Getting Pregnant with our first Child

When May of 2006 rolled around Walter had taken me to a Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons game in Detroit. Before we went to the game he had taken me to Bravo, once again, and I ordered lasagna. If you have never eaten there before the lasagna was one of the best meals on the menu. I scarfed down the whole thing and became a little sick right before we were ready to leave. We got in the car and I had told Walter that I was not feeling well. I leaned me seat back and in a matter of a minute I was out cold, sleeping.

I woke up and to my surprise I had slept the whole way to the game plus I was feeling better and ended up having a great time at the game. We actually sat next to a representative for Michigan University. He mentioned to us who he was and said if we ever needed tickets to a game to email him. We ended up exchanging email address and later ended up getting 4 tickets to the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game that season. (Had to throw that in there because we ended up getting those tickets for face value, $50).

On the way home Walter made a joke about me being pregnant and I just laughed and blew it off. When we got home that night I started feeling bad again and began to think to myself that I may be pregnant. I wanted to know if what I was feeling was morning sickness or just feeling bad so I went to the store and bought a pregnancy test. I took it as soon as I got home and when I looked down at the test it showed I was pregnant. My heart dropped to my feet and I was filled with so many emotions. I was excited, nervous, happy, and all of that turned to fear. Was I going to feel this way the whole pregnancy or would it go away? I immediately called Walter to tell him but he didn't answer so I called my twin, the next best person to tell. She was so excited when I shared the news with her. She just could not believe that I was pregnant so soon. I later texted Walter to tell him that I was pregnant and I got an ear full when he got home. He was asking me why did I text him the news, why did I tell my sister before him, and why did I not wait until he got home to take the test. All those were good questions but I just could not wait to find out and tell the news to my sister.

I had always heard newly-wed couples say that it took them quite a while to get pregnant once they started trying. I never thought it would catch me off guard like it did.

Once the news had settled in I began to do so much research on the internet on finding a doctor, my due date, and what the developing baby looked like during the early stages of pregnancy. I also began to spread the news to more family that I was pregnant and Walters mother was so excited to hear we were going to have a baby.

I figured out a few days later that I was already close to ten weeks pregnant. My due date was January 18,2007 and that was also my father's birthday. I decided to go to the doctor that my twin had gone to when she was pregnant with Raelynn, her first daughter. I found out that he was a busy man and when I would go to my appointments they receptionist would tell me that he was in a delivery and would not be back for a few hours. I eventually got fed up with that and decided to switch doctors when I was 21 weeks pregnant. The new doctors were great. I loved the office, the doctors, and the caring atmosphere they provided each time I went to my appointments. They made me feel excited about my pregnancy and had great bed-side manners.

At 22 weeks pregnant I had my first ultrasound. We were going to find out that day what we were having. Girl or Boy. Walter met me there along with my twin sister. Walter's mother had been having dreams that we were having a boy. In one particular dream she had actually seen a little boy running around playing at the park and knew it could only be her grandson. Walter told me that if his mother had dreamt it, it was likely to be a vision of the future. We all were totally sold on the dream and were convinced it was going to be a boy, sure enough it was.

Migraines
Along with being pregnant came migraines for me. I had never had a migraine before until I was pregnant with my son. I would lay on the couch and hold my head. I had to close all the blinds, turn off the TV and wait for it to go away. I did not want to take any thing because pregnant women are advised to stay away from medicines unless prescribed by your doctor. The pain got so bad that I eventually started taking Tylenol and it would only ease the pain. I went through these migraines for about 8 weeks and by 24 weeks they had vanished. They never returned.

The rest of my pregnancy was great. I gained more weight than I would have liked but I always knew that with the knowledge I had from personal training I could lose the weight and get back into shape with no problems.

Agreeing on a name
Walter and I had a decision to make that every parent has to make and that is finding a name you both agree on.Walter has taken on his fathers name and we had talked about naming our son after him, as well. We really did not think that the name would fit our son and we said that the name, Walter, is a strong adult name and not used very much today. We had discussed many names for a boy but kept disagreeing. He liked this and I like that.

One afternoon Walter called me from work and said he had thought of a name. He told me he looked it up on the internet to find the meaning of the name and really liked it. I asked him to just tell me the name and he said do you like Kael? I loved it. He said we would spell it with a K instead of a C. Kael meant mighty warrior. We finally agreed on a name and we chose James as his middle name. James was Walters middle name and his father's middle name. I loved it!!

The Proposal My Blessing

Once again Walter asks me out to another date but this time he took me to the Argosi Buffet down on the Levy. We had been spending every day together since we went on our first date. We went to church together, sporting events, and watched movies. After we ate he took me over to the the fountain in front of Bravo where we had our first date. It was so cold and I kept wondering why are we here, can't we just go inside somewhere. We walked over to the benches around the fountain and I sat there with him kind of confused because I could feel something was different that night. Out of a nervous habit I turned my head to avoid eye contact and before I could turn my head back he had pulled out the cutest platinum ring with a princess cut diamond and asked me to marry him. Let me remind you that this was in January of 2006. Only about a month had gone by since our first date. I looked at him and I could tell he was nervous because his voice cracked a little. I said yes, of course! I put the ring on and we walked back to the car. I think I was in shock the whole way back to his house. I waited until the next day to tell my twin exactly what had happened so I could totally explain to her how I was engaged only after a month and a half. I think she was more shocked than I was!

