It all started when...

It all started when... Laura woke up on our last day of vacation in Key Largo with lots of our family enjoying the Florida sunfor a week. As we were about to start packing up for a plane back to the Grand Rapids snow that was covering every inch of everything Laura sat up and said that she felt sick to her stomach for a quick second and then it passed. I honestly thought she had just gotten up too fast and really didn't think much about it. We had been trying to get pregnant but we both didn't really make the connection that day of how our lives were about to change.

The next couple days she continued to feel sick and she caught on much sooner than I did. I remember a few days later walking into the bathroom after getting home from work and seeing a positive pregnancy tester in the bathroom (There could have been more than one but I can't remember much after that) I went in the room and had a wonderful moment.

This was such a wonderful secret to have and we were careful not to tell anyone until we were to a point that we knew the pregnancy had a good healthy start. We had been trying for two years and knew there could be many hurdles in front of us and wanted to make sure we moved slow...good for me that was my normal pace!

Then our lives gets crazy with a new job offer that moves me away from Laura and Grand Rapids to beautiful Traverse City. It was a hard decision that we didn't take lightly but we thought in the long run it was worth the risk. While it has been hard we have been lucky with the Skype option and regular meetings in Grand Rapids that allow us to see each other as much as possible.

It gets more and more interesting as Laura has had job interviews here in Traverse City as she has begun showing. It has posed many interesting questions about if you should tell the employer that you are pregnant? Do you stop trying for a job until after the child is born because it doesn't make sense to you or the employer at some point? What is a pre-existing condition and how do you navigate that minefield when changing jobs? How do you rent a house when you are on one income (a non-profit income at that), or do you move in with family? How do you move back home when you haven't lived in your parents house in 14 years in my case? Lots of really interesting but exhausting things to consider.

We are getting close to Laura moving up and hopefully might catch a break or two with the living situation. We have been lucky to have the support of family in this tsunami of a life transition that we are going through and that has meant a great deal to us.

I think this blog will be interesting because every step of the way we are continuously making little decisions that eventually will shape the rest of our lives. Most people have already made them but its amazing to see what sticks out or what has grabbed every one's attention. Who knows, but if anyone remembers what I was like as a kid (I've only heard good stories of me being an angel) then payback could be an awfully interesting journey!

-Matt