First comes love, then comes marriage...

I think I'm making progress!  I am writing within 2 weeks of my last post!  Hooray!  This is a post I've been really anxious to write for such a long time, though, so maybe you shouldn't totally count on updates too often ;-*

I forgot to mention in my last post (not that it wasn't important...I'm just a little brain-dead sometimes) that Jordan and I celebrated our second (WAHOO!) anniversary earlier this month.  You might guess that it was a night of reminiscing over caviar and lobster, then sharing a straw as we sit side-by-side, enjoying a very expensive choc-choc-chocolate chip milkshake--which came after our cheesecake and molten lava chocolate brownies at The Cheesecake Factory.  You might even assume we got to snuggle up close and enjoy our favorite movie together in the comfort of our new home.

And you would be wrong.

That night, along with many nights before and many nights after, I spent most of my time curled up on the bathroom floor.  A lovely picture?  Something you need to know?  Absolutely.  We went to bed at 8:30.  We ate Life cereal and oatmeal for dinner.  We tried to get shakes at Steak and Shake, but I only got through a few sips--unheard of for me, huh??  There was no movie, nor a TV show to remind us of good times.  And there was definitely no snuggling.  It was far from what most would call the "ideal" anniversary celebration.

And yet, it was maybe my favorite day ever.

Why??? you ask.

Because despite feeling rather miserable, we had some fantastic news that makes it all worth it.  Finally (and yes, it really does feel like such a long time) Jordan and I have the opportunity to be parents.  That's right: we're having a baby.  And just that morning, I got to see him and hear his little heartbeat for the first time.

Do you know what this means??  It means that life is really changing!  We get to play real house now!  We get to do more than just smile and nod when people talk about their kids around us and we have to act like we totally know what all that potty training stress is about!  We get to have our own screaming-in-the-middle-of-the-night child to wake up the neighbors and keep them up all night before a 7am final the next day!  We get to "decorate" the house with outlet covers and baby gates and blocks and squeaky toys and rocking chairs and Johnny Jumpers!  We get to fill our house with Dr. Seuss classics--not just anatomy textbooks (although I'm sure those will keep coming ;-*)!  We get to tell our friends we can't go out tonight because it's the baby's bedtime--and then we get to read stories and kiss goodnight and watch our little miracle fall asleep!  We get to wake up at night every two hours for feedings and wash several more loads of laundry each week and lug around an extra 50lbs. of baby diapers and burp cloths and quiet books wherever we go!  

But we're so much more excited about the real stuff...first, that there is a baby--a human body that we created--growing inside me as we speak.  Second, that even with stressful schedules and difficult challenges to deal with, we get to turn our focus even more to our family.  We get to try our hand at that same thing Lehi and Sariah, Abraham and Sarah, Adam and Eve, Mary and Joseph, Erik and Debby, and John and Kathie have tried--and done so well with.  Who can deny that even with the trials and the heartache and the occasional feeling of failure that accompanies family life, this is where the greatest happiness is found?

And despite the illness, the exhaustion, the random breakdowns and the massive amount of tears from the physical pain I've experienced, I really do feel absolutely wonderful.  We could not be more excited, and we could not be more grateful for such a beautiful blessing.

Just in case you're interested in seeing photos, I have a few for you:

Two ultrasounds (nevermind that they are sideways) of our sweet baby!

A bit closer up.  Some (like my brother, Brian) would say this kid's head is too much like an alien's.  I just tell them it's because our child has Jordan's brains and they are obviously bigger than Brian's.  Besides, Megamind wasn't all bad inside, was he??

And, for the record, the baby is due in February.  I am still teaching school this year, but I'll get to take a few weeks off when the baby is born.  The future will happen as it happens, but we'll keep you posted as we make more decisions and as more falls into place.