My story (condensed)

I guess we need to start this blog journey off right. I am the middle child of Michael and Shelia Heflin and was raised in the great state of Kentucky. I have been saved by the grace of GOD, who is my personal LORD and Savior. I grew up in a town of just under 2,000 people with no stop lights or chain restaurants. Needless to say a place where everyone knew everyone and everything. My father was my elementary school principal and later on my 8th grade English teacher. He currently enjoys retirement while working part time at the middle school. My mother continues to work at the library, although retirement talks have surfaced many times lately. My parents helped lay the foundation while I was growing up to help prepare me for the next major step in my life: parenthood.

I have two siblings, an older sister, Andrea and a younger brother, McKinley. It has been a lot of fun growing up with the both of them. For the first five years of my life it was only Andrea and me. I know that we shared many memories together during those years, but being so young during that time means that I don't really remember them as well. Our teenage years were a little rocky, but I can honestly say that she is the best big sister in the world, although most people think she is my little sister. McKinley was the "pleasant" surprise that my parents brought home when I was 5 and a half years old. Over the years he has changed from the little brother that I picked on to one of my best friends. The three of us are a highly competitive group, mainly due to a father who hated to lose. Andrea set the pace in life and school, which made it very difficult for me to go through school as Andrea's little brother. I like to think that I surpassed my sister, or at least evened the playing field so that I created my own personal identity. However, I am sure this made it extremely difficult for McKinley to try and live up to expectations of others. Overall, I would say that we are a pretty good group of kids. We all finished high school with the honor of Valedictorian of our class and only McKinley didn't have perfect attendance for 13 years, although Andrea will be quick to mention that I once missed a half day.

Most people don't marry their high school sweetheart, but I was one of the lucky ones that found my soul mate at the age of 15. Jennifer and I first started courtship or "talking" in Mr. Bowman's computer class during our sophomore year of high school. For those of you that know Jennifer, then you probably think that it was a pretty one sided conversation. I got up the nerve to ask her to the football homecoming dance. (Later on I found out that it truly was fate, because Jennifer had turned down another offer by saying that she wasn't going to the dance at all.) A few weeks after the dance I actually called Jennifer at 8 am before football practice and asked her to be my girlfriend. She said yes on October 10, 2000. We have shared many great memories over the years and can't wait to make many more with her! She has truly been one of the greatest blessing and I thank GOD everyday for putting her in my life.

Jennifer and I at our 1st homecoming dance

After high school, I decided to go to Georgetown College to further my education. I was lucky enough to be able to be a part of the Tiger Football Program. Although my playing career didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, the team was very successful. While there we won the conference all 4 years and made it as far as the final four in the post season tournament. This was a wonderful small college experience. I was so thankful to have Andrea and Jennifer with me, or else I really would have been homesick. At Georgetown I met some lifelong friends. Probably the two closest were my roommates junior year, Tony and Lance. After changing majors multiple times, I decided that a career in nursing was the route that I was going to pursue. Georgetown had a dual degree program, which required transferring to the University of Kentucky. Jennifer and I graduated from Georgetown College in 2007.

In 2007, I moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. After my first semester, Jennifer and I got married. This was a great experience at a larger university, but I spent most of my time with the same 54 classmates. There were a lot of great friends that I met during school, but I am not sure if I could have made it without my friend James. We were 2 of the 4 men that were in our class. I graduated from the University of Kentucky in December of 2009.

After college I started working on 6 North at the University of Kentucky Hospital. This was a cardio-thoracic step down unit. I met many wonderful patients and enjoyed working with so many great people. However, after a year I was able to get a position in the Children's Hospital, which is the area that I had always wanted to work in. I currently work in the Pediatric ICU and I love my job. Again, I have met many wonderful kids and I enjoy working with all my co-workers.

That is a breif history of where I have been and some of the major people in my life. I decided to write this blog while we are expecting our first child. We are excited about what the journey of parenthood has in store for us. It will be a fun, yet stressful time for both Jennifer and me. I plan to keep you all informed about all the exciting things that miss Brinley Kate will be doing. Thanks for reading and God Bless!