Aug 6, 2012
It's amazing how fast this last 15 weeks went. The last time I posted our baby was the size of a banana. Now he is a large melon! So much has been happening these last few months and I can't wait to inform you about it all! But first I must organize my pictures. More to come in the next couple of days (I hope!). :)
Apr 29, 2012
Bananas
Twenty weeks down and twenty to go. We have reached the halfway point of this pregnancy and I cannot believe we are already there! The first eight weeks or so seemed to move so slowly, but now it seems like time is flying by! I know it will only move more quickly when Norton gets here, but I already find myself desperately holding on to the beautiful changes that are occurring. I love feeling him/her move (now that it is occurring more frequently) and cannot seem to keep my hands off of my belly. :) Chandler and I think it is funny that the baby is always compared to food - mostly fruits or vegetables - and try to eat the comparable food throughout the week. This week - bananas! Some weeks are easier than others. My favorites so far...mango and avocado. We can't wait to meet this banana and are super excited to find out (in two short days) what Norton is going to be! Thank you Lord for this amazing blessing!
Apr 28, 2012
Pink
Today I am especially thankful for the many blessings God brings to our lives. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. After two lumpectomies and a round of radiation, she has finally finished this (hopefully never to return) fight. There will be follow-up appointments, check-ups to make sure it has not returned, and I'm sure countless unwanted "what if" questions in the coming years - but she has made it through the hardest part...I think. My mom was lucky. They caught the cancer very early, which makes me very grateful for new technology and she did not spend a terribly long period of time in radiation. I was amazed at her positive spirit throughout her battle. Her fight may have wavered a bit in the toughest weeks of radiation when her skin was purple from the burn; but she persevered and I could not be more proud of her! She is one tough lady and I am so thankful for the love and support she has received from her friends, family, and co-workers. I know the constant encouragement they provided helped her keep up the fight when things got tough! :)
Apr 22, 2012
Norton
Note: Chandler and I are in no way considering Norton as the name of our future child. We do not like calling the baby "it" or "baby" or even "baby Norris". I'm sure we would have been fine with the latter nickname had a good friend not suggested the alternative that just seemed to perfect to avoid!
November 23, 2011...I eagerly awaited Chandler's arrival at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. I spent the morning fretting over the perfect outfit to wear and checking to make sure the house was ready for his homecoming.
Chandler's flight was due to arrive at 10:15 in the morning, which worked well for me as I don't believe I slept a wink the night before and I don't believe I could have sanely occupied my time throughout the day had his plane arrived later in the evening. My excitement gradually turned to nervousness as I approached Atlanta. My friend Amy and her man David agreed to meet me at the airport to capture the moment of our reunion on film. We arrived early to scope out the area where I would meet him and once we determined the location, we sat and ate breakfast and I drank the most unnecessary cup of coffee of my life! At this point my nerves were shot and I was so grateful for these two great friends who kept me company during this final, brutal period of waiting. Around 10:00 we made our way to the receiving area. Here, passengers have been funneled through the airport and deposited to their final gateway to freedom...the escalators. Directly in front of the escalators is a booth in which a group of USO members are poised to greet weary soldiers as they make their toward their final destination. It is extremely touching to watch these grateful citizens extend a hand of welcome, love, and support to complete strangers and I confess I was instantly choked up. The combination of nerves and emotions building up within me caused a stillness in my being and I became very quiet. I think Amy was taken aback by my countenance and went into excitement overdrive to make up for my placidity! When the moment finally came and I saw him come off of the escalator I was stunned and forgot what to do! Amy spurred me to go to him and, remembering what my legs were for, I quickly made my way to him -waddled my way is more like it as I had foolishly worn heels for the occasion! I jumped into his arms and the world around me was no more. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Gag me with the cheesiness! But, it was what it was and I was complete again. Little did I know that the moment I jumped into his arms photos were being taken. Sure, I was aware that Amy was there capturing the magic; but I was caught completely off guard when a reporter from Reuters approached us for information to use for a caption in a picture she snapped of the two of us. After relaying the information, we gathered Chandler's things and made our way home.
A couple of days later, as we were visiting Chandler's family for Thanksgiving, I decided to Google my name to see if the picture had somehow surfaced on the internet. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I tried Chandler's name. What came up was a montage of pictures in The Telegraph documenting how the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving. Low and behold, there were SSG Norris and a very happy blonde girl named "Brittany" hugging in the Atlanta airport after a one year separation. As the picture spread, I went from "Brittany" to "Brittany Norton" and then just plain "Norton". We thought this was pretty hilarious and Chandler soon began to affectionately refer to me as "Norton". When we found out we were pregnant and were trying to think of nicknames we could use for the baby so we weren't calling it "it", my friend Natalie suggested we call the baby "Norton" until we knew what we were having and had a name picked out. Well that idea was an instant hit! That is how we came to call the baby "Norton". Again, we will not be naming the baby "Norton" or "Nortena" if it happens to be a girl - but right now, the name fits!
