another year older, another month older :)

i'm so excited to say that my sweet baby boy is now 3 months old! time flies by so quickly! mackinley is pretty much adjusted to his braces for his feet, but he loves when i take them off for bath time! and he absolutely loves the bath! he cries when i turn the water off and he has to get out of the tub haha. he is too big to lie down in the little baby bath tub so he has a little cushion for the regular bath tub. i have to get him weighed and measured again at the doctors, but i'm pretty sure he's over 13 lbs and 23 inches long! he loves to move and wants to be a part of everything haha. mackinley likes to watch TV now, especially his baby einstein! and he's learning to roll over already! he hasn't rolled over fully by himself, but he's definitely getting there! :)

messiah college and kickboxing

this past saturday, i had the opportunity to visit Messiah College (the college i attended last year) with Mackinley (my dad, mom, and sister were with us as well!). i am not exaggerating when i say that i felt like i was going home. even though i only spent a year of college there (and it wasn't the best year of my life), i consider messiah college to be a second home, and the people there are like family. so i was extremely happy to be there, especially with Mackinley! :) i was able to watch my former teammates on the women's lacrosse team beat SUNY Fredonia :) and spend some time with them at the tailgate. it was awesome to see my Falcon family and watch them dominate on the field! i was also able to see some friends i met during my freshman year at Messiah. Mackinley behaved the whole day despite never being out for an entire day before :) i was so happy to have my friends meet Mackinley! and i missed everyone so much so it was wonderful to spend some time with them and catch up on life. i am so blessed to have such wonderful friends who have supported me and been there for me when i need them :) i wasn't able to see all my friends, so i hope that i can visit messiah again soon so i can spend time with everyone! (and next time take pictures because in all the excitement from seeing everyone i forgot to take any pictures! haha)

in other news, i started kickboxing two weeks ago! technically i'm not supposed to be doing any type of strenuous exercise (i have surgery scheduled for april 10th for my benign ovarian tumor), but as an athlete its too difficult for me not to do anything haha (i am trying not to push it too much though). kickboxing is a great workout! its a total body workout, plus its an outlet for me to relieve stress and aggression. i'm also trying to eat healthier. last fall when i was training for lacrosse, i combined our intense lacrosse training with eating healthy and i lost close to 20 lbs! so i am hoping that by working out and eating right that i'll be able to shed some baby weight and get back into shape :)

i know this post was way overdue, but i will hopefully be posting again later this week since thursday the 8th is my birthday (the big 2-0! haha) and Mackinley will be three months on the 10th!!

in closing, i'd like to share a song that has been a comfort to me in times of trial and has altogether just made me feel better. its called "Safe" by Phil Wickham (its one of the songs on the playlist on my blog). when you listen to the words it brings a peace to your heart; knowing that God our Heavenly Father is always there for us - through the good and the bad. when we fall He is there to catch us and we are safe in His arms.

2 months old!

Mackinley is two months old!! :)

 yesterday Mackinley turned two months old! it seems like time is flying by! we had a little celebration for him, complete with a cake made by my 11 year old sister Kirsten :) we also celebrated Mack getting his casts off!! now he has to wear a brace; they kinda look like snowboarding boots and they are attached by a bar in the middle. Mackinley is still getting used to the braces,  but they are definitely better than casts! he can move his little legs now and finally take a real bath, instead of just using the washcloth. its so exciting to see Mackinley grow and learn! he smiles and coos more which is always cute (even at 3:00 in the morning haha)! sometimes i'll just stare at Mackinley and think, "wow, i am so blessed to have my son".  although its difficult being a single, teenage mom (i am fortunate to have support/help from my family) trying to balance work, school, and Mackinley, i wouldn't trade it. because being a mom has forever changed my life...for the better :)

all of my life, in every season You are still God

the title of this post is from my all time favorite worship song, "Desert Song" by Hillsong United. i listen to this song all the time, especially when i'm going through a tough time. i absolutely love the message of the song because its something that i constantly have to remind myself; that we should praise God no matter what the circumstance. its easy to thank God for his blessings when everything seems to be going the way we want it to. the hard part is remembering to praise him even when we go through difficult trials. its easy to get upset at God when things are tough or don't turn out the way we want them to, but at the end of the day God is faithful and does what is best for us. last year i pushed God away when things got tough and that did nothing to my benefit (it did the exact opposite). now i'm trying to learn to give everything to God, the good and the bad.

mackinley is one month old!

sometimes it makes me upset that mackinley's dad isn't in his life and that he doesn't want to take responsibility for his son, but then i realize how much of a headache that trying to be civil with my ex would be. plus, this way i don't have to share mackinley with anyone (except my mom, dad, and siblings who absolutely adore little mack jack haha), because i have found that i am selfish when it comes to my son haha i want him all to myself :) he is truly a wonderful little boy; a precious blessing that i am so thankful for! and ryan won't get to see how wonderful mackinley is, but again, that's his loss. but enough of the sad stuff because...