My Story

“A picture is worth a thousand words…”

You know that quote. And I know it to be very, very true. I wish I could tell the whole back-story. I wish there were enough room… Because it’s a story I’ve come to love… A story I’ve grown to be proud of… A story that I just can’t keep to myself. And not because I can take credit for any of it, and not because I’m conceited or love myself too much… But rather, the opposite.

It’s a story that no man (or woman) could come up with on their own. It’s a story chock-full of grace. Brimming with redemption. Crammed with restoration. And bursting with miracles. Written by God in Heaven, just for me, and the purpose He created me for.

I hope that my passions, and thoughts, and experiences will be a source of encouragement for others. I hope that my story can be a catalyst for change. A conduit for hope. And I pray all of that for myself, too. May we never forget where we’ve come from. May we never lose our wonder of all the beauty in this life we get to live. May we learn to stop taking advantage of the everyday gifts, and may we be inspired to love with everything we have.

Instead of trying to put it all right here on this page, my hope is that the message of the story will come out in my day-to-day ramblings. But the setup for any great story requires a good introduction, right?

My name is Jessica. “Jess” for short. I’m originally a Florida girl, but as of the latter part of 2014, North Carolina has been winning my heart over. Morrisville to be exact. The move didn’t come easy, but it was a welcomed change after a treacherous year of having a miscarriage, journeying through cancer and the death of my Dad, and then job loss. So here we are.

And by “we”, I mean the three of us. Two of my greatest gifts, and most of the inspiration behind my words are these two…

Meet my husband, Jeremy, and my daughter, Selah.
Jeremy is my love since high school, and my definition of commitment. We’ve been together longer than we were ever apart, married each other in 2008, and every day I’m learning and improving on how to be as good to him as he is to me. Marriage isn’t easy, but it sure is fun with him.

Soon after we got married, we started trying to have kids. What we thought would be an easy, natural progression of life events, proved to be a little more trying for us. Three years into it, Selah was brought to us by adoption.

She’s not that tiny little baby in the photo anymore, though. Selah is a feisty three year old these days, and I have the joy and privilege of being allowed to stay at home with her during these early years. She’s captivating. And no matter how much we struggled up until her, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that adoption was always in God’s plan for our family. Regardless of all the years I thought my body was ‘broken’, I know now that the divine plan for our children and our desire to grow our family is beyond what we can ever do. It’s out of our hands. We can try and try and try some more. We can exhaust every emotion, every dollar, every medical opinion, every brand of pee stick, method of conception, fertility treatment…and we will deplete ourselves of every ounce of hope there is by failing to recognize that there is a God above who IS in control, and that His ways are better. His ways are higher. And Selah daily reminds me of this truth.

“Wife” and “Mom” might be a few of my titles, but I’m just a normal girl on a journey, trying to find my way. And I just happen to cook a lot along the way, try to find treasures out of trash through some DIY projects, and chronicle my way through the whole adventure. I’m a little eclectic, I’m a lot passionate, and writing in complete sentences, I threw to the wind a long time ago.

The musings will flow here. So welcome. I am Jess.