What Better Way to Celebrate 5 Years of Marriage, Than to Welcome our First Born?

For our five year anniversary we had always talked about going back to Jamaica, where our adventures began just a short while ago.  We talked about how we would return to walk the beach hand-in-hand, sand in our toes, water lapping around our feet, orange and pink sunset filling the sky, sipping our island drinks with tiny umbrellas, and reminiscing about the last five years of marriage. 

Our Honeymoon in Jamaica

Little did we know five years ago, that this very moment of time we would be welcoming our baby boy into the world in just a few short days.  So, consequently, the second honeymoon...well it will have to wait...And I'm OK with that!  Because if I can't be at the beach, I can think of nowhere else I'd rather be and nothing else I would rather do than to start this family of three with an amazing man by my side.

8 Months Pregnant

Fall just seems to be our time.  It's when we realized that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together and Brendan asked my father for his permission to marry me.  It's when we made a vow to love each other until death do us part.  It's when we celebrated our one year anniversary in Guatemala and returned again the next year because we fell in love with missions.  It's when we went to the beach to watch Brendan's sister get married and began discussing what it would be like to have a family and if we were ready to start our own.  And now a year later, our family is growing by two feet and our exciting adventures into parenthood are shortly on the horizon. 

The Day We Found Out it was a BOY!!

Through these five years we've learned more about ourselves, more about each other, and more about life than we were honestly ever probably ready for!  Marriage is hard.  Marriage is work.  And if someone doesn't tell you that, they are lying. 

Marriage is about learning how to become selfless, to love someone when you really don't feel like loving them or when they definitely may not deserve to be loved.  Marriage is about trusting and relying on someone completely, but knowing they will never fully make you happy or complete.  Not because they aren't trying or have every intention of meeting your needs, but simply because they were never meant to.  Marriage is about forgiveness.  It's about showing love and respect.

Our Beutiful Wedding Day

While it's never easy, it is completely worth it.  And that was the same epiphany we had when we decided to start a family. 

I feel like I hit the jackpot when I look at my husband...and not just because he's easy on the eyes, but because of the man he is and the heart he has.  In these last five years I could tell you story after story and example after example of how he is my rock, my encourager, my prayer warrior, and my best friend. 

I fall more in love with him every day.  Lately, my heart literally feels like it could burst with the amount of love that I have for Brendan. 

When I hear him talk to our son every night before we go to bed about how much that mommy and daddy love him and how much Jesus loves him more.  When I watch his face light up as he feels Brooks kick in response to his voice.  When he reads scripture or prays over Brooks.  When we laugh until it hurts because he makes fun of my pregnancy brain and lack of vocabulary.  When he stares at me across the room and tells me I'm the most beautiful woman even though I feel like a beached whale.  When I watch him pray over my grandpa with Alzheimer's and carry on full conversations with him even when they no longer make any sense.  When he holds my hand and tells me as we leave the nursing home that Brooks has an amazing great grandfather and legacy to live up to. 

These moments, are when I know that I am incredibly blessed. These moments are when I know I am right where I need to be.  These moments are when it is all worth it. 

People ask us all of the time if we are nervous to be parents.  It's crazy how as I sit here and reflect on that answer I have the same response that I did when it was the eve of our wedding. 

And that is simply this...I'm actually not nervous, my excitement supersedes my nerves.  I'm just ready! 

Call me naive if you want to, but just as I couldn't wait another day to be Brendan's wife five years ago, I cannot wait another day to be Brooks' mom.

Rehearsal-The Night Before Our Lives Changed Forever

Will life forever be changed?  Who's wouldn't?!  Will it be hard?  Duh!  Will it be the best decision I ever made?  No doubt.  Will I sit here on my couch five years later and not be able to picture my life any differently?  One hundred percent, YES! 

Brendan, happy five year anniversary!  5 years down...60 more to go.  You are going to be an amazing father.  I can't wait to start this new journey with you by my side.

I have a feeling Brooks is going to stay in a little longer and let mommy and daddy celebrate this last weekend together!