Our Get Away Trips

My doctor told me to wait until I had two full "cycles" before trying to get pregnant again. I felt that was the only way I could move on. It was hard for me to see other pregnant women. There were a few things going on in our lives that were difficult at the time.

With the idea of having another child we were also thinking it was time to start looking for a bigger home. There were some new home models we went to look at. We fell in love with one of the model homes, but we decided to take some time and think about it. It was a difficult decision for me. We would be moving to a different town about 40 minutes away. But I prayed a lot - and there was a beautiful new Catholic church right across the street from the subdivision. I thought it was a nice idea that when I could see this beautiful church, I would know I was almost home.

We planned a trip to DisneyWorld. We had a wonderful time there.

We took a limosine from our home to the airport early one morning. The boys loved it! The plane ride wasn't too bad. When we landed we rented a car and drove a few hours to our hotel at DisneyWorld. Brandon loved all the characters and the songs. Bear in the Big Blue House is a great memory for me. Brandon sang the loudest. And little Ethan also loved the characters. It was a magical time for our two boys. And since this is where Tom and I spent our Honeymoon - it was extra special for us too.

After a few days, we drove to Panama City to stay with my parents. We spent some time on the beach, at the pool, mini golfing, and just spending time with my parents.

Then my parents asked us if we were interested in going to Ireland to visit different religious places - and to see where my father's side of the family came from. My older sister's family would be coming too.

We would be going that summer.

Meanwhile, we did decide to purchase a new home. It would take a few months for it to be built - almost a year. We signed the papers - and on the same day we became pregnant with our next child.

Ireland was amazing! Beautiful! Another special memory. We were very blessed to be able to go with our family. I was about 4 months pregnant when we went.

The following month we went to Wisconsin with my parents and my siblings' families. A tradition that has continued.

So here we were due around the same time we had had a miscarriage the year before. What a difference a year can make.