13 Weeks and THE Announcement

Five short weeks after our first doctor’s appointment, it was time to go back! Okay, confession- it was five weeks but was not short or fast by any means. It seemed like our next appointment was months away. With the shots I was getting weekly, I was anxious to go back to the doctor just to make sure everything was okay with our little baby.


Our second appointment was June 29, 2010. We got another ultrasound done, and was amazed by how much our baby had grown! I had been keeping up with babycenter.com, so I knew about how big the baby should be, but it was so different seeing it for ourselves. It was an incredible difference from 8 weeks to 13 weeks!


Our doctor, Dr. Martin, was out on maternity leave so we got a chance to meet one of the other doctors during this visit. Eventually, we would have to meet all the doctors in the office, just in case Dr. Martin is unavailable when I go into labor. (Hopefully this won’t happen!)


Here are some pictures of this ultrasound.

Baby Jackson's heartbeat was 156!

Full body, side view of that precious face!

Cute little baby!

Here is my very first “belly picture”.

Because I had reached 13 weeks pregnant, and the doctor had decreased our chance of a miscarriage, Eric and I felt comfortable telling everyone about the pregnancy. Eric was NOT good at keeping this secret anyway, so instead of getting upset with him, I just decided to go ahead and join him! So, we did what would be the easiest way to tell our friends… Facebook! So, it was “Facebook official”!

Yay, for Baby Jackson on the way!

First Doctor's Appointment

Our first doctor’s visit was May 25, 2010. I was very nervous, and still thinking this whole thing might be a joke. Eric and I waited in the waiting room for what felt like an hour! Finally my name was called, and back we went.


After we answered about 1,000,000 questions about our medical history, it was finally the moment we were waiting for. Ultrasound time!! I was still very nervous, but took comfort in the fact Eric was so calm. He really helped me so much that day- I don’t thank him enough. He is amazing.


Here are some ultrasound pictures from that day.

Gosh. My first thought "that looks like a gummy bear!" Baby Jackson's heart beat was 184 that day.

My due date was set for January 2, 2011. I was offically 8 weeks and 3 days pregnant. According to babycenter.com Baby Jackson, in this picture, is the size of a kidney bean. I can't even describe the feeling I felt while we were looking at our little baby. Such an emotional time. I needed someone to remind me to take a breath! Ha! Thank you Lord, for this wonderful blessing.

Oh- funny fact. When the nurse saw that our due date was so close to New Year's Day, she made the comment that if we were to have the first baby of the year, we would have our picture in the paper, and possibly be on the news. She thought this was a wonderful thing! I on the other hand, didn't really agree. With my emotions all over the place anyway, this was not the time to tell me I could be in the newspaper hours after delivery. Ha! Bless her heart, I know she was trying to excite me, but it kinda terrified me instead.

Bound and Determined

I am on a mission to get this blog caught up to present day! So, this means lots of blogging to do in order to get there. I know it will totally be worth it in the end. I really want this to be something I can look back at one day and remember special times in my life. So much is happening…wow!
I just found my USB cord so I can finally add some pictures from the first few days after I found out I’m pregnant. I wish I had put these with the last couple of posts, but oh well. They are here now, so enjoy…

This was at work, right before I went to tell Eric he was going to be a daddy.

This is Liz. I would like to take a second and say a BIG THANK YOU to her. She was with me right after I took the test. When I was totally freaking out. If it weren't for her, I may have passed out. Ha!

Thank you Liz!

My reading material for the next 40 weeks (actually, probably way longer than that!)

My sister added to my reading collection. She packed up all her maternity books and passed them along to me. I really have had so many people to be so encouraging. I am a lucky girl!

Here Comes Baby (Part 2)

Things were happening so fast, I could barely keep up. As I mentioned in my last blog, Eric was already so excited about me being pregnant. However, if I got real honest with myself, I was pretty far from excited. I was very scared, felt very unprepared, and felt completely blindsided.

Here we were two months after getting married, and I have taken a pregnancy test that says I’m pregnant. I called and made a doctors appointment to have some blood drawn just to confirm the pregnancy. The next day I received a phone call with the news. I was in fact pregnant, 5-6 weeks to be exact. SO… it seems that Eric and I went a whole three weeks being married, and not pregnant!

