First day at the academy

Yesterday was David's first day at the academy. They basically had a really long PT test, and ethics training. I looked over his curriculum, it's basically a condensed version of the degree I just received. His graduation is July 2 and in between now and then he has weekly tests. If he fails two, he's out of the academy. Most of his days are 12 hours long, with PT the first and last thing they do. He even got to shine boots this past weekend! I'm not sure he could be any happier! He turns in a wish list before graduation of the districts he would like to patrol. He already knows which one that is, the one where the "crimes against persons" occur. For those of you familiar with Fayetteville, he wants the Murch and downtown! I have to admit, I'm impressed with the city's selection process. More than 300 people applied for this academy, only 12 were selected. Some guys have been waiting since September for the police department to fill this academy. More to come later.......

Blizzard of '09

Because that's what it is like when white stuff falls from the sky. David has a good time making fun of us North Carolians when it snows and Tuesday it did just that. What are the freaking odds. Hannah and I both had doctor's appointments, that were consequently canceled. They were calling for just over 5 inches, and for snow as far as the Outer Banks. At our house we got a little over 3, but Fayetteville ended up getting just over 4 inches. We took Hannah out in it twice, before and after her nap. Before I took her out in it, she sat in front of the back door, staring outside. The first time it was still pretty cold out, and windy, so she wasn't feeling it. It was gorgeous, as it almost always is initially. Very dry, and white and powdery. Her glove keep falling off, and she just got too cold. So after about 30 minutes, we came back inside and had hot chocolate with marshmallows. The afternoon was much different. It was no longer snowing, and the wind was no longer blowing, making it much more mild out and we stayed out for an hour. We built a snowman and tried to have a snowball fight but the three of us (daddy, David and I) were too calculating. And I kept switching sides! It wasn't as faced paced as most are but I did mange to get David a couples and he got me really good once. At one point, Hannah helped me make snowballs to throw. A little off topic, but for those who do not know, as of the 19th David officially became a city police officer. I can't wait to see him in his uniform! ; )

It's just who I am

CONTACT of Fayetteville, Inc., is a non-profit Christian-based, 24-hour telephone crisis helpline and referral service.

It's hard to remember who Samantha is when I'm in mommy mode right now. I was not able to enroll in school this semester because I missed all the deadlines for transfer students, so I don't have that going on either. And my closest girlfriends are spread out pretty much everywhere but here. A couple months ago, I was watching an episode of Intervention, on A&E, when I got this overwhelming desire to help someone. That night, I researched crisis center's in the Fayetteville Area. After getting settled here, I called a center, called Contact. I spoke to the lady on the phone for about 10 minutes. I hung up the phone feeling so good about my decision, and so excited about volunteering. Tonight is my first night of a 5 week communication course taught by Contact. Then I'll start volunteering to work the telephone lines, probably once a week or something. It's hard to explain how happy and excited I am to be doing this. It's all for me, and no one else. It makes me feel so good inside. And David, could say if I can give my time up, I should be getting paid for it, especially right now. But that's not what he said. He just smiled, and said okay, sounds good. That's why he's my husband. =) I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Christmas 2008

This was the first year I was able to experience the joy of playing Santa. I was so excited about it, I left food for the reindeer and wanted to leave Santa's foot prints but didn't get there. I've already perfected next year's techniques. Hannah was so cute. I brought her out to the living room after she woke up and she just stood there for a few minutes with her mouth open, staring, as if to say "Is that all mine." Then she went to each toy, playing with it for a few minutes before moving on to her next toy. When it was time to open presents, she really wasn't interested in taking paper off anything so David and I ended up opening most of her gifts. The toy box at the top is her gift from David. The fourth picture, of the small box, is a box that David made me that is held together by only love. In other words, it fits together like puzzle pieces, without any glue.

Overall, this Christmas was fantastic. Most of you know that things with my mom have been tense, at best, for the last couple of years with my mom. This Christmas was very different though. I had the best visit with my mom in years, maybe since I left for Italy. We got together a couple days before Christmas, while my Grandma was in town. It is the first time my mom's parents have met Hannah. We were there all day, so they got to spend a good amount of time with her. Everyone was in a good mood, it was great. My mom wasn't all stressed out, trying to make the day perfect. My sister called it a Christmas miracle. Ethan and Hannah really didn't play with each other until after dinner. Their was an intense tug of war over the Lego's (pic above) in which Hannah pulled so hard, she tipped backwards.