Back in the Game

Hey guys! I know it has been an extremely long time since I've written on here, but I have decided to start blogging again! So a lot has happened since the last time I wrote. My daughter, Anna, is now 2 and a half and is a big sister to Olivia. She joined our family in May of 2017 through IVF (that's another story to come). 

So, I am going to start this blog like I'm starting a new blog all together.

Welcome to our blog. This is a place where you will find us being real and living life to it's fullest. We have been married for 14 years now, and have 2 beautiful daughters. Our story is not your typical story. It is a very well designed story made from God. Our life has had some major ups and downs as we struggled with infertility for many years. Anna's story is so unique, I cry and get the goose bumps every time I talk or think about it. She is in our family because of a very brave woman who decided that placing her for adoption was the best for her. We have had the privileged of raising her since birth. You can read more about her story here. Olivia's story is another that just puts me in awe of what an awesome Creator and God we have. She joined our family in May 2017 through an amazing team at Reproductive Care Center here in Utah, through IVF. We did 1 round, got only 2 eggs, and she decided to be our little fighter. Her story will be displayed here soon. We are beyond blessed! 

The purpose of this blog is to share our story, our life, and our many adventures (may that be ups and downs) along this journey called life. Things have not been easy in our 14 years of marriage, but I couldn't have asked for a better partner to walk this road with. I've been plenty mad at God, but in the end, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I want to be able to be that person of hope to those who's hope is almost obsolete! I want to be that person who can inspire others to never give up. I also want to be that person who shows others that we love having an adventure in life, no matter if those adventures are rocky or smooth. Life is so full of adventures, live the here and now moment, and not the future one. We miss out on so many things when we are in future mode instead of being present. Slow down, look around, and take it all in. Enjoy the moments life brings you. My 2 year old waking at 2 or 3am and wanting to stay awake is a great example. It bothers me that this happens from time to time. However, those moments she does, she wants to snuggle, or calls for me, or just giggles and laughs because she wakes up happy...I try to soak all that in because I know that I won't be able to get those back. We blink and they are all grown up. They want to do things for themselves. They want to be independent. I cry a little on the inside when I hear "No thanks mommy, I've got it." But then I smile because I know I'm raising her to be a strong and independent woman. Soak up the moments before it's to late.

So a brief story about us. My name is Christine, Chris for short. My husband is Stephen, Steve for short. I already told you that our daughters' names are Anna and Olivia. Anna turned 2 back in March, and Olivia was born the end of May. We also have 2 dogs that are 7 and 8 years old. Bear is 7 and he is a Golden/Lab mix. Joy is 8 and she's a Border Collie/Aussie mix.

Steve and I met back 1999, got engaged in 2001, got married in 2003, and going strong. We have been through at least 2 miscarriages that we know of, lost our first pet together, and have moved a few times. I grew up in Michigan, while Steve grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. We lived in Michigan for 4 years of our marriage, then moved to Arizona. We lived in Arizona for 8 years, then moved to Utah. We have now been in Utah for 2 years. I think out of all the places we have lived together, Utah is my favorite. The weather here is a great combination of Michigan, California, and Arizona.

Our family loves to be outside! Our oldest would rather be outside on any given day (rain or shine) than be inside. I don't object to that either. We love to go camping, hiking, and go on scenic type walks. We love to have our own garden. We are still working on getting one together for next year as we just bought a house and they didn't have one. Fresh veggies are always a million times better than the store bought kind. We try to go green whenever and wherever possible, but we are not the type that is 100% or say "You must be green!". We are working on building our own compost pile, we do have solar on our roof now, we want to garden (as I mentioned before), and we plan to have chickens soon.

We enjoy DYI projects. We have this dog run that was left when we purchased our home. I've looked at some ideas on Pinterest that help convert the dog run into a chicken coop. We plan to work on that here soon so we can get those chickens sometime next spring hopefully. I figured that waiting until after winter would be easier for us to have the chickens so we don't need to worry about how to make sure they survive the winter. Don't worry, you guys will be able to see the progress as we get started. 

I am so excited to share our lives with others and tell our story as it unfolds. I do plan to write more about Anna and Olivia's stories later on as well. If you have questions about adoption, infertility, marriage, or the IVF process, please feel free to reach out to me.

I hope you have enjoyed a brief look into us and why I decided to start writing a blog.

Life's greatest adventures await us friends, let's explore and have fun with it, come what may.