For Everything a Time

Lately, I’ve had to remind myself of this more often than normal. With the thousands of changes we’ve had in the past few months, including our move, new friends, and new jobs, new everything, I have to remind myself that there is a reason that we were sent here.

The additional news of another loss in the form of a loss of a potential surrogate, brings back feelings from years ago and reminds us that our road to parenthood may still be in the distant (far) distant future. I know that there is a reason things happen the way they do, it’s just so hard to wait and watch them play out as they will. 

Everything happens for a reason…

 I know that my past experiences have shaped me into a better person and into the person I am today, but still, this past week has not been fun and once again, I feel as if we’ve hit rock bottom, only to have to climb our way out and start the journey over again.

I know that God has a plan for both Kris and myself and that we just need to enjoy the journey along our path in life.

Happy Anniversary to Us

 “And this I pray, that your love may abound, yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment” Philippians 1:9

Four years ago today, I married my best friend, my other half, my soul mate. Kris and I were together for nearly three years before we were married, by that time we had been through so much more than any two people should ever have to go through, especially at such a young age. Through every problem, every health issue and surgery, Kris never left my side.

(A little backstory for ya: ) About three months before wedding, I had been in the hospital, lost our stillborn daughter and underwent an emergency total hysterectomy. Yet, this man still wanted to marry me. He didn’t care that I couldn’t give him the family I thought he wanted, he didn’t care that it might be weird to deal with a 21 year old menopausal woman, he just wanted to be with me.

This image from rehearsal dinner, night before wedding :)

Wedding Location

Since I had plenty of time at home while healing from my surgeries, I planned most of the wedding on my own, with plenty of help from mama of course. We were lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family members to help out with every aspect of planning, decorating, and refreshments that our budget was pretty low too.

Our wedding ceremony was held in my home town, the small town of Pendleton, SC. The actual wedding was held on a family friend’s 57 acre farm. Kris and I both wanted a teeny tiny ceremony, but eventually did invite around 40 people so that we could have our most important friends and family with us for the big day. We requested that wedding attire be comfortable and casual as it was an outdoor wedding and the temperature was HOT that day.

The wooin’ and the courtin’s done, our life together has begun (from our wedding invitations)…

Our simple ceremony included bride, groom, Maid of Honor, Best Man, and two flower girls. Kristin, the Maid of Honor,  wore a yellow sundress, the boys wore jeans, cowboy boots, and green or yellow shirts. I, myself ended up in a maxi dress, was still recovering from my surgey and the wedding dress I had spent months and months searching for, didn’t work with the 50 pounds lost from hospital time and the new 13 inch scar. So, I got the next best thing, a white cotton maxi dress, and I guess it was alright. The cowboy boots I bought for the wedding didn’t quite work with my cotton dress, so I also had to wear flip flops, yet again, not a bad switch, just something I hadn’t wanted or planned for. The wedding theme was country wedding and our color scheme was John Deere green and yellow! 

The majority of our music for the ceremony and reception was country music and we handpicked each song ourselves. A few of our ceremony songs included, Somebody Find Me a Preacher byTrace Adkins, Soulmate by Josh Turner, and our final song for the ceremony was Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis. 

Our dear friend, Rebecca, married us. She led the quick, but beautiful ceremony and did a wonderful job.

These were our wedding vows:

I choose you ___ as my best friend for life, to embark upon this great journey of marriage with me. I take you to be my husband/wife, my partner, my soul mate. In sickness, I will nurse you back to health. In health, I will encourage you on your path. In sadness I will help you to remember. In happiness, I will be there to make memories with you. In poverty, I will do all that I can to make our love rich. And in wealth, I will never let our love grow poor.

As it was nearly 100 degrees with 100 humidity the afternoon we got married, our ceremony was mighty quick and then we were off to the reception for bbq and sweet tea!

Our wedding reception was also held outdoors, across the field from our ceremony location. Guest were also invited to use the farm house but as with most 100 year old farm houses, there was no air conditioning and 40 people were quite crowded in that space. The picnic reception with SC bbq helped to end out our perfect, perfect day. My friend Marion, from Circle M BBQ, in SC catered our supper.  If you’re ever in the area, check out Circle M BBQ, he’s on facebook. Guest enjoyed Carolina style BBQ pulled pork, smoked chicken, beans, slaw, rolls, and sweet tea. Mom (my grandma) made her famous punch and we had a variety of favorite pies and peach cobbler rather than a wedding cake.

Kris and I left our wedding reception that evening, headed for our hotel that night. We had an early flight to catch the next day for our honey moon and my first trip out of the country. Catch next week for my posts on our honeymoon trip to the Bahamas!

Bouquet Toss

In the four years that we have been married, a lot has changed but Kris and I are still crazy about one another. We’ve helped each other to accomplish each other’s goals and are still working towards a few things, school, adoption, adjusting to life in the northwest. I look forward to many more years with my man and to what our future holds!

Happy Birthday Kris

Wow, this week has been a busy week, full of birthdays! My husband, Kris has a birthday today J I promised him there wouldn't be a huge post full of sappy stories but just a quick note to send my love and say happy birthday!

Kris and I are six months apart; his birthday is one of my favorite days each year. Starting today, he can’t call me the old lady or make jokes on my age (we're six months apart; he sure thinks he's funny).

Belle and Sheldon send birthday love and cannot wait for you to come home to your birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Kris, I love you very much!

May Flew by!!

