I have decided to give myself a hobby. A blogging hobby. Again. For the 5th time in my life. Yeah. So! I am going to make the next post a beautiful one with pictures from my trip to Arizona in June of 2009! I just used the fabulous picnik dot com to edit them a bit so they'll fit on the blog page. And I'll give more text updates as well. Topics including, but never limited to: the wedding, travels, my last semester at TN Tech, and what Cage and I are hoping for now that we are "adults." Stay tuned. It should be fun.

sgy