Why I Love My Life

I kind of feel like my last few posts have been really negative in nature. I did have a rough week last week, so often my posts will skew to how I am feeling.

But I don't want to give anyone the impression that I don't love my daughter.  I love her greatly. Instead, I hope my blog reflects that being a mom is hard, and I often feel like I'm doing terribly at it.

So, I thought I would do a more positively-themed blog post, can call it, "Why I love my life". I know I need to spend more time focusing on the positive things in my life. I'm not sure exactly when I became a pessimist!  As a friend of mine once said, "No matter how bad your life is, there's always someone out there who wishes they were in your shoes."

* I get to spend every day pouring into my daughter. Do you know how many people wish they had that opportunity, and aren't able to do it for one reason or another?  I am blessed to have a husband that works incredibly hard so that I can stay home with Avonlea.

* I am so glad that I am able to be active. With the exception of some torn muscles in college, I have never had any injury that has kept me from being physically fit. Granted, certain times in my life I have been more fit than others. But I can say without hesitation that I can go out and run a 5K at any point, whether I have trained or not. A lot of people aren't able to do that. I'm training for my 7th Half Marathon.

* I am part of a mom group with women from our church (and a couple of moms from other churches). We call ourselves the Baby Mamas. It's so nice to be able to meet with moms of kids similarly aged to Avonlea, and share joys and struggles, and pray together. I love that our kids will grow up in the company of other kids, and they will see that their moms praying together.

* This might sound snobbish, but I don't mean it to. I am so thankful that I am smart. My parents (mom especially) put a high value on reading, and getting an education. Sometimes, I wish I had used my time  in school a little wiser, but isn't hindsight 20/20?  I love that I rock at Wheel of Fortune, and can hold my own in Jeopardy! I think it's fun to be knowledgeable. I enjoy the History Channel and the Discovery Channel (and not just because Mike Rowe is cute--but that doesn't hurt anything).

* I live in an incredibly amazing place. Yes, it's crowded and big and weird. But, it also has great beaches and hiking and activities and the weather is perfect and people invest in community and there's movies filmed here, too. And it's weird!

* We are part of an amazing church. We have felt like it was our church from the minute we walked in the doors. We have made incredible friends there, and I am challenged frequently by our amazing head pastor. I'm so thankful.

* We have amazing neighbors/landlords who like us and take care of us and our house. They also love taking care of Avonlea, which is an incredible blessing. And, in an emergency, they are a nurse and a retired firefighter. We feel incredibly safe here.

* It is amazing to see Avonlea growing and changing and learning new things all the time. I feel like she looks a little bit different every day, or learns something new every day. Today, she learned how to blow raspberries. Hilarious!

* Avonlea does a great job in the Baby Bjorn, facing out. Unless it's nap time, I can take her out and walk around the mall for a couple hours without any problems.

* Breastfeeding is going so great. I have no problems feeding her at home, or on the road. This was NOT possible a month ago, which is still fresh in my mind. She continues to be the messiest eater on the planet, though. :)  I'm so glad I'm able to give her mama milk.

* I love how I know exactly how to make her laugh. Squeeze her thighs, blow raspberries on her tummy, say "hi" like a karate move, smile and say "hi mama!"--whatever it is, her face lights up like a Christmas tree. It makes me so happy.