Mallory Raye Fields

I was told I had a lot to say in blog, and my aunt was right.

Here's an update:

Last year I wrote about this guy, Paul. He was my new boyfriend and I was in love. He was perfect and everything I wanted in a guy. Kind, romantic, chivalrious, and of course, handsome. Paul was the one for me. I was sure of it. A month into our relationship I was sure that he was the man I wanted for the rest of my life.

I was right.

We got married on April 28th. Was a beautiful wedding, and if I may say so myself, I looked great for it. Only time I really felt beautiful. He looked great too, in his tux and clean shaven and smelling great.

Paul and I danced to our song, "I cross my heart", by George Strait. It was a wonderful reception and I know I will never forget it. We had an amazing honeymoon, thanks Mom and Dad. I had never been to Gatlinberg, and I almost didn't want to go there, but we decided to go and Mom and Dad rented us a cabin in the woods and gave us a generous gift card to have fun on. It was quite the magical trip.

And then we lived in our house, that we own, as husband and wife. That has a nice ring to it. When his girls came for the summer we got to spend it together as a real family. It felt great to get to cook dinner for four people and help take cre of kids and just to be a wife and mom, which for those of you who really know me, it is all I've ever wanted out of life.

And then on July 25, 2007 Paul and I welcomed into the world little Mallory Raye Fields. She was 5 weeks early and gave us each a scare. It was quite the tramatic experience, with bleeding and an emergency C-section. Found out my placenta had ruptured and I had a 880 gram blood clot. As the doc put it, "We did the right thing," in taking her out, as opposed to just watching me through the night as they had previously decided.

Though she was 5 weeks early, Mallory was just fine. Slight case of jaundice but it was not major. She has no health problems and is doing wonderfully. As my pastor put it, "God was not surprised."

I am doing great as well. Only had to take a few doses of Motrin while in the hospital, but no pain meds at all. They were quite impressed. To tell you the truth, I was impressed. I'm a sissy and I would have begged for pain meds if I were in pain. Thank God I didn't need any.

So right now I am enjoying my time with my daughter. Very much not looking forward to going back to work and missing time with her, but someone has to help pay the mortgage. I'm just glad for the time I get with her now.

As of right now everything is going great at the Fields' residence. Let's all pray that I can continue to say so.

I'll try to keep this more updated, but no promises.

Thanks for listening, and when you talk to God next, thank Him for Mallory's safe delivery.

DeAnna

"I Love You"

We say those words to so many different people. Different people that we have different kinds of relationships with.

First there's our parents. Probably the people who we said it to first. They used to tell us as children, and I know when I hear it now, it brings a smile to my face. Because I know that no matter what, my parents still love me, and they always will. It's nice to have that reassurance. I also like to let them know that I love them. I may not say it as often as I should, but by saying it, I want them to know that I do appreciate them and love them.

And we say it to various people in our family. Brothers, aunts, grandparents, uncles, cousins. These people you may not get to see on a regular basis, but when you see them, you want them to know that even if they are not around, they are still in your thoughts, heart, and prayers.

And we can't forget our friends. Our friends are those that we haven't known from birth, but rather people who have come into our lives at various times that sometimes seem closer than family. I make sure to tell my friends I love them, so that they know how important they are to me.

And lastly, we can't forget our significant others. Whether husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend, we tell these people we love them sometimes simply just to see them smile. It gives us warm buzzes to say it. These people are the ones we know when we turn 80 and our kids are all grown up and moved away, that they will be there with us, and we'll want them to know that we love them more and more each day.

At least that's my take on those three little words.

Why I haven't updated

Thought it was time I explained why I have been silent for the past month. This time it has nothing to do with laziness, nor anything to do with not having anything to say at all. Quite the opposite. I have a lot to say.

I just don't have the time.

And what, you ask, has kept me so busy?

His name is Paul. And he's wonderful. He's my boyfriend of a little over a month. Paul is everything I've always wanted. He is sweet, charming, a true gentleman who opens the door for me, even gets mad if I open the door myself. He let's me order meals first, pays for things, holds my hand when we're walking, gives me the sweetest smiles, and has amazing eyes.

I am completely gone. There is no further for me to fall. And you know what, it feels great.

update -- no eraser

Well, I was told that I had to update my blog. So I'm updating it.

