Thanksgiving break is a time that many college students look forward to. A break from classes, tests, obnoxious roommates. A chance to get away from campus for awhile. This particular Thanksgiving was especially anticipated by both Ryan and Amberly. They were looking forward to their trip to California with Ryan’s family.

The nurses had the paperwork done and everything ready for us to go. They said as soon as we were ready we could leave the hospital and take our sweet new little boy home. The only problem was we were not ready. We still needed to finish that yellow form sitting in front of us. It was several pages long and every line had been filled out, even the last line requesting our signatures. Every line that is except the two blanks near the top saying “First Name” and “Middle Name”.

I had never gone into labor on my own with our previous three babies. In fact Jaxton, our oldest, was a week overdue before I was finally induced. So when my doctor offered to induce me anytime after 39 weeks we quickly decided on a date. It makes life easier knowing you already have everything planned out. Our kids had somewhere to go, our hospital bags were packed and we felt “mostly” prepared.

Summer passed in a blur.  A fun blur full of adventures and memories.  By this point both Ryan and Amberly knew they were going to get married.  It wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of when.  Ryan wanted to go the traditional route of asking Amberly’s father for her hand in marriage before he proposed.

Since Ryan was living at his family’s home, he and Amberly spent quite a bit of time with them.  It was a great way for Amberly to get to know his family and for them to get to know her.  Amberly’s parents, on the other hand, lived in Idaho and had only met Ryan once.