In our pre-marital counseling we talked about having children one day. We talked about how Eric and I felt about how long we should wait, how many children we both wanted, and financially how we would support a family more than just the two of us. All of these questions we had talked about, and had answers for. We wanted to wait somewhere around two years, we wanted one (possibly two) children, and financially we both felt better about being married a couple of years to kind of figure out the whole marriage thing before adding a child into the mix. Eric and I had a plan. We were ready to stick to that plan. Well, God had a much better plan in store for us. Honestly, it took me way longer than it should have been to fully embrace God’s plan as my own. I had just started a new job, I didn’t have any sick time, no vacation time, and for sure no maternity leave! I wasn’t even eligible for health insurance yet!! I had so many excuses I’m really ashamed of my attitude looking back. God had blessed us so much. He had provided for us in every single way. I had NO REASON to doubt that this would be any different.

We made our first official doctors appointment for three weeks later. The doctor’s office told me they would like for me to be 8-9 weeks for our first appointment. The blood that that tested to make sure I was actually pregnant also showed a low progesterone level. Basically, they like for the number to be around 20, and mine was around 13. This meant I would need to receive a shot every single week of progesterone until I reached 12 weeks. Low progesterone levels made my risk for a miscarriage pretty high, so we decided not to tell very many people that I was expecting right away. We did tell close friends and of course our family.

I really wish I could say that I only felt scared and blindsided for just a week or so, but that really wasn’t the case. It took me a while to not cry every single time I thought about the fact all of this was happening. This was supposed to be a happy, wonderful time in a couple’s life- for me, it was anything but. With some wonderful words of encouragement from friends and family, and many, many hours of prayer, being silent, listening, and finally letting go and letting God do what He has always done for me, I had an overwhelming joy and peace about the entire situation. You see, God will never give me something that I can’t handle. He will always be there when I need Him. He has promised this to me over and over. I just wish I had taken this outlook from the very beginning. The cool thing though, is that in all of this, God taught me so much. He gave me this situation to go through so I could learn and grow in Him. How amazing! What a mighty God I serve! Amen.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then...

comes a BABY in a baby carriage!! Oh my!

Let me back up just a little... The Monday after we returned from our wonderful honeymoon, I started work at a brand new job! I now work for Community Service Inc. in Conway. We are a mental health facility for youth. I got a job as a Behavioral Specialist. Basically, I help youth (ages 14-18) who have been expelled from public school. All of them have felonies, and are on probation. We help them to get their GED's and also help them behaviorally. The afternoons are dedicated to groups on anger management, social skill, empathy, and character education. I am finally able to use my degree I worked so hard for in Psychology. My job is very rewarding- but also VERY challenging. I love it. I love the kids, and I love helping them to become productive members of society.

Okay, so we come back from our honeymoon, and I was off to work at a new job! Needless to say, I had lots of new things in my life! (a husband, living with a boy, new job, LOTS!)

A couple of months after we got married, I started not feeling really well one day at work. I ignored it at first, and kept pushing through (I also didn't have any sick time yet). A couple of days later, I decided I would call my doctor and see if I could get in on my lunch break. I explained my symptoms to the nurse, and the first thing she asked me was "are you pregnant?" um... NO! No way! I can't be pregnant. I started thinking and realized I should have started the week before. The nice nurse then told me to go buy a home pregnancy test and to call her back. UGH! I didn't want to go buy one! I was scared out of my mind.

So, off I went to Target. So many questions were running through my mind! "What kind do I buy? Should I get more than one? Should I call my husband?" I was freaking out! (that's probably an understatement) I ended up buying one that had three tests in the box. Sounded good to me. Plus, I think I had seen a commercial about this particular test.

I got back to work and decided I couldn't wait till that night to take the test. So, yes... I am one of "those girls" who took a work home pregnancy test at work! Three LONG minutes later, I got a second little line on the sick. Meaning I AM PREGNANT! I took the other two, just to make sure, and then it was off to tell my husband.

He was still at work, and I was a nervous wreck. I had no clue what he was going to say! We hadn't exactly planned this- in fact we had taken the precautions the doctor had told us would be effective. Apparently, I am in that 2% of the population that birth control doesn't work on.

I pulled up to the McGee Center and walked in to tell my husband he was going to be a daddy just TWO months after we got married. Ha! I'm getting nervous again just typing this out! Okay, so I ask him if we can go talk somewhere. We end up walking around for a while, and then finally going outside. We sit down and this is how the conversation went...
Me: "You know how I haven't been feeling real well lately?"
Eric: "Yeah, are you okay?"
Me: "Well, I called the doctor today and she told me to take a pregnancy test. I went to Target and got a test. I already took it while I was at work... and... well... it says I'm pregnant."

And that is when Eric laid down. Right there, on his back, just laid down.

