The Key to Fulfillment is Gratitude

5 months and already has two teeth

When I worked for Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker, I was exposed to some profound wisdom. One topic Mr. Robbins would often discuss in his seminars is fulfillment. He believes if more people focused on their journey through life and not so much on achievement, they would experience fulfillment. And the key to fulfillment is gratitude.  When we give thanks and express gratitude in all things, it makes us appreciate what we have been given. I just read a recent article explaining the steps Tony Robbins takes every day to achieve 15 minutes of fulfillment. The world would be a better place if more people would count their blessings. I’ve provided the link to the article http://sourcesofinsight.com/start-your-day-like-tony-robbins/

Although I do often pause to appreciate what I have in life, I have not established a morning habit of giving thanks. Everything that I am or that I possess is because of God’s loving kindness. After all, there are many verses in the bible about giving thanks such as “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thess. 5:18).

 

My baby duck

Since November is a month of gratitude, I’ve provided my list of 30 days of what I am thankful for;  as well; I am making a commitment to start each day with a prayer of thanks along with a few of Tony Robbins’ recommended affirmations.

I am thankful for:

1.      God’s grace and mercy

2.      My health

3.      The gift of marriage and my devoted husband, who continually builds me up

4.      My beautiful daughter and getting to witness her growth and development

5.      My family-parents, in-laws, sister, nieces, and nephews

6.      This country and my freedom

7.      The men and women who fight for our freedom

8.      Clean water

9.      Electricity and heat

10.  The ability to love and be loved

11.  My education

12.  Clean air

13.  The weather-fall, winter, summer, spring - I love to witness the change of seasons

14.  My wonderful friends, you’ve been my rock through life’s ups and downs

15.  Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets that make me stand in awe of God's creative abilities

16.  Laughter, it is the best medicine

17.  Technology – my car, my phone and my computer

18.  My job, I am blessed to work from home three days a week

19.  My two dogs, they truly exemplify unconditional love

20.  Miracles because they really do happen

21.  Music and dancing, two things that really make me happy

22.  Exercise because it is the best natural high

23.  Sports - oh how I love football, baseball, tennis, and volleyball

24.  Volunteering, I love giving my time to worthy causes

25.  Giving, I think that is why I’m always broke; it brings my great joy to give

26.  Food including dessert

27.  The beach for its power and beauty

28.  Sleep, I love waking up refreshed

29.  My mistakes because they help me improve and become better

30.  Life – for giving me the chance to experience new and exciting things

Just writing my list has filled me with so much joy! It's no wonder why God tells us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything.

What are you thankful for?

No, I'm not the Grandmother

I'm not one to stare at myself  in the mirror longer than I have to but I think my reflection has me fooled. A few weeks ago, I was dropping off my sweet baby in our church's nursery when a young lady (early twenties) looked at me and asked, "Are you her Grandmother?" I was completely mortified. I can't even recall how I responded.

Me with my 15 year-old niece

After all, I don't have any gray hair and I don't feel old. Like many, I'm on a vigorous pursuit of youthfulness which includes a healthful diet, physical exercise, and an optimistic attitude. I thought to myself, how could anyone look at me and think I'm old? After several days of pondering this mind-consuming topic and taking a very close look at myself in the mirror, it occurred to me that I do have a few more wrinkles than I did when I was 22. In fact, I began to see the humor in this juxtaposition of youth and age.





Admittedly, I was very annoyed at first by the very notion that someone would think of me as a grandmother but then I began to recall several of my friends who are Grandmothers at the young age of 42. I can assure you that they do not look old either. The perception of age is different for everyone. To that young girl, my age was too old to be a mother to a baby. But what is old?

I will avoid becoming too philosophical and just state that aging is a gradual, rhythmic process and its course and consequences are well known to everyone.We don't just go to bed and wake up old; we move, at our own pace, through the transition, only to ask ourselves at the age of 70, are we old?

