After a Few Years' Hiatus...
...I am back! And what changes have transpired...
When I last left off, Joe and I were still merely engaged. We had set a wedding date, but...then the Army stepped in. Because Joe was being deployed the month BEFORE we had planned on getting married, we needed to either hurry up and tie the knot, or leave it untied until he returned a year later. After a lot of discussion, we decided to move up the wedding date, just in case anything happened overseas. After all, a wife has more access to information than a girlfriend or fiance.
And so, I woke up on May 8th, 2010, put on a lovely white dress, and stole my husband's last name.
Then, we spent 6 wonderful weeks together in wedded bliss. We were living in his parents house, both working, so we didn't really have the time, money or opportunity to have a honeymoon. But we tried to make the most of our days together, because time was slipping away from us at a breakneck speed. As suddenly as we had been married, it seemed like moments later I was standing in the airport trying to stay strong and failing miserably. I hugged my husband goodbye, told him "see you soon", and sobbed uncontrollably as he walked away from me, toward an uncertain and dangerous future where I could not follow.
While he flew down to Texas to get some more training under his belt before the deployment, I stayed in Michigan and just...marked time. I felt so lost. I felt...off. I thought at first that it was simply because the man I had spent nearly every day with for over two years was now suddenly vanished. But as I felt increasingly off-kilter, I started to panic a little. I thought my stress was taking a worse toll on my body than I had originally thought. I hurt all over, I was overly-tired. And I was late.
So I took a pregnancy test, just so I would be able to rule some things out. And within ten seconds, the little blinking hourglass turned into a one-word life-and-game-changer. I was pregnant. I was alone. I was terrified.
After all, that wasn't our plan. We weren't going to even start THINKING about trying until at least a year after Joe returned from the war. And here I was, a bun in the oven and my baker was gone. This, however, turned into a blessing in disguise. After all, instead of staying in my room and pining after my beloved away at war, I had something else to occupy my mind. I was counting weeks and kicks and doctors visits and trimesters...and that made the days fly. We were able to figure out the due date JUST in time for Joe to adjust his leave time. And we had skype, which I am convinced saved us through that awful, awful year.
Soon enough, he was holding my hand and telling me to push, and at 7:51pm on March 10th, 2011...our beautiful baby girl entered the world.
Elizabeth Jane. And for the third time in a year, my world completely changed.
Now we fast-forward a bit. Libbie turned 1, Joe had been home for about 9 months, and we were bemoaning the fact that our little girl was growing up oh-so-fast. We started toying with the idea of having another baby. The toying turned to talking. The talking turned to actively trying. And at the end of June, we had another positive test. Joe was away training with the military, but I'd taken about seven tests and went to see my doctor, so I needed to call--again--and tell him that I was pregnant over the phone--again. And I was so excited...for a few days.
Suddenly, one morning I woke up, and...it was over. I went for a round of blood tests to check my hormone levels, but...the baby was gone before we could even get to know it.
And, unbelievably, life went on. We picked ourselves up and kept going, although it was killing the both of us. We focused on Libbie. We focused on ourselves. I lost weight. And slowly--a snail's pace, really--we healed.
So now, we find ourselves with an almost-2 year old and...an almost 5 week old embryo inside me. That's right, I'm pregnant again. This is not my official announcement. I know that next to no-one reads this anyway, but...I've been dying to tell someone--ANYONE--even if it's a faceless blog. My baby girl is about to become a big sister. And my little family is about to grow by two tiny feet.
This is a brand new day. And a brand new blog.
When I last left off, Joe and I were still merely engaged. We had set a wedding date, but...then the Army stepped in. Because Joe was being deployed the month BEFORE we had planned on getting married, we needed to either hurry up and tie the knot, or leave it untied until he returned a year later. After a lot of discussion, we decided to move up the wedding date, just in case anything happened overseas. After all, a wife has more access to information than a girlfriend or fiance.
And so, I woke up on May 8th, 2010, put on a lovely white dress, and stole my husband's last name.
Then, we spent 6 wonderful weeks together in wedded bliss. We were living in his parents house, both working, so we didn't really have the time, money or opportunity to have a honeymoon. But we tried to make the most of our days together, because time was slipping away from us at a breakneck speed. As suddenly as we had been married, it seemed like moments later I was standing in the airport trying to stay strong and failing miserably. I hugged my husband goodbye, told him "see you soon", and sobbed uncontrollably as he walked away from me, toward an uncertain and dangerous future where I could not follow.
While he flew down to Texas to get some more training under his belt before the deployment, I stayed in Michigan and just...marked time. I felt so lost. I felt...off. I thought at first that it was simply because the man I had spent nearly every day with for over two years was now suddenly vanished. But as I felt increasingly off-kilter, I started to panic a little. I thought my stress was taking a worse toll on my body than I had originally thought. I hurt all over, I was overly-tired. And I was late.
So I took a pregnancy test, just so I would be able to rule some things out. And within ten seconds, the little blinking hourglass turned into a one-word life-and-game-changer. I was pregnant. I was alone. I was terrified.
After all, that wasn't our plan. We weren't going to even start THINKING about trying until at least a year after Joe returned from the war. And here I was, a bun in the oven and my baker was gone. This, however, turned into a blessing in disguise. After all, instead of staying in my room and pining after my beloved away at war, I had something else to occupy my mind. I was counting weeks and kicks and doctors visits and trimesters...and that made the days fly. We were able to figure out the due date JUST in time for Joe to adjust his leave time. And we had skype, which I am convinced saved us through that awful, awful year.
Soon enough, he was holding my hand and telling me to push, and at 7:51pm on March 10th, 2011...our beautiful baby girl entered the world.
Elizabeth Jane. And for the third time in a year, my world completely changed.
Now we fast-forward a bit. Libbie turned 1, Joe had been home for about 9 months, and we were bemoaning the fact that our little girl was growing up oh-so-fast. We started toying with the idea of having another baby. The toying turned to talking. The talking turned to actively trying. And at the end of June, we had another positive test. Joe was away training with the military, but I'd taken about seven tests and went to see my doctor, so I needed to call--again--and tell him that I was pregnant over the phone--again. And I was so excited...for a few days.
Suddenly, one morning I woke up, and...it was over. I went for a round of blood tests to check my hormone levels, but...the baby was gone before we could even get to know it.
And, unbelievably, life went on. We picked ourselves up and kept going, although it was killing the both of us. We focused on Libbie. We focused on ourselves. I lost weight. And slowly--a snail's pace, really--we healed.
So now, we find ourselves with an almost-2 year old and...an almost 5 week old embryo inside me. That's right, I'm pregnant again. This is not my official announcement. I know that next to no-one reads this anyway, but...I've been dying to tell someone--ANYONE--even if it's a faceless blog. My baby girl is about to become a big sister. And my little family is about to grow by two tiny feet.
This is a brand new day. And a brand new blog.