A New Beginning

Well here it is. My first official trek into the blogging world. As always, I'm a little behind the mainstream and this first post probably won't be quite up to par with some of the fabulous bloggers I have been following but alas, here it is. Here is the lowdown on how my amazing little family came to be...

A little over 4 years ago I met my best friend, Eric (a post for another day). To be honest I didn't even realize I was looking for someone like him until it happened. He came out of no where and quite frankly made me a little uncomfortable. He forced me to step outside of my protective little bubble and see the world and all of the amazing things it has to offer. He could make me smile when I wanted to scream and make me laugh when I wanted to cry. Basically, as cheesy as it sounds, he was everything I never knew I always wanted. We couldn't have been more different. He was the Soldier from the east coast that had grown up on the beach and seen the world throughout his military days. I was the small town Kansas native whose travels consisted of family vacations to the Grand Canyon and Pikes Peak. He was outgoing and somewhat sarcastic and my close knit group of friends and I had our sense of humor that no one else really understood. That is, until I met him. For one reason or another the stars seemed to align just perfectly and within just a few short weeks of meeting him I could picture our future life together.

But as all stories go, some twist of fate must intervene to test the strength and solidity of a relationship, and ours was no different. A mere 5 months after our first meeting his orders to deploy came down. The longest 14 months of my life began the day I watched him board the bus filled with soldiers bound for the airport. At the time it seemed as though it was the worst thing that could happen but in the long run, I believe, it made us stronger. We emailed, we chatted over instant message and saw each other via Skype a couple of times and basically got to know one another. We learned everything about each other. Our conversations could end one day and pick up a week later, when he got another chance to call, without ever missing a beat.

As his deployment came to an end the subject of marriage often came up in conversation. This was something that with anyone else, I don't think I would have been ready for. We had known each other for almost 2 years but only 5 months of that was actually spent together. That, however, didn't seem to matter. I guess it's true what they say, when you know, you know.

Just a few short weeks after his return we married in November of 2008 and though it was a very small, intimate ceremony, it was more than I could have ever asked for. As I said before, he was and is my best friend and it just felt right.

Today we have been happily married for almost 3 years. We have moved to the south, something new for the both of us, and last August we learned that our little family would be growing. In April of this year we welcomed our first child, a son who we named Nicholas. I thought that there would almost be some kind of transition period, getting used to having a baby in the house. I couldn't have been more wrong. Things just fell into place. The second he was born I felt like everything was just how it was always meant to be. The 3 of us together just felt normal and it's hard to remember a time without him. Already he's just like his daddy.

So now baby makes 3 and I couldn't be happier. Everything feels right in the world and everyday brings a new adventure that promises to be even better than the last. Although this probably would have scared the crap out of me 4 years ago, today I am trying my best to live by one of my all-time favorite quotes..."beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning.  Just give hope a chance to float up.  And it will..."

 

Our family's newest little addition