Thankful Thursday – Thank YOU!

December 17, 2009 5 Comments


This Thursday, I am thankful not only for this awesomely geeky guy helping me make my blog look more interesting, but I am thankful for…

YOU!
You, my readers, and for everyone who voted for me in the Mom2Be blogger contest. I literally would not have won if not for the support from each and every person who reads this blog, and who voted for me as your favorite blogger. Blogging is something that I have done for a very, very long time over many platforms. My first blog was with LiveJournal; a place I still write from time to time. I’ve had my LiveJournal for nearly 9 years. I am not as active on it as I once was, but it was my very first internet journal. Since then I’ve used Xanga, MySpace blog, Blogger, I even dabbled in WordPress before deciding I liked it here better. Sometimes I blogged to be heard; sometimes I blogged just to “hear” myself think. I’ve really enjoyed blogging as a platform for my writing which is something I’ve loved to do since I was young.
I’m rambling, which is something I tend to do sometimes when I blog. The point of this Thankful Thursday is that I’m thankful for each and every one of my readers. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to get your glimpse into my daily life. Thank you for caring enough to keep coming back, and thank you for leaving your awesome comments. I never thought when I started this blog that it would get recognized for anything, and I’m in awe that my little piece of the ‘net has gotten even a little bit of praise. So thanks again, my readers, for your continued patronage to this space which I call “my blog!”
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Thankful Thursday – Thank You For the Music

December 10, 2009 4 Comments



It’s THANKFUL THURSDAY!
Today, I am thankful for music. More specifically, the musical gifts I’ve been blessed with.
Now this is not meant to toot my own horn but I am a musical person. I am nowhere near as musical as some people I know, namely the other members of my family. Amongst my brother, parents, aunts and cousins we are all musical. I was raised very closely with my aunts and cousins and music has always been a part of my life. There is not a single person in that group of folks who cannot sing or play an instrument (most of them can do both). Our family gatherings always included singing around the piano while my aunt played, usually in three and four part harmony. When I was 9 years old and my grandma Nellie (yes, baby Nellie’s namesake) was still alive we put together a very special present for her. Grandma Nellie was blind – she had macular degeneration.
So one year for Christmas, my entire family recorded a Christmas tape for her. We sang songs in the church most of my family belonged to in a choral-type arrangement; and also sang individual songs. Every grandchild had a part in it. I sang a solo; a song called “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella”. My two youngest cousins – Bryan and Laurie, both sang a verse of “Away in a Manger” (Laurie was like, THREE at the time). My dad (this was a few years before my parents divorced) sang “O Holy Night” in his beautiful voice… I’ve had a few versions of this tape over the years and always seem to misplace it. One of these days I want to get it on a CD and keep a better hold of it.
Believe me when I tell you, this tape wasn’t just “oh, look at the cute kids singing”. Again, I don’t want to toot the family horn but my family members are all very, very talented. I’m pretty much the only one who does not read music and play an instrument. I played clarinet for about three years and decided that vocal performance was more my niche.
I still perform vocally today. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, or know me in person you know I’m a Sweet Adeline. I belong to an international organization of women who sing 4 part a capella harmony in a barbershop style. I’ve been singing with my chorus for over a year now, and just recently formed a quartet with three other chorus mates. We’re calledRoute 41 and we had our first public performance this past Saturday. I love barbershop. Singing with my girls has filled a gap in my soul that I didn’t even know was there. I could have lived the rest of my life never finding a chorus that fit me and been perfectly, 100% happy in my life but since I’ve moved to Tennessee I’ve longed for an outlet for my love for singing and now I’ve found it. I love my chorus, and I’ve NEVER had as much fun singing as when I’m singing barbershop. Singing harmony lifts my spirit in a way that words can’t describe. When you find people that you can make music with.. Well, it’s pretty darn awesome.
So that is what I am thankful for today. I am thankful for music, and for having the gift of song inside me. I am very blessed to be able to express myself in such a creative way. I hope that my children inherit a little bit of my musicality because it would be really fun and wonderful to have that to share with them!

Note from Mama:
I made it to the finals at PregnancyCorner.com’s Mom2Be Blog Awards! PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! Click the blue VOTE 4 ME button in the top right hand corner of my blog!

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Thankful Thursday

December 3, 2009 2 Comments

This Thursday, I am thankful for our new apartment. We have so much more space it’s not even funny. I never really realized how small our one bedroom apartment was until we moved our things into this new place.

When we looked at it, it didn’t seem all that much bigger. Josh wanted to put the computer desk in the bedroom which I was skeptical about. I didn’t think there was any way our bedroom furniture plus a computer desk could fit, but once he got everything moved in and arranged I was amazed to see that not only did it fit, but we actually had room to spare. We have a wonderful walk-in closet and our own bathroom. That’s right, if we have guests stay with us we can actually close our bedroom door and use our own bathroom without having to worry about putting on robes (or clothes at all) to plod to the bathroom in the middle of the night… And our guests will have their very own bathroom, too.

Our living room is cozy and our walls adorned with our favorite movie posters (for those of you who are unaware, Josh and I are huge movie buffs). We actually have a little dining area, too and thanks to my brother-in-law will soon have a table set to put there. Josh put up family photos in our eating space; photos of me and him, of our grandparents, etc. My husband is actually quite the decorator. I’ve never been good with decorating or how things look spatially but he is fantastic at it!