I know what you must be thinking. How could we get engaged when we only have been dating a month or so? I always had the feeling that when you know, you know. I had been in relationships before where I questioned even being with that person but I knew that if I even got the chance to marry someone like Walter I would never pass it up. That is really what went through my mind. He was established not only financially but spiritually. He was my blessing from God. Do you ever think that some times the Lord intervenes and has things happen to you even when you don't deserve them? Well, I guess that is what happened when Jesus died on the cross, but I'm talking about here on earth, today. I totally believe that God placed him in my life at the right moment and time. We both were ready to be married. So, we were married February 8, 2006.

We went to the court house and said our vows in front of a judge and a few witnesses. We kissed and the rest is history.

The Dinner

That day I was so nervous. I kept asking my friend Darla if my hair looked okay, since he wanted me to wear it down. I was to meet at his house around 6:30 p.m. I knocked on his door and I could hear him running down the stairs to let me in. Once I walked in he quickly ran up stairs telling me to look in the closet and to pick one. I opened the closet door and there hung two dresses. Yes, my size. He yelled down stairs to try them on but I insisted that I didn't have the right shoes and I didn't have any pantyhose. "I got some shoes for you and here is a pair of pantyhose", he said. I couldn't believe it. It was like a dream. I was in a dream. I couldn't stop smiling.

I tried the first dress on and I loved it. It was purple and the shoes were black. When I came out of the bathroom I felt so awkward because no one had ever done that for me. I actually have never heard of someone buying a dress, shoes, and pantyhose on the first date. You would thinks someone would not want to invest that much time, energy, and money for the first date.

We got in his car and he had beautiful christian piano music playing. It was so calming and made me feel comfortable. I still couldn't believe I was going on a date with Walter and surely couldn't believe he would buy me all these things for the date.

We ended up going to Bravo where he was employed part-time. We talked about everything at dinner. I think I smiled during the whole date or that is what it seemed like. After the date we went back to his house and watched the movie Forever Young. This was his favorite romance movie.

I think this was the best date I had ever been on and it was because of who I was with not what was done for me. That made a lasting impression on me.

New Year's Eve 2005

I met my husband, Walter, years before I married him but the attraction didn't come until New Years Eve 2005. On New Years Eve I went to friends wedding. At the wedding I caught the bouquet of flowers when the bride threw them. (You know what that means). I had already planned on heading over to Walter's house where my sister, her husband, and their daughter were going to be. We have met at Walter's house before for New Years so it was kind of becoming a New Years tradition. Walter and Michelle were friends through her husband Jason Buker, but we call him Buker. Jason and Walter had known each other through the years and talked to each other quite often.

When I got to Walter's house Michelle answered the door and I automatically went into the story of me catching the bouquet of flowers. I was all excited and didn't even make it into the living room where every body was sitting. They all were listening to my story, even Walter. Something was different that day because that was the day that Walter "noticed" me. I had just go out of a relationship and so did he. We both were on the market. That night we all talked and played games and I noticed a little bit of flirting from Walter. Let me explain the type of person Walter is to you and then you will understand why this was such a Blessing to me.

Walter has been described as some one who loves and fears the Lord. Never in all my years meeting different people have I met someone who reads and lives the Bible more than Walter. I was told by my mother when I was growing up to "marry a Christian" and until I met Walter did I meet the actual Christian I was supposed to marry. You can be in a relationship with a Christian but still be on the opposite ends of what that is for you. Walter is honest, loyal, and a positive person and when I first met him I thought what a great husband he will be for someone. I never thought Walter and I would be together. I just thought we were in different phases of our life and I thought he wanted some thing different. It is hard to put into words but Walter is a type of person that you don't have to speak him up to other people because his character speaks for himself when you meet him. Walter also loves sports just as much as I do. He loves it so much that he referees sports such as wrestling, high school football, college football, volleyball, and even is working for the NFL the past two years. He has been working as a manager for different companies for the last few years. He is also very computer savvy which is why I am blogging right now. So, in a nut shell -He's a busy man!!!!!

I never thought for a minute that Walter would be flirting with me but when I left his house we began texting each other and used our common interest to talk to each other which was sports. We texted over the next few days and one day while I was working out I got a text that asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. I could not believe it. I was so excited but nervous. He asked two things of me and they were to wear a long black coat and wear my hair down. I accepted.

My life before marriage

I first want to tell you a little bit about my life and who I was before marriage. I was a fun, energetic, athletic, ball of energy. I had a twin sister who was a mirror image of me and we followed in each others foot steps except when we decided to go to different colleges to play basketball. Michelle (twin sister) went to Cedarville University in Springfield, Ohio and I went to Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio. These colleges were 30 miles or so from each other and for the first time we were separated. Our colleges shared the same conference so we played each other many times. We both were extremely competitive so these games were very intense. Michelle and I majored in the same area of study and both of us became personal trainers. We took training to a whole new level. We trained many different types of people from doctors to house wives. All had the same goal; to gain better health and look great. Michelle then graduated and ended up married and with a daughter all with-in the same year. She moved to a suburb in Cincinnati with her husband and began training again at Life Style Fitness.

I started training at a private exercise studio in Springfield, Ohio and taught Spinning there for 2 years. (We will get into what Spinning is later). I trained 40-45 hours a week. If you do not know that is a full schedule when it comes to training. I usually never had any energy left to do my own work-outs. The life as a trainer started early in the morning. My alarm would go off around 4:30 a.m. I would get to the gym by 5:15 a.m. and start training my first client who was a doctor. I would have a short lunch and was back at it until about 7:30 p.m. I taught spinning through out the day and some times I would teach 2 classes a day. By the end of the day I was soo tired that I had little energy for family and friends let alone a social life. The only day I had off was Sunday's and I even got up early to go to church. If anyone knows that life style you know how difficult it is to keep that kind of schedule all year around. I made many friends there and many clients were devoted to better life styles. I left Springfield in November of 2005 and that is when my life changed for the better.