It's a GIRL!!!

    On November 9th, at our 20 week ultrasound appointment, we found out that we are going to have a beautiful baby GIRL in March. We scheduled the appointment exactly 10 weeks after our first ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy. Ironically, we found out the sex of our first baby on the 6 year anniversary of the first time Bill kissed me. I feel like if that doesn't tell us this is meant to be, what does? It was a very special day. In addition to Bill and I, we invited our mothers, the future grandmothers, to the appointment. It was harder for them to keep the secret of the sex until the reveal party than it was for us! haha

6 days later, on November 15th, we made the announcement to our friends and family and made the big announcement to the world of social media; almost all of which didn't even know we are pregnant! Many, many people were shocked and all were happy. Our family had been itching to tell everyone and let the secret out, but we managed to keep it under wraps for 20 weeks!

    So how did we announce it? We went with something that we both love: dirt biking! We took to the desert and took some fun pictures with our dirt bikes and ultrasound pictures of our future little rider! The whole time, our little miss was kicking around, getting excited about having a dirt bike of her own someday!

Seeing as we are having a little girl, its only fitting that we had my pink helmet to represent her! She of course could fit in it right now (at 22 weeks) and should still be able to fit when she is born! We plan to take some more adorable, themed pictures of her then, too!




We love this picture because we just can't wait to watch her dirtbike and get her her first bike some day! Dirt biking has been a substantial part of our relationship and growth as a couple and will hopefully be a foundation for our family and something we can all do together for a very long time.




While some say that we are young and maybe we should have waited a little longer; we've only been married for almost 6 months. I say: we have been together for 6 years and known each other for 7. We were great friends before we started dating and have grown up so much together. Yes, we are young. But unlike many young people, and some older than us even, we have our own home with room for our family to grow, we have stable jobs with benefits, safe vehicles and we wanted this baby so badly. We talked and talked almost every night about what we wanted, what we should do and what if it happened. We are adults and are very much in love. And right now, that is all we need. God decided that He was ready for us to bring this little girl into this world to serve her purpose and for us to be her parents and we are blessed and fortunate to be able to have her and soon hold her in our arms and watch her grow every day. We couldn't be more excited for our future as a family of three!

The First Kick: Halloween 2017

    The coolest, most awesome thing happened recently: I felt, and actually saw, my baby kick for the first time. Up until that point I had only felt little flutters at random times that I couldn't be sure were my baby kicking. On Halloween, my pregnancy app told me that the baby's heartbeat may be able to be heard with a stethoscope. So what do I do? I get my stethoscope out, lay very still and listen very carefully.

    I carefully moved the stethoscope over my belly and waited for any sort of sound. I was watching my stomach to make sure that my stethoscope was in a good place and all of a sudden my stethoscope bounced off of my stomach. The baby had kicked my stethoscope so hard that it removed it from my tummy in my hand! It was the single most amazing thing to me! I called Bill in to tell him what happened and to see if the baby would do it again so he could feel it or see it happen! The baby kept quiet, like it was our little secret.

    I still have yet to hear the heart beat, but I feel the kicking throughout the day and it makes me even more and more excited to meet our little baby!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Here Comes Baby in the Baby Carriage

