TGIF!

Thank goodness it's Friday. This week has been so busy! I've worked late every single night (of my 3 nights a week). We got the big news that I am going to be an aunt, and Cameryn has a little cousin on the way. My brother Chucky is expecting a little one at the end of February! I can't believe he is going to be a dad. And ironically, I found out I was pregnant the Thursday before Mother's day and he found out he was going to be a dad the Thursday before Father's day. Kinda neat, huh. Babies are a blessing and a miracle so we're all so happy to welcome another little one and his/her mommy into our family.
On that note, Deb and I were talking today and we realized how close we are getting to the arrival of another little baby. Justin and Amy are due September 14th, so only 8 more weeks or so. We all know babies work on their own time frame so it could be sooner or later but the time is still flying by. I hope Amy feels that way! All of the little cousins will be so close in age, I can just picture how fun all the holidays will be as our family grows and grows. As challenging as having children can be, nothing can compare to the joy they bring. The older I get the more important I realize family is, and the more thankful I am for everyone. Having lots of people to love and that love you and your kids is such a gift. Speaking of family, Happy Father's day weekend to all the daddy's who do their part and love their kids and their wives!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Today has been a great, lazy day. We woke up pretty early since Cameryn is getting used to her new early wake up time during the week. Don't babies get the memo that on the weekends we sleep in? Anyway, she got up and ate and then I made blueberry muffins for me, Josh, and Deb. After breakfast Grandma had to head home. I'm so thankful for her all the time, but we really needed her this weekend, and as usual she was there.

Camy did well on her first day of daycare, and I did better than I thought. I was so busy making sure she had everything and that I was prepared for work that I didn't lose it until I had to say good bye. Ms. Jenny is so sweet but I just bawled when I handed Cameryn to her. The teacher hugged me and said that if I cry, she'll cry too. To which I responded, "Well, I guess we'll all just cry because I can't stop!" I cried half way to work, but eventually got it together. Between Josh and I we only called to check on her three times, which isn't too bad. They said she played and didn't make a peep most of the day. The only time she cried was like the last ten minutes before Josh came to get her. She was pretty exhausted from her first day since she didn't nap much, but overall it was a good day. Work went well too. It was like I never left. We were so busy I ended up covering the office for a little while by myself and filling orders. I had a nice little, "Welcome Back" sign on my desk and I brought a cake because we all love to eat! It felt good to work but I was so happy to see my baby when I got home!

Wednesday started off good. I was looking forward to spending the day with Cameryn since she slept quite a bit Tuesday evening from the lack of naps during the day. We got up and ate and played and then went to meet Abbey at David's Bridal. We had so much fun watching her try on wedding dresses! They were all so pretty, but she picked the most gorgeous gown. It was so elegant and unique. When she put it on you just knew that was the one. (I guess kind of like she feels about the groom!) At the end of out time there Camy started to get a little cranky and would only let me hold her. This was her cue that we would not be going to lunch with everyone. Once we got home she really wasn't much better, and by the time Josh got home we were both in tears. She had no fever, she wasn't hungry, had a dry diaper, I put orajel on her gums, I thought nothing could be wrong. Josh has the magic touch when it comes to putting her to bed so she took a nap I did too. We woke up and were both feeling much better. The next day it was off to daycare and work again. That morning my mom called around 6:30am and said my brother, Chucky was in a head on collision on Hwy 44 with a garbage truck. She was on her way to the hospital but said he was okay. His car was totaled and his friend got stitches and a dislocated hip. Chucky just had a busted lip and a few cuts and bruises but that's it. He is so lucky that he has a mother that prays for him.
Later that day when I called at lunch time to check on Cameryn they said she wasn't eating well and asked if she had an ear infection. I said I didn't think so because she hasn't been running a fever. Turns out they don't have to. I left work early and took her to the doctor, and sure enough she had an ear infection. I felt so awful for not knowing, and it took the people at daycare to figure out what was wrong with my baby! I was so glad her grandma was coming to watch her on Friday and give her extra love while I was at work.

Camy was good for Deb all day Friday and started to act more like herself by Friday evening. I mentioned before that I was so thankful for Grandma on this particular weekend for a few reasons. I had a headache when I came home from work but after some dinner and medicine was fine. Saturday we woke up early again so by the time it was time for Camy to take a nap it was only 8am. So I skipped out for a little while to check out some yard sales, where I got some really great stuff. Robin, Erica's mom had a yard sale at there house as part of their neighborhood wide yard sale. It was great. I got Camy lots of clothes, books, and toys. I stopped by the Zimmerman's for a while and got to see everyone and all the kidos. A few women from Erica's church brought things to sell so their kids were there playing with Sawyer and they were all so cute!
After I got home, Josh had asked Deb if she would mind to watch Cameryn so we could go to the movies. Of course she said she would so we went to see The Hangover. It petty crude, but hilarious none the less. I can't even remember the last time we had a "date" so we were definitely in need of some time together. At the end of the movie I started getting a headache that just got worse and worse. Long story short, I ended up taking my dinner to go and coming home and sleeping for the rest of the night. I was actually physically ill from this monster headache. It was pretty scary, but Josh and Deb took over with Cameryn and did a great job. I'm so glad Josh had some help because I was down for the count. Today has been pretty uneventful, but I'm glad! Between Cameryn being sick, me being sick, working, and my brother's accident I don't think we need much more. Anyway, we can't forget to count our blessings too! Those are much more numerous than our issues anyway.

