I met my husband, Brian, when I was eighteen and he was twenty. We met on Myspace and later learned that we had actually gone to the same high school; our lockers were even across the hall from each other! When I first met him I had no idea that I was going to be spending the rest of my life with him, but after being together for a few months, I knew that he was the one for me.
After being together for almost three years, Brian enlisted in the Marine Corps. and I promised to stick by his side through the hardships of Boot Camp and all of his training; one of the hardest things I had to do was say goodbye to him for three months. After those three long months of only being able to talk to each other via letters, I think we both realized that we had a strong connection that could with stand anything. Seeing him for the first time as a Marine was one of the most exciting days of my life! I was so incredibly proud of him and of us for making it through that period of time without any issues; we remained honest and true to each other. After boot camp he spent some more time at Camp Pendleton, training for Infantry and then went to Virginia for BSG; all while I remained at home.
In September 2010, Brian popped the big question. He proposed to me at the state park that we always spent a lot of our time at; when we had first started dating, I had carved our initials into the wood railing of a staircase and then later he had proposed by carving "Marry me" next to our initials. Of course I said yes!
Unfortunately we were not able to get married in October like we had initially wanted to due to Brian being stationed in Georgia where he was to begin his two years of work at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.
During the start of his second year in the Marines, we were married on February 5th, 2011. Two months later, he moved me down to Georgia where we began our new life together as a married couple.
The adjustment was really difficult for me because he was constantly gone for days at a time and I was often left alone in our apartment with no one but our two cats for company. But after a few months of meeting other wives and making new friends things began looking up.
After celebrating our one year wedding anniversary, we learned that I was expecting. I couldn't believe that we were going to be having a baby!!
Brian is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune and this is where we intend to stay until the end of his contract with the Marine Corps.
Avalyn Marie
We found out that we were expecting a little girl in May and on July 26th I was hospitalized for a possible preterm labor. I spent three weeks in the hospital in Jacksonville, Florida before Avalyn surprised us with her arrival.
Ava was born on August 16th, 2012 at 1:22 am and was 3 pounds, 2 ounces, and 15 1/4 inches long.
We spent two and a half months in the NICU with her and she was discharged on October 25th; one of the best days of our lives was when we were able to take her home with us.
Avalyn is currently a healthy TEN months old and is constantly growing!
The Fur Babies
My neighbor at the time rescued him and his brother from the garbage dump when he was just a little six week old kitten. The neighbors kept his brother and we kept him; we had no intentions of keeping him, just nursing him until he was old enough to be adopted out, but the entire family fell in love with him.
My mom and I decided on the name "Lammas" because he came into our lives in late August/early September so he was estimated to have been born around the first week of August and there is a Pagan holiday called Lammas Day; which is a festival of wheat/the first harvest of the year on August 1st. We thought that his colors reminded us of wheat.
This little guy has been with me for seven years now and I hope he is around for many more! He has seen my graduate high school, work through a few years of college, move away, come back, get married, and now he will be there to help me raise my first child. He is an absolute sweet heart and I am so glad that I was able to bring him with me to Georgia.
He has been with us for almost four years now and our family wouldn't be what it is without him.
He was a rescued cat as well; a friend of mine from high school had brought him into his home after finding him on the streets. They could not keep him, so when I saw that he was looking for a home for Cody, I couldn't resist.
He is our little tubbykins, weighing in at almost 25 pounds! I also call him "monkey" because he is always trying to jump into high places.
He is the biggest derp of a dog I have ever had to deal with. He is silly, a little bit of a nutcase, and hates water, but is a very good listener for the breed he is mixed with. It was hard adjusting to him the first several months he was with us because I was dealing with common first trimester pregnancy problems.
Deep down I love this little mutt and I love seeing him and Brian interact with each other. He was rescued from the local animal shelter.
*Wedding photo taken by Sarah Hoey at Sarah Michelle Photography.
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