Monday, May 11, 2009

It Takes A Village

Here it is the day after Mother's Day and I can't help but think of all the women who have impacted my life and helped make me a better mother. Whether it was advice, hand holding, being a friend or being a baby sitter, there are so many who have made my life easier as a mother. So I want to say thanks! I know I've forgotten some people, and I'm sorry. There are so many other people who have impacted my life also, but here are the highlights of the past year and the women who made it a wonderful year!


First and foremost, my wonderful daughter Makayla Maureen Paxton! From the moment that screen showed "pregnant" you have been the best part of me! I have waited for you my whole life and I am the luckiest person in the world because you are MY daughter! You bring so much happiness into my life and I am so blessed to be able to watch you grow and learn and develope your personality. I love you with all my heart!


My Mother!; Do I need to say more? She flew down the week after I had Makayla to help me, she answers all of my phone calls, loves me unconditionally, taught me right from wrong & gave me the best example of motherhood a girl could ask for! I love you Mom!


Krystal, my sister; She is the BEST! She was the first person who could put Makayla to sleep, THANKS! and she is so wise when it comes to pregnancies, and babies and family issues! She has the best advice, and the cutest little girl! She is such a great Mom and I love being able to ask her for advice! She is the best older sister a girl could ask for!


Stacey Paxton; for being to most loving Aunt to Makayla! Thanks for babysitting for me all winter and for loving Makayla and making your home hers! You are such a wonderful Aunt!

My wonderful Mother-in-law; who hopped on the internet and bought a plane ticket the second she found out I was in labor and came out to help Jordan and I adjust to life with baby. Thank you for not being the stereotypical mother-in-law that pushes her advice and for taking care of me when you came out. I love your personality, your wisdom, your love and the way you adopted me into your life the first time I ever met you! I love you Mom!


Jordan's Grandma; The wonderful lady that my daughter is named after. Thank you for being the mother of the wonderful family of Paxtons!

Sarah Slatter; Thanks for being a wonderful friend! I love the "Mother's Almanac" you gave me, and I still read it! You remained such a good friend when I was pregnant and after I had Makayla! Thanks for being a babysitter and stopping by to look in on me when I was sick, and inviting me out and being so happy! You are a wonderful women and will make a wonderful mother however or whenever you decide to have children!


Sarah Plaksey; For all the times you came over and rocked my screaming infant until she burped! For hanging out with me during the days and nights, for making me laugh sometimes when I wanted to cry. For carrying Makayla around when I was tired and being my friend when I wasn't always yours. You are the best and I love you and miss you! (and your husband too!)

Ashley & Gavin; Ashley you are the coolest mom I know! And I love Gavin, he is always so excited to play with Makayla and I can't wait for them to see each other again now that she's old enough to play too! And you were always there to help me destress, or complain or laugh again. Whether I was pregnant or had Makayla you helped give me advice, and gave me a shoulder to lean on. Thanks!

Miriam Thompson; You are such a wonderful person, I am so glad we reconnected! You have helped my life more than I could ever tell you! Thank you for all your advice, suggestions and for always listening and never judging! I love you!

Landon Nickerson & Lane Stracener; Landon you are awesome and I am so glad you are in our lives! Lane, lady you are the BEST! Thanks for driving out to visit me, helping me be my own person, reminding me I love theatre, loving my daughter and always staying in touch no matter how far away we get from each other!


Lindsey Wagenaar; For being the best Fairy Godmother any child could ask for! You always send the coolest presents and are always my favorite person to go to Disney with! I can't wait for you to take Makayla to Disney too!


Dianna Smith; for being the only person to come visit me in the hospital when I had Makayla. All my family was on the other side of the country and it meant SO much to me to have you there! (sorry, this is the only picture I have of you! Tragic!)

Annie Brown; for all of the advice, wisdom, optimism and joy she helped me find in the first few months of my daughters life! Thank you! You helped more than you will ever know!

Carolyn Taylor; you were always SO positive and helpful. Whenever I needed a babysitter on the fly, or just to relax with someone for a while, you were always there! Thank you! 

And to all the other women I may have not mentioned, you are not forgotten, you have written your stories on my heart and impacted my life. I love each and everyone of you, whether I have met you and you've helped or I've only heard your story, you are all wonderful and I thank you for the part you have played in my life!

God bless all the Mothers and all the 'villages' that help them!


2 comments:

  1. This is one of the sweetest blogs! I loved reading about your experiences and the woman you were honoring and was surprised to see me up there! We never know how we impact others' lives do we?! You are a wonderful Mommy Naomi! I so loved you coming over to the office when I was the OA and visiting with me! I loved watching you love Makayla and helping her learn and grow. You are such a cute mom, loving every detail of your sweet girl, getting really excited with the new things she is doing, crying when she cries, laughing when she laughs. I still hear her precious little scream when she was by Winston-haha! You are a great mom Naomi and I just love you!

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  2. okay, i'm a baby! my eyes starting tearing up the second i saw the picture of makayla & i. oh, i love that baby of yours. i remember that first time i met the entire paxton family, our first night in pensacola. you left soon after coming into our apartment because makayla was crying. my first thought,"i'm going to like that naomi. i can already tell." my second thought was that all i wanted to do was hold your screaming baby. who knew i'd be doing that for the next 2 months? =) hehehe! thank you for trusting me w/ her. all those times you asked me to rock her to calm her, i felt good knowing you wanted my help. thanks for making me feel needed. you're an amazing mom. i know how hard your pregnancy was and for you to say while makayla was just 3 months old,"i'd be happy to have another one right now!" just shows me that you were born to be a mom. and what a great one you are. thanks for sharing your precious one with me. i adore her to pieces!

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