The Arrival Of Our Baby Girl

Our precious daughter was born on St. Patrick's Day, arriving exactly how she was supposed to! We are in love with her beyond words. JD is in love with her beyond words. JD is NOT in love with his mommy and daddy right now. :) We are still working that out!

Here are her stats:

March 17, 2011

7lbs 4oz

20 1/2 inches

Born at: 7:38am (random factoid: her brother was born at 7:37am)

Granbecks (also known as Gaga) holding Julia for the first time

Papa President holding Julia for the first time

Aunt Ricki holding Julia

Aunt Ricki and Uncle Badgeman

Grandpa Menard and Grandma Principal

Godmom holding Julia for the first time

Aimee holding Julia for the first time

Uncle VP, our first visitor at home!

I sure am hormonal so Lord knows in the coming weeks I will have lots to write about. :) And Julia will have a secret name like JD but thought the only peeps reading this blog were those that know me so you get the inside scoop! :)

Last Official Day of Summer

Its kind of hard to believe that we are in the middle/end of September, have already gotten a few teaser Fall days and yet TODAY is the final day of summer. I wouldn't have even known this factoid if my mom hadn't told me as summer basically ended for us at the end of July. Plus the only reason she knows this is because apparently TODAY is setting record heat indexes in Hoosierland.


That always happens...we are gung ho ready for nice weather by the time June arrives, pissed off if it even thinks about getting chilly or raining...and then a whole month later we are all burnt out of pool days and overwhelming heat and humidity that we can't WAIT for Fall to get here! Which is ridiculous because I HATE WINTER! Except for the month of December of course. Apparently I like my seasons to last a month and then I am over them. HA! Anyway, I am sure as JD gets older this will change as activities will keep us busy all summer long but for now this is our story.



Plus I LOVE (understatement) Fall. I love the smell, the wonderful temperature, the colors, the clothes (new jeans, sweatshirts), the decorations, Thanksgiving...well you name it I love it. If Fall could last all year I would be in heaven (side note: it does, you just have to move to Southern California...and in that case you do miss out on the fall colors but you DO get the wonderful temperatures!!)


But alas, I realized that I did not do ONE pool post this year...which is ridiculous because Mr. JD is quite the fish! This season brought some swimming with no floaties which is a far cry from LAST YEAR, holding our breath under water, swimming down to get sticks at the bottom of the shallow end AND jumping off the diving board for the first time (WITH floaties!). So on this last day of summer I thought I would share some of our highlights...

Happy Last Day of Summer everyone!! Fall 2010 HERE WE COME!!

Uncharted Territory

Lots and lots of "new" in the Glory Day's household. Don't know about you or you or even you over there, but we don't ALWAYS deal with change that well. On a side note: while in sales in my former, former life (did you catch that?) I saw several seminars on change and how to effectively handle it as adults. Interesting stuff. At that point in my life I hadn't even thought about change, let alone it being difficult. Turns out, I should have paid more attention.



Lets see, where shall I start? Well Granbecks and The Engineer have been living with us for 2 weeks now. They officially made it here from sunny California and are awaiting their moving truck to come and bring them their furnishings in order to move into their home. A toddler with an acquired attitude (see below for further detail), a Grandma, a dog, a cat, P-Daddy, The Engineer and me have all been living happily ever after. Its been interesting. But I have to say, it still feels like they are here just for a visit.



Having my mom here, in the same vicinity (they are living in the city next to ours), 15 minutes away is going to for sure be a change. I haven't lived this close to my mom since I was 19 years young. Try 10 years ago. Try that was hard to type because 10 years goes wayyyy to fast. I am not complaining about her closeness at all. We are thrilled. Just going to be a big change.



Speaking of Granbeck, I should probably mention that another big change a coming is that I got a J-O-B! That change still for sure hasn't sunk in. Not even close. Its a cool job. Its giving me the best of all worlds (in my humble opinion) as I will be working from home full time doing interesting stuff. I wanted full time employment but wanted to work from home (at least a little) and this, well I truly believe God handed this one to me. I feel blessed.

Back to Granbeck...she will be babysitting JD full time for us. This is what she wanted. This is what we wanted. I literally got this job the day before she arrived. To God be the Glory!

Speaking of my new job, well I start it very soon. You know, two days after we get back from our Greek Isles cruise. Another change. I have never been abroad....on a plane...for 9.5 hours...anyway back to the abroad part. So excited about that! I am pretty sure I am going to pretend I am in at least ONE scene of Mama Mia while there. I also might catch myself drinking (and shipping home) too much local wine. P-Daddy worked really, really hard last year and was awarded this trip through his work so we will be traveling with about 150 other people from the FBI. Don't worry, I will be on my best behavior. Long time away from JD, another change, but this is a once in a lifetime kind of trip. Pray the Dramamine knocks me out on the flight! :)

Speaking of JD, well he has officially entered the "terrible twos"...whatever that means. But I actually DO know what it means and I actually dislike it and I was actually in denial that my sweet pie son would ever be in this phase of life. He still is a sweetie pie, for the most part. But LORDY LORDY when he gets himself worked up we may as well just realize that the next half hour to an hour is going to be filled with screams and tears and tantrums. Perfect timing for P-Daddy and I to go on vacay right? The FBI knew and totally timed this on our behalf. And to that I say a BIG THANKS!

