Where has the time gone?

Hello. It's been a while. I'm restarting a blog, not to keep people updated, but more so to keep an online diary of our lives. I've found that as time is so fleeting, I need to capture the moments before they are forgotten!

The last time I blogged, I was an impatient 20-something, desperate to get married.

And here I am, almost 37, married to my prom date from 1998, two amazing kiddos, one dog (RIP Snowball, Hudson and Shelby), and 28 chickens. That's right. 28 chickens (well, it might be more like 26 - 27 since I found all those feathers a few days ago...)

So how did I end up here?

We got married May 29, 2010. Most magical time of my life!

We went on an insane honeymoon to Bora Bora and Moorea for almost 3 weeks! It was more amazing than words can explain.

Due to firefighters going on strike while we were there, we were stranded for about 5 additional days. Glorious, right? NOPE. Not exactly. Not when you're told they're not sure when the strike will be over and when we'll be able to get back to the states. So...that was interesting.

Fast forward - we made it back from our honeymoon and enjoyed a year of marriage. We decided to enjoy a year of marriage before trying for a baby. Once baby fever hit though, it was ON! All I thought about was a baby. I researched everything. I asked all the questions. Only to go month after month, disappointed. After about 9 months of actively trying, we opted to ask for help. Found out that I wasn't ovulating. So, even with all that effort, nothing was going to work, if my body wasn't going to do what it was supposed to. I was prescribed progesterone to "kickstart" my cycles and Clomid to get me to ovulate. First round of 25mg was a bust. No ovulation. Second round of 50mg of Clomid was another bust. Third time's a charm! We got pregnant, finally! After 12 months of trying. That last time though, phew! It was work! ;)

We welcomed Mila Suzanne Ruple to our lives n April 16, 2012. She was 6lbs 8oz and 19.25inches long. We were in LOVE.

Fast forward 2 years and we found out we were pregnant with Ava on Mila's second birthday party day! It was that morning and I just felt like I should test. I want to say Steve and I had just agreed that we'd "try" or at least stop preventing a pregnancy a week or two prior. Needless to say, the difficulties we had the first time around did not happen the second time around. I feel like he just looked at me and I was pregnant!

However, this pregnancy was a little harder than the first - not because of me. Not because I had a two year old to chase around. But because Steve's mom got really sick during this time. If you know me IRL, you all know that Steve's mom, Sue, suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. And she's at the very end stages now. Back 4 years ago, before I got pregnant with Ava, she had a cut on her foot that didn't heal well. The infection got into the bone and she had to be admitted to the hospital. Her MS drugs were stopped so they could treat the other infections. She started to lose a lot of things - her mind, whatever strength she had, was lost. The ability to feed herself - gone.

The GOOD news, is that after 2.5 months in the hospital, she did recover and she got to come home. She lost a lot of her abilities, but she's home and able to enjoy (somewhat) her family.

We got to tell her that we were pregnant when she was in the hospital, and I fully believe she tried REALLY hard to be here to meet Ava.

So many things have happened:
- We moved before Ava was born, October 1, 2014 to our dream house. I'll tell you more about it in another post (we are DIYers or try to be, so I'll do a home improvement post soon).
- Mila started school and LOVES it! She's doing so well, we are so proud (now in 1st grade!)
- We welcomed MR into our family (I'll post separately about him later)
- Steve built me an insane chicken coop and we have about 25 - 28 chickens!
- We are adding a barn next year and hope to add goats and donkeys
- baby #3 is still far back in my mind (shhhhh....Steve's done) but I'm not quite ready to shut that door
- I got a new job, after 8 long years at my previous company. It's been a good move, but there's more to the story! More on that later.