That Guy I Married Turned Into Somebody's Dad!

Every day is an adventure.
When I got married, one of my favorite things that my new husband said to me, was that he hoped people would be jealous of our marriage, and of the adventures we'd have together.
Oh, that man!
Mind you, this is a man who picked I Corinthians 2:9 as our wedding verse: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, what God has conceived for those who love Him...(CC paraphrase). I should have known what I was getting into!
For only being married 8 years, we have lived a lifetime. Granted, the loss of our daughter aged us in ways that most people will not understand. We had been married less than two years when she died; the crises, the heartache, the faith, and the trial fused us together to a degree not seen in marriages so young. I credit my husband with keeping our faith together; without him, I would have drown in a sea of wine and xanax. He kept us focused, through everything.
We've been through the loss of a child, unemployment, multiple surgeries, a near-death experience--I mean, sheesh! When you list it like that, it sounds like a Lifetime movie! 
But every day IS an adventure.
I LIKE my husband. We bicker...we spat. One of our friends calls us "The Puppies," and I think that's an accurate reflection. My neuroses are met with calm. My temper tantrums are met with reminders that it's "not that big of a deal." His temper tantrums (don't let the smile fool you--David is CAPABLE of a temper tantrum of epic proportions, LOL!) are generally met with eye rolls and reminders that everyone encounters stoplights (it's not a conspiracy against you, honey).
He holds my hand when we cross the street (Nah, it's not a romantic thing...if he didn't, I would probably have been hit by a car by now).
He will NOT dance with me at weddings (unless it's in the back of the room).
He has photographed the best memories of our lives, and somehow manages to bring the emotion of the moment into the frame.
We're a pretty good team, really.
And as we've embarked on the greatest adventure of all (parenthood!), I've learned to appreciate our "team" even more.
It really does take a village...My mom and sister have been incredibly helpful with JD. David's parents have surprised us with  formula and diapers on several occasions. Dad has come over to make sure we still have running water (plumbing! EEEK!). We really work together to make this little person have a seamless life. But at the end of the day,
It's just me and this man.
This man that I married--I always knew he'd be a great dad. I was right.
We change diapers. We make bottles. We feed the baby in the middle of the night. We pick out onesies or jammies. We get groceries. We make sure our dog doesn't feel missed.
WE is the key word.
I've heard of families where the husband works and comes home, and leaves the children to his wife. He probably works very hard to provide for his family, and is tired when he gets home.  That might work for that family...but it doesn't work for us. We both work 40 hour weeks. I have a very long commute. When the day is done, we are BOTH tired...but there's that beautiful little face that smiles when he sees us, and though we're tired, we still have him to care for.
And we love it.
We prayed for parenthood. We passionately sought the Lord, and petitioned Him for a child.He heard us--He answered us.
And now we are living an adventure that is everything we hoped for, nothing like we expected, and radically life-changing in every way. It's radically life-CHALLENGING in every way. We're tired; we're happy. We're stressed; we have peace in Christ. It's a beautiful dichotomy.
I'm finally getting to a place where I am comfortable taking JD out. On my day off, I'm trying to socialize; this summer, I will be trying to take him out to places I enjoy (without overheating), even if it's just to the mall. At some point, we will make our GHOP debut--by Friday, I've been so tired from work that I haven't been able to go. I can't wait to take JD, though!
I'd like to start planning vacations with him...I'll happily take your tips and tricks for vacationing with a baby!
Every day is different; every day brings a new milestone for JD. And every day includes opportunities to see my husband love my son...and that makes my heart almost explode with happiness.
Yeah, David--we're a great team. And we never saw life like this coming.
I hope we continue to have amazing, wonderful, unforeseen adventures together...

SHE'S ALLLLIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!

I have fallen off of the face of the earth.
It's official: I've been dumped into the sinkhole that is otherwise known as Life. :)
I recently called a friend of mine that I hadn't spoken to in quite a while--her response?  "SHE'S ALIIIIIIIIIVE!"
It's so totally true!  Between my hectic work schedule (I work 4 10-hour days; figure in a 45-minute long drive--on a good day--each way), and my weekdays start with a 3:45 am feeding. They end around 8:30-ish...Okay, by the time I get off of Facebook, it's more like 9.
Anyway, you get the point.  Weekends are spent going to church, catching up on a little bit of sleep, and monopolizing my son. I want as much time with him as possible; Mondays are my favorite, because he's all mine, the entire day. He gets lots of smooches; I try to keep up with the cloth diapers and a bit of housekeeping (my mother has been SUCH a blessing in this department!!!!)...and by the time I blink, it's time for me to get ready for the work week.

A few years ago, I made a decision to stop being such a hermit. I made a lot of really great friends during that time, that have had my back through a lot of ups and downs. I also have my best friend, VS, who's been by my side since the third grade. So, there are quite few people that I have to stop "hiding" from...It's just so easy to get lost in my little routine!
I'm trying to find the balance between my spiritual life, parenthood, marriage, my job, my family, and my friends...unfortunately, while I'm in the process of figuring it out, some things are getting bypassed.
My diet has not been good. I've gotten back into some bad habits with food; most of those are because I grab what's convenient, rather than taking the time to plan meals and shop intelligently. The medicine I've been on for PPD has exacerbated my weight gain. I've put on 20 pounds since March! I was warned that this could happen with this medication--I guess they were right. So now, we begin the process of weaning off of the meds, and of getting back into smart eating habits. A busy life is no excuse for the slow suicide of a bad diet!!!!!!!
I also need to get out more. This month (June), I am recommitting to not being a hermit. Weather permitting, I am hoping to get out and see more people in person...as opposed to Cyberspace! I'm feeling better about going out, and about taking JD out. I feel like it's time for his little world to begin to expand!
I hope you can forgive me for hiding in my box for the past few months. No one can understand what this experience has been like for me in particular (much less, for my family), since I was first hospitalized...I'm only just now beginning to recognize the level of fear, stress, and anxiety that I have been carrying. It's slowly been falling away, and peace is being restored. My sense of adventure is being renewed, and I am excited about things to come!!  God has great plans!