Another end, another beginning...

Well it's New Year's Eve. Already. I can't believe how fast this year flew by. I think it went by faster than any other year so far. I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on this year and think about the year to come.

This year has brought about a lot of joy and happiness as well as some frustrations. My daughter has grown by leaps and bounds, recently speaking in complete sentences and learning more and more French words by the day. She is just such a beautiful little gift. She makes me laugh when I am grumpy, I marvel at her intelligence and her loving personality. She has brought so much fulfillment to my life I can't begin to thank God enough for bringing her to me.

After many months of having no insurance and no prospects at getting any, we finally got health insurance and soon after conceived our second child. I am now almost 23 weeks pregnant with a healthy, active baby girl. My daughter will have a sister just like I wanted and I will be blessed with two beautiful daughters to cook with, laugh with and just be with. I couldn't be more thankful for this gift either. I am enjoying every kick and squirm in my belly and while I look forward to meeting my second child, I know that this will be my last pregnancy so I am trying to soak up every moment of what it feels like to have another human being growing inside me. I don't think there is any gift greater than to be a woman who is able to carry a child.

After much pondering, I decided to try to make a career out of my photography and actually got some things accomplished to that end. I got a DBA license, I got business cards, I did a photo shoot for friends, and I did my first craft show. While business is very slow to start, I am hoping to at least make a lucrative hobby out of it. Meanwhile I am staying in school to complete my bachelor's degree. I don't think I will regret that decision.

In fact, looking in to the future, (not this new year though) I may even decide to go for my master's degree in family and child therapy. I don't know if I'll need to go further on with school after that in order to have any kind of job but it is something that I think I would be very good at and it is something that interests me.

I am looking forward to my husband getting a teaching job and realizing a long-held goal of getting a bachelor's degree and career. He's been working very hard and I will be very proud to see him accomplish his goal and be happy in a new career.

I am looking forward to doing an art show with my mother at her local library this summer. I will get paid $50 for it and get my work out there and possibly sell some too if people like what they see. It's just another foot in the door which is always great.

I am looking forward to cooking more "clean" meals and making a lot more stuff from scratch. This week I made ice cream and I am going to be making cinnamon raisin bread also. I feel so much better as a mother to give my daughter food that I prepared and is minimally (or not at all) processed. I want to make sure I eat more fruits and veggies as well.

While I am hoping for more good things this year, I recognize that every year has it's hard times and I just hope that I will have the strength and wisdom to face them and that I can support my family with whatever they will need.

Here's to a happy and healthy new year for everyone! I hope everyone is safe tonight and is able to ring in the new year with someone special!

Change

Well I am feeling much better and more optimistic since the last time I wrote. First of all, I had my ultrasound a couple weeks ago and was very relieved to learn that everything was good. All my genetic tests came back normal and everything looked like it was supposed to with the baby. The placenta is also attaching to the back of my uterus which is where it is supposed to be.

And after a lot of thinking that we weren't going to be able to find out the sex, the technician was able to get a good shot and let us know that we are having another girl! I am so excited. That is exactly what I wanted. I said I only wanted two kids and I wanted Riley to have a sister so it couldn't be more perfect! Now the two of them sharing a room will be much less of a problem and I will have to buy a lot less clothes and toys. We have a name picked out for her which I love, but no middle name so far. I only told my mother and two best friends what I'm having and I'm trying to keep it a secret from everyone else until I have the baby. I couldn't wait for the surprise, but I would like it to be a surprise for everyone else at least. I'm not even telling anyone the name either. I don't want to hear any feedback until the baby is born.

Riley is going to be such a good big sister too. She's always wanting to rub my belling and kiss it and talk to the baby. She is so gentle and sweet with her dolls and stuffed animals too. I'm just hoping that continues and she doesn't turn into a jealous monster once the baby is born. I'm hoping that I can pay her enough attention so that that won't happen, but only time will tell I guess.

Another thing that has boosted my mood was the craft fair I did this weekend. I went and picked up my mom who sat with me there all day. Thank God for that or I wouldn't have been able to get up to pee a thousand times like I had to! Anyway, I didn't sell anything but a few notecards, but I got a ton of compliments and pointers on how to kick my career up a notch. A lot of people took my card so I got my name out there and they were genuinely impressed with my work which made me very happy. I was across the aisle from two art teachers who bought some cards and really liked my stuff and then approached by another artist there who wanted to use some of my work to paint. Even though I didn't sell any prints like I had hoped, I left with a feeling of a job well done and satisfaction that people really enjoyed my work.

Lastly, after much worry and consideration and deliberation, I have decided to stay in school. I am not continuing in the same program however. I talked to my mentor at school who informed me of a program that I was not aware of before. It is an educational studies degree which is basically the same as the degree that I was getting except that it doesn't end in a teaching certification which is fine with me because as I've stated before, I don't want to teach anyway. So, now I don't have to worry about what to do with the kids while I'm trying to do the observations and student teaching that is required with that degree. I also don't have to pay back $700/month in student loans. That takes a load off my mind. I'll also end up with the bachelor's degree that I have worked so hard to get up until this point. I know that I will be happy with that and it will open more doors down the road if I can't manage to make the photography thing into an actual business.

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner. The weather has been so crappy out this week that I haven't been able to get out much so I am hoping that tomorrow it is a little better so that I can get the majority of the stuff I have left done. I have been making cookies for a few days and still have some more to do. I'm not quite sure who I'm making them for, but it's been fun!

Anyway, I'm feeling so much better about life in general than I was before. It goes to show you how much can change in just a little while. :-)