About Me

My story begins on January 13, 1982, the day I was born.  I was born to 2 amazing parents and an older brother.  18 months later we got a baby sister.  Our little family was complete.  We had a nice quiet and simple life in a small town in Ohio. 

In 1998 my life would be forever changed when I was asked on a date by Aaron.  We went on that first date and never looked back.  We spent nearly every single day together since (minus the time Aaron spent away at college).  I knew in my heart that I would marry this man one day and follow in my parents footsteps of marrying my high school sweetheart. 

On a trip to Springfield, IL (so Aaron could take a police officer exam), on June 5, 2003, Aaron proposed to me on the bank of a lake near our hotel at sunset.  I started crying and didn't actually answer him for several minutes, I was overwhelmed with happiness and excitement. 


We moved to the suburbs of Columbus on May 1, 2004 when Aaron got a job that required the move.  We made that first little apartment our home.  We were married on November 27, 2004 in the church where I grew up.  We were so happy!



We started our lives together in that little apartment, but Aaron and I were soon bothered with the idea of sharing walls with noisy neighbors and we began looking for a home of our own.  We found a condo (without shared walls) and decided to make the biggest purchase of our lives!  We moved in on June 28th, 2005!



Our own little piece of this world, we were so happy.  The very next day after we moved into to our new home we added a new addition to our lives.  A puppy, a boxer, that Aaron named Capone!!



A year after all this excitement Aaron and I sat down and had a serious discussion, we decided we were ready to add children to this wonderful life we had made for ourselves.  We were so excited to bring children into our love-filled relationship and make our own little family.  We tried unsuccessfully for 2 years before we started to seek additional help from specialists to find a diagnosis of unexplained infertility.  In the meantime, however I had started back to college and was working towards my bachelor's degree. 

During all this searching for new doctors and finding/ruling out diagnoses, my brother and sister-in law were going through an awful struggle of their own to start a family.  After several surgeries, 4 miscarriages, and several emotional years, our niece was born 2 months premature on November 4, 2009!!  She was so beautiful weighing only 3lbs, 6oz.!!  The light and happiness on my brother's face, when he walked into the waiting room with his camera filled with a bunch of pictures of his little angel only 20 minutes old, is something I will never forget.  He was so happy!



She was admitted to the NICU and stayed for 45 days.  It was unbearable to see my sister-in-law and brother worry so much about her.  It was also unbearable for me too, in a completely different way, as I was unable to touch her or kiss her until she was released from the hospital.  They brought her home on a Saturday night the weekend before Christmas, and I was there the very next day (after a call to make sure they were allowing visitors).  I walked in and scrubbed my hands and arms with antibacterial soap and sat on the couch next to my brother.  My sister-in-law brought over this gorgeous baby and put her in my arms and I took one look into her little eyes and started bawling!  I had waited what seemed like an eternity for this moment and I finally had her in my arms and could kiss her!  She is the light of our family's eyes.  She has so much personality and is so funny. We wish we lived closer to them so we could see her every day.  It has been a joy watching her grow from such a teeny tiny little person and watch her learn new things.  We love you little bug!!


On January 25, 2010, I took a pregnancy test at home and to my surprise there were 2 pink lines that showed up!  I was pregnant!!  We were so excited!  The excitement was short lived, however, because on March 4, 2010 we had an ultrasound and had discovered that the baby's heart had stopped beating and I was miscarrying.  I had a D&C the following day.  I was devastated....why after all this time did I get pregnant only to lose the baby??

As a way of dealing with our grief we decided to keep trying for our family and not waste any time.  6 months later, on September 18, 2010 with the help of Clomid (a fertility drug), I received another positive pregnancy test.  We were so excited and our hearts could finally start healing!  During all this excitement, I was also preparing for my college graduation.  I graduated from Ohio Dominican University on December 18, 2010.  I was pregnant, my family was in attendance at the ceremony, and I was so happy.  Nothing could stop the happiness form pouring out of me!



Well, life and fate don't care that you have made all the plans and are filled with happiness, it can change in a flash...


To read about Isaiah, click on the Isaiah's Story link on the home page.

On April 25, 2011 I took a home pregnancy test and it was again for the third time in 2 years POSITIVE!!!  After what we had gone through just months before, God had given us yet one more blessing.  Aaron was sleeping and I woke him because I couldn't wait for him to wake up to tell him and I had to leave for work in a matter of minutes.  I woke him up and just smiled at him holding the stick in front of me and he said "no way...already??" I just started to tear up and I shook my head yes.  He was still lying in bed and he grabbed me and I fell onto the bed and he kissed me and we both cried. We were both terrified at the thought of losing another baby.  So we took every precaution (knowing there was nothing we could do about it anyway).  The doctor kept a close watch on me the entire time with trips to high risk OBGYN's and extra ultrasounds.  We were thrilled when in September we had made it past the mark where we had lost Isaiah and we found out we were having a little girl.  We decided on her name before we left the doctor's office that day.  We were thrilled and for the first time started making some all important purchases and planning for her arrival.  She was originally due on February 2, 2012 (Isaiah's first birthday) but the ultrasounds pushed her back a few days and her new due date became February 6, 2012. 

To read about Layla's arrival, click on Layla's Story on the Home Page. :)