Us.......Micro Version

Here's our story in the short version.

I was 16, he was 18, when we started dating. He was "the one" I just knew it from almost the beginning. He was, and is, so very different from me, but it works. He keeps me calm. Not an easy job, but someone must do it. We dated for a while, and then after a major fight involving a Ford Festiva(seriously, we teenagers and apparently not very mature) we decided we weren't "the one" for each other. We went our separate ways, but not for too long though. 18 months later we were back together and headed towards the alter.

I was 19, and he was 20, when we were married. Too young? Not for us. We were as ready as you can be when you get married. As a side note, I love, and always have loved, being married. It's so much fun. Every day isn't easy, but that's just life. We were pretty much like every other married couple for 5 years. Here's where our story gets a little different. Not better or worse, just different.

In December 2006, we were pleasantly surprised to find out I was pregnant with baby #1. Unfortunately, I miscarried at 7 weeks. When it happened, we were obviously devastated, but in August we knew why. Chad had been diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18. That's a kinda odd age, so he was left in limbo land as far as what type he had. He was misdiagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic(the generally less severe type that can be controlled with pills). Since his initial diagnosis, Chad has always been slim, but that summer he became unhealthily(is that a word) slim. At his lowest he weighed an alarming 116lbs. He's 6 feet tall. Too low. Things hit their low(or so we thought at that time) for him, while we were on vacay in Las Vegas with my fam. When we got home, we got him to his MD and got him fixed up for a while. At this point Chad was in his second year of college, and he had promised me that he wouldn't quit until he had finished his BA. So, we decided that for his health, he should not work, go to school, and get better. That's what he did for 6 months. That was the best decision for our family.

In May 2007, we bought our first house. It's old and small, but it meets our needs. In June 2007, we found out we were pregnant again. After trying for 18 months, we were cautiously optimistic. In my heart, I knew that this baby was ours to keep.

Between November 2007 and February 2007, Chad's Type 1 diabetes(correctly diagnoses by now) reared it's ugly head again. He had an admission for DKA(life threateningly high blood sugars), and 4 episodes of severe hypoglycemia(severe low blood sugar). Needless to say my 3rd trimester was more than a little stressful.

2/15/08, our red head, Clayton, was born via planned C-Section. He was a long boy, for my short 5ft body. He has been nothing but a joy since day 1. We love being parents, and are thankful God has given this opportunity and responsibility.

May 2008, Chad was called to be the Associate Pastor at our Calvary Baptist in Lenoir, NC. That's where we are now, and we LOVE it there. It's a fantastic, old school, fundamental, Bible believing church. So glad we are there.

March 2009, we found out we were pregnant again. Surprised, but not really. We were OK with more kiddies whenever God wanted to send them our way. We had waited so long for Clayton. We told our parents at Clayton's 1st B-Day party(which was later than planned because he had gotten sick on the original party date).

April 2009, things took a turn for the strange. At a normal 12 week OB appointment we learned something was not quite right with our baby. The next week we learned that we were having a little girl, but that she had the worst prenatal diagnosis, Trisomy 18. 4/29/09 was the worst day I had ever had, or so I thought. Jo's diagnosis has changed us definitely. But, we are learning more about each other, and more about our Lord than we would have been able to had she been a "normal", healthy child. In some strange way, T18 has been good for us.

That's our story(definitely the short version), so far. I'm sure there's much more to come. And I can't wait to see the Lord has in store for us. Chad and I are so very blessed. We have a great marriage, a great Clayton, a great family, a great church, and so very much more. I don't know that I would change anything.