Dear My McKayla,

Have I told you today how much I love you?  Well, I do.  I love when you bring your blanket and doll into the office in the mornings so that you can be with me.  I love how you laugh and seeing your smile.  I love watching you read a book, especially one that was mine.  I love how tight you hug me and tell me that your "hug meter is low."  I love that you hopped in my lap the first day you met me and put your daddy's hat on my head.  I love how you and your daddy sing to each other.  I love playing games with you and helping you learn new things.  I love calling you vocabulary and spelling words and seeing how quickly you learn.  I love picking you up from school and having you tell me how excited you are to see me.  I love when you say you love me more than infinity.  I love how you go get your Bible early in the mornings before we wake up.  I love how excited you are about Christmas.  I love watching you dance around the house and hear you sing at the top of your lungs.  I love, love, love you. So much. More than I could ever love any daughter. I love that tonight you told me that you're mine.

I love you, McKayla Grace.

Love,
YOUR Lindsey

Duplicates

Michael and I have worked very hard to combine our two homes into one. It wasn't much of a question that we would move into his house, since he has an extra bedroom and bathroom and the bedrooms are bigger. The things I miss the most from the other house are the ATTIC, the extra space in the pantry, and an extra closet (basically, I miss my storage!).

It has been a difficult task to cram TWO FULL HOUSES into one! However, we still managed to fit two sofa sets, two tables, and three TVs into the house and four dressers into our bedroom!

There are definitely things that we WILL NEVER NEED TO BUY AGAIN. So, if you're thinking about buying us a Christmas present, please omit the items from the list below:

- scotch tape : I'm pretty sure we have at least 12-15 rolls of tape
- band-aids : we have an entire drawer full
- garlic salt, chili powder, season all : I think we have at least four of each!
- random stuff that goes under the kitchen sink - really, I'm not even sure how it's all staying in there, but so far, so good!

They Creep Into Your Heart....

Anyone can tell that McKayla (along with her daddy!) has completely stolen my heart.  I've never considered myself to be a selfISH person, but I wouldn't say that I'm selfLESS either!  Let me tell you, becoming a parent has totally changed my perspective on things!  I find myself doing things that I wouldn't be doing otherwise!

For instance, this past weekend, Michael, McKayla and I were at the Duke/UNC game.  McKayla and I were getting a little hungry and decided we wanted to both eat Chic-Fil-A sandwiches. At these games, you get in separate lines for different kinds of food (i.e. the pizza line, the sandwich line, etc).  After waiting in the sandwich line for a while, we both asked for a Chic-Fil-A sandwich. They gave us the LAST ONE IN THE WHOLE STADIUM. McKayla really enjoyed that sandwich... while I ate a hot dog. Yuck!

I sleep less, wake up much earlier, find myself going out of the way to make her smile, and let her pick the oatmeal flavor we buy (even if it's not my favorite!).  McKayla has certainly changed my life... and definitely for the better!

Love Letter

I realize that some people think that Michael and I are crazy - we didn't date each other very long before we got married.  I had been married and hurt before, he had been hurt before. Somehow, after only a few short weeks, we knew that we had something special and different.  I knew that I loved him and didn't want to live without him.

About a month after we first started dating, I heard the song "Halo" by Beyonce for the first time.  This song describes so well how I feel about Michael.  Every time I hear this song, it makes me smile.  Not long after I heard it that first time, I went and bought the CD, copied the lyrics, and composed an e-mail to Michael.  I looked at that send button for a while before I actually sent the e-mail.  I e-mailed these lyrics to my then-future husband, not sure exactly what the future would hold.

We have now been married for almost 7 weeks.  I could not love anyone more.

Halo:

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light

I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
To pull me back to the ground again

Feels like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
The risk that I'm takin'
I'm never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

Headlight

McKayla and I were waiting in the drop-off line at school this morning and she stood up to put on her backpack. When she stood up, her head hit the light on the ceiling and it came on. She looked at me and said,

"Now that's what I call a headlight!"

Haha - I love my silly, smart girll!