Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday to our little man!  I've always thought that birthdays are a pretty big deal, but this one was a VERY big deal! ONE! Josiah had 2 parties.  We were able to go back to Nebraska to celebrate with family and then we had his big ole' Texas party with our "Texas Family". :)

The Nebraska party was a little spur of the moment, but it couldn't have been any better!  We were able to celebrate with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Great Grandma, and  Grand Aunts and Uncles!  The party was post-bedtime, after a crazy week with little to no naps, but it went about as well as could be expected!  We left the next morning to return home for his Texas party the following day.

We had a Police-themed party with a gorgeous police cake and a little donut smash cake for the 1 year-old.  There were lots of friends and it was an all-around great day!

We had LOTS of food! Complete with [cop]corn, donuts, police cars, & "lunch break" (sandwiches) :)

We had a "craft station" complete with a spot to make your very own police badge!  The kiddos were able to take home a treat bag complete with a mini police car, a star sucker, and a police ducky.

A friend of ours made his awesome police cake topped with a police siren!

Both parties require a family picture!

Happy Birthday!

Two parties means two smash cakes, two renditions of "Happy Birthday" and two MAJOR cake-related melt-downs! Can't blame him. For a kiddo who doesn't eat anything by mouth, putting a sugary, gooey, sticky cake in front of him could be enough to make anyone melt down!  We didn't force the issue, as this was a celebration...not feeding therapy. ;)

Of course, Mommy and Daddy were quick to the rescue! :)

Once the party was over and the majority had left, we let him explore in a little more comfortable setting.  None of the cake made it to his mouth, nor did we expect it to, but I did get those "smash cake" pictures that are oh, so adorable!

Happy Birthday, Peanut! We love you more than you'll ever know!

Our Hero

Many who know me well know that I'm not one to vocalize my political views or get into a heated argument about something.  One, because I'm not one to research topics to get accurate information to argue my point. Two, because I don't like conflict.  Well, this stirred me up a little too much and I feel as though something needs to be said.

As I opened my email today, I noticed a popular tweet headline: "Local police involved in 400 killings per year".  Opening the article, I instantly became angry at the portrayal of our police officers.  Reading through, I read how one sided it was toward the evilness of police and the portrayal that they are out to get innocents.  Really?! It saddens me to be reading articles about these men and woman who, day after day, go out and put their lives on the line to keep us safe, yet they are targeted as malicious and nasty.

There is a lot of coverage, especially this week, about a particular shooting that happened.  Again, I don't know specifics (remember...research... :/ ), but I do know how our nation has jumped on this bandwagon that police are bad.  Let me tell you something...my husband is one of the most protective men whom I've ever met.  He wants the best for people, but he also knows that he can't "fix" the world. (If he could, he would!) He has wanted to be a police officer for a long time. And now, here we are. He did it! But now, on top of all of the rational fears I have of having a police husband who is on the streets many hours a week, I also have to worry about what would happen if he got into something and our nation turned against him because he was protecting the lives of everyone else in that situation.

I'm new to this whole "police wife" business.  Here's what I know about it: it's scary. Every night as I'm putting our son to bed, we pray for Daddy's safety. Every night as my hubby walks out the door, I say, "be safe". I've said it every shift he's worked since he started on the streets.  A part of me jumps when my phone rings or there's a knock on the door while he's at work for fear that I'm about to get bad news.  This isn't an 8-5 shift at the office.  It's long hours with a lot of missed family time because he's serving a community who could care less about him and the job he's doing. 

Here's the bottom line: I'm proud of my husband. I'm proud of the other police officers who serve communities around our nation.  It isn't an easy job.  They get a bad rap and they put up with a lot. A LOT! I'm tired of hearing our media making villains of these people for doing a job that not many would do. A job that not many could do. They are heroes. Let's treat them that way.