Okay..and now for the history...of us!

Christmas 2008 with Charlie

Christmas 2007 with Lola

Wedding Day, August 2007

Engagement

M (my dear husband of almost 2 years!) met 4 years ago on Match.com. We dated for a year and half before becoming engaged, and were married 8 months after that. Our wedding was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day surrounded by everyone I love and cherish!

At the time, we were living in a comfortable 2-bedroom apartment. We used the extra room as an office/guest room, and it worked pretty well as a temporary living situation! We have always had a goal of buying a house and starting a family...when we got married, it was agreed upon that we would wait a year and then start trying.

In the meantime....I couldn't resist my urge to nurture, so we adopted out first "fur baby" Lola. She is a black cat (some say she is dark brown) who brought (and brings!) us much joy and entertainment. Watching M with her used to melt my heart - it was my first glimpse into his nurturing side. So sweet.

Approximately 5 months into our marriage, during a trip to visit M's parents' house (about 8 hours driving time from us) we decided to start looking around at some of the houses. After a bit of investigative work into our current housing market, we were curious to compare the two. Boy, were we pleasantly surprised! It was a bit shocking (and exciting!) to us that we could potentially afford a real house with backyard, etc. in the new city. This would never have been possible where we were.

So...we started some serious looking into a house within out budget. After we spoke with a few lenders and found what we could be approved for, we hired a realtor and began the tedious process of house hunting! It took some time (6 months) and many trips back and forth, but on Memorial Day we finally found the house of our dreams! We made our offer, went through a few negotiations, and were finally home owners!

May was the month we made the "commitment to parenthood." And so the fun began...!

June, 2008 was a hectic month as I packed up my entire classroom AND our entire apartment. More difficult to coordinate for the move was all the various furniture M's family was giving us! We had a few different pickup locations for the movers...but boy were we ever grateful to have furniture to fill out house! We are so thankful to have loyal friends and family, especially our "surrogate parents" Bruce and Bea, who made our move logistically and emotionally possible. What a blessing. This was a very exciting time for us as a couple. Lola was not as enthusiastic!

Okay..I'm exhausted after that! The fertility story begins next....