Bubbly

As our two year wedding anniversary approaches, I can't help but reflect on what the past two years have entailed. To start, we got married. I blazed down that aisle to "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat and didn't look back. With sweaty palms and quivering lips, we vowed to Jesus above all that we would commit ourselves to Him and each other for as long as we both live. I moved into his tiny one bedroom apartment, and we lived a typical newlywed-type year! We adopted our lil boy Chip and became animal parents (HUGE step). We went on sporadic weekend trips and even played video games together. We shared the joy of one of Andrew's biggest accomplishments to date: graduating in the 90th Police Academy for the Norfolk Police Department. I don't think I have ever been so proud or nervous than I was to pin him at the ceremony! We went on that year adjusting to married life and of course had our arguments. We even went to bed a little mad at each other some nights *gasp*. Ultimately, we grew from each squabble and know that no argument will ever get the best of us as long as we both learn to lean on Jesus's opinions more than our own... which usually means both of us conceding to His will! We experienced another blessing when we adopted our beloved Beary boy! We experienced the joyful, yet torturous process of buying a house that is a shortsale!! We put an offer on the house the first weekend of January and didn't close on it until April 19! Talk about a patience lesson. But boy were we blessed! We renovated our house and in the midst of that joy, I unfortunately failed a class that kept me from graduating on time. Thankfully, just three months later, I was able to pass (with a B and A, might I add) and graduate in August. 
Those of you who talk to me intimately know that my graduation present was supposed to be a baby. And ta-da, here we are! We experienced the overwhelming two pink lines triggered by highly hormonal urine. We saw our tiny one's heart beating a few weeks later and were both in instant love all over again. We squeezed our eyes tightly as the gender of that little beating heart was determined some tremendously long weeks later. And we (I) pouted with confusion when we opened that pink onesie! The smile came back to my face as I realized that the name I had loved since 16 years old was about to be given to our beloved baby girl. Jane Capri will be here in just four months and one week! It is hard to believe that all this has happened in just two years of marriage, but we are so blessed to reflect and still be so enamored with love and excitement for Jesus, each other, and life! Marriage was so scary because people talk about it so negatively. We would have missed out on some TREMENDOUS blessings had we not gotten married when we felt God telling us to. I believe the same will be true of having our baby girl so young. I decided to reflect on all these things because I have found myself living too much for the future and realizing that some of the best days of life are now. They are always "now". There will be a time in life when you reflect on these days that you used to think were humdrum or monotonous! Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.^{"
I thought I would leave you with the meaning behind our baby's name. I have always loved the name Jane because it was my maternal grandmother's name. Although I was unable to know her for very long, my mom has always said there is something about me that is akin to her. She has always said that her mom would have loved watching me grow into who I am now, so I feel a special bond to her even from allll the way down here while she is allll the way up there (Heaven). Capri is baby girl's middle name. It's not nearly as sentimental in a familial way. On my 17th birthday, Andrew gave me the Colbie Caillat CD "Cocoa". The last song on the CD is called "Capri", and I'll let you listen to it here! Also on that album is "Bubbly"... the song I walked into marriage to.} 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFhFUJvvDMo  
^{And here are some pictures of those more "ordinary" days that made up some great moments.}