...We have an announcement. 
If I didn't already believe in my Heavenly Father's guiding hand, these past few months would have confirmed to me without a doubt that He is watchful of me and has a plan for me, my life, and my family. 
We are welcoming into this world a new little one--hence forth to be known as "Blueberry"*--and we are so excited. Not only is it going to be an adventure, but it is a miracle. And not just your average miracle of childbirth stuff. I am talking no-way-on-earth-this-baby-could've-come-to-our-family-without-divine-mandate.
Between internships, finals that last for two months or longer, insurance issues, and all the other fun things, it has been well-nigh impossible for us to have a baby during law school. And not just improbable, I mean impossible. Add to those fun facts that this summer has been one full of every physical ailment short of scurvy (at one point I told Bryce that we had to stop joking about what kind of illnesses Little and I could add to our already rapidly accumulating pile of germs, because apparently thinking about it is enough for us to contract it) and Bryce being MIA for his internship, and you certainly do not have a recipe for a baby. And yet, miracle of miracles, a little plus sign showed up on a test a couple of months ago.
It has already been a much rougher pregnancy than the first, mostly because I have been sick beyond belief, but Bryce and Little have been heroes and kept the house functioning and me laughing while I've been down-and-out.
One day I walked into the kitchen to thank Bryce for doing the dishes for the millionth time. The conversation went something like this: 
   Me: "Thanks so much for doing all the work around here!"
   Bryce: "Is this what you normally do everyday?"
   Me: "Eh, more or less."
   Bryce: "Your life sucks!"
I had a good laugh about that one. When he's being serious he makes sure I know that he would gladly do the house work rather than trade me places at the moment. 
Little has also been a champ at making me feel better. Sometimes he will go fetch Bryce if he thinks I need some extra snuggles, but most of the time Bryce isn't allowed near me because Little has decided it is his job and his alone to help me when I'm sick. I seriously could not ask for a sweeter child. 

I'll say this much: It is certainly going to be an adventure. A crazy, all-new adventure. Welcome, welcome Blueberry! We're excited to meet you. 



*We're calling it "Blueberry" because when it was blueberry-sized and wreaking havoc on my system, I asked Bryce what a blueberry said and he responded with "Blargh!" Since that is what our dear little fetus has continued to say without ceasing, the nickname is sticking.

This was us 4 years ago. Can you believe it? I guess more accurately, this portrays the importance/joyful feeling inside on the day. This is how we actually looked most of the day:

Man Alive! That was an exhausting day! Some days it seems like it was yesterday and others it feels like it was a lifetime ago. Every day I find new reasons to thank my Heavenly Father for practically throwing this wonderful man into my life and for loving me enough to bless me with nothing I was looking for and everything I needed and wanted. 
Life with Bryce so far has one big adventure--sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse--and I wouldn't trade it for anything. What we can't laugh through, we cry through and brush ourselves off to come out better on the other side. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing man to balance me and love me through all of it. 

We were on a drive a bit ago and started planning our mid-life crisis; traveling, school teaching, beach sitting, etc. And yes, I acknowledge that one may or may not happen and the planning thereof would make it null and void as a crisis, but it made me realize a few things.
First of all, let's be honest... if one or the other of us does indeed have a legitimate crisis, it is more than likely going to be me and Bryce will be along for the ride. However, the important part of that is that he will indeed come along with me. I will never truly have a crisis in my life because I am married to a perfect-for-me man who takes whatever my latest obsession/fiasco is and doesn't try to change it or fix it (most of the time =), but knows me well enough to roll with it until I am ready to fix it and then steps in to help with whatever I need. It is a standing joke between us that even before we got married, he knew what I needed before I had an inkling of it, but waited to say so until I did. Ex: the L-word conversation. 
   ME: "I... ummm... well... I love you."
   BRYCE: "I know."
I kid you not. That is exactly how it went. Bryce had said it months previous, but made sure to mention it casually enough and move on with the conversation quickly enough that there was no pressure on me to say it back, or say anything about it. I--not realizing that I was already in love with him--didn't have to talk about it or face the facts until much later when I had thought it out, pondered all the ins and outs, and come to the very evident conclusion that I did indeed love him too. Then when it came to actually saying the words, I stressed and stressed about telling him and about my terrible timing, only to have him say, "I know." 
He does that all the time. Seriously, all the time. I come to some grand conclusion about a thing that has been constantly on my mind for who knows how long, only to find that he already knew what conclusion I would come to and has been allowing me to puzzle it out knowing that is the only way I will truly be satisfied with the answer. It would be annoying, but due to the fact that he is always right (yes, Honey, you are allowed to revel in that) and I can honestly say it has never been a bad move, I've come to appreciate it more than I can say. 

Not only does he know how my crazy mind works, but he is willing to go with it. I say, "Hey, Wonderful... I think I want to be an astronaut." and he says, "I'll check online for cheap space suits." He'd probably take a minute to consider and talk some sense into me or come up with alternatives, but if I was really sold on the idea he would do his best to figure out the most logical way to go about doing it and point out all the holes in my plan until we had a working one.

On top of that, he does it with whatever level of excitement it requires. This is a pretty common conversation in our house...
   ME: "Look at the shirt I made."
   BRYCE: "Cool."
   ME: "No, no. You're supposed to be way more excited than that."
   BRYCE: "Oh, I mean, WOW! That is the most amazingly awesome shirt I have ever seen!" (There is usually some jumping around at this point to emphasize the excitement).
And yes, it usually starts jokingly, but in the end if I am super excited about something, he is too. If it is a big deal to me, it is a big deal to him. That goes for the positive as well as the negative. Granted, the negative comes with significantly more let's-talk-this-through-before-we-make-it-a-big-deal, but in the end it's the same principle. He not only makes me feel important, he genuinely makes me important. 

In essence, whatever life has in store for us from this point forward is just fine with me because I have the bestest-man-in-the-wide-world by my side through it. Mid-life-non-crisis with Bryce is looking pretty good from here; and if we/I ever do have an actual mid-life crisis, Bryce will be right there crisising with me (or keeping it from being a crisis). He will be with me through all the crazy twists and turns our life takes to ground me and help me through and be the amazing man that he is. 

PS: I have to apologize for all the strange highlighting lately. I'll have to figure out why it is doing that. 

We headed out to California this past weekend to surprise my Grandma and Grandpa with a visit from all of us sisters. It was a blast! Not to mention the first time we'd all been together in 4 years. Crazy. We all decided that 4 years is way too long not to see all your sisters. Grandma and Grandpa were more surprised than I've ever seen them when we all showed up. They knew my dad was coming for a visit and that there was some surprise, but all eight of us on their doorstep was something I'm guessing they never imagined. We flew/drove in from all over so that we could all be there for the big moment, and even though we were only able to be there for a few days all together, it was definitely worth the trip and something we'll never forget.

We did all sorts of great things, not the least of which was eating at our favorite restaurant. I am pretty sure with the exception of the hanging parrots that used to cover the ceiling, it has barely changed at all since we lived there when I was a kid.