From our dear Ashleigh!

Dear sweet YLCF sisters,

I just looked back and realized that it's literally been months since I've written any sort of post over here. I've had a few posts over at my personal blog that I planned to give Natalie to use here, and some other new ones swirling in my head, but it seems much of it wouldn't make sense without a bit of an update first.

But, where on earth does one start when there are so many big things to tell you about? I have no idea. So, here's what we'll do. Let's just pretend it's a sunny spring day--the kind in which you can just begin to feel the first bit of the season's warmth and yet a lightweight sweater can still be desired, draped across one's shoulders. We'll curl up on a gently swaying porch swing with a glass of clear, fresh water in hand. Now bask in the delicious rays of sunlight and settle in for a chat while we listen to the tinkling of the ice against our glasses.

There, now. We'll begin with last summer...

Last July the Marine Corps transferred John to another base here in California and we made our third move in our three years of marriage, and yet our first real and true Military move--from the desert to the beach! We quickly settled into our new home, enjoyed the balmy weather, found a wonderful church right away, and began preparing for the arrival of another little one in November.

Our second little boy was born the evening of November 1, 2007, making Troy a big brother at nineteen months old. He was fascinated by this little bebe, and after the initial adjustment, they have become the best li'l buds. Troy is a big helper and his baby brother loves nothing more than smiling while Troy plays near him. The "rough and tumble" has already begun and it keeps everyone nearby on out toes, reminding Troy to be gentle with the baby. We are so enjoying getting to experience a whole new little person and personality. This little fellow is the epitome of happy contentment, a calm disposition, and a world of smiles at just over four months old. Our boys couldn't be more precious.

Now, I have to stop here and explain our newest little guy's name. Because I just know you are all going to laugh. I laugh too, when I think of it. But, it's not our fault that we heard a name and liked it... right? :)

We had such a hard time choosing a name for this little man before he was born. We went back and forth, over and over, tossing around different options. We had narrowed it down to one or two names, but none of them really seemed to be "it" for us. Then one day, Troy and I were taking a drive with my mom and brother. We'd been talking about baby names and our ideas while my mom absent-mindedly searched for a radio station we could listen to. She passed a country music station, and we heard a quick clip from a song we'd heard several times before.

He just takes the tractor another round,
Pulls the plow across the ground,
And sends up another prayer...

I told my mom every time my husband John hears that song, it reminds him of Gretchen's Merritt and then John asks, without fail, if I've heard how Merritt was doing after his accident. I anticipate it every time the song starts to play on the radio.

Then my brother piped up from the back seat, "'Merritt.' Now that's a cool name."

And then it clicked. Merritt. Merritt. Oooh, I liked it. I called John to ask him what he thought of it. He liked it. A lot. And that was that.

But, beside the fact that we just up and stole Merritt's name like that, here's the real bit of hilarity.

Did you know Gretchen and I have never actually had direct contact? We know of each other, and have only about a zillion mutual friends, we're friends on Facebook and Homeschool Alumni (even though neither of us are very active of those, though), and we've even left each other occasional comments on blog posts. And, you know, there's this blog we're both associated with called YLCF--not that you'd all know of it or anything. But the truth of the matter is that we don't, officially, even know each other.

Of course, had I not been about to have a baby and, thus, sadly unable to attend Natalie's wedding as originally planned, all of this would have been remedied. Although, by that time, it was too late when it came to the name. We'd already stolen her husband's name for our baby-boy-on-the-way, and there was no turning back. Merritt Will it was, and Merritt Will is has remained.

Now, our little Merritt's middle name is Will, but that one wasn't stolen from one of Gretchen's family members, even though it does happen to be her brother's name. It's a variation of John's grandfather's name that we'd already planned to use as a middle name. Just, you know, justifying a little here.

Oh, but, before I get any further in this little chat of ours, allow me to turn for a moment to this young lady walking up to us here...

Hello! My name is Ashleigh. My, what beautiful hair you have. Mind if I steal it? I've yearned all my life for curly red hair. Your name is Gretchen, you say? I must say, you do look familiar. Perhaps I know you from someplace? Well, it is certainly very nice to meet you!"

There. It's official. I feel better now.

:)

We'll continue this chat very soon...