Oprah

Today was the last day of the Oprah show and oh how I will miss it! This last year has been amazing to watch and with all the crap and negativity on TV I find that I am drawn to a show that at it's essence is all about love and connection. The last few months I have been reminded again and again that love is all you need. I look for it everyday in what I watch on TV, what I read and who I surround myself with. Watching her show today reminded me that one person can have a huge positive impact on the world. One person can lift others up around them and one person has the power to change lives. I am not naive enough to think nor do I want fame like Oprah but I believe that you do have the power to be who you were born to be. I believe that you do have the power to make your life what you want it to be. I believe that you do have the power to do great things and change peoples lives. I do believe that you have a calling here on Earth and it is your job to figure out what your calling is. I do believe that each person is here on Earth for a purpose at the correct time and in the correct place. I do believe that this life is the greatest lesson of all. I do believe that I am here for a reason, that I am given trials that help me learn lessons that I need to learn. I believe that people have been brought into my life at different times for different reasons and I am thankful for all the people that had the power to change my life for the better.

The Big Move

Well most of you who read this blog already know this but I wanted to document it for future reference... we are moving to.....


CINCINNATI, OHIO


Yep, random I know. Never thought I would live there but I know with everything that I am that we are suppose to move there and it is the right time and place for my family. The reason is yet to be determined though :)


A few months ago, it was crazy around here! I mean CRAZY!!! For the last six months we have been waiting for a job to open up that Jarod would be interested in going after. It has been a long roller coaster ride. We had two jobs that didn't pan out and we were really getting frustrated. So frustrated that we actually started looking outside of Wrigley.


In one week, three jobs at Wrigley opened up that they were heavily recruiting Jarod for and we had an opportunity outside that we decided to look at a little deeper. Jarod went and interviewed on a Wednesday and on Thursday we had a job offer. We were so surprised and stunned that this was all happening and we didn't know what to make of it. Jarod and I are both very decisive people but this was the first time in our life that we truly did not know what to do. One minute we thought this job and the next this one. It was driving us both insane. After some thought we eliminated two of the Wrigley jobs. One was a higher level and much higher pay but we didn't feel that the timing was right so that left us with two- one with Wrigley and one outside. We made a trip to Milwaukee where the other company was located and that made us even more confused. I spoke to my mom, sister and my good friend Steph while Jarod bounced it off Rob, Jeff, his family and his old college advisor Jack Osborne. Every time either of us would think about leaving Wrigley it would make our hearts pound a little harder and gave us both a small panic attack. We didn't know if that meant we were suppose to go and we were just nervous about all the changes or if it meant that it wasn't the right decision. After thinking and discussing and lots of prayers we finally made the decision to stay with Wrigley and move to Cincinnati. The position is a big one for Jarod. He will be the National Account Manager for Kroger.


After we made the decision, I was still not certain we had made the right decision. I continued to struggle for a few weeks and the farther away from the situation I allowed myself to get the more clear it came to me that Cincinnati was the right decision. Funny how some things work out.

We will be moving to Cincinnati in August! We are really excited for this next chapter and to be honest we just want to go like yesterday! So I am learning some more patience which I could always use more of.

Mother's Day 2011

We had a wonderful Mother's Day, thanks to my amazing husband and baby boy! Jarod got us tickets to go to Brookfield zoo out in the suburbs. The day was beautiful and we had a great time!

Ah, his little face when he saw the giraffes. He loves them! He was so excited!

Making his monkey face- not really sure- I asked him to smile and this is what he did.

We had a great day seeing all the animals but Jacoby's favorite part was running in the big open field. We don't have much room to run here in the city and this little boy loves to run.

This beautiful day made me reflect on my life the last 2 and almost 1/2 since this precious child entered my world. Words cannot express how much I love him. I try to put it into words but it truly is so profound what I feel for him all words seem inadequate.

He has taught me how to live life to the fullest. He has taught me to stop and smell the flowers (I mean everyone we pass!). He has taught me to laugh just to laugh. But mostly he has taught me to love on a level I didn't know I was capable of.

He adores me. He thinks that I am the greatest thing in the world. He never can get enough hugs and cuddles all day and I swear he would still be attached by the umbilical cord if he could. And the funny thing is I feel the exact same way about him.

