Us

I realized that I hadn't posted what was new in our lives as a couple in a while. Truthfully, I keep waiting for something to happen only to find myself still waiting for the next big event. I figured, though, that despite a lack of knowledge about where it's all going, I could still tell you where we are now.A very big thing in our lives has been a generous gift we just received from Jesse's grandpa. He set up a loan for Jesse and his brother Michael when their mom died years ago. This amount reached a high amount, but with the fluctuation of the economy, it was beginning to decrease. Being up in years, he also no longer wanted bank accounts and savings hanging over his head and was ready to liquidate his funds. In addition, seeing a possible need that Michael and Kaela may have for the money right now, it all seemed to determine now as the right time for releasing the money. Jesse and I first decided to tithe a tenth of the total amount to honor God with what He has given us. Then we would pay off our existing bills, specifically Jesse's hospital bill from his stitches months ago and his student loans. Then, we wanted to buy me a new car- one that is more family-friendly for having kids in the future. It's really hard as it is to get an infant out of a carseat in my two-door Ford Probe. You have to completely climb in and remove the baby from the seat maneuvering them between the carseat and the car ceiling. Not ideal at all. Furthermore, Jesse has had his heart really set on buying a truck for himself, so we decided to lessen the price of my car and get Jesse his own car as well, and sell the Probe to make up for the additional cost. From there, we want to put the remaining amount into a savings account as a down payment on a house. With our previous debt paid off, we will have an additional $900 a month to put towards any additional expenses and to add to our savings account. We are very aware of what an extreme blessing it is to be totally debt-free and have a hefty nest-egg for a house after being married only 8 months. There is a hold on the money in the bank until Friday while they verify that the money is from a valid source. Therefore, Jesse and I have yet to spend a cent of it. However, we have been looking extensively at cars for the past two weeks and each have our eyes set on the one we want. It's now just a matter of time until we are free to make the purchases.Aside from the recent financial blessings and decisions, Jesse and I have been continuing our quest for a baby. Both of us want one with our whole hearts, and the previous 5 months have been quite an emotional roller-coaster as we have been met with a series of disappointments. We both have a history of infertility in our families and that causes us to feel even more stress as each week turns into a month and each month turns into another month. Right now, we are in the midst of another waiting game as we anticipate fertility and a positive or negative result. We have decided that by mid-March if everything is still coming up negative, we will seek the counsel of a doctor. While I don't believe they will be too concerned about infertility considering that we've been trying for less than a year, perhaps they can give us any advice about ways to increase our chances of conceiving. And if we can provide them with a knowledge of our family history, our doctor can determine how concerned he is about us inheriting these problems. As we deal with every disappointment and insecurity, we are learning to take our fears and broken hearts to God. For me, it doesn't give me a sudden feeling of relief upon releasing it into God's hands. Rather, it is a matter of taking it before God over and over again with every crisis I face, pleading for strength to get through it and for faith to trust in His timing. Jesse and I pray together lifting up our desires to God and Jesse does a good job of consoling me as I experience all of the emotions. As we continue to go through this, I will keep updating everyone. And you can be certain that as soon as I learn that I am pregnant, I won't be able to contain the secret.Aside from these things, I am working on one of my best friend's baby shower as she anticipates the arrival of her firstborn in April. Jesse has also begun playing football for the Eugene Outlaws, the local semi-pro team. While Jesse is discovering it's not the same as high school or college ball,I think that he enjoys being on a competitive team again and getting back into shape. He's recently joined a gym and signed up with a personal trainer who works him hard. He currently doesn't plan on playing again next year, but I'm glad he pursued it this year. Otherwise, I fear that he always would've wondered what could've been.On a day-to-day basis, it doesn't seem that our lives are too eventful. But as we make every decision and face every event, high or low, I am thrilled to be experiencing it with the love of my life. After all, it's every thing, mundane and exciting together, that make today just another day in paradise...

The Birth of My Nephew

Today I got to witness a miracle. After weeks of false labors and constant questions concerning due dates, my sister-in-law, Kaela, was induced to give birth today. She went in at 6:30am, was admitted, and given medication to start the labor. Jesse and I joined her just after 8:30 to find Kaela and Michael in good spirits along with Kaela's mom and sisters, Katie and Angi, who joined us shortly. At this point, her contractions were 3 minutes apart and she was about 4 cm dilated. As her contractions got stronger and stronger, Kaela finally asked for her epidural. We all were made to leave as she was given her meds. By the time we were allowed back in, nearly an hour later, it was nearing noon and everyone was getting pretty tired from the long day thus far. So Kaela turned over to take a nap as both Michael and Jesse began to snooze in their seat. Kaela's mom and sisters decided to go for a walk and set off. About 30 minutes later, Michael received a phone call from another family member which woke Kaela up as well. Upon waking up, Kaela felt an extreme amount of pressure and pushed her button to release more meds but felt no relief. So, at this point a nurse was called in to check on the situation. As Kaela described her need to push, the nurse replied that it may actually be time to do so. As soon as she checked Kaela, she knew that this baby was coming immediately and urgently called for extra doctors and nurses. Michael tried to call Kaela's family but got no answer. So Jesse set out to find them while I remained the only other family member in the room. With only 4 pushes in less than 10 minutes, there was a healthy baby boy born at 1:05 pm. Angi made it back just in time to see the body of the baby be delivered but I ended up being the only person to witness the entire birth. It was amazing!Michael was able to cut the umbilical cord and give the baby his first bath. The little one, named Korbin James Peterson, weighed in at 7 lbs 2.6 oz and was 20 in long. He is probably the most perfect little baby I've ever seen. Absolutely beautiful and completely healthy!

