ONE

Well, the biggest milestone of them all has arrived and I must say I am pretty proud of myself! I have made it to Calvin's first birthday with minimal tears and maybe only one anxiety attack over the past week. It's so wild how quickly it went, and how many moments are frozen in my memory forever. This day a year ago, I was marveling at  my newborn baby boy and today I played with a happy, healthy, silly one year old who is able to look right at me and call me Mama. This day is more than my son's birthday, it is the anniversary of me becoming a Mother. I always knew I wanted to be a Mom, but I never grasped how truly life altering it would be. The moment I became pregnant, my world changed. It was no longer about me, my wants, my needs. Everything I ate, listened to, and looked at grew newfound perspective. My relationship with God also grew and stregnthened because I now had a better idea of how God sees us, His children. That unconditional, never failing, no-matter-how-many-times-you-mess-up LOVE. It's truly the most powerful thing. Parenthood comes with its fair share of challenges, and the last year has by no means been easy. It puts new laugh lines on your face, but also deeper wrinkles under your eyes from sleep deprivation. It brings your relationship with your husband to an amazing new level, but also brings new ground for arguments and testing times. It quickly weeds out friends who are all about late nights or show no interest in your "new" life. I feel like the last year has taught me more than any college course ever did, and I have truly found what God wants me to be. Elio's Wife, Calvin's Mom. Although there are so many more facets to who I am, those are the cornerstone to my overall purpose in life. Serve God, take care of my family, be a good friend, and throw my career in there somewhere. You could even take my career out, for all I care at this point. I cannot wait to see what the future holds, even though there were so many times over the past year that I said with tears in my eyes "Can't we just freeze him like this forever?"
Calvin is such a sweetheart and brings joy to everyone who meets him. I know God has big plans for him, and I'm content to just sit back, watch, and be his Mommy. Happy Birthday, Calvin Robert!

A look back...