BIG surprise from Minahan land!

Well here it is. We have officially reached another new chapter in our lives. We are having a BABY! And  Baby Minahan will be here in June! :)

We found out October 25th when I was just about 4-5 weeks along. I took the first test and came out to the living room, grabbed riley brought him to the bathroom and cried alot! He took the news far better then me. For reassurance Riley went to the store to fetch some more tests and after 3 positive tests we were pretty positive. Just to be sure Riley took a test as well. Thankfully it came back negative.

We told only our parents right away and tried to keep the secret for as long as possible. News began to leak out a littler faster then we might have liked. And alas, here we are, 11 weeks and two days so here you go world

It was a super scary thought at first. Here we are facing an 18 month deployment separation and I will be on my own for the rest of the pregnancy. So no, for those that were wondering, we weren't really trying and it was by no means planned. But after the initial shock, I've grown to see this baby as a blessing and now feel safely assured that we wont have any problems expanding our family. We are so thankful that all of our family is already signing up to take turns coming down here to help out after Riley leaves again and after the baby is born. Not to mentioned all of our great supportive friends we have made down here. They are like a second, local family to us and we greatly appreciate them all!

It was so nice atleast having Riley here for the beginning to help me through what seems to have been the roughest part so far.  Morning Sickness was my enemy for about two solid weeks where I loved off of ginger ale and saltines. (I still have the fridge fully stocked with canada dry)

here is baby M at 9 weeks and 5 days

i am missing riley like crazy and have already started the countdown to (his first) homecoming and we are praying here he will be here for the birth! I am having my moments where my hormones are getting the best of me but with almost one week down Im doing better then expected.

round 2. here we go.

I dont even know the last time I posted.. I think i did maybe once the whole home cycle but most likely its because we were super busy and trying to enjoy every moment together we could. SO SO much has been going on that deployment season snuck up on us again. I was strong all the days leading up to it. But when I woke up yesterday morning I knew it was getting real and I started losing it. Im not ready to be with out my best friend and partner in life for such a long time again.

2012 has been a blessed year for our little family. In april we got married. In october we closed on our first home together.  And so much more.. but thats for later..We've gotten to take a few mini trips and meet some great new people. of course I didn't take all the pictures I wanted to take so I could display these new memories in frames around the house. I know I have a million things to do around the house, and plenty of friends, and several trips home to get me through these next 170 days but right now I'm still in denial its happening. I fell back asleep after dropping him off and dreamed about it. For a moment when I woke up I thought it was all a bad dream and I could just wait for him to walk through the door tonight but then reality hit again and so did the tears.

Theres not much else to say but I want my best friend back. the sooner the better.

Yes Im a Minahan

So here we are. Many months after deployment has ended. Almost at the half way point of the home cycle already and there have been so many many changes and most of them so wonderful.

To recap, shortly after riley got home from deployment we moved to middleburg. The burg life has its own unique set of issues the worst of which is the morning commute that comes with living all the way out here but what can you do.

January brought as back to massachusetts to visit friends and family which was great but for the stomach bug that was passed around. It was so great to see everyone and spend quality time with family even if it did include 8 hours of watching Axmen because we were too sick to even find the remote.

February brought so much happiness into our lives including me starting a new job. It has its ups and downs but overall it has been a great experience with a mostly great group of people. Some days I still regret ever deciding to go to law school.. ok well most days.. but still sometimes I guess what I do is pretty ok and will be even better once i can get more involved in family law. However february didnt come with out some tears. I lost a woman who was very near and dear to my heart, who has been in my life and been like a grandmother to me since i moved into my home at 2 years old. After a sudden decrease in health, and a few short months of a downward struggle, our sitho passed away. I always told her she would dance at my wedding. It will be a little piece of emptiness when the day of our real wedding comes and she isn't there. Within a week, my uncle lost his long time girlfriend and companion to a battle of cancer. Having already been through this once when his brother passed my family was quick to gather around and support him. Those are the moments i miss not being there with my family to feel there love and to give my support.

I am thankful for our family now that we have started down here. Not just the two of us and our fur babies but our extended military family as well. Which I suppose this bring me to the real point of this post.. which is YES WE ARE LEGALLY MARRIED... and YES we are still having a real wedding.

I know its difficult to understand that the military life is different when you are not apart of it. Especially if when from the surface it doesnt look as though anything is different but let me tell you it is. I thought the same thing. Oh he's Naval Air, its not like the army or marines where I always have to worry about war, deployments, etc. Nope.. its still very military.. my other half is owned by the military. they can take him at any time and send him wherever they want and we have no say in it. And, unless you have that little piece of paper from the courthouse they frankly don't care that you exists. And after going through one deployment with out existing, it was about time I did. That little piece of paper makes a big difference. It means health insurance, life insurance, increased financial support, and perhaps most importantly increased access to support from other people who know exactly how it feels to spend another night alone, and how to prepare for 6 months of many sleepless nights. So yes since we were already planning on doing it anyways and we did it. And I couldnt be happier or more greatful for our life together.

 I am truly thankful to have such an amazing man in my life, who can turn even the worst of days around. I could come home wanting to punch people and throw things after the days we have at work and by bedtime I usually forget why I was ever upset.

now YES we are still have our big wedding and YES we are still have a ceremony portion that we want all our friends and family to be apart of. We want to be able to share that experience with the people who mean so much to us. The military may deprive us of many other things, including a honeymoon any time soon, but it will not deprive us of this as well.. (well.. fingers crossed..)

well that I think about gets me up to speed on our life in the sunshine state and i'll end on this very humbling note. I will only say this... We have been getting to know our neighbors, a single mom with 4 kids who also took into her home two other neighbors who were about to be homeless..getting to spend all this time with them make you appreciate the little things in life and also realize there is more to life then what we usually get caught up in, in our every day world. I am thankful to have met them and get to know them. Its a great reminder to cherish every memory.. the laughs the smiles, the trips, the phone calls and even the tears.... and with that..

Live the life you love, love the life you live <3