One Year Ago Today...

...life changed forever. August 11, 2014 was the day we found out we were pregnant with our first baby! If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know we lost our first baby girl to a chromosomal defect called triploidy. We made it through almost half the pregnancy before God decided to bring her home early.

It's crazy to think it's been a year since this whole journey started. Honestly, today does not make me sad. Sure I would love to be staring at sweet chubby cheeks and kicking legs as I think back on this day a year ago, but just the memory of how that day went down is enough to make me smile. 

In the spirit of feeling nostalgic, I thought I would share how I remember that day and our honest reactions to that positive pee stick. 

We had only been living in Virginia a little over a month, and Parker was busy with furniture projects. He had just built our new coffee table (I think...he built a lot during that time frame, so it could have been a different piece of furniture that day) and was painting it while I worked in my office. I was always late but had taken a negative pregnancy test just 4 days before, so I wasn't thinking much of it. 

The fumes from the paint were really strong, and I was worried they might harm the baby if there actually was a baby, so I decided to take another test on a whim. I took the test, left it on the counter, and walked back into my office to check a couple of emails. When I walked back in, clear as day, a big 'ole plus sign was staring straight at me. What?! 

I grabbed the test, ran to Parker, handed it to him, and started crying. Even when you are trying to get pregnant, nothing can prepare you for the sheer shock and awe of seeing a positive test. Parker laughed, we hugged, and it's all kind of a blur from there. We went to the back of the house to get away from the paint fumes and just couldn't believe it. We took a walk after I was having a hard time sitting still, and pretty much every conversation from there on out was about this exciting/terrifying/shocking/amazing news we had just found out. 

A year ago today was the first day of the new normal. Life hasn't been the same since and never will be, but I am so grateful a year ago today was not just another Monday. As crazy as it sounds, there are couples out there who would love to have gone on the journey we did. We got to be pregnant and create a life, and it's something I don't take for granted. This past year has been the hardest yet most rewarding year of my life, and I wouldn't take back a single day. August 11th, 2014 will always be one of the happiest days of our lives!