    After 5 years of dating, 5 months of being engaged and 3 months of being married, Bill and I decided that maybe it would be fun to have a little one to share our lives with sometime in the near-ish future. Well, the little one kind of decided that it wanted to make an appearance earlier than any of us thought it would! Our little bundle of joy is expected to be here Easter 2018! Our little bunny!
    As of right now I am 15 weeks pregnant and ready for week 16 and the relief that the 2nd Trimester will hopefully bring. My morning sickness has been so much fun! (NOT!) It's not just morning sickness, either, its mainly night sickness for me!
    We took a test on the 24th of July and were so happy, scared, excited, nervous, anxious, and many other emotions I couldn't even begin to describe. Though we weren't even "trying" to have a baby, we were so happy to find out that we were going to be parents and couldn't wait to share the news. However, we decided to wait, just a while, to tell our families and friends. We wanted to be selfish and keep it between us for a little while.
    Well, my morning sickness got so bad in my 7th and 8th weeks that I got very dehydrated and my parents started to notice I wasn't feeling well. My mom said, "you aren't pregnant are you?" one day before work when I was over at my Grandma's house with her. I told her, "well, about that. Yea, I am." Needless to say she was shocked, but very excited that she was going to be a Grandma. And I kept my promise to her, that she would be the first one, besides me or Bill, that would know I was pregnant. She helped me keep it from my dad until that Sunday, which was their wedding anniversary and when we decided would be a good time to tell him and my brother.
    That was August, 8th. On August 10th, I was struck by a car while walking in the cross-walk, home to my Grandma's from work. I was able to get out of the way of the car for the most part so I didn't get as much of the impact as I would have otherwise; but I was/am still hurt pretty badly. My purse and jacket shielded my abdomen and torso from most of the impact, and I believe that was both mine and the baby's saving grace. Had that purse not been there, I feel my injuries could have been far worse and who knows what else could have happened.
    On Sunday the 13th, we told my dad and brother, and my brother couldn't have been more excited if I had told him he had just won the million dollar jack pot. My dad was kind of in shock and noticeably less excited. When I asked him about it a couple weeks later, he said that he still couldn't believe it and that he never, ever thought that he would live to see his grand children. And that he didn't want to get too excited because he felt he would jinx it. I told him that could never happen and that it was very okay to be excited. Ever since then, he has been buying Harley Davidson onesies, accessories and stuff for the baby.
    On the 17th of August we told Bill's mom and Stepdad the news. His mom was very curious what was in the gift we had brought them, thinking it was a gag gift or a joke box of some kind. However, when they opened it, read the letter and saw what was in the box, they were so overjoyed. David has never had kids of his own and only has my husband and sister-in-law as step-children. He is so excited to get to be in this little one's life and watch it grow.
    Telling the rest of Bill's family was the difficult part. Tell his grandparents before his Dad and Stepmom and his grandparents would break the news before we could, and vise versus. And one of them would tell Bill's sister who lives in Kansas or they would forget and she would be the last to know. So we decided a dinner with his dad, step-mom and grandparents would be the easiest way to tell them and so after several weeks of trying to coordinate schedules and get everyone together, we finally set a dinner date for Labor day. That weekend, Bill's mom and Step-dad were flying to Kansas to see his sister, which also meant they would be a proxy for us to tell Bill's sister she was going to be an Aunt, all in one day.
    Well, either someone spilled the beans or his family is really good at guessing. They totally knew what was up. His grandma said, "ooh, maybe the box is an 'announcement' of some sort". Then his dad had a look on his face that said he knew what was going on, too. So, surprise ruined there.
    But Erika, she was very excited. We called her from the car on the way home, and told her she was going to be an Aunt. Her response was, "to a dog or a baby?!" When we said baby, she squealed and told us she started crying and it was the best day ever. She sent a really long, nice text to Bill later about how excited she was but sad she didn't live closer so she could be more involved but that she would be the best aunt she could be!
    On August 31st, we got to see our little bunny for the very first time during my ultrasound. He is a little wiggler! The tech was having trouble getting some good pictures because the little nugget kept doing flips and moving around! I can't wait until I can actually feel it happen!
   I have another OB appointment here in a couple of weeks and by that time I will be going into my 15th or 16th week, and maybe if we are lucky we will get to find out what we are having! If not, it will probably be after the next appointment! Bill really wants a boy, and I can tell my brother and dad definitely want a boy, but I will be happy either way.
    After years of baby fever and knowing that this is exactly what I want, I am just so happy that it is actually happening. I still have trouble believing it some days! I am so excited to bring this bundle of joy into the world--half of me and half of the love of my life, my forever dance partner, my forever goodnight kiss. I can't wait to hold our little bunny and kiss it's cheeks, hold it close and give it all the love I have in my heart. I already love this little baby so much and I can't wait to meet our little baby!
    But most of all, I can't wait to see Bill see our baby for the first time. I can't wait to see how his eyes light up, the smile on his face, the tears in his eyes, the obvious and absolute love and dedication on his face. To know that this baby will have him as a father, is more than I could have ever asked for. This baby will have the most supportive, endearing and loving man to look up to and call daddy, and I couldn't be happier about that.

