It's Over!

Well, here we finally are. Tomorrow is my first day back to work after my maternity leave. I can't believe that it's gone by so fast. While I am looking forward to being a little more a part of the outside world again, I really would rather just stay with my precious little Willow. But that is just not possible right now. I do have a great set up at work, so I won't have to be away from her as much as a lot of other mothers have to be away from their children. I just never would have thought that I would want to be a stay-at-home-mom. I always pictured myself as the working mother, and that's what I will be but with some trepidation. Chris's mom, Donitta, asked my mom if she was going to have the tissues and smelling salts ready when I dropped Willow off. I have a constant pep talk going in my head right now. "You will be strong. You will not cry. It's only for a few hours, and she's going to be safe and happy with Mom." I'll let you know if it works.

To make matter a tad more difficult, Chris will be on a business trip this week. I had really hoped that he would be home for a couple days while I returned to work, making the transition a bit easier for me. However, we're just going to dive right into the deep end of the pool... in the middle of winter. He leaves today, in just a few hours.

Last night was a really special night for us. Our families joined us at our church, Fellowship Bible Church, and we had both Willow Grace dedicated and Chris baptized. It was such a warm, precious night for us. Well, it could have been warmer for Chris. The water in the baptismal fount was apparently quite frigid. Each person who stepped into the water had a look of shock and sat their shivering while the pastor asked them a couple questions. Anyway, it was a blessing to have our families there. Afterwards, Chris's parents opened up their home for both of our families to gather for a little food and fellowship. The evening simple could not have gone better. Intestingly enough it didn't start off that way since we forgot Willow's burp cloths and Chris's clothes for the baptism, but somehow everything just came together and has now left us with the fondest of memories. I wish that I had pictures to share with you, but I forgot my camera and need to get copies from my sister's. I am so thankful that she brought her camera and that Matt, her husband, filmed the whole thing. Thanks Matt and Eva!

I hope that your new year has gotten off to a peaceful start. By the way, if you haven't seen it yet. Check this out:
http://www.pampers.com/en_US/getSTFDetails.do?videoid=831657FA4E5ABA99
It's the same commercial you may have seen on TV during the holidays but has four different shots of Willow Grace.

Happy New Year!