Love, Life and Appreciation

This NYE we are celebrating with a heavy heart. We found out my paternal grandfather on passed away earlier this morning. His health had been deteriorating since Sunday and for many years he was suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's. His passing comes one month after my aunt passed. My grandfather did get to see May and I know that he is with my grandmother for who she is named after. I remember his chuckles and going out in the garden with him to pick vegetables and fruits. Oh that grape vine.

This will be the first NYE that Rex and I spend apart since we've known each other. Hopefully this will be the last. We do keep in touch with FaceTime and though he is in Maryland and I'm in New Jersey, we are connected as ever. We  hope that 2014 brings greater things and we wish that everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and a healthy start to 2014.

For now, here's a couple pictures of my charming grandfather:

We hope that you had a joyous Christmas yesterday, and for those who don't celebrate Christmas we hope that you've had a wonderful holiday season so far. This Christmas for us was very low key and more family oriented. It's been almost a week since May and I moved back in with my parents and Rex has been in Maryland. He's been applying to jobs and so have I, of course with the holidays and all, we except there might be some delay in hearing something back. We've been keeping in touch through texting and phone calls, we also have talked on FaceTime. May smiles when she sees her dad and waves. Originally we planned on FaceTime Christmas morning, because Rex had to go to work that afternoon but Christmas Eve he told me that the friend who he was staying with was going to Philly to see some family there and Rex decided to catch a ride. From Philly to where my parents live is about 30 minutes away, actually closer depending on where you live in Philly. Rex also said that he switched his work day, so that he didn't have to work Christmas day. It was a wonderful surprise because, we thought we would be spending Christmas apart.

Around 8 pm Christmas Eve, Rex called to let me know he was in Philly and I drove with what little gas we had to pick him up. May was sleeping and she was still asleep when we got back that night. Christmas morning she awoke to see her dad standing next to her and was very excited and happy. I was happy too, to have Rex there and so were my parents. We all didn't really exchange gifts this year. We were really happy to just be healthy and in each others presence. My parents did get May a gift though. She got an 80-piece building blocks set. Here she is with her gift:

I can't wait to build amazing things with her. We've already built a few towers with the smaller building blocks set and she can stack two blocks together. Rex played with her with the blocks for a while, while my mom and I made the breakfast. Not too long after the breakfast, I took Rex back to Philly, he said that his friend wanted to leave to back to Maryland around noon. After I dropped Rex off, my parents, May and I ate lunch/dinner at my grandparents. It was nice relaxing holiday and even great having Rex there.

Here are a couple of pictures we took:


 Happy Holidays!
 

We've taken the past couple of days to really assess where we should head next do to our current financial situation. I still haven been paid from a part-time position at a middle school on Howard campus. I started working there the being of November and now it looks I might not get the payment until early January. Rex has gone back to work but he isn't working full time, he put in  for full time but apparently all that was not guaranteed. In the meantime, of course we have other expenses and we were looking to move to a more affordable apartment, however with our very low income, we've decided that it would be best for May and I to move back in with my parents in New Jersey and for Rex to stay in Baltimore with a friend. Rex will be staying in Baltimore because his friend might be able to help him get a more stable job. It's only until we can get more on our feet, which we hope will be in a month or two at the latest. We really tried so many different options and did get approved for a more affordable apartment in Baltimore but much of the finances have been so far stretched that this is more the best option.

We will keep applying for positions and though I still need to finish school, my advisor and I decided it would be best to defend my thesis next month and graduate in May. We hope that we can find something more sustainable. We were able to stay at the apartment we'll be leaving this Friday, for a little over year. We wanted to stay longer but life happens and is so unpredictable. I never could have imagined Rex getting anxiety attacks and though he is feeling a little bit better, he is still recovering and trying to find a sense of normalcy. Overall, we both want to do what's best for May. I know it'll be hard, no one said life was easy, we just have to stay together even though we'll be a few states apart. With all this technology of Google hangouts and Facetime, May will definitely be seeing and hearing her dad. My parents said they struggled, my in-laws said they struggled, there's definitely challenges. Like I've been saying though, we are so thankful for the support of family and friends during this time. Many people have been so giving and it's more than we could ever ask for. Hopefully in this decision we can take steps towards a might brighter future. As May is still learning to walk, we're still trying to get our hang on the ground.

We're going to try and spend time together on Christmas Day, though at the moment it looks like Rex might be working. One thing I always remember is that when one door closed another one opens and with a new year approaching new hopes might be fulfilled. Here's to a brighter future!

Yesterday was May's first time in the snow! The snowstorm passed through yesterday dumping a little over two inches here in Laurel. Other parts of Maryland got over five inches. When the snow first started around 10 am, I opened up the blinds so May could see. She looked interested for a few minutes. She pointed at the window and said "call." I waited until there was more snow on the ground and around 2 pm, I dressed May up in her warm jacket, boots, pants and hat. May and I went out in the backyard and she looked at all the snow on the ground. She put out her hand to collect some of the snow as well. We didn't stay out for too long. It was really cold outside. Rex didn't get back from Baltimore until much later that day. He left before the storm to meet a friend who is helping us with our apartment situation. As the storm got worse he got stuck in Baltimore with his friend. I kept in contact with him throughout the storm and was happy to know that he was safe where he was and also that he got home safe.

In four more days we'll be celebrating May's birthday. Actually yesterday, one year ago was my original due date. May was still snug inside the womb then. It's amazing how fast she's growing and she's developing her personality every day. Here's Miss Little One.

Today is Rex's birthday!!! It's a bit rainy outside but we celebrated the morning with a nice home-cooked breakfast, then we went out to Denny's for lunch. May was sleeping when we got to the Denny's but as we finished eating she woke up and was pointing at the lights. Later today we'll probably just relax and watch a movie on the Netflix.

It's nice to spend this time together, especially what's been going on these past few weeks. He is starting to feel better, but still has some of the affects the anxiety. We know it'll take some time gaining more control of the symptoms, and we'll be together side by side during the process of how to gain more control. We're also in the process of looking for more affordable housing. We've been living were we are now for a little over a year but it's too much at this point considering our financial situation. We are so thankful for friends and family who are helping us through this.

Exactly one week from now will be May's 1st birthday. Wow she's almost a year old.  We're going to try to do something special for her birthday. My parents will also be coming down from NJ, and will be taking her for the weekend. It might take her a little bit to get used to being up there without us for a day but I know that she'll get comfortable and she's been her grandparent's house before.

Many more birthdays are coming up and of course it's the holiday season. This is my favorite time of year and even though we won't be gifting much this year, the love and support of family and friends is more than what we could even ask for.