Five Years Later.

Can you believe that FIVE years ago, James and I uprooted our lives in Michigan after thirty years to move to Calgary? I think what's even more wild is that we now live in Phoenix! Looking back, there's no way I had any idea we'd be where we are now. Honestly, five years ago we were stuck in a blizzard in North Dakota and I was fairly certain we were going to be stuck there forever. But alas, we made it out, and the journey to where we are now, five years later, began.

It's been two years since I've written in my blog. I feel like ever since we moved to Phoenix we haven't stopped running. After we arrived, I scrambled to find a job, which turned out to be a brutal process with an 18 month old at home with me. Shoutout to virtual nap time interviews 😅 and to me for overcoming major imposter syndrome since I was on a long maternity leave.

In 2023, Mia started daycare and I started my new job, we went through many rounds of illness, traveled a TON, camped and hiked all over Arizona, and I navigated significant grief when my Nana passed away. In 2024, I left my toxic job and I started an amazing new job, we traveled some more, continued to hike and camp, and we almost moved again. So, here we are...James and I are in a really good place personally and professionally and Mia is thriving in school. Life has been one giant roller coaster, but we've never felt better about where we are and where we see our life going—no matter where life ends up taking us. We don't totally feel settled in Phoenix, because we know we could move again, but we're choosing to live as much in the present as we possibly can and channeling our energy into helping Mia come the most incredible little human.

Cheers to 2025 and me making more space for writing in this blog!

xo, Stef