Take Two...or Three or Four...

Wow. So it has been more than two years since my last post. Pathetic. I was just talking to my sister, Staci, on Sunday and I was saying to her, "Where have you been (referencing the blog world)?!" She has kept up on it because she is awesome, except for the last couple of months. And rightly so, she replied "Where have YOU been?!"

(Yeah. The above comment was written about 7 months ago, along with the following post. Seriously Pathetic.)

The truth is, I start new posts all the time; with every intention of completing them. But somehow I always get distracted by something or my wording is never right or it all seems so unimportant - in the moment. Which is so far from reality! I utterly regret not writing, if not every week, at least once a month. How many beautiful and simple moments in my life have I forgotten? My heart hurts for those moments. My husband and I love going back to older posts from time to time and remembering our beginning; now we have lost two years of looking back.

And so as it has been with the last two New Years', I have made a resolution to begin again. For the third time. Or fourth or fifth or sixth...for the sake of remembering where I have been, where Taylor and I have been and how we have grown a life together. Literally. Because though our life may be simple and usually un-extraordinary, it is filled with love and joy and laughter and beauty and it deserves to be remembered by us.

A Quick List of Updates:

April to July 2012: We were asked to move in with my grandma before we eventually left for Utah. She had a large home and felt too uncomfortable in it by herself. We were so blessed to be able to help her out in whatever small way we could during this time because in the month before we left, her health took a scary and immediate turn and she passed away only about two weeks later. I am so grateful that Taylor was able to get to know my spunky, quick-witted, and spiritual grandmother before she left us. Our time there, being one of transition, was difficult, but well worth it for getting to spend time with her in her last few months and to be witnesses  to the fact that she smiled until the end.

August 2012: Taylor transferred to Utah Valley University and it has turned out fantastically! We live only about five minutes from UVU and were able to, again, find an apartment that we could paint and that was in far better condition than our first (we got brand new, gorgeous flooring to begin with!). I started work at RC Willey and Taylor was able to score a job at Dick's Sporting Goods selling guns. Our places of employment just so happen to be about 100 hundred feet from each other, so we are never far apart :)

Christmas 2012: Our first and last Christmas alone. Our retail schedules made it impossible to get home to my family. But we did Skype most of the day! And Christmas, mercifully, stretched on and on.

January 2013: Should Kelsey go back to school? I had picked out and started on the path of a defined Major at BYU-I, but had become increasingly uneasy about that choice and so we decided to leave school behind for me until we got settled in Utah and made a new Major decision. The parameters were set: if I was unable to get full-time hours at RC Willey and a pay raise by spring, I would start school in the fall. If I was able to get full-time and a pay raise, we would hold off, especially because I still had no idea what I wanted to do in school. Also, if I did not start school in the fall (for the reasons above), we would look into starting a family sometime soon. So we set our plan before the Lord and kept on going, waiting for an answer.

February 2013: I was offered a full-time and Lead position at work, which comes with a raise! Eek! I was fourth or fifth on the list of people waiting for full-time hours and somehow it all worked out for me to get those hours. A prayer answered swiftly, very swiftly.

June 2013: Elder Jared Reed returns from the Portland, Oregon Mission. That was fast - at least for us.

July 27, 2013: I had been suspicious for about a day when I realized I had miscounted my last cycle and was supposed to start on the 18th of July and not the 24th! I was now 9 days late instead of 3. I took a pregnancy test at 6 a.m. and about 8 seconds later - our life changed forever.

I got back in bed with Taylor and said, "It was negative. The pregnancy test was negative." I lied because I wanted to tell him in some fun way later that night. So I rolled over and tried to fall back to sleep - which was impossible! I was too excited about everything and I knew I couldn't wait, so I turned back to him and said "Actually, I was kidding - the test was positive." He was still pretty asleep, so he said, "What?"

"I am pregnant! The test wasn't negative it was positive - we are pregnant!" He had a blank stare like I probably did when I read the test and then said in breathless succession , "Are you serious?! Kels! That is so great! Holy cow, holy cow , holy cow - we have to find you a doctor, we have to buy a crib! Can I see the pregnancy test?!"

August 2, 2013: We headed to the Oregon Coast with my family for a vacation about 2 and a 1/2 years in the making. We were so excited it was finally here! Neither Taylor or Staci had seen the ocean and I could not wait to share the beautiful coast with Taylor. We spent a night and day in Portland and made it to the Coast on the 4th. We got a large house rental right on the beach with huge bay windows facing the ocean. There was also a hot tub, which I could not enjoy due to pregnancy.

Speaking of which, the further down the coast we went the more nauseous I became and no one yet knew I was preggo, besides Taylor of course; I was only six weeks along. On the morning of our second anniversary, August 5th, the misery began. And it was such misery. Staci swears she knew I was pregnant from the day before when I was complaining of nausea, but it was now time to tell my family I was pregnant, for reals, because I knew I was not going to have the energy to do it the way that we wanted, plus I was pretty weepy ( I always am when I am sick, I am bad with sick), and I just needed my family to Know.

