Some words of relationship wisdom!

I saw this today, posted by a friend, and I had to share!  I just LOVE this! And it is so true!
 

Love

Love

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During a seminar, a woman asked," How do I know if I am with the right person?"
...
The author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind replied the author.

Here's the answer.

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it.

I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):

The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let GO..

Month 4 and 5 favorites!

1.) Our Baby Einstein Jumparoo! Ledoux is currently in this right now- and she LOVES using her legs to jump!  It keeps her occupied for a good 30 minutes, which allows mama to get SOOO much done!  It is ahhmazing what I can acomplish these days in 30 minutes...

2.) Boogie wipes!  I LOVE THESE!  This kid has boogers all the time- sometimes I wonder how on earth so many boogies can come out of such a little body!  Regardless, these are great for their sensitive little baby noses.  The ones I like smell like menthol and have saline in them- perfect for her first little colds when she is all stuffed up.

3.) Overnight dipeys: now that doodle sleeps 12 hours straight, she needs a strong dipey so she wakes up with a dry bum.  These do the trick for us!

4.) Little muchkin mesh feeders: these are SO GREAT!  GET THESE!  Ledoux isn't ready to eat anything we eat (far from it actually...) but with these, I can steam up some veggies, or put some fresh fruit in the mesh and she can teeth on it and suck the juices out.  She likes frozen strawberries/blue berries or fresh melon- so fun!

5.) Nuby teether: its bendable, soft, and is a great little toy for her to play with and teeth on.  She loves it!

6.) Lamaze Parrot: Ledoux has been in love with this toy since the beginning, and it is still our fave!  She recently discovered it has a mirror on one of the wings, and she loves to look at herself.  I hang it from her jumperoo to play with.

7.) Beeba spoons:  I love these!  Some people think a spoon is a spoon, but  not with little babes!  These are super soft, and feel good on their little toothless gums. 

8.) JJ Cole Bundle me: we might live in Tucson, but it has been FREEZING cold in this desert lately!  Ledoux was bundled in clothes, jacket, coat, hat, mittens... you get the picture.  Then I discovered this!  Its a car seat insert that fits pretty much any seat, and keeps the baby nice and toasty!  Its great!  And I don't have to put a million layers on her!!

9.) Cupcake red velvet wine: don't judge honey pie!  I am a better mom thanks to a glass of wine!  This wine seriously feels like butter-- so smooth.  and one glass does the trick (most nights!) :)

10.) Bright Starts swing:  we got this when Ledoux was a newborn and she hated it.  seriously, hated.  Now, it is our magic sleep machine.  It is the ONLY way I can get her to nap during the day- I start her into this baby and like magic- Poof! Sleeping baby. 

5 Months!!

5 Months!

 

Sleeping: Ledoux sleeps like a champ (usually!)  We can usually count on her to sleep from 7ish pm until 7 am the next morning.  Most nights she doesn't wake up at all!  She still fights taking naps during the day- but we recently took out the swing we bought when she was a newborn (that she hated!) and it has turned into our magical sleeping machine.  When she starts rubbing her eyes during the day (that's our signal its nap time!) we put her in the swing, and she falls asleep.  The only other way to get her to nap is to bundle her into her car seat and drive.  I have come to terms with the fact that Ledoux is just not a napping kind of baby.  *sigh*

Eating: She has her babas (bottles) every couple/few hours (usually 6-8 ounces) and eats rice cereal at night.  We have also tried sweet potatoes, and green beans!  I am loving trying out new baby foods!!  Unfortunately, Ledoux's little tummy isn't a fan of the new foods just yet, so we have put a hold on everything but rice cereal for a bit.

Health:  She is doing good!  She is teething like a mad woman- and has so much slobber!  It is also causing her to have a runny nose- non stop!  Thank god for boogie wipes, I have some that have menthol in them and she actually likes them.  She had her first baby fever last week (100.5) and the poor babe didn't feel well at all.  It broke my heart :( Luckily, with alot of sleep and loves she is back to her usual sassy self.

Likes: She loves playing in her stander and her bouncer.  She also loves her daddy- she gets huge smiles on her face when we walks in the room!  So cute!  Another thing she loves is my parent's dog Annie- who gives her big kisses.  She giggles and laughs at her, and can't get enough.  She loves her rice cereal, being held, and playing on the floor on her activity mat.  She enjoys pulling my hair, playing with daddy and Opa's beard, and touching EVERYTHING.  Nothing is safe from Ledoux's hands and mouth. 

Dislikes: Her car seat (she screams when we put her in it), not being the center of attention, nap time, and socks (she tears them off her feet.)  Another new thing she does lately- throws a temper tantrum and tears the bows off of her head.  Its pretty funny!

Milestones/Firsts: Ledoux rolled over (from back to tummy!) for the first time on Christmas!! And then did it again on New Years day!  We are so exicted! I actually went to get her this morning out of her crib, and she had rolled over onto her tummy!  I know it seems silly, but I live for these little milestones!  She is ****almost**** sitting up on her own too!  She can do it with a little prop behind her, and sits up by herself on my lap-- but still has a little trouble doing it on her own.  I give it another week, and she will be doing it!! so exciting!!!

How are mommy and daddy? Things are great!  We are starting the house shopping (wahooo!) and daddy is working alot at his new job!  We are lucky to be able to spend time together alot (with and without doodle bug) to go on dates!  Our favorite place is the VFW (who would have thought!?! ) We are excited for some upcoming events- next weekend Lee is going to the Barrett Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, and 2 weeks later we are going to the Dwight Yoakam concert, and in April we have the George Strait concert.  Wahooo! We are also really excited because Ledoux is about to get some new babies to play with! There are three new babies coming within 2 weeks of eachother!  Lee's brother Sam and his wife are having a baby in late July, and 2 of my best friends are due on the SAME day in August!!  It is officially baby season!  Lee and I are so happy we are done with the preggo/newborn stage and we can sit back and (somewhat) relax while we offer advice and buy new baby gifts for everyone else.  I DO NOT envy all of them! LOL!  I am not a newborn baby kind of girl- those first 3 months were brutal!  However, I sure do love it now that Doodle is playing and interacting!

Happy New Year!

WOW! What a year! I can hardly believe everything that has happened in the last year...

We can start by finding out that SURPRISE! We are having a baby!


a 9 week old bean in there!



 

 

Followed by Lee leaving for Afghanistan a couple of weeks later...



The  view from the plane on his way to Afghanistan



 

 

From the first little glimmer of a baby bump (and our first glimpse at Ledoux!)

 

 

To full on baby in the belly...

Lee returned 7 months later, just in the knick of time for Ledoux to make her arrival!

She started as such a little thing...

 

and in the meantime, Lee got out of the Military and we moved to Arizona!

Now we have a beautiful little baby with a huge personality, and an even bigger smile...

 

 

 

I am not sure we could have packed much more into one years time... We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us! We wish you a happy new year- and hope it all you wish for!