Reality Check

Jon's birthday is in a little over a week. 28. Wow. As we've gotten closer to his birthday, it's reminded me of a conversation we had his last birthday. It's been a year since we started down this road to a family. A year of learning new things, doing research, observing others. And still no baby. I kinda thought it would be a breeze to get pregnant. I go off the pill--I get pregnant. I was thinking six months, tops. It's been a slight shock to realize that this year-long process has not produced the results we expected.

However, I'm so thankful for this year. Our marriage has strengthened, we've enjoyed times with family and friends, we've watched as Karen has almost made it through her 9 months of pregnancy, and we've trusted God with His timing.

I've also been thankful that our journey has been somewhat a solitary one. Not many people know, at this point, that we even want children right now. I imagine it would take a dense person to miss that we hold babies whenever we can, that we ask lots of questions, and that we no longer make anti-baby jokes. But I've hoped that people would chalk that up to all the exposure to babies that we've had this year. Anyway, whether people know or have guessed or are still in the dark, it's nice to not have to answer constant questions and be thinking about it all the time.

And really, for the most part, we don't think about it. We're excited about where God has us now, and that keeps us busy and content where we are!

At some point, if our inability to conceive becomes more than a slight disappointment--if it becomes a burden that weighs heavily on us--we would be the first to talk about it with our families and friends. You are our support group, and we would be eager to have you share our load for awhile. Right now, though, Jon and I are content to trust in God's timing, and not worry about the months that have gone by. And hopefully, when we talk with you about it, it's not to lean on you in our discouragement, but to announce the coming of the our little Newbie! (Of course, by the time you read this, that will have already happened!)

We should hire ourselves out!

There's been a rash of babies born the last couple of months. Well, three babies. Anyway, it turns out that Jon and I have quite a way with the little ones. Jon has them staring adoringly into his eyes (I think it's his deep voice that gets 'em), and I successfully calmed a screaming baby today. We're both pretty proud of ourselves and think we'd be pretty darn good parents. I'm sure our opinion will change when we have our own screaming child to deal with. Until then, we've decided we should hire ourselves out to those parents whose pre-baby confidence has been shattered.