Can you believe it’s been a year since I posted anything?!?

Wow! 2011 has been a whirlwind. The first five months were spent preparing for our wedding at the Rose Garden in Jacob Loose Park on 6.11.11 (and a surprise 40th wedding anniversary celebration for my parents at our reception). After a Hawaiian honeymoon we returned to Kansas City to regroup but found ourselves heading out of town once or twice each month. From July to November we traveled to Arkansas for my cousin’s wedding, to Oklahoma for another cousin’s wedding, to Oklahoma for a wedding reception in honor of the three newlywed Blair cousins and our annual Thiessen family reunion, to Missouri for a “free” weekend Branson get-away, to Tulsa for my Grandma Thiessen’s funeral, and back to Tulsa once more to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Blair family.

As if planning a wedding, getting married, moving all my things from an apartment and storage into my husband’s house, and traveling non-stop wasn’t enough activity for one season, I also quit my two-year job as an office assistant at the law firm shortly after returning from our honeymoon.

I had begun exploring other job options and decided that becoming a nanny could prepare me for children. When I interviewed for a nanny job, an opportunity arose to become the Learning Center Coordinator for College Nannies and Tutors. Since I hadn’t become pregnant right away, I had this silly notion that I wouldn’t be able to have children at all. I thought it would be best to focus on advancing in a career instead so I accepted the position.

At first I loved my new job. I felt like it had been created specifically for me. It was new and different. I enjoyed interacting with people, coordinating, tutoring, hiring new tutors, and helping students get connected with the right tutor. But summer ended and school began, which meant my hours shifted to late nights and weekends. My schedule was completely opposite from Andy’s. This amplified the challenges of adjusting to being newly married. On top of that, I felt that the job required sales and management skills that were beyond my abilities. In order to keep up I found myself focusing entirely on this position at the expense of family and friends. The first 50-hour week drained me. Andy continually encouraged me in my new role, but after a couple months we realized that something needed to change. I notified my boss that she would need to look for someone else. Within a month I was able to interview and train my replacement. What a relief!!! They agreed to have me continue working with the company taking on-call assignments as a part time nanny. God is so good!

Interestingly, after I put in my notice we discovered I was pregnant. What amazing timing! I’ve enjoyed various nanny experiences that have given me a glance at motherhood. I am a bit nervous but very excited about the new adventure that lies ahead of us!

Andy is still working diligently as Account Manager for Ackerson Landscape. We are working out our budget and trusting the Lord to provide all our needs as we transition to a single income in order for me to become a stay-at-home mom.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement!

May the Lord bless you and your family with His light and love this Christmas!

Love,

Andy, Chérie, and “Baby” Nicholson

P.S. We are registered at Babies “R” Us and Buy Buy Baby