The Journey is Just Beginning

Not too long after finding out what we were having, my husband started writing a letter to me, without me knowing. I guess this whole writing thing I have been doing was rubbing off on him. He had become so great at it, too. The way he talks about our future child, makes my heart seriously melt.

Our baby to come was no longer just referred to as baby....

Actually, I will just let his letter do the rest of the talking.

"To my beauty, Lissa:

I want to first thank you. Thank you for being who you are. For always being so selfless in times where we needed to be selfish. For always being so caring in times when we felt we deserved more. For being so strong in times when we needed a shoulder to lean on. YOU have been the constant through this whole journey. YOU were always the one bright light that gave me reason to stay strong. YOU are what has given me reason to be better, Every. Single. Day. I know you don’t need thanks, but you deserve it, and I hope after all of this, you can finally understand that.

From the time I first met you, to our wedding day, to now, I have dreamed of this moment with you. I have dreamed of you becoming a mother to our child. You have sacrificed so much. From your countless hours of worry, your many tears shed, the many, many injections, bruises, scars, medications…Your happiness…You have given it all, for US. I will forever be indebted to you and the sacrifices you have made for us to take the next step in our lives. You will unselfishly tell me your cliché “I haven’t done anything.” Tell me you don’t need thanks or appreciation. The fact of the matter is, there are not enough words in the dictionary that I could string together in order to be able to thank you for being the foundation that has held our now growing family together.

You have painted me throughout our journey as the strong one. The tough one. Me? Tough? HAH!!! Little do you know, my toughness does not even compare to that of yours. I’ll tell you what the definition of tough is…Tough is YOU having the courage to face your fears of infertility head on. Tough is YOU juggling doctor’s appointments, sometimes multiple times a day, a stressful work schedule, errands, etc., and still being able to put that beautiful smile on your face for me when you walked through the door at night. Tough is YOU acting like nothing is bothering you on the outside while on the inside, your crumbling. Tough is scheduling your life around EVERY DAY Injections, for MONTHS. Sometimes twice a day. Tough is the bruises on your then fragile body, bloodshed, scars, tears. Tough is YOU.

I have always been proud of you and your accomplishments. You have worked hard in your profession and are well respected within your company. People absolutely love your photography skills (including me). You have always mastered your craft, whatever that may have been. Now, together, you and I get to embark on the journey of our greatest accomplishment…Parenting.

I don’t have a lot of wishes when it comes to our daughter. All I really ask is that she is healthy as that is of upmost importance. However, I can’t help but hope that she is just like you, her mother. I know she will share your beauty and your charisma. Your courage and selflessness. I can’t wait until the time comes when we get to hold her and begin teaching her everything that we think we know. Most of all, I cannot wait to see you become the one thing you have lived for throughout our journey: A mother to our Rowan Mae…

I have said it to you before and I will until the end of time. I would experience things, good or bad, a thousand times over as long as it meant I was with YOU. Thank you for making this thing we call life and everything it throws our way so effortless. I love you until the end of time, baby girl.

Love, Your Husband,

Bud "

That's right....our little bitty baby miracle is a girl!

We did not care what the sex was going to be, because we were going to be thrilled either way. We just wanted a healthy baby! So far, we are having a healthy baby girl!

Seeing how excited Bud is about this little girl, has been the most amazing thing to watch. She doesn't know it yet, but she already has him wrapped around her little finger. It is so cute how he talks about her and things they are going to do together. It makes this whole journey so worth while, already.

He was out and about one evening running errands, stopped in Hobby Lobby, and came home with this....

The journey is just beginning!