The Name

Like many expectant couples, Sean and Margaret were having a great deal of trouble choosing a name. About the only thing they could agree on was that if the baby was a girl, her middle name would be Edith (name primarily after Margaret's sister, but also after her grandmother and step-mother).

After being unable to settle on anything, Sean suggested a system - that they only choose names of siblings. Though Margaret had nine siblings and Sean had two step brothers, only a handful of names were ever considered under this system. For girls Grace and Valerie and for boys Robert, Mark and Dave.

It was Margaret who made the final suggestion of Robert John for a boy (name after Sean's step brother and father) and Grace Edith for a girl (name after two of Margaret's sisters); Sean very much liked both names.

The Positive

For reasons she has never been able to explain in the early hours of November 20th she grabbed a used pregnancy test and took it. It came up positive.

Though she was overjoyed when she woke up Sean, he was not willing to accept the results of a used test. They waited for nearly two hours till the Shoppers Drug Mart near their home opened. They bought a new test, took it home and the rest is history.

Trouble Brewing

Margaret has polycystic ovaries, a condition that had long been held in check by her taking birth control pills. Of course, she had stopped taking the pill to try and conceive - and so she starting having cysts again. An ultrasound done in November showed multiple cysts on each ovary and one on the uterus.

Reluctantly Margaret agreed with Sean that she would have to go back on the pill, and they would put off trying till this was back under control. As she already had an appointment booked with her doctor (to discuss fertility issues) it was decided that then she would ask for a new prescription.

A Little Early

As Margaret's 35th birthday loomed, she became more and more excited about starting to try to conceive. She convinced Sean to let them start trying in early August instead of waiting for the 20th.

The Wedding

Sean and Margaret were married on April 27, 2002 at Bears Paw Chapel in Edmonton.

If you wish to know more about the wedding visit Margaret's website

The Agreement

For months after getting engaged Sean and Margaret were unable to agree on what to do about children; she wanted children immediately and he didn't want them at all. On the event of Margaret's 32nd birthday Sean proposed a compromise that they both agreed with - that they would begin trying to have children on Margaret's 35th birthday.

The Engagement

There was very little that was normal about Sean and Margaret's first days together.

They had been on the same team at work, but barely knew each other. Then one day she overheard him complaining about his mug getting stolen (back then he complained to everyone about his mug being stolen). Margaret had a mug identical to the one he had lost, and offered to give it to him.

This led to a number of increasingly flirtatious conversations, and finally Margaret looking up Sean's phone number (in the white pages) and giving him a call. She asked him out to a church dance on the 16th of February 2001. He agreed, but then turned around and showed up at work on Valentines day and asked her out for that night.

On the 18th she proposed and he accepted.