Chandler's flight was due to arrive at 10:15 in the morning, which worked well for me as I don't believe I slept a wink the night before and I don't believe I could have sanely occupied my time throughout the day had his plane arrived later in the evening. My excitement gradually turned to nervousness as I approached Atlanta. My friend Amy and her man David agreed to meet me at the airport to capture the moment of our reunion on film. We arrived early to scope out the area where I would meet him and once we determined the location, we sat and ate breakfast and I drank the most unnecessary cup of coffee of my life! At this point my nerves were shot and I was so grateful for these two great friends who kept me company during this final, brutal period of waiting. Around 10:00 we made our way to the receiving area. Here, passengers have been funneled through the airport and deposited to their final gateway to freedom...the escalators. Directly in front of the escalators is a booth in which a group of USO members are poised to greet weary soldiers as they make their toward their final destination. It is extremely touching to watch these grateful citizens extend a hand of welcome, love, and support to complete strangers and I confess I was instantly choked up. The combination of nerves and emotions building up within me caused a stillness in my being and I became very quiet. I think Amy was taken aback by my countenance and went into excitement overdrive to make up for my placidity! When the moment finally came and I saw him come off of the escalator I was stunned and forgot what to do! Amy spurred me to go to him and, remembering what my legs were for, I quickly made my way to him -waddled my way is more like it as I had foolishly worn heels for the occasion! I jumped into his arms and the world around me was no more. Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Gag me with the cheesiness! But, it was what it was and I was complete again. Little did I know that the moment I jumped into his arms photos were being taken. Sure, I was aware that Amy was there capturing the magic; but I was caught completely off guard when a reporter from Reuters approached us for information to use for a caption in a picture she snapped of the two of us. After relaying the information, we gathered Chandler's things and made our way home.
A couple of days later, as we were visiting Chandler's family for Thanksgiving, I decided to Google my name to see if the picture had somehow surfaced on the internet. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I tried Chandler's name. What came up was a montage of pictures in The Telegraph documenting how the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving. Low and behold, there were SSG Norris and a very happy blonde girl named "Brittany" hugging in the Atlanta airport after a one year separation. As the picture spread, I went from "Brittany" to "Brittany Norton" and then just plain "Norton". We thought this was pretty hilarious and Chandler soon began to affectionately refer to me as "Norton". When we found out we were pregnant and were trying to think of nicknames we could use for the baby so we weren't calling it "it", my friend Natalie suggested we call the baby "Norton" until we knew what we were having and had a name picked out. Well that idea was an instant hit! That is how we came to call the baby "Norton". Again, we will not be naming the baby "Norton" or "Nortena" if it happens to be a girl - but right now, the name fits!
Apr 21, 2012
Why not Facebook?
I know it may seem a little weird that I would only send baby updates through the blog and not Facebook. I mean Facebook is quick, easy and everyone sees it so I don't have to constantly give the same news over and over again. So why not Facebook?
Most of you know of the difficulty and pain Chandler and I have gone through in the process of having children. While our situation was not nearly as difficult as others - and was largely due to a combination between Chandler's occupation and my obsession with getting pregnant - I became a basket case. Ok, maybe I have always been a basket case and this just fed right into my craziness! The point is, when we lost our first child, it was devastating. I may not have been pregnant long, but I loved that child from the moment we knew God had blessed us with it. The emotional heartache I experienced and the painful months (alright year or so) that followed were very difficult to get through; but we got through them and are all the stronger in our faith because of them! But again, why not Facebook? Plenty of people have been praying for us and would love to be reassured that everything is still fine! The plain simple fact is many couples struggle with infertility and the loss of children during pregnancy or after meeting and holding the child they carried. I know how difficult it can be to constantly be surrounded by sonogram pictures, belly bumps, baby clothes, and other reminders of new life when you feel so empty inside. I never felt anger or resentment to the families that experienced this joy, and even tried to share the joy with them. I was genuinely very happy for all of my friends whose families were expanding; however I also selfishly felt great sadness for what we did not have. I eventually learned how to let go of my feelings and give them over to God. I am now able to see how God used this experience to help me grow in Him and how He gave me the opportunity to use the experience to help others who may be struggling through similar circumstances. While I know exposure to pregnancy and new life cannot be completely avoided, I do not want to force people to hear about our joy unless they have chosen to share it with us. Facebook does not provide much freedom of choice. What appears on your News Feed is not in your control unless you have blocked someone. I understand that it is the responsibility of the person who is having a difficult time to guard their own hearts; but I also understand that I have a choice to share our excitement with close, personal friends who choose to access this blog to read up on how we are doing. I don't have to force every moment on people who frankly don't care! :)
So, with that said I welcome you to join in the next 20 weeks of this pregnancy! As a further introduction to our growing family, I will attempt to explain the origin of the nickname Norton! But I will save that for another post later today!
