Campaign Story

Ever since I was a little girl, I always have felt that being a mom was my purpose in life.I have never wanted anything more than I do now, and with infertility it feels that this dream of mine is getting harder and harder to achieve. Never in a million years would it have ever crossed my mind that my husband and I would not be able to conceive naturally. Encountering the stress that comes with infertility is physically, emotionally and financially exhausting. We hope as you learn about our lives it would help provide to you our worthiness of bringing a child into our lives.

I am 26 years old and the middle daughter of four girls. I have an older sister, then two younger sisters that are twins. There is quite a large age gap between all of us, yet you wouldn’t know it with how close of a bond we have. We all enjoy being together from shopping at the mall to swimming in the pool during summer. I grew up with divorced parents which was very difficult at times. When my mom remarried she ended up getting pregnant with my little sisters and when I became a big sister all I wanted to do was help my mom take care of the babies. They were real life baby dolls and I was obsessed! This is where my love for children truly began.

Family is very important to me and having divorced parents brings it challenges, but my parents did a great job at co-parenting. Still, till this day they are friends and we celebrate birthdays and holidays all together as one. My parents have shown me that even though they weren’t together they could still come together to love and support me as if they were still married. I have very fond memories from both my mom and my dad growing up. My dad teaching me to country swing dance in the living room and my mom taking me and my sisters to the club swimming pool everyday in the summer. I had an amazing childhood and I would like the chance to be able to pass on memories like this to my future child.

I graduated high school in 2014 then attended the local community college to receive my certification in dentistry. After working and putting myself through college I finally finished up with the dental assisting program in 2020. I currently work as a lead dental assistant in a small private practice in Eugene, Oregon, which is the town I was born and raised in. Working in dentistry has taught me a lot of skills that I am thankful for. The skill that I am most grateful for is having compassion for others. Having a patient come in with teeth completely rotten or falling out and be able to hear their stories is eye opening. Then to help not only restore their teeth but their self esteem too is very rewarding.

My husband, Brandon is the oldest of five but from divorced parents too. He has three younger siblings from his Dad and bonus Mom ( 2 sisters and a brother, of which one of the sisters and brother are twins). Then he has one younger brother from his Mom and bonus Dad. Brandon feels that having divorced parents was difficult growing up also, but wouldn’t change it for the world because now he gets two sets of parents to love. Growing up he would split his time between his Mom and Dad’s and has fond memories at each house. Where with his Dad he learned how to ride a dirtbike and was taught mechanics skills. Then at his mom’s house he was taught to hunt and fish with his bonus Dad. Which are all skills Brandon is thankful for and still uses to this day.
Brandon graduated high school in 2012 and then put himself through diesel mechanic school along with working full time as a welder and fabricator. He now is a lead diesel technician in Albany, Oregon. He was able to learn mechanic skills when he was a young kid from his dad when he would need to replace parts on his dirtbike, and now he has made a passion and a career out of it. One of my most favorite things about Brandon that I believe is from both his Mom and his Dad is how hard he loves and the effort he puts into everything he does.

Brandon and I started dating in 2009. We are high school sweethearts and celebrated 13 years together this year. It has been so amazing to be able to grow up together and see each other in all different stages of life. We are able to check accomplishments off together and be eachother biggest supporters. We purchased our first home in 2015, at 19 and 20 years of age. Brandon proposed April 1st, 2017(No it wasn’t an April Fools joke). We then got married July 28th, 2018. After we got married it was my goal to finish school and become a full time dental assistant. So, we both decided it would be best if we waited until school was complete to start trying for a family. Little did we know we would be faced with the biggest struggle that we have encountered thus far. Since early on in our relationship we dreamed of what our future looked like with kids and how he’d be an amazing father and I an amazing mother. Teaching our kids to ride dirt bikes, hunt and fish, and loving them through the highs and lows. We have had many ups and downs through the process so far, but having the bond we share has made the pain, confusion and struggles so much easier to bear. We have so much love for one another and will keep the hope to place that into a little human made of both of us someday. When I look at Brandon, I just can’t imagine not having a little version of him or I running around teaching us how to love harder than we ever have. I believe we are worthy of a baby who will get to share the love and joy of this world with us and our families which is why we are fundraising for IVF.