I can't believe so many things have been packed into just ten years!
After graduation I attended Eastern Washington University. I loved my time at Eastern! I met some amazing friends and was challenged in some really good ways. Once I settled on my major, Communication Studies, I was so glad that I did…it was a perfect match for my interests and skills set. Campus Crusade for Christ was a big part of my life at Eastern...it changed my life in ways I didn't expect! On the first night I went, I saw this guy that I couldn't stop thinking about. He was leading the music and had some amazing talent. I ended up being a stalker :) I followed him all over the place and conveniently showed up in the biology department at all hours (and I had no classes there at that time). It took about five months of effort, but Joel finally noticed me and we started dating. We were married in September of 2001, a year after Joel graduated, on Whidbey Island. I didn't expect to meet my future husband within a month of starting college, but it is all part of the story.
Joel took a job after graduation in Seattle as a vascular technologist and I transferred to Seattle Pacific University to finish my degree. Before graduation in 2002, I started an internship at Imagio J. Walter Thompson, a public relations firm in downtown Seattle. After my internship, I was hired on to stay at Imagio and later transitioned into a role with the Thomas C. Wales Foundation – a Seattle-based civic engagement non-profit in honor of the late Tom Wales. Later, I moved into another role at LATCH, a non-profit supporting affordable housing in the Seattle area.
During this time of early marriage, Joel and I were able to travel around the US and in Europe. We are so thankful we took the time to travel early on, before children and more education. The timing of our trip to Europe ended up being perfect, as Joel was accepted into Physician Assistant School UW Medex. This would prove to be such a challenging, but good time in our lives! Within the span of the 2 ½ years of graduate school, we lived in a church, paid HUGE bills to UW, got pregnant with our first child, quit my job to stay at home, had a baby in April of 2005, lived with family, moved across the state to Spokane, bought our first house, got pregnant with our second child, and then...finally Joel graduated in August of 2006 and quickly started his first job as a PA with Spokane Respiratory Consultants. Whew! What a jam-packed few years. I’m so thankful that all happened, but also so relieved it is over!
Parker David was born on April 17th, 2005. He weighed 7 lbs and was 21 inches long…perfect in every way, of course J Parker is sweet, sensitive, active, smart, and now we've noticed he's a really good swimmer. He looks just like me as a kid, right down to the white hair. We tell Parker that he's the one that made us want to have more! And so, Griffin Jacob was born on February 7th, 2007. He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches long, also perfect in every way! Griffin is funny, talkative, strong-willed, sweet, adventurous, and athletic, and he...looks exactly like his daddy! Sometimes I wonder how I gave birth to my husband! I stay home with my two boys now and love it almost all of the time! I enjoy having boys and experiencing childhood from a brand-new angle. Joel and I have been together almost the entire time I've been out of high school...and we'll celebrate eight years of marriage in September.
Let's keep in touch...Facebook or my blog: http://amy-ohmy.blogspot.com/
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