About Me

Intrigued by the title of my blog? 

Well my dear readers, here is the story that started it all (in a nutshell):

My husband & I met in December of 2006 & he proposed in February of 2011. After five years of being together, we needed a place of our own, so we moved into the little house he grew up in. Four months before we were to be wed (August 2012), the teenager that would forever change our lives moved into our home. 

To put into context the type of shock this was, I'll fill you in on a few details about us. At the time, I was 23 & my husband 27. He was (and still is) a full-time student with a full-time job. I worked full-time as well & we both drove 30-45 minutes to work/school every day. Neither of us had children (other than our sweet Miniature-Pincher). 

Needless to say, a 14-year old changed our entire world....

Now I'm sure many of you are wondering what would possess two twenty-somethings to raise a kid that isn't theirs?

Growing up, we both had our share of trying times. My husband's childhood was tumultuous and he never had a bond with his mother. My father was non-existant for the majority of my life and I have worked hard to come to terms with my past of sexual abuse and feelings of abandonment (my husband has been my rock over the years, being a shoulder to cry on, lifting my spirits when I am low, and showing me how to trust again). Although we couldn't fully relate to L's life, our own experiences lent empathy and support to her.
Ultimately, we did it purely out of Love.

Her Story

L is a member of my husband's family. Through no fault of her own she was left without parents at an young age and has never had the opportunity for a permanent home or any resemblance of a normal life. Because of her early life traumas, she struggles socially and psychologically every day. My husband and I had watched her battle her way through life over the years, so when the situation arose to bring her into our home, we jumped at the chance (even though our decision didn't gain much support from those around us). We happily made the decision to give up our nights, weekends, newlywed time, vacations, as well as our privacy & devote every waking moment to L in order to provide her a better life.
We haven't looked back since :)

That's how we became (pseudo) parents overnight!

Reflections:

I wouldn't trade a single second of her time with us over the past year as she has brought much spirit & happiness into our home, but I won't lie & say it's been an easy journey either. Every day brings new issues & obstacles that we do our best to overcome. Like any normal family, we have our good days and bad days. We get frustrated with each other and sometimes an argument ensues (she is a teenage girl after all), but we work through it. I do my best to keep it all running smoothly even though I have a constant laundry mountain, dishes piled in the sink (we lack a dishwasher), dusty shelves, and unswept floors. Occasionally we end up eat sandwiches or cold cereal for supper when I don't feel up to cooking. Our little house is stuffed with endless stacks of books, comics, Hello Kitty (L loves HK) & Star Wars (Hubby & I went to Celebration 6 for our honeymoon) stuff, family photos, and tons of dog toys constantly underfoot. Media is continuously playing somewhere & the lights always on. And to top it off our brood of dogs are always into something.

But hey, that's life & I wouldn't trade my wonderful nerdy bunch for anything in this world because regardless of what happens, I love them with all my heart!

*I please ask everyone bear with me as I learn how to improve my blog. I am buy no means a professional writer and make grammatical/spelling errors that I hope can be overlooked.*