A Lifetime Ago

That's how long it has been since I've blogged. I was never the most consistent blogger but this is an all-time record.

Wow, how do I sum up the last almost 9 months? The answer is quickly--so that I can quickly get you up to date and onto more "current" things.

Back in May, we loaded up all of our worldy possessions in our cars and a trailer and moved to Southlake, Texas. We were blessed with a very safe drive and other than the boredom of a few stretches (I'm talking about you, Las Cruces, New Mexico), we had a pretty smooth trip. We spent one night in Tucson and two nights in Odessa before we made it to the storage unit in Keller. We took a few bags with us to Aaron's aunt and uncle's house where they were kind enough to make us feel so incredibly welcome for a month.

That month was pretty great. After meeting in law school, we finally had a month to just spend time together! We worked out, played with the dogs, saw friends in Texas we'd missed so much, ate good Tex-Mex and BBQ and tried to stay cool. Man, it was one hot summer.

After a month, we decided that we would not wear out our welcome and we found a little 1BR apartment in North Dallas. We picked the location because I started working at lululemon athletica. As you can imagine, the job was pretty much a dream come true for me. I got to wear workout clothes to work--and not just any workout clothes. I was able to--and encouraged strongly--to take as many fitness classes as possible. And, I got to meet amazing friends who were just as crazy about working out as I was. All was great until the schedule got old. As great as my time at lulu was, retail is retail and along with that comes nights and weekends. After too many of those nights and weekends spent not at home with my favorite person, I knew it was time for a change.

I was so blessed with an opportunity to apply for a job at UT Dallas. After a few interviews, I was offered the position of Assistant Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the business school. I have been at my job since the end of September and I feel incredibly lucky. I have an amazing boss and I love what I do.

During this time, we were so fortunate that Aaron was working on multiple contract jobs. Although he sometimes had a little bit of a long commute, we are so thankful for the way God provided this employment while he was looking for more permanent employment.

We found an amazing church home at The Branch in Farmers Branch and thanks to some very special people, we got plugged in right away. Before long, we were in a small group, Aaron was part of the softball team, and we were teaching 3 year olds on Sunday mornings. Our preacher is outstanding and we couldn't be any happier with our new church family.

And now, the fun stuff. There is, of course, so much I am leaving out but the thing is, there's so much more life that IS happening...RIGHT NOW.

In late October, Aaron and I started looking for a house. This was a risky move because we were still sort of unsure where Aaron would end up for work and we didn't want to buy anything that would make his commute unbearable. After a few trips out with our realtor, we stumbled upon the perfect little house for us. We made an offer in November and before we knew it, we were printing out bank statements and every other document imaginable.

In late November, Aaron's interview train pulled into the station. He had a handful of interviews and many seemed promising. One in particular was with Frost Bank, a regional and well-respected Texas bank.

Enter December.

We were excited to head to California for Christmas, thankful for the ease of the transition we had experienced over the past few months and all the recent happenings for us--church, house, job.

December 16, 6am: A positive pregnancy test.

Praise God! We had no idea (Aaron says he had an idea but I sure didn't). What a blessing and the timing could not have been more perfect with seeing family over Christmas.

December 22-26 Christmas in California

December 27: Closed on our new house

December 28: Aaron starts his new job at Frost

December 31: We move into our new house

That is what you call the fast track to grown-up life, my friends. To say we are blessed just doesn't even do it justice. We are THRILLED for all of the things that God has entrusted us with--amazing jobs that we love, a house that is quickly becoming our home, a NEW LIFE--a baby Echols! It makes me want to go to my knees.

To add to all of that, while we were at the doctor for my first appointment with our OB, we learned of an opportunity that was too good to pass up. This little muffin joined our family on January 14 and it will never be the same!

Scout is half Boerbel (mastiff) and half black lab. She was born on 11/30/11 so she is roughly 2 weeks younger than our baby. She will grow to about 70-90 pounds full size and so we are enjoying this puppy stage because we know she won't be this way forever. She is so much fun and, not that we're biased, one of the smartest dogs we've ever known. Taking on a puppy with a new house and a baby on the way may seem crazy but it has been so good for us to make the transition from just worrying about ourselves to living on a schedule and caring for someone else. I think it's one of the best things we could have ever done to prepare for baby. We are confident that her and baby E will be the best of friends.

And Baby E...what can I say? We love him or her so much already that it's crazy to think that we could love it any more than we do now. Baby E has been a pleasure. I have not been sick at all and life is pretty much normal for me. In the beginning, I was pretty tired but that has only gotten better. I credit exercise and hydration for feeling good. I have been able to keep up with my workouts--I usually can get in about 6 days a week. I've been cleared by my dr. for running and yoga and so Aaron and I are planning to do the Dallas Rock N Roll half marathon next month so long as baby cooperates. We saw Baby E's heartbeat at 8 weeks and heard it at 11 weeks...which is awesome...there's nothing like seeing that or hearing that.

I'm planning to at least do a once a week summary of how I'm feeling and looking. If this bores you, just skip on over it, my feelings won't be hurt:)

WEEK 13

-Baby E is the size of a peach.
-Aversions: Depends on the hour, really.
-Cravings: Vitamin Water Zero and grape gatorade (I've had this one for almost 2 weeks now).
-Weight Gain: none.
-Baby Bump: none, sadly. I'm dying for one!
If you will forgive my sleepy face (this was at 6am pre-yoga)...


Look at that, we're all caught up. And it's Valentine's Day, double win! Hope you get to spend it with those you love most!