And I'm back

If you followed my previous blog, sorry, it's been over 2 years since I updated things.  Obviously life wasn't that exciting for us :)
In a nutshell, in early 2011, we moved from Texas and settled into life in Brookings, South Dakota.  Phil is the airport manager in Brookings and I am the head coach of the Brookings Swim Club as well as a graduate student at South Dakota State University.  We bought our first house in Aurora, SD in January and life has been rolling every since!  Especially since we found out we are expecting our first child in April!
While we are closer to some family, we are still away from others.  This will hopefully be a chance to keep all family members and friends updated in this most amazing and wonderful journey.
As the song goes 'let's start at the very beginning...'
Phil and I have been trying to have a baby for awhile.  A few months after we moved to South Dakota, the process of starting to have a baby began.  I had heard that it takes a few months, so the wait game began.  And continued.  In December, we were elated to find out we were pregnant (it was the best Christmas present)!  We shared the news with immediate family members and started picturing our new life with an addition to our family.  Sadly, at almost 9 weeks, I had a miscarriage.  We were devastated and I think the only thing that kept us going was that we were closing on our first home that week.  We are so blessed to have such a supportive family, friends and employers that helped get us through that time.  It's one of those things that people don't talk a lot about, but once you find another person who has been through it, you begin to find other people who have been through that experience.  I used to be embarrassed and ashamed to talk about the miscarriage, but now I realize that's part of the journey. And I know other people's stories helped me, so maybe mine will help someone.
So, the wish and wait game started all over again.  I used to get upset when I read something on facebook that someone was expecting or frustrated when I heard someone say, 'we've been trying to get pregnant for three whole months,' or a short period of time.  But, God has a plan, so it was just a time for us to reflect on the fact that God's in control and I needed to put my trust in Him.  Every month had high hopes and then great disappointment when there was only one line.  Then, a day before I left for the state swim meet, a faint line appeared.  Phil and I didn't want to get too optimistic, so we kept hold of that glimmer of hope.  Three days later, I got back from state and tried again.  And again, there was a faint line, but it was there!  And yes, I am one of those girls that took three tests just to make sure :)  There was a lot of emotions, but we were really excited!  We told our parents and then tried to stay optimistic as the days got closer to the ultrasound.  For the first appointment, we both walked into the ultrasound room and held our breath. It was the most amazing and wonderful thing to see our precious baby.  We both got teary-eyed when we heard the beautiful rhythm of a heart beat.  Walking out of that appointment, we had joy in our heart and more love for this little human life than anything I can describe.

Our first picture is from the 12-week mark.  I didn't want to copy what everyone else is doing with the chalkboard, so we tried to do a print out, which wasn't too successful.  It states '12 weeks on 9/20/12. Size of baby: 2 inches (about the size of a plum).  Weight of baby: 0.5 ounces (about the weight of an empty soda can).'  Someone mentioned that I should document what I was craving each week, and I think that week was oatmeal cream pies, peanut butter and honey toast and apples with peanut butter (so nothing out of the ordinary).
Each week is a new wonderful adventure and I'll keep everyone up to date with our exciting and fantastic journey!