It is a fact that I will be 62 years young when my daughter is 20. I hope that my years of experience and wisdom will only help her live an abundant life and age more gracefully than me.


I would like to share one of my favorite poems by William Butler Yeats.

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Let's end with Psalm 71, verse 18:
Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not;
Until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

My Sweet Baby Alexa

My sweet baby Alexa,


This week you are two months old, and so far, I have relished in witnessing your development.

When it’s feeding time, you drink slowly, mindfully, filling yourself to prepare to be awake, aware and engaged in everything you do. Therefore, you don’t sleep very much during the day, however we are blessed that you have become a sound sleeper at night.

When you hear my voice, you turn in my direction acknowledging my presence, and at the same time, melting my heart. Each morning you greet me with your adorable smile which awakens my soul. When you’re fussy, I sing to you, which surprisingly, seems to calm you.

You relentlessly try rolling from your tummy to your back until you become frustrated. I suspect it is only a matter of time before you master the task. For now, my days are spent holding you in the front baby carrier (Bjorn) where you can observe the world around you. And your jibber-jabber speak is becoming more frequent as you try so desperately to converse with me. Oh how I love every inch of you.

I know you are not meant to stay this small which is why I cherish every moment such as when you nuzzle your tiny face into the nape of my neck as I burp you. These precious moments are filed neatly in some unreachable corner of my brain as a memory, primed for instant retrieval.

I am grateful you chose me to be your mother. I waited a very long time for you, my kindred spirit.  

Love Mommy

    

One Month Already!

I really can't believe that we've had little Alexa for one month.  Despite the lack of a users manual, we are


First Fourth of July

 enjoying parenthood. Day by day she seems to be more aware of her surroundings and spends more time with her eyes open, intently gazing on objects and people around her. She also continues to amaze and delight us with a myriad of facial expressions and ever gesticulating hands.

What is truly amazing is that she already has some likes and dislikes. She likes to sleep on her right side and manages to roll to her side if she is placed on her back. She does not like her hands swaddled since she sleeps with her hands curled up next to her face. She does like to be held all the time and will let me know that she is not happy when I put her down. And she is not at all startled when the dogs bark but will jump every time someone uses the ice maker. I wish I could capture every little cute squeaky noise she makes because I know it won't be long before those sounds are no more.

As for me, I am loving motherhood; even with the sleepless nights and even during the moments when nothing seems to sooth her. Each day goes by so incredibly fast which is somewhat surprising because most of my time is spent feeding, holding and taking care of her.

I'm on a mission to shape up this post baby body with a daily does of P90X or Yoga, but admittedly, it's difficult. My goal is to be in better shape than before baby by the end of October so wish me luck.

And there it is...the cry of my little one. Mommy duty never ends and I love it.

Our Little Piece of Heaven

This is a long overdue post that I have been meaning to write for days.  I figured most of you would understand as we are in awe of God's new blessing in our life.  We can't get enough!

She came into this world on Sunday, June 9th. The moment I held her, my heart filled with an immeasurable amount of love that is indescribable.

I went into the hospital at 6pm on Saturday night to start the induction process. All week, I had been praying that God would start my contractions prior to being induced. Unbeknownst to me, I was having mild contractions that were 5 minutes apart when I finally got hooked up to the monitor. I was delighted but discouraged because my cervix had not even dilated. For the rest of the night, I laid there feeling every contraction but it was not bad at all.  In the morning, they checked my cervix and it went from a pin-size opening to a punch-hole size opening so they started me on Pitocin. By 10am, my cervix had opened just enough for the doctor to break my water. And that’s when I felt pain like I’ve never experienced. I prayed through every contraction that God would help me get through it and he did by sending an angel in white. He eased my suffering with an epidural. From that point on, I was able to relax, enjoy the family who was there to celebrate this miracle. At 2pm, Alexa (“Lexi”)Rae graced the world with her presence.

