About Us

On a frigid January night nearly 10 years ago, Josh sat next to me in the second week of Dr. Giles' African American Literature course. He made a joke about playing musical chairs, and I laughed. He's been making me laugh ever since.

We were married on June 17, 2006, and spent the first two years of our marriage in Rockford while I finished up grad school and then entered the working world.

As is so often true of the really good things in life, I don't think I appreciated how wonderful those first years together were (and I know I didn't appreciate simple things like napping on Sunday afternoons nearly like I would now). We survived grad school, family illness, two floods, a ridiculous commute, and job changes, but when I think back on that time, I mostly remember all the walks we took in the evenings, shopping for the best, cheap produce at the Rockford Fruit and Meat Market, and taking snack breaks together at work. Those were good, good times.

One of the less good times: leaving our front porch on a fireman's boat for the second time in 11 months

In 2008, we made the decision to move closer to home. So we both got new jobs and moved, and then the bottom fell out of the economy. It was, to say the least, a stressful time.

But it was also a blessed time, because a little over a year after we moved home, our first daughter, Elaina Marie, was born.

Almost 21 months later, her sister, Elysia Jane, joined our family, too.

Elaina is five now, and Ellie is three, and Josh and I will have been married 9 years this summer.

I spend most of my non-working time reading Fancy Nancy and Pinkilicious books to my girls, taking pictures, planning the garden with Josh (whose green thumb truly is spectacular), and spoiling our cats, Winston and Chappu. This summer, we added a puppy, Yuna, to the mix.

This blog is pretty simple, just here to record things I don't want to forget.

Thanks for stopping by.