From the Beginning

I feel like someone should say “Welcome to blogging”! I have gone back and forth with starting a blog and after careful thought and inspiration here I am.  Welcome to the Reibenstein Family Blog, created “All Because Two People Fell in Love”!  We really are just two, Aggie lovebirds who are living life to the fullest.  We have 2 German Shepards (Junior and Lieba) and a rescue cat named Maybelle who are more like our children than pets (its sad).  We have a sweet baby boy on the way, due in July who we know will be our greatest treasure, the source of our family pride and we couldn’t be more excited.  We/I can’t promise to write everyday but I am going to try and write as often as I can.  This first post is seriously long only because I have a lot to share… bear with me, they won’t all be this long. This blog is for our family and for me, to share our faith and growing family and for memories sake, to always have a chronicle of our crazy, yet wonderful, life together. J

Where has the time gone? Geez … July 4, 2003 Matthew and I met and started our relationship, March 11, 2007 we were engaged, June 7, 2008 we married, July 2010 we moved back to the Woodlands from Melissa, TX, and July 14, 2011 (give or take a few days) we will welcome our first born son into the world.  WOW, is all I have to say.  I am teaching 2^nd grade in Conroe ISD at Birnham Woods Elementary and Matthew owns his own business, Royal Homes and Kaiser Development Company.  I am loving my job, and Matthew just moved to a new office in the Montgomery/Conroe area, a huge step! I was telling my mom the other day; I remember being a little girl and just dreaming of the day that I would meet my Prince Charming and live happily ever after.  We would get married and have kids and I would be a mommy and a teacher.  That time is now! We prayed for this baby and after trying a few months God blessed us with a positive pregnancy test and so here we are!  We are on cloud nine about this sweet little man on the way. For both of us, a little dream came true (big one for Matthew) when we found out we were having a boy.  We always said that we would love to have a son born first and when Leanne, our technician, told us it was a boy – it was an amazing feeling, an overwhelming joy.  I have been so lucky with such a great pregnancy so far – both Pax (his name will be Paxton Lawrence) and I are doing great and it seems as though I look down everyday and my tummy has gotten bigger.  I just love to sit and feel him kick around.  Hopefully others will feel him soon to.  I am about 23 weeks pregnant and looking forward to watching him grow even more. 

We have A LOT going on right now (as if no one else does) - we have a nursery we are working on day by day.  The furniture will be here next week and I think when I see his crib in the room it will start feeling VERY real.  Matthew already installed hardwood floors in Pax’s nursery and they look amazing (our bedroom as well) and now that we are registered we're hitting the “life please slow down so we can get ready for this baby” button.  I cannot believe he will be here in a few short months.  We have been working really hard on finding childcare for him next year.  I think any mom would agree that it has to be one of the hardest decisions you will ever make for your child.  We have a few people we are talking too and really just praying about where he and we will fit the best.  We are going with at-home childcare and have been lucky to have many options.  Matthew will keep him one day a week and hopefully my mom will keep him one day as well.  But, finding the person to care for him the rest of the time is crazy stressfull.  We interviewed one lady already and we LOVE her.  I just got that “this feels right” feeling so if all goes well he will be with her.  We’ll see, I’ll keep you updated on this journey!

Matthew has his Iron Man 70.3 Triathlon in 2 weeks and he is busy training and mentally preparing for that.  My super hot husband has lost 105 pounds (probably more now) and its funny because we joke I am gaining baby weight and he is loosing it! Eating healthy while being pregnant has been so easy because we are both such health nuts now, especially Matthew, so we hold each other accountable.  He inspires me to work out and stay active and I really do have him to thank for that.  After being with 7 year olds all day I come home sometimes and just want to do nothing.  Sometimes I do that J, but most of the time he inspires me to get up and do something and we all know how that goes.  Once you do, you feel so much better.  I am so incredibly proud of him and I just know he is going to be such an amazing daddy and inspiration to our son.  I can’t wait to cheer him on in Galveston in just 2 weeks!  

BEFORE

AFTER

We have gone through a lot our 3 years of marriage so far.  We moved to McKinney, got jobs, bought 14 acres and moved our horses there, Mom got breast cancer, Matthew started a company, decided we felt like we needed to move back to our roots, found our church in Montgomery, donated our horses, I found a new job, sold our beautiful custom house, Mom beat cancer J, built a new house, and got pregnant!!!!!  We had many dark days and many joyous days! We definitely couldn’t have done it without our steadfast love for each other, support of our family, and ever growing Faith.  God doesn’t give you more than you can handle, even when it feels like he has, and we have learned that the hard way.  We have learned to lift up our biggest fears and greatest joys to the Lord and in the process found an amazing church that holds us accountable to that every single day.  Watch the movie ‘Facing the Giants’ (we have a copy if you want to borrow it) and you will see an example of this, a truly uplifting movie.   We have so much to be thankful for and our faith is at the top of the list. J 

Matthew and I have both learned that we are not perfect people with perfect lives, no one is, and that an attitude can change everything! We are SO EXCITED to be living in the Woodlands now, surrounded by family, expecting a baby and overall just happy! We do live a crazy busy life but we love it!! What is life unless you’re living it to the fullest?? I hope to be able to capture our life in pictures and words on this blog and hope to inspire some others along the way. 

Until next time… Lots of love!