So, while I sat sick on the sofa trying to get down breakfast, I asked Taylor to go and get the little onesie we bought the morning we found out we were pregnant, and he just went and laid it on the table next to my mom, where everyone was gathered eating breakfast. My mom just looked at the onesie for a few seconds and then up at Taylor and then over at me and shouted, "Yay!!! Omigosh! You told us you weren't pregnant!" There were smiles and tears and my stomach got sicker, but it was wonderful. I will never forget the look on my mom's face - priceless. I am so grateful for my family who all took care of me that week. Especially Taylor, for that week and all that followed, he is so attentive and patient with me, far more than I deserve sometimes.

I don't know if the coastal air brought it on, but for the next 3 and a 1/2 months, I basically had the stomach flu. The coast was a major struggle to enjoy because every smell got to me, even watching the ocean roll made sick. There was one point - and I put this in here solely for the enjoyment of my family -  when I had sat in front of those large bay windows, but was facing away from the ocean and suddenly the light in the room changed because the fog resting on the ocean finally gave way to the sun and I wanted to see that sunshine glinting off the ocean. However, I had barricaded myself on the sofa with a couple of blankets and pillows and my computer in my lap, with soup in one hand and milk in the other which caused me to utter a now-infamous phrase my family loves to repeat, "Turn me Taylor!" I said this in a weak, little, Kelsey-voice,  which is also constantly imitated, it was funny - I guess.
:)

I did get about a full day and a half to enjoy the coast like I wanted, by that I mean sans sick. We explored the beach, picked up sea shells, splashed in the water, chased seagulls, played in the sand, walked a few board walks and window shopped. I was too exhausted by the end of the day, that I was not able to make it to the lighthouse, so Taylor left me at home with my dad and headed to one with the rest of my family, he had been talking taking about taking pictures of lighthouses for months and I am glad my sick did not get in the way.

We enjoyed spending time with my family and growing closer to them, we miss them all  very often and wish we could spend more time with them. But vacations must end, so that we have something new to look forward to later...or something like that...right?

August 11, 2013: Jared moved in with us for the semester and was surprised to learn we were pregnant. He was the first to know in his family and with good reason, he was privy to all of my first and second trimester misery, starting bright and early the very next morning.

October 30, 2013: Happy 25th B-day Tay! We found out our little pumpkin is a GIRL! A healthy little girl, who may have my nose. Which Taylor just loves. We are so in love with her, it grows stronger every day and with every little (and now sometimes big) kick. Taylor calls us "My girls." I cannot believe I am at this place in my life hovering between just a wife and motherhood. I feel so blessed to be able to carry our precious little cargo, even though it took me a while to come around to that feeling - again, I am not very good with sickness. I can't believe that I didn't know Taylor four years ago and now we have created a life together that holds so much potential and beauty. It has been indescribably fun to watch him grow these last few months, along with baby Reed, into a Daddy. He is a bit more cautious when driving, reads stories to her, smiles over the pink pile that is all of the clothes we have received, put together her car seat, enjoys every quick OB checkup and has never lost patience or complained about all the extra care I have asked of him, because he just wants his "Girls" happy and healthy.

Christmas 2013: We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Day with Taylor's Family in West Jordan. We got lots of baby things! But a little something for ourselves - like kayak oars (!) finally - thanks Chad and Marilyn. We bought two Kayaks for a great price a while back, but have been slowly gathering equipment. And Taylor got me a new Nook, which we both have enjoyed because we have downloaded a few two-player apps, which have been nice to play in the waiting rooms we have been visiting the last few days. Kaylyn and Shane were sweet enough to let us use their bed due to my sore pregnant state - which was a really nice surprise because on the way to West Jordan we realized we forgot our air mattress! Also BIG changes in the Reed Family - Taylor's little sister Janell became engaged! We are so happy for her and her new adventure!

January 2014: I am officially in my third trimester. My blood pressure is doing great, I do not have gestational diabetes, I still waves of nausea but have not actually lost it in a month and a half! Yay! There is soreness and stretch marks, spider-webbing out from scars I got when I was a baby, weird dreams, forgetfulness, loss of balance, Heart BURN that radiates to my ears, and stress as we are winding down to her imminent arrival. But we are excited to meet our tiny human soon, we are incandescently happy with the fact that we are going to be parents, Her parents.

 Since Jared finally found a place this week, he has moved out and we can get started on de-cluttering and  putting together her nursery and further preparing for such a huge, but welcome change. We found a beat up dresser on Craigslist for $20 a couple of months ago and Taylor got it all sanded down today to be painted, it will be her changing table. Check out the gorgeous quilt my sister Rachel made: gray, yellow, and blue-green-tealish (haha) are going to be the nursery colors. 

We are going to be in Orem a bit longer and are excited to start our family here, only about 10 minutes from where my parents started their family. March 28th is the day, we will see what she chooses, our life belongs to her right now and that is just fine by us.

(Next post will start from March 23, 2014 - BABY TIME!)