1. Our silly puppies at play time, they love to wrestle and chase one another.

2. I got the job! After months of looking, applying, and interviewing, I got a job!

3. A day of hiking at Deception Pass, this area is just breath taking.

4. Photo shoot with my boots, love these to death!

5. Nature watching, it’s amazing to watch bees fly from flower to flower. Nature at its best

6. Kris has a new toy, loves his guitar and maybe next month will be able to play us a song J

7. Stumbled upon a new beach when lost going home from an interview. Beach is gorgeous here, with views of Cascade Mountains.

8. Love watching wildlife from our front door, this little guy hung out in our front yard for hours.

9. We finally got our home gym set up, let the fitness begin!!

WOW, this month, May, has really flown by!! We’ve been busy, getting our Facebook page and blog off to a good start. Also made plenty of time for outdoor adventures (when it was actually sunny here), puppy play time, and lots of time out back with the grill. I had a final round of interviews and landed a job, wasn’t the easiest thing to do in this economy, but so far, so good! Kris is steadily practicing that guitar and is starting to sound pretty good. Who knows, maybe he’ll know a song or two soon!

June is here, and our family birthday week begins pretty much now.  We’ll be busy with three birthdays next week, an anniversary and then a few more birthdays too. Possibly taking a surprise trip home in June too, but better not say a whole lot about that yet…

So, what have ya’ll been up to, how was your month and what fun plans do you have coming up??

Shoes, What They Say About You

Get to know me, through my shoes. I’ll be the first to admit that I probably have way too many pairs of shoes, but what girl doesn’t? We’ve moved several times lately for my hubby’s job with the military and I have cleaned out the shoe collection quite a few times, but there are some pairs of shoes that I will never ever, ever live without.

In my closet, tennis shoes, Danskos, flip flops and cowboy boots are a must! That’s not to say that I don’t love to wear an occasional pair of cute sassy heels, but working in the health care field for the past seven years have really grown my love for flat, but most importantly, comfortable shoes.

To quote my beloved Forrest Gump, “Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been….” 

Shoes can say a lot about a person and I hope that my shoes help to show my personality. Girls especially have the ability to get a feel for someone’s personality simply by noticing how a person dresses and the shoes they have on their feet.

Shoes can scream to the world that you’re athletic, active, feminine, sassy, laid-back, traditional, modern, or sophisticated. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point.

I like to think that my shoes reflect a laid-back, cute, caring girl with a bit of country twist thrown in at times.

My all-time favorite shoes are my boots, although my flip flops are a close second! My boots are great, they go with almost everything and can be worn for most occasions, they are truly my favorite thing in the closet.

Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite shoes and what do they say about you?

Life through Songs

Songs I'm Lovin This Month:

1.     Beam Me Up - Pink

2.     Wobble - V.I.C

3.  Mama’s Broken Heart - Miranda Lambert

4.     1994 – Jason Aldean

5.  Southern Comfort Zone – Brad Paisley

6.  Cruise - Florida Georgia Line

7.  Wagon wheel - Darius Rucker

8.     Carolina - Eric Church

9. Better Dig Two – The Band Perry

10. Downtown - Lady Antebellum

Meet Kris

Hey yalll!

So Natalie wanted me to do a guest spot on our blog. I figured I would start with a little bit about me. My name is Kris, have been married to Natalie for 4 years.

I am currently serving in the U.S. Navy (hooyah) as a Corpsman. For those who don’t know, corpsman are the medical providers to both Sailors and Marines. I work as an x-ray tech at a naval hospital. The 4th of July will mark my second year in the Navy....not quite sure about a reenlistment, yet...

Other than my Naval career, I have a few hobbies, including a recent attempt at learning the guitar!

I also am a HUGE college football fan, and I am counting the days down till kick off. 
GO COCKS!!

Ready to start

Over the last few years, my husband and I have tossed about the idea of adopting a child. My husband himself is adopted and we have always wanted to adopt, although adoption was not our first choice for building our family together. After the loss of our daughter to stillbirth and my lifesaving hysterectomy following her birth, our lives and plans for future children changed as we knew them.

As we have grown together, helped each other to return to a somewhat normal life, we have often talked about a next child and what our hopes for that child might be. As two people in our mid-twenties, it often feels odd to be one of the only couples in our group of friends or family that do not or are not expecting a child or have had children in the last year or two. There must seriously be something in the water when it comes to our friends!!

In the last few months, we have moved, changed jobs, finished school, and are ready to say and finally make our plans to adopt official! We know that this could be a long process and are completely fine with waiting but we want to be sure that we are ready and have done everything we can to be ready for "our moment"

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Our Story... Why adoption is SO important to us

Many of you are aware of our family history and obstacles that we have worked through together. Kris and I have been through a lot in the six and a half years that we have been together. We met during our first year of college, decided to take a few years off, and Kris moved from his home state to live closer to me.... We had a great first few years and then were met with the greatest challenge of our lives, losing a child. 

Just over four years ago, Kris and I lost our baby girl Samantha to still birth. There were several complications and after a few months in the hospital, multiple surgeries, and countless health problems, I was forced to undergo a total hysterectomy. At the age of 21 we faced the prospect of not being able to ever have a family on our own.  

Together, we have worked to overcome numerous obstacles, have worked hard to finish school, and begin a military career for Kris. We have just moved completely across the country for his last three years in the Navy and are then planning to move home (SC). 

Four long years have passed and there is still a missing link in our family. At this point in our lives, we hope to have a family, the family we started building four years ago. As we start the process toward adoption, we invite you to join us on the path to making our family whole again!

The journey begins...

As we begin our journey into the adoption/surrogacy process we invite you to join us on our journey. Over the next couple of years, we will be working through the process of beginning and working toward an adoption or use of a surrogate mother (open to both options) to fill in the missing piece to our puzzle we call our life!