Our Weekend

We had such a great weekend! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we just got to spend time together. Saturday we woke up and played with Cameryn in the morning and she was in such a good mood. She is definitely a morning person (unlike her mom!) Almost every morning when I hear her in the monitor I go in and she is all smiles. Lately she has been rolling over and sticking her arm through the rails which is hilarious! She just turned five months and is already planning her escape from the crib.

When Camy went down for her nap Josh and I grilled hot dogs and ate outside on the deck. We just sat out there and talked and soaked in the sunshine. After Cameryn got up we headed over to my dad's to fish. Well, I didn't really get to fish too much, but we watched Josh, and strolled around the pond. My dad has 21 acres of land at his place. About 8 of those are cleared and that's where the house, barn, and pond are. The rest is wooded and hilly so the kids love to ride their four wheeler back there all the time. He just had the pond dug this past fall so this was actually Josh's first time fishing there. He did catch one pretty big catfish. The poor thing got the fish up onto the bank and was reeling him up to get him off the hook when the fish got free on his own! He flopped right back into the pond. One minute I look up and see the fish, the next it's gone. I yelled, "Hey, where'd your fish go?!" and he just shakes his head. Cameryn and I were headed down there to take a picture, but we missed the boat. If I wouldn't have seen the fish for like 2 seconds I would have thought he made the whole thing up.

Sunday we visited at a new church near our house. Well, the church itself is 30 years old, but they just built a bigger building and dedicated the new church this Sunday. We love Northeast (our current church) but it is 30 minutes from our house. It's a pretty big church too, so sometimes you can feel a little lost in the shuffle. We decided to try Calvary Christian since it is just two minutes away. We figured if we liked it, we would get to know more people in our town and Cameryn would eventually be friends with kids in her area. Anyway, the service was nice and the pastor was also very nice. The people in the congregation were very friendly and there were lots of kids there too. I must say it was a little more traditional than Northeast with a lot of "thee's" and "thou's" in the prayers and we did sing one hymn from the hymnals. I'm not opposed to hymns, I understand that the worship portion should appeal to everyone so I was glad they did that and had some more contemporary music as well. Anyway, It was different than what we are used to, but not bad. I think we're going to go again next week and see if God tells us to keep going. After church we went home for a little while and then back out to Gatti Land for Bella's 5th birthday party. She had a princess cake and tons of presents. This was Cameryn's first kid birthday party so she sat back and took it all in. At one point someone made the kids balloon swords and they were all running around having a sword fight. Cameryn was so into it! I know she was just thinking, "Man, when I can walk I'm definitely doing that! Look out Mom and Dad!" She is so fascinated by other kids and animals, it's hilarious.

Anyway those are the highlights of the weekend. Oh yeah, the picture of Camy and Josh while she's in the tub, she has a 4 inch tall mohawk but it kind of blends into the background. My sweet husband volunteered out of the blue to do bath time so I could get some things done. Cameryn and I have a lot to do today before her first day of daycare tomorrow so I better get ready while she's taking a nap. Keep us in your prayers! We need them, and I may possibly need medication!

