It's been a while...BIG NEWS!

I know, I admit it...I have completely abandoned my blog. I am sure all 3 of my readers are devastated! Haha!! This past year has been both incredible and difficult. God has blessed our family in so many ways, we have grown, and we have had many triumphs and struggles too. I will try to give a quick re-cap of the past eight months in a nutshell.
Charlie is another year older and continues to make us laugh on a daily basis. He is the joy of our life, growing like a weed, smart as a whip, and is still a mama's boy! Ryan continues to be a wonderful husband, Daddy, and provider for our family. We have not only grown physically, but spiritually too. We have had some incredible relationships form in the past months that have been life changing for us, we met our pastor's and joined our church. Along with that, we have formed new friendships and become involved. It truly is amazing what changes we have made and been through in only a year.
Something I have never openly written about or discussed on my blog is our struggle with infertility. It is just one of those things that I felt was private...and truthfully I just always thought of blogging as an outlet to post pictures, tell HAPPY stories, something that i wouldn't mind strangers reading.But in order for me to fill you in on the next chapter of our life...I have to go back a few pages...
So to make an incredibly long story short, God has put a deep desire in our hearts for more children. We have been actively trying to give Charlie a sibling for the past few years. I have been to a couple of doctors, had a miscarriage, taken 12 cycles of oral meds,one cycle of injectable meds, undergone five different procedures, had about a gazillion ultrasounds, probably donated 5 gallons of blood work, and we have come to the conclusion that God is leading us down a different path. We have cried and prayed together and we feel confident about our next step.
We are thrilled, nervous, excited, scared and proud to announce....we are ADOPTING!
Adoption has always weighed heavy on my heart. Even before I met Ryan, I have always felt a calling to adopt someday. It just seemed like an unreachable dream. Too difficult...too much money...would my husband be open to it? With each difficult procedure or failed cycle of trying, that calling seemed louder...but still out of reach. But I know that God has a plan. I know that our fertility journey was all a part of his plan. It has brought us closer together, closer to HIM, and revealed to us that we were meant to adopt our next child. It has been painful and difficult, and it might sound strange, but I feel blessed we have been chosen to follow this path. Charlie is excited and anxious to be a big brother, and he prays every night for God to bring us his baby!
I decided to start blogging again so that we could document our adoption journey. It will be a good place for friends and family to see what stage we are going through, and provide information without repeating myself over and over! It will also be therapeutic for me to journal my thoughts and fears and excitement.
I want to thank all of our friends and family who have been incredibly supportive these past few years, and who have been by our side through this roller coaster. I feel certain it will all be worth it!

More info and pics to come!