When we return and I start my new job and Granbeck is settled in her home and P-Daddy starts his weekly golf league and JD is being babysat everyday and most of our home is getting painted and I am 20 pounds skinnier and my house is clean all the time....oh sorry I was just dreaming for those last two...anyway...back to the "when we return" stuff...we are going to tackle potty training and big boy bed for the little man who also doesn't really love change. Probably not in that order and probably not all that well. But doggonit we will look pretty while we are doing it and eventually it will be did. :)

She's MY Mom, a daughter, a GranBeck, a Dear Friend, an Artist, Christian, a Blogger...AND... {13}

...ITS HER BIRTHDAY!!! Happy Birthday MOM! Don't worry, I won't tell the dear readers your age...but remember you are only as old as you FEEL...real age doesn't matter! Now go get yourself a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, stick some candles in it and make a wish!

Lets talk about mom for a minute. She is the youngest of 7 children and she is really the youngest. Her oldest sister was 20 years older than her and the closest sibling to her was 10 when she was born. Which makes life interesting as most of my cousins I call "aunt" and "uncle" because they are my moms age! Their kids are my age, and so on and so forth.

She has been a grocery store owner, a school teacher, a middle school women's basketball coach, a high school women's tennis coach, a volunteer for Christian Radio, a greeting card stock gal for stores, a summer softball coach, a girl scout leader, a business starter, a Jorgenson Electric logo and sign designer/painter, a bootie shaker, a DACC women's basketball player, a wind suit wearer (matching top and bottom of course), a conversion van driver (with curtains), a California dreamer...

...she is a high tech granny (but hasn't jumped on board with texting...yet), P-Daddy's favorite mom-in-law, a home designer, a babysitter, a many dog owner, Christian Women's Club President, Margarita and awful beer drinkin, choir singer, concert goer, motorcycle driving, mix tape/CD maker (still gettin em too and they rock...don't be jealous), a vacuum the entire house mother (including the trim and ceilings and whatever she can find to vacuum), a Halloween costume maker...

...she was a Junior Great Books instructor, WNBA fan, PTA momma, American Idol/Ellen/Bonnie Hunt/So You Think You Can Dance/The View (especially Whoopie) addict, the most amazing artist I know (and think she should seriously work on selling some of her stuff), a wife, Walmart shopper, a friend to everyone she meets (especially those seated next to her on airplanes)...

...she is the most tender hearted, kind person you will ever know, give you the shirt off her back and will listen to what you need so she can try to help, Contemporaires and RedCoats t-shirt maker, a sister who has seen her family through it all, cat owner, movie quoter (to be specific, What about Bob, City Slickers, Rush Hour, and Dumb and Dumber), the best Grandma a kid could ask for...she is MY MOM!

After all that, don't lie...you are jealous! I would be too! She is pretty amazing...I love you mom!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

If you want to give her some birthday love, click here! :)

My Belated Mother's Day Post...

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you hot, amazing, and oh so talented momma's out there in blogger world! I have no good excuses at all why I didn't post this yesterday other than I was enjoying my own Mother's Day! It was finally nice here in good old Indiana so we were able to enjoy some outside time! I am crossing my fingers that we will be able to do this on a regular basis now and that the RAIN is OVER! :)

Some pics of Mother's Day 2009 (a rare occasion that Mommy and JD get a photo shoot...a perk of the day!) :)

I first off want to thank my own mother, we call her Granbecks :) (she too has a blog and posted a lovely mother's day post which includes some very embarrassing photos of yours truly...if you get a chance, click on her name and give her some blogger love) for being such a wonderful momma to me! My mother, if you don't know her, is one of the most caring, thoughtful and amazing individuals you will ever meet. She is also very kind. I am so glad and proud to call her my MOM and hope to instill in my children the kindness and love for others as she has done for me! I LOVE YOU mom, and Happy Mother's Day.

Second...some of you may have figured out that a lot of my REAL LIFE friends also have children around JD's age. Aimee, Brooke, Laura, Ashley, Brooke, Talia, Jessica, Jaimie, and Tara to be exact. Aimee is my closest of all of those real/blogger friends and between our really close group of friendies 3 of us were prego together (not planned because lets be honest folks...that would be creepy). Through the blogger world I have had the opportunity to "reconnect" with some of the ladies above and see their grown up mommy selves. I have to say that I am so proud of the women that are in my life! You are ALL phenomenal women and wonderful mommies! I think it is so fun that we all have children around the same age...we need to get together for some playdates so these children know each other! :)

Last but not least...yesterday in church our pastor had an interesting spin on a Mother's Day sermon. He read out of Mark Chapter 10:1-16. That chapter actually talks about divorce...so when I looked it up and saw that I was confused. But as usual he did a wonderful job of bringing God's grace into the message. A couple of things that stuck with me dealt with the priority order of family. Meaning most of us put our children FIRST, and ourselves last. But God teaches us:

GOD
FAMILY

CHILDREN

...and that really got to me. Mostly because JD has been the "center" of our world since he was born. And that sometimes (as you even know as I have blogged about it) I have lost myself, and admittingly P-Daddy and I have had to find each other (through the poop and bath time and spit up). I always knew God should be first and we strive to make him that way, but I thought it was more like...

GOD

CHILDREN

HUSBAND

ME

...or maybe that is how I LIVE most of the time?! Well anyway, its nice to regain God's intention on our lives. The second and last thing that he said that I loved is: " HOME is where God is at center stage...when God is there we can all find our proper place."-Pastor Greg McGarvey

I am certainly not trying to preach to you, at you, NOTHING like that dear readers! This blog has always been about me sharing my thoughts on life...and I found this refreshing and powerful. :)

Before he went into his sermon, Pastor Greg read the below. Something many of the mothers out there have received as a forward I am sure...but I couldn't resist posting this because I think it is perfectly said and very witty! :)

POSITION: Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION:Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills! and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities.Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair,mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls,maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute,an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills,so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

I hope each and every Mom out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!