Our Family

Our Family

Monday, December 30, 2013

Wishes (Not Resolutions) and Reflections

We are almost through with 2013.  Almost gone! Can you believe it?  This past year has been pretty stable for us.  We’ve had some health scares – most notably with my dad this year as he was diagnosed with the “c” word.  Thank God it was one of the most treatable types though, prostate.  We are hoping for great news when he goes back to the doctor next month for the results of his radiation treatment. 
Jon gave me a scare earlier this year when he woke me up one night and couldn’t talk.  After a weekend in the hospital, it came down to being related to migraines and our wonderful family doctor gave him a couple of tips that would change his life.  One was suggesting that he take 400mg of magnesium oxide daily.  He had heard at a conference that this might help migraines.  He’s tried it and wow has it been successful.  Jon was having migraines almost daily and now rarely has one unless he’s skipped his medicine.  The second thing was putting him on a medicine to help keep his heart from jumping out of rhythm (he would occasionally notice it beating faster, confirmed it on a monitor that he wore, and the doctor thought this might be related to the migraines as well).  This has acted as an anxiety reducer for Jon.  When he takes the medicine, he is a much calmer, happier person.  Believe me, our world has changed (for the better) with these two tips!
I am so thankful that we were able to have a wonderful Christmas with my parents this year.  When you see others losing their parents and loved ones, it makes you thankful for the time you have with your own.  Most of the day was just Mom, Dad, Dakota, me and Jon (when he wasn’t hunting).  It was so peaceful and we laughed like we hadn’t laughed in a while.  The thing that touched me the most of all of our gifts actually happened a few days before (but Dakota opened it on Christmas day).  Mom bought the baby a Christmas present! It made my heart happy that she cared enough and thought enough about our future child that she would buy it a Christmas present before it even arrived. 
The weekend before Christmas, my wonderful, talented hubby began building the changing table.  It is going to be great when it’s finished.  He’s started staining it but needs to sand and stain again.  It’s a great height – higher than the older one so it should be less strain on the back.  Plenty of storage room and some of the shelves have doors that close (his first time adding doors to something!).  He’s so talented but I think he gets frustrated with me asking him to build so much for me.  He’d love to be able to make money at it and every time he talks about it, I start telling him what all I want him to build for us.  I just love that he's so good at it and would love for every piece of wood furniture or cabinets in our home to be built by him.
Several people had mentioned that maybe we would get a baby for Christmas.  In hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t.  Why? Well, for one thing, Dakota ended up being sick the week before Christmas with RSV and our pediatrician told us that if we got a call to get a baby before Christmas Day, that Dakota would have to stay away from the baby.  I didn’t want that.  Then, over the weekend, Jon & I were both sick.  I surely wouldn’t want the baby to come in and get sick right away!
There are a couple of other reasons I’m OK with it, but I would’ve been perfectly fine with these things if the baby had come. I like even numbers.  I was born on an even numbered day and year (not month), I got married on all even numbers, Dakota was born on all even numbers….I just like even numbers. So, in my world of even numberness (I know that's not a word), 2014 seems like a better year for a birthday than 2013.  (See I’m crazy, right? )  Also, I already have one child with a birthday in December and it is rough.  It is too close to Christmas and you feel like the child gets a little cheated because everything is so close, not to mention the financial impact of Christmas being so close to birthday/birthday party time.  With that being said, if I get a call tomorrow to come get a baby that was born on Christmas day, I will be fine with that.  I would be much more concerned with this cold that I still have (or whatever it is) than the year or month of the baby’s birthday.
So, what are my wishes for 2014?  Of course, as I’m sure a lot of women would say, I’d like to lose weight.  I had started losing weight and had gotten down almost 19lbs but then the holidays hit.  Vacation, Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Dakota’s birthday, and then all the Christmas parties hit and I decided to wait until after the first of the year to go back to my diet.
I wish all of my family stays healthy and happy.  I wish my church family stays close and continues to grow.  I love those people and they really are like family instead of acquaintances.    I want to do more for others.  I feel like I don’t do nearly enough when it comes to helping those less fortunate or in need.  I want to get some bills paid off, definitely.  I would like to do better keeping things caught up at home and maybe even give Dakota some basic chores.
I’m sure you can guess one of my biggest 2014 wishes…our baby.  Oh how I hope and wish that 2014 is the year.  Please let our baby be on the way!  The wall in the baby’s room says: “For this child I have prayed and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart. -1 Samuel  1:27”  Half of that verse is true – I’m so anxious for the other half to be true as well!
Still hoping, praying and waiting...

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