I am so, so thankful that our baby girl has her own room. A nursery that he and I can work together on making a special place for her. It’s not much yet – we have her dresser up and it’s loaded with stuffed animals. Her changing table has been assembled and has some of her bath and first aid items on the shelves underneath. Her closet is full of hangers and is waiting for the little clothes to be put on them. I cannot wait to sit in there on the glider that we will soon be getting (thanks Grandpa Gerry and Sue!) and rock her while she feeds.

Our new place is a home. It’s where our family will begin, and where we will be for the next few years at least. I love it… It is perfect. I promise I will post pictures……. Soon.

Note from Mama:
I made it to the finals at PregnancyCorner.com’s Mom2Be Blog Awards! PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! Click the button, and vote for Natalie!!!!

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Thankful Thursday

November 26, 2009 1 Comment

I won’t be including a picture. I am updating from my home computer and my home computer likes to spaz out and crash when I do too many things at once, because it sucks.

Today, I am thankful for my Nellie Rose. The sweet, tiny little girl that’s growing inside of my womb as I sit here typing. I’m going to get to see her again next Saturday for our big 3D ultrasound and I can’t wait. One more look at her before she makes her big debut.

Yesterday, my doctor checked my cervix for dilation. I was amazed that it’s come to that already… My girl is really and truly just a few short weeks away from being in my arms. How did the time go so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I was standing in my bathroom, staring in disbelief at the positive pregnancy test, feeling overwhelmed that it had finally happened… It feels like yesterday that I first saw my tiny little baby on the ultrasound, giving us a wiggle and looking like a Gummi Bear. I felt like I was never going to get out of the first trimester; into that “safety zone” and now I’m just a few weeks away from delivery. The moment I’ve waited for for so long is going to be here before I know it.

Nellie Rose…. Thank you again for choosing me to be your mama. Thank you for staying with me, for growing big and healthy. I cherish every bump, every kick and every flutter that you give me. Even when you dig your little feet into my ribs.. I love it. I love to think about you; to imagine what you’re going to look like. I spend many moments dreaming about your personality, about what your likes and dislikes will be. We picked out your first stuffed animal yesterday.. One that’s from me and daddy. I hope that you will like it. I love you so much, little girl, and it’s amazing to me that my heart will fill even more with love when I lay eyes on you. It takes my breath away to think about how much richer my life will become with you in it… Because it’s already been enriched so much just by your kicks and nudges. Today – and every day – Nellie Rose, I am thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it. I am looking forward to eating myself into a food coma later.

Note from Mama:
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Filed Under: thankful thursday, thanksgiving

Thankful Thursday

November 19, 2009 6 Comments
Photo by Nancy Hellsten

I am thankful for my husband, Joshua and our marriage.

My husband is the most amazing human being I’ve ever met. He is kind, sweet, caring, funny, handsome, sexy, strong, loving, and makes the most amazing pot of chili you’ll ever eat. The 6 1/2 years I’ve known him have been richer because he’s been in my life. We have shared so many moments of laughter, of love, and even of sorrow. He truly is my other half; the part of my soul that I never knew was missing until I found it. If you know me, you know I’m not a religious person. I believe that he and I have been together and have known each other in many other lifetimes. We make sense together, and we are strong together.

I cannot wait to see my Joshua as a father. He already loves this child so much that it fills my heart to the point of bursting. To see him holding her; cuddling her, feeding her is something I can’t even wrap my mind around right now. I cannot wait to see him tell her stories, to wipe away her tears and hold her hand as she toddles along. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man is going to make a phenomenal daddy.

So today, and every other day of my life I am thankful for the sweet man that I am blessed to call my husband and my best friend.

Note from Mama:
If you enjoyed this post, please remember to vote for me at PregnancyCorner.com. You can do so by clicking on this button:

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And following their instructions. I have some pretty stiff competition. It only takes a few minutes, and you could help an up and coming mommy blogger take off and get some recognition. Thank you!

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Thankful Thursday

November 12, 2009 2 Comments

I’ve decided that in addition to doing Wordless Wednesday, I’m also going to do a “Thankful Thursday”. Too often in life we focus on the things we don’t have, when we should be sending all of our positive energy and gratitude toward the things we do have. So… Thankful Thursday. May not always be poignant, or particularly earth-shaking, but it will always be something that I am thankful for in my life.
This Thursday, I am thankful for the obvious. For my daughter. It still sounds a little strange to type, or say the words “my daughter”. Do we as mothers ever get used to saying it? I don’t know, ask me in another five years.
I am thankful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be this little girl’s mother. I am thankful for every day that I feel her move. I am thankful for every kick, every thump and every roll as it means she is growing big and strong. I am thankful that in just two short months, she will be out of my womb, and into my arms. I am thankful for you, Nellie Rose. I love you more than words can say.

Note from Mama:
If you enjoyed this post, please remember to vote for me at PregnancyCorner.com. You can do so by clicking on this button:

mom2be

And following their instructions. I have some pretty stiff competition. It only takes a few minutes, and you could help an up and coming mommy blogger take off and get some recognition. Thank you!

Filed Under: thankful thursday

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