Timeline

Early spring 2004  Spencer and I meet in our Ogden singles ward.  Sparks fly immediately.

June 4, 2004  Spencer proposes at Snowbird resort at the top of the tram.

August 6, 2004  Spencer and I are married for time and all eternity in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  We move to Murray, Utah.

February 2005 Spencer gets an associate position in Idaho Falls and moves up to begin work.  I stay in Utah to finish the school year at Cottonwood Elementary in Holladay.  We visit every weekend and decide to never live apart again.

May/June 2005  We buy our first house, in Ammon, Idaho, and I move up to join Spencer.

Late summer/early fall 2005  We decide to go off birth control.  I start teaching at Falls Valley Elementary in Idaho Falls.

2006  Take several pregnancy tests over several months, always negative.  I transfer to Rimrock Elementary in Ammon for the 2006-07 school year.

2007  Worry about ability to get pregnant.  Try different natural supplements that are supposed to help with fertility.

January/February 2007  Spencer finds a partner position in Salt Lake City and moves down to work.  I stay in Idaho Falls to finish the school year and try to sell our house.  We visit every weekend.  I thought we weren't going to live apart ever again??

June 2007  I move down to Salt Lake with Spencer.  House has not sold.

August 2007  I start teaching at Edgemont Elementary in Sandy, Utah.

Early spring 2008  House finally sells!  We move to a condo in Cottonwood Heights, Spencer opens his own office after the previous partnership dissolves.

Summer 2008  Doctor appointments.  Little to no help in coming up with a diagnosis for our infertility.  Eventually do three rounds of Clomid, a drug which aids in ovulation.  No luck.

2008  I accept the fact that I may never be pregnant.

Late summer/fall 2009  We take the foster care course, hoping to become foster parents with the chance of adopting.  We finish the course, and then Spencer's work status changes again.  With my income still necessary, foster care is put on hold until I can stay at home.

Early 2010  Spencer starts working as an associate again, this time in Sandy.  We are living in the Suncrest area of Draper.

Fall 2010  Spencer starts his own business in Orem.  It takes off right away and continues to grow steadily.  Finally!!

Spring 2011  We start looking for homes to buy, and find one in Pleasant Grove.  The contract is signed in April and we move in.  I am teaching in Sandy, so my commute just lengthened considerably.  Spencer's business continues to thrive, and I decide not to return to teaching after this school year.

June 2011  My final days teaching at Edgemont Elementary in Sandy.

July 2011  More doctor appointments, this time at a different clinic.  Doctors are more willing to help and are proactive in reaching a diagnosis.  Results:  I finally find out that I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).  Blood tests also show that I am anemic.  A treatment plan is put in place.

September 7, 2011  I take a home pregnancy test after Spencer leaves for work.  I then drive to the clinic and get another test taken.

lunchtime, September 7, 2011  I call Spencer to see if he wants to go to lunch.  After meeting him at the office, we get in the car to go to lunch and I show him the results of the test from the clinic--I am pregnant!!!  (This lunch meeting was preceded and followed by many tears of joy.)

September 13, 2011  First intake appointment at the clinic.  Blood work is taken, which comes back normal except for a slight anemia, which has improved since my last blood test.  After the appointment we drive past a birthing center and get information about a more natural birth setting.

September 19, 2011  Meet with a midwife from the birthing center to discuss treatment options.

September 2011  I read magazines and books about pregnancy, natural birthing, fetal development, etc.  Lots of books, lots of information to process, lots of excitement.

September 30 - October 2, 2011  We decide to take a trip while we still can, just the two of us.  We fly in to Portland, Oregon and drive down to Bend for the weekend.  The drive back to Portland on Sunday is my first and only bout of "morning sickness."  I throw up on the side of the road.  Spencer takes a picture.

October 17, 2011  First prenatal appointment with my midwife.  I get to hear the heartbeat briefly.  I finally feel like I really am pregnant, and the doubts disappear.  I really love that sound.

September 7 - November 24, 2011  Spencer and I keep our exciting pregnancy secret to ourselves.  The first couple of weeks are easy and fun.  It's nice to have such a great secret that only the two of us know.  But by the end of October and through most of November, it's tougher for me not to say anything to family and friends.  Spencer and I make a deal that if I spill the beans before Thanksgiving, he gets to buy a motorcycle.  My lips are sealed!

November 16, 2011  Second prenatal appointment.  Spencer got to hear the heartbeat for the first time.  Everything looks good, I am measuring a little high and a little big.

November 24, 2011  Thanksgiving dinner with Spencer's family.  The family did a new game where we all wrote down something we were thankful for on a piece of paper and then rolled them up into crescent rolls, like a fortune cookie.  During the meal we all opened our rolls and read the random paper we received.  The first note that was read was what Spencer had written: "I am thankful that Celeste is 16 weeks pregnant."  The news was out!  We all cheered, some of us cried, and I got a lot of hugs.  It was wonderful!  It did sort of ruin the rest of the note-reading, but oh well, right?

November 25, 2011  Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Every year we play a family flag football game before the meal.  It was not easy backing out of the game without looking suspicious.  My excuses??  Well, I had to put the ham in the oven, fix the sweet potatoes, my rib hurt, and I wanted to check out my new Black Friday purchase (that will be its own post).  Plus, somebody needed to take pictures of the game.  I showed up late to the field with my  camera, snapped a few pictures, and managed to get out of playing.  So no football for me this year.

I wanted to break the news during our usual tradition of going around the table to tell what we are thankful for.  However, this year nobody seemed to be in the mood for that.  We were all sitting at the table starting to eat and I suggested we say what we're thankful for.  That was met with groans and complaints.  I did NOT want to wait until after dinner for the announcement, so I just bullied my way into doing it anyway, and volunteered Spencer to go first.  Of course, he was thankful that I was 16 weeks pregnant, everyone celebrated, and we got to end the thankful game.  Now both families knew, and it was time to tell the world via Facebook.

Overall my first trimester was really easy.  I was really tired all the time and had to take a nap every day, but the nausea was pretty limited and I didn't have any weird cravings (except for a couple of days when all I wanted was a big warm pretzel with cheese sauce).  I was usually bloated in the evenings, but it was not too bad.  It's just so nice to have this experience after thinking that it would never happen!  I am appreciating each little part of being pregnant.  I love the little bump that is showing up now and am so glad I don't have to try hiding it anymore.  I've improved my eating habits and am eating more whole grains and fruits and veggies.  I'm limiting sugar more than before.  I need to exercise more than I do, especially since the initial fatigue is starting to wear off.  And I will soon be shopping for pants that I can button up without having to suck in my belly.  We will have an ultrasound on December 22nd to find out if we are having a little boy or girl.  We have a little girl's name that we both like, but haven't really thought of a boy's name yet.  There is just so much to look forward to!

I really feel so blessed to be able to have this experience.  It has been a long journey, but the Lord knows what is best for us and I feel like this journey was all part of the plan for us.  Getting pregnant right now is absolutely perfect timing.  We are in a house that we love, Spencer's business is doing so well, and I get to stay home and relax without all the stress of teaching.  As hard as it was during those first six years of trying to get pregnant, looking back now I know that it was worth the wait.

So the next big milestone in our timeline will be December 22nd when we get our ultrasound.  Boy or girl???  We shall see!