This blog is about our family. For those of you who don't know how our family originated or the struggles we have faced to get where we are today... here is our story [the very condensed version!].
It all began on weekday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma-- at a college bar with my friends [Andrew & Curtis]. He was leaving in 2 weeks to join the Marine Corps and I had just gotten out of a very long relationship-- needless to say, I wasn't looking for a relationship. But, I quickly found out that the greatest things in your life show up when you least expect it. Yes, I'm talking about my husband of 4 years, Adam.
One deployment and 2 injuries later we were preparing for our wedding. We were married on April 21st, 2007 in front of our family and closest friends. We had the time of our life and wouldn't change a thing about that day. The following day we were on the road. Destination: San Clemente, Calfornia. This is where we would start our life together, and I would need to navigate the area and the military in order to survive his next deployment: I did just that. I worked as a Program Coordinator for the Beach Cities YMCA where I met my bestie, V! She was my "work spouse" and kept me sane during Adam's deployment. Adam arrived home from his 2nd deployment in March of 2008 and was told he would be leaving again at the end of the summer. Little did we know that it was all about to change...
We went through a lot of medical issues with Adam as a result of his first deployment to Iraq. I won't go into details, but it has changed our lives forever. He was unable to deploy for a 3rd time because of his condition, and we decided it was time to start a family. On September 7th, 2008 we were blessed with the news that I was pregnant. About a month later we were surprised to find out it was twins. Talk about unexpected news! My pregnancy was tough and the doctors were surprised and happy that I made it to 34 wks. 1 day. The kids were generally healthy at birth and were basically "feeders and growers" for a few weeks in the NICU.
Our newly formed family spent the first year living in California, and in the summer of 2010 we were able to move closer to family after being discharged. It was then that we noticed our son wasn't quite reaching the milestones along with his sister anymore. After a long road, we received the diagnosis of Classic Autism on January 5th, 2011 and our lives and family have never been the same. We are committed to awareness, education, hope, and sharing our story to help others.
