I'm Still Here..

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that we are still here... alive and kickin'!! Here's what's happened since I last blogged:

:::MONDAY:::

Maddy, Nash and I just hung out at the house for the day. About 4, my friend Jess came over to hang out before our big dinner out. We went to dinner, which was pretty dang good, at Texas Roadhouse. By the time we got home, it was almost bathtime, then bedtime.

:::TUESDAY:::

Not a whole lot happened on Tuesday. We stayed at home all day. About 5 PM, we went for a walk with Jess. It was nice to get out in the fresh air. That could be our last walk for a while, though. It's still only 22 degrees here right now. The high for the day is 47, so I'm not sure that we'll venture out into the great outdoors too much. On our walk, though, Jess had a good suggestion for my mom and me for our trip to South Carolina. She suggested that if we were going to stay in a hotel in Little Rock, that we should look into staying on the Air Force base there. I thought that was a GREAT idea!! So, we actually have some pretty concrete plans now. My mom will fly in on Monday (the day after my dad's birthday). I will pick her up at the airport, then we'll start our 8 or 9 hour drive to Little Rock. We'll stay on base in the hotel there (where Nash can stay with us too). When we get up in the morning, we'll start our 5 to 6 hour drive to Nashville. Depending on what the Nashvillians have going on, we'll decide how early we want to get started. Then, we'll visit with the folks there and stay with Chris and April (THANK YOU). Then, Wednesday morning, we'll hit the road again for another 8 or 9 hours to South Carolina. We'll be in South Carolina for just a couple of days before we hit the road once again to visit all you fine folks in Atlanta!! After the Atlanta trip, I think we might be able to relax a little before doing the cross-country trek again, in reverse. I was very pleased to get some sort of "final" plans mapped out...

:::WEDNESDAY:::

About 2 PM yesterday, we still had not left the house, and Maddy was getting a bit of cabin fever. I was pretty content with vegging on the couch for another day, but she needed to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. I couldn't figure out where to go (that didn't involve spending money), so we went to the "Y" to visit some of my former coworkers. Everyone LOVED seeing Maddy, and I LOVED having a few other people hold her for a little while. It was a nice break. While I was there, Jess called to see if I wanted to go on a quick shopping trip with her. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity. So, Maddy and I loaded up in the car and joined Jess while she hunted for a new sweater. Maddy and I finally returned home so we could have some dinner. Maddy wound up falling asleep in my arms off and on starting at about 7:30 PM. At 9, she was still sleeping, so I had a big decision to make... Do I still do a bath, or do I just skip the bath and feed her and put her to bed. We opted for no bath. I think it was a good choice. Maddy slept until about 4 AM, then again until about 7:30 AM!!! I almost forgot to mention... Maddy's passport got here on this day!! Isn't that EXCITING?!?!?! She's all ready to be a world traveller now!!!

:::THURSDAY:::

Maddy and I are just hanging out on the couch. She's, again, sleeping on me. I love her to pieces, but I wish that she'd nap in her crib. My mom tells me that she's going to get this kid to sleep in her crib during the day while we're visiting. She's got a lot more Mommy experience than I do, so I hope she's successful and can help me out with this!! Once Maddy wakes up, we're going to go to the Post Office to get stamps for our Christmas cards... which should be here ANY DAY NOW!!! Then, later this evening, Bryan's friend Marshall has invited Maddy and me to join him for dinner. He called yesterday just to make sure that we were hangin in there since Bryan had to leave. I thought that was really sweet. He offered to come over and hold Maddy if I needed to get anything done. I appreciated the offer, but we're doin A-OK. When he asked us to join him for dinner tonight, though, I couldn't pass that up!! I'm all about some food!!! :) It's also good to just get out every once in a while!!

The rest of the week doesn't have much in store for us. I have made a to do list of things that must get done before we leave, and I've spaced it out over the days leading up to our trip. Now, the real challenge is to make sure that I do everything on the days that I've assigned them, and not let them pile up until the last weekend!!

:::SPEAKING OF CHALLENGES:::

Here's my response to my mom's challenge... I know that this is not an original answer, but the thing I'm the most thankful for is my family. This includes my immediate family, extended family (Atlanta folks and those up north), my in-laws, my Air Force family and my friends. It's truly a blessing to know that pretty much no matter where I am, what the situation is or what I need, there is SOMEONE there who loves me and will be there for me. Even if that just means an ear to listen on the other end of the phone!! I've met some pretty amazing people in my life, and the vast majority of those people still pour out love and encouragement my way!!! I am also VERY thankful for the events of this past year!! I made it through a deployment (February through June), God gave us an incredible little person (October) and now I get to spend my favorite time of year (Christmas, New Year's and my birthday) with some of my favorite people!! I also have a husband who takes very good care of me... even when he's not able to be right here by my side. So, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for standing by me (even if it's just figuratively) through all the ups and downs!!! I couldn't imagine my life any other way!! You guys are the BEST!!

I guess I've gotten more wordy than I had planned (shocking, I know), so I'll end this!! I hope that everyone has a great ending to their week!!! I can't wait to see you all VERY soon!!

Love you guys!!

P.S. I love you, Bryan... I'm not sure if you'll get to read this, but I LOVE YOU!!! :)