A Look Back at the Past Five Months

Words cannot express how wonderful the past five months have been. They have been filled with an unimaginable love, laughter, tears, sleeplessness, overwhelming joy, fun, learning, and growing. God has given us an absolutely precious little girl, but also so much more. Since Cameryn was born Josh and I have been able to feel this amazing, unimaginable love. I've said it before but, you just can't know this feeling unless you have a child, plain and simple. I think it is the closest thing that a human being can feel to the way God feels for us, and in knowing that you realize what an awesome God we serve. It has really opened my eyes and made me even more thankful to my Lord and Savior.
We've also had tons of laughs around here since little Camy came into the picture. From saying, "Heeellllllooooo" and her giggling each and every time for almost fifteen minutes to the time we were in tears laughing when Josh said I was hooked up to the pasturizer when I was pumping breast milk. You never know what will happen next. Having a baby really makes you take yourself a lot less serious and find the humor in almost everything. I'm sure there are times she must be thinking, "These people are nuts!" but we are taking in the joy of every moment with her. And as my mother told me about a million times, she'll understand when she has kids of her own.
The tears and sleeplessness are but a small price to pay for all the good Cameryn has brought to our lives. And, I must say that especially in the beginning, more of the tears were mine and they were of joy. Josh even shed a few himself. I think you have to go through the sleeplessness to really understand the sacrifices your parents made for you, and to know that everyone does have "survival mode" and you can get through a lot more than you think. I am one person who LOVES sleep. We have the most comfortable bed in the world, and laying in that big pile of pillows and soft sheets ranks right up there with shopping for me. But like I said, the good far outweighs the bad, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Note; I don't plan on doing it again for awhile!)
Joy is a word that once you experience "joy", you know it is the perfect word to describe how you feel, and that no other word will work in it's place. I really love that about "joy". I do have an English degree so loving words may seem strange to most, but where I come from it's normal (I swear!) Anyway, the level of joy and fun in our home was at a good level before Camy came along, but with her it is just through the roof. Not to say we don't have rough days. Any mom reading this knows that it's not all smiles and politeness when you have kids, but they also know that fun is so much more fun when you get to see and do things through the eyes of your child. Cameryn in only five months old but it is so funny to watch her study things, and grab for the dogs when they walk by. I wonder if she thinks these are her much uglier brother and sister or if she thinks they are her toys to be explored and chewed on.
And lastly, the learning and growing that Cameryn has inspired in me is tremendous. From reading every book, magazine, or internet post on pregnancy and babies to figuring out that if the seat on her stroller goes back to far it will not fold up. This one I was stumped by when I took Camy and my sister Jessie downtown and got so frustrated that I just put the whole, unfolded stroller in the back of my SUV. Lord only knows what I would have done if I had a little car! Not only have I been learning about being a mom and about what my daughter likes and dislikes, I've also learned a lot about myself and my childhood. I'm a lot more capable than I thought, yet I'm also a lot more vulnerable than I thought. Having Camy has made me closer to God, and I'm so thankful for that. For one, I need to be a good example for her, and for two, having a child shows you how much you need Him. You need His strength to put your fears at ease and His guidance to make good decisions. As far as growing, if you've been following our blog you can see Camy has done a lot of that. The pictures I posted above are of Cameryn's very first picture when she was born, some silly ones over the past few months, and the two in the middle are of her yesterday when she turned Five Months Old!

I Love this song!

The Unknown

As some of you know, a big change is coming to the Burt household. Recently, I have been looking for ways to make extra money. I worked at my mom's shop one day as her "assistant" which was hilarious. I shampooed people's hair all day, washed towels, put toner on, etc. It gave me a whole new respect for what my mom does day in and day out. Ladies, your hairdresser works hard to make you beautiful! Well, I had been considering working a few nights a week and leaving Camy with Josh, but that wasn't really panning out either. Apparently with the tough economy no one is hiring, or the college kids out for the summer beat me to every respectable evening job!
Anyway, out of the blue my old boss from Randstad called me and wanted to know if I wanted to come back and work part time. I was so shocked, because before I left I asked to work part time but there just wasn't any position in the company that wasn't full time. Apparently the economy has been effecting them too, and they have done a little restructuring. They laid off five people about a month ago, so I was very flattered that they called me to come back. God just seemed to drop this in my lap, after weeks of praying for something to come my way. The great thing is the pay doesn't even compare to the other part time options I was pursuing and I'll get to be back with a great team. Of course the down side is I have to be away from Cameryn. When I say down side, I mean, keeps me awake at night, cry out of nowhere, even cherish her screaming in my ear when I take her bottle away to burp her, down side. She will only be in day care two days a week and the other day she will either be with her Grandma Deb, or playing with Erica and Sawyer. I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to know that one day a week she will be with people that love her and that will look after her like I would. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't send her to some shady day care, but it is still day care. She has four very sweet teachers in her room, and will get to socialize with other children. They sing songs, go for walks in this huge stroller, play on the floor with toys, etc. Basically lots of the same things we do here every day. The part that really pulls on my heart is that she is not the only baby in the room. There are going to be times when more than one of them is crying and want to be held, how do they decide who gets picked up first? Will she be sick more than she is well? It's impossible to keep one germy little kid away from another germy little kid. I know I shouldn't think about these things, but she is my whole world.
My strategy, because I have to have some type of plan of action, is to just pray for her each of every day. He can watch over her and protect her better than I can, and even though this is so hard to fathom, He loves her even more than I do. I'm praying for wisdom and discernment and for Him to just put a band of angels and a hedge of protection around my baby. I know for some people day care is great and is a way of life, but this move is a really big deal for us. As hard as it is, I do feel like God gave me this opportunity to work for a reason, and He was answering my prayers. I'm just so thankful that He has already sent me two angels in the form of Grandma Deb and Erica. I love these two women so much and I'm so thankful to have them in my life!