Introductions

At first, there was just Jamie and me. We met as admissions counselors for our alma maters. Jamie lived in Nashville, and I lived in Charlotte. Single life in big cities...traveling and meeting other young professionals...life was good and fun. Except that I was totally in love with him...and he hadn't a clue!

In 1998 we started grad school at USC. He says I was stalking him. I say they gave me the best graduate assistantship offer, and I met Jessica, my roomie, and I knew it was the best fit! After a year of grad school, going to church together and lots of game nights, we finally started dating in the fall of 1999. He proposed (in front of both of our families on Thanksgiving) in 2000, and we were married June 2, 2001.

Now, on a trip to Destin, from Charlotte, I scoffed as I drove down I-85, "Who in the world would live in Auburn, AL? There's nothing here!" I truly believe God laughed. I followed Jamie here (Dating from MS was tough enough...we weren't willing to have a long-distance marriage too!) and we've loved Auburn ever since.

And Then There Were Three
Getting married when you're 27 and wanting several children doesn't leave much time for "just us" time. By our first anniversary, I was quite pregnant. At least I was blessed with an easy pregnancy. Jamie and I got up every morning to go to the gym, and I was running, walking or on the elliptical machine five times a week. We bought our first house that summer, a cute two bedroom that Jamie still swears is his favorite, and we (by that, I mean everyone but me) painted the nursery a light shade of yellow since we chose not to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. My sister, Sarah, moved out (She lived with us for a bit before deciding to stay in Auburn for a while. Yeah, she was in the car with me during that whole "who lives in Auburn" conversation, and God laughed at her too!) in time to make room for...a girl!

Porter Marie joined us on December 13, 2002. (Please note she was Jamie's 30th birthday present. I should be "set" for birthday presents for him for life!) She came after only four hours of labor at the hospital...blond, blond hair...holding her head up and ready to take on the world.

Today, Porter is a pretty amazing little girl. She loved playing T-ball this spring, and she was pretty good as the only girl on the team. (Her Daddy and Uncle Bo were quite proud!) She recently lost her first tooth so she is officially now ready for kindergarten. Porter reads everything...including her little New Testament King James Version Bible. Her passion to try to understand the Bible is amazing, and it keeps us on our toes trying to answer her questions. She is indeed "hiding" Bible verses and wisdom in her heart. (Part of this is due to the Bible verse song CD we listen to almost every day to and from school! The songs are actually quite catchy...darn it...I'll be singing "Let the Little Children Come" for the rest of the day!)

Funny...how much space such a small person takes up!

On the Grow...
Pregnant again, we were expecting another December baby in 2004. Jamie, convinced that there are no surprises left in life, convinced me to not find out what we were having again. While I agreed that the excitement of Porter's arrival had been fun, I still cried when we left the doctor's office that day.

Meanwhile, we realized our cute two bedroom home would not easily accommodate a new baby. So, we moved again...while I was pregnant.

Continuing to exercise, I enjoyed another easy pregnancy and only spent two hours in the hospital prior to Betsy's arrival. Elizabeth Bryn...born, December 2, 2004, came into the world loving life. She took to nursing with no problem and continued for a year. (A big success for me since I started supplementing with formula at four months with Porter.)

This is now the three-year-old who opts for smuggling her precious Pink Bear into daycare in a backpack over asking permission. Her laugh is infectious, and she seems to have the ability to get just about anyone to do anything with one flash of her impish smile and sparkling blue eyes. Yeah...we'll be watching this one!

And Wouldn't a Boy be a Nice Addition to the Mix?
God said, "Yes."

Summer 2007...I am 33, busy with work and two little girls, and I am pregnant. Jamie has wrapped up his doctoral course work, starts a new job and teaches Sunday School. Funny how exercise has moved to the bottom of the priority list and getting my hands on a sausage biscuit has moved to the top...and how did THAT even get on the list at all?! I'm exhausted. It crosses my mind that we might be nuts thinking that we can manage three kids...God, please let it just be one baby inside.

It was just one, and due to my tears shed at not finding out the gender of the previous child, Jamie insists we find out. (He doesn't want a crying pregnant woman on his hands again.) It's a boy! A BOY! We're both crying. I'm sure the ultrasound lady has seen this before, but we had "beat" the odds, and Porter and Betsy were getting a brother. Of course, Porter never had any doubt about this. Upon being told that I was pregnant, she immediately asked if it was a boy. She followed this up with sharing that she had been praying for a baby brother (while we were watching American Idol) at night before going to sleep. (Yes, we now go to Porter for all major decisions as it appears she has a direct line to God. ha ha!)

We wavered back and forth if our house would accommodate us all. We were pretty sure that the people would fit, but we just weren't sure if the "stuff" would. So...that's right...we moved again...while I was pregnant. This time, I was a lot MORE pregnant, almost eight months! The only advantageous to our insanity is that I unpacked the house in record time. (Need to get a house settled? Just try the nesting instinct!)

Barely able to haul my hundred billion pound, out of shape body up the stairs to work, in pain with each step, we find out that this baby is breech five days before the due date...sitting upright with a pretty, round head. There is talk of trying to turn the baby...that freaks me out. We decide to go with a C-section instead. Now...I had never had an epidural...and now they are telling me that I will have an epidural and they are going to cut me open. It makes me feel a bit faint to this day.

Driving to the hospital not in pain...was really weird. We had not yet determined if we would go the turning or the C-section route at the time. Would they turn the baby and send me home? Would I be induced? Would I have a baby that day? The answer was, of course, I would have a baby that day.

The "no pain" thing was pretty nice during the process, but it made me so sad to not be able to hold my sweet boy upon arrival. The little guy came smaller than both of his sisters. He didn't have a name for a while because Jamie couldn't decide if he wanted a junior or not. Eventually, we decided to go with the grandfather option, and John Edwin "Jack" it was to be.

At this time, he's only three months old so we don't know him that well yet. Thus far, he seems to be pretty laid back. He is chatty (something we are surprised at since his sisters are always talking and we were afraid he wouldn't be brave enough to try to get a word in), and he smiles a lot. I'm pretty sure that he has a special smile just for mommy, but Jamie thinks I'm nuts.

So...this is us, the Mantooth Family...five strong...and billions of blessings!