Thankful. Grateful. Blessed. Momma.

Oh the intro:

As a working momma of three, I am starting this blog looking for an outlet for the thoughts that swirl around in my head throughout the day.  I have so much going on at all times, I want to take a few minutes a week to put down some of my experiences in hopes that others can relate...or at least find them entertaining or comedic ;)

As a quick intro to who I am and topics I want to blog on-  I am married to the best man for me and love of my life and we have three wonderful kiddos and two energetic dogs.  It took a failed marriage, finding true love, two tough pregnancies and an amazing adoption to get to where we are today.

Our family

Nailed it!

There are many times throughout the week where I look around and ask "How did I get here?"  Since I was a young kid I have had a planner personality, but what I have realized is that the best experiences in life are not planned for and standing back to reflect on blessings goes a long way for the soul.

My husband Matt and I met as biology lab partners our freshman year of college.  We were always within the same friend group, but weren't really friends with each other until one of our good mutual friends reintroduced us while out celebrating my 25th birthday.  Looking back "fate" amazes me.  Getting to know Matt in college and knowing what a great person he was/is, led us to a very quick bond when we met again three years after college.  Before we knew it we were engaged and were married two years after that reintroduction on October 3, 2009.

As I mentioned, "How did I get here?" has been a pretty constant question for me, this has been one of the most amazing epiphany questions and one of the most deflating questions I ask myself in life so far.  Here are a few key examples:

• Two weeks after we were married we found out we were expecting our first child
• My parents graciously decided to move from New York City to St. Louis to be close to their first grandchild
• After a tough pregnancy our beautiful Annabelle was born 3.5 weeks early and did not have enough surfactant in her lungs to allow them to inflate...we became one with the amazing NICU staff 
• We left our 2 bedroom 2 bath condo when Annabelle was 4 months old to move into an impulse buy foreclosure with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths
• We found out a few weeks after moving that we were pregnant with Patrick, who arrived 13 months after Annabelle
• Although I had always been a person who stayed in shape, after struggling with gestational diabetes with both pregnancies and being on bed rest for the second half of both pregnancies, I found myself looking at a happy wife and mother, but physically I didn't recognize or feel accepting of who I saw in the mirror
• Two rough pregnancies and our desire for more children, led us to looking into adoption
• The day we went active to adopt we were matched and our beautiful Julia was born two months later

I struggle to be a good wife, mother, daughter, boss and employee and how to manage these struggles while paying the bills, stay in shape and keeping our home presentable.  I am truly thankful, grateful and blessed, I look to the lord every day for strength to balance my blessings.