It All Comes Down to This...

I have already announced that I completed my college education. After countless hours of classes, tests, and many, many essays, I received a piece of paper in the mail the other day summing up the total existence of those 4 and 1/2 years. What's kinda weird, though, is the sticker on my degree says "Summa Cum Laude" denoting that I graduated with the highest honors. However, according to the school website and my cumulative GPA on my transcript, I technically would've ended the year with the 2nd highest honors of Magna Cum Laude. Fortunately, the error is in my favor making me look even smarter than I really am. :-) Here it is:

A Brand New Year

2008 is a year filled with endless possibilities for the two of us and I'm more than excited to discover what it has in store for us.Originally, we were planning on moving into a new place as soon as our lease was up. However, as it turned out, we either had to renew our lease on a month by month basis and pay $50 more a month, renew it for 6 months and pay $20 more a month, renew it for a year at the same rate we pay now, or move out by the end of January. While, we thought we may want to move, the idea of having to find a new place, pack up, and pay multiple fees and deposits in moving into the new place seemed like too much in such a short amount of time. The whole reason we wanted to move was to save money and prepare for a future family by gaining an extra bedroom. However, after rethinking everything, we realized that if I were to become pregnant right now, the baby wouldn't be born for another 9 months, leaving us with only 3 months out of the entire year to use that extra bedroom for its intended purpose. Therefore, was it really necessary to move into a two bedroom place so soon? Furthermore, we're making our rent payments perfectly well so we figured we didn't need to spend the money or the time to move into a new apartment/house when it probably wouldn't save us very much and a baby would be too far down the road to make the extra room worthwhile.Speaking of babies, that's actually what we're hoping for the most in this upcoming year. At the beginning of December, Jesse and I decided that we were ready to begin a family together. Up to this point, we've kept it very much on the downlow. I've wanted to be a mom my entire life. Just getting married and having kids was my goal from a very young age. When we got married, I had to accept the fact that Jesse was a couple of years younger than me and not quite ready to be a dad and that we had just gotten married and needed time to be a couple apart from kids. At that time, I began watching friend after friend announce their new pregnancies. Without exaggeration, I have known over 20 people in the past 6 months who have been pregnant. During this same time period, the most common question I have been asked is if I was pregnant yet. In fact, during the first months of our marriage, I was asked, on average, 5 times a week, without exaggeration. This has been especially emotional for me, but I've had to lay it in God's hands and trust that He knows best. When Jesse told me a month ago that he was ready to have a baby with me, it was one of the most joyous events in our relationship. But I didn't want to reveal the good news to everyone for fear that I'd never hear the end of the pregnancy inquiries. I promise, though, that as soon as I have an answer to those questions, though, everyone will be informed.As for other new things this year, having just completed my final term of school, I am excited to be done with classes, essays, and tests, receive my degree, and walk in the commencement ceremony in May. I am also interested in seeing how God wants me to use this education in a future career or ministry. I have no idea what kind of job I may be doing long term, but have many passions and talents that I am interested in pursuing. But, for now, I am going with the flow until I have a clearer direction.Jesse is realizing more and more that he loves his job and it sounds like he may stay for a long time. Depending on finances, his job, and a possible baby, though, Jesse may decide to return to school to further his education. That could change his whole direction, but with as well as he's been doing in his job so far, there could also be more opportunities in his workplace.Furthermore, while we've been doing just fine financially, Jesse and I recently began going through a financial seminar in our marriage class at church. We've been learning a whole new way of saving and spending that we are trying to implement in our lives. I look forward to seeing how these changes can impact our pocket books in the future months.Aside from these things, I have no idea what could be in store for the next year, but just imagining all of the possibilities is exciting, and as each new event occurs, I'll be sure to let you know...

Our First Christmas Together

This year, we were particularly excited to spend our first Christmas and New Year's together, and the holiday proved to exceed our expectations. On Christmas Eve, Jesse spent the day preparing a wonderful meal. He made stuffed chicken breasts, potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, lots of cookies, and a cherry cheesecake. Late that afternoon, my brother and mom showed up to spend the evening with us. Jesse did a fantastic job on the food. I was so proud of him because he had never made such an extravagant meal and it turned out really well. We all enjoyed a platefull of food and watched the movie Elf. Afterwards, we took turns opening our presents. It was a joy to watch everyone unwrap something they'd really wanted or really liked. My biggest gift was a brand new digital camera from my awesome husband. It was the one thing I had really been wanting and Jesse splurged to get it for me. He also wrote me a note to go with it. I couldn't even make it past the 2nd line before I could no longer read it due to the tears streaming down my face. He, instead, read it to me while I cried uncontrollably. I truly am extremely blessed to have married the love of my life. He is the biggest answer to prayer I have ever received. I, in turn, bought Jesse the complete first season of his favorite show Heroes. His other favorite gift was the video game Assassins Creed he got from my mom. I liked the fact that Jesse got a pair of Santa boxers and a matching hat. :-) David's big gift was a guitar that my mom gave him, while my mom received several items of clothing that she really liked and a picture of Jesse and me. In addition, it hailed giving us an almost white Christmas! Everyone seemed to have a very nice time. The next day, we moved everything over to my aunt's house where more of my family joined us for a big lunch and more gifts. Jesse and I got a gift card to the movies, a scarf for me, an ornament marking our first Christmas, and money which we always like.

It's been really enjoyable to have this time with Jesse. The best Christmas we've both ever had. We hope sometime to visit Jesse's family in Coos Bay this next week and I'm excited for all that the New Year holds in store.