My pastor preached this morning, talking about how if we are overcomers* we will get to sit in Jesus' throne with him. It made me think back to when I was a little girl and I used to crawl into my father's lap. He'd wrap his arms around me and I knew there wasn't a place safer than where I was at at the moment, in my father's arms.

Jesus wraps his arms around us and keeps us safe from all things. Sure, when we venture into the world people and things are gonna hurt us, but its then that Jesus squeezes us closer to him and lets us know he has not let us go. God says that no man can pluck us out of his hands, and that "no man" includes ourselves. Thank God for that! Once God has us, once we admit we're sinners and that we need God and want God to come into our lives and live in our hearts, we're never going to be without God again. I can't think anyone else I'd rather spend eternity with, can you?

I mentioned this morning that when we get saved Jesus writes our name in the Lamb's Book Of Life, and that no eraser can blot us out. No erasable pen, no pencil eraser, not even those huge gummy erasers we had to use as kids can do it. Nothing. Because our names are written in his blood, and you can't get blood out, not his blood anyway.

Jesus died for us, all of us, and because of that, once we get saved, our names get written in the Book Of Life, and we never are left alone again.

My question to you is, are you going to alone for all eternity? Don't let your answer be yes. If you want to know how to sit in Jesus' thrown with him, to have his arms safely around you, let me know and either I, or my father, will help you.

For those of you who already are saved, when was the last time you crawled into your father's lap?

*corrected from overachiever, thanks Dad

Extended Family

Well, due to the recent posts of my family bloggers, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

First, let me say that I feel very blessed to have the parents that I do. I know no matter what I do, no matter what happens, my mom and dad will be there for me. Get a flat tire? Call dad up. Want someone to go shopping with you because you know you'll need morale support? Give mom a holler. Want to make fun of dad? Mom's always up for that. And these are just a few examples of how great my parents are. Thanks.

Let me now talk about my uncle and aunts.

Now, I am 25 years old, and I still call them Aunt whatever and Uncle whatever. To me, its their name. Even when talking about them to someone, I still use the aunt and uncle. It's respect, its their name, and its graditude that I've still got aunts and uncles around. Sure, a few of them have developed into friends, but I still call them with the correct prefix. It's my choice, no one's asked me to, no one's mentioned it. I just do it.

In no particular order I present to you, my Uncle and Aunt's, from my perspective:

Aunt B: We connected years ago when I was told I had a "gasoline ass". That is to say, I always to be on the move. Thus, I called Aunt B. She was always on her way somewhere, and she was always willing to take me along. I remember just going with her to get Ricker's pop. As a kid my grandparents house could get very boring, very fast. Mom and Dad would be playing cards, so they always said, "Call Aunt B and see what she's up to." So I would, and she'd come over to pick me up and take me back to her place, or to the store. I always appreciated that. I hated being bored, and apparently, so does she. Now that I'm older, I've come to really treasure her as a friend. We have a lot of the same interests, and she's always including me in things if she can. It's nice to be treated as an equal and she does a fine job of it. Thanks.

Aunt G: Never really got to see her much as a kid, but I do remember being so excited when I got to see her for G'ma and G'pa's 50th wedding anniversary. She's always just been the aunt who is willing to talk to me anytime, if I were to e-mail her or call her for what ever reason. Granted I don't ever call or e-mail her, but I know she'd answer if I did, because she has in the past. And she seems genuinely happy to hear from me. And she's forever encouraging me. (Thanks for your last comment on the post with my pic). She's got to be one of the nicest people I know, and I crack up at her posts nearly every time. She's funny, sweet, and open. One of these days, I am going to take her up on the offer to visit her for vacation. I love you, and miss you.

Aunt C: I know everyone knows this story, but I'm going to retell it. Aunt C and I have always made cookies together. She makes the best peanut butter cookies, and it always amazed me how she just knew what to put in them, and how much to use, without a recipe book. It was Aunt C who taught me the correct way to make cookies. In case you didn't know, you have to take your shoes off. They absoluetly taste better that way. No kidding. Try it. Also, Aunt C taught me to appreciate Elvis. As a child she had a bunch of Elvis stuff around her house, and it was widely known that I was to be the reciever of that stuff. Through the years she's gotten rid of some of it, and my interests have moved on to other things, but whatever she has left, is mine. Let it be known now, I will claim it when it is time. Hopefully not for a long time. Aunt C has shown me that though things don't go your way, you don't whine and complain about it. You adapt to it. Thanks Aunt C, for teaching me to love the small things in life.

