Time to Reflect

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy, I can't believe I'm just getting around to writing this post. Martin and I have been married about a week and a half now! Not much is different with us, except that now we can say "husband" or "wife" and it be real.

Our wedding was amazing. Perfect down to the last detail. It was everything I would have wanted had we planned this months in advance...minus my not being able to drink. LOL. I think this is the only way to have a wedding, not enough time to over think all the little details. But our friends and family made our day incredibly special and we feel very lucky to have such amazing people in our lives.

 

The wedding party was amazing. I don't think we could have asked for six better friends to be with us on that day. They have all been with us through this relationship and have supported us along the way through thick and thin. I love every single one of them so much. When they gave their toasts at the wedding I was reminded of why they are our best friends and why we love them so much. I only hope other people can find friends as great as ours! :-)

We are also so thankful for our family who came from out of town on short notice to be at the wedding. Most of them were Martin's family from the Atlanta area and he was absolutely thrilled when he heard they were coming! Having those family there made the day that much more special. And we were grateful for all the friends and family from the Denver area who made it to the wedding. We know we planned this whole thing in a rush and all of our friends were given just about a month's notice, so having them with us really made the wedding.

Martin and I had a great wedding. Everyone made us feel special and loved. We are excited to start our lives together and get our little one here with us!

A Terrible Tragedy

Today is an incredibly sad day for my hometown of Aurora, CO. My heart breaks for these families. The families who lost loved ones to this senseless violence. The families who were there and injured. Those who know people personally affected by all of this. It is all so sad. When I first heard about this this morning was, "OMG. My students!" After that I thought about all the people I know who live in this community and I just hoped that I didn't know anyone who was at the theater last night. So far, I don't think I know anyone involved. I've contacted students on my student facebook and as far as I can tell they are all safe.

I'm feeling several emotions right now. The first I want to address is my frustration at people who are quick to bash Aurora. Let me first say that these people did not ask for this to happen. This was not "gang" related, it seems that so many want to blame Aurora for all the gang problems in this state. This was a senseless act of violence by an obviously troubled person. Let's face it, this man could have done this ANYWHERE. It just happened that he was in Aurora. He could have done this in San Diego where he was from. He could have done this in another part of Colorado, then what would people say then? My thoughts go to another terrible tragedy that struck Colorado in April of 1999. That massive school shooting did not happen in Aurora. This is not the time to bash a city that is experiencing a horrible, senseless act of violence. I am glad that my facebook news feed has not seen those kind of comments. But, I have several friends who are posting about what their friends are saying. And it just seems so wrong to say things like, "only in Aurora." Or "that's why I don't go to Aurora." Or some other remark that puts the city down.

There are several different people who live in Aurora from so many backgrounds. If you have watched the news at all today, you will find that diversity is represented in the interviews people are given. They are from all walks of life. And personally that is what I find wonderful about Aurora. Just a few facts. The Aurora Public Schools alone represent 135 countries and speak more than 115 languages. Talk about diversity! We joke at school that we have our own little UN here in Aurora. My point is that there are good people and bad people EVERYWHERE! Not just in Aurora. And Aurora is a huge city and there are going to be good parts and bad parts. Just like in Denver or anywhere else you choose to live. This is a time to come together as a community and help those who were affected and need love and support in this time of need.

I sit here thinking about the families and hoping they can cope and get through this horrible situation. I am reminded of other tragedies I've seen. Columbine. 9/11. This. I just don't understand what happens to a person to make them do something like this to the innocent. I can't imagine being one of the people waiting to know what happened to my friend or family member. My heart just breaks for those who still don't know where their loved ones are. I hope the families get their answers soon and that they find their loved ones alive.

I have many thoughts going through my mind today. Hopefully I can find better words to express my feelings in the days ahead. For now I'm glad that Martin, baby and myself are safe. I'm glad my family is safe. I'm glad my friends are safe. And I'm glad that my students are safe. I hope the friends and family of those I know are all safe as well. This does make me realize all the good I have, but how quickly things can change. Right now I'll continue to pray for those victims of this tragedy and look for a way to help my hometown in the days ahead.

A Million Things Happening

Martin and I have decided to get married this summer. I originally wanted to wait until after the baby to get married for two reasons, I wouldn't be all big and fat and I could drink at my wedding. But after thinking about it I realized it would be nice and easier to do this before the baby. I wanted us all to have the same name, a small thing, but important to me.