That night as I was laying down with him to go to sleep. He took my face in his little hands and said, "I happy, Mama". I told him that I was happy too and thanked him for being my very special little boy and then he corrected me and said, "No baby". I said thank you Jacoby for being my special little baby and he said, "No problem Mama!" and then hugged me tight.

I love you more than I can express Jacoby! Thank you for making my Mother's Day so great and thank you to your wonderful Daddy too!

Some Days

Sometimes he is a cat, other times he is a dog, or a dolphin, or a snake, or a drummer, or a guitar player, or a bird, or a fish... today he was a fireman equipped with his cowboy boxer briefs, his daddy's old Iowa Hawkeye shirt and red socks! I love his imagination and I love to watch him in his own little world. I am so lucky that he usually includes me in his world and I get a front row seat to his amazing imagination!

A Quote

For the longest time I have been trying to put some words with how I feel I am being lead to raise my child. Today while I was reading CJane, I finally came across it!! This is a promise given to missionaries but it hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it, I agree, this is a promise to mothers too.

“for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

I cannot tell you how many times I have been directed and lead on how to raise Jacoby. From the moment he was born I have felt angels and I have heard his voice telling me directly what to do and I know there has been moments that he has had to bear me up. How thankful I am to have this promise as a mother. It is not easy but I know that it is my most important work I will ever do and I love being a Mama.

http://blog.cjanerun.com/2011/05/talk-written-while-on-hormonal-high.html

Jacoby's First Modeling Experience

http://www.facebook.com/lincolnparkzoo

Look under Drab Skies, Bright Grounds

Yes, that's my child in crappy clothes, with a runny nose but hey they asked as we walked by and I wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to show off my cute boy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom!!! Thank you for all that you have done for me and all that you do on a daily basis. You are my support, my friend, and on many days my sanity! Thank you for being the Mom that I strive to be.

I love you so much and I am so thankful that you are my mom. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He sent me to you. I have learned so much from you and I continue to learn so much from you. You are an amazing example of what a wonderful Mother is. Thank you for always providing me with unconditional love and support. It means the world to me to know that you are always there. We love you so much and hope that you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Easter 2011

We had a great Easter this year. It is so fun that he is starting to get the Holidays. We started off our festivities on Friday night with decorating some eggs.

This was his favorite!

He had a blast doing it. He was very interested in watching them turn colors.

The next day we were trying to make egg salad and he was helping me. He was really surprised that when he cracked the egg it was not running out so he kept trying and trying and then he told me the egg was broke.

The Easter bunny came this year and hid eggs all over our living room. He had so much fun looking for eggs with his basket. He was even more excited that there was candy inside.

Pretty soon the egg hunt got interrupted by the potty dance

but then he felt all better.

I asked him if he would like to leave a snack for the Easter bunny the night before. He said he did and then I asked him what we should leave out for the bunny. He thought pizza would be good. But then I reminded him that he was a bunny, "Well ok Mama, probably carrots." We didn't have carrots so we did spinach, pretzel and grapes. The Easter bunny liked it all.

Diggin out the candy

Blowing his Easter bubbles. He was a little confused this year on who the Easter bunny is. He thought in his head that it was the bunnies we see in the alley so I looked up some pictures of the Easter bunny online to show him. Next year maybe we will have to go and see the Easter bunny.

Then we got ready for church. Reminder to myself that candy before 8 am is not a good idea. He was WILD and it was a struggle to get him dressed and out the door. Not too mention church.

My handsome boys!

That night we went to the Condie's for an amazing rib dinner! Johnny knows what he is doing! Johnson's and Lindsay and Marshal came over too.

We actually got to eat outside with an amazing view of the city before it got too cold. The boys were great but they hit their breaking point but nothing that elmo couldn't fix.

We had a great Easter with some great friends and of course my cute boys!

Chewin Gum

At 2 years and 4 months our little one hit a big milestone in our house!! He can finally chew gum! Considering his daddy works for Wrigley we have gum all over our house and this little one is obsessed with it. The problem was that he liked to eat it and would get so mad if he found some and we took it away. I kept wondering when he would finally get it and he finally did! He was so excited! He kept saying, "I not swallow it" and show it to you just like this. We were on our way to Costco and he was sitting in the back seat in his car seat chompin on his gum. It was one of those moments that I thought to myself he really isn't a baby any more. He chewed on the same piece for a couple of hours. By that time it was bed time so he put it on a plate and wanted to have it the next morning. Good thing for me he didn't remember the next morning so I got to throw it away.