Is it posible

...to adequately summarize 3 years in one post?

 I've finally decided to post, but I'm very unsure where to begin. I think I'll bullet-point a few of the major events as an effort to catch up a bit. This post will most likely be lengthy despite my efforts to keep it succinct! I promise I'll keep my future posts to a minimal from here on out. If nothing else, this post alone is motivation for me to never let it go this long between posts again.

 - Graduated College (May 2011).

  ...and moved to Indianapolis to live with Bry & Ash for a year while pursuing a career. I owe them many thanks for letting me live there during a very transitional and difficult time in my life. I wasn't entirely sure who I was and I didn't like the fact that I was single longer than I expected. After all 21 is ancient, right?! ;)

 - I experienced two jobs right out of college.

The first was short and sweet working as a guest representative for JW Marriott in Indianapolis and the second was working as an executive assistant for a financial advisor also in Indianapolis. Despite the fact that the second job was a terrible fit, I stuck with it for about two years hoping that it would round me out and teach me a few things. I definitely learned some hard lessons at the financial advising firm. I realized that I'm half as detailed/organized as I once thought I was and was reminded that my mind doesn't enjoy thinking about numbers in the least. JW Marriott was right up my alley with it's emphasis on communication and goal of top-rate hospitality. I had the potential to transition into recruiting which would have allowed me to travel internationally for the company...of course that drew me in and was something I thought worth striving for. Although I loved it, the schedule was difficult (working weekends and all holidays) and the environment wasn't healthy for a single girl in need of accountability and Godly influence.

One of my favorite memories of that year was running in the countryside of Zionsville. It was so refreshing to find nature filled landscape after working downtown all day.

I was lucky to have that year with Ash, Bry, and sweet Poppy.

I met many interesting people while working at JW Marriott with the different conventions and events that took place there. My eyes look creepier than most in this photo!

- Tore a major ligament in my ankle (August  2011).

This was one of the more powerful experiences of my life. I say it's powerful because it "snapped" me back into reality by forcing me to slow down and realize how much my personal relationship with Christ had diminished in the past six months. I quit my job at JW Marriott shortly after this and re-thought a lot of areas of  my life. It was a slow healing process (emotionally, spiritually, and physically) that resulted in surgery two months later with crutches and physical therapy that followed.

Kurt was so sweet in helping me recover....especially given the unfortunate amount of experience he has when it comes to surgeries. I was able to recuperate at Dad and Mom's for a couple weeks before returning to work at WestPoint Financial Group. 

- Engagement to Sam Kaufman (October 2011).

Since this blog post is already getting lengthy, I'll skip the whole engagement story. I would assume that most of you already know it...if not, please ask and I'd love to share.

These photos were taken a couple of days after surgery...we decided to include the crutches in the photo to remember the funny circumstances of that day. I'm sure it was a real treat for Sam to hang out with his new fiance while she was drugged on Oxycodone...Oh, romance.
    

- Travels to Japan during engagement (April 2012). 

Sam had planned to visit his family and work in Japan for 4 months before he realized that he'd be engaged so soon. We both decided that it was important that he still go. This time was really good for us because it was a challenge to approach our relationship on a deeper level without the huge distraction of physical attraction. It was hard and I didn't always have a great attitude about being apart, but I wouldn't have it any other way as I look back. I was able to visit him for 10 days, which was wonderful. I wasn't quite prepared for the huge impact that trip would have on me as I was able to view and experience Sam's world. It was like I finally had access to the last piece of the the puzzle and probably the most important piece in helping me understand who Sam was and is. Certainly marriage is a life-long journey of learning about each other, but Japan was profoundly instrumental in answering questions that I didn't even know I had about the man I was marrying.

Hiking up to Sunset Point in Karuizawa

We found beautiful and pristinely manicured parks to run in on a few of the mornings while in Tokyo. How lucky we were that cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

It wouldn't be a trip to Japan without a little bamboo to spice up a photo. 

   
- Our wedding (May 6th, 2012). 

Thanks to my mother and many others, our wedding was overabundantly more than we could have ever imagined. It's overwhelming to see and feel the love from so many people we care about. Sam and I both walked away from that day with a deeper understanding of gratitude, a stronger desire to love others with everything in us, and an overwhelming realization of God's power. Why is the concept of living a self-less life so easy to forget? Composing this blog post has been a good reminder for me, and I'm thinking through how off-base I am in this area so often.

- Honeymoon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Sam and I were able to stay in a mansion atop a private mountain at zero cost to us due to Jeff Husey's (friend of my Dad) amazing generosity. It was quite an experience that provided rustic glamour and tranquility all in one. It couldn't have been a better honeymoon and how thankful I am for the connections we had to make it possible.

- Three whole months of marriage bliss before pregnancy hit (May 2012-August 2012). 

We made it three months before getting pregnant unexpectedly. Wow, it was a real shock. We had been using protection with the idea of holding off on parenthood for a few years. The first year of marriage was filled with pregnancy stress (Wells was measuring small which brought about extensive ultra-sounds and NST's weekly in addition to a few other concerns they had early on), Sam experiencing a new job in Indy, moving twice, and me trying to pull myself together to be a good employee while pregnant. Needless to say, it was a difficult transition for us and it took us a while to actually "accept" the fact that life was changing and would be different forever. We had both come into marriage with an expectation of freedom that we'd have to travel and fulfill other dreams together. God certainly had a different idea of what Sam and I should be doing together and it involved much more responsibility and self-sacrifice than either of us were ready for. Even now as young parents we're still figuring out what this journey with Wells looks like, and we're growing more thankful for him every day in the process.

