The Baby Bunch: We are All Strangely Connected

Reed and I know we are just soul mates! There is no other way to describe the weird way we finally met each other. Reed's family has been a family friend for over 12 years...strangely enough, I never meet him until Thanksgiving of 2007! How this is possible, I am not sure!

Deer season is always pretty big around here. Every moment of free time I had during my Thanksgiving break was spent in a tree stand. My mom would have to beg for me to "get out of the woods and spend some time in the house." One particular afternoon, just as it had turned completely dark and I have given up for the night, my phone started to ring. Of course it was my mama "noticing" that it was dark outside and asking me to have supper with her and some friends at Papa's (a local mexican restaurant). I didn't have time to change so I went to eat in my camo overalls and smelling like deer pee! A clumsy incident had happened while I was climbing into the tree stand and the whole bottle poured all over my clothes. I show up and my Nana takes one look at me and just looks down at the table and shakes her head! How was I supposed to know I was meeting my future husband tonight?! A little warning that they were trying to set me up would have been nice! It was such a coincidence that the only chair left open was by this very attractive, polite man, Reed. Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely shy! Especially meeting new people and especially with men! So I basically didn't say 3 words the whole meal!

We love to go hunting together. I am the better shot and he always seems to know where to find whatever we are hunting :)

I had to leave to go back to school the next day, but little did I know Reed had asked my Dad if it would be alright if he called me. Again, nobody filled me in on this information! As soon as I get back to school I get a phone call from a weird number. Of course it was Reed and I was confused. Why in the world would he want to talk to a deaf/mute?! That must be what he thinks I am because I never said two words to him. Phone conversations are also not on my list of talents...I am deaf in my left ear and soooo shy talking on the phone. Poor Reed had to keep the whole conversation up by asking questions! After a LOT of phone calls I eventually relaxed. There was a connection that just could not be ignored. All the stuff I was bad at, he was good at. He wasn't intimidated by my over-bearing, in your face, but loving family. He immediately picked up the fact that he always needs to stand on my right side if he wants me to hear much of what he says, which means he is a very attentive and nurturing man...most of the time :)

We fell in love hard and fast. Next thing I know we are an exclusive couple. All my friends love him, especially my sister, Autumn, without her approval this relationship would have been ended right there! We move to Wyoming together to go to school. After almost a year there, Reed proposes! We take a day trip to Steamboat, Colorado to go hiking up by a beautiful waterfall. I was completely unsuspecting. As we was crossing over the waterfall on this little bridge I turn around to tell Reed I think we can climb a little bit higher, he is already down on one knee. As blonde as I am, I still didn't realize what was going on, so I bend down too and look on the ground...I thought he lost something! Next thing I know he grabs my hands and says, "Amber Dawn will you marry me?"

I excitedly got to call everyone and tell them I was engaged! Mama and I immediately started making wedding plans...we were both thinking Hawaii! Keep it small with a few people who love us most and really simple. Well...little did I know Hawaii was not going to be an option. 5 Weeks later we realized God had other plans! We were expecting a baby and due date was right around Valentine's Day. Since my Mama and Dad...well technically my whole family, is the best we planned an amazing wedding in a few short weeks! We both wanted to be married before the baby was here, but we didn't want to shortchange our wedding experience. We never tried to hide the pregnancy, we always said it was an unexpected blessing and if people couldn't accept that, then that was their problem. My Mama and Reed's Nana and Mom were the magicians for the wedding! Mama found the location and made everything perfect! Reed's Nana, Marie, and Mom, Dede completely decorated the whole thing. It was truly amazing. Almost everyone we loved and cared about was able to make the trip to South Carolina