breath of fresh air.

A new life inspires a new blog. Not that I ever kept up on the old one anyway, but as our life continues to unravel, as it drags us along and hurls challenges and changes at us, writing about this journey is something that I know will keep me grounded. Something to remind me at the end of hectic and chaotic days, to slow down. To breathe in the peace and thankfulness that is often hard to place.

But it's here.

I expect that my family and friends will compile this blog's list of readers, but just incase you happened to stumble upon our lives, here is a (very) quick (like speed dating quick) intro:

Not that I want to date you.

This is us. Mama, Husband, and 4 year old crazy person. (Don't worry, I am not the Saints fan and it is fair to say that I was unaware of this baggage when I fell in love with this man.)

Not pictured above, is the littlest Collier, hidden behind this bump:

This little Collier is less than a pound but has already had a profound impact on our lives. In fact, he/she is completely running it right now. Not only was this baby a HUGE surprise (So THAT'S how babies are made....) but he/she just keeps on surprising us. Our little love has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. Transposition of the Great Arteries, Ventricular Septal Defect, and a possibly small Pulmonay Valve- perhaps Taussig-Bing type. This means that not only are we in the process of switching our care over from a midwife/homebirth plan to a regular Obstetrician, but also that we will need to pack up our quiet country life in Montana, and move to Seattle where we will deliver and stay as long as it takes to make sure that our baby gets the best care possible. As morbid as it may sound, we have no idea how much time we will get with our baby, and are hoping for a long road to recovery.

While I have family in both places and have lived a large portion of my life in the Seattle are, Montana is the only home that my husband and son have ever known. We love it here. 

We are setting out on this journey, whether we like it or not.  

So here it goes!