Birth to 16 Weeks

Baby Hope (From birth to 14 weeks)

Why Hope?

One year ago last night, I had a dream. In my dream, my husband and I were discussing our lives prior to meeting one another. We discussed how hope had seen both of us through our darkest, loneliest moments in life and that it was that same hope that had brought us together. In my dream we had a baby girl, her name was Hope.

When I woke up the next morning (one year ago today) I told my dear husband that if we ever had a baby, and if that baby was a girl, we should name her Hope. He agreed.

Just for kicks and giggles, that morning  I took a little test......

Because of  our combined hope (to cherish a desire with anticipation) we have HOPE!  I know that sounds a little cliche, but it couldn't be more true.  My life has taken interesting and amazing turns since the day I was born.  One year ago today, a simple test indicated that one of my greatest hopes in life would come true.

Hope Mary Nan

Born 6/21/2010

You Gotta Start Somewhere!

About four years ago, I started my first blog. Blogging about my adventures in dating and life as a single girl was so fun for me and even therapeutic.  (Random sample from the "Single Girl" Blog.)  Regular blog posts quickly became a part of my life. My desire and ability to blog pretty much came to a screeching halt in September of 2008....that's when I met the man who I now call my husband. September '08 also happens to be around the same time I stopped writing in my personal journal (something that I have done since I was a little girl!) I had lofty ideas of starting a new "family style" blog....but that faded pretty quickly as life got crazier and crazier. Over the past two years, I have become a terrible record keeper and that makes me a little sad! My reason for the decline has something to do with the ease of communicating via Facebook, oh...and maybe my "Extreme Life Makeover"....the addition of a husband, four children and a minivan....all in just 18 months! (For a little background on that see  "Dreams" from our old blog.)

I've thought about blogging again for over a year and..... TODAY IS THE DAY. You gotta start somewhere!