enJOY it

On Monday I shared the things that made the past year great. Today I want to share the moments (in pretty much chronological order).

signing our final escrow paperwork on my birthday.

moving into our magic house.

that first weekend my parents were here and massive progress was made.

witnessing four of my best friends get married in Scottsdale, Carmel, Catalina Island and Napa.

having friends here for a "last" girls night sleepover before the baby came.

walking around and around Lake Murray with my mom, trying to start labor (spoiler alert, it failed).

watching my belly change shape as Ellerie ran out of room on the inside.

picking Paul up from the airport and those last four days we were able to spend in our new home as two.

heading to the hospital to have a baby…

and 27 hours later, when that baby was pulled out from my stomach and I heard her cry…

and then that moment when they brought her over all wrapped up and I saw her…

and then that moment when I was finally out of surgery and got to hold her.

and then for about four weeks, things were hard. Really Really Hard. Those were the most trans-formative weeks of my life though and I am grateful and thrilled to have made it through them. Those weeks were made up of blissful moments and difficult moments and lovely moments and painful moments and collectively they all make this list.

writing the Dear Ellerie letters; I needed the normalcy that came from getting my thoughts onto the computer screen.

when Paul got home from deployment and I got to see him settle into his role as Dad.

when Ellerie smiled at us during her bath in the kitchen sink.

the day Paul went back to work and it was just Ellerie and I on our own and I realized we could totally do this (oh what a weight was lifted that day!).

that morning we made pancakes (and later I yammered on about perspective).

working on the get quilty eCourse for three days straight while my mom was in town and feeling the creative juices flowing again.

dancing with Paul at our friends' wedding and feeling completely blissed out.

Ellerie's first real giggles.

dreaming up make29 and filling a notebook of ideas.

having our house full at Thanksgiving.

the morning my jeans fit again.

walking up the hill for a beer on the first Sunday afternoon in January when the weather was perfection.

all those evenings when it's the three of us in kitchen and work is done and the baby is happy and dinner is cooking.

yesterday, when I went in to pick Ellerie up from her nap and she grinned at me with recognition, "it's you!" her eyes sparkled, "and, once again, you found me!"

ps. 26 moments and 27 moments.