LINKed For Eternity: New Year 2014

This post is a little late, but Happy New Year! With the New Year comes a fresh start that so many of us want and need. Our family has some big changes coming our way and we are so excited!!

In February my car will be paid off. It's been kind of scary putting such large payments down every month, but so worth it! It's a wonderful feeling knowing we'll be done with it and we'll be debt free for a few months while we save for our first house! What a huge step this is for us! Our own home that is officially ours! We would love to be able to stay in our ward boundaries and that's our goal, but we have broadened our search to Maple Valley and Lakeland Hills as well. The Lord will send us where he needs us.

Matthew is also starting a new job as a General Manager at Panda Express. He'll be running his own store, most likely in Covington, which he is so excited for! He has worked so hard for this promotion and we are so proud of him! It'll be such a blessing for our family for him to be on a salary job with full benefits.

He also started school again yesterday. It's all online this time so he's able to work the schedule he needs to. He's busy and sometimes it's difficult, but I know it's only temporary. He strives so hard to be a wonderful husband and father. And let me say, he is the best of the best! I love him and his patience and love. He is so kind, has the priesthood strength of a giant, and keeps us laughing. There is never a dull moment with him!

I think Camden knows he has been blessed with a wonderful daddy. It makes me smile when I see his little face light up when Matthew enters the room. He loves to play and laugh with him. Sometimes, if he hasn't seen his daddy all day, he'll wake up in the middle and pull the bumper of his crib down. I'll see those little eyes peek over and hear his little voice say "da". It melts my heart every single time. I'm excited to watch their relationship as he continues to grow!

Camden will be 7 months old tomorrow. What??? Where did all the time go?! He is quite the rambunctious little boy! He definitely keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn't have it any other way. He's crawling now and talking/using his sign language. He knows the sign for milk and is quickly learning the signs for more, all done, please, and no. He'll say "da", "ma", and "hi" as well as giving those classic opened mouth baby kisses. His favorite things are monkeys, Mickey Mouse (he takes after Nana!), and blocks. And boy, can this kid eat! He loves water and vegetables. He'll take those over fruit every single time. He doesn't like rice cereal, oatmeal, or baby crackers. He always wants to eat off our plate. Sometimes I'm perplexed by him. He doesn't seem to follow the baby " norm" that I'm use to, but it's nice to see a different side.

I'm striving every day to become a better wife and mommy. I'm currently taking piano lessons and learning more skills in the kitchen. It's been so rewarding making as much as I can from scratch and being told how good dinner or a dessert was. It's nice to know exactly what's going into our food and helps us make healthy life style choices.

I've learned that being an adult and having a baby is a lot harder than many of us think in high school. There are some days I wish I could back in time to those days that I thought were so "rough". Life was so easy! My biggest concern was grades, drama, and boys. Oh, how naive I was! My parents are starting to get apologies and I know there are many more coming as life continues.

It's not all negative, though. There is so much joy and growth, especially with an infant. You become more independent, more responsible, more selfless, and start doing things that "old people do" like realizing going to bed early is good for you, become appalled at our generations actions, and question what people are wearing (and you'll be guilty of wearing and/or liking that style at one point in time). And one absolutely mind blowing thing: time. Yes, that little four letter word starts to fly on by after high school. So when Dad and Mom say "I feel like I blinked and...", listen to them. You'll feel that way too.

We're hoping this new year is wonderful and full of so much joy and blessings. It's what you make out of it.

Here's a few pictures from Christmas and of Camden. It was so fun with him. He definitely got spoiled, especially by his uncles.

(The blog is also going to be updated regularly. I don't feel like Facebook is as private anymore.)

Camden and daddy (what a hunk!)