The Next Step

Pregnant. Yup, it's amazing how that one little word can do such a number on your body and life. My first trimester was riddled with the classic pregnancy straight from the textbook symptoms. I was wrought with morning sickness that never quite came in the morning, oh no, it liked to visit around 5:30 pm on my ride home from work. I would promptly pull the car over, puke on the side of the highway, wipe my mouth and continue on. I was exhausted. I felt like I could never get enough sleep, I yawned compulsively and it kind of felt like I had the on set of the flu. You know what I'm talking about, it's like your whole body is a tad achy, your super tired yet you seem to trudge through it. That was the feeling. I also was uber emotional. I found myself crying hysterically and completely freaking out my parents and Justin. Now I will give myself a little bit of leeway here - I mean I was in the middle of leaving a job, searching for a new one, planning a wedding and buying a house.

So yea, I was the quintessential preggo girl. Oh, I should not forget the acne. Now I'm one of the luckiest girls in the world because up until this whole baby situation I have been blessed with fantastic skin. But with my hormones going crazy I broke out like a pizza face, not to mention the trail of bumps on my boobs and back. ICK! Justin playfully called it tit-ne and butt-ne. (My dermatologist giggled when he heard our new vocab) I remember him looking at my poor skin and driving to the mall and buying me some pro-active. Bless his heart. Ah, but it all went away. THANK GOD!

With the 2nd trimester came a renewed sense of self. The acne cleared up (for the most part), I'm not nearly as exhausted as I was and the nausea has subsided. It also helped that Justin and I pulled off a wedding (all planed and paid for by us), bought a new house and office and we decided that I should quit looking for a job and work together and build a firm. There's an amazing peace that came with getting that all off our shoulders.

And now the third trimester is beginning! This week will mark the start of the 7th month! WOWZERS! Time has flown by and I feel like I just need a little more time! But we are going strong and forging ahead. I picked out a crib and baby room stuff for lil Cash this weekend, so the nursery will be done soon enough, Katy is planning the baby shower and almost all of the doctor's bills are paid. AH! It really amazes me how Justin and I make such a good team. I guess it takes sitting down, making a goal, sticking with it and working hard to make it all come together.

I am one lucky girl.

Amy

The BIG 3-0!

So this past Thursday I turned the BIG 3-0! Yes, this lil girl turned thirty years old and did so in stride. Most of my friends didn't take the momentous occasion so well. I don't know why, but I like getting older. I feel more comfortable and centered with myself, happier with my choices and decisions and overall I just feel content. Ah, the big C word. Some people look at being content as something that isn't good- but not this girl.

My whole life I feel like I've been searching for something, something bigger than me and I'm finally at a point where I "get it." It's not that I've achieved everything I want in life, Lord knows I have a hunger for a lot more -- BUT I am truly happy with where I am right now in this very moment. I'm an accomplished attorney who gets to use my education and knowledge to help people in their darkest moments, I found a man that loves me and supports me in all my endeavors- who is my best friend, my partner in crime and in law and he gave me the best and most wonderful gift in the world - the baby I have longed for my whole life and just didn't know it. I get to be a MOM soon and I my heart is humbled that God would bless me with such a big and wonderful responsibility.

You know, growing up I was always pretty good at stuff but never exceptional but deep down in my guts I knew I would be a great mom. I just knew it. And now I have the honor and privilege of being and doing just that.

The years have also brought me an appreciation for my parents that only time and life can give you. I am absolutely in awe of them both. Each so different yet they are the perfect pair working in unison so efficiently and loving that you can't imagine the two as a one. My Mom is the probably the hardest working, most giving, loving, easy to talk to, self-less person I know. My Dad is the more quiet type who is a great listener but also a great teacher. He's always observing everything, soaking up every detail of everything, he's always hungry for knowledge, never too judgmental and always willing and eager to teach us kids a lesson. It takes turning 30 years old to have that kind of insight into the love of a parent. In your teens, you find yourself trying to dis spell every thing they say or want for you and by the time your 20's roll around your too busy trying to live "your life" that you miss out on all the stuff they've been saying for years. So it takes moving into your 3o's to really "get" what they were saying, advising, and giving the whole time. It's your "Ah" moment if you will. I am the luckiest girl in the world because I have two parents who LOVE me, and not just love they ADORE me and they tell me so every day. And the icing on the cake -- they love, love, love, LOVE each other and in a way that very few people will every really get to experience. Having them as a role models for life, for love, for spirituality.....may be the biggest gift of all.

So with that said, turning 30 is a Joy, a Blessing and I'm just so grateful to get to settle in and just sit smack dab in the middle of it.

-A-