A Wedding and a Baby!!!

Wow I haven't updated in almost 10 months!! It's amazing how much can change in a person's life in that period of time. In fact, it's amazing how much a person's life can change in just a few moments, which is part of the reason it's so important to know Christ as both your Lord and Savior, and to be continually walking steadfastly with him (something I've learned all too well).

I really need to spend more time blogging. I love to write, and my husband enjoys reading it. A few days ago he encouraged me to spend more time blogging....so here I am!

Since this is the first post I've written in months, it will be about the two major events which have occurred in my life since I last posted: our wedding and the upcoming arrival of our first little munchkin!

The Wedding

It was always somewhat of a pipedream of mine to get married on some romantic villa overlooking the ocean. Perhaps all of the 19th-century romances I've read throughout the years got into my head. I never actually thought that this little pipedream of mine would ever become a reality...for one thing, my dad doesn't like to spend money (for sure, I'd be having a very simple wedding!), and also I figured I would make most people happy if I had a traditional wedding in a church at home in Texas. Actually, to be perfectly honest, part of me felt like it was my duty to get married inside a church building because I'm a born-again Christian and just about everyone else I know who is one does get married at either their own church or their parents' church.

It didn't take long after Jacob and I got engaged that I realized our situation concerning wedding logistics was a bit more complicated than the average couple. The obvious complication was distance...I am an American originally from Texas, and he's Canadian from Southern Ontario. No problem, right? Seeing how more and more people are meeting online and having long distance relationships, my first plan was to just go with tradition and have the wedding in Texas where my family lives. However, this came to a screetching halt upon discovering that members of Jake's immediate family were not allowed to come into the US. Also, that the US requires a special visa (K-1 I believe) for Jake to honestly enter the country in order to get married (in other words, so he wouldn't have to lie to immigration at the border crossing about why he was coming to Texas). This visa could take up to 9 months to process, but we wanted a shorter engagement that wouldn't require lying or being sneaky with the border.

So plan A was scratched. The obvious plan B was to instead have the wedding at Jake's church in Ontario. However, this too quickly came to a halt after some issues with my family, and also reading horror stories on internet message boards about American brides-to-be who were not allowed into Canada for their own weddings (since there is no fiance visa for Canada, and immigration feared they were going to stay illegally).

It wasn't until I found myself in this "what to do?" pickle, that I gave serious consideration to my idea of getting married somewhere near the ocean. I had read online that several American-Canadian couples who didn't want to be dishonest with immigration but also wanted a short engagement found it easiest to do a destination wedding!

So that is ultimately what Jake and I decided to do...on April 24, 2009, at 5 o'clock Atlantic time, we got married on a beautiful grassy cliff overlooking the ocean at Astwood Park on the wonderful island of Bermuda! In attendance were just our immediate families (which worked out great because they got to spend time getting to know one another!). It was very low key and very low stress (which was perfect for me because I get uncomfortable in large crowds with all eyes on me), but at the same time very reverent and Christ-honoring. The wedding was officiated by the pastor of the Evangelical Church of Bermuda (Dick Christen), who was excited that he was marrying two born-again Believers! We also had time to spend with him and his lovely wife Sherill while on our honeymoon. The weather was perfect.... sunny, dry, and 70-degrees (an answered prayer of mine!). From the scenery, to our first kiss ever (which we saved for our wedding), to the horsedrawn carriage (a Bermudan tradition!) back to the hotel for dinner and cake, it was most certainly a day to remember!!

Photos:


















Thank you to our wonderful photographer, Deborah Thomson, for the amazing photos!! You did amazing and we love them all!

The Baby

After our beautiful Bermudian wedding and honeymoon, I came back to live in Canada with Jake. About 4 months after we got married, I got pregnant with our first little blessing! The first clue I had that I might be pregnant was about a week after I conceived, when Jake and I were in Texas at my parents'. We had some people over for Texas-style BBQ (including a lot of the extended family), and as soon as my mom uncovered the beef brisket in the kitchen (which is normally something I love to eat), I got so nauseous I thought I was going to hurl in front of everyone. Of course, everyone found it really funny and the pregnant jokes started coming from every which-way. Sure enough, a few weeks later, a Dollarama pregnancy test followed by a visit to the doctor confirmed the happy news!!!

It is such a joy to us to be blessed this way, since we've decided to trust the Lord with our family size/timing/etc. rather than take matters into our own hands (ie...using contraceptives). Our conviction is that if we can trust the Lord in all other areas of life, why not also our children? Also, everywhere in the Bible where children are mentioned, they are spoken of as a blessing, and not a burden.

Another reason we are joyful is because I have polycystic ovaries, which is the leading cause of female infertility. When I got married, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get pregnant or not, so we prayed that the Lord's will would be done. If anyone reading this with PCOS has been hoping to get pregnant with no success, I can tell you that there is hope...just trust in God to provide in his timing if it is his will!

On December 21st, we had our 19 week ultrasound, and found out that our baby is a precious little girl! We don't have a name officially picked out yet, but are presently deciding between a few different ones we like.

Our bundle of joy is due May 16, 2010. :-D Only 19 more weeks to go!!

Ultrasound photos:




So anyway, I just wanted to bring my blog up to date with everything that's been happening with Jake and me the past several months. God bless you!!