Most of you know of the difficulty and pain Chandler and I have gone through in the process of having children. While our situation was not nearly as difficult as others - and was largely due to a combination between Chandler's occupation and my obsession with getting pregnant - I became a basket case. Ok, maybe I have always been a basket case and this just fed right into my craziness! The point is, when we lost our first child, it was devastating. I may not have been pregnant long, but I loved that child from the moment we knew God had blessed us with it. The emotional heartache I experienced and the painful months (alright year or so) that followed were very difficult to get through; but we got through them and are all the stronger in our faith because of them! But again, why not Facebook? Plenty of people have been praying for us and would love to be reassured that everything is still fine! The plain simple fact is many couples struggle with infertility and the loss of children during pregnancy or after meeting and holding the child they carried. I know how difficult it can be to constantly be surrounded by sonogram pictures, belly bumps, baby clothes, and other reminders of new life when you feel so empty inside. I never felt anger or resentment to the families that experienced this joy, and even tried to share the joy with them. I was genuinely very happy for all of my friends whose families were expanding; however I also selfishly felt great sadness for what we did not have. I eventually learned how to let go of my feelings and give them over to God. I am now able to see how God used this experience to help me grow in Him and how He gave me the opportunity to use the experience to help others who may be struggling through similar circumstances. While I know exposure to pregnancy and new life cannot be completely avoided, I do not want to force people to hear about our joy unless they have chosen to share it with us. Facebook does not provide much freedom of choice. What appears on your News Feed is not in your control unless you have blocked someone. I understand that it is the responsibility of the person who is having a difficult time to guard their own hearts; but I also understand that I have a choice to share our excitement with close, personal friends who choose to access this blog to read up on how we are doing. I don't have to force every moment on people who frankly don't care! :)
So, with that said I welcome you to join in the next 20 weeks of this pregnancy! As a further introduction to our growing family, I will attempt to explain the origin of the nickname Norton! But I will save that for another post later today!
Apr 19, 2012
So obviously as the time got closer for Chandler to come home, I spent less time updating the blog! Oops! Well I'm back at it. Here's the scoop on what has been going on since November!
- Chandler returned from Iraq and in a whirlwind of a few weeks we attempted to figure out how to live with each other again! :) That was much more difficult than I anticipated (despite the sage wisdom that was passed along from veteran wives in the know). I think we have finally settled back in to the normal life and are moving on to the next great adventure of our lives! Which brings me to..
- The future addition to our family! I found out I was pregnant in January and desperately tried to keep this a secret for all of about 4 days. Alas, I've never been known for my enduring patience! We can't wait to meet Baby Norton (no that will not be the name of our child - will try to explain this at a later date) in September and are loving every miserable and magical moment pregnancy has to offer! More focus on this journey to come!
I thank God for the many blessings he has provided us - in his time, not mine!
- Chandler returned from Iraq and in a whirlwind of a few weeks we attempted to figure out how to live with each other again! :) That was much more difficult than I anticipated (despite the sage wisdom that was passed along from veteran wives in the know). I think we have finally settled back in to the normal life and are moving on to the next great adventure of our lives! Which brings me to..
- The future addition to our family! I found out I was pregnant in January and desperately tried to keep this a secret for all of about 4 days. Alas, I've never been known for my enduring patience! We can't wait to meet Baby Norton (no that will not be the name of our child - will try to explain this at a later date) in September and are loving every miserable and magical moment pregnancy has to offer! More focus on this journey to come!
I thank God for the many blessings he has provided us - in his time, not mine!
Nov 13, 2011
Day 22-24
I confess I am struggling to look on the bright side of things right now. The time for Chandler to come home is getting closer and I am strangely more fraught with frustration and sadness than I have been since he left. However, I know that joy is not always found in happiness. Sometimes struggles are required to understand and feel true joy. I know God is using this time to help me grow into the woman I am supposed to be, but I currently find myself questioning my work and abilities as a wife and potential mother. If I am perfectly honest with myself, I know that the perfectionist in me who wants to prove my worth at work has taken on too many responsibilities and I am feeling more and more incapable of adequately performing my duties. On top of this, I find I am so consumed with myself that I am not nurturing the relationships that make my job so special (the students I currently teach and have previously taught as well as the co-workers who have become my family and friends). I know I can love and encourage my students. I know I would be a much better teacher if I were craftier and more diligent in creating a more rich environment for my students. I know I would be better at these things with the proper support, but the truth is it just does not exist in our current educational environment. There are many amazing men and women who do a phenomenal job of providing these things for their students with love, patience, grace and humility all while keeping up with student work, paperwork, and familial duties at home as well. These men and women continue to amaze me, but I constantly find myself falling short. I ask myself annually if this is truly where I am supposed to be, or if I am stubbornly sticking to it because I want to prove myself worthy of standing with these amazing people. There are days when I feel things are going great, but this month it has become too difficult and I feel like I am letting people down left and right. I look forward to learning how God is using this time to strengthen me. Until then, I am grateful for the wisdom I have gained in previous times of frustration and distress, and I pray I do not end up burning bridges here in the final stretch of this deployment!
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