December 26th, 1996 - Shane and I had our first date, we went to see Jerry Maguire. Years later, I thought that was the greatest day of my life =)...
Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2001 - Shane proposed to me over lunch! He completely surprised me and I was soooooo happy!! I definitely thought that was the best day of my life thus far...
July 14th, 2001 - We were married! Our wedding was perfect and we had so much fun!! That was definitely the best day of my life....
March 28th, 2003 - We had one of the biggest surprises of our lives - we were pregnant!! I had been traveling with work, realized I missed my period and thought that I should take a test. I was in complete shock!! Little did I know then we were going to be blessed with my mini me, Claire Isabella....
July 15th, 2003 - We found out we were having a baby girl!!!! I was soooooo excited and went shopping immediately...life could not get any better!!!!!
November 28th, 2003 - Claire Isabella Brown was born at 6:58am! She came so fast, only me and Shane (and of course nurses and Dr. H) were there when she was born. I know then, Shane an I both felt that was the greatest day of our lives....she was absolutely perfect!!!!! I stayed up almost all night in the hospital the first night just staring at her and looking at every inch of her, loving her so much!!!
December 29th, 2005 - After 6 months of trying, we found out we were pregnant once again!! We were so excited!!!
April 5th, 2006 - We found out that we were having a baby boy!! Shane was so excited and so was I!!! We were going to have the perfect family with a boy and girl, what more could we ask for!!!!!!????
August 14th, 2006 - Owen Keith Brown was born at 1:45pm! The whole family was there and I was sooooooo happy to have the huge kid out of me =)! He was Shane's mini me and we were the perfect family!! We were so happy and I remember just looking at this absolutely perfect, little blonde, blue eyed boy and then almost 3 year old Claire feeling so complete and happy as it was the happiest day of my life as our family was complete! Life could not get any better!!
January 1st, 2009 - After a couple weeks of trying, we found out we were pregnant AGAIN!! We only thought we were complete, but there were other plans for us and we still had one more chapter to add to our family....
February 25th, 2009 - I had the biggest scare of my life and we thought we were going to lose the baby we had not yet met. Shane and I were tested and grew so much in our faith with the help of our friends and family. I love Shane even more now that we went through that terrible time together and I thank God everyday that he gave him to me all the way back on what I thought was the greatest day of my life then in 1996...
March 24th, 2009 - We found out we were having another baby girl and she was healthy and thriving!! That was then one of the greatest days our lives...we were going to finish our family in a few short months with a precious baby girl....Claire was beyond herself excited and Owen was going to get to be a big brother!!!
All because two people fell in love 12 and half years ago, we have been so blessed time and time again!! When I look back at our life and how it has changed and little did we know what was to come at each important moment, I can't help but cry and thank God for giving us this life!!!! Yes, we have gone through tough times and had our hardships, but it does not get any better than this moment right now! We are going to be finishing our family tomorrow (for sure, tubes will be tied =)) and I know that I will be the happiest I have ever been in my life. Seeing Owen see his baby sister and becoming a big brother for the first time, priceless. Seeing Claire meet her baby sister will bring back so many memories for me of Tara and Nicole when they were little. The feeling of being the big sister, priceless, and I know Claire will be sooooo excited. Seeing Shane meet his little baby girl for the first time and seeing that same look in his eyes that I have seen twice before will be almost too much for me to handle, for sure, PRICELESS! Seeing Mom, Jake, Keith, and Becky all holding their newest grand daughter and promising her everything, priceless...all while still helping us take care of Claire and O and making them feel special this weekend. Seeing the love in the eyes of Tara and Drew, Nicole, Heath and Lane, Chad and Jennifer, and Brooke and Mitch for the newest niece, priceless. Then of course, we will love all of our friends that will make it to see us this weekend and love on our new bundle of joy! I know the Lord has so much in store for us for the rest of our lives, but I can honestly say that this moment right now and the next 24 hours will be one of the greatest times of our lives...please pray that all goes well and Bree makes a safe arrival!! We love you all for all your support and cannot wait to announce the newest addition to our family....stay tuned =)
-Love, Shane, Rachel, Claire and Owen
