This is the first day of the rest of your life

This past week has been kind of crazy. Monday was my first day back at work after my amazing, wonderful, I wish it never had to end maternity leave. I had been dreading that day for 10.5 weeks and had prayed that somehow we would find a way for me to be home longer. Work was slow and quiet, but never the less I made it through the day unscathed, and Isaac and Leah were great for my mom. (Leah was so excited to be going to Oma's house that she couldn't fall asleep the night before.) As per a pre-arranged agreement with my managers, I had off on Tuesday and Wednesday (I was only set to work a 3-day work week). On Wednesday, I spoke with a friend from work and heard rumors were going around that there would be another round of layoffs on the following day. On Thursday, I was laid off, along with 18 other individuals. Those who weren't let go, were forced to cut back to a 24-hour work week. The company is obviously not doing well.

On Friday, I went in to the office to pack up my stuff, turn in my computer, etc. When I drove out of the parking garage for the last time, I turned on the radio and heard the following lyrics,

This is the first day of the rest of your life

'Cause even in the dark you can still see the light

It's gonna be alright, It's gonna be alright

Can you blame me for getting teary-eyed?

It's a little nerve-wracking, being let go. Before I went back to work, Jared and I joked about how it would be nice if I was laid off, but now that it's actually happened, it's a bit scary to not know what's going to happen. As a result, we are being forced to rely completely on God and His guidance. It's something we've never done before, because we've never been forced to. And I trust that God does have a plan for us, we just don't know what it is yet.

And in the mean time? That amazing, wonderful, I wish it never had to end maternity leave gets to keep going. For how much longer, I don't know. But I am going to enjoy every extra second I can get because I know it's gonna be alright.

Happy Mother's Day!

This morning on the radio, I heard a dj refer to Moms as those who are at war every day. What a ridiculous statement. I feel completely blessed to be a mom to these two little munchkins. It is by far the greatest, most important, most fun, and most rewarding thing I could ever do with my life. I love every minute of it.

Thank you, Jared, Leah, and Isaac for spending the day with me today. And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Leah had her first popsicle a few weeks ago. She looks intense, doesn't she? Or maybe just fiercely protective of it.

Playing in her "sandbox", which is really our horseshoe pit.

One of the things I love about little miss is that she's small enough for me to recycle most of her dresses from last summer and use them as shirts for this summer.

Mommmyyyyyy, stop taking so many pictures of me.

Awww. It took 6 weeks, 3 medications, and a daily probiotic for me to finally see this cuteness.

My mom and I took the kids up to Hermann Park in Houston for a ride on the train and to play on the playground. Leah LOVED it. Isaac was nonplussed and slept the entire time.

Naturally, Leah didn't last for ten minutes in the car ride home.

She quickly revived once we got back to my parents' house and spent some time "making music", as she calls it.

Leah drew Jared a picture for his birthday. She got super excited when her scribbles made an oval and kept saying "An oval! An oval!" as if she did it on purpose. :)

I loooooove this picture. (I know, the bangs need to be trimmed.) But just look at how he's looking at his big sister and how she's looking at her little brother. It makes my heart melt.

It's also funny to see that he's not much smaller than her in size. The size difference in their feet however, is a completely different story.