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce - Established June 3, 2017

    On June 3rd, just after 6 p.m., I married the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in crime. From meeting at Pizza Hut almost 7 years ago, to falling in love, buying a house, and everything in between, we couldn't be happier or have been more ready for this step in our life.
    The day started out in a hurry and went by so quickly! I got up in the morning with my family--I stayed at my parents house the night before. I couldn't have asked for a better last morning as a Van Matre. I woke up in my old room, in my old house, with my brother, and both of my parents near by. It has been almost 2 years since that has happened. We all got up and went to Denny's for breakfast before starting wedding preparations.
     My veil that we had ordered 2 weeks before still hadn't arrived so we hauled butt around town trying to find one and finally did at David's bridal around noon. Whew! My maid of honor and I headed back to the Church to finish decorating and other preparations. We blew up balloons, put the tablecloths on, decorated the Sanctuary, finished the centerpieces as well as making all of the desserts and appetizers for the reception.

    Next was my hair appointment at 2 p.m..  Thankfully it was literally 30 seconds away from the church and took me no time to get there. During this time, our photographer was taking pictures of all of the little details of our wedding: our rings, flowers, jewelry. She was so amazing and experienced that nothing phased her! Our pictures were supposed to start at 4 p.m. at the Church for the girls' getting ready pictures. My hair/makeup appointment didn't end until 5 p.m. Just one hour before the wedding was supposed to start! I was freaking out the whole appointment and worried I was going to look terrible! I was wearing more makeup than I ever had in my entire life, I hadn't seen my hair so I didn't know what it looked like and I was running so late that I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I am not a late person.
    Thankfully, our amazing photographer went ahead and got the pictures of the guys getting ready and some of the girls and kiddos as they got ready. When I finally arrived, she was ready to jump in and start taking pictures of me getting my dress on and the finishing touches, as well as a "First Look" with my father.

    I decided to do a 'First Look" with my dad instead of my Fiance because I wanted to see the look on my fiance's face when he first saw me start to come down the isle towards him. I wanted that special moment. I also wanted a moment with my dad. I am such a Daddy's girl that I wanted him to be the first man that saw me dolled up and ready to go. He is so special to me and there have been many times in my life when I didn't think that he would ever be able to see me get married and to have him be there, it was so special and an amazing gift.

    There was about 30 minutes between the time that I finished getting ready and the time I walked down the isle. I couldn't stop thinking about who all was going to actually be at the wedding, if the guys had figured out their bowties, if my grandma was okay. A million little things were running through my head! I was nervous about everything except walking down the isle because I knew what was waiting for me: an amazing man that God brought into my life and a future full of love and adventure. I knew I was ready.




I walked arm-in-arm with the first man to love me, towards the man I would marry and it was like a dream. I didn't see anyone else except for him. I didn't notice anything else, except for him. I barely noticed my dad next to me, slowing me down--I just could't wait to get down the isle to the love of my life. When we got the pictures back, I absolutely loved that we got the look on his face when he saw me for the first time. Seeing the way he looks at me, I can feel the love of that moment over and over again.









We said our vows, we tied the knot (literally) and we shared our first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. It was a magical kiss (that yes, did take a little bit of rehearsing before hand!) that I won't ever forget! And it also caused some priceless reactions! My ring-bearer, and little cousin, Darien, had some of the best reactions and moments throughout the ceremony. He danced around, thumped himself in the head at least a dozen times, made some adorably cute faces and stood in awe during our vows and Hand-Fasting ceremony. I couldn't have imagined a better ring-bearer! I have loved being able to watch him grow up and can't wait to show him these pictures when he gets older!



After the ceremony, we took some family pictures. One of my favorites is of us with my in-laws because I absolutely love the family that I married into and couldn't have asked for a greater blessing. With two sets of parents, one set of grandparents and a sister-in-law (not in this picture), I couldn't have hit a better jack-pot! Though we definitely don't agree on some things, we all get along amazingly and there is an abundance of love and laughter.



