From Mommy to Student in one day!

Well, I figured it was about time to write a blog about how school is going. It's going great! :) I am really enjoying my classes. I think it was the perfect fit for me to go to school when I was older. All the things I'm learning in my classes apply to my life somehow. When I went to Bethel right after high school, I didn't really take it seriously at all. I think now that I'm a wife and a mom I realize how important it is to find my passion...and to find a job that I can go to where I will be happy every day. I know I'm not always going to have a great day, but I should always like my job. So, I'm excited about becoming a teacher now. I am ready to take school seriously. It's been really fun to be at IUSB because a lot of the students and even some of the professors have the same story as I do. They went to college, didn't take it seriously, worked for a while, then decided it was time to go back. It makes me feel so normal. Before I thought maybe something was wrong with me because I didn't want to go to school right away...but now I realize that it was just better for me to wait!

I have really been missing AJ. It is hard not to have him here. It's hard to be a "single mom." And it's hard to have something new and exciting in my life and not be able to share the excitement with AJ in person. On the other hand, AJ is so good at communicating with me. He has made me feel so important. He still manages to be romantic even though he's thousands of miles away. I haven't stopped feeling close to him...which is something I was nervous about before he left. I feel like he is still part of every single day because I talk to him every single day and fill him in on all that happened...and he fills me in on everything that happened with him. God has been so good to us this year in keeping us connected. I feel like He's really blessing our marriage despite the distance.

Elijah is growing so much!!! He's huge now! I don't have a baby anymore...I now have a little boy. It's kinda sad, but I am so impressed with how much he learns every day. He is saying all kinds of words now...he says a bunch of phrases...and he knows some of his colors! He loves to see himself on the webcam so it's nice for AJ because Elijah will sit there and do funny things and AJ can see him! I am so happy to have Elijah with me this year. He is such a joy and every day when I pick him up after school he makes me feel so special. He gets REALLY excited to see me...and that's nice for me. It's good to actually SEE how much he loves me. :) I love him so much, too! And I love AJ so much!

Well, that's the update. How are you all doing?

Sophia Louise Otis

my sister in law Emily had her baby this weekend! ross is in iraq, but he was able to call right after and he found out he had a daughter almost right away, so that was nice! emily said that when the doctor told her it was a girl, her and her mom just started crying because ross and emily both really wanted a girl! and i have to say she's so beautiful! i love her!

i picked up my brother rick and his son alex today and we went to the hospital to meet out little niece. she's so sweet! i held her for a while and then afterwards i went to get elijah out of his stroller and he looked HUGE!! his face even looked huge compared to sophia's! haha...but i still think he's very adorable of course.

i guess that rick thought it would be fun to play cards with Sophia today...i don't know...my brother is strange. i am glad he went to the hospital to see the baby today, though, because he's the next best thing to ross being there. they look alike. it's sad to me that ross is in iraq, but i'm happy he was able to call so much and he has gotten on facebook and looked at pictures. he is a very proud daddy! and i'm sure since he couldn't be there, he is really happy that rick got to go and hold his baby. that little girl is gonna be one spoiled little girl! so many people love her so much already! :)

so anyway...we have a new member of our family and i just wanted to share the exciting news! :) i hope you all had a great weekend, too! :)

it's been a while...

wow...i can't believe how long it's been since i last posted. i feel like nothing exciting happens now that aj is in iraq! after aj left after his 4 day leave in december, my mom stayed with elijah and i for almost 2 weeks and that was really nice! it definitely helped with the transition of having aj in iraq. then for christmas i went to my sister-in-law emily's house for a few days, and that was really fun! elijah had a lot of fun with his cousin hunter. then for new years i went with nikki and her friends melissa to the indianapolis indoor water park hotel with our kids. that was really fun, too! so the holidays were good! and it's nice to know that they are out of the way and next time christmas comes around, aj will be home!

i am going back to school this semester! i'm really excited about it! i sign up for classes on tuesday! i am looking forward to having something to do during the day and even to getting some time away from elijah. i love the little stinker, but it's sometimes overwhelming being with him every second of every day! i know i should cherish that time, but i think going to school will help me cherish it even more! it'll be nice to be with adults for a while every day and to also go home and be excited to see elijah! plus, it'll be nice to feel really loved when he gets excited to see me every night!

i had a rough week this last week because i realized that aj hasn't even been in iraq for one month yet. it's so wierd to me that i won't see him for 7 more months and even after that he'll have to go back for a few more months. it seems like i won't make it to july...like it's just too hard! but at least i get to talk to him every day! that really helps. it has also made me feel so special because he has to wait in lines to talk to me every day, and sometimes he has to wait for an hour, and he'll do it more than once a day! it makes me feel like i really am so important to him. i knew i was, but this has made me really see how important i am to him...and how much of a priority i am! elijah loves talking to his daddy on the webcam. they play peek a boo and do funny faces back and forth, blow each other kisses, and wave hi and bye! it's fun to watch elijah get so excited about seeing his daddy!

anyway...that's about all that's happening right now. life seems a little boring...but i think it'll get more exciting when i start going to school. i think it'll really help the winter to go by pretty fast! and for some reason, i feel like if i can just get through this winter, it'll be downhill from there! doesn't winter seem to be the worst time of the year after christmas? i think so...you can do so much more when the weather is nicer, and it seems like the days just fly by then! i can't wait til aj's home!!! it'll be amazing! so...now starts the countdown! 7 months! woo!