 I’m enjoying motherhood to the fullest. She is such a good sleeper and has what seems to be a never-ending appetite. I’ve had some challenges with breast feeding but have found a solution by supplementing with formula. I love the times when she is awake and we engage in conversation, songs, prayers and little leg exercises. She seems to be very alert and every day she is doing something new.

There is a joy in my heart that was never there before; she adds so much to our lives and I am embracing every moment I can with her.  

I am so grateful to each of you who prayed, offered support and encouraged me through this amazing journey. As I close this chapter on pregnancy and birth, I begin the next with a prayer of thankfulness for this precious gift.

Harry, Scary and Cherry

A while back, I posted about this giant mole that was taking over the right side of my cheek.  Well, over the course of the last month, I have had two more of these beasts pop-up overnight, obviously uninvited. They settled in the most inappropriate places – the middle of my chest and on the left side of my temple just under my hairline. The problem with these types of growths is that they bleed profusely. They are called Cherry Angoimas.  Anytime I brushed my hair, I would barely bump the thing and it would bleed; same for the one growing right in the middle of my chest.  It seemed every time they bled, they grew even bigger.

Truth be told…my birthmark which is vascular in nature and all these really cool pregnancy hormones joined forces to create these large, fast growing, unsightly growths which I have comically named, Harry, Scary and Cherry.

Really, it didn’t take much for these things to start and it took much effort to get them to stop. I could have given a pint of blood with just one.

I am happy to report that I had them removed today! I am relieved to know that when my baby arrives and is placed on my chest, I won’t have to worry about it bleeding.

Perhaps this is too much information for some, but it is what it is.  I’m delighted that I can move on and I don’t have to worry about them anymore. I pray that there won’t be any more overnight appearances in these final days.



 A little over a week left and I'm doing well, bandages and all.



Hubby appearing calm

A Week of Love and Loss

I’ve been grieving this past week for my cousin who lost her 28 week old baby girl to what I understand to be an umbilical cord accident.  My heart aches for her and her family and I’ve been praying that God will give my cousin strength to make it through each day.  

There are so many sad thoughts that keep creeping into my mind... I try not to think about what it must have been like for her to deliver her stillborn baby, but I do.  I can’t begin to comprehend the roller-coaster of emotions and feelings she is experiencing right now; the emptiness in my heart for the loss of baby Olivia is often overwhelming. 

Babies are the purest and most innocent of us all. Death seems so wrong. It is unnatural and unwanted. There is no disputing this. Though none of us will understand why, I find comfort in knowing that God does not view death as an end, but rather as the beginning, because death in this world is merely the doorway into His.

God wraps these tiny babies in His unending love, heals them of all pain and deformity, wipes every tear from their eyes, and assures them of His love and the love of their parents.

And so begins another day…

I must say that I’ve been truly blessed again by the love of family and friends. My sister-in-law, Sheila put together a small, mostly family, baby shower for me and our baby girl. I received some wonderful gifts and enjoyed the delicious food and the time spent together.

Then a very kind individual from my work planned a surprise baby shower one afternoon for me. And I was very surprised! Everyone in our department came together in the conference room and gobbled up all the delicious food and desserts. It was very thoughtful of everyone to acknowledge our baby. 

My coworkers see me every day and always express excitement about the upcoming event and also concern when I’m struggling to get through the day, which isn’t too often. I appreciate their support and encouragement and I’ve enjoyed hearing stories of their experience with pregnancy and labor.

Today marks 36 weeks. I’m in my office finishing up a proposal that needs to be sent on Monday. I do feel a bit overwhelmed with my workload right now-I have several deadlines and projects due in the next three weeks that I keep praying our baby stays put for the remaining 4 more weeks.  If she decides to grace us with her presence early, I will be there to welcome her (haha)! 

Despite the normal aches and pains that come with pregnancy, I’m doing well. Our little girl is moving so much which I still find strange but at the same time, love. I’m so thankful!