Our Story

Tim and I met in one of the most romantic ways... at a bar!  Little did I know that the night I spied him walking into Black Bear, I was looking at my future husband.  I distinctly remember noticing him because he was so tall (and as a tall girl, you are ALWAYS on the look out for good-looking tall men), and I said to my friend, "I'm going to talk to that boy tonight".  Well, talk I did.  We chatted for a while and noticed we had quite a lot in common, and... I gave T my number that night.  I had never given a "stranger" my number before.  Ever.  It was big.

At the time, I was a senior in college and T was living/working about 3 hours away.  I wasn't thinking about starting a relationship, especially with someone so long distance.  T was persistent though.  Every time I tried to shake him, he'd call or send me a cute card in the mail and pull me back in.  It was a slow beginning, but I didn't stand a chance.

A Throwback Pic

Soon, T moved to NJ.  After graduation, I moved home to my parent's house and I settled down from my "wild and crazy" days at school.  Tim and I started to hang out more and more, and I realized quickly that I couldn't resist this easy-going, kind, loyal guy.  He was the yin to my yang.  I was hooked.  Once we were "official", we became inseparable.  We soon moved in together and Tim proposed right around our 2 year dating anniversary.  I was elated!

We bought a fixer upper a few months before we got married.  We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into our home.  We gutted about half of the house, put in new windows, electric, and drywall, and molding.  I'm so grateful we had so many family members pitch in with their time and knowledge to make our house what it is today.  After months of work, we moved in right after our honeymoon.

We settled into married life and soon started to toy with the idea of parenthood.  We figured it would probably take a while, but lo and behold, I got pregnant the second I decided I wanted to be a mommy.

I had an awesome pregnancy through the first and second trimesters.
Felt great, still had energy, not too huge.

Then around the new year, I remember starting to feel like I was finally putting on a lot of weight.  I felt like I didn't even look like myself in the mirror.  That January, I grew more and more swollen, but I just assumed that it was normal since I was 7 months along.

At my regular 32 week obgyn appointment, my doctor was shocked at my ridiculously high blood pressure and the amount of protein in my urine.     Pre-eclampsia.     I was immediately admitted to the hospital, set up with an IV and catheter, and told that I would be under observation.  That didn't last long.

About 5 hours later, the doctor decided that I was probably going to have my baby within the next day or two.  They were concerned with my high BP and feared that I might have a seizure.  I was then taken by ambulance to another hospital with a renowned NICU.   The following morning, February 2nd at 10:04am, I had Maggie via C-section.  She weighed a whopping 3 pounds 3 ounces.  I loved her the instant I saw her.  At that point I didn't care what happened to me on that operating table, as long as my little tiny peanut was going to be ok.  I had never been so terrified in my life.

Without going into too much detail about the next traumatic, emotional, trying few weeks, I was finally discharged from the hospital after 8 days.  My baby girl was still in the NICU.  I cried and cried leaving her there.  Words can't express the emotional torture.  She was finally ready to come home a little over her 1 month birthday.

Maggie has become the center of my world.  She has blossomed from that itty bitty 3 pounder to a precocious, strong willed, hysterically adorable toddler.  She makes my heart melt.  T and I often reflect on how incredibly lucky we are that she is not only healthy, but perfect.