Manuel...Party of Five: The Road to Party of Five

My best friend, Lindsay, had been trying to set me up with her boyfriend's friend for months. She just knew that we would be perfect for each other. Newly single, I finally agreed to go with her to the softball fields where all the guys were playing. When we got there, she told me to point out what guys I thought were cute, so she could get a better feel for my taste. Can you believe I saw no cute guys at a men's league softball field?? I mean, none! We finally find her boyfriend and his friends, and this really, really cute guy walks up to him and throws all his stuff on the ground, angry that his team had just lost. I told Lindsay to tell Bryan sorry, but I wanted to meet this friend! Her response: That's Bryan!! Meanwhile, her boyfriend was telling Bryan to calm down because, "that's Shayna!". It was perfect! We were inseparable from that day forward.

Three years later, Bryan took me back to our first date, Putt Putt Golf, a local miniature golf course. It was there, on hole 15, that he asked me to be his forever. Of course, I said YES!!!

Manuel...Party of Two!

The following year was a huge year for us. In 2006, we made the biggest promise of our lives, and became parents to the most beautiful and perfect little boy either of us had ever seen. It was amazing. People say that the first year of marriage is supposed to be hard. People also say that the first year with a new baby is even harder than your first year of marriage. Well, ours overlapped, so I guess it was supposed to be twice as hard? Well, it wasn't. How can doing something you love to do, and doing it with your best friend in the whole world, be hard? I guess we are just truly lucky, not to mentioned blessed, that things seem to come so easy for us. I couldn't imagine our lives any other way.

Manuel...Party of Three!

Thirteen months after Gannon was born, we were celebrating his first real Christmas. I mean, let's face it, he was only four weeks old for his first Christmas, so he had no clue what was going on. This year was fun. Christmas Eve, I was sick. All. Day. Long. Sick. It was terrible. I was just so nauseated all day, and I couldn't shake it. I went to the Christmas parties, and faked the smiles, but I just felt terrible. Christmas morning, I took a test. Best Christmas present ever!! It was positive. Gannon was going to be a big brother!! I immediately ran out and had a "Big Brother" shirt made for him. On December 30, Bryan's dad's birthday, we paraded Gannon around in his new shirt. Everyone was thrilled. Our little princess joined our family in August of 2008. Gannon was the best big brother I had ever seen. He was so helpful and didn't seem jealous at all. He was very gentle with her, and got very upset when she cried. He would always run to her to try to make it all better.

Manuel...Party of Four!

Two years later, we were thrown a curve ball. You see, Bryan works for a natural gas pipeline. The portion of the pipeline that he was in charge of was offshore. This meant that he was to fly offshore every morning in a helicopter, and he would fly back every afternoon. I was a nervous wreck. I hated the thought of him flying everyday. He hated it, too. In July, he was offered a position in Texas doing the exact same thing he was doing at home. The difference? His portion of the pipeline would now be on land. Score! No more helicopters! But that would also mean us moving. Moving away from our family and friends. It was hard, but at the same time, the easiest decision to make. Our priority was to get him off the helicopter. So we packed up our little family and moved four hours away from everyone we loved. It was hard, but it is getting better.

Our second summer in Texas, we were thrown another curve. I got up for work and got ready like normal. I felt normal. I brushed my teeth, and spit red. Lots of red. hmmm.....I remember this! I shook it off and went to work. Around lunch time, I should have been getting hungry, but instead, I was getting sick. Weird. I had to know. So on the way home, I stopped at the dollar store and grabbed a test. Sure enough--positive!

Manuel...Party of Five!

*On March 19, 2012, we welcomed our little caboose, Mia, into the world. We are over the moon in love with her!