Accomplishing the little things.

 Well, friends I have met my goal of starting to drive myself around. I really had no choice when I decided that I needed to continue with Mason's speech therapy here in Alaska. Back in New York the company that we were working with sent the therapists out to your home, but here in Alaska they don't have enough resources to do that, so despite my irrational fear of learning my new surroundings and getting behind the wheel of our vehicle without any passenger side help from Brad I had to get out and get going. And, I'm so glad that I did!! I feel like I have a new freedom and as silly as this sounds I get so proud of myself when I reach a new destination. I always text Brad to let him know that I made it and that I'm not lost or dead and because he is so amazing he always acts like he is so happy for me...lol! I always get a "Yea!" or "Awesome, babe!" text back from him and it makes me giggle, because I feel like one of the kids, who needs positive reenforcement just to get simple tasks done, but I don't care...it works!

  When I first got here it was all about comparing the differences of Alaska and New York. New York has better malls, the city area is nicer, the fast food is better..LOL!..etc. But, since living here I have come to love the scenery. Back in Rochester when driving to the store I didn't have beautiful snow capped mountains to look at. To the left are some pics that I took while driving home from church last night (let's not waste time worrying about if I pulled off to the side of road before breaking out the iPhone to snap some pics.).  It's beautiful!! When I first got here Brad told me the view would get old, but it hasn't yet and I hope it never does. The other thing that New York doesn't have is Brad, my absolute favorite person in the whole world. Even if Alaska didn't have the beauty of it's majestic mountains it would still be better than New York, because it holds my heart.     

Eva the Diva: My heart and soul

  I always wanted a daughter. Just one. One perfect little girl that I could have fun playing dress up with and go on mommy/daughter dates to get pedicures and eat coffee ice cream. My first two babies were boys and I loved them to pieces. They were perfect. Happy, healthy, chubby babies. But, when I found out I was pregnant for a third time all of that "I just want a healthy baby" nonsense goodness went out the window. I wanted a girl, darnit! And, I got her.
  I don't even know how to put into words what Eva Grace means to me. Saying I feel lucky or blessed just doesn't seem to accurately describe the overwhelming love I have for her. She is everything I ever dreamt of. She is funny, smart, beautiful, outgoing, stubborn...simply lovely. She also talks with a little lisp that is to die for. I find myself making her say words with the letter "s" in them, just so I can hear it and feel my heart smile. How can I not take out my phone and snap a picture when she poses herself on top of her diapers (see above) and says "Cheesthe!"
  Today we went to the store. I had so much to get, I had been putting it off for a while and so I did what any insane mother would do..I let my 19 1/2 month old daughter walk around. She actually did really well and she loved it! She had so much fun pointing out everything that she thought was "Cute!" (her new favorite word) . I had so much fun watching her that I didn't realize what a hellion Mason was being until I looked up and saw another mother staring in disbelief and possibly disgust with her two kids sitting perfectly in the cart staring at my kids (wishing their mom was cool enough to let them run in circles around the aisle, I'm sure). I smiled sheepishly and scooped up Eva while yelling at Mason to hold onto the shopping cart and stop running around. I made a beeline for the check out, no need to entertain the the confused and disturbed public any longer. I mean really? Children out of the cart having a little fun?? The horror!
  Once we finished checking out a nice young man helped us out to the car and Eva was smitten. She was staring at him pointing out how "Cute!" he was and she even threw an "Awe!" in there. It's moments like that that I realize how much payback I have coming to me for the way I was as a child. She might be trouble when she's older and I may or may not believe in locking my children in their rooms until the teen years pass, but right now she's my little angel face and she can pretty much do no wrong.
  I hope that one day when she is grown we can remain close and form a friendship. I hope that she looks up to me and thinks I'm a great mom, but most of all I hope she'll be able to look back on her childhood and time spent at home and be able to feel all of love that I have for her and I hope that she will know that she was and is an answer to a prayer that I held in my heart for a long while.

Don't mind the nudist in the background. All of his important parts are covered.