A Message From God

Yesterday I had a VERY hard time at work because I was missing James a lot. I was not feeling so great, and I was feeling overwhelmed with everything I am learning at my new job. Suddenly, I just really wanted to be home with James. The closest thing I can relate it to is severe and sudden homesickness. It was swallowing me up! I just wanted to be where he was. Well, I have to work, so I prayed and prayed and tried to keep in mind how fortunate we are as a family. It didn't matter what positive things I thought of. I was in a sad mood and determined to stay that way all day.

When I woke up this morning, a sense of dread filled me because I knew it would be another long day without James. How I was missing those long and lazy summer days with my boy! At school, I attended a prayer group and told them about my dilemma and asked for prayers. After hearing other's personal concerns, it put things in perspective. During the prayer, I was lifted up! My day at work was AWESOME!

This evening, a funny thing happened. No, funny isn't the word but it was an interesting lesson. I came home from work with James in tow, after running errands and stopping by the library, to discover I had a sick cat - what seemed to be a very, very sick cat. We got him to the emergency vet and spent some time there. The cat, who looked like he was on his death bed earlier, was fine. 100% fine! Yes, I am serious! After loading the not sick cat and my very tired baby into the car, I knew that James would fall asleep on the way home. I realized I had not had any meaningful time to really to hang out with him today. Instead of being sad, I realized getting into the car that this was a clear message from God to remind me how lucky I am to spend the amount of quality time I normally do with my baby everyday. We really do make the most of every moment together! It was literally a light bulb moment in my life! One of those I know I will remember always, the way the wind was blowing my hair when the idea hit me, and the way the sun was making a beautiful sunset at the same time, the sweet smell of James as I buckled him into his car seat. Some women only get to spend the amount of time with their babies that I spent with James today, every day. How blessed I am, and how grateful I must be for it.

It is time to quit my negative thinking, and get back to counting my blessings. The biggest one I have ever received is becoming James' mother. So, the moral of the story is this....God has a way of getting your attention, and He answers your prayers. So prayer works, even if you have to have a "sick" cat, a $97 vet bill, and a vet who turns out to be a member of your church (seriously!!!) to help you realize how wonderful things already are!

Priceless Parenthood Moment #404 (Trying spaghetti....)

After a little apprehension, James discovered he is a pasta fan!

Changes!

Monday I will be starting at a new school in a new district! YAY! I am so excited and I have been working hard to get everything ready for the 5th graders I will be teaching. The new school is much closer and is just a better fit for me. I will miss wokring with some wonderful friends I made at Elder and of course the students, but I am looking forward to this new challenge. I will admit I am a little (ok, majorly!) overwhelmed. So much to do! So many new regulations, schedules, etc. to learn. But I have to take a deep breath and know it will be ok. One of the best things about the job is that I will be home earlier and have more time to hang out with James. He will also be able to come to school there for K-5 when the time comes. It would be nice having him so close. Wish me luck Monday!

Sweet Home Alabama

Duffy Men....Daniel, James, Kevin and Andrew. Andrew and Kevin are WONDERFUL uncles!

The sweetest moment......
We recently visited Birmingham and had an AWESOME time! Daniel lived in Homewood, which is essentially a suburb of B'Ham, from second grade until he left for college. It is a very nice area and we love going there. You see some beautiful scenery and everyone is just so nice! The 20 people James met included family members (grandparents, uncles and great-grandparents) and longtime friends. It was James' first time on an airplane and he was wonderful on the way there, and let's just say the way back was a really looooooooooooooooong flight.

Four Generations
We spent a lot of time hanging out with Daniel's family and visited Build-A-Bear (where James got a bear and a monkey), the Birmingham Zoo, a Japanese steakhouse (where James was slightly traumatized by a chef who thought a spatula near a baby's head is funny) and also made a trip to Montgomery with Daniel's parents and brothers (and Marian, Andrew's amazing girlfriend) so James could meet his great-grandparents. On our trip we also spent time with our friends Ginger and Matt and their adorable baby boy Joseph, as well as the Dude (Daniel's college room-mate), Jessica, Kelli, Vincent, Matt, Stacy, Jeremy and Paul. It brought back some great college memories. We had not laughed so much in a long time! On one day we attended Daniel's 10 Year High School Reunion Family Picnic. Although I did not know many of the people, it was nice to meet them and we had a good time. James wore a complete Auburn outfit including an Auburn cap and pacifier clip. It was nice to be in SEC country!

