A List

Like some people I know, I am a big fan of making lists. So, in the spirit of list-making, I have decided to make....a....list!
Here are two lists about my how I feel about my pregnancy:
Reasons why I'm Excited!
1. After nannying and working in the public school system I am excited to accept the challenge and blessing of motherhood! I am excited to utilize everything I've learned about raising and educating children, and I'm excited for a new, deep perspective on what I've learned so far.
2. I'm excited that there will be a little life connecting Travis and I; our child is someone who we will both love with all our hearts for the rest of our lives...what a wonderful thing to share!
3. I'm excited to experience pregnancy and motherhood, because it's something that is so natural and a powerful experience that I will have in common with all of the mothers throughout time!
4. Travis and I both LOVE children and are excited to have a child of our own!
5. I'm excited to see Travis be a daddy. He is so gentle and good with children, I think that it will make me love him even more! (If that's possible!).
6. Of course I think that I will just be the best mom ever and that our child will be a little angel and I just can't wait to shock everybody with our perfect child! Kind of a joke, but in a way it's not. Of course every parent thinks his/her child is the best kid ever!

Reasons why I'm Nervous about Being Pregnant:
1. Tomorrow is my first doctor's appt, and right now I'm mostly just nervous that I'm not pregnant, or that something is horribly wrong. I've never been so excited to see a doctor!
2. I would have liked the process to take a little bit longer...like, maybe long enough to move into a house! :) Of course I'm nervous about settling into a home, working and parenting full-time, the expense of having a child, my grad school options, etc. There's a lot to worry about!
3. I don't want to turn into a yuppy, tuned-out parent. I don't want to be stressed and haggard and consumed by the mortgage, the kids, the cars, etc. My youngest brother recently said (when discussing my pregnancy) that now is the most important time to be pursuing spirituality and meditation and striving for simple living, and I think he is just so wise!
4. My goodness, my body is already doing funny things! Of course I'm nervous about the havoc that is about to be wreaked on my cute little tummy, etc.!

Believe it or not, this is the short list!

Laughing together

This is my favorite wedding photo! We don't care how irreverent we're being, where we are, what's going on...we're selfish with the way we constantly steal moments of laughter!

I think it might be important to post a wicked cute picture of me and my new hubby! :)

First blog! (On this blog)

Okay, I have given in and started a new blog! But I miss my old one. It's fun to go back to facesinacrowd and look at what I was thinking and feeling about 2 years ago...so much has changed! In a way it's appropriate to start a new blog, though. Facesinacrowd represents a time when I had moved away from home for good for the first time and was just starting to test the waters of "the real world." Now I have been in "the real world" for a little while, and feel that the shifting currents of my identitiy have finally started to become a steady body of water! I am so glad to meet myself! :) I am married, I am settled in the Midwest (for now!) and have a baby on the way. I feel like life is finally settling down...but, I also have this feeling that life is just starting to get really interesting...