I had no idea . . .

I had no idea that I would be so excited to wake up on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. because it's been well over 8 hours since I held this beautiful girl and gazed upon this happy little face.  I had no idea Nick and I would enjoy sitting quietly for hours watching her smile and stretch in her sleep.  I had no idea one child would make me look at the world so differently.  People told me things would change once I became a parent, but like a lot of things in life, you have to live it to understand it.  So I decided to start a blog chronicling our many "adventures" as parents.  I use the word "adventures" loosely because well, let's face it, Nick and I have never been known for being terribly exciting people, but we love each other, we love our friends, we love our family, and oh man, we sure love our little girl.  And to me, that's exciting.

Anyways, back to sweet Hannah :)  She was born August 19, 2010 after what some would call a "rough pregnancy" that had me on bedrest for 9 weeks, and in the hospital for four of those.  But luckily, I was never in pain -- she just kept trying to come a little too early (as in I started showing signs of labor around 29 weeks).  After I "failed in home management" (despite the fact I never deviated from my doctor's orders), a high-risk specialist put me in the hospital at the end of June where I stayed for pretty much the entire month of July.  Good times.  But I survived.  And I seriously came to realize just how blessed I am -- my sweet husband stayed with me almost every night and I had family and friends visiting pretty much everyday.  I was seriously floored by how supportive everyone was.  I'll spare you the details of what happened between my discharge and Hannah's birth, but long story short, I was induced (much to my and Nick's surprise) the evening of August 18, and a mere 15 hours later Hannah Leigh was born at 12:42 p.m. on the 19th.  I was heavily medicated and apparently slept through much of my labor.  Ha! 

Since Hannah's birth I have once again been floored by the support of our friends and family.  I am so grateful for the people in my life.  More than anything, though, I am so grateful to God for this amazing child.  I have a new appreciation for my life and life in general because I now realize more than ever that children are little miracles.  I cherish mine and look at other children differently now, too, because I know how much their parents must love them and how precious they are.  I could go on and on about my love for Hannah, but I will close this inaugural post with a line from "In My Daugher's Eyes" by Martina McBride that pretty much sums up what I feel for my little girl:

This miracle God gave to me

gives me strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes.