Nice People

Do you know how many nice people there are in the world?

I don't think I did, until all this baby-ness occurred.

But let tell you, there are some nice people out there.

And fortunately, I happen to know a lot of them.

First of all, Madelyn disguising her gender for 5 months actually turned out to be pretty smart on her part, because once word got out it was a girl, we got a whole new set of gifts, including girly clothes and blankets. One lady in our old ward loaned us two bags full of baby girl clothes. My aunts stepped up to the challenge and threw in some stuff as well. My cousin, who had already made us a couple blankets and burp cloths, made us a beautiful, more girlish blanket. A new friend in our ward gave us more clothes and blankets. One friend who had already made us some cute boy onesies (including one with an applique tie that is so cute I just might make Madelyn wear it anyway) made us a super cute ladybug onesie complete with matching hair clip (can I just say that I love ladybugs? I can? Well, I do.) Another very dear, very talented friend whipped up some more adorable girly onesies with ruffle bums. Oh, how I love the ruffle bums! Check those out here. I'm probably forgetting several specific people. I wish I never forgot anything. But I do. Anyways, we've received an outpouring of lovely gifts from lovely people.

And the service doesn't stop at clothes. Our ward has brought us a couple delicious meals and someone brought us some delicious cookies that disappeared inexplicably fast. Someone (I still don't know exactly who...) is covering for me as the Primary pianist until I can pull myself together enough to get back to church (hopefully this week...I feel like a sinner.)

My in-laws came and stayed with us for Thanksgiving, and we got all kinds of help from them. They brought presents (again handmade - why are people so much more talented than I am?). They even got us some stuff for our backyard, including a lawn chair (OK- so that was so they could enjoy the AZ sun while they were here...but we get to keep it!) and a much needed pool timer. They grocery shopped. They took us out to eat. My mother in law made some freezer meals that I have a feeling are going to be not only handy but delicious. And, of course, they held sweet Maddy, which gave me some free hands with which I could actually do some stuff, like oh, say, homework. And a shower or two.

But really, the crowning emblem of niceness in these past couple weeks has been my own Mom. My house, my grades, my health, and my sanity would be in some serious trouble if it weren't for this one woman. She stayed with us for the first few nights that Madelyn was home, sacrificing her own sleep to help me get a little more. She cleaned our entire house while she was here (like, really cleaned). She helped me with laundry and groceries. She told me (and continues to tell me) that what Maddy is doing is completely normal, even though I've freaked out about it for whatever reason. She reminds me to take care of myself, and worries about me getting enough sleep and enough food, and about me getting over this nasty sickness I've had since before the baby came (ew). She's been more than willing to watch the baby while I do basically anything. In fact, she practically forced me to let her take Maddy to her house today so I could catch up on sleep and homework. So basically, she's a big part of the reason that I've slept, eaten, showered, and really just survived these past couple weeks. You're amazing, Momma. Will I ever reach your level of incredible Mommy-ness?

**Side note: I don't think my mom reads my blog, which is a bummer because now I'll have to find some other way to thank her, which will probably involve tears, since I'm a crybaby like that. Side note over**

Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you to all these nice people, and to anyone else that I may not have mentioned specifically who has helped us, thought about helping us, or just thought about us. Unless your thought was that you don't like us. In that case, we don't like you either.

P.S. Madelyn is perfection. Come see her if you haven't yet. It will complete your life.