New Family

About a month after we were married we took a trip to Florida to visit Jeff's kids. It was the first time for me to meet them, and I was instantly in love! They are the greatest kids, and I'm so fortunate that they have not only seemed to accept me as a special person in their dad's life, but they genuinely seemed to like me! We had a great time with them and made some very special memories. One of our favorite places to go was Bathtub Reef. It was wonderful beach with a natural coral barrier that kept out the waves and the sharks, so it was a great place to take the kids. It was my first time to actually SWIM in the ocean. Up until this time I had only just waded. It was so fun! It also became the inspiration behind the bathroom that Jeff designed and built for me. At any rate, it was on this trip that I started to not feel so well.......

The Color Pink

It was April 1, 2005. We needed to have a tire checked on the car, so Jeff sent me to town (Delphi) to get the deed done. I decided to sit in the car while they checked it, and during the inspection, I fell asleep. REALLY asleep. I was so asleep that I didn't even know that they had jacked up the car, changed the tire, and let me back down, until the attendant knocked on my car window to wake me up! I thought to myself, "What is wrong with me?" A little niggling thought entered my mind at that moment, but after my past experiences I quickly dismissed the thought that I could be pregnant. It just couldn't happen THAT fast. However, I am very "in tune" with my body, and I knew that it could be possible.....nah, I was just being paranoid. Jeff came home from work, and our friend Lee came over to watch a movie. For some odd reason I got up during the movie and went to the bathroom where I knew there was a pregnancy test (I used to stockpile those things). I took it. I didn't have to wait 3 minutes. A pink line that I had never before seen on ANY test that I'd taken immediately came into view. I stared at it. I giggled nervously. I kept staring at it, as if somehow the pink line would disappear as fast as it had appeared. But it only got pinker.

I went back downstairs and curled back up on the couch. I had to wait for the movie to be over and for Lee to go home before I could tell Jeff. And I needed the time to really process the realization that had just been confirmed--I was just about to turn 35--and I was finally pregnant. When we were alone, I showed Jeff the test. He stared at it. He giggled nervously and said, "Is this an April Fool's joke?" Ha! I'd forgotten what day it was! I assured him that it was not a joke. I watched his face as the truth dawned on him and he smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen! Then I watched him strut around the room with his chest out declaring that, oh yeah, he WAS the man..........oh my word. It was very funny and had I known he would react that way I would love to have filmed him.

And that's how we found out about our little girl, Gracie.........

A New Beginning

Our story has an amazing beginning. After much personal hardship in both of our lives, a loving, heavenly Father chose to cross our paths, and unite our lives. We were married on February 25, 2005. That in itself was a beginning, but it doesn't end there. After a little over a month of married life, we discovered that we were pregnant with our first child. After years of infertility issues in both of our previous marriages, we had managed the impossible! And in a very short amount of time! This is the story of our first days of marriage, and consequently, the journal of our pregnancy. I'm actually starting a little bit late--I'm already 33 weeks along. After looking at several baby books in stores, I realized that I needed to do something, and quick, to preserve these wonderful memories. So, this record is for the friends and family who are out there clamoring for more information, more pictures, and more stories, and it is also for Jack, our sweet baby boy, whom we've not yet seen face to face, so that he will know the difference that he has made in our lives.