Merge and Update

I decided that it no longer makes sense for me to have a separate blog for pictures and my thoughts. It worked when I was blogging a lot more but now I feel like I need things to be more simple. So, I have combined "Serendipity" and "A Picture a Day" here!

I know I haven't posted for awhile. Yep, I'm one of "those" people who starts out strong and then fizzles out when I get busy. So, a few updates since the last time I wrote:

~ Jonathan is coming home for a week before he deploys. We are very excited for him to be here and have more than 4 days to spend with us, as we originally were told. We are also sad because this makes the deployment more real. After all of this time of knowing it was coming, the time is finally here.

~ I have been working on getting a job with the Gwinnett County 911 Center and I'm almost done with the whole process!

~ I finished all of my assignments for my online course. As long as I passed the final exam, I will have my Bachelor's Degree!!!

~ Caitlyn has been a busy little bee! At her 9 month check up she was 30 inches tall and 24 pounds!!! She's still in the 98-99th percentiles for height and weight. She now has four teeth and is eating mostly big girl foods. Her favorites include cheese and bananas. My big girl started crawling Easter weekend and can now pull up on objects and get herself back down without a problem. She often stands in front of a chair or the couch, playing with a toy and will forget to hold onto it for a full minute at a time. It's only a matter of time before she takes those brave first steps! She's also started pointing at everything. She's really into using that pointer finger for just about everything and it's even cuter when she says "Oh!" while she's pointing. She's incredibly talkative and it seems as though she always has something to say, even if I don't understand it all just yet! Caitlyn has started drinking lots of water now, too! I'm proud of my big girl, even if it makes me a little sad that she's not really a baby anymore.

~ I'm 25 today and while I know it's a young age, I sometimes feel very old! I suppose it's more maturity than actual age but it seems like Jonathan and I have been through so much in the last 5 years. So much has changed - almost all of it for the better. We have grown up in our marriage, especially Jon! I look around me and see all of these blessings and I am so thankful. I'm even thankful for my cats! They are all very loving in their own ways and between them and Caitlyn, I'm never lonely! I miss Jon terribly but I know that we will be together again. We are strong and I know that we will make it through this.

Here are a few pictures from the past few months to get you all caught up!