My Story

I grew up in a rural area raised by devout Catholic parents who both taught me the faith by their words and their daily example of selflessness and unconditional love. Our family is, like all, not without it's share of sin and struggle, but my parents commitment to their Catholic faith created a solid foundation for me make it my own and the opportunities to hear God calling me to a deeper faith.
I struggled to always follow that call as I pursued the desire for companionship and community in the wrong places throughout my teen and college years. But in the midst of that, I felt strongly the call of God to commit my life to Him, to follow the plan that He had for my life. I could say that my whole entire life story after that could be summed up in the sentence, "I am simply trying to follow the plan God has for my life." With lots of falls, sin and failings along the way, I have come to trust where He is leading me. When I leave His path, while maybe easier or more attractive, it always leaves me unfulfilled. Where He has called me is treacherous, filled with suffering and tears and yet the most incredible joy and sense of purpose I could ever hope to know.
God revealed his calling me to ministry in college as I began working with the St. Thomas More Newman Center at MSU in Mankato, MN hosting retreats for high school students.
I went on to work for Catholic Youth Camp, in McGregor, MN where I found a love for the place where the faith meets fun and Jesus truly reigns.
I was blessed to enter into the lifelong sacrament of marriage with an incredible man when I was just 22 years old, my calling to be his wife, leading me to southwest Minnesota and youth ministry at a rural parish in Pipestone, MN.
We were overjoyed to learn of our pregnancy just a short month after our marriage. We were devastated to lose that child who we named Jadon.
A year later, we were thrilled to get a positive pregnancy test and began dreaming of being parents. Early in the pregnancy, it didn't seem right, but doctors assured us everything was ok. Ultrasound images showed our baby kicking and waving. We shared the news with everyone at 12 weeks, and a few days later, we lost Peyton. Late at night in our bathroom I held her in the palm of my hand and marveled at her perfect fingers and toes as my heart broke into a million pieces.
Lots of doctors and tests and "nothing wrongs" we found ourselves pregnant again another year later. Hearts aching at this point to become what we were made for. But at 10 weeks a weekly ultrasound showed Mason's heart had stopped beating, to the surprise of our doctor who still couldn't find anything wrong.
Visiting my in-laws home town, our parish priest found us crying after mass one day and introduced us to the Pope Paul VI institute, which led us to answers and more knowledge about fertility than we had encountered with the thousands of dollars we'd spent on "specialists". I am a strong believer that EVERY woman should understand her body the way that Fertilitycare allows you to.
Answers to my health problems didn't mean a healthy pregnancy and as we waited to get pregnant we realized maybe we had abandoned God's plan, and if it was his plan for us to not have children then we would embrace that.
Immediately after making that re-commitment we were presented with the opportunity to care for a child for a short time. It was supposed to be 6 months. Everyone told us not to: "You'll get to attached", "You'll be devastated" But we prayed, and we felt led. And even though there was no paperwork saying so, in our hearts we knew he was our son. And after a roller coaster of emotions of love and fear and hurt and joyful moments, we were given custody of him when he was a toddler, and finalized his adoption at age 5.
Our experience led us to become licensed for foster care. And foster care led us to meet some truly amazing children who will all forever be a part of our family. It has also come with a large share of loss, but never that has outweighed the blessing of the time we are given with them.
In the midst of foster care we have continued to be open to life however God choses to send it. We have lost baby Braeden and then Tyler, Zane and Augie all in the same year. But recovering from surgery after Augie, I received a once in a lifetime phone call, and two weeks later we brought our son Samuel home from the hospital weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and so incredibly beautiful.
Nathaniel loves being a big brother. He loves having a baby so much he told us one day that he wanted THREE babies, "so he and Dad and I can each hold one." Not even a full year later, he got his wish as two baby girls joined our family. They were with us for a year, and one returned back home. We are currently in the process of adopting the other.
We are always in the process of discerning His will and where He is leading us, which lately has been in the form of caring for his children and sharing the story He is writing in our lives and the joy waiting for everyone who follows where He leads. I am also daily a student of motherhood and what it truly means to serve Jesus everyday.
Thanks for hearing my story, I'd love to hear yours sometime!!