Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2034

It is hard to imagine our little girl even being here to hold let alone one day dropping her off at her dorm room at Texas A&M. I am only going to allow myself to think that far in advance this one time because to fathom the emotions that I will actually experience seems to be impossible and overwhelming in the best way!

This weekend Jorde and I joined our friends down in College Station for alumni weekend. One thing is for sure, that town is sure different when you are pregnant! I held my own though, turning in at an impressive 11:00 PM. We left our house in Dallas at 8:00AM and arrived in Aggieland for a day full of events and Aggie Football starting at 11:45AM. The trip down there was different than trips past. Before, the trips were focused on how much fun we were going to have and what bars we were going to go to after the game. This time down the guys were planning that stuff but I was remembering my experiences and thinking about just how different our life is.. How much God has blessed us in the 4 short years I have been away. Everything in my life has a new meaning and I guess going to College Station is no different.

Like I said, imagining Jorde and I 18 years from now taking Sloan to college is a hard reality to swallow. I am just now coming to the realization that she is going to give me a dose of my own medicine starting around age 10. How am I ever going to give my baby girl over to the world and trust that it treats her well?

I'll tell you how. We are going to brainwash her into believing that any other school but Texas A&M is unfit and take a little piece of mind with us knowing that, while we can't protect her from the decisions that she will make on her way to becoming the person she wants to be, we can put her in a town and around people that treated Jorde and I so well just 4 and 6 years ago. We truly believe that Texas A&M is so much more than an education.

The drive down to college station was a lot of reminiscing for me. Jorde's two fraternity brothers joined us on our road trip so I was allowed to concentrate on the reflections of my trips back and forth during my time in College Station while they talked fantasy football (gag.) My first trip home to Amarillo my freshman year was Thanksgiving. The last time I saw my parents was the weekend they dropped me off for college in August. I couldn't wait to get home and let them see just how grown up I had become in just three months. I had already met Jorde and determined that he was the one for me but I was too "mature" to tell anybody I had a HUGE crush on a Sr. Computer Science Major for Colleyville Texas. No no, the grown up JJ would casually mention that I met a boy that seemed nice but that I wasn't going to let him get in the way of my academics and we will just see what happens (I know! I laugh just typing out my "very mature" thought.) The truth is, it didn't take me one hour before I was singing his praises to my cousin, mom, sister, grandmother, and aunts!! While I hope Sloan is as lucky as I was to meet the man of my dreams the first week of college, I would be absolutely fine (and probably breathe a sigh of relief) with her joining a sorority or an organization that allows her to make everlasting friendships and boys coming later ;)

Speaking of boys! ...Our friends Julie and Brett Crowell welcomed their son Jackson Cooper Crowell to the world on September 16th (my birthday) and we are pretty sure that Sloan and Jackson might be one another's first love. If anything they will be the best of friends! I am so happy for Julie and Brett on their beautiful, healthy baby boy!

Here he and I are getting to know one another.

When we got to College Station we stopped in at AggieLand Outfitters to pick up some Aggie gear and couldn't resist some Aggie Loot for Sloan! The more maroon the better!!

We are full seventeen weeks in and Sloan is growing by the hour. I haven't felt her kick or a "flutter" just yet but I know it is soon to come. She has me captivated! Every thought I have is someway connected to her. I try my very hardest to not talk about her all the time (one of the reasons I started this blog) but she just amazes me! She amazes me because she is our daughter! The man I love more than life itself and I made this amazing little person that will be a perfect mix of him and me. It overwhelms me to think of the places she will go, the girls she will call her best friends, and the people she will influence.

Here I am going into my 18th week.