Already this month has been crazy and we haven't quite made it to the halfway mark. Last weekend we had a marriage retreat so you stayed with Aunt Aly and Aunt Kristen. This weekend we're going to Miami for our LAM interviews, you're staying with Gamma and Paupau Taylor. Next weekend we're going to Lake Williamson with The Mail Box Store crew for a work retreat and Holiday's party - but that weekend trip you get to spend with us. Then it's Thanksgiving and then it'll be December and time for Christmas.
On top of all these trips, we've been packing and moving and storing our stuff so that we could move into the Wagner's basement. I feel like there's been no time to really spend with you, so every moment I have alone that I get extra, I take it. Yes that has included skipping class a few times - so please if I ever get on your case in college about this (we'll talk about you doing it in high school!) remind me of how I was in college!!
One of my favorite times to soak up is in the morning - you have made waking up more bearable than I ever imagined it would be. I love coming into your room and tickling you or scratching/rubbing your back to wake you up and to see that dazed look on your face as you try and figure out what the heck is going on! It's my time to spend with you one on one, we talk and giggle, depending on how you slept and time you went to bed you may be more cranky than usual. You never forget to remind me to grab your buddy (your penguin blanket) and you usually like to just sit in my lap for a few minutes (as long as I'm not running late) in the car before we strap in and head out. Of course, you always break a piece of my heart when you leap out of my arms to Pauletta's when we get to her house, but you never fail to at least give me hug or two, and occasionally a kiss. I'm usually okay with it though because I get my kiss before we leave after I've strapped you in.
It's hard to be a working mom, because I want to spend every waking moment with you. But it's also hard to keep you entertained when we are together, especially since one of the main ways you enjoy life is by being chased. I'm not sure what LAM holds in our future down in Costa Rica ... maybe I can be more of a stay-at-home mom, but I also wonder about my calling as a Missionary - always have wondered this since I first felt the call from God in 2004 - and it's simply: what is my call as a missionary?
Ethan, I can't wait for you to begin to experience life at it's fullest, and I've already been preparing myself for you as an older child and how to introduce God to you and His plans for our lives. I hope you can one day understand this and always remember it.
I love you son. You are my world.
