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Well, Tabernacles has ended and I believe this is the first
year I’ve ever come home not smelling like smoke. That’s because whenever there
was a campfire everyone wanted to stay as far away as possible. I believe this
was the hottest, most humid Sukkot I remember. I think I spent a lot of time
away from the campground just so I could be in the wonderful AC.
A lot of things were different this year. A lot of people from previous years
weren’t there and a bunch of new people were, the famous “Snob Hill” was
re-dubbed “Hoosier Hill”, the bathhouse was fixed up and I never took a single
cold shower (woohoo!) and the best one of all, I had a husband and little boy
to take care of. My mom and a few of my siblings were able to make it up too.
And I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it through the whole week if my
mom hadn’t been there. See, I would always make fun of my mom when she’d pack
for Tabernacles because I thought she would “majorly over-pack.” Yeah…I was
wrong. It’s a good thing she came up because there were so many things that I
needed and she had.
Oh yes, and a few of my wonderful sisters-in-law planned me a surprise baby
shower. It was so great. Reilley got so many wonderful gifts and I even got
some myself. It was so sweet of them to plan it for me. 
It’s hard to believe that almost a year ago (it’ll be a year
on the 15th) Luke and I were getting married. Time sure has flown
by. Granted a year isn’t that long at all, we were told many times that the
first year is the hardest, but for us it was great. I’m sure though that our
“hardest year” is yet to come. I am, in a very strange way, looking forward to
it just because I know it’ll make us so much stronger. Someone told us a few
days before we got married that what we think is love now, won’t be the same in
about 10 years. He said that we first have to experience a little more “life”
before we truly understand what love is. That’s the part I’m looking forward
to.
Thinking back over the past 12 months, it’s amazing to see how much I’ve
changed. Becoming a wife and then a mother 10 months later sure requires a lot
of maturing in a short amount of time.
Being a mother, in my opinion, is what has changed me the most. Just recently
I’ve started noticing certain habits and tendencies in my life that I need to
reevaluate. I realized that if I don’t want my children to struggle like I have
in the past, I need to do my best to be a good example for them. I’m sure
everyone knows this and applies it to their lives, but since I’ve been a mom,
the responsibility of doing such has become much more serious (if that makes
any sense). I’m really looking forward to being a mom for the rest of my
life. I guess all that can be summed up
with “I’m a big girl now!” I know I have
so much more to learn, but I’m very thankful for what I have learned so far.
One last thing before I go. I hope someday you all get to
feel (if you haven’t already) the unexplainable feeling that comes when you
baby boy (or girl) looks up at you and makes eye contact for the very first
time and then gives you the biggest smile their little mouth can handle. That
feeling right their makes every contraction, every push a very distant memory. This is what I'm talking about... 
 This is his favorite sleeping position.
Sleeping in a camping chair...
He stayed asleep even after I changed him.
I really like this one
Spending time with his "Aunt Casie" 
Yeah, he's really cute in this one. Even with the bug bite on his face.
Grandma D. and Rei-Rei
As wonderful as he is, he can't quite figure out how to suck his thumb.
Look at all that hair!  | 
