Our Second Anniversary

Blake and I celebrated two years of marriage yesterday!

While he was at work, Mrs. Michelle dropped off John Michael to hang out with me and Isabelle while she went to her doctor's appointment.  She brought us lunch, and then sent me off to get a pedicure, do some shopping for baskets (for the changing table), and go to my doctor's appointment.  Meanwhile, she and John took care of Isabelle and helped me out with housework!  How sweet of them was that??

(Just in case you're wondering, my doctor's appointment went well - I'm 2 cm dilated, still about halfway effaced, and Lacey's head dropped some!  If I don't have her this week we might start talking about induction or other methods of getting labor started at my appointment next week.)

Anyway, after I got home from running errands and Blake got home from work, everyone cleared the house (by that time Ariel and Catherine had come over too, lol).  We put Isabelle to bed early, and I got dinner ready.  I brought out our nice china and crystal, and set up a romantic candlelight dinner of one of Blake's favorite meals, spaghetti (I actually had some frozen from the last time I made some, so I got away with not having to cook - which is great, because my spaghetti takes a good 4-5 hours to make)!  Blake had brought home a bottle of wine and a cigar, which he enjoyed sitting on the porch while it rained.  We had coffee with whipped cream on top for dessert, and then spent the rest of the night cuddling, laughing, and watching our wedding video.  We really didn't have room in our new budget to buy each other gifts this year, but we had a wonderful anniversary.  I would much rather spend a nice, quiet, romantic evening together anyway reliving our wedding memories!

Looking back on the past two years, it seems like yesterday that we got married, and it seems like we've been married forever!  I mean, how many life-experiences can one couple squeeze into two years?  We got married, moved out of our parents' houses (I moved to a different city), I had to have gallbladder surgery, we got pregnant with Isabelle, moved to a new house, had our beautiful baby girl and then got pregnant again four months later, Blake changed careers, and now we're expecting another baby girl any day now!  Whew!

Life has given us so many struggles, and so many, many blessings!  I'm so thankful for the past two years, and I can't wait to see what the future will bring!

SO Proud of my Hubby!

Well we have some GREAT news - Blake was recently offered a position working as the CBO (Certified Building Official) for the City of Franklin!

Blake's actually been working there for several months on a temporary basis, but now he has a permanent full-time job there!  It's been a bit of an adjustment for him (mostly the waking-up-early-to-be-at-work-for-a-certain-time part), but he really likes the job and the people he works with. 

15 Reasons to Use NFP

Okay, so I stole this from my good friend Erin's blog, Humble Handmaid, but I think it's originally from Matthew Warner's blog entitled Fallible Blogma.  I thought it was very interesting, considering how most of the world seems to view our crazy Catholic version of "birth control."

Though NFP (if practiced correctly) is just as effective as the pill, it is NOT "Catholic birth control."  It's a natural way to achieve or delay a pregnancy (for serious reasons) through ecological breastfeeding and being aware of a wife's fertility.  Blake and I haven't had to practice any NFP for quite a while (we've been pregnant for most of our marriage, lol), but it's important to understand not only how to practice it, but why we practice it.  Couples practicing NFP are not using any artificial means of preventing conception or implantation, and are therefore open to God's will during the marital act.  A couple must prayerfully discern each month if they have serious reasons to postpone a pregnancy, and if they do, then they should abstain from sex during the fertile phase of the wife's cycle.  The couple learns to sacrifice their short-term pleasure for the long-term good of the family.  And if the couple finds that there is no serious reason to postpone pregnancy, they can even use NFP to achieve a pregnancy!

Ariel and Gregory's Wedding Day, and some Thoughts on Marriage

Saturday was a wonderful day.  Blake's brother Gregory got married, making Ariel my new "sister!!"  It was such a beautiful wedding!  This was the first time I was actually in a wedding, and it was SO much fun!  I got to get my hair and nails done, and get in my pretty bridesmaid dress and hang out with Ariel while she got ready!  Since Blake was in the wedding too (he was the BEST man), we dropped Isabelle off with two of our very good friends, Rhiannon and Grant (thank you guys for taking good care of my little munchkin!).

Ariel was stunning.  Her dress was gorgeous, but it was nothing compared to the beauty that just radiates from a bride on her wedding day!  Everyone looked so beautiful and handsome, and I was really happy with the way our dresses turned out.  They were made to fit us, so mine fit perfectly - baby bump and all!