Stages

Friends, I am an old married lady.
I say this because I have been married for four blessed, wonderful years. Every week, nay, every day, I love my husband more and more.

  "Why do you sound like you're complaining then, Colette?"
Good question, faithful readers. And no, I am not complaining. I am simply noting and wondering over the way that life comes and goes in stages. For example: last week, a best friend of mine from high school got engaged to her sweetheart of 2 years. Yesterday, my dear, sweet cousin, Kayla, Got asked the same question and now she, too, is engaged. I am so happy for both of them! Now, they enter into that stage of life that I myself experienced and enjoyed thoroughly 4+ years ago. It's the "soon-to-be-married" stage that involves excitement, drama (both good and bad), anticipation, joy, happiness, that ooey-gooey kind of lovey-dovey feeling that all soon-to-be and newlyweds feel, and even a tad to a lot of stress. I remember it so well. It was a simpler time, and yet I thought life could never be fuller. My world revolved around wedding preparation. I loved that time, and until I die or grow senile, I will treasure that stage of life in my heart. I wish all that happiness on my friend and my cousin.

    But now, friends, I'm in a new stage in life. Since prepping for and then saying our "I do's", Stephan and I, together, have passed through a few life stages. There was the newlywed stage (also called the honeymoon stage"), in which we lived in our sweet little apartment and tried very hard to never ever fight. Then there was the happy married couple stage; wherein we really learned what married life is like, what works, what doesn't work, and also, we made lots of good, Christian couple-friends, all while living in our haunted rent house. After that was the new home-owner stage, (a big step up responsibility-wise), and then, the parenting stage.

Little-bitty Noah baby!

  Right now, Stephan and I are happily dwelling in the parenting stage of life. It started with months of wishing and praying, followed by months of pregnancy and preparing, and then there was a new, even bigger load of responsibility placed in our arms, bundled snugly in a blankie. We have embraced this stage of life. With the support of our families and those previously mentioned friends of ours, we have flourished as a fledgling family. And now, we prepare for the addition of another baby and the start of a new stage in life: the family of four stage.
     I look back with sighs and smiles at the past stages in life. And thus far I've very much enjoyed reliving the wedding-stage with my engaged friend, Mechelle. But it is with prayer and excitement that I press onward, cherishing and learning from the past while preparing and embracing the future.

The future involves teaching Noah how to swiffer and clean the floors...

...and properly sort and do the laundry.

So, future Mrs. Lyon and future Mrs. Varnell, soak up every minute of this wonderful stage in life that ya'll are now facing. Abuse the power those rings give you. (But don't get crazy.) And most of all, congratulations and God bless you mightily! Ya'll have so very much to look forward to.