As soon as our first daughter, Wrennie, was born, I wanted to start a blog. Part of me wanted to keep family and friends updated with our life, and part of me just wanted to talk about myself for once. I feel like I do a lot of listening of other's lives, I am good at that, but not so good at telling what is going on in mine. I am going to give it a try...
The past couple of years have been a whirlwind to say the least...
To catch up, this is my husband Kenton and I.
We met through our match-making mutual friends in the summer of 2006. This is a picture from the camping trip that epic summer:
I had failed my University Statistics course which set me back a bit...and I am so glad it did!! I had to re-take the course in the same summer, which meant I was not going to apply to counsel at Camp Caroline like the previous year, leaving me in Edmonton. How is that good? I ran into my friend Amanda again. She suggested I come work with her at a daycare in Riverbend that she was at. I applied, and landed a summer student position. Hanging out with Amanda and her husband Scott led to meeting Kenton, just to help you put it all together.
We began dating at the end of August, almost as soon as Kenton left for his previously planned trip to Scotland and wherever else he chose to explore for the next half of the year.
He was home in 2 and a half months. You could say I had a bit of an effect on him! I still have all of the letters and pictures we sent back and forth while he was gone. Have I gone through them since? No. Why? I would either cry, or it would be like watching a bad chick flick that would make me sick. Either way, I don't think I could handle it!
I finally graduated from Taylor University College the winter of 2008 with my BA in Psychology!!
I ditched my original plan to do an after degree in teaching, and Chelsie and I spent over 3 weeks stumbling through England, France and Italy.
We actually did surprisingly well considering once we were out of any english speaking country, we were practically helpless. But Chelsie had maps, and I asked for directions, and together we actually made it back home in one piece. That is a whole other story that will get posted another day...
Until then, here am I sipping on my cappuccino in Avignon, France.
The moment I was home, I was engaged!! I couldn't even believe it. While I was away shopping like crazy in Rome, Kenton was brainstorming with my parents about the perfect location for our wedding. We spent 5 months planning the easiest wedding in history...literally! To give you an idea, I walked into The Tattered Rose in Edmonton and found my wedding dress that day. One store. First dress. That was it, and it sort of just continued like that from then on.
We were married in the fall, November 8, 2008. This was the same day as my parents 28th wedding anniversary as well.
The wedding took place at Fort Edmonton Park. The whole day was perfect, fun, and exciting...especially when we were told there would be a surprise for us that day. Who would have guessed it would be a horse-drawn carriage to take us from the ceremony to the reception? Not us, seeing as Kenton is allergic to horses!
Anyway, it's funny now. He lived, thanks to his brother who brought an inhaler with him that day, and we now know for sure that it was not just an allergy of his childhood. Good thing we confirmed that! ha...
So now we are married, and we come home from our honeymoon and I have a call for a job interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton. You see, I did not really have much of a job between coming home from Europe and getting married. I was working with kids with autism part time, but it wouldn't pan out for a full time job. So I was more than excited when I was hired for my first salary paying job with benefits and everything! My first "real" job you could say. Kenton was working for a sign company at the time. According to my mom, he was a "graphic designer". Close mom, but not really.
Just when we thought all of the excitement had died down, we found out we were pregnant!! We were so excited! Kenton wasn't at home, and I was feeling that feeling of thinking something was different. Took a test...it was positive...almost died right there. I tried calling Amanda. I tried calling Daisha. I tried calling Daisha's boyfriend, Nathan, to see if Daisha was with him.
"Hi Nathan, is Daisha there??"
"No, um is everything okay?"
"Um yep! Yep just fine!"
"Are you pregnant?"
"Maybe."
"WHAT?! Does Kenton know??"
"No, he isn't home yet."
"YES!!!"
Nathan Marshall was the first to know that I was having a baby. He will never let us forget it either. Kenton had finally come home to our little one bedroom apartment. The look on his face was sheer happiness. I wasn't worried about his reaction in the least, I knew this was good news to both of us, it was just that all of a sudden our place felt a wee bit small...
We decided to check out Nelson, B.C. for a summer vacation, and then stop in Vernon on our way home to see Kenton's Aunty Debbie and Uncle Gregg. We basically loved Nelson, in a nutshell. Gregg and Debbie took us to several wineries (where I enjoyed sparkling juice, lucky me) and my personal Vernon favorite, Davison Orchards. Their apple juice is to die for. The 4 litre jug we brought back lasted a mere week in our fridge.
More news when we get home- my sister Andrea is engaged! Her and Cam plan to get married next June 2010, woo hoo!! Andrea also graduates from Taylor (just in time- the grad ceremony was practically the closing ceremony as the college closes it's majorly in -debt doors) with her BA in English. She will spend the rest of her time trying to find a job that is hiring for something that actually pertains to this degree.
It's now August and luckily a 2 bedroom opened up in our building in the summer. We must have moved on the hottest day of the year...or so it seemed to me, the one with a built in furnace in her belly. At least we only had to move one suite over! However, this is where the adventure begins in apartment living.
We have moved in, we are settled, my maternity leave is coming up in the end of October, and we truly couldn't be more exited for the changes ahead...