So we're getting married in a month. I'm enjoying the planning now. I was getting stressed when we couldn't find a place. I knew Martin wanted to have an actual ceremony and not just a courthouse wedding, so I was thinking we might have to end up waiting anyway. But, we found a place and all is going well. With this and the baby planning, my days are buys. Which is great, gives me something to do, but it's also making the summer go by quickly.

I received my back to school letter today and honestly going back to work is the furthest thing from my mind. I don't even want to go back to work. And I don't feel guilty about having those thoughts. I know some people have been working all summer on plans and whatnot. I'm perfectly content doing my own thing and can already tell I'm not going to be "in it" this year. Oh well. Time for a new job, I guess.

Now, back to work. I still have many things to figure out before the wedding. And if I stay busy Monday will get here sooner and I'll know what this baby is...he/she will no longer be an it in a day and a half!

I miss Running!

Holy crap. Did those words actually come out of my mouth? If you asked me two years ago, I would tell you that hell no, those words would never come out of my mouth. But here I am wishing I could go out for a long, hard run. My body is craving it.

I knew that since I was a runner before being pregnant I could still run. But, I was told to watch my heart rate and not over exert myself because I don't want to over exert the baby. So I was scared away from doing runs like normal. I know many still run while pregnant, I was just very nervous. And slowing down my running was just not cutting it. And now I'm at that stage in pregnancy when apparently I get winded very easily. I feel like an 80 year old or someone who has never done an active thing in their lives. Just walking up the stairs puts me out of breath. It's crazy.

Running got to be my stress relief. And the time when I could think about a problem or something else and by the end of the run I felt better about whatever it was. Or I could think about nothing and finish the run feeling refreshed. I never thought I would get to that place with my running. The last couple days have been a little stressful and a run would definitely help. Luckily I have a great man to help me through my hormones that are in full effect right now. And two cute doggies that I can cuddle. And a little one to think about, which I do all the time. I just hope I can get back to that place with my running after the baby is here.

C and I after our first long race in Boulder

Goofing around at the Alamo during our San Antonio race.

We did it!! And survived!

Things are about to get interesting...

Sometime last year Martin and I decided it was time to start a family. This was something we have talked about a lot in the past and it was actually Martin's biological clock that said it was time to get going. So, we decided after the first of the year we would start trying.

We have many friends who recently had children or who are about to have a child. We both felt this is a great time to start, we would have a wonderful support system around us. I am lucky that two of my best friends went through the conceiving before me so I was able to ask them questions. My biggest fear was not being able to get pregnant. Out of all my friends I felt I would be the one who it took forever and I would need to visit the doctor to figure out what was wrong...

But boy was I wrong! I went off the pill in mid February. It took a few weeks for my body to "start up" again on its own and ovulated in mid March. (TMI? Sorry). Well, that was all it took. We were pregnant on the first try! We were about to go on a trip to Santa Fe when I thought, "I could be pregnant. I better check before I go off for a weekend of drinking." When I saw the result I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. I told Martin. He couldn't believe it either. Because we were both so shocked I ended up taking four pregnancy tests in a 72 hour period. All positive. Now I believed. Still shocked it was so fast. But excited!

The first trimester of the pregnancy I worried about EVERYTHING. I'm so glad I had Kitty and Jenny to ask weird questions of. And Kitty for listening to all my crazy. She always does, she might laugh in my face, but she will always reassure my crazy. And my friend Courtney when I had a freak out at work and didn't know who to ask. They were all supportive but probably laughing inside. I think having friends going through all this helps.

I'm almost 18 weeks along. I am now more relaxed about the pregnancy. I still wonder and worry, but not like before. I believe there is a baby in there. I love hearing the heartbeat at the doctor. I'm not sure that can ever get old. Last time we were there we could hear little movements on the doppler too. I can't wait to feel those little movements! Now that will make things fun and interesting! And while I have so much to get finished before December 4th, I am excited to meet this baby. Life will not be the same, but it can only get better in what my little family will have to offer my life.

Trying this out...

Lately it seems when I sign into Facebook, many friends are posting their blogs. I've had blogs in the past in school but never really got into the whole blogging scene. But, I'm going to try to give this another try. I will probably have a lot of randomness in my postings and they will be on several subjects. I'm not sure if that's the point of a blog or not, we shall see. I'm not even sure who will read my blog, but I guess if nobody does I can write for myself. I've never been one to use writing as an outlet for my feelings, maybe I can start. So here goes nothin'...