Another Year Gone

Another one afoot.

I am very pleased to report that mom got to go home on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, hubby and children and I joined my sister, one of our brothers, and their respective families at mom's house to fill it with love and laughter. Mom was very tired but thoroughly enjoyed being home with us all. A more blessed Christmas I've never had--I felt the glory of the holiday spirit alive in the gathering of close loved ones.

I am loving my new job. Of course, there are some things that are annoying, but my supervisors are supportive and generally happy, my office finally has some light (!) and I am continuously given challenges and opportunities to exercise my knowledge and skills. I've only been there for about six weeks but I feel that I am in the right place.

My son is doing well. He earned 90 out of 100 points last week in his program and achieved the next "phase." He is now allowed four hour passes and every time he gets to another level means that he will be home sooner!

Midwifery continues to be on my brain. As I read posts from my one-time classmates (Niki, Louisa, and Tiffany), I realize what I gave up almost a year ago. I will one day go back to school and become a midwife but it seems further and further away. At this point I have decided to wait until my youngest child is a freshman in high school. If the time seems right I will pursue my education sooner, but if I stay on my current path, I will return to school in 2013. I will be 39 years old and my eldest son will be 22. At that point I will have to begin the program all over again. I'm OK with it. Five years will vanish in no time.

Mommy, Football, Holidaze

OK, I admit it, I'm a HUGE football fan. Specifically, I'm a Seahawks fan. For our holiday gift this year, hubby and I went to see a Seahawks game two weeks ago. We watched them cream Arizona from 16 rows off the sideline, right behind the Seahawks defensive bench. I was soooo thrilled. Here is a pic of hubby and me in the stands. Excited? Yeah, I think we were!



Here is a shot of some of my favorite players. Specifically, here is a shot if my absolute 'Hawk,' Nate Burleson, number 81, my baby, the one hubby needs to be afraid of! Hahahahaa, just kidding.

We got into a wreck on the freeway on our way to the game. It was minor and no one was hurt, but our Subie has a nice-sized ding in the rear. Damn ice. Always collects on the bridges first...

My mom is still in the hospital and likely won't be out by Christmas Day. She had to have a second surgery, this time to remove a small portion of her small intestine because some scar tissue was adhering to itself. We were all pretty worried there for a couple of days but she is bouncing back and healing well. I have a small hope that we'll be able to give her the awesome gift of taking her home on Christmas.

I've been thinking a lot about moms who don't get to spend this holiday season with their children. My sister's son is on his way to battle in Iraq, along with so many other moms' kids. Another mom I know is in the hospital because she had a brain aneurysm. She was approximately 33 weeks pregnant when she underwent brain surgery and gave birth to her daughter via cesearean section a few days later. She has not been able to spend time with her new baby and has not seen her 8 year old son since being flown to the hospital in the beginning of all of this. If you'd like to visit her husband's hospital blog, please go here. Both mom and daughter are doing well and I wish them well.

So many other moms lost their babies this year to many different circumstances and my heart is with them.

I'm hoping that all of you who celebrate this time of year are being safe. Many blessings of light and laughter to everyone in the New Year and always.

Iris

If you haven't taken the opportunity as of yet to visit my friend Iris, please do. She is an inspiration. Seeing her, talking to her, reading her blog always reminds me that there is beauty in the world. I've had the distinct pleasure of knowing her in a few different ways--when I first met her, she was the new girlfriend of a long-time good friend of mine; then she became a friend; then she became my partner in the low end, playing killer drum grooves to my weird bass lines.

But, I think we really connected throughout her pregnancy. I was so excited when she told me she was going to have a baby--then she asked me to be there and I about hit the floor!

Thank you, Iris, for being my friend and bestowing upon me the honor of knowing you the way I do.

I love you.