Me: "I have the test in my pocket if you would like to see." He nodded.
after a few seconds that seemed like an hour, Eric finally responded.
Eric: "Well, I guess we are having a baby!"

And from that very moment on, Eric has been so excited!!! I needed a little more time to get to that excitement level, but Eric was excited from that day on. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful guy.

Honeymoon!

After a very busy week, we were both so exhausted. We were excited to spend a week in Eureka Springs! We rented a Treetop Cabin not far from the downtown area. We had the best time ever! It was so peaceful and exactly what we both needed! Here are some pictures of the outside of the cabin.

It was so cute! It was perfect for us.

They had placed cute little notes all around the cabin for us. This one on the outside of the door says "Eric and Brittany, Welcome to the Hidden Oak Treehouse. Please enjoy your stay".

The heart shaped jacuzzi that Eric NEVER got out of! Ha! He loved that thing!

It was such a wonderful week. I wish we could go back. I would recommend these cabins for anyone! They were wonderful! Here's the link if you are interested. http://eurekaspringstreetopcottages.com/

It's Wedding time!

Razorback theme? I think so! Such a great night. The food was amazing!

Even Kyndall was decked out in her Razorback gear!

My mom's bestie, and the lady that helped us make it through the week. My second Momma, Ms. Jacqui!


Our wedding day was AMAZING! I wouldn’t change a thing. Yes, several things didn’t go exactly how I would have liked, but that’s what makes for entertaining stories to tell our future kids!

I started the day by going with my sister, and Rachel Cox to get our hair done. It was great! My dad came by and made fun of my hair during the many steps to get it perfect. Only my dad can make me laugh so hard on a day that I just knew I would be a wreck! Thanks Daddy!

Then, it was off to the church to get ready. My niece Kyndall was there to keep us company. I am so thankful for her. She was the BEST petal princess ever!

Eric getting ready, YES, he was about to wear WHITE SOCKS.

Thankfully someone had an extra pair of black ones. HA!

So, somehow in the stress and craziness of the day… my mom came down with PINK EYE (in both eyes)!! Bless her heart. She was trying her best to get to the church on time. P.S. She had my dress with her. Haha! I knew she would make it, and everything would be fine- she was the one stressing.

Me waiting patiently for my dress. Love you momma!

As our wedding present to each other, Eric and I gave new Bible’s with our names on them. I had the idea that we would each write a sweet message in the Bible’s and that we would exchange on our wedding day. Poor Eric. He didn’t understand that. I had his Bible with me- waiting to exchange… Where was my Bible? In his truck at the Peabody. We had reservations to stay there for our honeymoon night. He thought we were going to exchange them later, in a “more private setting”. I’m still not sure if he really thought that, or if that is what Derek told him to say, to keep him out of trouble! Ha! I love you Eric!

It was finally time to walk down the isle to my man! Oh, what a wonderful time. My bridesmaids… Rachael Myers (Maid of Honor), Jodi Brewer (Matron of Honor), Rachel Cox (Bridesmaid), and Stephanie Ungerank (Bridesmaid). My junior bridesmaid Tori Jackson (Eric's sister). I couldn’t have done this without each of you. You all played such a vital role in this day for me. I will never be able to thank each of you enough!

My honorary bridesmaides... Casey Slayton, Anna Rogers, and Courtney Jordan! I love you each more than you will ever know!

Eric’s groomsmen… Brock Jackson (Best Man), Derek Cox (Groomsmen), Justin Kimbrow (Groomsmen), and Cory Cox (Groomsmen). Such great guys! You each mean the world to Eric!

Brother Jason Aultman officiated the ceremony. I am so thankful that a man I have known for so long was so excited to be a part of our day.

Dr. William Collie, and his wonderful wife Sarah were a huge part of our ceremony. When I walked down the isle, we wanted to have a family prayer. Both of our families joined us for such a special time. Katie Fleming sang our favorite praise song “Wonderful, Merciful, Savior”. It was an amazing time of worship and prayer with each other, and our God. Thank you Katie, David Attebery, and Jerene Reddin. You all made the day so wonderful. I love that you are using your musical talents for the Lord.

BIG KISS!! We are officially Mr. and Mrs. Jackson!

Thank you to Leo Cummings III for doing such a great job introducing us to all our friends and family for the reception. Here are a couple pictures of that!

Finally, with the help of our friends and some sparklers... we were off to the Peabody!

An amazing day. I wouldn't change one thing.

Thank you to EVERYONE to made this day so special for both of us. We love you!