I am a Michigander-born and raised here.  I spent my first thirteen years in a small, farming community near Flint, Michigan.  My early childhood years were devastating as my biological father was killed when I was four years old leaving my mom, brother and sister and I feeling abandoned, scared, heartbroken beyond words and longing for a different reality.  After a few years my mom re-married my dad now.  Eventually, our family became a family of seven children-our beautiful blended family. 

We moved from that small, farming community when I was in seventh grade to Highland, Michigan.  I literally thought we were moving to the city.  My back yard in Corunna, Michigan was corn fields and forests and a dairy farm down the road.  In Highland there were neighbors close by and no farms and so many more people. 

We stayed in Highland and I graduated from Milford High School in 1990.  I immediately started college with a passion to continue my learning in Spanish having studied for four years in high school.  I went in to Eastern Michigan University with a desire to double major in Spanish and Business.  That quickly changed to a desire to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy.  I had always loved the sciences and especially anatomy and physiology.  I transferred to Oakland University to pursue that degree but it was not to be and I majored in Biology. 

During my time at Oakland University I met my husband and we were married in 1998.  We have three wonderful children that I home-schooled.  All of them are on their own beautiful journey in life.  We lived with our children in Lathrup Village, Michigan until November, 2012 when we moved to our hobby farm where we currently live.

Owning a farm was a dream of ours and we moved here when our children were 13, 11 and 8.  This is how I describe our farm: we have 41 acres, two pastures, a barn, a small pond, about 20 acres of woods, and a long winding driveway that is lined with white pines.  I do animals and my husband does plants.  I have chickens, turkeys, pigs, cats and dogs and have had goats and bees in the past.  My husband has an English greenhouse, orchards, berries and a large garden (and perch in our pond). 

I love traveling in Michigan.  There are three places that feel to me like I am going home: the Leelanau Peninsula, Isle Royale National Park and our family cabin in Atlanta, Michigan.  I love green spaces, the great outdoors and the invigoration of fresh air up north.  And I love a good, hard physical challenge. 

In college I needed to do something to exercise to lose the freshman fifteen.  I took up long distance swimming at a local pool and started by swimming two-thirds of a mile.  I thought I wouldn’t be able to lift my arms for days.  That grew into a love of long distance swimming which grew into a love of open water swimming and races.  I love to race in a 5k or 10k swim every summer.  The water is a place of beauty and rest for me.  My other hobbies are baking, hiking, singing, and traveling. 

In March, 2022 my sweet momma died of a rare type of ovarian cancer.  She was a rock in my life, an amazing grandma to my children, a lover of Jesus, an inspiration, and someone who really saw people.  I miss her every day.  Her death sent me spiraling into a mental health crisis and dark night of the soul.  And that crisis led me to receiving spiritual direction myself and then going through my own training.  And so beauty has come from ashes. 

I look back on my life with great awe and wonder at the many works of God.  And with every passing day I learn better how to stay connected to myself and the Holy Spirit.