Countdown to Kickoff - September 4th

38 days!

Work it Mommy!

Being a working Mommy has its pros and cons. The thing that I'm most lucky about though is that I get to choose. I know that many people may think it's craziness that I would still work (though not FT) even if we were well off financially. It's hard to explain but I want to try.

It's really a matter of what kind of person you are - what makes you feel productive, happy, satisfied? For me, I've always been the type that needs to be active. I need a challenge. A challenge for me is my job. I love what I do and I think I do it well. I look forward to the day that Adam can understand the good feeling I get from a job well done. I think that is one of the most important lessons I can pass down to him. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

I am a mommy first and foremost and having a job does not change that. In fact, in my house I think it makes me a better mommy. I get to feel productive outside of my home. I get to well-round myself. If I can feel confident in who I am it will carry over to mommy time and make me a more confident, stronger mommy. If the added hours will I was to do something that would stress and/or depress me that will also carry over. It's a big picture thing, I think.

It's such a difficult topic to summarize in a few paragraphs. It's a shame that mothers are judged on this choice. No one ever questions a dad why they choose to support their family the way they do. No one ever asks a dad how he can choose to leave his children to go to work.

I know that I am the best mommy I can be because I do what is right for my family not what others think I should have done.

And Time Marches On

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. I have longed and waited. I have cried and prayed. I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams. I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see. Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love. I will be a better mother for all that I have endured.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body, I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall. I have prevailed. I have succeeded. I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs. I listen. And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immerse power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life. Yes I will be a wonderful mother. - Author Unknown

To Serve and Protect

The motto of police officers in the United States is "to serve and protect" but Chinese police officer Jiang Xiaojuan went way above the call of duty when helping her fellow citizens affected by the recent 7.9 earthquake.

When Jiang, the mother of a six-month-old, realized there was nothing for hungry babies to eat, she started breastfeeding them herself. At one point the young mother was providing nourishment for nine babies. You can read the story here http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/22/china.breastfeed/index.html

Some of the babies Jiang nursed had lost both parents in the quake and are now being cared for in orphanages. She is still nursing two babies, whose mothers managed to survive but stopped producing breast milk due to the traumatic conditions.

There's a huge lump my throat at the difference this woman has made in the lives of so many people. What an amazing woman.

That's my Boy!

The boy models well.

Sitting up unassisted - even if only a few seconds.

What a gorgeous face. I can't get enough of him.

Rice cracker #2 - already an expert!

Shoot - The Photo Shoot

Sorry - forgot all about posting the pictures from our photo shoot last weekend - enjoy!