This was taken while touring Casa De Loma in Toronto, Canada.

Casa De Loma. I was actually newly pregnant on this trip, which resulted in major car sickness on the drive to Canada. We still enjoyed the trip immensely despite the inconveniences pregnancy brought.

- Birth of Wells Jacob Kaufman (May 23, 2013 ~ 11:00am). 

For all the stress that came with my pregnancy, Wells' birth was beautiful and went so smoothly. I stressed a lot about labor to the point where I had to quit reading a friend's blog about her delivery because it was far too much information for me to digest in my fragile state of mind. God really did carry both Sam and I through that day. There were actually parts of the delivery that I enjoyed. I have some wonderful memories of joking with my sisters, Sam, and Mom in the labor & delivery room between contractions. I definitely felt so much support from all of those I love, and I really relied on God for strength as becoming a mom wasn't exactly what I wanted. Ashton had suggested reading Bible verses during labor so Sam read a list that I had picked out during a few of the harder parts of labor. That was more of an encouragement than I even expected it would be. Then again, scripture reading or words of encouragement would have been nearly pointless during the pushing portion of my labor. I was pushing super intensely to the point where I worried that the lack of oxygen to my brain wold result in losing consciousness. :) I'm pretty sure it wasn't entirely necessary to push that hard, and I'll probably refrain from "going all out" next time! Sam told me later that he was slightly worried for my safety at a few points. I'm sure he was right because I noticed all the capillaries had burst on my face when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It looked a little frightful, but they did go away as the day progressed and I'm planning to avoid that if at all possible next time.

Overall, the delivery was beautiful with minimal tearing (I did require two small stitches) and shorter in length than is typical for first time labor. Wells was a perfect 5lb, 2oz baby with zero medical complications. This was a miracle after hearing from many different Doctors that they were afraid there might be problems associated with his low birth weight. Maybe I just carry smaller babies? I'm not sure, but I'm praying that my next delivery and baby are as perfect as this one. We were thankful to greater levels to see that healthy baby after all of the uncertainty that followed us through the pregnancy. Looking back, that stress actually helped us bond to Wells and invest in a more real way as we prayed a lot for him.

- First 4 months of Wells' life (May 2013 - Dec. 2013). 

I'd like to say that we gave birth to a beautiful baby and then skipped away as parents happily ever after, but it wasn't that easy for us. The first couple of months with a newborn threw Sam and I's relational stability off quite a lot. We were getting little sleep, devoting all of our time to nourishing the little bean we had, and were mostly immobile for a while trying to adjust to everything. Sam and I were living life together, but didn't feel very close because we were both dealing with the transition in different and challenging ways. Sam had a hard time accepting that we no longer had freedom while my totally whacked out and off balance emotions contributed negatively to the whole situation. Because everything in my world was out of control, I began to suspect the worst all of the time and felt very helpless about where my life was headed. Thankfully God was faithful in drawing us out of it and helping us understand just how blessed we really were in the midst of it all. We had some very real conversations about our life and our relationship and just prayed a lot that God would give us joy. Over the next few months life began to feel more normal and Sam and I learned how to make time for each other. We decided that we were going to live life as free as possible even with the addition of little Wells. With that mind-set, we integrated him into our lives more and began to enjoy having him with us. Also, we bonded to him even more when we started to see his little personality as he grew.

~ 1 week old.

~ 6 weeks old.

~ 2 months

~ 4 Months.

- We moved to Lafayette (October 2013).

Shortly after giving birth to Wells, Sam received a job offer that we couldn't resist and one that required moving cities. We miss Indy and all of our family there so much, but thanks to Bry, Ash, Mom, Dad, Mia, Kurt, and Annie it has been a great transition. Since moving, Sam and I have been sorting through what we want our mission to look like together. There's only so much time in life which is motivating us to be more intentional about where we focus our energy, and we're also thinking through what we both feel passionately about for ministry. We have both been drawn to international students at different points in our lives and we're realizing that this is still something very close to our hearts. We'll see where this passion takes us in the next few years. I'm not entirely sure how we'll pursue it quite yet, but it does make me really excited to think about channeling our energy that way. It's also very convenient that Purdue is ranked #2 of all public state schools and colleges for the highest international student population. Joel and Sally are coming to visit us this Spring and they had expressed a desire to get involved in this ministry even before Sam and I really started talking about it together. It's exciting to think that we share a similar passion with them. The potential to partner with Joel and Sally would be so special as they head back to the US to retire soon (they could be back permanently within 5 or 6 years).

                                                                  ~ . ~

Wow, I think I'll probably never attempt such a comprehensive blog post again. It turned out to be more work than I bargained for! At the same time, it was rather therapeutic to process these past three years...but, what a challenge trying to be succinct about topics and experiences I could easily write a book about! I'm so thankful for where I am and even more thankful for what God has taught me at each phase of life (there's still so much to be learned!). The addition of Sam and Wells to my life is above and beyond what I could have ever imagined...even in my most lofty of imaginations of what God's blessings could be for me.