making a list...

and checking it twice... or two hundred times. and it has nothing to do with santa claus.

we had the opportunity to visit with matt's mom for a few hours yesterday, and as always, the house was brimming with the latest photos of all of the grandbabies. there are 7 now total. and they're all so cute. even on video camera, i'm enraptured by these little babies.

and so baby-fever is high. and i'm not afraid to admit it.

matt and i talked all the way home last night about where we want to be when we have kids. we're planners, dontchya know.

i told him that the only way i could feel satisfied with the fact that we're not yet ready is if i knew we were doing something to strive towards it... but what could i do?

he suggested we make a list. mmmmmmmmm. list. so we did. we talked through where we want to be in every stage of our lives... we want to be living healthier, more active lifestyles; closer to our goal weights; in our own home. matt wants to be in a job that he feels secure in, that he could actually support a family on; i want to be far enough along in my photography that i could shoot part time, and maybe even sell some of my images. we want our debt paid off, and to have purchased a second car if our living situation deems necessary. we want to have a savings account.

so no, it's not exactly the same as trying now to have a baby... but preparing for the future, making wise decisions now - the outcome of which will influence our future - is never a bad thing. i know that emotionally, we're not ready, but i also know that preparing for such a thing can often spur that kind of growth.

and it's fun to think about. now, if only we could agree on names. ;)