Baby on Board

Joseph and I are very happy to share that we are expecting a little baby Higley in the spring. Just a few months into our marriage we are headed for our biggest and most important adventure yet: parenthood. To say that it's been a busy year is putting it quite mildly, and there's no slowing down in sight.

I first took a pregnancy test on July 12, after an icky-feeling day at work. I really didn't expect it to come back positive because it was 8pm, but I didn't want to wait til morning. Much to my surprise, a faint line showed up pretty quickly. Ummm, ok, that's interesting. Joseph was working, so I didn't say anything and went to bed. The next morning, which happened to be Friday, July 13, (I've written about Joseph's love of Friday the 13th and how he often experiences very good luck on those days, so it was very fitting) was Joseph's 37th birthday. I got up early, took 2 more tests, and then did the only thing I could think of... wrapped the tests up in a box. We both had to work that day so we had celebrated his birthday already and didn't plan on presents that day. I woke him up and told him I had one more present for him to open.

His reaction surprised me a little bit, as he wasn't surprised at all. He just smiled a big smile, and said "This is the best birthday present ever, I'll never forget this day." And then he told me he'd thought about it the week before and knew that I was going to be pregnant very soon. Since before our wedding people had been asking impatiently when we were going to have kids, so I guess I am the only one who was surprised that 10 weeks into marriage and without actually "trying", I'd turned up pregnant.

I have not felt well. At all. So it's been a couple rough, hot, tired months. I didn't imagine my first summer back in Texas to be like this, where I have stayed inside every single day, only bearing the heat to run to and from the car. Poor Cooper didn't expect it either, but despite being stuck inside and getting very little exercise, he's still as sweet and good as ever. Oh, and he's very excited to be a big brother. I'm just starting to feel much better and rather than totally opposed to most foods, as I was for a while, I'm gradually becoming hungry for everything. It's still miserably hot outside but I'm patiently waiting for cooler temperatures so Coop and I can get out for long walks. For now I'm staying inside, doing some yoga and reading, reading, reading.

Our families could not be happier or more supportive. Baby will have cousins close in age on both sides (extra close on the Marsh side, Mike and his wife are expecting a baby girl in February). We are lucky to have experienced mamas in both of our sisters and my mom who is an expert in all things pregnancy and baby. We are surrounded by love and support, despite being far away from everyone here in Texas.

Last week we had our first prenatal appointment with the midwives we'll be seeing. We'd had the appointment scheduled for several weeks and I was very anxious, as I knew we would get to hear the heartbeat for the first time on this visit. As I got ready that morning, I put on Dad's watch as I do every morning, but I also grabbed the bracelet my sister gave me for Christmas last year. It's a silver slip on cuff with the quote "I carry your heart with me" etched on it. On the inside are dad's initials "DHM". I had always kept it where I could see it in the bathroom, but had never actually worn it out of the house before. It seemed appropriate to wear Dad's heart with me to go hear baby's heart. If you knew my dad or have read much of what Kate and I have written since he died, you know that he loved and found great comfort, symbolism and beauty in rainbows. Since he got sick, we have seen rainbows at some of the most incredible moments and situations. So imagine my shock and overflowing emotion when, on our way to Austin to listen to our baby's heartbeat for the first time, on a completely rainless, sunny day in August, we looked up and saw this.

Baby Higley is due in March and we will be surprised and ultra eager to meet our son or daughter.

A Full House

Last week we were happy to have our first house guests. Joseph's sister and my dear friend, Elizabeth drove here from Albuquerque with her four kids. We had a lovely, relaxing six days together in our little house. We had just met Adam and Courtney last month in Columbus but that was quick, so it was my absolute pleasure to have their squishy baby selves to kiss and hold for a long period of time. Noelle is four years older than the last time I saw her and Madeleine was just nine months old the only time I met her. It was really speical to have so much time to really get to know their funny little personalities. Here are some photos, in no real order, of how we kept busy during their awesome visit.

The boys hanging out in the kitchen.

We made several different batches of jam with all the berries we picked.

Just so exhausted, she couldn't last past dinner. Also, this was the first meal eaten at our new table.

The slip n slide was a huge hit. The girls and Cooper played on it night after night. All the adults couldn't believe how short it looked.

After breakfast at the Bluebonnet we went to Sweet Berry Farm and picked 15 pounds of blackberries and strawberries.

The boys in the kitchen again.