Uncle B: As a kid I can remember playing the Super Nintendo with him. We would play Donkey Kong for hours, laughing when we'd finally get past a hard level, or groaning when we'd die, taking everything we'd accomplished with us to the last scene, where the big red, bubbled letters would shout at us "The End". Then we'd sigh, and start all over again. It was so cool to play those games with him. Dad played games with us, but I don't recall him being very good at the Donkey Kong games. I recall him coming to see us many times in the various places where we lived. Uncle B was always willing to teach me how to play cards, without money. He's taught me different varients of poker, and given me tips in Eucher, and when I felt I was good enough to play for money, he'd take it without a second thought. At the time I would have liked some pity, but now I realize that its taught me not to play what you don't want to lose. Uncle B, thanks for wasting hours with me playing video games.

Aunt Diana: Sadly, she died as a toddler, so of course I never knew her. But I write about her because my grandfather has told me that when I was a child I looked like her as a child. And so now they wonder if she would have looked like me if she'd have lived. It's an honor to hear him say that, and I certaintly can't wait to see her in Heaven and know for sure.

And now, a quick word about my grandparents.

I love these people dearly. They always have a smile for me, always seem so happy to hear from me. I remember a couple of summers spending a week or two at their house. Sure, at night when they'd go to bed I'd get bored, but that's where my Aunt B and Aunt C would come over and take me bowling with them, or out to eat, whatever. And once, when I wasn't due home until elevenish because I went bowling with Aunt C, G'pa, even though he'd given me a key, stayed up to wait on me. I was sincerely touched by that, because I knew it was way past his bedtime. And there were many times G'ma let me help her cook...and on a couple of occasions let me do most of the cooking. Tacos (thanks for teaching me that art Mom), hot dogs, fries, whatever. And we'd always make icing to put in the middle of graham crackers. And they would always make sure I had a bed to sleep on, even if it meant putting the roll away bed in the dining room and attaching a curtain so I'd have a little bit of privacy. And we can't forget the loving way G'pa tells me I'm ugly and no wonder I don't have a husband. Which translated from G'pa language into English is "You're so pretty, how is it possible you aren't married yet?" Because of the relentless teasing of my G'pa, my father, and my brother, and to some extent the rest of the family, I have grown up to be able to take a joke. I can take teasing like nobody's business. And I can dish it out. Just ask G'pa about his burlap sack to wear over his ugly head.

All in all, I love my family and wouldn't trade a single one of them. Not for anything.

I love you all, very much, and thanks for touching my life in your own personal way.

grandparents

I have decided that I want to do something extravagant with my life. I have several choices that I would be content with.

1) Get married and have kids, because nothing is more exciting than having kids.

2) Get married, have kids, and become a famous author. I want to be a house hold name liek Stephen King. Though I don't write in the genre as him, I'm more Danielle Steel without all the predictability, I do want people say "who are you reading?" and when someone answers "DeAnna (whatever my last name will be when I get married" I want the first person to say, "I've read her! She's fabulous!"

Even better yet, I want to write a novel that inspires someone. I want one of my novels to be one where I'm doing a book signing and someone comes up and says "your novel inspired me to ... whatever." Just one person. I just want to make a difference in one person's life through my writing.

And I want to do something amazing before my grandparents die. Hear me out. All of the grandkids, besides me, have been married. Aunties, please correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as my knowledge goes, I'm the only one never been married. And all but one have had kids. Again, correct me if I'm wrong. I see how much my grandparents enjoy they great grandkids. And I want them to get to meet my kids before they go. At least meet my husband. But as it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon....I'll be content to get published before they go. I can at least bring the book to them, all signed and looking pretty, and show them my accomplishment. Have them proud of me for something I've done. Have something I've created on their mantle, next to the pictures of they great grandchildren.

Now if only I could get an idea for the next Great American Novel and get it published.

Wonder which I'll do first, marriage and kids, or get published. At this point, they both look impossible to reach.

WARNING: Rant time *sigh* It'll happen I know....but really....when? And if someone tells me one mroe time "when you least expect it" I'm gonna hit them. Right now, I'm not even expecting it...so why hasn't it happened? Rant Over

So basically, I just want to make my grandparents proud of me and have them display something I've created, book or picutre of my children.

Me, at 24, when I was still young and single, and not old and single. :)
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