Well it has been a minute, actually over nine months, since I last took some time to write a blog post. There really is SO much I need to catch you up on. My life has been a bit of whirlwind if I’m being honest with you. The last two blog posts here on Country Wife Chronicles were catching you up on my current state of affairs–after a long battle with endometriosis-induced infertility.
A Season of Rest was written in September of 2018, right in the midst of Wildland Man and I’s attempts to conceive a baby–after six years of trying. That blog post was written about one year after I learned I had endometriosis. My life had become about infertility and I decided to step away from the blog for a bit to focus on all things natural conception. My timeline wasn’t matching up with God’s and I was grappling with my faith and researching everything I could about improving my fertility naturally. I was trying to become a mama with all my might in that season of my life. And so, CWC took a bit of a back seat while Wildland Man and I implemented a plan of Intentional Fertility.
Intentional Fertility was written in May of 2019, eight months after Wildland Man and I implemented our major lifestyle shifts in the name of fertility. We researched and replaced all things plastic in our home. We tweaked our diet and added in fertility superfoods. I tried my hand at DIY fertility massage, acupuncture, essential oils, and castor oil packs. We were still relying upon God to fulfill the desires of our hearts to become parents, but we felt it was important for us to do our part in the process. So I returned to the blog hoping to share more of what we were implementing in regards to our Intentional Fertility plan.
We Believe in Miracles
It was literally within weeks of that blog post getting published that I learned, against all odds, we had fallen pregnant. We had been preparing for IVF and were told our chances of naturally conceiving were significantly less than 1%. Mostly due to massive scar tissue from endometriosis on my Fallopian tubes and a recent blood test showing low AMH. But there it was, a positive pregnancy test in my hand. Two months before we were slated to begin IVF. After six years of TTC. Six years with not a single positive pregnancy test.
It was miraculous and magical. And scary and exciting. I was overwhelmed to say the least and I just really wanted to soak up every minute of my pregnancy, so, of course, the blog went back on pause while we tried to rest in our new reality and shift gears from Intentional Fertility to Intentional Pregnancy and beyond.
The rest of 2019 was spent, for us, basking in the miracle we had been given. We loved and cherished our sweet, precious child-to-be. We planned and prepared for the future we had been hoping for.
Our 2020 started with the amazing, miraculous birth of our sweet baby girl–a full 42 week pregnancy that transitioned me from wanna-be-mama to the real deal. And, as you know, 2020 was one for the books. I resurfaced after the fourth trimester to find a world I no longer knew. I found solace in the comfort of my sweet babe in my arms. I hunkered down and soaked up all the baby snuggles I could as the world ensued in chaos and uncertainty.
Weathering the Storm(s)
For Wildland Man and I, 2020 had even more turmoil in store. And while I choose to see the good in 2020, the year that brought us our sweet babe, it was still a tough year for us. Because we lived in Cameron, Louisiana. And that is where Hurricane Laura decided to make landfall in late August, 2020. The house we brought our girl home to, the place we called home for five years, the nursery I had planned and perfected…are all distant memories for us now.
We evacuated one late summer afternoon, after hours of picking and choosing what to pack and never returned to that home in the capacity we had before. We returned to pick up the pieces, move the rest of our belongings out before mold set in, and found ourselves permanently displaced for the rest of 2020. Now, please know, I am not sharing this for your pity. I know just how blessed we were in the midst of it all. We still had a roof over our heads. Most of our belongings survived the storm, somehow. And really, as weird as it is to say now, the hurricanes (Hurricane Delta came in a few weeks after Laura) were a blessing that helped push us in a new direction.
With no place to call home and a long yearning to get back to our midwestern roots, we decided to risk it all and move from Louisiana to Nebraska. Wildland Man quit his wildland fire career and is now focused on all things homesteading: chickens, gardening, grass-fed beef, alfalfa production, and building our own home.
What Lies Ahead
Not so long ago, I started Country Wife Chronicles as a transplant southerner in an effort to build a community of Wildland Fire wives while sharing my heart for Jesus and all things simple and slow. In recent years, my life became consumed with sharing our infertility journey and now we are embarking on the world of homesteading, raising our own food, and self-sufficiency. I’m not sure where exactly this is going to take Country Wife Chronicles into the future. I know I want to share more of our experience with Intentional Fertility. And I know I want to share more of our life as homesteaders.
The latest big news over here at Country Wife Chronicles is that I’m writing a book! Well, a chapter in a book to be more specific. The book, whose working title is (In)Fertility*, will be released sometime this spring. It is an inspiring and encouraging collection of stories from those that have walked the infertility valley, all taking various paths to motherhood. Also included in the book are chapters written by fertility professionals, sharing their wisdom with readers about how to support conception and improve fertility. I’ve said, all along this journey, that I just wanted to share my story for His glory. I truly believe this opportunity came my way for a purpose, it wasn’t a coincidence, and I’m so humbled to be able to be a part of this collaboration. Our past couple of years have been a bit of roller coaster ride to be sure, but everything has led us to this moment and I am feeling beyond blessed to be right here.
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Thanks for being here, cheering me on, and I promise to try to be reconnecting here on the blog more often. I’ve missed y’all!
Be Still & Know…
I am so happy and proud of you and for you! I have loved reading CWC since the beginning and look forward to reading more from you! Please sign me up to purchase a copy of the book or if it’s easier for you, I will order from Amazon.
Love and miss y’all!
I promise you’ll be one the first to know when it is available to purchase! Love you LaLa!
So pleased to have you back home in the Cornhusker state. Excited to see how your beautiful family grows in His glory.
Thank you Nancy!
Someone had a plan in place for you! You made the necessary steps to proceed. Good luck to you in the future. After two Louisiana 4-5 hurricanes in a few weeks’ time, Nebraska tornados or blizzards should be a piece of cake!
We are happy to be home, that is for sure–bring on the Nebraska weather, we have missed four seasons! 🙂