Then Comes...

Previously on Johnston Clan FTW:  We met, we danced, we carried on.  We laughed, we kissed, we said our vows.  We worked, we played, and life went on...

Two brief years later I find myself reflecting back on all that we've accomplished, the loved ones we'll miss, the friendships we've forged, and the relationships we're happy to have.  Tonight in particular, I am looking ahead towards that next big adventure, full of more surely unforgettable moments yet to come.  (humor me and read the photos/captions below in order, starting with top left and ending on bottom right...trust me.)

Yes, yes! You read that last one right!  It still feels weird to say it out loud, but we are in fact having a baby.  Our next big adventure is on its way and we'll be in full-blown "adventure mode" this winter, with a due date of December 3rd (though Chris is convinced it's the 4th).  Which means, for those of you who haven't already pulled out your calculators, I am 19 weeks along as of today. 

The photo above is of our baby at just shy of 14 weeks, a profile view of his or her head and body.  I am more than happy to be out of the first trimester now and about half way through my second trimester (or, what the pregnancy websites I find myself on non-stop these days call "the honeymoon period").  We have our next ultrasound next Wednesday at 20 weeks.  We can hardly wait to see the baby again and are equally as anxious to find out the gender!  Chris is not so quietly rooting for a boy, but can you blame him?  If we had a little boy anything like him, I'd be more than thrilled.  As for myself, I just want a happy and healthy baby more than anything! (and maybe one who sleeps through the night?)

I'll have much more to share about the baby and pregnancy in blog posts to come (I assure you, because I pretty much can't think about anything else these days), but for tonight I'll leave you with our exciting news to cherish and one more pic of the baby we found particularly entertaining.  We call it "Raptor Baby!" Rawr!!

To be continued...

First comes love.

So, there was a time in my life where I used to spend a lot of it writing.  I would write stories, essays, reports, articles, poetry, dream logs and even had a column in my school paper (ok, so it was the horoscopes, but hey those take creativity!).  It's been quite some time since then, so I'm not entirely sure how much flexing I'll have to do to reawaken that muscle, but right about now seems like a good time in my life to give it a shot.  So, bear with me, this should improve with time.  ;)

I'm a sucker for sappy love stories & one of my favorites, based on a true story, talks about moments of impact & how they culminate to create who we will become in our lives.  I believe that both nature and nurture shape us into the people we "grow-up" to be, but that ultimately we are the sum total of all of the most deeply impacting moments of our lives & whether we choose to embrace or deflect each of those moments.  The purpose of this blog, for me, is to have a place to explore my own thoughts while sharing with you some of the most memorable moments of impact Chris and I have had and will have in our life together. 

A little over six years ago (crazy when you start counting and realize how much time has passed!), I was at a cross-roads in my life.  I wasn't really certain which direction to go, where I wanted to be or who even.  I had applied to a couple of pacific northwest colleges for grad school & was contemplating "starting over."  It was during that time that I reluctantly took the advice of a co-worker and friend of mine & agreed to go on a blind date, where as fate would have it I had the good fortune to meet the man who unbeknownst to me would become my husband.  This stranger of a man, in the first minute that we met, offered me a drink (oh good, something to break the ice) which once accepted he promptly lit on fire.  "Put your hand on top of the glass," he told me.  "The flame will go out and the glass will suction to your hand so that you can lift it off the counter, then we drink."  (seriously?! reality check: this is within one minute of having been introduced for the first time and this is real fire we're talking about!)  I must have looked as flabbergasted as I felt, because as if he was Disney's very own Aladin, he held out his hand and asked, "Do you trust me?"  At that precise moment, something in my mind shifted out of the over-revved second gear I had been stuck in for so long, and slid smoothly into third as I embraced the moment and said aloud, "Why not?"  I followed his instructions and in not so Disney-romance-like-fashion, burned my hand on the flame; after which, he immediately rushed me to the kitchen sink to run it under cold water.  His face was at least as red with embarrassment as my scalded hand.  Needless to say, the rest of the date could only get better from there, and it did.  No regrets.
 

The chemistry was instant & any ideas I had about moving (ok, more like running) away went out the window in the months that followed.  After 3 years of dating, he asked and I said yes without hesitation.

We had the most beautiful and wonderful wedding day anyone could ever hope for -the sights, sounds, smells and feelings were absolutely overwhelming.  All surrounded by family and friends  united in celebration of another one of my favorite moments. 

I felt stunning, he looked breathtaking.  Our vows revealed and exchanged on that day were deeply from the heart.  It was the most emotionally charged day of my life that I can remember & the highest of any high I have ever experienced.  It's hard to pick a favorite moment from that day or evening; it all runs into one amazing, one-of-a-kind moment. 

And wouldn't you know it?  My "Aladin" whisked me off to Disney Land the very next day.  (how fitting, right?) ;)

In the two years since then, we've worked hard and played hard -always on the lookout for the next big adventure and mostly just loving life together....

But we're not finished yet.  

 To be continued...