The babies were really good about playing together on the floor. I thought this picture was really cute, because Coop wasn't quite sure what to think of a house full of kids.

Courtney ate as much as an average adult while she was here. Seriously, she's an itty bitty girl but she can put food away. All the kids ate well, and Adam ate just as much, but little Courtney chowing down was a pleasure to experience.

Noelle loved playing cards with the adults, but especially with Uncle Jojo. They spent hours and hours playing War, Old Maid and Uno. They both hate to lose. It was entertaining.

Beautiful, sweet, ripe berries.

Elizabeth and I worked in the kitchen late into the night while Joseph worked and the kids slept. We have so much to talk about and the kitchen is the best place to do that.

Avocado on wheat toast.

Madeleine got way into decorating the patio with chalk.

It was rainy for a few days, but the girls weren't afraid of a little mud. Or a wet dog.

More cards. It was a serious rivalry.

Courtney not being cranky.

She couldn't stay out of the puddle. "I LOVE WAIN PUDDLES! I LOVE WAIN PUDDLES!"

We are looking forward to many more visitors to this house... and the next time we see the Jones family.

Marsh & Higley get Married!

What a whirlwind few weeks it has been. Really, the last few months have been a crazy ride. And honestly, the last several years too. Anyway, we made it safely to our new home in the Texas Hillcountry. We have been here for ten days, so we are pretty much unpacked and mostly caught up on sleep. It was a rough couple of days after we left Ohio. It was a lot of miles with a huge dog in a hot truck. We drove straight through from Columbus, Ohio just three days after our wonderful, family wedding in the rain. Joseph is back to work now and this home is starting to feel like a sweet home. This life here is starting to feel like the real life we waited years to make.

The week before the wedding I had been in Alabama hanging out with my sister and her family, meeting new baby Max Daniel. Who ever in a right mind schedules herself to be out the town for a week the week before her wedding? It was a nice distraction, just cake baking, sprinkler playing and so much baby snuggling that I didn't think too much getting married and moving the following week. On Wednesday, April 11, I flew from Montgomery, back to Columbus. A few hours after I arrived, Joseph arrived in from Austin. And then, it was all systems GO! The next days his family started to arrive from east and west. Thursday evening, the boys (3 Higleys, 1 Marsh) went out for a Bachelor Steak Dinner and the ladies had a quiet evening out. Friday, the rest of our siblings arrived in town, we had a Going Away/Pre-Wedding Party at my Mom's house. It was lovely, lots of good food and yummy drinks, great conversations, introductions all around, laughter, congratulations and goodbyes. It was much better than a rehearsal dinner and the perfect way to start our Wedding Weekend!

Then we woke up Saturday and it was WEDDING DAY! Joseph and I spent a few quiet hours together at home and then went our separate ways to get ready. Oh. My. Goodness. The excitement! The weather forecast had changed daily for the 2 weeks leading up to this day. I had pretty much accepted that I could do nothing about it, therefore wouldn't waste energy worrying or stressing about what happened in the sky on April 14. That turned out to be a blessing, because there was nothing we could have done to prevent the 12 solid hours of POURING RAIN. As much as Joseph and I (and Robin, bless her heart) wanted it to be a warm, sunny spring day to fully enjoy the beautiful yard in all of it's Marsh Landscape glory, the soaking wet, grey, chilly day was not a disappointment at all. It was somehow more romantic. We huddled close under a tent on the deck, with 16 of our very dearest looking on, a mom and a dad looking down through the clouds and my brother leading the way, and we exchanged simple, heartfelt vows. I am completely biased, but it was truly the sweetest, most intimate wedding ceremony I could imagine. We laughed, we cried, we promised. Then we toasted!


After the ceremony we went to a nearby restaurant for a delicious family style Italian feast in their wine room. We ate, drank, laughed, took pictures and enjoyed being all together. My dear Erin made our cake for us, and although the top layer didn't make it home for us to save, it was the best, most beautiful wedding cake ever... Made by my best friend, who happens to be the best cake baker I know. After the reception we went back to Robin's house to keep the celebration going. As the night wound down, Joseph and I looked around in awe at our families together and the rings on our fingers. We were finally married!

Enjoy a few photos from our wedding day.

24 Days to Go

Here's an update. We decided not to wait until June to get married. Instead our wedding will be on April 14, 2012 in Columbus. Yeah, that's just 24 days from now!

