My life....follow me on my journey

My life has been truly blessed.....I have been married for 11 years to my best friend of 12 years (Eric) and we have 3 beautiful children.  Lauryn is our firecracker, she just turned 12 and will start junior high this year, she is outgoing, athletic and has an amazing personality.  Savannah is our lil chef in training, she will be turning 11 and finishing her last year of elementary school this year, she has a huge heart, is an animal lover and best of all is not afraid to be herself.  Anthony is our tornado, he just turned 7 and will start the 2nd grade, he is my baby, has a huge heart and is so athletic.  We are a crazy, always on the go, full of love family who also has a 5 year old pit bull named Penny and a 1 year old Siamese cat named Capone.  We adopted Penny 4 years ago through some friends of ours and she has fit right in with the family.  Capone was rescued in a 'Famous Footwear' under some shoe racks when he was just 2 weeks old, we brought him home and he blended right in with us and the dog.  

To bring you up to speed quickly, I will give you a rundown of the last 12 years.  I feel as if my life started at the age of 17.....when I got pregnant with Lauryn.  It was a battle with my mom, my siblings, family relatives and even her sperm donor to keep her and continue with the pregnancy.  I fought hard and I won...I had my daughter, on my own at the age of 17.  I graduated high school on time, I held a full time job and took care of Lauryn on my own until she was 3 months old.  I met Eric at that time, he welcomed us and embraced Lauryn as her own since her biological father was hiding from his responsibilities.  After 4 months together we found out that I was pregnant and Eric moved us in with him (from Redlands to Riverside) at his parents house.  He stepped up, got a job and I quit working to focus on my pregnancy and our daughter.  In March of 2002, we got our own little 1 bedroom apartment in San Bernardino and were married on 5/29/2002 at the Hall of Records; although it wasn't a huge wedding, it was the most emotional and beautiful ceremony ever.  Savannah was born and life was good.....until January 2003.

Eric was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer and underwent surgeries and began chemotherapy at the age of 22 (I was still 18).  Our life was turned upside down with doctor appointments, chemo appointments along with a 2 year old and a 6 month old.  The next few years were very hard and only made us stronger.  Eric completed the chemo and was in remission after 2 years of therapy, only we were told that we would never have any more children; Eric would never get his little boy. 

In October of 2005 I started my career at Kaiser Permanente as a member services rep and also found out that I was pregnant!  I was pregnant with our son, our miracle child, our baby!
In December of that same year Eric's grandmother (Mean Grandma) passed away and left us devastated   She was Eric's best friend and the best thing to ever happen to me and our girls, she was an amazing woman who I was blessed to call my grandma.  (I am telling you about her because she is the reason we are and why we do what we do, she is apart of our every day life and made a huge impact on us).  Anthony was born in June of 2006 and has kept me on my toes ever since....if he would have been my first born I would have never had anymore!  

Our life has always consisted of back luck, kids and hospitals, for the last 11 years.  This year everything changed....Eric has had some relapses with his medical issues (we are currently trying to figure out what is wrong with him) and the kids are able to stay home by themselves for short periods of time.  Eric and I are finally able to focus on us and focus on our relationship as parents, partners and individuals.  My kids and my husband are my life and I wouldn't have it any other way....follow me on my journey in this new chapter of my life!