Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Holiday Season

Every year around this time I sit back and think to myself where did the time go? It seems like 2011 was a serious blur to me, and that it moved so fast I wasn't able to actually enjoy the events as they occurred, and that my friends, is the worst feeling ever! Time for a 2011 re-cap!

In February of this year Chris finally asked me to marry him. We've been sitting in this amazing relationship for 3 years (2 1/2 at the time) and just kind of going with the flow of the situations we were thrown into. We started out dating as he was going through the legal formalities of his divorce, and I was a single mom to 4 month old Joshua. I've found that in a relationship involving children, things seem to move much faster. Around Christmastime we decided that instead of Joshua and I driving the 20+ minutes to get to his apartment from my mothers in Waterville, it would be best for us to just move in with him. We moved in the week of Christmas, 2008, and I was able to leave my job at T-Mobile and become a stay at home mom to "our" beautiful boy. It's been a whirlwind ever since - from our two families growing together, to adding Lucy to our bunch, to our engagement, it has been crazy!


Shortly after, I had to go see my doctor for my endometriosis. I hadn't really had problems with it since Joshua was born, but it seems that after Lucy came, all of my problems returned. I met with my doctor and my surgeons, and collectively we
decided it would be best to attempt to alleviate any and all problems as quickly and effectively as possible - but without causing me serious recovery time or future issues. Because of my age, a complete hysterectomy wasn't recommended. We researched some methods and decided on a few combined simpler ones to have done. In April, I had to have my tubes tied and other female parts had to be made "not useable" for future reproduction. While they were in there, they checked on my ovaries and scoped all of the endo that was in the way out. I came out of it a much happier person, and since the surgery I haven't had ANY issues with my female parts. It's the first time since I was 14 that I can really say I feel "normal" inside. I'm so blessed to have such great doctors, and family, that were willing to stand by me to figure everything out and get it taken care of immediately.

May was my birthday, and June was a big month. In June we had Chris and his mothers birthdays, and then at the end of the month (24th) Joshua turned 3 and (28th) Lucy turned 1!

At her first birthday party, Lucy had no teeth. By the middle of August, she had 6. Poor girl had a rough summer. Over the summer I almost had a chance to switch jobs. I went from working overnights at Lakewood (as a CNA) to working for a traveling nursing agency. Although the shifts aren't always the same, and I work in numerous different places throughout central Maine, the pay is amazing and the ability to be home with my children 90% of the time is what makes it worth it. Now that we are approaching the Holiday's, yet again, I am reminded of what I am thankful for



in this life.

My two beautiful children.









My Parents, and my In-Laws, and their amazing bonds with my children.










The Entire Hitchings Family // My relationships with my siblings and my best friends