During this, I also got a very special picture with my grandmother, who is almost 102. It was such a blessing and a miracle in many ways, to have her there. She has lived to see so much, both of my brother and I being born when she was 77 and 79, both of our high school graduations at 96 and 98, my brother's college graduation at 100 and my wedding at 101. She has been with us for so many things that we could never take her for granted!











It was really the best day of our lives and we can't wait to see what the future holds for us! Here are some of my other favorite pictures from the day! We were surrounded by so many amazing people and it was a day filled with such love and joy and many, many blessings!










Our Wedding Party










                                                           One of my favorite pictures!

The boys being able to go from this:












To this:

To this:

in just a matter of a minute!











And one of my personal favorites: a beautiful bridal picture in front of the lavender. Our photographer was so amazing!

My How Things Have Changed!

    The last post I wrote was at the beginning of the semester 2 years ago! Two years ago I was finishing my pre-requisites to apply to Nursing school, applying for a Phlebotomy position at St. Mary's Hospital and trying to figure out my relationship with my boyfriend. Back then, things were a lot simpler. It has been two years and so much has changed. Here are some of the things that have happened since then:
    I am almost finished with my 3rd semester of Nursing school (we have 5 1/2 weeks left! Yay!). I got in on the first try and the rest is history! Nursing school has been one of the most challenging things that I have ever done. But I wouldn't trade it for the world and I couldn't imagine doing anything else! My first semester was almost a culture shock! There are 39 students in my class and we all have the same classes at the same time. The only difference is our clinical hours. My first semester our clinicals were in Nursing Homes across the Valley, learning the process and understanding the basics of Nursing. My second semester was many different things. I was in surgeries, PACU, Oncology, Medical/Surgical Floors, Neuro/Trauma, and many other rotations. It was a whirlwind and was over in the blink of an eye. This semester is no different. It feels like just yesterday I ended the Fall Semester and went on Winter Break. Now I've been back from spring break for almost two weeks, have 5 weeks left of the semester and have just over a year until graduation.
    This semester has been an even bigger mix of things than last semester. This semester I've been up to Collbran Job Corp's and to Mind Springs Hospital for Mental Health Clinicals and now I'm currently back at St. Mary's Hospital taking care of tiny humans and their mothers! I have had two NICU rotations so far and I LOVE it! The first one was pretty terrible because my preceptor was whining about her job more than she was taking care of the babies it seemed. The second day was the opposite and so amazing. My nurse never said a word that wasn't positive, that wasn't about patient care or helping the baby or it's family. She hugged me probably seven times and was so thankful for me being there. I helped with the admission of a set of 28 week old twins to the NICU, I helped take care of almost every baby in that NICU and had just an overall amazing day! I don't think I would mind working there someday!
    Lets see, what else is there? Oh, right! I just passed my 2 year anniversary for being a Phlebotomist at St. Mary's Hospital! I worked there and at Texas Roadhouse for about 6 months and it was a definite challenge but really helped me grow as a person and prepare for what life is really like. My GPA is still good and my fund is still there and will be there until I graduate next May! Thank goodness because College is expensive!
    I wrote that I was saving to move out next year (which would have been 2016). I didn't accomplish that. My boyfriend and I started looking for apartments in August of 2016 and finally applied and were approved for one in November, only to have the management company to rent the apartment out from underneath us. So, we decided that we would buy instead! In the beginning of January we started the application process for a loan, got pre-approved, went house shopping and found the one! We went under contract immediately and got our keys and moved in on March 15, 2017! It is an amazing 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with a 2 car garage! We absolutely love it and love it even more each day!
    And! We are engaged! On December 15, 2016 Bill took me to the Mesa, got down on one knee and proposed! We are getting married in 60 days on June 3, 2017! We are both so excited to be where we are today, getting married and officially starting our life together. It has been a long time coming (5+) years but well worth the wait!
    Well, there's the update! Until next time! (I'm sure it wont be another 2 years!)