James with Daniel's Mom

James with Daniel's Dad
We are already planning our next trip back to Alabama and hope to make it to Auburn. For those of you not familiar, Auburn is home to the GREATEST university in the world and also where Daniel and I got married back in 2000. Thanks to everyone we got together with in B'Ham....it was so much fun seeing you all and introducing James to you. Can't wait to see you again! :-)

A quick picture at the B'Ham Zoo.

James Duffy for President!

Nell, loved it and had to steal it! :-)

A Day in the Life of James Duffy

Jack and James just hanging out. Can these be the same tiny babies we brought home from the hospital less than one year ago???

A day in the life of James Duffy: We got up and got ready for the day. I actually had to go in and get James because he was awake and just playing quietly with his toys in his crib. We needed to get our day started! This involved lots of giggling and silliness. I have never seen such a happy baby first thing in the morning! That grin that he gives me is the best thing! Breakfast was homemade peaches and oatmeal. Very yum! Then we headed to the Haslet Library for storytime which James LOVED. We checked out new books for the week and then headed home so James could nap. We had lunch and played hard, exploring the whole house, including under the dining table. He is crawling everywhere. We sang, we looked at ourselves in the mirror, we checked the mail. James acts as though he has never done anything as special as help open the mailbox. For his sake I act as if it is the most special thing ever and proceed out to the curb with the greatest enthusiam one can muster. We pore over every last piece of mail and he waves the junk mail all around on the way back into the house. I took pictures of him and some video too, as usual. James chased the cats, I chased him. He also practiced pulling up on the furniture and zoomed all over the kitchen in his walker. Then James napped again completely worn out from being such an active little guy. Around 4pm Kelli and Jack came over to hang out. It is always nice to see them. Jack and James played with toys and seemed fascinated with each other as usual. After they left, we sat out in the yard for a while when it was cool and then got ready for bedtime. PJs, night time book reading, rocking and prayers. What a wonderful day! Just being with him makes my heart happy.....


Oh, James! You are just too sweet!

The Dancing Man!

Check out his moves....

What is that tiny flash of white?!?!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.....James Duffy has a tooth! Or, the very, very beginning of one. No pics yet of this exciting little development discovered by Daddy. Check back soon for updates and hopefully a picture of this perfect pearly white!

A Trip to the Windy City

Jessica and I cheesing in front of Auerelio's.....the best pizza place in Homewood since 1959

After nine long years, I made a trip back to Illinois. I graduated from high school in Il. back in '99 after living there for a total of 5 years combined (6th & 7th grade, and again in 10th-12th grade). Some of you might know that Il. was not my favorite place. Living there was just not for me.....too big, too cold and too un-Southern! But I had a great reason to go back. I made the trip to see my best and longtime friend Jessica Abbott. She has been to visit us each and every year since high school graduation. What a trooper! Now that I have successfully overcome my fear of flying and had some free time, I just had to head up North for a visit. It was the first of what will be an annual trip to the big city!



A view of the Sear's Tower from aboard our architectural boat tour through the city.

Thank you Jessica for a wonderful time this past weekend. It was awesome! We always have such a great time together no matter what we are doing. I am lucky to have you in my life and even luckier that you are James' godmother!

My time staying in Jessica's new Chicago loft was very cool! I had a wonderful time seeing the sights, visiting my old neighborhood and most of all just catching up with Jessica and her husband Chris. We are planning our next visit already so our hubby's have a chance to meet. Next summer's agenda hopefully will include a cruise together with this fun couple. The only thing that would have made my trip to the Windy City better was having Daniel and James along.....I sure was lonesome for the two special men in my life! Chicago was fun, but I am glad to be home, sweet home.


Dessert at Francesca's on Taylor in Little Italy. This place was sooooo yum! The food was so fresh and delicious....they have a different menu each night.