What it's all about

"Good morning, Monster!"

That's the very first thing my son hears when he wakes up, from a long night's sleep, or a nap, or even a short snooze in the car. We call him monster because he likes to growl and make faces, kinda like Calvin from the amazing comic strip Calvin & Hobbes (which we own every edition of!)

I decided to start blogging because I read a lot of blogs that constantly inspire me. A big favourite is the Petersiks from Young House Love, as well as Katie Bower from Bower Power Blog. These women do their best to just be themselves, chronicle their lives, their successes and failures and funny stories. I just love how real they seem, how it feels like you know them after only reading a few posts. I still keep up, and usually spend the majority of my time laughing while I read.

So this is going to be my little blog. I'm not anticipating the same level of success, I'm not even sure I want it. I just want a place to keep track, to plot goals and look back at how I've achieved them, to feel like I'm constantly moving forward. It's a compulsive need I've always had. That, and needing to keep everything ridiculously clean (excluding bathrooms...?) Although, the neuroses go far deeper, as you'll probably learn in time...

I guess I should start off by giving you a rundown of who I am, and what makes me tick. I am basically a sum of all of my life experiences, and while I am FAR from perfect, I like to think I'm pretty awesome. (Well, let's face it, I'm a bubbling-over vat of awesomeness!) And here are a few of the key experiences that have landed me here where I am now.

I grew up in a small town in Southern Manitoba (that's a province in Canada, for all you Gringos out there!) and I grew up to teenage-hood on a farm. No, we didn't have animals (aside from a bunch of cats, and a dog for like a week) but it was in the country, on a big plot of land, surrounded by pastures filled with the neighbour's horses. Across the dirt road was a beautiful creek that reflected the sunset just right in the evening, and that we fished in the summertime. And at the back of our yard was a fruit orchard and a vegetable garden. I was free to make believe that I was a fairy princess to my heart's content, and dance around singing and praising the Lord in the backyard until my voice gave out, or my bare legs froze.

We moved to town when I turned 13, and I spent the rest of my teen years living in a mid-sized house. Oh - and did I mention I have FIVE brothers?? I'd post a photo of all of us together, but I actually don't think I have one! I've got one older brother, and four younger ones, and I love them all to bits. But I grew up the princess (and quite frankly, the favourite) of the family. So I always got my own room, no hand-me-down clothes, and extra special treatment. All deserving, of course. :)When I was 16 I met a real cutie-patootie named Matt Gilson, and he and I were instant friends. We've got quite a long story, but that about sums it up. We were both in choirs together, both loved to sing, and loved God with all of our hearts. I however was not looking for a relationship at the time (he, however, was head-0ver-heels this-is-it in love) so we just hung out a lot as friends. He even joked with me after bad dates, and made fun of goofy almost-boyfriends. But one day he said to me "You know, Holly, one day YOU'RE going to come to ME, and then we'll be stuck together for life."

HA! What thing to tell a sixteen-year-old girl, at her hormonal peak of craziness. Especially me. I'm pretty sure I was exceptionally hard to deal with. Sorry Mum and Dad...

But as time went on, it was true. I fell for his dreamy blue-green eyes, and his goofy toothy grin, and his I-really-mean-this hugs. Maybe it was the construction paper bouquet he made me once, or the way he treated me with so much respect, but there was somethin' about this boy that I just had to figure out and get to know better.

That boy proposed to me on June 20th, 2009, by singing me a beautiful song at sunset on the longest day of the year. I definitely cried. And jumped up and down. And screamed. And he definitely did that scoop-me-up-and-spin-me-around thing that you see in the movies. It was pretty much excellently perfect. I was 20. It seems young, but that's just how it's done in my home town. Plus we'd been together for 4 years! When ya know, ya know.

We got married on November 28th, 2009. Brave, I know, considering we live in the coldest province in the country and it usually snows by Hallowe'en! But it was a freak-fall, and there was no snow to be seen. It doesn't mean that we're not freezing our little booties off for this picture, but it was nice not to have to wade through three feet of snow in my pretty silver bride shoes. But our wedding was absolutely perfect, I wouldn't do it any different. We had a winter-wonderland theme (go figure!) with snowflakes and navy blue, white, silver, and black everywhere. Twinkly lights and snow-themed details. My flower girl even wore big feathery angel-wings. Do you get it?? She was a snow angel. :)

In April of 2010 we decided that we had done all we wanted to do, and spent as much time alone with each other as we needed to. It was time to add another Gilson to our little not-enough-space-for-even-us-two home. And after a single month of trying, on May 19th, 2010, we found out that it was really happening. We were pregnant.

We're smiling in this picture, but we're actually terrified out of our freckly faces.

I told Matt with a little note in a Kinder Egg, he was super psyched. You can read about my entire pregnancy journey here, it's the blog I kept for my entire first pregnancy, beginning to end.

In summary, though, I had an amazing pregnancy. Barely gained any weight, didn't get TOO many stretch marks (although my abdomen would beg to differ) and I was mostly comfortable. Not that I particularly enjoyed it. Near the end there I was so ready to be done, I could have reached in and pulled the little kicking-monster out myself. And I definitely had my fair share of morning sickness in the first trimester, and insomnia/back pain in the last. But overall, I survived, and I'd do it again if I have to. Heck, those days aren't too far into the future...

On January 31st, 2011, my little beautiful squirming crying wrinkly caterpillar Monster was born. 14 days past his due date, I might add, but perfect in every way. He was 9 lbs. 2 oz. and 22 inches long. I remember hearing the doctor exclaim how large he was when he was born, just a big gorgeous little bundle of awesome. And he made me work for it, too. I spent 24 straight hours in unmedicated labour, including having my water broken, being given pitocin to try and "move things along" and actually UNdilating! Which actually is a thing! Yeah, I was surprised too! I went from 8 to 6 in a matter of hours. You can read that story over on my old blog, too. But basically, we ended up having to get a c-section.


But man was he ever worth it.

He is the light of my life. He makes me tumbling to earth, breaking all the bones in my body, paralyzed for life, black & blue all over, fall in love with him every waking minute of his beautiful little life.

Even when he's sleeping.

His name is Oliver Abbot Gilson, and he is our everything.

2011 was all about becoming new parents, and figuring it all out. Learning how to swaddle, and change diapers, and wash baby poop off of your nice new clothes, and how a baby can puke so hard that it hits the wall behind you, or completely drench all of the bedding on your queen sized bed (and I mean ALL of your bedding!) But it's also been about learning the depth of love itself - about how every single little thing is wonderful and magical, and how new discoveries are everywhere, and are so big, yet so small.

All I can say is that we're head-over-heals, and I'm pretty sure Baby Gilson #2 won't be too far behind. We're pretty amazing at this parenting stuff, if I do say so myself.

We celebrated his first birthday in January (naturally) and he's just learning more and more every single day.

So that's the story of my family, and my life! I just realized that I didn't really mention my job much, but I guess that's because it's just not that important to me in the grand scheme of things. Especially compared to the wonder that is my husband, and my baby boy.

I guess I'll save the post about my job for another day. But that covers the important stuff that makes me who I am! So hopefully now you have a better idea of who exactly is ranting at you about mundane everyday details!

Pretty awesome, right?
Yeah, told you I was.