The best part of a birthday in 8 pictures...

A new year

Or is it? It doesn't really seem so new to me, or maybe I'm just not ready to be in a new one or ready to acknowledge it. It's so weird anyway. I remember distinctly being so overwhelmingly pregnant with Ryder 2 years ago--praying he would come in December, then finally getting there 11 days into January. I can't believe my boy is so big! When people would say "they grow so fast" I just thought that was something you said once you had kids. I didn't really believe it. But I find myself wishing the days would last just a little longer, that the weeks wouldn't just be gone. I picture myself sitting at his high school graduation too easily. I know that seems so far off, but I literally feel the days pulling away from me. It's like the more I want more, the less they stick around. I try to enjoy every day, though, just bask in the point in time Ryder's experiencing now. I love that he's grown in so many ways, and am so proud he's just as smart as Daddy, and beyond eager to learn. I think of how it was to hold him for the first time, see him sit up, crawl, walk, run, and do everything inbetween for the first time and I never knew love like this before. I don't know what I would do with out him in my life.

Ryder is my angel, my life, my love, my miracle, my son, and most importantly mine. Paul and I are overwhelmed each day that he's really here in our lives. We feel like one day we'll wake up and it will all have been a dream. He's amazing....and crazy, busy, persistent, determined, stubborn, dramatic, and I love every bit of him. He's so handsome, too, so I could just stare at him all day. I can't believe he's my boy!

I love you beyond words!! Happy birthday in exactly 14 hours!!

Giving Thanks

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, right? And what do I have to be thankful for? Well, let me see here....

*my family

*my friends

*a roof over my head

*my angel son

*my amazing and supportive husband

*to be healthy

*for a healthy family

*the ability to grow, learn, and change

*my cutie pie dog Jewel

*my eyesight & hearing (lately I've been super grateful for this, and cannot imagine a world without it)

*for Paul's new job that he loves

*clothing on my back

*music

*modern technology

*modern medicine

*living in a free country

*for 2 reliable cars

*food

*time to spend with my family

*new experiences in new places (to live and visit)

*movies (and TV shows, thank you Doctor Who, you are amazing and such a nice break from reality!)

*a good night's sleep

*that Ryder is such a good, sound sleeper

*for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and my situation and my life

*and of course the Gospel goes hand in hand with this

There is so much more and I could go into miniscule details of this and more; like the feeling of the warm sun in my face after a long and dreary winter, the beautiful way a day starts and ends, the chance to travel, for my favorite song to play when I have a bad day, the way Ryder wants me to hold him at the end of the day when he's getting ready for bed, for a husband who looks at me and truly sees me exactly as I am and still chooses to love me and show that he does, and so much more.

I wish a happy thanksgiving to you all! May you spend it with loved ones and have a full day of love, laughter, and fun.