Brandy Jackson

I am originally from Athens, a small town southwest of Ottawa. When I finished college in 2002 I started work in a construction materials laboratory in Ottawa, my then boyfriend and I moved to the big city. After three years of slinging dirt and crushing concrete they promoted me to manager.

That was the year my grandfather passed away, he wanted hubby and I to live in his house after he was gone.

It was a big decision. I would be neighbours with my parents, my commute would change from a 20minute bus ride to an 1.5 hour commute by car. Hubby would have to quit his job and we would be back in the country. In the end it was a no brainer. Ditching the $1200 a month rent for a "free" house seemed like a good deal. So in May of 2005 we moved home.

In July 2005 hubby and I got married. It was a wonderful ceremony and reception held outside with all our friends and family.

I commuted to Ottawa for two years, 120km one way. It was tough, but with hubby working part time in the summer, and not working in the winter we needed the income.

By the spring of 2007 something had to give. I was starting to hate my job as manager, and hubby was starting to hate being home all day with no money, and no career. He decided to go back to school.

This starts a chain of events that would make 2007 a year to remember.

Hubby became a truck driver, and got his first driving job. It was part time, but good experience. At the same time I found a new job, a wonderful position with Parks Canada only 30 minutes from my house. Within a month both hubby and I had started new careers.

August 2007 was a month of don't-look-back for hubby and I. We had reached a low in our marriage and were struggling to find a way through it. We had been together 10 years, married for two. We both deeply loved each other and after going through hell; on my birthday August 31st, we promised to do what ever it takes to stay together. Then, on September 3rd I found out I was pregnant.

We are currently expecting our first child, a boy, in May 2008. I have since quit my job and am a stay-at-home pregnant lady. Hubby now has full-time job, and I plan on staying home permanently to raise our children.