It's all coming together beautifully. I am planning the wedding here and finishing up at work by training my replacements. We have kept it simple and low key so the planning is easy and we're able to make it super personal and meaningful. My brother has been ordained and he will be performing the ceremony and the estimated guest count is 20. The wedding will be in my father's backyard and I am hope/pray/wish/begging for the weather to be as amazing as it has been this past week. Spring sprung hard in the middle of March this year and I'd like to believe that will work to our wedding-day-weather advantage. Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile, back in Horseshoe Bay Joseph has been setting things up for us so that all I have to do is show up with Coop and all my stuff. And he's doing the hard part of that too, flying one way a few days before and then "getting my wife and bringing her home" in a Penske truck, towing my stationwagon (which I will own as of May 1!) It's gone remarkably smoothly, he got a good job offer he wanted to take, changing our plans from living in Austin to staying in HSB. It's too far to commute to live in Austin and work in the bay so I have just accepted that starting our life over just where we left it is a good thing and I'll be happy and make the best of it. I have never been happier in my life than those years with Joseph is Horseshoe Bay so it seems fitting to start our married life by the lake out in the country. Joseph kept the PO Box I have had since '05 and my banking is still done with a local bank there. So really, it's like going home. Joseph has secured us a lovely home that he assures me will meet my criteria. I have yet to see photos of the inside but I trust his taste and I have no choice, so it's working. He will be moving in as soon as the people living there now move out, yeah, it's crazy, that's how country real estate works. No. One. Is. In. A. Hurry. Except me. I'll be there in 28 days expecting to have a place to live. (Calm down, Amy, I can hear Joseph saying.)

I am going to stay with my sister and her family the week before my wedding. Yeah, that sounds crazy too, but I guess that's just my style. I'll be there over Easter, which will be fun, and I plan to enjoy every minute of sweet baby cuddles I can get with my new nephew Max. I will fly home from Alabama on April 11, the same day Joseph flies in from Austin. We'll have a busy week... and then 10 days later we'll be newlywed Texans.

After all the pain and suffering and lost time and regrets and wishes we have experienced in this story of ours... we wouldn't change one thing. It has all happened for reasons we couldn't have known and brought us here to this point in time. We are in the absolute right place doing the right thing with the right people for the right reasons and we are both utterly thrilled to be living this dream come true together. Life is spectacular. We look forward to a long, full, happy marriage. We will eat well, enjoy simple things, see the world, have as many beautiful babies as we can and raise them to be kind people, love each other, love our families and work hard to be happy, healthy and comfortable.

I will fix up this little blog of ours and document the rest of our story here. We are Joseph and Amy. And this is our story.

Sweet Boy

It is a sad day in Horseshoe Bay. Joseph had to say goodbye to his faithful companion, the furry black boy he adored. Here are some good pictures of the "sweet boy", back in his healthy, younger days. I hope he's sleeping soundly on a dog bed in the clouds tonight...

REST IN PEACE, Marshall. You will be missed.
2002-2012

It Was Never Over

Where do I begin? We are back.

Back where we belong. Back together.

What a story this has become! The last time I posted it was with a very heavy heart that I signed off at the end of the marshigley blog. It had been my method of documenting and celebrating our lovely life together in Texas... the food & wine, the trips, the outdoor activity, the dogs, our happiness.

After four years we came to a point where we needed to no longer be together. The love and respect never changed, ugly words rarely said, there were just two different courses we needed to take. I didn't focus much on what would come in the future and charged full steam ahead being Just Amy. It was a busy year after that. I moved to North Carolina, reconnected with a dear friend, lived in a mountain lake house in the woods for a spectacular summer, spent the holidays in Hawaii and then came home to Columbus after ten years away. Sadly, my time in Columbus was some of the hardest of my life and losing Dad shook me so, so deeply. But from great loss sometimes comes great wisdom, and I believe that's what lead me back to where I ultimately belong.

"It was never over", according to Joseph. He promised to wait for me. And that is exactly what he did. In the ultimate demonstration of undying, unconditional love, Joseph kept our life mostly in tact in Horseshoe Bay. We never lost touch and after nineteen months of patiently waiting and never wavering from his stance that we were meant to be together and that I would realize it and come back... It became glaringly obvious to me.

As of the late hours of Christmas Eve 2011 Joseph and I are engaged to be married. We have decided on Saturday, June 16, 2012.

We will finally be The Higleys.