What's Changed In A Year?

After logging into a forum I used to use while pregnant (babyandbump.com- great site for mommas) I got the urge to write something and decided to see if my blogspot account was still open....

To my surprise it was open and logged in... ready and waiting. I love it.

I read through my last posts and realised it has been a year since I've written anything. Well, this may surprise you, but A LOT has changed in a year. Tons! So here it is.... What's changed in a year...

In June my parents moved away. 20 hours away. It was heart breaking. I've never been without them. How was I going to be able to go though my day to day life without them? At the time, it was their best option and I couldn't help but try and be happy for them, even though it hurt so bad knowing they weren't going to be around the block anymore (or in the same time zone for that matter). I had to build my "moving wall" back up (the defense mechanism I used in my younger days to help get through moving a lot), had to push it out of my mind. Denial. But I could only deny it for so long because soon the day was here. They loaded up all their things and junk and pets and drove away, off to the vast cornfields of the Midwest.

This summer, in July, we went on our first family vacation. We headed over to see Q's parents, a 14 hour drive, and with a 9 months old its no "Sunday drive"! It was well worth tit though, the quality time together and with Q's parents far outweighs anything else. I think family is so important and making time to spend with them has to be a priority. I wasn't able to see a lot of my extended family as a kid so I really want my daughter to grow up knowing her family. Even the far away ones. On our way home from we took the scenic route. It was beautiful. We drove through the mountains and stopped off at a lake! Magnificent! It was the perfect was to end a perfect first family vacation!

In August we celebrated our first year of marriage! And what a year it has been. To say that we've had a great year is a vast understatement! I truly still believe that I'm married to the best man in the world and I can't picture my life without him. I've seen other people's relationships go up and down and it really makes me appreciate the I have honestly found the man I'm going to spend forever with. I only thought that this kind of love existed in fairy tales but, ladies, it really, REALLY does exist. But you have to go into it with nothing but honesty, both with each other and yourself!

With the fall came a rough month. September wasn't easy for us by any means but with a lot of love we got though it. Q's job had all but officially laid him off. And I sure didn't make enough to cover us. Something had to give. We made the decision for Quentin to find another job back in August. My career in retail also came to an end. Between bouncing my child from sitter to sitter and the new hours my job was taking on, we made the choice it would be nice to have me home. So September came and I began staying home, but my husband hadn't be able to find another job yet and after telling his current employer that he needed to find a job making more money they stopped giving him hours. But he found odd jobs and we made it work (not with out draining or savings but that is what its there for!) Financial issues can make or break a marriage and without ours being built on a solid relationship from the beginning I could see how easily we could have fallen into the pit a lot of couples do.

In October our little baby turned 1! I couldn't believe it! One already? Didn't I just have her sliced outta me a few months ago? Wow. It happened so fast. I blinked and she went from eight pound swaddled infant to a non-stop going all the time (would give the energizer bunny a run for his money!), do anything to make you laugh, incredibly smart little girl. My baby isn't a baby anymore, she's a toddler. My mom came out to visit for her birthday and it was so nice to see her. Its amazing how much I miss mommy dearest. October also brought great change for our family, Q got a new job! An oil rig job. It meant a vastly different schedule, as in he is gone 14 days at a time. But we couldn't turn down the opportunities this job would open up for our family. And I set out on a new path myself, I took a leap and turned my photography passion into a  photography business. I can't begin to tell you how long I've wanted to do this!

November wasn't exactly a breeze either. Q started his new job and was gone for 3 weeks right off the bat. I was lost. I didn't have a clue how hard it would be to take care of Athena all day every day by myself. I found myself as a single parents 2 weeks out of the months. It took some getting used to but I'm finally getting it down I think!

December brought another year to a close with a great Christmas spent with Q's family in town. Of course the kiddo was spoiled rotten by everyone. Oh and I got dreads! Something I've wanted to do since high school. I'm a firm believer in living with no regrets and the way I feel about dreads I knew I would regret never having them myself. I took the plunge. And my wonderful husband spent 22 hours backcombing my hair. (Have I mentioned how much I love him?) They'll take a while to mature (about 9 months). I'm so glad I did it!

And now here I sit. there's so much more planned for us in 2012. We want to buy a house, take a vacation to Florida, make it to Denver to see Q's family, and towards the end of the year (if all goes right) we will be trying to expand our family! I couldn't have dreamed my life to be this good. I'm thankful for everything in my life, past and present. I would never change one thing in my past for fear that I wouldn't get what I have today. Your past makes you who you are, whether you accept that truth or not is up to you.