On Our Own Time

It is a sign of my life changing. I am a blogger. It is official. I never thought I would do this. Ever. If you know me at all, then you know I am not a fan of blogs and you also know why. Mommy blogs are kind of different though. I have read my friends over the years and thought how special it is that their children will one day have those stories to read and pictures to look at. It is also a great way to keep your friends and family in the loop, and now I can post about her peeing on the potty for the first time instead of putting it on FaceBook. Oh wait, I'm a first time Mom. I am sure I will put that everywhere. I apologize in advance for not being funny, witty or creative. You will find out Shawn is. I am just not naturally talented in those areas. I'm also terrible with punctuation. Sorry again. I am just going to strive for honesty and love and hopefully some entertaining stories. I hope my daughter will one day appreciate the time I spent chronicling the journey we are about to embark on.This is really for her..and so we begin....



The first thing you should know is that Shawn and I have been together a long time. Thirteen years in July. We started dating in July of 1998 and moved in together after 11 months. The question started immediately, "When are you going to get married?" At first it was cute but then I began to dread every major holiday and being told that this was the holiday it was going to happen. I began to get annoyed. We were fine. We were happy, in love, and busily working on our careers. It made me begin to wonder if there was a problem, then I became one of those people questioning when it was going to occur. This wasn't a decision Shawn was going to be rushed into. He was going to do it on his own time. When he finally did, it was one of those perfect moments that every girl dreams about. And then the question started immediately, "When is the wedding?" We were happy, in love, and busily working in on our careers. I did not have time to plan a wedding. We didn't even discuss a date for a year. Eventually we decided on a date and built our house, finishing it three weeks before my perfect wedding. And then the question started immediately, "When are you going to have kids?" We were happy, in love, and busy working on our careers. We were having fun spending time with our friends and traveling. I am pretty sure my mother-in law had given up on us, and I loved seeing our parents faces when we told them. People have different opinions of having your children early in life or later. I think there are positives and negatives to both. I am thankful Shawn and I have waited. It was definitely the better decision for us. In some moments, we have had enormous amounts of responsibility on us and, in some moments, complete freedom to pack a bag and leave to wherever we wanted to go. The experiences we have had during our time together have better prepared us for this next step in life. I am just as thankful for every day of our time alone as I am for every day I have had with this little girl growing inside me. We are going from this;

One of our first work experiences- October 1998

Our First New Year's- January 1999

Engagement Pictures- December 2002

Wedding Picture-May 2003

Our Attempt at Pregnancy Pictures- February 2011

to this- February 2011

and we couldn't be more excited.



P.S A very special thank you to one of our favorite people for my blog design. You are the best and I know Graysen can't wait to spend time with her Uncle Jer-Bear.