Happy BIRTHday, Finley!

I hope to write Finley a letter each year on her birthday and here is my first one!

My dearest, sweetest, most wonderful daughter, Finley Ela,

I can't believe after so many months of anticipating your arrival, that you are finally here!!!!  It seems surreal on so many levels that I am able to hold you, swaddle you, smell you, feed you, study you, sing to you, and love all over you.  After feeling you inside me for so long, it is such an amazing feeling to actually be with you.

To be honest, there was a part of me who wanted to keep you inside me forever.  To protect you from the world.  To keep you to myself.  But seeing you with your dad, your grandparents, your aunts and uncles, your cousins and more, I am so thankful that you are truly here and are able to be enjoyed by all of those around you.  I am so thrilled to share you with all of those who haven't been able to enjoy you inside my belly.

Seeing you brings a whole new level of understanding to God's love, for you are truly perfectly and wonderfully made.  I want to strip you down and study every little inch of you, but unfortunately, you do not like that at all!  I can hardly stand how small you are and yet how incredibly perfect.  You are beautiful, Finley.  Absolutely beautiful!  My heart is so full and so completely in love with you!

May you never doubt how much I love you, little one!  You are part of me and part of the man I love more than anything.  You were created out of love and there is no way to describe how I feel when I look at you.  There is nothing I wouldn't do for you and I pray that God will enable me to be the mom that you need in every single aspect!

Thank you for being my daughter!  Thank you for letting me love you!  Thank you for (already) enduring my constant picture taking and my unswaddling you so that I can memorize your every detail!  I never want to put you down.  Never want to stop kissing you.  Never want to stop feeling your baby breathe on my cheek.  Never want to forget how amazing it was to give birth to you!  

I love you in every way, my sweet angel!

Happy Birthday,

Your MOMMY!

Top Ten List

Finley and I the day she was born!

Finley and I at 1 week!

Finley is officially a week old! I can't believe it! Everytime I got up last night to feed her, I would think "This time last week, I was getting an epidural" or "This time last week, I was holding you for the first time!" It's crazy how fast one week can go. I thought I would create a top ten list of what I've learned my first week of motherhood. Let it be known, however, that I've learned A LOT more than just 10 things!

10.) Your hearing actually does improve the instant you become a mom... I can hear every whimper and sigh Finley makes... as well as the cat's pathetic crying in the garage... from most anywhere in the house. (Who needs a baby monitor????)

9.) Infant girls can actually have what's called a "false period."

8.) There IS a difference between Huggies and Pampers. Finley is a Pampers girl... at least for now!

7.) The point of staying in the hospital for two days is that when you leave, you actually appreciate ONLY being woken up every three hours by your baby when you get home! (My only complaint about Mercy! I absolutely loved all of my nurses! I actually had one nurse come by during her shift to show me how to make cute bows for Finley's hair!)

6.) It actually is possible to be excited about poopy diapers... even when they're explosive and end up on 3 outfits, 2 blankets, the wipe warmer, two clean diapers, the changing table, and even the wall!

5.) It is also possible to breastfeed and have the hiccups at the same time. Finn is actually quite good at it.

4.) There is a natural mother bear tendency that comes out the moment you become a mom. My sister-in-law, Amy, used to tell me this, but I quickly found out for myself how true it is. When we were leaving the hospital, I had a grandma and granddaughter try to touch Finley. We were stranded in our wheelchair while Devin and the nurse loaded the car with all of our stuff. Though at first, they seemed nice enough, admiring my precious child, they soon began bickering over how "fat" the granddaughter was and how she and her mother should stop eating! I tried to be nice, but I wanted to grab Finley and move her away from such negativity!

3.) Having a baby gives you an amazing new understanding of God's incredible sacrifice of His Son for our sins. It's astonishing how quickly your perspective on life changes by the addition of a child... I'd often heard this, but it's absolutely true.

2.) Your husband is never more attractive than when he becomes a father.

1.) "When you have a child, no matter how much you think you're prepared for it, you will be stunned by the capacity you have to love somebody."

This is a quote from one of my favorite TV shows (Is it okay to be a mom and still a TV fanatic???? Please say it is!) and is so accurate that I had to make it my #1 lesson learned!

What's in a Name?

Finley and I in front of the Spirit Rider statue at Homecoming.


The plaque on the statue recognizing Finley's contribution to OSU.


Our precious Finley!

The most frequently asked question so far has to be "Why did you name her Finley?" so here goes... And I should warn you that this is NOT the Reader's Digest Version!

When we became pregnant, we were looking for a name that was meaningful. I think that is probably pretty typical, but when you add an ultra Type-A, perfectionist (ME!) to the mix, finding THE name becomes quite a challenge. I would keep recalling Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold." and would put even more pressure on us to choose just the right one.

So we agreed that we wanted a name that was:

1.) Versatile and somewhat unique
2.) Meaningful to her as a child of God
3.) Meaningful to us in someway whether that was a family name or something connecting to our relationship

For our one year anniversary, Devin and I took a trip to Jamaica and on our way back there was an adorable little girl with a backpack embroidered "Finley". I turned to Devin and mentioned what a cute name that was and he replied "Don't you think that's probably her last name?" And who knows, it probably was, but it soon became a favorite of ours and was immediately added to the list once we knew we were pregnant. But did it meet the criteria???

1.)Finley was definitely versatile... could be girly or could be shortened to Finn if she is a tomboy. Also, pretty unique, but not too crazy different. Check mark!

2.) When we looked up what Finley meant in all the baby books, we found that it means Fair Warrior. I instantly loved the meaning because it reminded me of Ephesians 6:12-14 and how we are to put on the full armor of Christ. We want her to be a warrior for Christ and the fair gives a feminine spin to it. We want her to run the race, fight the good fight. And so for all these reasons and more, Finley definitely encompassed who we desire her to be as a child of our Most Heavenly Father. Check mark!

3.) This was the hardest criteria to meet. Devin and I struggled to find any family names that we really loved and so in trying to find a name that was meaningful to our relationship, we turned to OSU! Afterall, we met at an OSU football game, had our first date at an OSU basketball game, became engaged at the Spirit Rider statue, and held our wedding reception at the OSU Alumni Center. Two weeks before Finley joined us, I was searching online and found that the Spirit Rider was implemented at OSU by a man named Eddy Finley. CHECK MARK! I couldn't even believe it as I was reading the article because it seemed so obvious that Finley should be her name! Finally, it was clear who our little girl was going to be.

Her middle name Ela comes from my mom's name Pamela. Though Finley will never meet her grandma, she will definitely hear about her and feel her presence in her life!

Plus One

I should start this blog by announcing the birth of our daughter, Finley Ela Curran, since she is the very reason that I have become a blogger... what better way to commerorate, record, and reflect on what is going on in my precious family! She was born October 23rd at 7:13 a.m. weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches long! She is absolutely beautiful (I know I'm biased, but I honestly think she is!) and is truly the blessed work of our Master. I'm beyond humbled that He has entrusted Devin and I with her care. Though a bit overwhelmed, we are anxious to begin our journey as a family now that we are officially "Plus One". (Funny, when I was single, Plus One meant I had a date for the latest event. Now that I'm married, Plus One means that I need a babysitter to even think about going to the latest event!)

We hope everyone will tune in from time to time to see where this journey leads us!