2013: In A Nutshell!
2013 has been full of up's and down's, as each year usually holds for all of us - such is life!
Bret graduated from BMT at the end of April and I was fortunate enough to fly down to Texas and witness it all. I was so proud, and so giddy! haha. Can I just tell you the INTENSE amount of butterfly's and nerves I felt the night before I saw him?! I've been with this lovely man for 10 years, and (at that point) married for 4. I FREAKING MISSED HIM! For those of you who don't know how BMT works - if you are LUCKY you get ONE phone call from them a week, and then a few letters (if they can spare the time) ... so needless to say it felt like having him on his mission again, but so much harder... I loved him while he was on his mission, but nowhere NEAR how much I have grown to love him since he has been my husband and eternal companion. I am just happy that it didn't last as long as the mission did! Phew! The first few days of him being gone all I wanted to do was lay in my bed and sob my eyes out. I didn't, of course, because life had to go on (Boo!!!) - but I did allow myself to throw my private pity party's when needed. I also found I could not fall asleep until I was on the verge of collapse. So, for about 6 months, I didn't fall asleep until somewhere between 1:00-3:00 in the morning... I guess you could say I missed my bed partner! When Bret went to his 4 months of Tech school it got easier because I could talk to him on the phone for a bit at night once he was done with class, dinner, work-outs, and homework.
So Bret started his Tech school in May, and after he was there for a month he got the privilege to leave the base/have visitors. Therefore for the remaining 3 months of his time in California I tried to spend about every-other-weekend there with him. I was one of the fortunate few who happened to live close the to base their spouse was transferred to for Tech training. Most AF Tech training takes place in either Texas or Mississippi, but those learning Vehicle Maintenance go to California. So I lucked out! If he would have had to stay in Texas or go to Mississippi I wouldn't have been able to afford to see him, so we were both extremely grateful for the short-distance and the few weekends we did get to spend together.
We did have one scary weekend in California (the weekend of my birthday in June) where 3 guys tried to break into our room while we were in it. This was the one weekend we didn't stay at the hotel on Base, and let's just say that was the very last time we did that. I seriously thought we were going to die... we had no weapons, little self protection (there were 3 guys trying to bang down our door. Bret is tough but only Batman can take on 3 guys and come out on top). When this ordeal was going on and Bret was trying to get them to go away I was in the bathroom shaking, calling the cops, and praying more earnestly then I have in a long time. The "bad guys" left, but came back to attempt breaking in 2 other times (TWO!) before the cops finally got there. By that point I had packed us all up, we went to our car, and we signed out of that bloody hotel and drove down to the Base. Luckily they had a room open for us at 1:00 in the morning. We learned our lesson - we will always stay on Base if there is ever a close opportunity to do so... And I also want to get a gun and take self-defense classes. Ü. Other than that frightening ordeal it was pure bliss being able to spend a few weekends in California. I forgot how much I love the beach, and we just enjoyed relaxing and hanging out with each other. I'm very grateful for the time we got to spend with "just us", and for how the experience as a whole brought us even closer and our love even deeper. I do not look forward to when a deployment will happen (hopefully that won't be happening for a good while!), but I do know, through this experience, that we are each others greatest fans and strengths, and we can get through anything. I love him so crazy much, and cannot ever express how proud of him I am for doing as well as he did with both BMT and Tech school. He is an incredible man, and I am so blessed to love him through it all. Seriously, he is freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!
Bret got home in early August and we got to celebrate my adorable nephew, Harrison's, 1st birthday! He's my favorite little man, and is so smart, active, and cute! I couldn't believe a year passed so quickly. It was fun to watch Bret take-in how much Harrison had grown up and changed since he last saw him (he was 6-months old) and Harrison quickly learned to be comfortable and like Bret just as he did before. We also got to go to a Favero family reunion up in Park City... ah-freaking-mazing. It is so gorgeous up there! We had so much fun hanging out with Bret's family. We love the Favero's! I'd say we both lucked out in the family departments... Awesome family all around. We did the Alpine Coaster (I think that is what it is called??), which was so fun! And we also tried paddle-boarding for our first time. While the water was freeeeeezing, we had a blast. Everyone tried it out and fun was had by all!
The other exciting news we got at the end of August was, I got a POSITIVE pregnancy test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We.Were.ECSTATIC! If I told you how many pregnancy tests I have taken it would make your head spin. For 3 years we have been trying to start our family, and I unfortunately had a miscarriage in February 2012. Without getting into a long-story (insurance issues!), I didn't get to have my first OBGYN appointment until I was 11-weeks along. The fear in my heart was obviously there while I anticipated hearing our babies heart-beat for the first time and getting the "okay" from the doctor that all was well. It took them about 3-5 minutes to find the babies heart-beat, which made us both nervous, but then they did! And can I tell you - it was the most beautiful sound to both of our ears. We got to hear the heart beat for the first time on Bret's birthday (October)... needless to say he claims it to be his best birthday gift yet. Ü. Because of my family history of heart-defects my OBGYN suggested I see a Perinatologist just for safe measures to watch the progression of the baby. A week later we went to Dr. Bohman's office for our first ultra-sound. We were told that unfortunately it looked the baby may either have a chromosomal defect or a heart condition, due to the amount of fluid found behind the baby's neck on the ultra-sound (I believe the fluid is called "cystic hygroma"). They had me do some blood work to test the baby's genes (who knew they could do that!? Amazing.) A few tests came back negative (meaning the likelihood of certain chromosome defects was very slim), so then the waiting game began. We found out at 13 weeks that we are having a baby BOY! (We were able to find out so early due to the blood work they did on me - again, who would have thunk they can figure out the baby's gender through blood work!!! Crazy, crazy.) We are so, so excited for a little boy! We have been asked if we have names chosen yet, but we do not. We have a list, but it is long and we need to start narrowing it down. Ü. Despite the roller-coaster of a ride that this has all been, we continue to feel extremely blessed that I have made it 23-weeks and minimum complications on my behalf. We also feel blessed to know that our son continues to thrive and grow in the womb, and that we are in the hands of excellent doctors.
In November both Bret and I were accepted into the BYU-Idaho Pathway program. I am excited for Bret to start his educational journey, and I look forward to eventually being able to finish the degree I started so many moons ago. We hope to eventually end up in Provo at BYU. This is because the degree Bret wants (Manufacture Engineering) is only found at a few schools, and luckily BYU is one of them. They also happen to be one of the top in the nation in regards to that degree. So who knows when the wind will blow us up there (Bret has some further military training he has to achieve before we look into moving anywhere), so that's why the Pathway program is a great start for him. It will help him get his feet wet, get his foot in the door at BYU, and hopefully take us up there to do what he'd like to do in the not-so-distant-future.
We have LOTS of life changes going on, but most all of them for the better. We are thrilled to start our family, and get Bret moving towards a career goal that will bring him happiness and fulfillment. He always said he wished he could do something (for work) that he loves just as much as I do (me teaching voice lessons)... and I am so happy he's finally found a degree/career-path that will help him find that happiness in a career. I continue to teach private voice lessons in my studio (which is only about 10-minutes from my house - gosh, I love that short commute!) Ü. I LOVE teaching, and look forward to each year as I continue to learn and progress.
We look forward to 2014, despite knowing there are definitely some challenges that lay before us. We have so much gratitude for the eternal marriage and deep love that we have, our friendship, our family's, the trials we have already gone through that have tried to prepare us for what lies ahead, and for the gospel that gives us answers and strength in our trials. We find so much joy and peace in all of these things. We also wish all our family and friends a happy, healthy, and safe 2014!!!!!!!
And that is our 2013 in a Nutshell!
