As the world turns....

In just a few hours (in less than 12 hours, according to my Mama), I'll be 36 years old. It's hard to believe that just a year ago I was sitting at home in Lowell,  AR with a five-month-old Savannah thinking about how life would be if Pat got the job in Charlottesville.

Over the last 12 months, we've moved across the country, my Daddy has died and we learned we're expecting another baby. We've bought our first house and are now waiting to see how we'll survive our first winter "on the hill."

We've celebrated Mom and Dad Fitzgerald's 50th wedding anniversary and my brother is one step closer to becoming engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Cynthia. 

My older sister, Shannon, received her master's degree in business administration while my younger sister, Lynn, is working towards her GED.

Savannah has grown into a little girl with her own strong personality and I've been able to carve my own little income by freelancing. 

It has been a whirlwind to say the least... and the sad times are overshadowed by the joys that will be coming in March when Julius Patrick is born. I still cry over losing my Daddy on a regular basis, but I know he's now watching over us.

I feel so blessed that my life journey has brought me to this moment... I have a wonderful husband who loves me and whom I love very much, a healthy, beautiful daughter and a son who is letting me know several times a day that he's alive and kicking!

I have a Mama who still strives every day to get herself up and going and is an inspiration to me and in-laws whom I love like another set of parents.

I have family and friends all over the country (and in Canada) who would drop what they were doing and come help me if I need it.

What more can a person want than that?

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look around and see how lucky I am... even when my house isn't as clean as I want it to be or I have freelance assignments piling on top of each other.

I know there are people who read my blog all the time and I want to thank each of you for caring about me and my little family.

I'm posting pictures of the the three most important people in my life (no offense Dad Fitzgerald)... the three of them have made my life just amazing and I wouldn't want to live without them.

It's a wonderful birthday indeed...